“Damn that wretched monkey, stop right there!” Within Stone Village, a burly woman with broad shoulders and a thick waist came charging out. Ahead of her, a golden orb the size of a fist was fleeing while carrying a massive beast leg weighing over a hundred pounds, rolling along the ground in a comical manner. As it ran, it voraciously gnawed at the meat. Astonishingly, despite being only three inches tall, by the time it reached the village entrance, it had already devoured the entire hundred-plus pounds of smoked meat, leaving behind only a large bone.
“Stupid monkey, can’t you pick another house? This is the sixth time in half a month!” The middle-aged woman roared like a lion, snatching the half-meter-long bone and smacking it on the creature’s head. With a loud *clang*, sparks flew as if striking iron, yet the golden orb—innocent-faced with wide, blinking eyes—did not retaliate or even protest.
“Aunt Tiger, it’s not a monkey—it’s a Zhu Yan,” Little Rascal corrected, grabbing the golden orb by its tail and dangling it upside down.
“Exactly! It’s so annoying even pigs despise it!” the woman fumed, smacking it again with the bone, though the creature remained unharmed, as if forged from metal.
“Little Zhu, in just over half a month, you’ve stolen from every household in the village. How is your tiny belly still not full?” Shi Hao tugged at its ears.
*Squeak squeak!* The golden orb protested, clearly displeased with the nickname.
“Not ‘pig’ as in tree pig, but ‘Zhu’ as in Zhu Yan. If you don’t like it, I’ll just call you Furry Ball,” Shi Hao chuckled, rolling it around in his palm.
The golden Zhu Yan grumbled internally—what kind of names were these? Pig? Ball? It hated them all.
Despite its protests, Shi Hao continued to knead and squeeze it as they made their way to the lakeside for training. A group of children was already there, seated cross-legged on the lush grass, diligently practicing bone inscriptions. The recent catastrophe, which had obliterated the surrounding hundred thousand miles, had deeply shaken them, igniting a fierce determination to grow stronger.
“Did Furry Ball cause trouble again? I just heard Aunt Tiger from the Lin Hu family roar like a lion.”
“Haha, when does it *not* cause trouble several times a day? I don’t know how it eats so much—its belly is like a bottomless pit!” The children gathered around, laughing as they poked and prodded the golden Zhu Yan’s plump body, marveling at its squishy texture.
“In the past half-month, the amount of smoked meat it’s stolen must weigh as much as a Horned Dragon Elephant!”
Shi Hao nodded. “It was probably starving. It was sealed at the bottom of that lake for over a year without food or water—it’s just replenishing its energy now.”
The clear emerald lake shimmered as golden fish occasionally leaped from its surface. The children resumed their training by the shore.
Over the past year, Shi Hao’s strength had skyrocketed. Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, his physical prowess alone allowed him to lift a boulder weighing thirty thousand pounds. For a six-year-old, this feat left the entire village in awe. Moreover, his mastery of bone inscriptions had reached profound depths. At this rate, it was impossible to predict how far he would go!
True cultivation was not merely about tempering the body but also comprehending the primal inscriptions, touching the essence of heaven and earth. Without this, even the strongest physique would struggle to reach the pinnacle.
The true supreme beings did not distinguish between flesh and bone inscriptions. When tempering the body, they generated mystical patterns that transformed into fragments of the Great Dao, merging seamlessly with their flesh. Conversely, when cultivating bone inscriptions, they refined divine radiance to nourish their bodies, fusing all into one.
Later generations gradually realized this, striving from the very beginning to integrate flesh and inscriptions into a unified cultivation path.
However, this path was arduous. Even in a village of hundreds—or a town of thousands—it was rare to find a single individual capable of embarking on it.
The Blood Moving Realm marked the first true step on the path of cultivation. In general, only one in ten thousand from a tribe might qualify, as the conditions were exceedingly harsh.
This realm required channeling the body’s vital blood, roaring like thunder, to refine bone inscriptions and ignite divine radiance within the blood. This process tempered the body, drawing upon the essence of heaven and earth to strengthen oneself.
In simpler terms, the Blood Moving Realm fused blood and inscriptions to generate divine radiance, nourishing the body and seizing the world’s vitality to achieve the purpose of cultivation.
Even at the early stage, the destructive power of this realm was astonishing—enough to easily overpower warriors like Shi Lin Hu and Shi Fei Jiao, who possessed five to six thousand pounds of strength in their arms.
To quantify it, the early Blood Moving Realm required at least eight thousand pounds of destructive force!
Little Rascal had only truly stepped into this realm after fusing inscriptions into his flesh, transforming them into divine radiance that continuously absorbed the world’s essence like an eternal divine furnace.
Even formidable figures like Shi Lin Hu and Shi Fei Jiao could not claim to have reached this realm—it was simply too difficult.
The mid-stage of the Blood Moving Realm boasted twenty thousand pounds of force, while the late stage was even more terrifying, unleashing fifty thousand pounds of divine strength—enough to charge recklessly through herds of colossal beasts!
Even among tribes of tens of thousands, those who entered the Blood Moving Realm would rarely reach the late stage in their lifetime.
At just six years old, Little Rascal could lift thirty thousand pounds with pure physical strength. Combined with the secret power of inscriptions in his flesh, his might was even more staggering, placing him at the peak of the Blood Moving Realm.
Over the past two years, Shi Hao’s progress had been meteoric. He had thoroughly studied the collection of bone texts gathered by the old chief, attaining profound mastery. He now stood at the threshold of a breakthrough, ready to ascend to a new realm.
However, Shi Yun Feng had advised against rushing. Given Shi Hao’s unprecedented speed—having traversed in mere years what took others a lifetime—he needed to solidify his foundation. They would await the revival of the Willow Deity for further guidance.
Lately, Shi Hao had nearly worn out the bone texts from overuse, having mastered all they contained. With nothing left to learn, he began exploring on his own.
Additionally, he studied two precious techniques: the primal inscriptions of an ancient demonic bird and the supreme divine ability of the Suan Ni—both treasures that would incite envy even in clans of millions.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in crimson hues, the lake grew even more enchanting. A flock of exotic birds frolicked in the water until chaos erupted—all the giant birds flapped their wings and screeched incessantly.
Amid the reeds, an egg the size of a human head rolled swiftly away, dragged by a furry golden ball.
The children gaped in disbelief. The golden Zhu Yan had stolen a fierce bird’s egg, provoking the wrath of the crimson-feathered cranes, each several meters long, as they shrieked in fury.
“Furry Ball, these eggs might taste good roasted, but they’re not exactly tonic. Go steal a nest of Azure Hatchling eggs—those are the real treasure!” Snivel Kid urged, mischief gleaming in his eyes despite his youth.
*Squeak!* The golden ball vanished in a flash, reappearing moments later amidst the reeds where the Azure Hatchlings screeched in outrage, flapping their wings and splashing water everywhere.
In no time, Furry Ball had pilfered over twenty eggs. Only Shi Hao’s intervention stopped it from taking more.
“So delicious!” The children built a fire by the lake, roasting the eggs and sharing the feast with Furry Ball. Though few in number, the eggs were a rare delicacy, filling them with warmth. Surprisingly, the golden orb didn’t hoard the food, willingly sharing—though its large eyes darted mischievously, already plotting which child’s home to raid that night. After all, it couldn’t let them enjoy the eggs for free!
As night fell, the willow tree at the village entrance suddenly glowed, enveloping Stone Village in its radiance—just as it had in the primordial mountains. This phenomenon, absent for over a year during its slumber, had now returned.
“The Willow Deity has awakened!” the villagers exclaimed.
At that moment, the Zhu Yan’s golden fur stood on end, its eyes wide with tension as it stared at the tender green sprout on the charred trunk.
*Whoosh!* It suddenly leaped, aiming to gnaw on the sprout, sensing the overwhelming divine essence and vitality within.
“Furry Ball, no!” Shi Hao cried out.
A green willow branch descended, coiling around the golden ball and suspending it mid-air—looking almost as if it had hanged itself. The creature’s eyes bulged in shock as it struggled fiercely.
Little Rascal hurriedly explained, “Willow Deity, please don’t take offense. Though it’s an ancient descendant, its inscriptions are shattered, and it may have forgotten its past.”
After a long pause, the Willow Deity released it, clearly intrigued but silent.
Freed, the Zhu Yan yelped and tumbled down, landing on Shi Hao’s shoulder and hiding behind his hair, its wide eyes fixed fearfully on the willow tree.
The entire village gathered, offering devout prayers and reverence.
Finally, the chief tentatively sought guidance, recounting Little Rascal’s achievements and asking the Willow Deity for advice on his next steps.
To everyone’s astonishment, the Willow Deity responded:
“In the ancient era, the mightiest beasts—such as the True Hou and the Golden-Winged Roc—could lift one hundred thousand pounds of divine iron in their youth.”
“*Gasp!*” The villagers were stunned. This revelation, coming from the Willow Deity, was beyond doubt—yet it was utterly mind-boggling.
“And that was pure physical strength, without invoking their race’s supreme techniques,” the Willow Deity added.
The Golden-Winged Roc and the True Hou—legendary ancient beasts—their techniques were peerless, unimaginably powerful!
The villagers stood dumbfounded.
“Thus, do not rush your breakthrough. Strive first to surpass the extreme limit of one hundred thousand pounds in pure physical strength. The benefits will be immense,” the Willow Deity advised.
The villagers were taken aback. Clearly, the Willow Deity held Shi Hao in special regard, speaking more to him now than in decades past.
“I’ll work hard!” Little Rascal clenched his tiny fists, eyes sparkling with determination. Then, hesitantly, he asked, “Willow Deity… can you help me see what’s hidden in my subconscious? I want to know what happened back then.”
He was nervous—afraid of uncovering a cruel truth—yet desperate for answers.
“Very well,” the Willow Deity replied simply.
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