Stone Village

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Stone Village (石村)
Type	Human village
Location	Primeval Mountain Range
Population	Slightly over 300 residents 2
Sacrificial Spirit	Old Willow Tree / Willow God
Status	Vanished from its original site after being enveloped by the Willow Tree's green radiance 49
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Background / History

Stone Village was a small settlement built amid the dangerous Primeval Mountain Range. Every household lived in simple stone houses, while hunting parties entered the surrounding mountains for food despite the constant risk of death from savage beasts and birds. Food shortages were a persistent concern, making every hunt and every portion of meat valuable 2 3.

Decades before the story, the village's previous sacrificial spirit was a strange stone that absorbed blood essence from offerings. During a catastrophic storm, a towering willow tree descended from the sky while fighting amid lightning, shattered, and took root in the village as a charred stump with one living branch. The stone spirit departed that same night 4.

The Old Willow Tree's radiance protected the village from the creatures of the Great Wilderness. Even enormous beasts passing nearby—including a colossal bird and a ten-meter silver centipede—avoided entering its domain 1. Although it remained silent and did not consume offerings, the villagers continued to pray and sacrifice to it after hunts 4.

Appearance

Stone Village originally consisted of large, rough stone houses and bluestone streets, with an open training ground and a sacrificial altar near its entrance 2 36.

• It stood among towering mountains, deep ravines, ancient forests, and dangerous hunting grounds of the Primeval Mountain Range 2.
• The Old Willow Tree stood at the entrance: a blackened trunk over ten meters wide, with only one lush green branch remaining 1 47.
• The village possessed several ancient cauldrons carved with images of birds, beasts, fish, insects, mountains, rivers, and ancient ancestors 36 47.
• At night, the Willow Tree's faint green halo shrouded the settlement, making it a rare peaceful refuge within the mountain range 1 42.

Community

Stone Village's residents were tightly knit and organized around survival. Children trained from an early age alongside older youths, while adults hunted, defended the settlement, and taught the next generation to use weapons and Bone Script 2 3.

Shi Yunfeng served as clan chief and principal teacher of Bone Script. Shi Linhu led the hunting party and was intended to become the next clan chief 2. The village also relied on Shi Feijiao, Shi Linhu, and other strong hunters during major threats 11 27.

The villagers used medicinal baths made from herbs, beast blood, crushed bones, and other materials to strengthen their children. After obtaining the remains of the Suanni, they used diluted ancient-relic blood for village-wide cleansing rituals and preserved the remaining flesh and blood for later refinement 5 34.

Defenses and Resources

Willow God's Protection

The Willow God formed Stone Village's primary defense. Its halo prevented beasts and hostile outsiders from entering the settlement, while its single branch could manifest overwhelming offensive power when the village faced destruction 1 12 41.

• It killed Bei Village's sacrificial spirit, Fierce Bei, with a tender green branch after the creature pursued Stone Village's people 28.
• It destroyed or drove off hostile experts who tried to seize the Suanni Treasure Bone and the Azure-Scaled Eagle young 40 41.
• It repelled the coordinated assault of the Thunder Clan, Luofu Great Marsh, Golden Wolf Tribe, and Purple Mountain Clan 44 46.
• It later warned the villagers of an approaching calamity and concealed the entire village from its former location 47 49.

Ancestral Artifacts

Stone Village possessed two ancestral artifacts refined from the remains of ancient ferocious beasts, an unusual inheritance for an ordinary wilderness village 11.

• Ferocious beast arm bone — Fused with Shi Linhu's arm, increased his stature and blood energy, and manifested the aura of a beast king 11 27.
• Ancient beast hide — Fused with Shi Feijiao's chest and could produce the silhouette of a powerful ferocious beast; it was later entrusted to Shi Hao because of his deeper Bone Script mastery 11 27.
• Ancient cauldrons — Used in cleansing rituals and later resonated with the village's sacrificial force and the Willow God 34 47.

Suanni Remains

The village obtained and consumed portions of an aged Suanni's remains after the conflict surrounding its death. Its flesh, true blood, precious horn, and treasure bone became coveted resources that attracted hostile outside factions 24 34 37.

• The Suanni's blood was used to improve the villagers' constitutions through diluted cleansing rituals 34.
• Shi Hao studied the Suanni's treasure technique from a bone fragment 34.
• The Suanni Treasure Bone became a principal motive for the attacks by Luofu Great Marsh, the Golden Wolf Tribe, and other factions 37 40.

Relationships

• Willow God — Stone Village's sacrificial spirit and protector; the villagers worship it with offerings and refer to it as a god 4 37 47.
• Shi Yunfeng — Clan chief, Bone Script teacher, and organizer of the village's rituals, hunts, and defenses 2 3 26.
• Shi Linhu — Hunting-party leader and future clan chief; one of the village's foremost defenders 2 11 27.
• Shi Hao — A child raised by the village and its most exceptional young talent; his victories repeatedly protect the community and raise its standing 16 19 34 40.
• Azure-Scaled Eagle and its young — Initially a threat after the children took its eggs, then allies of Stone Village after the eggs were returned; its young Roc, Little Green, and Purple Cloud grow up alongside Shi Hao 11 13 34.
• Bei Village — Rival settlement whose theft of prey, ambushes, and attempts to seize the Suanni's remains led to open conflict and the death of its guardian spirit 15 17 26 28.
• Four great clans — The Thunder Clan, Luofu Great Marsh, Golden Wolf Tribe, and Purple Mountain Clan sought the village's treasures and Willow God, then suffered a decisive defeat 43 44 46.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Early Wilderness Life

Stone Village is introduced as a vulnerable but protected settlement surrounded by terrifying wilderness. Its people train, hunt, study Bone Script, conduct sacrifices, and use medicinal baths to survive 1 5.

Azure-Scaled Eagle Incident

Several children steal the eggs of an Azure-Scaled Eagle, bringing the village into conflict with the dangerous bird. The adults use ancestral artifacts to rescue the children, and the village ultimately returns the eggs, beginning a later alliance with the eagle and its offspring 8 10 13.

Conflict with Bei Village

Bei Village steals Stone Village's prey, lays traps in its territory, and attacks its hunters. Shi Hao defeats Bei Feng, forcing Bei Village to surrender weapons and retreat, but the feud resumes over the Suanni's remains 15 17 23 28.

When Fierce Bei leads a beast tide against the fleeing villagers, Stone Village's defenders use their ancestral artifacts until the Willow God intervenes and kills the hostile sacrificial spirit 26 28.

Outside Clans' Invasion

The village's possession of Suanni remains, mutated young birds, ancient artifacts, and a mysterious sacrificial spirit draws powerful outsiders to Stone Village. Initially mistaken for a hidden ancient clan, the village becomes a target once the visitors realize its inhabitants are largely ordinary wilderness people 35 37.

The Willow God destroys the invading forces when they threaten the villagers, demonstrating that Stone Village's true protection lies in its sacrificial spirit rather than its military strength 40 46.

Approaching Calamity

After speaking for the first time in decades, the Willow God warns of a coming disaster. The villagers preserve the mounts left behind by the defeated invaders as dried and smoked meat, then prepare for an unknown calamity 47.

When the catastrophe arrives, the Willow God envelops Stone Village in green radiance and removes it entirely from its former location, leaving nothing behind 49.

Trivia

• Stone Village's people continued offering sacrifices to the Willow God even when it showed no visible response for decades 4.
• The village's ancient artifacts suggest that it experienced an extraordinary period in its distant past 11.
• Outsiders initially considered Stone Village a terrifying reclusive clan because of the Willow God, ancient cauldrons, Suanni remains, and unusually capable children 36 37.