The thunder of the collapsing mountain only reached them three breaths later, accompanied by a suffocating gale reeking of earth that sent the Green-Scaled Eagle spinning wildly through the air like a kite with its string snapped.
"Hold steady!"
Shi Hou clamped one hand around a scale on the eagle's back and used the other to pin Kang beneath him before the wind could sweep the beast away.
The wind made his cheeks flap, but his eyes narrowed to slits as he stared fixedly in that direction.
Where the dust had settled, a giant golden ape wreathed in primal chaos stood upon the empty air, roaring at the heavens.
The ape was far away, so far that even from high above they could only make out a rough outline, yet the oppressive force of its very level of existence briefly brought the surging blood within Shi Hou to a standstill.
The Primordial Zhu Yan.
A true overlord that had come for the Mountain Treasure.
"That monkey..."
Shi Hao clung to the Green-Scaled Eagle's neck, his little face pale from the fierce wind. Yet there was not a trace of fear in his large eyes. Instead, they shone.
He swallowed, his voice drifting uncertainly in the wind. "Looks like... it'd be chewier than that black monkey just now."
Shi Hou's mouth twitched violently.
He reached back and rapped Shi Hao on the forehead, hard enough to produce a sharp thunk.
"Put that dangerous idea away."
His face dark, Shi Hou shouted over the wind. "That's an ancestor of this whole Great Wilderness! Forget eating it-even a single hair falling off its body could smash us and our pot into meat paste! That thing would burn your mouth right now. Burn it badly!"
"Oh..."
Shi Hao covered his forehead and drew his neck back regretfully, though his gaze still lingered longingly in that direction. "When I grow up, I'm definitely catching one to see how it tastes."
"We'll worry about the future in the future! Auntie, retreat! Back to the village at full speed!"
Shi Hou patted the Green-Scaled Eagle's back.
"Scree!"
That aura had already frightened the Green-Scaled Eagle so badly that its feathers stood on end. The command came like a pardon. With a beat of its wings, it rode the blast's air currents and fled wildly just above the treetops, like a green arrow loosed from a bow.
Stone Village.
The normally quiet village entrance was now crowded with people.
Shi Linhu carried a spare stone axe as he paced back and forth across the clearing, scuffing the ground into a layer of loose dust.
"Why aren't they back yet? That was far too much commotion. Something huge must've happened deep in the mountains."
"Stop pacing. You're making me dizzy."
Shi Feijiao squatted on a millstone. Though he held a bone saber tightly, his eyes kept flicking toward the village entrance. "Skinny Monkey's cunning as a fox, and Little One's with him. They're sure to come out ahead."
Despite those words, the earth-shattering explosion just now had made even the old Willow Tree at the village entrance tremble slightly. None of them felt certain.
Just then, a black dot appeared on the distant horizon.
The dot rapidly grew larger, accompanied by a familiar eagle cry.
"They're back! It's the Green-Scaled Eagle!"
Sharp-eyed Ermeng shouted, and the children immediately surged toward the village entrance, cheering and jumping for joy.
A fierce wind struck their faces.
The Green-Scaled Eagle folded its wings and skidded dozens of meters across the ground before coming to a steady halt in the clearing before the Willow Tree.
Before everyone could crowd around, Shi Hou jumped straight off its back.
"Quick! Shut the gates! Seal the village!"
Shi Hou's first words upon landing sent everyone's hearts leaping into their throats.
He set the enormous black pot on his back down with a heavy thud. Then he turned toward the old clan chief, Shi Yunfeng, his expression solemn.
"Grandpa Chief, it's chaos out there. Some real monsters have come out. Nobody should leave for the next few days. Keep Big Yellow tied up."
Shi Yunfeng looked at the dried black-purple blood covering Shi Hou. It was blood splashed from the Demon Ape's heart, giving off a murderous aura that was both nauseating and terrifying.
"Skinny Monkey, you..." The old chief's voice trembled.
"We got the goods."
Shi Hou grinned, his white teeth looking especially sinister against his blackened face.
He patted the black pot beside him.
"It's all in here. Enough for our village to have one huge feast."
With that, he waved one hand.
The black pot shook, and radiant light gushed from its opening.
Boom!
Two mountains of flesh appeared out of thin air and crashed onto the yellow earth.
A Demon Ape with its heart missing and half its body charred black.
A Li Fire Bull Demon with its skull split open and its horns broken.
"Hiss-"
Everyone sucked in a breath in unison.
The stone axe in Shi Linhu's hand fell to the ground with a clang, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "These... these are those two overlords? You really killed them?"
"Got lucky and picked up a bargain."
Shi Hou offered no further explanation. The battle had been far too dangerous; recounting it would only make an entertaining story. Better to get something substantial into their bellies.
"Little One, go wash up. You reek of blood."
Shi Hou nudged Shi Hao, who was drooling over the Bull Demon's thigh, with his foot.
Shi Hao chuckled and wiped the blood from his face. "Skinny Monkey, when do we eat? I'm hungry enough to swallow an elephant."
"Right away."
Shi Hou took a deep breath and looked at Shi Yunfeng.
"Old man, bring over the Suanni bone. We have the catalyst now. Today, we're brewing that pot of... rune soup."
Shi Hou placed the True Blood Treasure Crystal he had dug out of the Li Fire Bull Demon beneath the pot.
The instant he ignited it, golden-red flames licked the bottom of the pot, their temperature frighteningly high. Even the surrounding space warped.
The mountain spring water boiled in the pot, bubbling with white froth.
With trembling hands, Shi Yunfeng brought out the Suanni Primordial Treasure Bone, lustrous and white as jade, and carefully placed it in the pot.
Nothing happened.
The treasure bone bobbed in the boiling water, a faint film of light flowing over its surface. It would not soften at all, nor did even a trace of its essence seep out.
"Quite the proud one."
Shi Hou sneered.
He stood on the stove platform, his upper body bare, exposing lean muscles like iron. With his left hand, he grabbed the Demon Ape's washbasin-sized heart; with his right, he lifted the Li Fire Bull Demon's crimson heart.
"Enemies meet on a narrow road. You're already dead, so stop putting on airs!"
Both hands squeezed hard.
Splat!
The two hearts burst in his palms.
The ape's black-red blood mixed with the bull's crimson blood, becoming a scarlet waterfall that poured into the pot.
Sizzle-!
It was like cold water splashing into hot oil.
The previously quiet Suanni treasure bone erupted the instant it came into contact with the heart blood of those two mortal enemies.
Their lingering wills were fighting.
The pot instantly erupted into turmoil.
A miniature phantom of the Suanni appeared above the soup, roaring at the heavens as lightning flashed.
Then phantoms of a black demon ape and a crimson fire bull took shape as well. Within that enormous pot, the phantoms of three Primordial Remnants began their final battle.
"Suppress!"
Shi Hou roared.
Shi Hou gripped the enormous stone ladle with both hands and plunged it into the scalding soup.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang-!"
Shi Hou's movements were broad and powerful. Every stir carried crushing force as he forcibly shattered and blended the three raging energies.
The stone ladle struck the walls of the pot, producing deafening clangs like clashing metal.
The strange manifestations within the pot gradually subsided.
The Suanni's pride was dispersed by the two streams of heart blood, and the once-hard treasure bone began to soften, melting like ice and snow.
Fine golden threads drifted from the bone-chains of runes made tangible. They intertwined with the essence of flesh and blood, slowly turning the blood-red soup a brilliant golden amber.
"It's done."
Shi Hou withdrew the ladle and stood there, drenched in sweat as though he had just been hauled out of the water.
The soup in the pot was thick as glue and gleamed with golden light. Occasionally, one or two tiny runes flashed across its surface before vanishing.
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