《Reborn As A Blade Of Grass, I Become The Companion Of A Goddess》


 Chapter 1

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The quiet and comfortable village was especially peaceful.


    Beside the entrance of the village, there was an ancient tree towering into the sky, standing tall and sturdy like a guardian of the village.


    The rough bark of the tree was almost as black as carbon as if it had been burned by fire.


    But the tree was not one that grew from a seedling. The spot where it currently stood had once been occupied by a stone. During a thunderstorm one summer, lightning and thunder roared and flashed angrily one after another as if they were at war at each other.


    Eventually, the colossal being was struck by a bolt of lightning and fell out of heaven onto the spot where it stood today.


    The tree crumbled and fell violently, the turbulence of the strike and impact of the fall created a deafening boom that sent tremors throughout the seemingly endless land.


    It no longer had its branches and its bark had been charred black. The lightning strike had cut off the tree¡¯s vitality.


    Now, the tree stood as a guardian spirit of the village. Even when a giant python as thick as a tree battled with a bird covered in golden and red feathers with deafening roars, their tumultuous scuffle might have struck at and broken more of the tree, but the village remained as peaceful and undisturbed as ever.


    For years, the tree stood seemingly lifeless until a single branch finally grew.


    Despite its unimpressive appearance, green grass spread wantonly under the tree, occupying its shade.


    If one looked carefully under a starry night sky, one could vaguely catch sight of a misty figure glowing light green like a piece of emerald, pulsing with vitality as it sat among the grass and swayed with the wind under the ancient tree.


    The sunlight during the day allowed the misty green presence to camouflage among the wild grass around it.


    A voice suddenly spoke from somewhere within view. ¡°Ugh¡­ What¡¯s happening? Do I have a fever?¡±


    The moment Ye Yun opened his eyes, he felt his body suddenly become heavy and he was unable to move.


    ¡®What¡¯s going on? Is a ghost pressing down on me?!¡¯ He thought in confusion and tried to move his body again. But the weight remained on his body like shackles that prevented him from moving.


    His head was spinning and he was having difficulty keeping his eyes open. Ye Yun tried his best to take back control over his body. He tried to keep his eyes open to look around.


    But everything he saw was quasi-black. It was like a nightmare.


    The suffocating feeling on his body escalated and he started to feel as if someone had piled layers of quilts on top of him. He was starting to have difficulty breathing.


    ¡®What¡¯s going on? Could it be that someone wants to kill a penniless person like me?¡¯ Ye Yun could not help but panic.


    He desperately tried to move his body, struggling for a long time before he finally recovered from the indescribable suffocation. The moment the light entered his eyes, his brain was filled with an endless stream of information.


    After taking a moment to take it all in, he took a deep breath.


    That¡¯s right, he had transmigrated. He had arrived in a world with endless territories, complicated laws, and many small sub-worlds.


    This place was filled with rich spiritual Qi. All living beings in this mortal world could absorb spiritual Qi to cultivate.


    As for him, he had turned into a blade of grass!


    How did he turn into a blade of grass after a nap?


    Ye Yun was at a loss. He was still having a hard time accepting this fact.


    He finally understood what he was experiencing earlier.


    If he was a blade of grass, that meant that he was suffocating because he was still in the soil.


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t this just perfect? What am I supposed to do now? Don¡¯t tell me I have to cultivate for tens of thousands of years to turn into a human?¡±


    Ye Yun sighed helplessly. He felt that he had just been given an unjust fate.


    At the same time, the system¡¯s sudden voice echoed in his mind.


    [Beep beep. Congratulations, dear host, for successfully binding with the system!]


    [The host¡¯s basic information is as follows:


    Host: Ye Yun


    Identity: Nine Heavens Jasper Grass


    Status: Sprout


    Item: 0


    Influence: 0


    Grade: Ordinary Rank 3


    Ability: Divine Healing]


    As a 21st century youth from Earth, Ye Yun was not too surprised by the system¡¯s format. After all, transmigrators were usually supported by one.


    Thankfully, fate was still on his side. Even if he was a blade of grass in a completely new and unknown world, he still had the system to support him as he tried to figure things out.


    No matter what, the future was within reach.


    This made him a little excited.


    With this in mind, his brain was once again filled with information, allowing Ye Yun to understand a series of functions in the system.


    One of them was the Daily Check-In system that would give him a Midas touch. As the name implied, checking in every day would allow him to receive a random reward from the system. Each random reward would allow him to cultivate to break through to the next level. Once he had accumulated a certain number of check-ins, he would be able to activate the Lucky Draw function.


    Knowing this made Ye Yun smile slightly. However, he started to look at his surroundings. In the quasi-black space, only his body was surrounded by a light green glow, which was incredibly strange.


    No matter how much he tried to analyze his surroundings, he was still unable to find out where he was in the collection of worlds.


    The system¡¯s mechanical notification rang again.


    [Beep beep. Dear host, you haven¡¯t checked in today. Do you want to check in?]


    Hearing this, Ye Yun¡¯s eyes flashed with excitement. ¡°Yes! Check me in! Check me in, quickly!¡±


    [Check-in location: Lightning Strike under the Willow Tree. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the reward: Art of the Nine Revolutions Essence]


    [Cultivation method description: Art of the Nine Revolution Essence is a divine technique of the Chan Faction from the Investiture of the Gods. It not only facilitates the cultivation of the Golden Core of the Great Dao but also all kinds of magic spells.]


    As he stared at the reward that appeared on the system¡¯s virtual display screen, Ye Yun¡¯s eyes were filled with delight as the corners of his mouth curled up.


    The Art of the Nine Revolutions Essence! It was a famous divine technique!


    He had never thought that he would be able to obtain the Art of the Nine Revolution Essence the first time he checked in!


    This cultivation method was a big deal because it was practiced by Yang Jian from the Investiture of the Gods, and it turned him divine! There were very few people who could rival him in the three realms!


    With this divine cultivation method, how could Ye Yun not be excited?


    The profoundness of the cultivation method unfolded in Ye Yun¡¯s mind as he quickly learned and grasped the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence.


    He was so excited by this that he quickly began cultivating.


    As he controlled the wantonly-flowing spiritual Qi, lightning flashed and struck his body. The lightning strike tempered his body and gave his green spiritual glow a quasi-purple hue momentarily.


    ¡ª¡ª


    Time gradually passed as night started to fade and gave way to the light of the morning sun. The golden rays spread throughout the sky and illuminated the peaceful village.


    Ye Yun, who had been cultivating the entire night, opened his eyes and carefully observed his surroundings.


    Above him was a towering willow tree with one drooping branch. When he turned around, he saw more than ten children sitting crossed-legged facing the sun. Their facial expressions appeared solemn as they continuously gathered spiritual Qi into their bodies with control.


    There was an old man next to them as he constantly provided guidance.


    One of the children was younger than the others, approximately four or five years old. But Ye Yun could tell that he was the strongest among the group of children.


    When the child meditated, the ancient energy contained in his body circulated accordingly.


    After analyzing his surroundings, Ye Yun knew that he was in an ordinary village. It was no different from what he was familiar with before he transmigrated, though he suspected that it might be some ancient era as most of the houses seemed to be made of stone.


    His observations also told him that everyone here had been absorbing the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth and using it for cultivation from a young age. Ye Yun saw a few of the children, who were only a few years old, shake a huge rock that weighed hundreds of kilograms.


    Although he did not know what world he was in exactly, many of the laws from his world seemed to be interwoven here.


    Still, these were simply speculations. Ye Yun had no way to verify it.


    He carefully observed his surroundings again and confirmed that the village was so ordinary that there was nothing outstanding about it.


    Ye Yun closed his eyes and decided to cultivate. Regardless of which world he was in, the strong preyed on the weak. Cultivating to increase one¡¯s strength and abilities was paramount..

 Chapter 2

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Ye Yun activated the Art of the Nine Revolutions Essence and started to continuously absorb the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth. The Qi flowed around him and swirled into gusts of wind.


    The light green glow on him that was usually only visible at night became more intense despite the daylight as his soul gradually condensed into a solid form. But Ye Yun wasn¡¯t aware of any of this as he was focused on his cultivation.


    The flow of Qi around him started to expand further from him, intensifying into a mysterious concentration of Qi.


    A few kilometers away, a child who was playing with a puppy after practicing his fist technique suddenly stopped and looked at the willow tree.


    ¡ª¡ª


    A pair of clear eyes blinked as the child¡¯s delicate porcelain-like face was turned towards the willow tree.


    Strange, how could there be such a mysterious Qi flow that he had never come encountered before? Shi Hao was puzzled.


    The energy of the Qi flow reminded him of the energy of the Bone Text he was first introduced to.


    But, why was it being emitted from the willow tree?


    No, it can¡¯t be¡­ This village had been guarded by the willow tree guardian spirit for generations. How could it¡­?


    Could something have happened?


    The black-haired child with the delicate porcelain-like face slowly walked towards the willow tree in confusion, still staring intently.


    Shi Hao carefully observed the willow tree and circled it many times, but he still could not find the source of the mysterious Qi flow.


    It didn¡¯t seem like the guardian spirit had appeared abnormally. Nothing else about the willow tree seemed amiss.


    Shi Hao became even more confused. Could he be wrong?


    But the Qi flow seemed to be closer to him now.


    Shi Hao sat cross-legged beside the guardian spirit and carefully observed it.


    Little did Shi Hao notice that the emerald grass sprawled out under the tree was being enveloped by a light green glow and that the strange Qi flow he had been wondering about was coming from that glow.


    The instant Ye Yun opened his eyes, he was almost scared out of his wits ¨C he suddenly noticed a huge shadow covering him.


    ¡°How bad could being a blade of grass be?¡± Ye Yun complained sarcastically in a low voice.


    After calming himself down, Ye Yun realized that the shadow over him was from a small child.


    The child who was playing with the puppy earlier.


    A child¡¯s body was not big, but for a blade of grass like Ye Yun¡¯s current form, the child was like a giant.


    Enough with the distractions. The most important thing now was to cultivate and gain a human form.


    Eventually, Ye Yun¡¯s form started to grow and the child did not seem as big as before.


    Ye Yun couldn¡¯t see the child¡¯s face before, but now he could see the quasi-black hair draped over the shoulders; the fair and smooth skin; and the clear and bright eyes.


    As he continued observing, he noticed that the child¡¯s weak and small body contained a surge of hidden energy.


    Ye Yun stared at Shi Hao in confusion. He couldn¡¯t find a character like him anywhere in the novels he was usually familiar with.


    Perhaps he was just another ordinary child character cultivating in this world.


    Ye Yun did not think much about it as he kept on watching the child circle the willow tree and bury his head in all sorts of places to search. Ye Yun was filled with confusion, but he did not speak.


    Right now, he was just a blade of grass, or maybe a medicinal herb.


    If he suddenly made his voice heard by the child, the latter might think that Ye Yun was a spiritual herb with cultivated vitality and could be harvested and consumed as a tonic. Now, wouldn¡¯t that be dreadful?


    He had to figure out what world he was in before making his next move.


    It never hurt to be a little more cautious.


    Ye Yun ignored Shi Hao and closed his eyes again to continue cultivating.


    As Shi Hao was investigating, another child noticed his behavior and ran over, more curious about what Shi Hao was looking for than the mysterious Qi flow.


    ¡°Hey, little guy. I noticed that you have been circling the guardian spirit. Are you looking for something? Tell me, I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    One of the children spoke with a tender voice. But to Ye Yun, it sounded like thunder rumbling.


    Little guy¡­ guardian spirit¡­ willow tree¡­


    These keywords stuck out to Ye Yun and he felt like his worldview had just been shaken! An almost unbelievable thought appeared in his mind.


    Could it be that he was in ¡®Perfect World¡¯?


    Could it be that the exquisite child beside him was the protagonist of ¡®Perfect World¡¯, Shi Hao?


    The Shi Hao who once possessed the Supreme Being Bone; was deprived by the Stone clan¡¯s Shi Yi and abandoned by his mother; almost lost his life but then became the Desolate Heavenly Emperor?


    Then wasn¡¯t the place he lived in Stone Village?


    And the willow tree above him was the ancestral guardian spirit of the Immortal Ancient Era?


    The guardian spirit that was the Immortal Ancient attacked by two immortal kings of the immortal realm before getting killed by lightning when it was in the state of Nirvana; had its dharma body destroyed and thus given no choice but to start all over again by turning into a seed; then becoming the Willow Deity of the lower realm¡¯s Stone Village?


    Oh, shit¡­


    Ye Yun was doing his best to come to terms with his recent realization of his reality.


    He even doubted his ears¡¯ ability to hear properly.


    Did he just grow next to the Willow Deity?


    Unbelievable!


    Ye Yun observed the willow tree again as his thoughts tried to organize themselves in his head.


    Wood struck by lightning¡­ guardian spirit¡­ willow tree¡­


    This was indeed the Willow Deity, and he was indeed in ¡®Perfect World¡¯!


    Ye Yun¡¯s thoughts finally became less chaotic as he verified his reality.


    Shi Hao did not reply, but the child spoke again. ¡°Shi Hao, tell me!¡±


    Oh, shit! This second kid just confirmed it! The first child was Shi Hao! The protagonist of ¡®Perfect World¡¯! The Desolate Heavenly Emperor that ruled the sky!


    Ye Yun was so excited that he became speechless!


    It was simply unbelievable! He actually met the future Desolate Heavenly Emperor!


    He was even lucky enough to grow next to the Willow Deity! If this wasn¡¯t luck, he didn¡¯t know what was.


    Knowing that he was in Stone Village of ¡®Perfect World¡¯, Ye Yun¡¯s worried heart slowly settled down.


    He ignored the children¡¯s conversation and smoothly resumed his cultivation.


    As for Shi Hao, when he was still unable to find the source of the mysterious and unfamiliar Qi flow, he helplessly sighed and left.


    However, he had not given up. The mysterious Qi flow was still there and he continued his search daily at the willow tree.


    Why couldn¡¯t he figure out the source of the mysterious Qi flow?


    Could it be another indication that the guardian spirit was healing?


    Shi Hao had once heard the village chief talk about the origins of the willow tree guardian spirit.


    The towering ancient willow tree was from the heavens, its branches intertwining with the sky and reaching far and wide beyond the distant mountain ridges.


    One day, it pulsed with bright golden light during a thunderstorm. Its branches trembled and moved as if the tree was fighting with an unknown being in the sky. With a sudden bright flash, as if it had been struck by lightning, the towering branches crumbled and the tree fell to where it now stood, replacing the Stone Village¡¯s previous sacrificial stone.


    Years later, a branch grew from its charred bark, and that was when the guardian spirit revealed its presence. The villagers speculated that it was an indication that the guardian spirit had been healing.


    Shi Hao no longer wanted to dwell on the mysterious Qi flow or the willow tree¡¯s branches. He had better things to do than to expend his energy on than this.


    Moreover, he had already made plans with his friends to check out the nest of a Green Scaled Eagle today after they heard the elders talking about it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    An egg rolled toward the willow tree and stopped among the grass.


    The huge ferocious Green Scaled Eagle had been perching elsewhere outside the village with its sharp eyes, staring at its three eggs that had been stolen and were now sitting on the grass. The demon beast started to emit a cold aura.


    Another egg was leaning on Ye Yun, but he did not have the time to pay attention to it


    He was now in an important stage of breaking through.


    The quasi-purple light returned as it enveloped his body and intersected with his light green glow.


    Unbeknownst to anyone, a strange mark appeared on the Green Scaled Eagle egg leaning on Ye Yun, and it started to glow with vitality.


    At the same time, the willow tree¡¯s only branch slowly swayed and suddenly emitted a bright green light.


    The branch eventually drooped further to the ground and slowly touched the other egg.


    With two independent magical touches, the two eggs suddenly emitted a dazzling light and the system¡¯s notification echoed in Ye Yun¡¯s ears..

 Chapter 3

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    [Beep beep. Dear host, would you like to check in today?]


    Ye Yun checked in silently, no longer as excited as the first time he did it.


    Why would he be when he hadn¡¯t been receiving any check-in rewards?


    Shi Hao hadn¡¯t been the only one facing a daily mystery ¨C the mysterious Qi flow ¨C recently. Ye Yun had also been trying to figure out his own daily mystery ¨C the lack of daily check-in rewards.


    He had not obtained a single thing since his first reward!


    When he received the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence at the beginning, he thought he would be able to subsequently receive equally good rewards.


    However, Ye Yun could never be more wrong and his subsequent check-ins could not be more fruitless.


    Was the system messing with him?


    Let him draw the one and only card in a blank deck so that he could be miserable later?


    How wicked.


    Still, Ye Yun did not want to reject the option to check-in for fear of missing a potential opportunity of getting a reward.


    [Congratulations, dear host for completing today¡¯s check-in. You have obtained the Breath Concealing Technique and a piece of the Original Green Scaled Eagle Rune!]


    When the voice disappeared, the Breath Concealing Technique quickly merged with Ye Yun¡¯s knowledge base and the mysterious Qi flow circulating from his body became concealed in an instant.


    At the same time, the piece of Original Green Scaled Eagle Rune fused into Ye Yun¡¯s body, circulated through his blood, and transformed into strength, thus allowing Ye Yun¡¯s cultivation to finally break through.


    Ye Yun had gained a reward that was not only much anticipated, but also much needed!


    In addition, when he absorbed the rune, the crisp surface of the grass ¨C Ye Yun ¨C was instantly engraved with an ancient symbol, the exact same one as the mark on the eggs.


    Shi Hao ¨C who had not stopped investigating the mysterious Qi flow around the Willow Deity ¨C immediately noticed the changes. He suddenly turned around, looked at the willow tree, and a thought appeared in his mind.


    The timing of all of these was just impeccable!


    The moment Ye Yun¡¯s check-in rewards took effect, the people from the village had come to pick up the eggs, only to be shocked.


    Both eggs radiated with a divine aura as multicolored spots of lights appeared all over, making them pulse with vitality. The spots of light eventually turned into ancient symbols that seemed to have developed their own consciousness as they rotated and changed around the eggs with an endless ancient Qi flow.


    Those who had picked up the eggs could immediately feel a constant emission of heat as if he was holding a pulsing furnace in his hands.


    Ye Yun noticed the gathering of people. At first, he was confused, but then he remembered the plot of the novel.


    Shi Hao and his friends must have successfully stolen the eggs from the Green Scaled Eagle¡¯s nest. When they brought the eggs back to the village, the Willow Deity¡¯s branch must have touched one of the eggs and awakened its ancestral inheritance.


    It must have been the egg with the ancient runes!


    But why were there two glowing eggs?


    Ye Yun became equally as confused as the villagers. Eventually, the system pinged him a virtual notification display, though it lacked any proper explanation.


    [Successfully helped the Green Scaled Eagle egg awaken its ancestral inheritance.]


    Ye Yun stared at the line of words on the display and fell speechless.


    What¡¯s going on?


    ¡®I didn¡¯t do anything to the egg, did I?¡¯


    ¡ª¡ª


    When the mother Green Scaled Eagle rejected the return of her eggs by the villagers, the latter decided to keep the three eggs until they hatched. The mother Green Scaled Eagle flew off and the shocking events at the willow tree ended with the arrival of night.


    Shi Hao was lying in his room, tossing and turning as he faced some difficulty falling asleep.


    In the end, he got up, put on some clothes, and walked across the courtyard to the village chief¡¯s room.


    ¡°Say that again?!


    ¡°There is another guardian spirit besides the willow tree guardian spirit?!¡±


    The surprised voice broke the silence of the night before the silence resumed. It was the village chief.


    Shi Hao had just told the village chief what he had speculated based on the events earlier during the day.


    How else could they explain not one, but two glowing Green Scaled Eagle eggs? Everyone had clearly seen the willow tree branch touching only one of the eggs. It must have been the work of two guardian spirits.


    Shi Hao also had an additional and potentially related speculation ¨C that the divine spirit of the willow tree guardian spirit had awakened.


    What other explanations were there? Despite years of sacrificial offerings to the willow tree guardian spirit, nothing had happened until now.


    In addition, Shi Hao had sensed the mysterious Qi flow near the willow tree days ago. And the moment the willow tree¡¯s branch touched the Green Scaled Eagle egg and awakened its ancestral inheritance, the mysterious Qi flow had disappeared.


    If this wasn¡¯t evidence of the revival of the willow tree guardian spirit, Shi Hao didn¡¯t know what other explanations there could be.


    However, the village chief still had a hard time believing Shi Hao. It was not because the village chief still saw Shi Hao as a child and thus deemed his words groundless ¨C the village chief did not doubt Shi Hao¡¯s logic ¨C but because Shi Hao¡¯s words were simply so inconceivable to the village chief that he couldn¡¯t bring himself to accept them, at least not immediately.


    As far as he knew, there should only be one guardian spirit of Stone Village.


    The matter of two guardian spirits appearing in the same place was unprecedented.


    ¡°Two guardian spirits¡­ Really?¡±The clan leader muttered to himself.


    Ultimately, he did not care what was possible or not. What had happened today was still an auspicious event for Stone Village in the Great Wasteland.


    Moreover, there was currently no better explanation for the awakening of the second egg¡¯s ancestral inheritance.


    The village chief noticed how late into the night they were, so he advised Shi Hao to go to bed. Then, he turned to his window and stared at the quasi-black space alone, deep in thought.


    If Shi Hao was right about the mysterious Qi flow that had appeared for a while but dissipated the moment the Green Scaled Eagle eggs¡¯ ancestral inheritance awakened, such a major event had to be discussed with everyone.


    After all, it was related to the guardian spirit and fate of Stone Village,


    The village chief was already fortunate enough to witness the willow tree guardian spirit¡¯s extremely powerful abilities years ago. If there was another guardian spirit around, what would its identity be?


    ¡ª¡ª


    Ye Yun did not know that his cultivation had brought the willow tree back to life and awakened the ancestral inheritance of an additional Green Scaled Eagle egg. So it¡¯s not a wonder he was not aware that he might be the other guardian spirit Shi Hao had been guessing at.


    Instead, he had noticed other changes around him and made a discovery.


    When the ancient runes fused into him earlier, he not only had a breakthrough in his cultivation, Ye Yun found that his roots had grown deeper into and spread wider throughout the ground.


    Before that, his roots were right under the surface of the soil and did not touch the willow tree¡¯s roots at all.


    Now, his roots had extended so deep into and far across the ground that they could almost come in contact with the willow tree¡¯s roots.


    This realization excited Ye Yun, even if he was still a blade of grass, unable to move.


    Based on his development progress, wouldn¡¯t it be just a matter of time before he gained a human form?


    Ye Yun quickly activated the virtual display and browsed through his information and attributes.


    It was as he had expected. He had already become an Intermediate Sprout.


    Even though he did not know what kind of plant he would become when he matured, Ye Yun was already feeling quite confident in his ability to reach his goal.


    There was something else that he had noticed.


    The more he cultivated the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence, the higher the density of his soul and the wider his field of vision.


    Initially, his field of vision was only limited to around the altar by the willow tree and some parts of the village. Today, he could already see the entire Stone Village.


    Though his field of vision had much more room for expansion, Ye Yun was already excited about the small recent improvements.


    As such, he had become highly motivated to cultivate diligently. He couldn¡¯t wait to explore Stone Village..

 Chapter 4

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    As much as he dreamed of exploring the wider world, Ye Yun had to make do with listening to the sounds of desolate beasts fighting every day for now.


    This suddenly made Ye Yun a little sad ¨C he was indeed in the Great Wasteland.


    But Ye Yun quickly realized that he was able to tolerate the sounds of fighting desolate beasts daily ever since he had transmigrated into this world.


    The ability of humans to adapt was pretty amazing.


    He had surprisingly been able to calmly accept his new life as a blade of grass, despite his previous life as a human.


    Moreover, Ye Yun was once someone who would not be able to live, let alone sleep, under such a noisy environment. But now, he could enter deep sleep while desolate beasts fought and crashed nearby.


    It had to be said that the desolate beasts of the Great Wasteland usually behaved as if someone had made their blood boil. Some even looked like they had eaten a growth drug or stimulant.


    Not only were they full of energy, but their bodies were as big and tough as cauldrons.


    The Green Scaled Eagle was one of them, an extremely powerful beast with wings that spanned as vast as the sky and talons as sharp as knives.


    Ye Yun dreamed of the day he would get the chance to capture one and tame it as a mount in the future.


    When that time came, he would travel the sky and take in the scenery of the world from above.


    Willingly accepting his new life in this new world did not mean that he would complacently stay in Stone Village unmovingly until his death.


    Inspired by his imagination, Ye Yun decided to test his soul¡¯s ability to explore further away from his current spot.


    The night had completely enveloped Stone Village as the villagers fell asleep one after another.


    A village in the Great Wastelands would not be like any other village. The former consistently faced a lack of food.


    Every day, the youths in the village had to go out and hunt prey to fill their stomachs. They would return physically and mentally exhausted from the day¡¯s fright.


    Ye Yun gazed at every villager who had fallen asleep and could not help but sigh in his heart.


    Even in the cultivation and power-oriented fantasy world, human emotions were ultimately the purest treasures in the world.


    Ye Yun used his Divine Sense that allowed his soul to wander and scanned Stone Village before finally stopping at the altar. He sized up the towering ancient willow tree and frowned slightly.


    The willow tree¡¯s rough bark still had cracks, marks that were almost black left from the lightning strikes. Only the willow tree¡¯s single drooping branch seemed to have some life in it.


    But the branch looked out of place.


    Ye Yun liked to read ¡®Perfect World¡¯ in his previous life. He especially admired the Willow Deity and never would have expected to have the opportunity to get up close to it.


    If he was truly grateful, Ye Yun could simply stay by the Willow Deity¡¯s side as a blade of grass under its protection.


    The cold night wind blew past Ye Yun and into a distant domain.


    The single branch on the willow tree swayed slightly with the cold breeze.


    Ye Yun leaned his body against the willow tree trunk and fell deep in thought.


    Based on the current strength of his soul, he could only observe the entire Stone Village up close and the surroundings from afar.


    While the villagers lived peacefully in their compounds, the desolate beasts lived in a forest shrouded in darkness and hidden killing intent.


    Each lived within their territory, but with others present. Ye Yun, on the other hand, was always alone.


    In fact, Ye Yun had been an orphan previously, living in an orphanage since he was young.


    But he was unwilling to accept his fate. He worked hard to study and build his skills. After graduating from university, he was accepted by a state-owned enterprise.


    It had not been easy for him to get a promotion and raise his salary, only to restart his life as a blade of grass in this world.


    He really wanted to return to his life on Earth. That was his reality. Even if he did not have any relatives, he had friends who truly cared about him.


    He had been excited right after he transmigrated at the beginning. But now, he was feeling melancholic.


    In this world, he felt that everything was just an illusion ¨C a world that was just a construct; there was no reality.


    Fifteen days had passed in a blink of an eye since he awoke here. As Ye Yun stared at the sky shrouded by night, things seemed both familiar and unknown at the same time.


    Ye Yun sighed helplessly.


    Still, he knew that this was his fate now. So there was nowhere to go and nothing else to do except to move on and continue living. Since he was already here, he had to cultivate properly. Perhaps this world, this place, was where his life would truly begin.


    The corners of Ye Yun¡¯s mouth twitched. He cleared away all the complicated thoughts in his mind and once again entered the state of cultivation.


    As the light of dawn gradually appeared, the people in Stone Village gradually woke up from their slumber and prepared for a new day. The first to wake up was the young people who had to cultivate, and the women who were preparing the meals of the day. Things were already starting to get busy at the first stir.


    The silence was broken and the village turned especially lively.


    Once they had their meal, the youth were planning to hunt for prey.


    Suddenly, the village chief gathered all the villagers and shared Shi Hao¡¯s thoughts from the previous night.


    ¡°How can this be? There¡¯s no way such a thing could exist. Everyone saw it for themselves. We have been offering sacrifices to the guardian spirit for many years, and we have never seen any sacrificial offerings being touched. But yesterday, the guardian spirit moved. It must have known that the Green Scaled Eagle eggs are extraordinary.¡± Er Meng¡¯s father still firmly believed that there was only one guardian spirit.


    ¡°I also agree. It¡¯s unheard of for a village to have two guardian spirits. It¡¯s impossible.¡± Huang Shoushan agreed with Er Meng¡¯s father.


    One village, two guardian spirits. Who had heard of such a situation?


    ¡°I think the theory that the guardian spirit has been revived is more believable. If that¡¯s the case, we can carry out another sacrifice today and perhaps the guardian spirit will accept our sacrifice again.¡± Huang Feijiao spoke his mind.


    Rather than speculate, it was better to test things out and see it for themselves.


    ¡°If the guardian spirit doesn¡¯t react, it means that the guardian spirit¡¯s divine spirit has yet to awaken. But yesterday, everyone saw the guardian spirit touch the Green Scaled Eagle egg and awaken its ancestral inheritance, right?¡± Huang Linhu thought that Huang Feijiao¡¯s suggestion was useless.


    The village chief decided to pull everyone¡¯s thoughts back together as he said, ¡°Everyone is right. We can¡¯t come to a conclusion at this moment. How about we place two offerings today? One for the willow tree and one for the other guardian spirit we have yet to identify?¡±


    ¡°Village Chief is right. As expected of our leader, you are thoughtful. If one of the offerings shows signs of having been touched, then that will mean that the willow tree¡¯s divine spirit is gradually recovering. If both offerings show signs of having been touched, that means that we do have two guardian spirits here,¡± said Huang Feijiao excitedly.


    ¡°And what if both offerings show no signs of having been touched?¡± asked Huang Linhu in confusion. He did not quite understand the meaning behind it.


    ¡°How can you be so stupid? If there were no signs, then yesterday¡¯s event simply means that there are no other guardian spirits besides the willow tree guardian spirit. Everything that happened yesterday was all because of the willow tree guardian spirit only, including the mysterious Qi flow that Shi Hao sensed.


    ¡°After all, the willow tree never used the offerings we provided.¡± Huang Feijiao¡¯s hand touched Linhu¡¯s head as the former explained in more detail.


    ¡°If the willow tree¡¯s guardian spirit has been revived with an appetite, then both offerings would be touched by it. How will we figure out the second guardian spirit then?¡±


    ¡°If the willow tree¡¯s divine spirit has indeed been revived, then we can explain the entire situation to the willow tree before the sacrificial ceremony. The guardian spirit would also know what to do.¡±


    ..


    Ye Yun finally finished cultivating. Just as he opened his eyes, he saw a lively and important sacrificial ceremony being performed before him.


    He was slightly stunned. What was going on? Could it be that today was a major festival?


    As a person who had lived on Earth for more than twenty years, the era he lived in was usually quite prosperous and peaceful with no wars. Thus, he had not experienced such a graphic and intense event in person before. The only knowledge he had was gained from browsing history books of bloody sacrificial ceremonies like the one being performed before him by Stone Village¡¯s residents..

 Chapter 5

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    A huge altar made of huge stones was laid out with many of the dead beasts that the villagers hunted.


    Fresh blood still flowed from the wounds of the flesh, dripping down through the cracks of the huge stones.


    Even though Ye Yun had read of such bloody sacrificial scenes four or five times, he was still shocked.


    As expected of the Great Wasteland!


    Today¡¯s grand extravagance was his first in this world.


    Could it be that Stone Village had encountered some happy event today?


    He used his Divine Sense to make sense of what was happening. He explored the willow tree¡¯s branch, the altar made of stones, and the villagers.


    Today¡¯s sacrificial offering seemed to be different from previous ones. The sacrificial items were split into two, and one side of the altar was piled up with stones to form a platform to place more desolate beast meat.


    The villagers began to perform the sacrificial ritual, as they continued placing the prey that they had caught today on the sacrificial altar.


    Ye Yun¡¯s curiosity continued to grow.


    After the sacrificial items were placed, the village chief organized the people in the village to kneel and pray.


    ¡°I hope that the willow tree guardian spirit can protect our village. If you have any needs, please accept our offerings.¡± The chief had a solemn expression as he sincerely spoke to the willow tree.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ It seems to be the same as before.¡± Ye Yun muttered.


    After the prayer ended, the sacrificial offering came to an abrupt end. Ye Yun started to feel bored and no longer had any interest to observe the crowds.


    But then, the village chief knelt facing the willow tree once again.


    ¡°The people of Stone Village would also like to pray and offer the sacrifices to the new guardian spirit. If the new guardian spirit decides to settle down here, I hope that you can freely enjoy your portion of the offerings too.¡±


    Ye Yun was slightly dumbfounded.


    What was going on? A new guardian spirit had appeared? But there weren¡¯t any other guardian spirits mentioned in the novel.


    ¡°What kind of guardian spirit could have such a divine ability to stay by the Willow Deity?¡±


    Could he have remembered wrongly? He recalled the contents of the book again, but he still couldn¡¯t remember reading about another powerful guardian spirit.


    The sacrificial offerings of the villagers of the desolate Stone Village continued and Ye Yun started to feel a surge of energy through his body.


    What was going on?


    Could it be that because he had taken root next to the Willow Deity he also had a share of the sacrificial offerings to the tree?


    Ye Yun was still trying to figure out the source of the mysterious and sudden surge in energy through his body when the system¡¯s sudden notification echoed in his ears.


    [Beep beep, the host did not check in today. Do you want to check in?]


    The mechanical voice pulled Ye Yun¡¯s thoughts towards it.


    But Ye Yun did not reply. Instead, he pondered for a moment and decided to ask about the energy surging in his body.


    ¡°System, what is this energy that surged into my body?¡±


    [The host is the grass rooted next to the willow tree. During the sacrificial ceremony of the village, you can share the Willow Deity¡¯s Sacrifice Acceptance Ability.]


    ¡°What? This was possible too?¡± Ye Yun was secretly delighted. He was openly taking advantage of the Willow Deity¡¯s perks.


    After knowing the source of the energy, Ye Yun said, ¡°Hurry up and check me in¡±


    [The host has checked in today. As the host has obtained the Sacrifice Acceptance Ability, the desolate beast¡¯s blood essence will be rewarded. It can be used to temper the body!]


    Following the system¡¯s voice, the villagers witnessed the blood essence flowing out of the sacrificial offering through the gaps of the altar and slowly converging around the willow tree¡¯s roots.


    ¡°Is this the willow tree¡¯s doing? It seems that the theory of two guardian spirits has been debunked.¡± The village chief looked at the altar and could not help but sigh.


    In the end, the desolate Stone Village had just the willow tree guardian spirit. Perhaps the willow tree guardian spirit reacted slower than other guardian spirits in terms of accepting sacrificial offerings. The village chief continued stroking his beard, deep in thought.


    ¡°I was right, wasn¡¯t I, Village Chief? How could there be two guardian spirits?¡± asked Huang Linhu.


    ¡°After so many years, the willow tree guardian spirit has finally accepted our sacrificial offering.¡± Huang Feijiao stared at the scene before him and sighed.


    For decades, the willow tree guardian spirit had protected Stone Village from the intrusions of the desolate beasts from the forest but never touched their sacrificial offerings. It was normal for the villagers to worry.


    Now that they had witnessed the willow tree guardian spirit accepting their sacrificial offering, the knot in their hearts finally loosened and they felt relieved.


    ¡°In that case, Village Chief, the second theory is true. The Willow Deity has been recovering and revealed its presence through the awakening of the two Green Scaled Eagle eggs¡¯ ancient inheritance,¡± said Huang Linghu.


    The village chief nodded and instructed the others to retrieve the offerings to be split up among them. Once all the blood had been drained and the meat cleaned, the offerings could be consumed.


    They would also collect the remaining blood essence to be used by the children to temper their bodies.


    The villagers got busy. No one noticed that the blood essence that had been flowing from the altar had eventually seeped into the slightly-glowing green grass.


    The green glow started to turn quasi-purple as the blood essence continued fusing with the grass. The glow intensified and eventually emitted a mysterious light.


    The roots of the grass extended and finally touched the willow tree¡¯s.


    ¡ª¡ª


    Ye Yun resumed the cultivation of the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence as he absorbed the blood essence. As such, his cultivation increased by leaps and bounds as if he was taking stimulants.


    Unfortunately for him, the Sacrifice Acceptance Ability was going to be the most advantageous reward for Ye Yun for a while because he had not received another despite checking in daily after that.


    Dissatisfied, Ye Yun quickly summoned the system.


    ¡°System, what¡¯s wrong with you? Why are you so selfish? What happened to my check-in rewards?¡±


    Rather than a voice reply, the system simply displayed the virtual screen in front of him.


    [Host: Ye Yun


    Identity: Nine Heavens Jasper Grass


    Status: Intermediate Sprout


    Acquired Items: Art of Nine Revolutions Essence, Breath Concealing Technique, Sacrifice Acceptance Ability (can be obtained multiple times)


    Influence: 1


    Grade: Ordinary Rank 5


    Ability: Divine Healing, Sacrifice Acceptance Ability (to heal others)]


    Ye Yun felt helpless as he looked through his own attributes.


    Nothing much had changed in the past half month.


    In the end, Ye Yun decided to ignore the system and continue cultivating. After all, the most reliable person was oneself.


    However, after possessing the Sacrifice Acceptance Ability, he could absorb some blood essence every day to increase his cultivation. This was not bad.


    Nothing major happened in the following days. The village was still peaceful and Ye Yun had still been absorbing and refining the blood essence daily to get another breakthrough in his cultivation.


    He was also accumulating the Sacrifice Acceptance Ability daily, but he still wasn¡¯t sure how to use it exactly.


    After a few months of cultivation, he had successfully extended his roots far enough to intertwine with the willow tree¡¯s which moved like a snake, strong and resilient, as they spread into the deep soil. The willow tree¡¯s roots were akin to the giant hands of the heavens, tightly holding onto the earth.


    Now that their roots had intertwined, it was hard to discern whose was whose.


    Once, when Ye Yun was taking a break and had nothing else better to do, he decided to use his Divine Sense to check out how deep and widespread the magnificent willow tree¡¯s roots had grown. It turned out that the web of the willow tree¡¯s root system had gone as far as the entire area under Stone Village.


    Compared to the willow tree¡¯s roots, Ye Yun¡¯s roots were nothing.


    Ye Yun sighed when he realized how big the difference in potential was between him, a mortal, and the willow tree, a divine being. Even if the willow tree ended up like him, having to cultivate from scratch, it would be able to reach far greater heights in far less time than him..

 Chapter 6

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    This realization made Ye Yun realize how insignificant his existence was as a blade of grass, fueling his desire to simply keep on cultivating and improving his abilities.


    After some time, the color of his blade had turned a darker shade of green. He had become an Advanced Sprout. It wouldn¡¯t be too many more days until he entered the next stage, Growth.


    As usual, Ye Yun was cultivating when he heard the deafening roar of a desolate beast, breaking the tranquility of the village.


    Ye Yun¡¯s eyes immediately opened and he used his Divine Sense to explore deeper into the mountain forest.


    He saw huge rocks falling from the mountain range just beyond the village and heard the deafening roars of low-level beasts come one after another, triggering a domino effect of fear and a wave of fleeing desolate beasts. It was as if they had encountered a terrifying creature.


    While many of the low-level beasts fled, many had died as well.


    ¡°The villagers who went out hunting today must have encountered a thorny problem.¡± Ye Yun could not help but sigh.


    He was helpless in this situation. He had the right intentions, but he could not do anything.


    And things turned out just as he had predicted. A few moments later, the villagers had gathered at the village entrance and saw Huang Shoushan with a few others limping back with bodies covered in wounds.


    Huang Shoushan had the most severe injury.


    His wound was not caused by a desolate beast, but an arrow that pierced through his chest and out his back. Blood seeped out from the wound and drenched his clothes.


    A few youths from the village supported him with faces filled with anger and eyes that glared escalating killing intents.


    Based on the arrow stuck in the chest of the villager, it was obvious that they had not been attacked by a desolate beast while hunting that day. Instead, they must have argued and exchanged blows with another village.


    And the exchange of blows had obviously turned deadly.


    Still, Ye Yun had no way of interfering in the matters between the villages. All he could do was simply watch as some of the villagers calmly bandaged and treated the wounded person while others pacified the person¡¯s relatives.


    The villagers worked together seamlessly as if they were used to dealing with such matters before.


    Shi Hao stared at Huang Shoushan and clenched his fists in anger. A weak light glowed from his fists.


    Unfortunately, he had never gone out to hunt, so he could not do anything, nor did he have the ability to help.


    Like Ye Yun, Shi Hao had no choice but to watch helplessly as everyone helped Huang Shoushan treat his wounds.


    He hugged the baby Green Scaled Eagle tightly in his arms and walked to the willow tree. His face was filled with anger as he caressed the bird unhappily.


    The Green Scaled Eagle egg that had been awakened by the Willow Deity had hatched a month ago and Shi Hao had decided to raise the hatchling.


    The baby bird was born with intelligence, but it was not high enough to understand human speech.


    ¡°Little Purple, I must quickly comprehend the runic power within your body. Only then will I be able to go hunting with the others.


    ¡°If I had stronger abilities, I might be able to help and prevent anyone from getting injured.¡±


    Shi Hao didn¡¯t care if Little Purple could understand his words. He just needed someone to talk to.


    Little Purple lowered its head slightly as it leaned against Shi Hao¡¯s palm and slowly rubbed against it.


    The egg whose ancestral inheritance Ye Yun had awakened hadn¡¯t hatched yet for some unknown reason. However, it had a strong spiritual nature, so if one was not watching or being careful with it, it would roll to the willow tree on its own accord.


    To be more precise, it would roll to Ye Yun and stay close to him. After all, it was Ye Yun who had awakened its ancestral inheritance.


    This usually happened every time Ye Yun cultivated. Ye Yun did not know whether he should cry or laugh.


    ¡ª¡ª


    Shi Hao leaned against the willow tree and stroked Little Purple¡¯s head as he watched the villagers treat Shoushan. Despite the growing anxiety within him, there was nothing he could do.


    He did not know how to treat wounds and when he tried to help in the past, he ended up becoming a hindrance. This past experience had deeply upset him.


    His relatives had passed away early. If it was not for the kindness of the villagers to take him in and feed him the milk of beasts, he would have died long ago.


    The uncles and aunties in the village took special care of him. They might not be related by blood, but the villagers were better than family.


    His heart would ache every time he saw one of the villagers get injured.


    However, he was just a four-year-old child. He was not capable enough and his emotions were written all over his face.


    Ye Yun sized up the unhappy Shi Hao. His clenched fist emitted the light of the Bone Text, but Shi Hao did not notice it. Ye Yun started to feel sad for the child.


    How pure this child¡¯s heart was to be genuinely concerned for the wellbeing of others at such a young age.


    As expected of the person who would become the Desolate Heavenly Emperor in the future ¨C a four-year-old child who easily stood out in the village.


    Stone Village¡¯s hunters had not been able to hunt any desolate beasts and ended up getting attacked by others instead.


    Therefore, Stone Village did not prepare any sacrifices that day.


    Shi Hao silently knelt under the willow tree and began to pray.


    ¡°Guardian Spirit, oh Guardian Spirit, I hope that you can protect the people of my village from getting hurt. Shi Hao will do everything in his power to repay you.¡±


    Just as he finished saying this, Ye Yun felt the endless power of the prayer spread out from Shi Hao¡¯s body and flowed into the former¡¯s body.


    The system¡¯s voice then echoed in his ears.


    [Beep beep, the host has triggered today¡¯s check-in and a mission. Do you wish to check in? ]


    Ye Yun was no longer in the mood to stare at Shi Hao. He quickly replied. ¡°Check in.¡±


    [Beep beep, the check-in today has been successful. You have received the Sacrifice Acceptance Ability and Shi Hao¡¯s Prayer.]


    [Mission: Help the villager of Stone Village heal.]


    [Description: During the mission, healing does not consume cultivation.]


    As soon as the system was done, the gentle healing ability was released from Ye Yun¡¯s body in flickering specks of emerald green light that merged with the body of Huang Shoushan. His wound started to heal.


    Wha-


    ¡°F*ck the system! Isn¡¯t this a blatant scam? And it even notified me in such a tactful manner! What the f*ck?! What check-in?! I didn¡¯t get a reward! I was forced to complete a mission instead!


    ¡°Where are my rights? Don¡¯t you have any feelings?¡±


    Ye Yun did not expect that a system check-in could trigger a mission, so he had no choice but to complete it!


    Even if the treatment did not cost him anything, and he was only using his attributes to help others heal their wounds, doing things in the shadows was very uncomfortable!


    If a follow-up check-in triggered a mission again, it might consume his ability, so he would suffer a great loss no matter what!


    ¡°Damn it, System, get over here and explain yourself!¡±


    [Beep beep, successfully completed the mission. Congratulations to the host for entering the Growth stage.]


    [Beep beep, system¡¯s explanation: Dear host, please rest assured. This system upholds humanitarian principles. All missions are based on the host¡¯s life and cultivation. Please refer to the system manual for more details.]


    After the system¡¯s explanation, it fell silent again.


    Ye Yun immediately felt his roots rapidly expand and extend into the depths of the soil, further interweaving with the willow tree¡¯s roots.


    Fine! The reward of the mission is pretty awesome!


    ¡®If you were going to give me something so good, just say so earlier next time. Then, I won¡¯t have to scold you, will I?¡¯


    The reward this time was quite big.


    A mission had allowed him to enter the Growth stage in an instant. This was great!


    After all, Ye Yun had transmigrated to this world for a few months and had been cultivating diligently every day. However, he had been stuck as an Intermediate Sprout for a while before only recently becoming an Advanced Sprout.


    Since he had triggered and completed a mission today to heal the people in the village, he was able to quickly break through to the Growth stage.


    ¡®In that case, please arrange dozens of missions for me then, System!


    ¡®I¡¯ll execute any mission you assign me! No complaints guaranteed..¡¯

 Chapter 7

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    How could Ye Yun not be excited about missions when completing one had just helped him break through to the Growth stage?


    Once he had calmed down, he immediately checked his body.


    Hmm? Even though the extent, thickness, and strength of his roots had increased, the parts aboveground, like his blade, had not changed. The only difference, if he had to find one, was that his being had become more tenacious.


    Even so, Ye Yun was already very happy.


    After using his Divine Sense to observe his own body, Ye Yun said, ¡°Check the system manual.¡±


    While Ye Yun was seriously browsing through the contents of the system manual, the village chief and the others had also been busy removing the arrow in Huang Shoushan¡¯s body. After a long while, they succeeded and the bloody hole quickly recovered.


    The villagers at the side were stunned speechless by what they had just witnessed.


    The entire village fell unusually silent except for the cries of Little Purple.


    ¡ª¡ª


    The sun slowly set and its many-hued scarlet rays dyed half of the sky in a gorgeous sunset. The villagers were still in disbelief after Huang Shoushan¡¯s miraculous recovery.


    Shi Hao, on the other hand, had been oblivious to everything that had happened. He was still praying by the willow tree, hoping that Huang Shoushan¡¯s injuries would quickly heal.


    Fifteen minutes passed and the silence had graduated in hushed murmurs.


    ¡°Is there something wrong with my eyes¡­ F*ck¡­ How is his wound gone?!¡± Huang Feijiao narrowed his eyes and continuously checked out Huang Shoushan¡¯s healed injuries. His face was filled with disbelief.


    ¡°Village Chief, you have hidden your abilities quite well. You did this, right?¡± Huang Linhu scratched his head in confusion, slightly stunned.


    The villagers did not see the specks of green light as the cause of Huang Shoushan¡¯s miraculous recovery, but rather the act of the village head removing the arrow. The specks of green light, miraculous healing, and arrow removal had all happened at the same time.


    ¡°Could it be that Village Chief recently comprehended another rune from the Bone Text? And it¡¯s related to healing?¡± asked Huang Feijiao in shock.


    In the Great Wasteland, no one was afraid of fighting. They were only afraid of being heavily injured after the battle and having a hard time healing. Dying directly from a fight was fine. But dying from a festered wound was never ideal for anyone.


    Those injured from fights and had little chance of recovery would request family members or close ones to end their suffering for them.


    But if there was a way to learn and practice such an amazing healing method, wouldn¡¯t they be able to heal their wounds in a blink of an eye and avoid the torture of slow death?


    Despite the eager looks on the villagers¡¯ faces for the village chief to affirm their suspicions, the village chief simply sighed and thought, ¡®I didn¡¯t do it and I¡¯m not sure what just happened. Maybe Huang Shoushan had received a second chance at life.¡±


    Huang Shoushan slowly stood up and looked at his now-healed injury with disbelief.


    The skin there was white and smooth as if nothing had ever happened to him!


    Now, everyone¡¯s gazes had turned to Huang Shoushan and the latter decided to say something.


    ¡°Village Chief, it wasn¡¯t me. You can send me to hunt and fight, but I really don¡¯t know anything about healing methods. Besides, you know that I¡¯ve been injured before and had never recovered like this.¡±


    The village chief turned to look at the others, making them feel compelled to speak up as well.


    ¡°Village Chief, we¡¯ve been together for so long. Surely you know my abilities by now. Even if my mother gave birth to me again, I still have no way to master such healing abilities.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, Village Chief. I only know how to hunt.¡±


    ¡°Village Chief, I only know how to eat. I don¡¯t have any abilities.¡±


    Wrinkles started to form on the village chief¡¯s face as he frowned. ¡°That was not what I was going to ask you. I just want to know the entire story of what happened earlier. The more details you have, the better.


    ¡°What exactly happened when you went out to hunt today? How did you return injured? Who did you meet?¡± asked the village chief.


    Huang Linhu was immediately reminded of what had happened in the forest and his face became filled with anger. He quickly spoke up and relayed what had happened.


    ¡°Our hunt had been going well today. We had caught quite a lot. We even hunted a beast that had its ancestral inheritance awakened. Who knew that on the way back, we would meet and get attacked by people from other villages.¡±


    The more he spoke, the more Huang Linhu was able to vent his anger.


    ¡°F*ck, what a bunch of bandits! We had always minded our own business living in the Great Wastelands. Why would they would be so unreasonable?¡±


    When the village chief heard this, he became confused. Even though Huang Shoushan was not the strongest person in the village, his strength was not something to be underestimated. How could he have been injured this badly? Could it be that they used ancestral artifacts?


    The village chief solemnly looked at the arrow he had taken out of Huang Shoushan¡¯s body but he didn¡¯t notice anything strange about it.


    ¡°How arrogant of our attackers. They must have someone backing them up. Who made the first move? Did you see them?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the arrow was shot by a young boy dressed in the clothing of another village.¡±


    ¡°A young boy?! Are you sure that a young boy¡¯s ability is this good?¡± The village chief frowned even more when he heard this.


    One of the other villages must have been able to nurture an intelligent child.


    ¡°Yes, that was the person who shot the first arrow. He looked quite young but his attacks were vicious. Still, when it comes to real talent, our little guy is the best.¡±


    And yet, despite the discussions, no one was able to figure out how Huang Shoushan¡¯s injury had recovered so quickly and well.


    Now that someone had mentioned Shi Hao, the village chief turned around to look for him, only to find the child praying by the willow tree.


    ¡®Could it be that this child, Shi Hao, has learned more of the energy of the Bone Text and had unintentionally healed Huang Shoushan?¡¯


    The village chief immediately called out to Shi Hao and waved for him to come over. ¡°Shi Hao, come here. Grandpa wants to ask you some questions.¡±


    Shi Hao heard the village chief, who is also his grandfather, loud and clear. He immediately stood up, patted the dirt off his clothes, and ran to the village chief¡¯s side.


    ¡°Village Chief, what did you call me for? How is Uncle Shoushan?¡± asked Shi Hao while glancing at Huang Shoushan¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Woah! Grandpa, you¡¯re amazing! Uncle Shoushan¡¯s injury has been cured!¡±


    Shi Hao was shocked to find that his grandfather, the village chief, had already healed Huang Shoushan.


    When Huang Feijiao heard this, he burst out laughing, ¡°No, Shoushan wasn¡¯t treated by your grandpa. But we don¡¯t know who did and we¡¯re all equally as puzzled.¡±


    ¡°Shi Hao, tell me, did you learn some Bone Text related to healing during this period of time?¡± asked the village chief as he crouched down to Shi Hao¡¯s eye level and held the child¡¯s hand gently.


    Shi Hao shook his head. ¡°I have been studying the symbols on Little Purple¡¯s body this whole time.¡± As he spoke, Shi Hao showed his palm and a weak light appeared. As he flipped his hand, the light surged towards a rock a few kilometers away.


    And with a bang, that rock immediately exploded! There was dust flying everywhere.


    Clearly, this child had not been involved with learning any healing abilities.


    If he did, the others who had been wounded would have healed already.


    ¡°Alright, since we still haven¡¯t figured this out yet, why don¡¯t we just let Shoushan be and not do anything yet? We¡¯ll observe Shoushan¡¯s injuries. Perhaps Shoushan himself has the ability to heal, but he doesn¡¯t know it yet.¡± Huang Linhu started speaking as if he had a sudden revelation.


    ¡°Are you really a tiger as your name says? How can you come up with such a bad idea? Why don¡¯t you injure yourself and let the village chief heal you? That way, we can prove that it¡¯s the village chief that has the healing ability.¡± Huang Feijiao could not help but pat the head of Huang Shoushan as he replied sarcastically at Huang Linhu..

 Chapter 8

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    As he listened to the villagers¡¯ discussions, a thought appeared in Shi Hao¡¯s mind ¨C he had suddenly recalled what he was praying for.


    ¡°Village Chief, I think I know what had happened,¡± said Shi Hao.


    ¡°Uncle Shoushan¡¯s wound was treated by the guardian spirit.¡± As Shi Hao spoke, he turned and stared at the willow tree.


    The villagers followed his line of sight too.


    But the willow tree still looked the same with its rough bark covered in black cracks and the one branch drooping downwards as the only faint sign of life.


    ¡°How are you sure that Shoushan was treated by the guardian spirit?¡±


    ¡°When Uncle Shoushan returned and the situation turned serious, I was worried for Uncle¡¯s safety so I prayed under the willow tree. The guardian spirit must have heard my prayers and treated Uncle. There¡¯s no other explanation I can think of,¡± said the child in his tender voice. He sounded serious and his words seemed reasonable.


    ¡°Hey, little guy. How can that pass as a reason? Just because you said so doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s the guardian spirit who was behind this.¡±


    ¡°But the guardian spirit had been revived a while ago, so why isn¡¯t there a chance that it was the one who treated Uncle Shoushan?¡± Shi Hao retorted.


    He was certain that he was right.


    Still, despite arguing for a long time, none of them was able to solve the mystery. In the end, Shi Hao¡¯s conjecture was deemed too unbelievable to the villagers. They still saw him as a child and his words as a child¡¯s joke or fantasy. In the end, no one paid him any more attention.


    Guardian spirits were usually known to protect the village from external threats. No one had ever heard of a guardian spirit healing a person under its protection.


    Although they were unable to come to a conclusion, the villagers decided to put the matter aside for now. There was no use dwelling upon it for too long.


    Besides, regardless of how it happened, Huang Shoushan¡¯s recovery was a happy thing for everyone.


    Everyone slowly dispersed and made themselves busy. Night eventually descended upon Stone Village. As they had been interrupted during the hunt today, they had no choice but to eat the leftovers from yesterday.


    In the meantime, Ye Yun had finally browsed through the entire system manual.


    Why had he not paid much attention to it before? He must have thought that the information provided by the system at the beginning when he had just transmigrated was sufficient so he didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d need more information.


    But now that he had read the manual, he finally understood the basic principles within which the system operates.


    For example, the system did follow principles of human rights ¨C mission content would be based on the host¡¯s development and life history. The system would never assign a mission that would threaten the life of the host.


    Essentially, Ye Yun could rest assured that the system would always operate with his best interests in mind.


    Ye Yun praised the tactfulness of the system, happy and relieved to learn about this.


    And he didn¡¯t dwell on the mission earlier anymore. After all, he had little to nothing to lose, and more to gain, especially breaking through to the Growth stage.


    Ye Yun was starting to get bored so he decided it was the perfect time to cultivate.


    Ye Yun exited the system display, slowly closed his eyes, and began to cultivate the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence.


    He had already completed the first layer of the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence Great Circle and had essentially developed a Golden Body Protection Form. He would no longer sway along to ordinary winds. But besides these achievements, Ye Yun was still just a blade of grass.


    Ye Yun sighed. Even though his roots had extended deeper into the soil and intertwined with those of the Willow Deity, he still had not grasped how to be a blade of grass. It had been a few months and yet he could not move his body as he pleased. How annoying.


    Ye Yun decided to turn his frustrations into motivation to cultivate.


    Stone Village was silent once again. Beyond its boundaries, a mighty beast with a body as large as a mountain was breathing heavily as it stood somewhere in the mountain forest. Its golden eyes glowed with a swirl of emotions and intentions.


    The mighty beast was about to die, but it was not willing to go just like that. Unfortunately, it was unable to change its fate to die.


    The mighty beast howled towards the sky with an ear-splitting roar.


    It was one of the nine ancient descendants of the Dragon race, Suan Ni, and looked like a lion with a tall and sturdy body like Mount Tai.


    Suan Ni lay on its side, eyes gazing at the lake in the middle of the mountain forest.


    The night shrouded the moonlight as a thin and cold air blew above the lake.


    Suan Ni took a deep breath and exhaled roughly. Only then did it feel the emotions in his heart ease up.


    As an ancient descendant, it had lived since the beginning of time, explored all nine layers of the heavens, and roamed the world¡¯s greatest mountains and strongest rivers. But now, the past tens of thousands of years were blurring into each other.


    Now that it was growing weaker, it had ended up next to this lake in the mountain forest.


    It knew that its time was coming that it was about to die. In a few days, its body would fall apart and become much-prized meat for humans.


    But it was not willing to go just like that! Its body was carved with ancient runes and flowed with ancient blood essence. It was an unparalleled being! When consumed, its flesh and blood could help cultivators break through in their cultivation.


    Suan Ni¡¯s eyes narrowed and emitted a ruthless aura.


    Even if it died, Suan Ni would not let its body be eaten by other races! Anyone who tried to take advantage of it would be slaughtered along with the person or beast¡¯s entire race. Suan Ni was ready to bring anyone else down with it.


    As an ancient descendant of the Dragon race, it had to at least die without losing its dignity! It absolutely couldn¡¯t allow others to tear its body apart, alive or dead! How could Suan Ni allow anyone or anything to deface such sacred and precious ancient runes and secret treasures?


    As such, Suan Ni had devised a scheme before his death.


    It knew that its recent actions and behavior in the mountain forest had not gone unnoticed by the desolate beasts and humans.


    If they did not come to prey on it on the day it died, it would willingly let things go. But if they did come, Suan Ni would not let them off easily.


    Meanwhile, the residents of Stone Village tens of kilometers away from the same mountain forest Suan Ni was laying in had gathered to discuss how to obtain its blood essence.


    Even if they could only collect a bean-sized amount of its blood essence, it would be enough to allow the cultivation of the children in Stone Village to advance by leaps and bounds.


    This was especially so for Shi Hao, a cultivation prodigy who had long since reached Blood Essence Refinement Golden Stage.


    If they were a larger tribe, they would have prepared a large amount of blood essence early on just for gifted children like Shi Hao to temper their bodies with.


    Therefore, they had to obtain Suan Ni¡¯s blood essence for the sake of the village¡¯s future and Shi Hao¡¯s Great Dao cultivation.


    Huang Shoushan had actually sensed the injured Suan Ni through the chaotic commotion of the desolate beasts in the depths of the forest the day he had gotten injured. He was leading the others towards Suan Ni when they encountered those from other villagers. Suan Ni had also heard the fight and fled elsewhere to avoid getting targetted.


    When the Stone Village residents learned of this, they knew Suan Ni¡¯s life was coming to an end.


    This was a matter of utmost importance, so they had to plan things well. If Suan Ni died, they would have to scramble and fight with the other villages and desolate beasts for the blood and meat.


    Disputes were unavoidable, and the group who had previously intercepted them might also do the same again this time.


    Now was the calm before the storm. The moment Suan Ni passed would be when all hell would break loose.


    Unfortunately, the only thing they could not predict was the exact moment Suan Ni would pass.


    If only someone among the Stone Village residents could detect that moment so that they could get a headstart.


    Regardless, everyone was simply waiting impatiently for Suan Ni to die quickly.


    Suan Ni knew this and it only made it sad but also well-planned. It could already foresee the humans¡¯ plans for the moment it breathed its last.


    It could sense that its life was dissipating bit by bit as it let out a roar.


    Those who had been eyeing it trembled nervously at the sound.


    The battle was about to begin and those of the Great Wasteland were already prepping themselves.


    Stone Village was no exception..

 Chapter 9

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The ancient willow tree stood in peace and silence.


    The Stone Village¡¯s youth had left to hunt Suan Ni after its recent outbursts.


    The sacrificial offerings to the willow tree had been left at the altar for days.


    During these three to four days, Ye Yun knew from the contents of the conversations that the villagers were planning to attack the Suan Ni.


    He watched as the people of Stone Village moved in tight formations towards the forest and a myriad of thoughts flooded through Ye Yun¡¯s mind.


    Regardless of the world, it seemed that humans had always been the same: eager and never second-guessing their desire to snatch up resources.


    Back on Earth, Suan Ni was a symbol of good fortune. Why was it here as an ancient descendant? Could Earth and this world have some kind of connection?


    But the moment Ye Yun thought of this, he brushed it off, thinking that it was inconceivable for it to be true.


    The way of life here was way too different. Everyone in Stone Village lived in the present and did their best to live fulfilling lives every day ¨C working on their cultivation methods, going out to hunt, and carrying out sacrificial activities. Nothing much changed in their day-to-day.


    Then there was the Willow Deity, a willow tree guardian spirit of the Stone Village. Despite how it swayed naturally with the breeze, there was nothing ordinary about it ¨C from its charred bark and the single living drooping branch to its ability to respond to the villager¡¯s prayers and bring comfort to them. The moment the willow tree¡¯s branched brushed over the Green Scaled Eagle egg and awaken the latter¡¯s ancestral inheritance, the villagers knew how powerful their guardian spirit was.


    Now, there was the presence of a dying Suan Ni whose blood and meat were prized possessions to the humans and their cultivation in this world. In order to compete for Suan Ni¡¯s blood essence, the Stone Village residents were ready to go all out.


    Still, Suan Ni was no ordinary beast. Even on the verge of death, it would not allow itself to be defeated by humans so easily. Suan Ni was an ancient descendant after all.


    This time, the battle was bound to be tragic.


    Ye Yun was starting to get bored. He was a rooted blade of grass after all. He could not move or speak. The system was all he had to entertain himself, besides cultivating. So the eagerness of the villagers to get to Suan Ni excited him too. Unfortunately, there was nothing Ye Yun could do except sit next to and accompany the willow tree.


    Though the villagers¡¯ intentions to take advantage of Suan Ni¡¯s death were a little brutal, Ye Yun couldn¡¯t blame them. The people of Stone Village were pure in heart and sincere in emotions. They just happened to exist in a cultivation wasteland where the strong preyed on the weak and the fittest survived.


    And it was most probably because of such an environment that made the children in the otherwise harmonious and peaceful village mature earlier with higher intelligence. Especially that child, Shi Hao. He was only four years old this year, but he was already extremely perceptive.


    It was just that his hands had not been stained with blood yet that he was so pure and flawless.


    All this pondering simply led Ye Yun down a confusing rabbit hole. He slightly extended his roots and touched that of the Willow Deity. Ye Yun never figured out the Willow Deity¡¯s true form in ¡®Perfect World¡¯ so he was very curious as to what it looked like.


    All Ye Yun knew was that he could sense the Willow Deity¡¯s presence, which was starting to seem more mythical than before.


    As he tried to recall more of ¡®Perfect World¡¯, Ye Yun realized that his memories of it were starting to get spotty. He could not remember how this event with Suan Ni would play out.


    Forget it. Let¡¯s get back to the situation between the Stone Village residents and Suan Ni.


    According to the village chief¡¯s deduction, the sound coming from the mountain forest was gradually weakening. Suan Ni was now at death¡¯s door.


    The villagers started to pray and make sacrificial offerings to the Willow Deity more than ever. After all, the outcome of the battle was related to their survival. The village¡¯s cultivators prepared themselves diligently. If they did not obtain Suan Ni¡¯s blood essence today and got attacked by other desolate beasts, the battle would be all for naught.


    Ye Yun sized up the cultivators. He knew them. However, neither Ye Yun nor the villagers knew who would survive the battle.


    Today, some families would face more despair and losses than others.


    Stone Village had countless children of Shi Hao¡¯s age who had lost their parents and were willing to live under others¡¯ roofs.


    Battles and wars in the Great Wasteland had always been ruthless. In a blink of an eye, countless people could lose their lives. This was the reality of this world.


    Ye Yun did not want to think of the aftermath of today¡¯s battle. He decided to go back to his cultivation.


    Suddenly, the system¡¯s notification rang in his ears.


    [Beep beep, the host has not checked in today. Do you wish to check in today?]


    Ye Yun was not excited by the system¡¯s ping. He had been checking in every day but the rewards given by the system had been quite rubbish. As such, he had long given up on expecting anything from the daily check-ins.


    The only permanent beneficial reward he could tell was his Art of Nine Revolutions Essence. The rest? Well, they were absolutely useless.


    The only other benefit he had received from the system was the mission.


    But this wasn¡¯t a mission check-in, so Ye Yun unenthusiastically checked in.


    [You have successfully checked in today. Congratulations to the host for obtaining Clairvoyance. The system reward has been distributed.]


    Ye Yun was overjoyed. One second, he was lamenting how trashy the system¡¯s reward was, and in the next second, he had obtained Clairvoyance.


    ¡°Tell me seriously, System. You are able to read my thoughts all the time, right? Especially my sarcasm.¡±


    Alright, he admitted it. This new reward, Clairvoyance, was not too bad. But it was not particularly useful either.


    Even though Ye Yun cultivated the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence and could use his Divine Sense to check his surroundings, his range was limited. His current range of Divine Sense was only the immediate surroundings of the Stone Village¡¯s boundaries.


    Now that he had Clairvoyance, he would be able to see more of the world kilometers away. It was very helpful to Ye Yun who was an unmovable blade of grass under a willow tree.


    This way, he could also know what was happening around him.


    Ye Yun did not waste any more time and immediately used Clairvoyance. In a blink of an eye, his range of vision gradually widened.


    Like a high-quality drone, he was finally able to see into the mountain forest.


    Nature¡¯s beauty was such a masterpiece.


    The peaks rose into the clouds as the river flowed through the mountain range in nine bends. The fog of time descended from the misty mountains to the forest and the desolate wasteland.


    This is the Great Wasteland that he had transmigrated to.


    After taking in the scenery of the Great Wasteland, Ye Yun decided to continue cultivating.


    The villagers of Stone Village had already geared up and were ready to go.


    Since they were about to travel several miles from their village into the mountain forest to confront Suan Ni, they decided to pray for blessings and protection from the guardian spirit.


    The talented young cultivators of the village carried magical treasures as their sacrificial offerings to the guardian spirit.


    While other villagers offered the typical harvests of the forests to their respective guardian spirits, those from Stone Village made such offerings to the willow tree guardian spirit for the additional request of watching over them as they go into battle.


    This was how the cultivators of Stone Village were able to fight on the battlefield like fish in water. With the help of their guardian spirit, they had a good feeling that today¡¯s battle would be a success.


    The deafening roar of a mighty beast echoed through the mountain forest again, reverberating through the villagers¡¯ bones and shaking their souls. They could sense that the beast was about to die soon.


    The time had come! The young cultivators in the desolate Stone Village knelt before the guardian spirit.


    ¡°Oh, Guardian Spirit. Please protect the people of our village and grant us safety in obtaining the essence blood and returning to our loved ones.¡±


    After praying, they immediately set off and ran into the depths of the forest..

 Chapter 10

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The people of the other villages also took off like predators hunting their prey.


    However, the first to arrive was not the humans, but the desolate beasts of the mountain forest,


    This was their territory after all. It was obvious that the desolate beasts would be the first to arrive. And the only reason they dared to gather so brazenly around the mighty Suan Ni was that they were low-level beasts that had yet to develop intelligence. Ignorance is bliss.


    Countless desolate beasts surrounded the ancient descendant by the lake in the mountain forest as Suan Ni lay lazily on the ground. He opened his golden eyes, scanned the surroundings, and closed his eyes again.


    It was not the time yet so he let it pass slowly. The number of desolate beasts surrounding Suan Ni gradually increased. Now, desolate beasts with some semblance of intelligence had also started to gather.


    The growing mass of desolate beasts around Suan Ni also meant that the Qi flow in that area had become convoluted and chaotic. There were just too many of them in one area!


    The number of desolate beasts surrounding Suan Ni was quite terrifying. From the air, it looked like a black circular mass had encircled the ancient descendant.


    If all the desolate beasts in the mountain forest were gathered into one space, they would occupy at least 20% of the entire land area of the habitat. 20% might not sound like a large number, but the area of land the mountain forest covered was massive.


    The villagers of Stone Village were still on their way, having just passed through the outer area and now heading towards the central region.


    It was not only the people of Stone Village who were moving fast. The people of other villages were also doing the same.


    And as fate would have it, something unexpected happened.


    The mighty beast released a deafening and terrifying roar, followed by a series of loud and muffled sounds.


    It was the sound of a collision akin to the sound of a mountain splitting!


    ¡°That does not sound like a monster that is about to die!¡± The village chief was startled by the sudden outburst and quickly stopped his people from continuing.


    ¡°What is happening? Suan Ni should be at death¡¯s door by now. What¡¯s with that terrifying roar?¡± Huang Linhu breathed raggedly, obviously confused.


    ¡°Suan Ni is an ancient descendant and basically lives as long as the heavens. No one knows what its lifespan is. It might be struggling before its death. Whatever is happening to it, it will still die today.¡± Huang Feijiao solemnly explained.


    ¡°You are right. Its time is near and there¡¯s no way it can avoid that. It must be simply unwilling to go just like that.¡± The village chief also agreed with Huang Feijiao.


    ¡°I can definitely sense that it is about to die.¡± Shi Hao slightly frowned and clenched his fists.


    Yes, Shi Hao was also involved in today¡¯s battle. As a cultivator who had comprehended many Bone Texts in Stone Village, his strength was not inferior to the Stone Village¡¯s cultivators. In fact, he was even stronger than some of them.


    As the Stone Village¡¯s cultivator group was still trying to figure out the situation, the ground started to shake violently!


    The village chief started to worry. ¡°Oh no, it must be a tide of desolate beasts coming. Suan Ni¡¯s roar must have triggered them!¡±


    And the village chief was right. In fact, this had been what the mighty beast had been planning all along.


    When it sensed the growing gathering of the desolate beasts, it had already strategized its next step. Thus, in addition to waiting for its death, Suan Ni had been waiting to execute his plan.


    The end of his lifespan was approaching and there was nothing he could do about that. But he had an issue with those beasts and humans who wanted to devour him once he was gone. How arrogant could they be?


    Among the increasing gathering of desolate beasts, some were preparing to strike while others hesitated to make a move. Regardless, the mighty beast decided that it was time to make its move. It lazily stood up like a mountain in the Great Wasteland; its four limbs still looked strong and terrifying, covered by ancient runes; its scales grew and overlapped with each other, forming an indestructible battle armor over his skin; and its long and heavy tail hung low as the tip swished irritably along the ground.


    He slowly shook his head. The moment he opened his golden eyes, killing intent surged forth and he started to tear the desolate beasts apart.


    In a blink of an eye, the surroundings of the lake were covered in blood. Countless beasts had been torn apart as their incomplete corpses lay scattered on the ground.


    The blood of the desolate beasts flowed along the lines of the ground towards the lake.


    This was the power of an ancient descendant!


    When the other desolate beasts saw Suan Ni¡¯s power, they were scared witless and escaped in a sorry state.


    The desolate beasts fled in fear. The scene became chaotic and the crowdedness of the gathering earlier had turned into a fleeing tide of desolate beasts.


    Now that everything was going according to plan, Suan Ni closed its eyes and lay back down again.


    He had to save his strength for the main battle.


    The tide of fleeing desolate beast could only hold off the humans for so long. And they were already getting close. Suan Ni could sense their auras and intents.


    ¡ª¡ª


    Countless desolate beasts crazily fled in all directions like a flood that had broken through a dam. Eventually, some of them ran into the villagers of Stone Village.


    The ground shook and rocks flew everywhere. Some of the towering trees in the forest had fallen and were being trampled on. Needless to say, the tide of desolate beasts left behind a huge mess.


    There was nothing for the humans to do except retreat and take cover momentarily.


    Even those with the highest cultivation level had no way of stopping the tide.


    Those from Wolf Village, which was not far from Stone Village, could not avoid the incoming mass of wild beasts in time. They had no other choice but to stand their ground and fight their way through more than a hundred of them.


    Fortunately, they had asked their guardian spirit to accompany them today by summoning many Wolf Beasts to join the mission. The battle against the tide was intense and chaotic.


    Cultivators of Wolf Village used their bows and arrows to attack the weak points of the beasts.


    Although they were cultivators who often went out hunting, they could still be flustered and uneasy when they encountered such a situation. After all, they were unable to keep up with the rate at which the desolate beasts appeared.


    As for those from Stone Village, they had decided to take a detour to avoid the incoming tide. The village chief had grabbed the younger ones and led them to higher ground. Once he had deemed them safe, he realized that someone was missing as he was doing a headcount.


    His heart skipped a beat.


    Shi Hao had been separated from the group.


    ¡°Where is Shi Hao? Huang Feijiao, didn¡¯t I tell you to keep an eye on him?! Where did he go?¡± The village chief immediately panicked.


    Shi Hao was a cultivation prodigy with exceptional talent among the children of Stone Village. If they had lost him¡­ The village chief did not dare to think much further than that. He immediately planned a search for Shi Hao.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Village Chief. When we were retreating, I noticed that Shi Hao ran to a higher ground somewhere else. Nothing should happen to him.¡± Huang Feijiao quickly responded to the village chief¡¯s questions.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Village Chief. We can¡¯t go looking for him now, not while the tide of desolate beasts is still rolling. If we rush into things, even you will get injured.¡±


    The others in the group tried to console the village chief.


    And what they said made sense. The most important thing now was to check on Suan Ni¡¯s situation.


    The collapse of the mountain range that they had heard earlier could have been caused by Suan Ni¡¯s death.


    Now that the Qi flow had turned chaotic, they had no way of detecting which one was from Suan Ni..

 Chapter 11

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After a while, the village chief calmly gave an order to the others. ¡°Huang Feijiao, you wait for the tide of beasts to subside. Then, go find Shi Hao. The rest of you, follow me to investigate Suan Ni.¡±


    Everyone was equally worried about Shi Hao¡¯s safety but they knew they couldn¡¯t all go to find him.


    Shi Hao, on the other hand, had not found safety at higher ground as speculated by Huang Feijiao.


    By the time the village chief and the others reached Suan Ni, Shi Hao was high in the sky.


    When he had gotten separated from the group due to the incoming tide of desolate beasts, he had fortunately encountered the mother Green Scaled Eagle, the one whose three eggs they had taken. Back then, the mother Green Scaled Eagle had not abandoned her eggs but simply left them in the care of Stone Village instead. In exchange, the mother Green Scaled Eagle would feed her hatchlings, like Little Purple, almost daily.


    Because of this, Shi Hao had developed a relatively special and close relationship with her.


    Little Purple had been with Shi Hao the entire time, and she must have sensed the imminent danger her child and caretaker were about to face through motherly instincts or the activation of the ancient runes on the hatchling¡¯s body. Regardless, when Shi Hao was about to get run over by the onslaught of desolate beasts, the mother Green Scaled Eagle swooped in and picked them off into the sky just in time.


    The mother Green Scaled Eagle had demon blood running through her veins and had been thirsting for the blood essence of Suan Ni as well. Coupled with her sharp eagle senses, finding Suan Ni was a piece of cake to her.


    She flapped her red wings, rode the wind, and arrived at where Suan Ni had been with Shi Hao and Little Purple in tow within a short while. Little did they expect that they would play witness to a rather bloody battle unfold.


    Shi Hao was shocked by the violent and brutal nature of the scene. He had never encountered anything like it.


    When he turned to look around, he noticed that the sky had been dotted black as dozens of birds had flown into the sky in a frenzy.


    Shi Hao held onto the neck feathers of the mother Green Scaled Eagle as it descended onto a branch of a towering tree that had grown a safe distance away. The trio peeked out from among the branches and leaves to observe things without having to worry too much about their safety for now.


    But they were not the only ones keeping an eye on Suan Ni¡¯s situation. In addition to the group of cultivators from Stone Village as well as those from other villages, there was another entity watching from a good viewpoint ¨C Ye Yun.


    With his new ability, Clairvoyance, Ye Yun was able to finally ¡®leave¡¯ the grounds of the willow tree and Stone Village.


    Initially, he had been busy cultivating. But the shockwaves from the tide of desolate beasts through the mountain forest, despite being kilometers away, had reached even him. And when he opened his eyes in reflex, he noticed a gathering of the old, sick, women, and children of Stone Village praying by the Willow Deity¡¯s altar.


    He realized what had happened so how could he simply go back to cultivating? Ye Yun decided to use his Clairvoyance to check out the situation in the dense mountain forest.


    The moment he activated his Clairvoyance, his field of vision instantly expanded. It was as if he had a high-definition panorama view of everything all the time.


    It was obvious to him how different the qualities of his field of vision were when he used Clairvoyance and Divine Sense.


    Using Divine Sense to observe his surroundings was like looking from dozens of kilometers away. However, Clairvoyance allowed him to see as if he was there in person.


    So when he used Clairvoyance to observe the battle unfolding around Suan Ni, he felt as if he was standing right there.


    It¡¯s like his own personal cinema, but better. All he needed now was some popcorn and a bottle of Coke.


    Based on what he could see through Clairvoyance, Ye Yun noticed three huge mighty beasts surrounding Suan Ni.


    Suan Ni and the other mighty beasts had known each other for millions of years and Suan Ni had been waiting for their arrival. If it could not kill the three of them today, they would eat it.


    Therefore, it decided that even if it had to destroy its own ancient runes and magic treasure, it would have to kill its three friends.


    If Suan Ni was in peak condition, they wouldn¡¯t even have dared to confront it. But they were now able to brazenly surround Suan Ni only because it was nearing the end of its lifespan.


    Suan Ni suddenly pounced on one of the mighty beasts as the former bared its canine teeth and bit straight into the neck of its victim.


    The mighty beast that Suan Ni bit had horns on its head right by its ears and a slender body covered in indestructible scales. When it opened its mouth, it would expose its fangs shaped like elephant tusks ¨C thick, sharp, and curved.


    No one would want to be punctured by those fangs.


    The base of the fanged mighty beast¡¯s legs was like thick meat cushions ¨C huge, rough, and shaped like a bear¡¯s paw. It had exposed claws that radiated a cold and murderous aura.


    Eye-catching blood spurted out from the fanged mighty beast¡¯s wound as Suan Ni continued to bite down into the former¡¯s neck. But the fanged mighty beast started gulping down large amounts of its own blood to replenish itself.


    It wasn¡¯t long before the wound from Suan Ni¡¯s bite on the fanged mighty beast started to heal, despite the former still biting down on it.


    This was the divine ability and secret technique of the ancient divine beast, Bai Ze. By relying on this hidden trump card in his blood, it had been able to avoid many dangerous situations.


    Bai Ze quickly struggled out from under Suan Ni and swung its huge beast claw down, ruthlessly cutting the latter.


    The wound was deep and long. Suan Ni¡¯s flesh around the wound was a mess and its white bones were exposed. It was quite a grotesque sight.


    Bai Ze once again charged at Suan Ni, planning to use its huge fangs to pierce through Suan Ni¡¯s abdomen.


    However, things did not go as Bai Ze wished. Suan Ni quickly jumped, swung its body, and allowed its lion tail to lash out like a whip, just barely cutting Bai Ze¡¯s eye. Bai Ze¡¯s vision was covered in blood as it splattered everywhere.


    Suan Ni¡¯s attacks had the potential to corrode any contacted surface.


    As such, Bai Ze¡¯s eye had not simply been sliced but was also slowly corroding from Suan Ni¡¯s attack.


    Suan Ni took the opportunity to attack Bai Ze again. But the latter suddenly raised its beast claw and slashed at the former¡¯s canines.


    They literally fought tooth and claw as sparks flew as a strange and terrifying sound reverberated throughout the lands.


    Ye Yun clenched his teeth as he watched the gripping battle before him.


    As expected, Suan Ni, the ancient descendant of the Dragon race, was able to stand its ground and attack one of the three mighty beasts that had it surrounded.


    With such a display of rough and shocking battle strength, it would be hard for anyone to believe that Suan Ni was on the verge of dying.


    Though Suan Ni¡¯s attack on Bai Ze would continue to harm the latter autonomously, the battle did not stop there. Suan Ni knew that Bai Ze had the ability to heal itself. Thus, if the former did not swallow the latter alive now, Bai Ze would only continue healing itself and constantly pose as a threat.


    Suan Ni bared its canines again to finish what it started. But one of the other mighty beasts was not having it. The latter decided that it was time for it to make a move as well.


    The mighty beast that just joined the fight had the form of an elk and charged forward like the wind towards Suan Ni. It bit Suan Ni¡¯s tail, trying to pull it away from Bai Ze.


    With a shake of its body, the scales on Suan Ni¡¯s tail instantly exploded and pierced the insides and outside of the elk-like mighty beast.


    Suan Ni sneered and flung the elk-like mighty beast away by its mouth.


    Ye Yun took a deep breath as he witnessed the shocking scene.


    Suan Ni had already restrained two of the three mighty beasts that wanted to take it down. Now, there was only the flying mighty beast left. Despite the lack of success by the other two mighty beasts that it had arrived with, it did not retreat. Instead, it spread its red feathers and swooped down on Suan Ni from the skies. Its sharp beak and claws gleamed under the sunlight as the flying mighty beast aimed its weapons at Suan Ni, hoping to tear the latter apart.


    But before it could hit Suan Ni, the latter¡¯s body erupted with a grand light and suddenly became shrouded by a dense mist. Suan Ni rode on the clouds of mist it created and rushed into the sky to meet the descending flying mighty beast.


    The two mighty beasts clashed and continued fighting in the sky. Mountain peaks shattered, rocks exploded, and vegetation was wiped out amid the intense battle between the two mighty beasts. Even the sky looked like it was going to fall.


    The shockwaves from the battle were so great that Shi Hao almost fell out of the tree.


    Ye Yun noticed Shi Hao and could not help but sigh. This child was just too brave and reckless. But witnessing such a battle would be a great experience for the cultivation prodigy..

 Chapter 12

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Ye Yun did not know that Shi Hao was praying for the Willow Deity¡¯s protection when the latter was almost discovered by Suan Ni.


    Suan Ni and the flying mighty beast attacked and retreated in cycles. Not long after, the flying mighty beast was defeated. Suan Ni opened its mouth and bit into its victim¡¯s head. The huge corpse fell from the sky onto the ground with a deafening crash. Dust flew everywhere as the ground caved in and formed a lake-sized pit with countless cracks.


    Suan Ni landed on another end of the lake. Its golden eyes sized up the other two mighty beasts with a flash of ruthlessness. It wanted to fight even more.


    No one in this world had the right to have designs on the mighty Suan Ni! If they wanted to, then they would have to confront it head-on! This was the dignity and pride an ancient descendant had to uphold.


    ¡ª¡ª


    The battle between Suan Ni and the three mighty beasts felt like it went on forever but it only took twenty-five minutes.


    Even so, Ye Yun was quite satisfied with what he had just witnessed.


    When the battle reached its end, he would be able to cultivate in peace.


    As for Suan Ni, it had experienced the triumph of defeating other mighty beasts, even the ancient divine beast Bai Ze. But ultimately, Suan Ni was also already standing at death¡¯s door. His energy had been continuously flowing away. He had been trying his best to hold on, but it was to no avail. His body trembled and his limbs buckled. Suan Ni took a final deep breath and laid itself to rest by the lake.


    The desolate beasts were still afraid to return and approach the lake, despite the battle being over.


    Only the flying desolate beasts in the sky were unwilling to leave. They had been circling the area from the skies, waiting for an opportunity to tear apart Suan Ni¡¯s carcass.


    Secret treasures, blood essence, and flesh were scattered all around the lake. Shi Hao was extremely appalled by the scene. But he also felt that this whole thing had been a pity.


    The humans had also been watching from a safe distance in their own hiding places for a long time. But they could not hold back anymore and they fought to be the first to arrive at the scene. Ye Yun witnessed the scramble and thought how meaningless all of this was.


    He had initially planned to stop using his Clairvoyance and resume his cultivation.


    But then he noticed that the villagers of Stone Village had also joined in the scramble. The mother Green Scaled Eagle was also charging down from the sky with a small figure in tow.


    Ye Yun was dumbfounded to see Shi Hao joining in because the former knew that the current human battle was not any less dangerous than Suan Ni¡¯s earlier one. Ye Yun did not want to see anyone from Stone Village dying.


    Eventually, the sky started to turn dark as day turned to night. Though the darkness had arrived, the bright moon illuminated the lake.


    And despite the descent of night, the Qi flow around the lake was still vigorous and chaotic.


    No one wanted to travel back in the dark but this was a special situation ¨C they had blood essence, mighty beast meat, and special treasures to harvest and return with, after all.


    Sorrowful cries of the injured and the sounds of clashing weapons rang out, seemingly out of place around the calm lake and clear forest.


    Ye Yun shook his head and tried to convince himself to return and cultivate.


    At this moment, the system¡¯s mechanical notification echoed in his ears.


    [Beep beep, the host has triggered a check-in. Do you wish to check in?]


    Ye Yun was initially startled but quickly became excited! He had been waiting for this for a long time!


    Ye Yun had been pretty unexpectant of the system lately, aside from the occasional comments of dissatisfaction toward it.


    But he had suspected that the system¡¯s check-in could be triggered based on his thoughts, actions, and current situation. Normally, if Ye Yun thought of something, the system would be able to detect it and release a check-in accordingly.


    Based on this theory, Ye Yun had been studying the previous check-ins and would discover the underlying principles of when and how they were triggered. However, the rewards given by the system were really random. Ye Yun was currently unable to determine the reward pattern if there was any.


    And to avoid his prying from getting detected by the system, Ye Yun would only think of these things after he entered a meditative state.


    He realized that once he started cultivating, the system could not detect his thoughts.


    ¡°Check in!¡±


    [Today¡¯s check-in has been completed. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Shu Shan Sword Method, a sword control technique!]


    [Cultivation method description: The Shu Shan Sword Method is a sword control technique developed by the disciple, Wine Sword Immortal. This technique can be used to control the sword to cut through anything and has the potential to destroy the world!]


    The system was oblivious to how far and how much Ye Yun had analyzed its working principles as it rewarded him.


    ¡°Wine Sword Immortal¡¯s Shu Shan Sword Method!¡± Ye Yun was overjoyed by what he had just received as he took a deep breath to contain his excitement.


    After all this waiting, Ye Yun had finally received something worthwhile.


    Ye Yun quickly calmed his emotions and began to study the Shu Shan Sword Method.


    In a blink of an eye, he had already comprehended it.


    The system helped him visualize how he could utilize the sword control technique ¨C he ride through the sword and cut through the sky. With a slash, he could not only conquer all magical beasts but also travel freely. How cool was that?


    Ye Yun¡¯s body started to tremble from excitement.


    The Art of the Nine Revolutions Essence activated automatically and his soul became stronger.


    Ye Yun, the blade of grass, then started to become surrounded by a faintly discernible sword Qi that was as sharp as knives as it sliced through the air when the wind blew past.


    The sword Qi intensified around Ye Yun and shot straight into the sky.


    The ancient willow tree suddenly became surrounded by specks of green light coming from the blade of grass right next to it.


    Then, the specks of the blade of grass¡¯s green light disappeared as quickly as they appeared.


    It was as if the previous scene was just a dream.


    However, Ye Yun knew that he had fully grasped the Shu Shan Sword Method.


    He excitedly checked his attributes.


    [Host: Ye Yun


    Identity: Nine Heavens Jasper Grass


    Status: Early Growth


    Item: Sacrifice Acceptance Ability (can be accumulated), Art of Nine Revolutions Essence, Breath Concealing Technique, Shu Shan Sword Method


    Influence: 2


    Grade: Ordinary Rank 8


    Ability: Divine Healing, Sacrifice Acceptance Ability (to heal others), Sword Control Attack, Sword Qi Slicer]


    Wow, who would have thought he would be able to break through in his cultivation after obtaining the sword technique today? Now that he was at Rank 8, he would definitely be able to reach the Mystic tier within a few days.


    Ye Yun had a moment¡¯s thought, then decided to activate his Clairvoyance to return to the scene by the lake in the mountain forest. He was not just a simple blade of grass anymore. He could fight now! It was hard to contain his excitement to try out his newly-obtained sword control technique, the Shu Shan Sword Method.


    If he could also gain something new during a fight, that would be amazing!

 Chapter 13

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Actually, Ye Yun was more concerned about the residents of Stone Village that he had been living with. He was not that cruel and heartless. He could not bear to see them die.


    Still, Ye Yun was shocked and excited by the Shu Shan Sword Method and how it had flipped the tables for him.


    Ye Yun arrived at an intense scene where countless people were arguing over the corpse of Suan Ni.


    They were so engrossed in proving their point and being right that no one had noticed that Suan Ni¡¯s corpse had moved slightly while it lay by the lake.


    No one noticed, except Ye Yun.


    Ye Yun was extremely puzzled. ¡°D*mn, Suan Ni isn¡¯t completely dead yet. Could it be that he wants to wait for the humans to end their dispute before suddenly attacking and killing them? Under this situation, the earlier the arguments end, the closer these people are to death.¡±


    Ye Yun continued analyzing the situation and realized that the people closest to Suan Ni¡¯s corpse were the residents of Wolf Village and Stone Village.


    The desolate beasts that retreated earlier had returned. They could sense that Suan Ni¡¯s Qi flow had dissipated and they were no longer afraid, especially of wiping out the human race.


    So now, the human race appeared to be in a stalemate with the desolate beasts. Fortunately, the people of Wolf Village and the desolate Stone Village were on guard.


    But there was the issue with Suan Ni faking its own death too.


    Ye Yun noticed Shi Hao behaving strangely. The boy had noticed something amiss about Suan Ni¡¯s body and probably had the same suspicion as Ye Yun about the corpse. Since he was on-site, Shi Hao must have noticed some clues too.


    Shi Hao was indeed a cultivation prodigy to be able to observe such details. No one else besides the future Desolate Heaven Emperor could do this.


    The air suddenly split and an arrow shot towards Shi Hao.


    The people of Wolf Village wanted to get rid of Shi Hao!


    And their actions obviously triggered the Stone Village cultivators to spring into action.


    The desolate beasts saw the change in the humans¡¯ behavior and decided to watch the situation unfold first.


    ¡°How detestable! They are deliberately bullying us, aren¡¯t they? How could they shoot arrows at a four-year-old child?¡± Huang Feijiao gritted his teeth as he gripped his saber and walked towards the person who shot the arrow.


    Stone Village and Wolf Village started to fight each other. Soon, the desolate beasts decided to join in too. The lakeside turned chaotic as everyone became caught up in the battle. Everyone except the owner of a pair of dark green eyes lurking in the darkness.


    It was the guardian spirit of Wolf Village. It was waiting for an opportunity to attack. When the time was ripe, he would retrieve Suan Ni¡¯s body. Even though everyone in Wolf Village worshiped him every day, it was almost instinct for any stronger being in this world to prey on the weak. Suan Ni¡¯s corpse was right before it, so how could the guardian spirit pass up such an opportunity?


    But getting Suan Ni¡¯s blood essence was its personal mission. The guardian spirit still had to help Wolf Village get rid of Shi Hao who had been deemed as a potential threat due to the strange runic Qi flow around him.


    Ye Yun, on the other hand, had also noticed the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit nearby through his Clairvoyance.


    With this ability activated, nothing went unnoticed by Ye Yun.


    It was a pity that his physical body was very far from here so he couldn¡¯t give any pointers to anyone. All he could do was remain in the shadows, like the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit.


    But Ye Yun was ready to make his move, if necessary. If the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit attacks Shi Hao, Ye Yun would swoop in with his newly-acquired Shu Shan Sword Method and let the guardian spirit know that it had messed with the wrong person.


    Moreover, Ye Yun had the Breath Concealing Technique so no one would be able to sense his presence. He might even be able to trigger a mission by the system!


    The last mission he had been given was related to helping others. So if he made his intention to help again clear this time, would he be able to get the system to give him a new mission with some good rewards?


    If what he hoped for happened, he might have just unlocked the way to take advantage of the system and upgrade himself!


    After all, the previous mission¡¯s reward helped him go from the Sprout to Growth stage.


    Ye Yun activated the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence as he thought of the matter.


    By the lake, Suan Ni was indeed pretending to be dead just as Shi Hao and Ye Yun suspected. He wanted to deceive everyone to lower their guard around him, then when he was on his last breath, launch a surprise attack.


    Back at Stone Village, those who had remained ¨C the elderly, weak, women, and children were still waiting for the cultivators¡¯ return. Despite the descent of the night, the remaining villagers were still waiting by the willow tree, not able to sleep until they knew that their loved ones were safely home.


    Unfortunately, some of the people they had been waiting for were already injured.


    The cultivators from Wolf Village had sent out a pack of wolves with magical treasures while shooting arrows and attacking from afar, giving no way for those of Stone Village to dodge. Some of the latter had been bitten by the wolves while some others had been pierced by arrows.


    Shi Hao was also starting to get exhausted after fending off the multiple attacks with the power of his runes. And he was not without injuries either.


    One of his fair and tender arms was covered with a long gashing wound that made his flesh look like a bloody mess. Despite his counterattacks, he did not kill anyone. He simply restrained the enemy or defended himself by deflecting incoming attacks.


    Today¡¯s incident had unfolded too unexpectedly which put them at a disadvantage. Eventually, everyone from Stone Village had been covered in wounds and Shi Hao realized that he had no choice left but to start killing.


    The bright moonlight shone down on the battlefield as a figure with a fair and innocent face attacked his enemies. Despite how well the moonlight illuminated his movements, there was not a hint of expression on Shi Hao¡¯s face as he watched his enemies fall before him.


    He moved with an unwavering heart, determined to take out all the enemies. Seeing his companions injured and killed had finally made him understand only the fittest survived in this world.


    If someone bullied him, he would not simply sit back!


    The number of people killed by Shi Hao kept increasing. Although he was only a weak-looking four-year-old child who stood half a meter tall, the energy flowing within his body was beyond measure!


    Witnessing the deaths of his people made him sorrowful.


    He stopped attacking and started to pray to the willow tree guardian spirit to appear and help his people and prevent any more of them from getting injured.


    However, the moment Shi Hao let his guard down, the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit attacked him from behind, intending to finish off the child in one move.


    Ye Yun¡¯s eyes narrowed as he immediately activated the Shu Shan Sword Method.


    Swoosh! The sword Qi surged like the wild wind as it burst forth from the grass and swept across the land with a ferocious sharpness.


    As it flew to its enemy, the sword Qi condensed and transformed into a sword, shooting straight across the sky, leaving behind a whirlwind in its wake.


    Like a real sword, the condensed sword Qi gleamed with a bright and pure light that radiated a cold and murderous aura. It moved at an unstoppable momentum and upon closer look, one might just be able to see the sword Qi surrounded by strands of a dense mist of green light and blood Qi that would be difficult to notice otherwise..

 Chapter 14

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The sword Qi flew across the sky to its destination with a sharp piercing sound as the Qi flow changed around it.


    When the sword Qi finally closed in on the battlefield, everyone stopped fighting as they shuddered in fear and unease. They became confused.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Why is there suddenly such a strong killing intent?!¡±


    When they turned around, they saw a grand, dazzling flash of light appear from behind the treetop heading straight for them.


    The sword Qi approached with a screaming whistle as it cut through the air. The bright light it emitted illuminated entire mountains as if the sun had risen. The light was even visible to the residents back in Wolf Village and Stone Village.


    ¡°Is that¡­a sword Qi?!¡±


    Those still in their villages stopped what they were doing and squinted at the distant brightness in the middle of the night, faces filled with confusion. It was too eye-catching!


    The sword Qi slashed through a few ancient trees in its path as it remained locked onto its target. Everything it came into contact with clanged against its body with a strangely melodious echo that reached into the depths of one¡¯s soul.


    The Stone Village¡¯s chief squinted against the blinding sword Qi to observe it.


    The sword Qi finally descended and got close enough to its target.


    The Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit was slightly stunned and stopped moving the moment it saw the sword light. It knew that the sword Qi within it was completely different from the others, especially with such an intense killing intent.


    The Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit froze, terrified as it finally realized that it was the sword Qi¡¯s target.


    It howled and stopped attacking Shi Hao, hoping to escape by dodging the sword Qi.


    However, how could it even think of doing so when the sword Qi moved as fast as lightning?


    And no matter how hard it tried, the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit could not move its body.


    Paralyzed, the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit watched the tip of the condensed sword Qi pierce through its body as if everything was in slow motion.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    The Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit had been lifted into the air by the fatal blow and landed on its back.


    The sword Qi had left a bloody hole in the body of the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit, messing up its internal organs.


    Upon a closer look, there was a light green mist inside the body of the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit, eroding his blood essence and body at an unimaginable speed.


    The Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit¡¯s limbs went stiff and its body turned ice-cold as it passed, still in an attack pose.


    Unfortunately, his wish to sneakily attack Shi Hao could not be fulfilled before he died.


    In just a short moment, the body of the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit had been reduced to ashes and smoke.


    The Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit had been killed!


    Everything had happened so suddenly that there was a brief moment of silence that followed. Everyone was shocked by how suddenly the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit died but also terrified of the sword Qi. No one knew where it had come from and why. Who knew who would be its next target?


    While everyone was recovering from the shock, the sword Qi started to aim for Suan Ni¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°No!!¡±


    The Wolf Village¡¯s chief instinctively shouted when he realized what was about to happen.


    If the sword Qi attacked Suan Ni, wouldn¡¯t the latter¡¯s corpse turn out like their guardian spirit¡¯s?


    They would not only lose Suan Ni¡¯s precious blood essence but there would be nothing left for anyone to scavenge.


    Wolf Village had just lost their guardian spirit, and they would not let the sword Qi make them lose Suan Ni¡¯s corpse as well.


    Sadly, the sword Qi had no intention of obeying their wishes.


    The Stone Village¡¯s chief, on the other hand, immediately ordered his cultivators to retreat by one kilometer as they watched the sword Qi.


    The Stone Village¡¯s chief was not a fool. The moment he noticed the sword Qi aiming for Suan Ni, he had his suspicions.


    Suan Ni was not dead yet! It was faking it!


    That was the reason the sword Qi was now aiming for Suan Ni.


    Though none of the people around the lake had the ability to stand up against the sword Qi, at least it seemed to be on the Stone Village¡¯s side.


    Just as the sword Qi was about to hit Suan Ni, the latter dodged, moving twice as fast as the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit.


    In fact, the moment the sword Qi was approaching from afar, Suan Ni was already able to sense it and became more vigilant.


    Suan Ni had lived for thousands of years but it had never encountered such swift and fierce sword Qi. He had traveled through the Great Wastelands before and knew of a race of humans that specialized in using swords.


    However, despite its large population, Suan Ni had already determined that no one in that particular human race had such a sword ability.


    Suan Ni could tell that this was not the usual and simple sword Qi.


    Even though Suan Ni was able to dodge the sword Qi the first time, it quickly realized that it was having a harder time controlling its body.


    Thus, rather than continue dodging and running, Suan Ni decided to jump upwards, shocking the humans present, and meet the sword Qi head-on.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to die anyway, and I¡¯d rather be killed by this sword Qi than be taken apart by these petty humans. That way, I will be able to die with no regrets.¡±


    Suan Ni closed its eyes and calmly accepted its fate.


    The sword Qi must have been placed on its Great Dao by the heavens.


    ¡°I would like to thank the person behind this sword Qi. But it seems that I will never find out who this person is.¡± Suan Ni could not help but laugh as he sorrowfully welcomed death.


    ¡°It would be such a shame if the sword Qi killed Suan Ni and destroyed its body.¡± The village chief of Stone Village saw what was happening, he could not help but sigh.


    There was nothing anyone could do at this point as they looked on, heartbroken..

 Chapter 15

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    If even Suan Ni, who was as old as the sky, had never encountered such a terrifying sword Qi until this day, how could either of the village chiefs even attempt to confront the sword Qi?


    They didn¡¯t even know where and how the sword Qi came about.


    The sword Qi pierced through Suan Ni¡¯s body in one swift and decisive move as the latter started to dissolve.


    Such an indestructible body, which even other mighty and desolate beasts could not damage, had been defeated and corroded by this sword Qi.


    If the sword Qi charged straight at humans, the consequences would be unimaginable.


    The village chief of Stone Village stared at the sword Qi and how he was feeling now reminded him of when he saw the Willow Deity descend from the heavens for the first time.


    Though the people present were terrified by the sheer power of the sword Qi, they also felt that the outcome was such a pity ¨C Suan Ni¡¯s corpse was about to be reduced to ashes just like the Wolf Villages¡¯ guardian spirit.


    At the moment Ye Yun killed Suan Ni and destroyed its body with his sword Qi using the Shu Shan Sword Method, he received a system notification.


    [Beep beep, detected that the host has used the Shu Shan Sword Method and has completed a special mission. You are now eligible to receive the gift from Suan Ni. Do you want to check in and receive a reward?]


    Hearing this, Ye Yun could not help but smile ¨C he had been right all along. But thankfully the system did not know what he was thinking currently.


    Ye Yun quickly cleared his mind and replied, ¡°Check me in, quickly.¡±


    [The special mission has been successfully completed. Congratulations to the host for receiving the gift from Suan Ni: Blood of the Dragon Son (can be used to increase the host¡¯s influence by three points) and the Sword Qi Slicer (can be used to increase the host¡¯s influence by ten points). Please feel free to check out the respective items¡¯ specific description]


    ¡°Look, System. For a person who checks in every day and just defeated Suan Ni, this is all I¡¯ve received? This isn¡¯t good enough.¡±


    It was a good opportunity to make fun of the system. Who knows, the system might reveal more clues.


    [Apologies, dear host. Please know that the rewards and the tasks are given at random. The system does not determine anything in advance.]


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. You are the system that is bound to me. Can¡¯t you give me something good?¡±


    [Apologies, dear host. This system is a Check-In System. The system is not allowed to provide any rewards besides during check-in and mission completions.]


    Ye Yun did not bother to ask any further. Instead, he quickly started to cultivate and think about the rest in his cultivation state of mind.


    ¡®So how can I trigger a mission? Through specific events?¡¯


    The first mission was triggered due to the Green Scaled Eagle egg. The second was related to helping a villager of the desolate Stone Village heal. And now this third mission was to kill Suan Ni.


    Ye Yun finished up his thoughts and decided to use Clairvoyance to check out the situation in the mountain forest once more.


    He had to see the damage done by the Shu Shan Sword Method for himself.


    Then, Ye Yun remembered: he had already received the Blood Essence of the Dragon Son as a reward from this triggered mission so there was no need for him to absorb the blood essence from Suan Ni¡¯s corpse.


    Thus, Ye Yun decided to leave Suan Ni¡¯s corpse and blood essence to be divided among the people by the lake.


    The sword Qi flickered for a moment and the green light that had been corroding Suan Ni¡¯s corpse disappeared.


    Then, the sword Qi retreated, gradually turned into a bone-chilling cold Qi, and simply disappeared before the cultivators of Wolf Village and Stone Village.


    The pure and bright light instantly disappeared, leaving the people dumbfounded in the darkness with only the moon as their light.


    ¡ª¡ª


    Ye Yun¡¯s Shu Shan Sword Method not only killed the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit, but also Suan Ni. The sword Qi from the technique was able to take down two mighty beings in the same span of time.


    And it all only lasted a moment.


    Perhaps this was fate as the Wolf Village¡¯s chief looked solemn.


    The other cultivators of Wolf Village were unable to accept this fact for a moment. It was unbelievable.


    How could the guardian spirit that they had been worshipping and praying for so many years be killed by a sword Qi that came out of nowhere?


    What kind of identity was its wielder that the sword Qi could kill the guardian spirit so perfectly from afar?


    What¡¯s more, the sword Qi also killed Suan Ni right after.


    If the sword Qi had not appeared, no one would have known that Suan Ni had been faking his death.


    But who was this person and how did he know about any of these?


    Many doubts and questions filled the minds of the cultivators from Wolf Village. And no matter how hard they tried, they couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it.


    Some of the cultivators with poor physical qualities had been so shaken by the sword Qi¡¯s ring that blood flowed out of their seven orifices.


    Could it be that someone from a large tribe had made a move?


    However, why would people from a larger tribe travel so far just to fight with them, a much smaller tribe, over Suan Ni¡¯s blood essence? It didn¡¯t make sense.


    ¡°Village Chief, I noticed that the sword Qi came from the direction of Stone Village. I suspect that they had asked their guardian spirit to help them.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t their guardian spirit just a lifeless willow tree? How could that tree use such a sharp sword Qi?¡± The village chief of Wolf Village frowned.


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t their guardian spirit, then could they have a powerful cultivator they¡¯ve been keeping secret that has some hatred towards us ?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, but this person will probably be a troublesome opponent for us.¡±


    The death of the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit would prove to be a challenge to the survival of Wolf Village in the Great Wastelands.


    After all, guardian spirits protected the safety of the village so that the villagers could live in peace.


    Now that their guardian spirit had been killed, the survival of Wolf Village was under threat.


    But the village chief of Wolf Village couldn¡¯t be bothered about all these right now. Now that they had lost their guardian spirit and no longer had anyone to protect them, they lost the right to get a share of Suan Ni¡¯s corpse.


    The village chief of Wolf Village instantly ordered his people. ¡°Retreat, quickly.¡±


    ¡°But Village Chief, it hadn¡¯t been easy for us to-¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Don¡¯t talk anymore. We¡¯re leaving,¡± said the Wolf Village¡¯s chief.


    After the cultivators from Wolf Village left, the forest fell into silence.


    The Wolf Village¡¯s chief was actually terrified, but he couldn¡¯t reveal that to the others.


    Whoever wielded the sword Qi earlier could have easily killed a person, any one of them.


    If it was true that the person had an agenda against Wolf Village and found that they hadn¡¯t retreated, that lake might be their burial site too!

 Chapter 16

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    If Ye Yun had known what the Wolf Village¡¯s chief was thinking, he would have burst out laughing ¨C the latter¡¯s thoughts were a little too far-fetched.


    But only the Wolf Village¡¯s chief knew his own thoughts. The rest simply followed their leader.


    The battle had finally ended but in a way and with an outcome that was beyond anyone¡¯s expectations.


    Now that those from Wolf Village had left, only the cultivators of the desolate Stone Village remained, still staring at each other and their surroundings with slight confusion.


    Why did the sword Qi come from the direction of their village?


    ¡°Village Chief, do you think the sword Qi from before was sent by our guardian spirit?¡± Huang Feijiao was the first to speak, breaking the silence.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­¡± The village chief sighed and shook his head to indicate that he didn¡¯t know either.


    ¡°But the sword Qi did come from the direction of our village.¡± Huang Linhu agreed with Huang Feijiao.


    The battle earlier had been chaotic, but the appearance of the sword Qi¡¯s light had made everyone stop to stare at it.


    Its swift yet ferocious fatal blows on Suan Ni and Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit had terrified them ¨C it was like witnessing someone stomp on two ants ¨C so much so that they did not expect to be able to get through the night alive.


    And it was clear to them that there was no way a human cultivator could attain the ability to kill a guardian spirit. Maybe if they used the ancestral artifact, but it would not have been an easy feat.


    ¡°But Grandpa, if it wasn¡¯t the guardian spirit, who else would help us?¡± Shi Hao, who had stained his hands with the blood of others, was still on guard, worried that the sword Qi had originated from an enemy.


    ¡°Shi Hao, you worry too much. If it was our opponent, why did they suddenly stop attacking after killing Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit and Suan Ni? In my opinion, it was our guardian spirit who acted,¡± said Huang Feijiao with a smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Sorry.¡± Shi Hao bashfully nodded his head and his muscles started to relax. Shi Hao finally looked like the child he should be.


    ¡°Alright, everyone. We do need to figure out whether it was our guardian spirit or someone else that had come to our aid. But right now, standing here won¡¯t give us any more answers than we already have here. Let¡¯s pack up and go home. We¡¯ll return to this place later with a fresher mind and set of eyes,¡± said the village chief.


    ¡°I agree with the village chief. We must return as soon as possible. I¡¯m sure the others back in the village are getting worried about us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We have to move fast or we might get trapped by the desolate beasts around here. After all, this is the central area and we never venture this deep unless we¡¯re out hunting,¡± said Huang Linhu.


    ¡°But we found our way here with the mountain as our guide. Now that it¡¯s dark and we can barely see a thing, how are we going to find our way back? What if we get lost?¡± asked one of the cultivators.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Shi Hao get here on the Green Scaled Eagle earlier? How about we just get the Green Scaled Eagle to bring us back?¡± asked another cultivator.


    But the person beside him patted his shoulder helplessly. ¡°Are you OK? Didn¡¯t get enough sleep yesterday? You want to go home just like that and leave the blood essence and secret treasures here? Are you seriously thinking of returning empty-handed? Don¡¯t you remember the reason we have traveled all the way here and risked our lives? What, did you think we came here just for some sightseeing?¡±


    There were quite a lot of spoils to bring back from the corpses of the ancient descendant Suan Ni, the divine beast Bai Ze, the flying mighty beast, and the various desolate beasts that had died after getting caught up in the battle earlier.


    The village chief couldn¡¯t help but laugh as he said, ¡°The blood essence and treasures we obtained today will help our young cultivators in their cultivation and to temper their bodies. Though we still won¡¯t be able to catch up with the larger tribes, we are still quite fortunate.¡±


    ¡°However, I don¡¯t think we have considered how to bring back our spoils to the village,¡± said Huang Linhu.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to follow the path from before. We have a new and more straightforward one now.¡± As Shi Hao spoke, he pointed at the straight path that had been left behind by the sword Qi.


    The path was so clear that it didn¡¯t seem that they would encounter any random obstructions along the way. This was probably the best choice they had of finding their way back right now.


    ¡°Shi Hao is right. This path will take us back to the desolate Stone Village.¡±


    ¡°Moreover, since it was paved by the sword Qi, I don¡¯t think the wild beasts would dare to approach it any time soon. It should be safe.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get to it then,¡± said the village chief, and the others got to work.


    Ye Yun felt more at ease after seeing the aftermath of his use of the Shu Shan Sword Method.


    It was finally over. He did not have to worry about the people of Stone Village suffering any more casualties. Ye Yun closed his eyes with relief and prepared to cultivate.


    The villagers who had been praying to the Willow Deity had also stopped and returned to the village to await the arrival of their loved ones. The world was finally quiet.


    It was midnight when the Stone Village¡¯s cultivators led by the village chief approached their homeland with the spoils of the battle after spending the whole day away, risking their lives just for the future cultivation of the younger generation.


    Even though they were still a little far away, the group noticed that the willow tree was surrounded by a pure light under the moon, appearing calm and peaceful.


    ¡°We¡¯re finally back.¡± Shi Hao felt an incredible sense of relief in his heart.


    Everything that happened today had been quite shocking to him.


    Even if it was already so late in the night, everything that they had been through and obtained had made their journey worth it.


    The returning group did not feel sorry for Suan Ni as they placed its fresh meat on the altar by the Willow Deity.


    The other people in the village joined them to participate in the sacrificial offering.


    ¡°I sincerely thank the guardian spirit for protecting my village all this while, and I hope that we will be able to continue receiving your blessed protection in the future.¡±

 Chapter 17

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Stone Village was shrouded in the darkness of the night as the ancient willow tree stood just right outside its borders, emitting specks of light. The sacrificial altar right next to the tree had a few pieces of flesh and blood as the residents of Stone Village sincerely prayed in front of it.


    On another side of the willow tree, a blade of grass blended in with the mat of green under the shade, going completely unnoticed by anyone. And no one could have guessed that the sword Qi that came to their rescue that day had actually come from this blade of seemingly-ordinary grass.


    The sacrificial ceremony came to an end, but there was still a buzz of excitement in the atmosphere. The villagers still could not stop thinking about the sword Qi from earlier.


    Everyone had questions and speculations but no one knew how to answer or get rid of them. Because of this, no matter how tired or exhausted they were from the day, hardly any of them could fall asleep.


    In the end, they gave up on sleeping and gathered around the ancient willow tree to discuss the matter to get things out of their system.


    Most of these people had grown up within Stone Village and had hardly, if not never, gone out to see the world. As such, they had never encountered such powerful sword techniques as the one demonstrated by the sword Qi.


    ¡°Village Chief, you are the only person in our village who has traveled the Great Wastelands. Do you have any ideas about the sword Qi that we witnessed?


    ¡°Could it be that our village has some kind of hidden treasure that can trigger a long-distance attack in urgent and threatening situations like the one Shi Hao was in?¡± asked Huang Feijiao as they all looked expectantly at the village chief.


    ¡°If the village chief ever placed such a treasure in our village, don¡¯t you think Shi Hao¡¯s parents would still be alive today?¡± Huang Linhu felt Huang Feijiao¡¯s train of thought was simply unbelievable.


    ¡°It must have been the willow tree guardian spirit then, right? Otherwise, why did we see the sword Qi coming from this direction?¡± Huang Feijiao still had plenty of deductions to throw out.


    ¡°Er¡­The guardian spirit is only a willow tree. So far, it has only moved one branch, and that was to awaken the ancestral inheritance of Little Purple. Do you really think that it would be able to form such a formidable sword Qi with such brilliant sword light? Village Chief, what do you think?¡±


    The village chief smacked his lips. He did not know how to reply.


    After all, he did not know why such a thing had happened or where the sword Qi had come from.


    He was also confused and could not think of any reasonable explanation.


    As the village chief of Stone Village, he had lived in the village for decades. Thus, he knew the village like the back of his hand.


    But no matter how many memories he recalled, none of them could be used to explain recent events.


    He too was not sure who had come to their aid in their time of crisis.


    The village chief started to feel a little awkward and pretended to cough. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really understand the origin of the sword Qi either. However, we all know that the sword Qi that fell from the sky is of great benefit to Stone Village. Perhaps it was sent by the experts who had died here.¡±


    His voice came out strong at the beginning, but it began to falter the longer he spoke. It was obvious that the village chief was not too confident in the latter half of what he had just said. After all, he was not sure if there were deceased experts who had been or could be secretly helping them.


    As expected, the moment the village chief finished speaking, Huang Feijiao immediately rebutted the village chief.


    ¡°Village Chief, now you¡¯re just spouting nonsense. This is Stone Village we¡¯re talking about. What kinds of experts, past or present, could we possibly have to help us? Why don¡¯t you just tell us that we have a third guardian spirit who is skilled in sword techniques?¡±


    The village chief became embarrassed. His expression changed as he helplessly said, ¡°Who knows? You know what? Let¡¯s discuss this again in the future. It is already late and we have already talked for an entire day. It is better to get some good rest.¡±


    ¡°Since we still haven¡¯t figured it out yet, let¡¯s give the credits to the willow tree and continue making sacrificial offerings to it for now,¡± said someone, and the others agreed.


    They had always been worshipping the willow tree anyway.


    With that, the villagers paused the discussion and dispersed to get the rest they needed. But the brilliance of the sword light and the might of the sword Qi would forever be imprinted in their memories.


    The village chief fell into deep thought as he watched his people leave.


    ¡°Too much confusion has taken root in the depths of our hearts. No one knows what the truth is but we have to continue searching for it. In the meantime, we shall continue worshipping our guardian spirit.¡±


    Still, the village chief also couldn¡¯t stop wondering. What kind of existence could be so powerful?


    Little did the people of Stone Village know that the ¡®other¡¯ guardian spirit that they had once suspected of existing was actually just a blade of grass.


    But Ye Yun liked it that way.


    It wasn¡¯t like he had that many abilities anyway. If he were to grow impatient and truly make his presence known, he might just draw more trouble to himself.


    Once the others had finished the sacrificial ceremony, Ye Yun started to collect a large amount of energy from the sacrificial offering. That put him in a good mood, so he quickly called up the system to open the virtual screen and check out his attributes.


    [Host: Ye Yun


    Identity: Nine Heavens Jasper Grass


    Status: Early Energy Storage phase of Growth


    Item: Sacrifice Acceptance Ability (can be accumulated), Art of Nine Revolutions Essence, Breath Concealing Technique, Shu Shan Sword Method, Blood of the Dragon Son (can be upgraded), Guardian Spirit Essence


    Influence: 15


    Grade: Ordinary Rank 9


    Ability: Divine Healing, Sacrifice Acceptance Ability (to heal others), Sword Control Attack, Sword Qi Slicer]


    It seemed that only his Influence and Grade had increased slightly. Also, he had obtained the Blood of the Dragon Son. The rest had not changed at all.


    ¡°Wait, what the hell?¡±


    Ye Yun noticed something that had not been reported by the system and was confused.


    ¡°Guardian Spirit Essence? How is this possible?¡± Ye Yun clicked on it for more details.


    [Guardian Spirit Essence is a drop of essence condensed from the entire body of a guardian spirit. It can be used to restore one¡¯s vitality and obtain the energy of sacrificial offerings. The accumulation of the energy of sacrificial offerings would then lead one to become a guardian spirit.]


    ¡°Hah, now would you look at that. All of these sound impressive but it is of no use to me,¡± said Ye Yun.


    ¡°And I already have obtained the energy of the sacrificial offerings, though it was directly from the altar and not the Willow Deity¡¯s essence.


    ¡°Also, what need do I have for vitality? Am I not already full of it?


    ¡°And if I were to become a guardian spirit, I would have to help them do things every day. Wouldn¡¯t that just be troublesome?¡±


    Ye Yun didn¡¯t want to look at the new item he had obtained and closed the virtual panel.


    However, on second thought, he called out to the system again. ¡°System, what is the purpose of Influence?¡±


    [Dear host, there are many uses for Influence. However, due to the host¡¯s current lack of Influence, the system is unable to explain any further.]


    Wha-?


    ¡°Are you underestimating me?!¡± Ye Yun could not help but laugh.


    [This system intends to serve the host well and has no intentions of underestimating him. This system upholds the principles of utmost honesty. I hope the host can be understanding.]


    But Ye Yun was not angry.. He just wanted to tease the system, as usual.

 Chapter 18

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Ye Yun had not been able to communicate with anyone or anything ever since he transmigrated to this world.


    He suddenly had a thought.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Why have I only been communicating with the system?


    ¡°I¡¯m growing next to the Willow Deity, and it¡¯s no ordinary willow tree.¡±


    But this hadn¡¯t been something Ye Yun had been consciously ignoring. The Willow Deity might not be an ordinary willow tree but it had not made its presence known to both the villagers and Ye Yun. If Ye Yun had not recognized it through his past experience reading ¡®Perfect World¡¯, he might have truly thought he had just grown next to a normal willow tree.


    Now that he had realized how he should have treated the willow tree, he quickly used his Divine Sense to attempt communication with the Willow Deity. ¡°Willow Deity?¡±


    There was no reply.


    ¡°Willow Deity? Guardian Spirit?¡± Ye Yun called out twice more. These were the only two names by which he knew the willow tree.


    Still, there was no form of response from the willow tree. But Ye Yun did not give up. He called out to the Willow Deity many times after that but was only left in silence after each attempt.


    The willow tree guardian spirit was definitely there. It had moved its branch to lightly brush against the Green Scaled Eagle egg and awaken its ancestral inheritance. The willow tree was not vacant.


    Ye Yun had no intentions of giving up. He momentarily put aside cultivating for now and continued to use his Divine Sense to call out to the Willow Deity.


    He expanded his Divine Sense to make sure that he would be able to detect even the slightest movement or response from the Willow Deity.


    Ye Yun attempted to communicate with the Willow Deity throughout the entire night.


    Unfortunately, he did not get anything remotely close to what he had wished for.


    When dawn arrived, the warm rays of the morning sun shone on Stone Village. As one admired the scarlet sky, one could see the silhouette of the ancient willow tree. A gentle breeze brushed past the tree and its one branch rustled against it.


    But aside from that, there had been no other movements or response from the willow tree.


    Ye Yun finally gave up and thought that the Willow Deity probably had no high hopes of recovering fully.


    This made him feel a little sad. But it was also possible that it wasn¡¯t time for the Willow Deity to awaken yet.


    ¡°Or could it be that the Willow Deity acts when given a specific stimulus?¡± Ye Yun speculated.


    ¡°If someone attacks the Willow Deity or the village, would it react?¡± Ye Yun pondered and secretly rubbed his hands, almost wanting to test it out. But he did not actually dare to and started to think of other ways to stimulate the tree.


    He arrogantly intersected his roots with the Willow Deity¡¯s roots and tugged at them. He wanted to help the Willow Deity clean out its root system of messy bundles and insect infestations.


    And yet, the Willow Deity did not give a single response. It was probably still in a deep sleep.


    Honestly, it wasn¡¯t that Ye Yun was desperate to speak to the Willow Deity. It¡¯s just that his current conditions post-transmigration had made him a little lonely and frustrated, especially when he could only watch and help the villagers of Stone Village from afar.


    And the willow tree had been his only companion, providing warmth in the night and shade in the day.


    It even came to a point where Ye Yun started to treat the willow tree as a family member. Perhaps it was because they were both plants that grew in the same place in this world.


    Despite the lack of response, Ye Yun persistently repeated the task of helping the Willow Deity keep its root system tidy daily.


    Hundreds of kilometers away from the desolate Stone Village of the Great Wastelands, a guest with an unfathomable identity arrived at Sand Eagle Tribe.


    ¡ª¡ª


    Two days had passed since the battle at the mountain forest lake.


    The people of Stone Village had been carefully disposing of the pieces of the corpses they had obtained from the mighty beasts¡¯ battle and refining the extracted blood essence into medicinal bath items for body tempering. They planned to let the children in the village temper their bodies today.


    These spoils weren¡¯t the only benefit they had received from the battle at the mountain forest lake.


    Shi Hao, in particular, had come out of the night mentally stronger.


    Anyone could tell that the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit was planning on taking out Shi Hao through a surprise attack. Even if Shi Hao managed to dodge the attack, he would have still gotten seriously hurt.


    And this was when Shi Hao was soft-heartedly trying not to kill the cultivators of Wolf Village while fending them off. Despite his mastery over the use of ancient runes, he still held back and decided to restrain his opponents.


    Unfortunately, rather than repaying his kindness, his opponents took advantage of his soft-heartedness to take him out instead.


    As the village chief explained to him, Shi Hao would not be alive if the sword Qi had not swooped in so suddenly but timely.


    Shi Hao had finally understood that being kind and merciful on the battlefield would only lead to his demise and that of his loved ones. Hurting others was the only way to protect those he held dear.


    Inspired, Shi Hao had decided that he would one day be the one to wield that sword Qi and put its mighty power to good use.


    And in order to do so, he had to devote himself to cultivation and work towards achieving supreme strength bit by bit. Traveling the Great Wastelands would probably be necessary for his cultivation journey if he wanted to catalyze or trigger some of the breakthroughs.


    The village chief stood at the door, gazing at Shi Hao who was sitting cross-legged next to the willow tree.


    Shi Hao now appeared even more mature than before ¨C his eyes shone with something akin to divine light; his originally young and tender face had slightly hardened due to his experience at the mountain forest lake; and his soft and straight baby hair had turned a little more disheveled. The village chief found Shi Hao looking more and more like his father.


    Shi Hao was only a four-year-old child, yet his heart was so strong that it was unimaginable. However, would it be enough to sustain him on the path of cultivation? How far would he be able to go in this vast and dangerous wasteland? Would he be able to obtain and realize the potential of the countless supreme treasures? Would he be able to realize his own potential?


    Such thoughts prompted the village chief to pray for the child.


    ¡°Guardian Spirit, I hope that you can protect Shi Hao and let him advance on the path of the Great Dao. He is our cultivation prodigy, but our village is so inadequate that we are unable to provide him with what he needs to realize his potential.¡±


    Once he was done with his prayers, the village chief switched gears and called the children of the village over.


    ¡°Children, come. It is time.¡±


    Shi Hao left his spot by the willow tree and walked over to the village chief. But leaving the willow tree made him feel a little strange.


    ¡°Why does sitting by the Willow Deity¡¯s side feel extremely comfortable? It¡¯s like my cultivation progresses smoother than usual.¡±


    But now that he was about to temper his body, he decided to ponder about that later. He stretched out one leg after another and immersed his entire body in the bucket filled with blood essence.


    He slowly closed his eyes and enjoyed the process of body tempering with blood essence.


    Interestingly enough, body tempering with blood essence was not as simple as it seemed, and it was actually quite an uncomfortable process. One would usually experience pain as if one¡¯s body was getting severed. The slightest carelessness in the process could endanger one¡¯s life.


    If one was unable to accept the pain, one¡¯s body would suffer a setback. But one would be able to receive great benefits to their cultivation if one was able to complete the process smoothly.


    Moreover, the smooth completing of body tempering would also grant the person defenses akin to a mighty beast¡¯s indestructible scales ¨C the person would not have to worry about getting injured in a future battle.


    Shi Hao endured the pain of the body tempering process. He was well aware of the costs and benefits of this.. His fair face started to flush red; his skin became covered in a cold sweat; and his facial features were distorted from the pain.

 Chapter 19

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    However, despite the pain, Shi Hao¡¯s mind started to wonder ¨C if he tempered his body next to the willow tree, he might not have felt such pain ¨C and the thought kept repeating in his head. He could not get rid of it, so much so that he wanted to quickly run to the willow tree.


    Ye Yun did not know that Shi Hao could sense the former¡¯s influence when the latter cultivated. But Shi Hao was the future Desolate Heavenly Emperor after all, so how could he not be able to sense, though unknowingly, the effects of Ye Yun¡¯s presence and cultivation?


    Ye Yun suddenly realized that his roots had extended another thirty feet deeper into the soil.


    And the system¡¯s notification beeped.


    [Beep beep. Dear host, you have arrived at a new location. Do you wish to check in?]


    ¡°Is that so? Finally, there¡¯s no need to stay by the willow tree.¡±Ye Yun could not help but get excited and quickly replied to the system.


    ¡°Check me in!¡±


    [You have successfully checked in today. The location is thirty feet under the willow tree. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the reward, Earth Essence Energy x1]


    [The Earth Essence Energy can increase the host¡¯s growth state. Do you wish to use it?]


    ¡®What? The check-in location is thirty feet under the willow tree¡¯s roots? So it seems that I could ¡®move¡¯ vertically,¡¯ Ye Yun thought to himself.


    ¡°Use it.¡±


    Why would he keep such a tool that could promote his growth? He had to use it quickly. Wouldn¡¯t it be just a matter of time before he transformed into human form?


    [The host has used Earth Essence Energy. Status change in progress. The host is now in the Advanced Energy Storage phase of Growth. The host is about to step into the Meridian Transformation phase of Growth.]


    ¡®What? Why does Growth have so many phases? How many phases of Growth do I have to go through? How has it not ended yet?¡¯ Ye Yun thought to himself.


    And here he was thinking that the Advanced Energy Storage phase of Growth was the last step before he could move on to the next stage.


    Still, the reward that he had obtained today was quite suitable for his plans to grow rapidly.


    Since he now knew that he could check in at different locations based on the four directions his roots could grow in, he had found another way to obtain more rewards besides triggering missions.


    And spreading his roots in directions seemed easier than trying to trigger missions.


    With that, Ye Yun no longer paid any attention to the system and instead redirected his attention to the children who were undergoing body tempering in the village.


    The child closest to him was Shi Hao.


    The people in the village had arranged for him to use Suan Ni¡¯s blood essence to temper his body and Shi Hao¡¯s face was turning as red as a tomato. The veins on his forehead were bulging and his face was covered in a cold sweat that flowed down his cheeks continuously before dripping into the bucket.


    His lips were pale as he clenched his teeth tightly. He had bit down so hard that his lips started to bleed as he silently endured the pain of body tempering.


    He was only a four-year-old child, but his willpower was astonishing. He was even better at this than an adult.


    Ye Yun watched Shi Hao carefully and could not help but sigh. If this was Earth, a child of his size would be wailing for his family.


    Shi Hao reminded Ye Yun of himself ¨C an orphan with no mother or father.


    The main difference between them was that Shi Hao was brought up by the villagers, surrounded by people who knew and cared for him. Shi Hao, on the other hand, grew up in an orphanage with only fellow orphans for companions.


    Ye Yun started to really favor Shi Hao.


    Ye Yun also observed the other children. They were wailing in pain and their parents¡¯ hearts clenched with anxiety. But Ye Yun simply sniggered at these children who usually ran around with smiles on their faces.


    ¡®Hah, serves you right for always disturbing my peace, you little brats.¡¯


    While the other children had their parents to watch over them, Shi Hao had had the village chief, besides Ye Yun.


    Stone Village continued its daily proceedings peacefully, unaware of the approaching threat.


    ¡ª¡ª


    Back during the battle at the mountain forest lake involving Suan Ni, Stone Village was able to return with spoils while Wolf Village fled empty-handed in embarrassment.


    Their guardian spirit had also been killed.


    But what made them most angry was that they had fled in fear of being slaughtered by the terrifying sword Qi, only to find out that the sword Qi had left the moment it was done with Suan Ni.


    It was Wolf Village¡¯s loss in every way.


    If they hadn¡¯t acted so rashly, they could have taken their share of the spoils.


    Wolf Village was determined to get back what they felt belonged to them, even if they had to use their ancestral artifact.


    They had previously underestimated Stone Village, thinking that they were very poor and did not have any magical treasures, only to regretfully find out that Stone Village had a trump card up their sleeves.


    Just like the people of Stone Village who could not sleep after returning from the battle, those of Wolf Village couldn¡¯t sleep either. However, the latter¡¯s sleepless night was due to completely different reasons. The residents of Wolf Village were planning a way to retrieve the spoils they had lost to Stone Village.


    The village chief of Wolf Village gathered his people at his house in the middle of the night, and they began to discuss.


    ¡°Village Chief, let¡¯s cut the small talk. Can¡¯t we use our ancestral artifact to attack the people of Stone Village? We all know that we are stronger than them. They only have a few cultivators, and the rest are basically old and weak. I¡¯ll take the lead and take care of them,¡± said one of the black-skinned men. He patted his chest and let out a grunt. His voice was crisp and clear, filled with endless killing intent.


    ¡°Are you out of your mind? Stone Village has a guardian spirit protecting them. How are you going to get past that to attack them? You won¡¯t be able to get close to their borders before their guardian spirit takes you out.¡± The person beside him rolled his eyes.


    This latter person only saw the first one who spoke as a simple-minded four-limbed fool.


    ¡°If only our guardian spirit hadn¡¯t been slaughtered, we could have taken them out easily,¡± said a young man.


    The young man¡¯s delicate and pretty face started to change into a rather terrifying look. He was the cultivation prodigy of Wolf Village who had originally planned to kill the Stone Village¡¯s guardian spirit.


    ¡°That¡¯s not entirely true either. The guardian spirit of the Stone Village might appear to be a simple willow tree. However, no one has seen its true abilities. Moreover, despite their weakness, Stone Village has been living peacefully without any form of disturbance from the outside world since the willow tree¡¯s appearance. Based on this, we have reason to believe that their guardian spirit is quite capable,¡± said the Wolf Village¡¯s chief calmly.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a tree. It can¡¯t move. What could it possibly do to anyone?¡±


    The cultivation prodigy of Wolf Village finally thought of an idea.. ¡°I don¡¯t think we alone would be able to successfully retrieve the spoils from Stone Village. However, what if we make public that Stone Village is hiding many magical treasures? Won¡¯t the others then take the cue to act against Stone Village?¡±

 Chapter 20 - The Birth of a Conspiracy

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Someone else agreed. ¡°We should let them fight over the spoils, and while they¡¯re preoccupied with that, we¡¯ll sneak in and get them for ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Do you think people are that dumb? Receiving such easy and tempting information will only make them more suspicious and wary,¡± said the muscular dark-skinned man.


    ¡°Silence. Lang Ji, go to Mu Village and Po Village to tell their village chiefs about this. If our three villages join hands to deal with Stone Village, we will definitely be able to succeed.¡± The village chief was getting tired of the bickering. Thus, he decided to end the arguments with a decision.


    ¡°But Mu Village and Po Village have never had any contact with Stone Village. Would they join hands with us so willingly?¡± Lang Ji was slightly surprised and confused by the village chief¡¯s decision.


    ¡°Just tell them that Stone Village has been hiding an ancient ancestral artifact with the ability to kill Suan Ni and can be used without restrictions. The two foxes would definitely join us if they hear this,¡± said the village chief to Lang Ji.


    Lang Ji nodded his head slightly. ¡°Alright, when do we act?¡±


    ¡°As soon as possible.¡±


    Lang Ji heard this and once again nodded his head. He turned around to begin his mission before the young man stopped him.


    ¡°Not so fast.¡±


    Lang Ji stopped and turned around to look at the young man.


    The young man ignored Lang Ji¡¯s gaze as he spoke to the village chief. ¡°Village Chief, if I remember correctly, there had been four groups of cultivators representing the four villages in the Great Wasteland sent out to retrieve Suan Ni¡¯s corpse. However, the others had died due to the tide of desolate beasts triggered by Suan Ni.


    ¡°How about Lang Ji informs the other villages that the death of their cultivators was not due to the tide of desolate beasts, but the greedy Stone Village who killed the others just to keep the spoils all to themselves? The Wolf Village cultivators only survived because of our guardian spirit who died protecting us.¡±


    The young man wanted the people of Stone Village to bear the blame and anger of the others. By sowing discord among the three villages, Wolf Village would be able to kill multiple birds with one stone.


    And even if Stone Village had the sword Qi as their hidden ancestral artifact, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to hold their defenses against the attack of multiple villages¡¯ guardian spirits.


    ¡®You think you have the ability to kill guardian spirits? Let¡¯s see if you can kill two at the same time.¡¯


    Lang Ji nodded, left the room, and rushed off to deliver the ¡®news¡¯ to the villages as directed by the village chief and their cultivation prodigy.


    And thus, a conspiracy was planned in the darkness of the night,


    Back at the still-clueless Stone Village, the villagers were still fussing over the children in the midst of body tempering. None of them had an inkling of the target Wolf Village had placed on their heads.


    Stone Village was not particularly weak and defenseless. It¡¯s just that they had become comfortable with the protection and consequent peace brought by their guardian spirit.


    The most fighting they ever did was with desolate beasts for their hunts and sacrificial offerings. They had never hurt another soul on purpose.


    But unfortunately, despite acting only in self-defense, their attacks on Wolf Village and the death of the latter¡¯s guardian spirit had started the vicious cycle of revenge.


    As Wolf Village¡¯s scheme unraveled, the children of the desolate Stone Village had also successfully ended the body tempering process. Upon completion, the children could not suppress the excitement as they jumped up and down and compared the differences among themselves.


    The noisy atmosphere interrupted Ye Yun¡¯s plan to use his Divine Sense to cultivate the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence.


    He turned and looked up at the willow tree. ¡°I really envy you and your deep sleep. If you were to wake up and hear such noise, you would definitely feel as restless I do right now.


    ¡°This may be a different world, but children noises still sound the same.¡±


    Ye Yun took advantage of the willow tree¡¯s lack of response to speak his mind.


    Ye Yun had been cultivating the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence for almost a few months and he had reached a stage where he would soon be able to temper his body.


    However, it would be another few years until he had improved his cultivation to the point where he had figured out the laws of this world and found a way to create a soul avatar.


    Therefore, the more powerful the cultivation method, the more diligently he would cultivate it. Ye Yun could not help but sigh, but he was not disappointed or demotivated.


    He might still be a blade of grass under the willow tree, but he had come a long way from when he first transmigrated into this world.


    ¡ª¡ª


    The thick and strong branches of the mountain forest trees were green with lush and luxuriant leaves, forming a canopy that blotted out the sky and covered the sun. Closer towards the mountain forest floor, countless desolate beasts roamed, foraged, and hunted.


    The sounds of the mountain forest were not as harmonious as its visuals ¨C branches and leaves rustled as the wind blew past while wild beasts occasionally roared cacophonously.


    But all of these were still very much natural to the mountain forest except for a group of people traveling through in strange clothes. They looked very different from the people of the Great Wastelands. Their clothes seemed to be of a luxurious quality that was not hindered by the snagging of twigs and splashes of mud on the mountain forest floor.


    The speed at which they traveled, despite the size of their group, was especially high but what was hard to ignore was the different marks on their flags: a dragon, sword, hammer, ghost, crown, and chrysanthemum.


    ¡°Bishop, we have been walking through the forest for more than half a month, but we still don¡¯t recognize any of these or know where we are,¡± said a child in confusion as he walked next to the bishop.


    He was a cultivation prodigy who had been selected by his people to travel in the group.


    ¡°I have never heard of such an ancient beast forest in Martial Soul Continent. Could it be that we have entered a forbidden area created by some powerful warrior?¡± The child spoke again.


    They had entered a forbidden area before this, but then mistakenly stepped into an ancient teleportation array formation and ended up teleported to this unknown forest.


    The bishop started to frown.


    He was a member of Martial Soul Hall who was very knowledgeable and experienced. As such, he had noticed quite a few things from their surroundings that told him that they had arrived on a different continent, which was what the people of this world called the sub-worlds.


    Traveling to other continents was something anyone with the ability could do. This was something all cultivators of Martial Soul Continent knew. Not the child, however, not yet.


    But their current situation was different. They had accidentally stepped into the ancient teleportation array formation and had lost their way.


    If the bishop thought about it properly and long enough, this was probably a continent in the west.


    ¡°If we¡¯ve gone to the west, could this possibly be Perfect Continent?¡± The bishop could not help but mutter as he thought to himself..

 Chapter 21 - The Arrival of Outsiders

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Bishop, what did you just say? The west continent?¡± asked the child.


    ¡°It¡¯s not important for you to know or worry about. Just follow along.¡± The bishop frowned slightly and tried to prevaricate. He did not want to be questioned by the child the entire way.


    He had not expected such a thing to happen to them when they entered the forbidden area. He might be the bishop but even he was not strong enough to simply open up a portal to return to their continent.


    But he was not desperate to anyway. Rather, he was excited to explore what this continent had to offer. He just wasn¡¯t sure of the ability of the cultivators in this place.


    If they were weak but had different magical treasures compared to their continent, this trip would be worth it.


    Unfortunately, they were still walking through this mountain forest after days and had yet to encounter any humans. If this was the reality of this continent, then the desolate beasts here were probably even better than the humans. They probably would not even have to use their soul rings to cultivate.


    The bishop could not help but smile as he thought of this. He started to develop a reason to believe that they were more powerful than those of this continent and was confident that they would be worshipped here.


    And meeting a peak-level cultivator with terrifying abilities would be all the more beneficial to them. It would be too boring if every single person here was weak.


    Even though he had never been to this ancient mountain forest, he could see the mountain peaks rising into the clouds and the rare heavenly trees.


    As excited as he was about the prospect of conquering this continent, his first task, if they encountered a cultivator here, was to ask about the ancient teleportation array formation.


    Teleportation array formations usually worked both ways. If there was one that sent them here, there should be one here that would send them back.


    Not long after, they noticed a tribal village in the distance.


    It was called a tribe because of the living environment of this continent. It definitely did not look worthy to be called a form of civilization.


    Regardless, they were the group¡¯s best bet at getting answers.


    The group approached the village casually and started to attract the attention of the children who had been playing outside.


    The children quickly ran back to the village while shouting.


    ¡°Outsiders have arrived!¡±


    ¡°Outsiders? Do they mean people from a foreign land of the same continent or do they also know that there are other continents beyond theirs?¡± The bishop wondered what the children meant but he didn¡¯t dwell on it too much.


    Now that they were about to meet other people, their problems were soon to be solved.


    But receiving Outsiders wasn¡¯t that strange for those who lived in the Great Wastelands. In fact, many people from other continents would be teleported to the Great Wastelands by ¡®accident¡¯ ¨C through an unknown opening or cave in the barren mountains, a sudden crack in the sky, or an unknowing person simply taking in a single breath.


    The people of the Great Wastelands referred to those who came here from other continents as ¡®Outsiders¡¯ ¨C they were people too but each different kinds of cultivations.


    The people of the Great Wastelands had also visited the other continents before.


    The world was vast and endless with complicated laws, but continents can still intersect.


    Today was a particularly festive day for Sand Eagle Tribe. They lived on the outskirts of the desolate mountain forest and had just received guests from the far west and a visit from a representative of Wolf Village.


    Xuan Ce and the others had initially planned to embark on an expedition into the desolate mountain forest to search for their cultivators who had yet to return from their mission of dealing with Suan Ni.


    But since a representative from Wolf Village ¨C one of the parties who had also sent their own cultivators to deal with Suan Ni ¨C had arrived, Xuan Ce and the others decided to find out what had happened from the visitor himself.


    The people of Sand Eagle Tribe took their seats in their meeting hall along with the Wolf Village representative and those from Martial Soul Continent.


    The Outsiders fidgeted, eager to enquire about the continent they had just stumbled into.


    Lang Ji, on the other hand, looked at the Outsiders with a new plan in mind.


    Why not deceive the Outsiders to join their attack on Stone Village?


    But he would most likely have to discuss this with the other leaders as well since Sand Eagle Tribe was the last one to be informed on Lang Ji¡¯s list.


    Either way, Lang Ji decided to speak to the leader of Sand Eagle Tribe first to complete his mission. Then, he returned to Wolf Village.


    Ye Yun observed Shi Hao who was cultivating next to him, speechless.


    Shi Hao had been cultivating under the willow tree for three days. If he shifted even just a few inches more to the side, he would have been sitting on Ye Yun.


    Ye Yun felt quite helpless. He was just a simple blade of grass but Shi Hao was a human who could move wherever and do whatever he pleased.


    When Shi Hao had finished tempering his body, he continued to refine Suan Ni¡¯s blood essence. His comprehension ability had also improved by leaps and bounds. It was as if he firmly believed that cultivating under the willow tree would allow him to break through quickly. Hence, his current cultivation location and duration.


    Shi Hao might not know that Ye Yun was the one who had somehow been facilitating the former¡¯s cultivation. But Ye Yun had definitely noticed it from the past few days of observations. The best part? Ye Yun received a share of Shi Hao¡¯s cultivation progress as well.


    When Shi Hao cultivated, some of his energy would leave his body and get absorbed by the blade of grass right next to him.


    And now, Ye Yun finally understood the effect of Influence ¨C he could positively affect the cultivation of cultivators nearby and receive their energy in exchange.


    Even though Ye Yun¡¯s Influence was only a little over ten points ¨C incomparable to the extent of his roots, which meant that the area his Influence would any effect was just around the willow tree ¨C his cultivation had increased by leaps as well despite Shi Hao being the only cultivator present.


    Shi Hao¡¯s three-day cultivation had resulted in Ye Yun¡¯s roots rapidly spreading.


    Soon, he was able to change the direction of his roots¡¯ growth to a new check-in location and get more rewards.


    As expected, the system¡¯s notification echoed in his ears within a few seconds.


    [Beep beep, a change in the host¡¯s check-in location has been detected. Do you wish to check in?]


    ¡°Check in!¡±


    [Beep beep, today¡¯s check-in has been completed. The location is thirty feet belowground to the east of the willow tree. Congratulations to the host for obtaining Earth Essence Energy ¡Á1]


    ¡°What? Why am I getting Earth Essence Energy again? Fine, whatever. It¡¯s useful anyway.¡±


    Ye Yun quickly used the Earth Essence Energy..

 Chapter 22 - Prepare for the Rain at Night

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    With extensive roots and a vibrant leaf, the blade of grass emitted specks of light from the runic marks carved onto it.


    The meridians throughout Ye Yun¡¯s body were being gently and slowly enhanced by energy, expanding as they turned into endless streams.


    As such, the impurities within his meridians and roots deep in the soil had been cleaned up, which fed back into the tempering cycle of his meridians.


    [Congratulations to the host for successfully stepping into the Meridian Transformation phase of Growth. You have obtained three Influence points. The host¡¯s current Influence is 18. Keep up the good work, dear host.]


    Shi Hao had been cultivating next to Ye Yun and started to feel a slight tremble in the soil.


    ¡®What was going on?¡¯ Shi Hao was about to investigate but the tremors stopped as quickly as they started,


    The frequency of the tremor caused by Ye Yun¡¯s Meridian Transformation phase was not strong before things returned to normal again. That was the reason only Shi Hao caught it.


    Shi Hao shook off the confusion in his head, abandoned all distracting thoughts, and resumed cultivation.


    It might not have been much to Shi Hao, but the cause of the tremor was a big deal for Ye Yun.


    Meridians were the foundation of cultivation. Now that he had entered the Meridian Transformation phase, his cultivation would be able to reach higher levels.


    Ye Yun continued to absorb the spiritual Qi from his surroundings, allowing it to surge into his body like waves from a vast ocean washing through his meridians.


    If this continued, he would soon be able to temper his body to become indestructible.


    Everything that he had accumulated through cultivation in the Energy Storage phase of Growth was to establish the foundation for expanding his meridians in the Meridian Transformation phase.


    Now that he had entered the Meridian Transformation phase, Ye Yun continued his cultivation.


    ¡ª¡ª


    Night came, and so did the torrential rain that dissipated the scorching heat of the day. The temperature started to drop and the cold settled in.


    Ye Yun stopped his cultivation and stared at the rain, sinking deep into his thoughts.


    Transmigrating to this world and having to cultivate were probably one of the best things that could happen to him. He did not have to worry or race towards the immaterial and insignificant things from his previous world.


    If one ignored that he was just a blade of grass, he could be said to be the most carefree existence in the world.


    No one knew of his existence; he was proficient in the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence; and his body had become almost indestructible. Once he cultivated to the point where he could have a soul avatar to move about his physical body, he would be able to walk freely in the world.


    But this did not mean that Ye Yun was an ambitious person. He had never thought of being invincible. He just wanted to be a normal person.


    After all, he could not come here for nothing. He wanted to take in the scenery here; admire nature¡¯s handiwork; climb the mountains and swim the rivers; watch the transitions of the four seasons; and daydream while looking at the clouds in the sky.


    If he was able to make some friends, he would want to gather with them for a drink and a good laugh. Maybe even meet a girl.


    He started to wish for many beautiful things as the rain fell from the sky.


    Anyone who had reached the peak of their cultivation would receive the privilege to travel the world here. And Ye Yun wanted to be that person.


    With this in mind, Ye Yun spread out his Divine Sense and it started to vibrate as he fell into a meditative state.


    For now, this was how he would ¡®travel¡¯ around. Through his Divine Sense, he saw people walking in the pouring rain; people laughing under the eaves; people leaning against the window; and people dozing off to the sound of the rain.


    The world was vast and boundless. Thousands of living beings breathed and walked the land; thousands of lights were shining, but none of them were bright enough for him.


    Was his current state a form of karma? What had he done to deserve this?


    As he continued to fall deeper into his thoughts, Ye Yun did not notice that the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence could and was able to temper not only his body but also his soul.


    Eventually, the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence had helped him begin the refinement of his soul.


    He wasn¡¯t sure how long he had been meditating but he could tell that he had made a breakthrough and that his soul was being refined.


    While the rhythmic drops of rain brought a peaceful relief, it was also the calm before the storm.


    The darkness of the night and heavy rain obscured the movements of a group of people.


    The Great Wastelands was not only a vast expanse of land but was also mountainous and interrupted by forests. With the added factor of the presence of desolate beasts, travel was never easy or safe through these terrains, which was why the various tribes of this place were usually isolated from each other.


    This was also why the representatives of the various tribes had gathered in Wolf Village, awaiting the return of Lang Ji after he made his last stop in Sand Eagle Tribe.


    When Lang Ji arrived, everyone looked up at him expectantly and peered behind him. Lang Ji was supposed to bring the Divine Eagle, Sand Eagle Tribe¡¯s guardian spirit, back with him.


    The Divine Eagle could move as fast as lightning. As such, it had been deemed as the main force of their attack on Stone Village later.


    Moreover, the Divine Eagle was good at observing the situation from above and could alert them of any incoming attacks from Stone Village¡¯s ancestral artifacts.


    However, there was nothing behind Lang Ji. The leaders were confused. Could it be that the leader of Sand Eagle Tribe didn¡¯t care about their people being killed by Stone Village? Or did they not have the heart to let their guardian spirit participate in the battle?


    ¡°Sand Eagle Tribe had welcomed a group of eighteen outsiders, and many among them are experts and talented cultivators..¡±

 Chapter 23 - Their Respective Plans

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The Wolf Village¡¯s chief trembled as he said, ¡°Outsiders have come? Previous ones I¡¯ve met had usually been passers-by, but they were able to attack and kill the desolate beasts in the desolate mountains. But this particular group had been welcomed by Sand Eagle Tribe?¡±


    The other leaders stared at Lang Ji, eager to hear his reply.


    ¡°Do you know how powerful they are?¡±


    ¡°Just from their appearance, it¡¯s impossible to tell. However, the Qi flow around them is on par with the desolate beasts, which is quite surprising. Especially the middle-aged man who leads them. They call him Bishop.¡±


    ¡°What is their purpose in the Great Wastelands?¡±


    ¡°To look for a branch of the Hall of Souls and soul beasts.¡±


    ¡°Soul beasts? Could it be that it¡¯s similar to our desolate beasts but they just call them differently?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I informed them that there is an ancient giant willow tree in Stone Village and when they heard it, they seemed pretty excited. They plan to head to Stone Village in a few days to look for the willow tree and some soul rings.¡±


    Despite the foreignness of the terms he had to relay, Lang Ji remained indifferent as he answered the questions.


    ¡°Not bad, you¡¯ve done very well.¡± The Wolf Village¡¯s chief laughed.


    The rest of the people stopped and smiled. They knew what the new plan was.


    Simply put, they would let the Outsiders fight Stone Village first. These would allow the tribes of the Great Wasteland to observe the abilities of their enemy and make the necessary preparations for a follow-up attack.


    Moreover, if the Wolf Village¡¯s chief¡¯s words were true, Stone Village¡¯s ancestral artifact that had swooped in from the sky with a terrifyingly bright light and taken out Suan Ni and the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit would easily take out the other tribes if they attacked first.


    Wolf Village was obviously not the only one capable of scheming as the other tribe leaders looked at each other with fake smiles.


    The Outsiders had come at a good time.


    ¡ª¡ª


    The heavy rain continued with no sign of stopping. Dark clouds covered every corner of the Great Wasteland¡¯s sky.


    The sound of the rain was so loud that it overpowered all the other sounds. The only thing anyone could hear the entire time was the sound of rain.


    At this moment, the people of Martial Soul Hall in Sand Eagle Tribe were resting in the houses that had been prepared for them. The Outsiders lit candles and cultivated diligently.


    Only the children had fallen asleep while the bishop couldn¡¯t help but think about the words of the tribal man who had visited Sand Eagle Tribe that day.


    Stone Village¡­ ancient giant willow.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if the desolate beasts in this place were similar to their soul beasts or if they had soul rings that could be used for them to cultivate.


    If the ancient giant willow tree existed and had lived for over a thousand years, it could develop into a plant-type soul beast. If there were soul rings here, then there would be soul bones too.


    If they could obtain a thousand-year soul ring, he would be able to quickly breakthrough and rise in status in the Hall of Souls upon his return.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we wait until dawn to hunt a desolate beast and see if it can be used for the people of Martial Soul Continent to cultivate? We still have to experiment.¡± The bishop made a decision secretly.


    But then, someone spoke and interrupted his thoughts.


    ¡°Bishop, could this be Perfect Continent? You don¡¯t seem surprised. Could it be that you already knew that we would come to this place beforehand?¡±


    It was his team member who spoke. They had stopped their cultivation as they were confused.


    Although they looked calm and collected earlier in the meeting, they were actually quite shocked by everything they had heard and seen. Apparently, they had accidentally teleported to another continent through the ancient teleportation array formation, and this continent was very different from Martial Soul Continent.


    However, judging from the bishop¡¯s expression, it seemed that he already knew about this matter. Therefore, they had pretended to cultivate, but in fact, they had been thinking about this matter and wanted to find out the truth.


    ¡°Well, guess what? Did you really think that Martial Soul Continent was the only continent in this world? There are so many more continents out there.¡± Since they had found out the truth, the bishop turned arrogant.


    ¡°Alright, then. Tell us, in this world¡­¡±


    Time passed as they talked.


    The torrential rain eventually graduated in drizzles but the sky was still covered with dark clouds that did not let in a single bit of light. Still, the fresh smell of grass filled the air.


    Ye Yun closed his eyes and felt that the Qi flow around his body was increasing. The spiritual Qi of his surroundings continued to gather and flow through his body, causing a small tornado.


    But Ye Yun did not know what was happening. He was still in cultivation and his soul was still being refined. He eventually entered the state of Three Thousand Conscience.


    The roots in the soil continued to absorb the energy of the desolate mountains as they spread rapidly in all four directions and constantly encountered new check-in locations.


    The system¡¯s virtual display kept popping up with check-ins but Ye Yun was still cultivating in a meditative state. In fact, he was in a critical period, which was why the system did not ping him any of the notifications. It decided to only do so after Ye Yun was done, for his safety.


    In Stone Village, Shi Hao woke up from his dream and immediately wanted to go cultivate under the willow tree. The village was still looking peacefully calm at dawn.


    Some of the young adults were already awake and ready to seize the day.


    Shi Hao ended up cultivating under the willow tree for hours. This time, he felt that his cultivation was progressing faster than usual.


    Next to him were two Green Scaled Eagle chicks, Little Purple and Little Green. They were continuously comprehending the Bone Text energy that Shi Hao had imparted to them.


    Even though they were chicks, their bodies were larger than Shi Hao¡¯s. And by being in the vicinity of Ye Yun¡¯s Influence, they had also grown quite a bit.


    And as Ye Yun¡¯s Influence would have it, the energy from Shi Hao and the chicks were also flowing into Ye Yun.


    On the other side of the Great Wastelands, the bishop led his team to search for desolate beasts in the mountain forest, intending to test yesterday¡¯s idea.


    Not long after, they saw a desolate beast in the shape of a tiger. They managed to kill it and despite waiting for a few moments after it was dead, they hadn¡¯t found a soul ring.


    ¡°I guess because of the different cultivation methods of each continent, the magical beasts here are probably different from ours too.¡± One of them sighed helplessly.


    In Martial Soul Continent, there were very few soul beasts. Only if one was around Martial Soul Hall that they could encounter more of them. However, if a cultivator met a soul beast that perfectly matched his martial soul, it wouldn¡¯t be an easy task of taking it down.


    Due to the scarcity of soul beasts in their continent, they were hoping to meet more in Perfect Continent.


    Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t go as planned.


    The bishop looked at the corpse of the desolate beast laying next to him. After a long silence, his eyes locked on the blood essence of the beast.


    He immediately crouched down and lightly touched the blood essence. After using his soul power to probe for a moment, he finally spoke.


    ¡°It seemed that in this continent, the desolate beasts¡¯ blood essence contains energy that is valuable. If we dissect the corpses, there might be some secrets hidden within their bones.¡±


    The members of the group quickly sprung into action..

 Chapter 24 - Fighting with Stone Village

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Just as he had expected, they found a rune-like mark on the desolate beast¡¯s bones.


    To be fair, they were lucky to have met a desolate beast with runes on its body.


    ¡°Copy everything. It might have other uses,¡± said the bishop.


    It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t plan to inquire about the cultivation methods of this continent, but how could one guarantee that a local would reveal everything just because another asked? Especially if the person who asked was an Outsider.


    Moreover, they didn¡¯t think that a desert civilization like Sand Eagle Tribe would be a credible source of information. It was better for them to figure things out by themselves.


    The group eventually killed over a hundred desolate beasts between dawn and noon. All just to confirm that the magical beasts here did not have soul rings.


    At least the desolate beasts had another cultivation resource for the people who lived on this continent. Being able to cultivate from the runes of the desolate beasts¡¯ bones was like a bonus for the Outsiders¡¯ hard work from the day, from hunting to obtaining self-taught and self-obtained knowledge.


    Now, they were even more curious about Stone Village the others had been talking about.


    The person from yesterday had told them that Stone Village possessed the ancient great willow tree and a peerless treasure.


    Even if they didn¡¯t know the abilities of that village, they could roughly form an impression of them based on their impression of Sand Eagle Tribe.


    The Outsiders saw no reason to worry. They had three Great Soul Masters in their team, each with their own terrifying set of abilities. If they used force, Stone Village would definitely have to surrender.


    Moreover, unlike the towns in Martial Soul Continent, the settlements here were very isolated and far apart from each other. They were basically independent entities and hardly made contact with one another. There was no need to divide anymore, all there was left was to conquer.


    And since they had heard that the people of Stone Village were not very kind, especially after killing members of other villagers, the Outsiders had one less thing to feel guilty about.


    The Outsiders quickly set off in the direction of Stone Village. The path there was easily recognizable thanks to the sword Qi from last time. If one stood at the beginning of the path, one could already see the towering ancient willow tree in the distance.


    ¡ª¡ª


    The sky was still dark and there was no sign of the sun even though it was already daytime, all because there was still a slight drizzle. The villagers who went out to hunt had also returned to the village, intending to offer sacrifices. No matter how scarce their catch had been, they still had to make sacrificial offerings.


    The people in the village bussed through the drizzle, not worried about the rainy weather as they had been training their bodies for all conditions since they were young. Thus, their bodies had become strong and would not get sick so easily over something so small.


    Shi Hao had stopped cultivating under the willow tree. He wanted to but he kept feeling the tremors in the ground where he liked to sit, and the tremors were especially intense that day. Moreover, it did not stop, unlike previous times. It was as if something was about to rush out from the soil.


    The return of those who had gone out to hunt became a distraction from cultivating for him as he ran off to greet and help them with the sacrificial offering.


    Suddenly, more than ten people wearing strange clothes appeared at the entrance of the village. Their clothes were graceful and one could tell that they had come to Stone Village with a strong desire. They were the people from Martial Soul Hall.


    Rather than making a move on the villagers immediately, the Outsiders stood and observed their surroundings. Finally, their gaze stopped on the willow tree.


    ¡°This is the biggest lightning-struck tree I¡¯ve ever seen. I¡¯m not sure if this willow tree has activated its intelligence. Can we communicate with it?¡± The bishop ignored the villagers of Stone Village and kept observing the willow tree.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Noticing that more than ten people dressed in luxurious clothes were slandering the willow tree in such a manner, the people of Stone Village could not help but feel angry.


    When he heard the villagers speak, the bishop responded to them with another question. ¡°Where¡¯s your village chief?¡±


    ¡°That would be me. How may I help you?¡± The village chief had heard the Outsider speak and stepped forward. He wasted no time observing the strange group that had arrived at their doorstep with faces full of hidden intentions.


    The village chief had traveled throughout the Great Wastelands before, so he knew very well that this was not the only continent or world out there.


    He noticed that this group of people¡¯s Qi flow was rippling. They were probably Outsiders.


    Then, he turned to Huang Feijiao with a look that warned him and the others to be on high alert.


    Shi Hao also sensed that something was wrong. He clenched his fists and looked at the Outsiders solemnly and coldly.


    The bishop noticed that the people of Stone Village were on guard and could not help but laugh.


    ¡°Why are you so vigilant? We are not bad people, we are just asking if your village has any magic treasures. Oh right, can I also study the willow tree?¡±


    Everyone was furious.


    The willow tree was their guardian spirit, an entity to which they must worship and respect.


    Why was this group of people from who-knows-where so unbridled! Not only did they disrespect the willow tree, they even dared to want to study it!


    Could it be that they planned to cut the willow tree and split it up to do so?


    ¡°My dear guests from afar, it¡¯s not that we are unreasonable. But I¡¯m sure that you understand how impudent your requests are.¡± The village chief did not hold back his anger.


    But he could also sense that the person before him was not an ordinary person. If that person attacked, both sides would suffer heavy losses.


    ¡°Impudent? Aren¡¯t you the impudent ones? From what I heard, Stone Village killed people from other villages for the sake of obtaining precious treasures all to themselves.¡± The bishop responded provocatively.


    Or at least that was what he had heard from that person from Wolf Village.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. We didn¡¯t kill people from other villages.¡± Shi Hao was still a child and had no fear of standing up for what was right and true. Due to his anger, his face flushed red as an unceasing stream of Qi spread out from his body and the runic light in his palm flashed.


    ¡°Hey, little brat, how about you get your manners checked? How dare you speak like that to our bishop?¡± A certain person behind the bishop with his soul ring aglow suddenly appear. His eyes were filled with anger.


    But because he had been facing the bishop¡¯s back, he did not realize that the bishop was looking shocked.


    ¡°Why is the Qi flow around this child so shocking?¡±


    The bishop was one of the best cultivators in Martial Soul Continent and this was the first time he had met a child with such Qi flow. How could he not be shocked?


    ¡°Could it be that he has a treasure hidden within him?¡±


    ¡°Shi Hao, go to your room,¡± said the chief when he noticed that something was wrong.


    He had to protect the village¡¯s cultivation prodigy, even if it meant that he had to fight the Outsiders head-on.


    ¡°I refuse, Village Chief!¡±


    Shi Hao might be young, but he was not a coward.


    ¡°Alright, alright. Let¡¯s not get too emotional. Village Chief, right? If you know what¡¯s good for you, you should hand over the treasures immediately. Oh right, and hand over the blood essence that you¡¯ve plundered too. If you don¡¯t agree, then I will have to use force.¡±


    As soon as the bishop finished speaking, his team members behind him quickly displayed their martial soul power flow, ready to attack at any time..

 Chapter 25 - An Unexpected Fight!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The powerful Qi flow erupted from the bishop and his people, and the villagers staggered backward.


    ¡°They are so powerful, it seems like we are no match for them.¡±


    ¡°We are destined to lose to them today. Who knows where the Outsiders came from.¡±


    The villagers in Stone Village had all sorts of thoughts. However, they would not surrender just because of this.


    They had to protect the guardian spirit and their village even if they had to die!


    What they did not know at this moment was that the bishop was so shocked that he could not speak. He had not expected that this group of people would be so powerful!


    He had been viewing them as mere, simple villagers that were at the bottom of the continent¡¯s food chain.


    But the ordinary villagers before him had only retreated half a step despite the pressure of the Great Soul Master¡¯s soul power!


    What was up with them? How unbelievable!


    This group of Outsiders was the cream of the crop on Martial Soul Continent. However, they were only able to make the villagers of Perfect Continent, who were supposedly at the bottom of the food chain, only take half a step back.


    For the first time, the bishop felt as if his worldview had collapsed! He couldn¡¯t accept it, hoping for it to only be a fluke.


    Fortunately, he had not challenged the other tribes in the Great Wastelands or they might not be able to stand their ground.


    It was a good thing that their abilities were slightly better than the villagers. Otherwise, they would have died here if they had attacked directly.


    The people behind the bishop also felt the same way, as one could tell from their heavy faces.


    It was obvious that both parties had noticed something after they had met each other. They knew that the abilities of the villagers in front of them could not be underestimated. Some of them had already thought of retreating.


    ¡°What kind of continent have we been teleported to?¡± One of them murmured. He had the same thought as the bishop.


    ¡°We should leave, find out if there is a teleportation array formation around, and return to Martial Soul Continent as soon as possible.¡± Another person murmured.


    ¡°No.¡± At this moment, the bishop was caught between a rock and a hard place. They had just provoked someone they probably shouldn¡¯t have. If they retreated suddenly, who knew what would happen?


    At the moment, it was as if both parties were at a standstill. Neither made a move. The bishop had not expected that he would come to Stone Village to steal something only to be slapped in the face before he was able to start.


    The villagers of Stone Village were also frozen to their spots but they did not let their guards down.


    After a moment, the bishop made a decision.


    Even though he had just learned about Perfect Continent¡¯s ability, the villagers before him were probably those from a lower realm.


    His party, on the other hand, were the elites from Martial Soul Continent. And yet, their ability was only slightly better than this group of villagers.


    If they were to attempt to venture beyond the Great Wastelands like this, they would probably be cannon fodder.


    But so what if they couldn¡¯t defeat the others? They were now in the Great Wastelands, and their abilities were already a shock to the villagers. Why didn¡¯t they just carry out their original plan to take Stone Village for themselves?


    Moreover, Stone Village was the target of public criticism. If they didn¡¯t take action, the other villages would eventually do the same anyway.


    In addition, if the cultivators of Perfect Continent were so powerful, their treasures must be even more so. He could cultivate in Stone Village and find another way to return to Martial Soul Continent after his rapid progress.


    The bishop and the others had a lot of thoughts running through their mind, but externally, they had simply blinked once.


    The bishop was about to raise his arm and instruct his team members to kill the people of Stone Village.


    Rumble!


    Dazzling lightning flashed across the sky, tearing the dark clouds apart.


    Boom¡­


    The lightning bolt slithered down from the sky and landed on the willow tree of Stone Village, went through its trunk, and hit the grass.


    However, everyone¡¯s attention had been on the willow tree. When the lightning struck, no one noticed that a blade of grass under the willow tree was being surrounded by a terrifying Qi flow.


    The black clouds slowly descended, as if it was about to press down on the ground. The quasi-purple lightning danced around wantonly and arrogantly. A fierce wind whistled in and made it difficult for everyone to stand on their feet.


    The sudden appearance of such a strange phenomenon shocked everyone. They only felt fear and unease, but it was quickly replaced by excitement.


    ¡°The shocking power of this lightning must mean that there is something strange about Stone Village. An unparalleled magic treasure is about to appear.¡± The bishop and the others watched the situation unfold excitedly.


    It was as if a treasure was placed right before them, beckoning.


    If that was the case, they had to snatch it.


    However, Ye Yun would let them know in a short while just how ridiculous their thoughts were.


    This strange phenomenon was actually caused by him. He was about to break through and level up very quickly. The lightning that enveloped Stone Village was caused by him transcending the Three Thousand Conscience tribulations and refining his soul.


    In the sky, dark clouds crawling with lightning condensed. Ye Yun¡¯s roots, which were already more than a hundred meters long, started to shake, causing continuous tremors on the ground.


    The rocks jumped and swayed as if they were about to fall.


    At that moment, a terrifying Qi flow filled Stone Village. The bishop and his group who had been emitting their soul power found themselves unable to breathe for a moment.


    It was as if a pair of invisible giant hands were pinching their necks. Their faces turned red and purple as they struggled for air.


    ¡°Motherf*cker, what¡¯s going on?!¡± When the villagers of Stone Village saw the scene before them, they were momentarily stunned. What kind of situation was this?! Could it be that they were the ones who caused this?


    ¡°You¡­ used¡­ some kind of method¡­¡± The bishop¡¯s face was flushed red as he forcefully spat out those words from his throat.


    The bishop felt as if something was amiss. For such a strange phenomenon to happen, could it be that a treasure had appeared? Or perhaps there was a cultivator at the peak of cultivation lying in ambush in the village?


    The bishop suddenly felt that he had an inexplicable urge to kowtow under such power.


    ¡°It must be a consequence delivered by the expert. There¡¯s something wrong with the village! There must be a hidden peak expert cultivator!¡± The bishop affirmed.


    ¡°No wonder the people from the other tribes lured us here. They must have known!¡±


    ¡°However, the power of the Qi flow has almost suffocated us! What should we do?! What is the strongest method we have to escape this?¡±


    But the bishop looked quite helpless.


    If he had known, he wouldn¡¯t have provoked Stone Village.


    ¡®Is this the day we die?¡¯ The bishop and the others could not help but think as their faces filled with grief.


    Plop!


    The villagers of Stone Village were dumbfounded by what they saw next. They could not believe their eyes when the Outsiders suddenly knelt before them.


    ¡®What was going on? Why did they suddenly kneel? We did not do anything!¡¯


    But in truth, even the villagers of Stone Village were also starting to feel that their legs couldn¡¯t hold on much longer. They almost knelt too, but they managed to survive it.


    The ground started to shake more frequently and violently as dense wisps of sword Qi danced around in the sky above. Each movement was followed by a sharp whistle as the sword Qi cut through the air.


    Even though the sword Qi was in the sky, its movements could be heard so clearly that the Outsiders¡¯ ears started to bleed..

 Chapter 26 - Oh, Did the Ancestor Make a Move?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    All sorts of strange phenomena occurred with shocking powers. However, the expert did not appear.


    Then who could have caused such a storm?


    Everyone was terrified and stunned speechless.


    If it wasn¡¯t a peak expert, could it just be a natural disaster?


    What was going on? Such a phenomenon was not the work of the willow tree guardian spirit. Initially, the villagers of Stone Village thought the Outsiders were behind this. But if they were kneeling, it couldn¡¯t have been them.


    ¡°Unless the Outsiders are using a funny and strange method to activate their skills?¡± Some of the people in Stone Village started to speculate.


    Rubbish! The Outsiders couldn¡¯t have done it!


    Shi Hao was barely able to support his body but he didn¡¯t let himself kneel. He frowned as a thought appeared in his mind.


    This gave him a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu¡­


    But he didn¡¯t know where he had encountered this before.


    While he was still thinking, a shout interrupted his thoughts.


    ¡°Let us go. We are willing to do anything. We promise not to take even half a step into Stone Village. We beseech you to let your ancestor forgive us for what we have done!¡±


    The bishop¡¯s dozen or so people continued to plead, their faces filled with fear and sincerity.


    ¡°What? What ancestors?¡± The people of Stone Village were slightly confused. They could not quite understand the bishop¡¯s actions or words.


    Ancestor? Did they have such an ancestor who survived death? The oldest person in the village they knew was the village chief.


    As such, they started to stare at him.


    Everyone was waiting for the village chief to speak. Even Shi Hao was no exception. His eyes were wide open as he stared straight at the village chief.


    The corners of the village chief¡¯s mouth twitched slightly as he looked back helplessly. ¡®F*ck, why are you looking at me again?!¡¯


    The village chief then experienced his own sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    This kind of thing seemed to have happened to him some time ago.


    The sword Qi that had suddenly appeared last time had caused his people to look at him in the same way. But today¡¯s actions were not the work of the Willow Deity. So what could possibly explain all of these?


    According to what the Outsiders had said, they seemed to think that today¡¯s phenomenon was the work of their village¡¯s unfathomable ancestor.


    The village chief¡¯s face suddenly wore a smile and he spoke in a mysterious manner.


    ¡°If he gets angry, there¡¯s nothing we can do. However¡­ if you apologize a little more sincerely, perhaps he will forgive you. Otherwise¡­¡±


    The village chief¡¯s words came to an abrupt end as he stared at the sky filled with lightning and did not say anything else.


    When the villagers of Stone Village heard this, they looked at each other but did not say anything. One by one, they also stared at the sky with a mysterious look on their faces.


    As soon as the village chief had finished speaking, the lightning suddenly struck the ground, as if it agreed with him. The bishop started to tremble in fear.


    However, it did not end there. It seemed that the Outsiders¡¯ words and actions had caused the ¡®person¡¯ to fly into a rage, causing the strange phenomenon to become more and more intense.


    The wild wind howled and made it hard for anyone to open their eyes. Fear started to envelop them.


    The terrifying Qi flow surged and spread with no signs of stopping. The high and sharp pressure continued to attack as everyone¡¯s faces started to go numb from the pain. Their blood vessels started to bulge as if all the air in the continent had been sucked out.


    The spiritual Qi gathered into a tornado that enveloped Stone Village before spreading over hundreds of kilometers. It howled crazily and destroyed the vegetation and desolate beasts caught up in it.


    The Outsiders froze in shock by the sheer power of the storm. They started to feel as if they were nothing.


    The fierce wind turned the hundreds of kilometers around Stone Village into an empty wasteland but the village itself remained unscathed.


    Everyone stared into the distance. It was empty. The ground was filled with the ashes of the vegetation and desolate beasts. The mountain peak had been flattened and countless rocks had fallen, stirring up dust into the air.


    Suddenly, the torrential rain fell like rocks. Even the villagers of Stone Village were affected, not to mention the bishop and the others. All of them cried out in surprise.


    The raindrops arrived with a decisive murderous aura. The drops were as sharp as a blade as they cut through the skin when they fell.


    Even though the marks were very shallow, the pain was intense. It was as if someone held a knife and slashed them with it.


    As the raindrops fell, the vegetation started to regrow, but so crazily fast that the others started to feel terrified.


    In just a short while, many of the plants had surpassed the height of a human and were expanding towards the sky.


    The people standing at the entrance of the village were enveloped by the crazily growing vegetation, and their eyes were filled with green.


    The vegetation grew as quickly and suddenly as they were destroyed.


    The wild wind whistled, bringing with it a piercing sound like the wails of ghosts and howls of wolves.


    The sound gave everyone goosebumps.


    The people of Stone Village could not bear it any longer and sat cross-legged on the ground.


    They no longer had the strength to stand under the terrifying pressure.


    Everything that had happened today had refreshed their worldview. They could not help but feel uneasy and afraid, wondering if the unexpected accident would affect Stone Village.


    ¡°Village Chief, could it be that all of this was because we pretended to speak for the expert and he found out about it, causing him to fly into a rage?¡± Huang Feijiao whispered the question into the village chief¡¯s ear.


    He only asked because things only started to become more intense after they had acted so.


    The bishop and the others were already scared out of their wits by the situation so it couldn¡¯t have been them.


    ¡°Bishop, can we leave safely?¡±


    However, the bishop was looking rather helpless and sorrowful. He did not know the reason the strong expert was angry. Could it be that there was something wrong with the words he had said?


    Or perhaps the idea of plundering Stone Village made the strong expert so furious that he felt that it was an unforgivable crime? But they hadn¡¯t even done anything yet, perhaps except for potentially offending the people of Stone Village.


    The bishop and the others were still trembling in fear. They did not have the confidence they initially had when they first came over. They still knelt on the ground in a sorry state, not even daring to breathe loudly.


    If he could start over, he would definitely never approach Stone Village. No, he wouldn¡¯t even enter the forbidden area and step foot in the teleportation array formation.


    Stone Village was such a strange and fearful place.


    The bishop and the others stared back at the sky and saw the dark and heavy clouds with interweaving lightning and thunder.


    The bishop himself was already on the verge of collapse. How could he still have the mentality to recover?


    The villagers of Stone Village were also panicking but they did their best to remain calm. They were known for having a mysterious person who could wield sword Qi on their side. Even if they were afraid, they had to keep up the act.


    Moreover, the terror from the storm aside, how could they not feel excited and satisfied by seeing the initially arrogant and domineering group of Outsiders now kneeling before them?


    But still, even they couldn¡¯t help but wonder, why did the storm center around them?

 Chapter 27 - What the Hell? Martial Soul Hall? Did My Ears Hear Wrongly?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The bishop continued to beg for the strange phenomenon to stop. ¡°Please be magnanimous, oh Great One, and let us go. We just came here by chance from Martial Soul Continent and took a rest at Sand Eagle Tribe.


    ¡°It was there that I heard people talk about how Stone Village slaughtered the residents of other villages just to have the entire share of Suan Ni¡¯s blood essence.¡±


    He paused to swallow nervously. ¡°They told us to come here but we didn¡¯t know the whole story. Now, I think it¡¯s just a farce. If you let us go, we will capture and hand over the people who slandered you and Stone Village!¡±


    ¡°And what about you wanting to kill us?¡± asked the village chief.


    He had already sensed their purpose when the Outsiders first arrived at their doorstep. ¡°We had just arrived at the desolate mountain forest a few days ago when we happened to meet someone from Wolf Village meeting Sand Eagle Tribe. They must have manipulated us to act in this way.¡±


    ¡°Wolf Village?¡± The chief frowned.


    ¡°Yes, the man from Wolf Village said so. But if you forgive us, we will head over to Wolf Village to capture them right now.¡± The bishop spoke quickly, hoping to make up for this matter.


    Although the dark clouds were dense, they were not raging with as much thunder and lightning as before. Something must be working.


    ¡°Tell me everything and do not leave out a single detail. Who are you? How did you come here? What is your purpose? And please be honest or you can give up thinking about leaving this place alive.¡± It was Huang Feijiao that spoke instead of the village chief.


    Shi Hao also nodded in agreement.


    The strange phenomenon gradually faded away ¨C the vegetation that had grown wantonly gradually returned to normal; the fierce wind blew weaker before dissipating; the torrential downpour suddenly stopped, turning into wisps of dense mist that hung in the air; and the terrifying Qi flow that surrounded Stone Village gradually faded away. Everyone could finally breathe easy.


    Rays of sunlight finally broke through the dark clouds and the blue sky finally appeared in patches.


    Even so, the bishop and the others were still afraid, if not even more so. This was the first time they had ¡®met¡¯ such a powerful expert.


    And because of this, the bishop respected him even more.


    ¡°Thank you for your forgiveness. Martial Soul Hall will kneel to you in thanks. If we are lucky enough to return to Martial Soul Continent, we will be able to help you make a name for yourself there.¡±


    And then, Ye Yun woke up from his meditative state.


    It felt like he had just woken up from a big dream that had been deeply imprinted in his mind and couldn¡¯t be erased.


    He only remembered what happened before he entered his meditative state. So he was a little dumbfounded when he heard the bishop speak.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Martial Soul Hall? Did I hear wrongly?¡± But wasn¡¯t Martial Soul Hall from Douluo Continent?


    Before he could think about it any further, the system came about.


    [Beep, beep. There has been a change in your check-in location. Do you wish to check in?]


    [Beep, beep. There has been a change in your check-in location. Do you wish to check in?]


    [Beep, beep. There has been a change in your check-in location. Do you wish to check in?]


    ¡­


    ¡°Enough! You can stop prompting me now. I¡¯ll check the messages myself. You¡¯re making my head hurt.¡± Ye Yun was about to go crazy from the persistent beeps.


    He did not expect that he would be able to pass the Three Thousand Conscience tribulations just by thinking for a moment during the rainy night.


    Even though it had only been a few days since he closed his eyes, the Three Thousand Conscience tribulations during the meditation period made him feel like it more time than that had passed.


    It was not easy for him to wake up from his meditation. But before he could stretch and relax, he heard a group of people mention Martial Soul Hall. And before his brain could react, the system popped up the string of notifications annoyingly.


    ¡°Wait, what happened during my meditation? Who are these unfamiliar people at Stone Village? Did I hear wrongly before? Are they from Martial Soul Hall? They can¡¯t be from Douluo Continent, right? But why did they mention Martial Soul Continent?¡±


    Ye Yun looked at his surroundings in confusion and immediately used his Divine Sense to explore further. The Stone Village that he saw was no longer as clean and peaceful as it once was. It now looked like a mess, as if it had been robbed.


    The stone-piled houses were on the verge of collapse. Things were scattered on the ground in a mess. The vegetation was so lush that it almost seemed like the village had been abandoned for years.


    Upon a closer look at the ground, there was a thick layer of dust.


    ¡°Gosh, what happened?¡± Ye Yun then looked at the empty land outside Stone Village.


    His confusion grew more and more, but no one could respond to him.


    After a while, Ye Yun suddenly had thought. Still confused, he asked, ¡°System, could it be that this was all caused by me?¡±


    The system did not reply.


    Ye Yun helplessly called out to the system, ¡°Hey, you should at least respond when spoken to. I don¡¯t know what happened.¡±


    [Beep beep, system malfunction.]


    The system noted its mistake to itself and Ye Yun could not help but laugh. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have such a bad temper like a child. Tell me about the situation.¡±


    The system still didn¡¯t reply.


    Ye Yun gave up and didn¡¯t bother to continue asking the system anymore. He decided to figure it out himself.


    The bishop and the rest of the Outsiders started to explain themselves to the residents of Stone Village.


    Ye Yun looked on with great interest, currently disinterested in his recent rewards.


    ¡°This group of people has been kneeling on the ground. Could it be that the people of Stone Village defeated them by force?¡± Ye Yun couldn¡¯t help but mutter.


    Little did he know that neither party had made any moves on each other, and had been at a standstill the entire time because of the strange phenomenon caused by his meditative state.


    Eventually, he started to imagine what had happened based on what he had seen ¨C the impact of the battle was what had caused the mess in the village.


    But had the people of Stone Village always been so powerful?


    He could not help but think about it.


    [Beep beep, please do not belittle yourself, dear host! ] The system seemed to have heard Ye Yun¡¯s thoughts and suddenly interrupted him.


    He sneered back. ¡°Just a second ago, you told me that the system had malfunctioned. So now you¡¯re better already? All of a sudden?¡±


    The system did not reply, seemingly still angry.


    But Ye Yun knew what the system was trying to say.


    It was his meditative state that had caused all of this. This made him speechless.


    However, why were the people of Martial Soul Hall kneeling? Could it be that the abilities of the people of Stone Village were off the charts? If that was true, then the Outsiders were real trash..

 Chapter 28 - I Love You Too Much, System!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Ye Yun felt helpless once more. He had never even considered how terrifying the strange phenomenon caused by his meditation was.


    A moment later, Ye Yun watched as the bishop and his group stood up slowly. The village chief¡¯s lips curled into a slight smile, he wasn¡¯t planning to let them off so easily.


    The Outsiders might not have caused the strange phenomenon earlier, but who knew what else they might be up to?


    Unfortunately, no one knew of the pain in the hearts of the bishop and the others. How could they have been so unlucky to trigger the ancient teleportation array formation and arrive at a land where the villagers¡¯ abilities were so terrifying?


    Since things had come to this, they had to solve this matter to appease the strong warriors of Stone Village, then design a plan to return to Wolf Village and find a way to get those people to come here.


    However, they had no idea how to get to Wolf Village.


    Perhaps it would be better to just return to Martial Soul Continent. After today¡¯s experience, he felt that he needed to redefine what he deemed as strong warriors.


    If they were to stay in the desolate mountain forests, they would have to hide in there for the rest of their lives. But he was not sure if this place was suitable for the people of Martial Soul Continent.


    The bishop felt that his mind was in a mess. In the end, he smiled and talked to the villagers of Stone Village.


    The scene became boring, containing perhaps some mention of leaving, forgiveness, and next steps.


    Ye Yun could not be bothered. Stone Village would know how to deal with them so he decided to return his attention to the system¡¯s flood of notifications.


    The virtual screen was filled with check-in information. His roots must have grown too quickly and reached many new check-in locations while he was meditating.


    He checked his own roots and noticed that they had grown to cover every corner of Stone Village. They were also more intertwined with the roots of the willow tree. If Ye Yun moved his roots slightly, the roots of the willow tree would also be affected.


    This was actually good as it would be more convenient for him to help keep the willow tree¡¯s roots tidy. He just wasn¡¯t sure when the Willow Deity would wake up. If it found out that its main body had been intertwined with the roots of some grass, what kind of reaction would it have?


    Perhaps it would not be a big deal. After all, the Willow Deity was unparalleled in the world. Why would it care about something like this?


    The system suddenly sent out another notification to inform Ye Yun to check in, interrupting his thoughts.


    [Beep beep, detected that the host has not completed many check-ins. Would you like to check in to all of them?]


    ¡°Yes, check in.¡±


    [Checked in successfully. Location: 30 feet, 60 feet, 90 feet west of the willow tree. Obtained Earth Essence Energy x3.]


    [Checked in successfully. Location: 30 feet, 60 feet north of the willow tree. Influence +3.]


    [Checked in successfully. Location: 60 feet east of the willow tree. Obtained Spring Water of Life x1. Note: This spring water can revive people on the spot and increase their vitality.]


    [Checked in successfully. The host will use Earth Essence Energy by default. Use completed. Congratulations to the host for completing the Meridian Transformation phase and entering the Vitality Consolidation phase.]


    The system notifications echoed in his mind one after another. After a while, it was finally clear. But Ye Yun did not feel any ripples in his heart at that moment and found it quite laughable.


    The system notification had racked up so many check-in notifications but that was it?


    He had only broken through from the Meridian Transformation phase to the Vitality Consolidation phase?


    The system was extremely stingy. He had checked in continuously and only received Earth Essence Energy.


    Ye Yun sighed silently as he browsed through the information on the virtual screen,


    [Host: Ye Yun


    Identity: Nine Heavens Jasper Grass


    Status: Early Vitality Consolidation phase of Growth


    Items: Sacrifice Acceptance Ability (can be accumulated), Art of Nine Revolutions Essence, Breath Concealing Technique, Shu Shan Sword Method, Blood of the Dragon Son (can be upgraded), Guardian Spirit Essence, Spring Water of Life x1]


    Influence: 21


    Grade: Transcendent Rank 1


    Ability: Divine Healing, Sacrifice Acceptance Ability (to heal others), Sword Control Attack, Sword Qi Slicer]


    ¡°What is this? How long will it take for me to get past Growth and into the Mature stage?¡± Ye Yun couldn¡¯t help but grumble when he saw his attributes.


    After all, he could not communicate with the others,


    ¡°Based on my current status, am I just a teenager in terms of human years?¡± Ye Yun could not imagine how long it would take him to become an ¡®adult¡¯ then.


    ¡°It¡¯s just you then, who gets to be in cool in a flowing white robe with hair fluttering in the wind. How transcendent you are.¡± Ye Yun could not help but recall the depiction of the Willow Deity in the novel.


    ¡°Let¡¯s think about other things. Strange¡­ why are these people still in Stone Village?¡± Ye Yun kept watching the bishop and his group.


    He hadn¡¯t paid much attention to them when they were kneeling. But now that they were standing, they caught his eye.


    ¡°F*ck¡­ Are those marks¡­ Six marks?!¡± Ye Yun was dumbstruck.


    When he had heard them mention Martial Soul Hall, Ye Yun was just confused and didn¡¯t think about it too much.


    He knew that he had transmigrated to a place where the laws of the world were mixed. However, he had been a resident of the Great Wastelands for the past few months. As time passed, he had forgotten about the whole multiverse concept.


    Now that he had noticed the totem marks on their clothes, he recalled the situation of the world he was in.


    His interest had been piqued. But how did the people of Martial Soul Hall come to the Great Wastelands? How many small worlds or continents existed in this world? What were the chances that one continent would encounter another?


    Now that the people of Martial Soul Hall were here, the existence of other sub-worlds was most likely just around the corner.


    Ye Yun¡¯s interest increased, but he also felt sad for the people of Martial Soul Hall.


    Did they think they could easily enter any continent? And they just had to arrive at Perfect Continent without knowing how to keep a low profile, brazenly entering Stone Village in broad daylight only to be intimidated.


    Ye Yun started to attribute it all to Shi Hao¡¯s extraordinary ability ¨C he had suppressed the people of Martial Soul Hall with his martial force. No matter what, Shi Hao¡¯s ability was the most important in Stone Village, even if he was only four years old.


    No matter how much and what he speculated, Ye Yun had never considered himself or the Willow Deity to be behind any of the strange or miraculous phenomena.


    In the end, it was all a matter of perspective. Those within suspected those without. And those without suspected those within. If the residents of Stone Village knew what Ye Yun had been thinking, they would have laughed, and vice versa.


    To the bishop, Ye Yun was the ancestor of Stone Village.


    To the people of Stone Village, Ye Yun was an unknown strong warrior responsible for the strange phenomenon and was owed their gratitude.


    The bishop and the others had been begging for the ancestor¡¯s forgiveness before they dared to leave. But they had not heard a reply and thus, did not dare to.


    The village chief had figured out the culprits behind all these accusations. The people of Wolf Village had suffered major losses ¨C they had lost not only their men and guardian spirit but had also returned empty-handed. Thus, they had become jealous of and started to hate Stone Village, leading them to encourage the Outsiders to make the first move.


    Even if his people were unharmed and they had not suffered any losses from the Outsiders, the village chief could not allow them to leave so easily.


    He had not forgotten the arrogance in the faces of the Outsiders when they first arrived at his doorstep.


    The village chief then started acting as if he was worshipping the willow tree, pretending that the Willow Deity had replied to him. ¡°Can the ancestor please reply to us juniors that this group of people is allowed to leave the village?¡±


    When the Outsiders saw and heard this, their hearts stirred as they waited for a response nervously.


    A gentle breeze blew past, but there was no reply..

 Chapter 29 - A World Map! What an Awesome Reward!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Ye Yun was no longer interested in the others. The system had just pinged a new check-in notification.


    He decisively checked in and was not expecting to win the grand prize.


    Thinking about the people of the Martial Soul Hall had accidentally triggered a check-in which rewarded him something that would change his views of that world ¨C he had obtained the World Map!


    ¡°This is awesome! System, I love you so much!¡±


    Ye Yun couldn¡¯t suppress his excitement as he immediately checked the world map! The system¡¯s virtual screen also displayed the relevant information.


    [Item: World Map. Rank: Super God Item. ]


    [Description: The World Map displays the current location of the host in the world. It includes everything from every continent, village, and countless check-in locations. More of the World Map will be displayed with each new check-in location. Once you have explored the entire World Map and completed the ultimate check-in mission, you will receive an unexpected surprise.]


    [Current World Map Progress: 0.0001%]


    [Places Explored: The willow tree of Stone Village. Please do your best to explore more places.]


    [Note: The World Map does not provide navigation services to places, new or explored.]


    [Note: The World Map does not have a Shared Location or Teleportation function.]


    [Note: The World Map can be upgraded. After upgrading, the host can set up new functions.]


    [Note: The World Map will only reveal newly explored locations after check-in.]


    Ye Yun stared at the description of the World Map on the virtual screen and was momentarily stunned.


    It¡¯s a Super God item! So the rewards provided by the system were divided into ranks!


    Why didn¡¯t it say so from the beginning? Could it be that the rewards he had obtained previously were too low in rank or that he did not read the description carefully?


    Ye Yun wanted to look at the World Map first, and then check the rewards he had received.


    The World Map appeared in Ye Yun¡¯s mind and he immediately saw Perfect Continent right in the middle of it.


    There were many other small sub-worlds or continents around it but some of their names had been blotted out.


    The closest ones were Martial Soul Continent and Heavenly Flame Continent. Ye Yun could see their names because they were connected to Perfect Continent.


    However, compared to Perfect Continent, the size of Martial Soul Continent was like a drop in the ocean. Their total area was less than 30% of Perfect Continent.


    In terms of size, Perfect Continent seemed to be the largest of them all.


    There were red dotted lines between the three continents ¨C these were the boundary walls.


    After looking at the map, he knew that it was possible to cross over to other continents.


    Ye Yun decided not to think about the rest of the unknown places on the World Map and focused on the places he could see for now.


    He had only covered 0.0001% of the map. That meant that he had to cultivate hard to get a human form or soul avatar so that he could check in at new locations.


    Ye Yun had quite an obsessive-compulsive disorder, and looking at the World Map only made him want to conquer all of it.


    At a larger scale, the village chief had finally finished his discussion with the bishop and the rest of the Outsiders.


    The village chief agreed that the bishop and the others could leave Stone Village, but they had to tell the truth of the situation to the other two villages and get them to apologize.


    In addition, the Outsiders had to capture prey for the desolate Stone Village for half a year but could not stay with them.


    The bishop did not even bother to consider the request. He simply agreed immediately. He just wanted the village chief to extinguish the anger of the Stone Village¡¯s ancestor.


    If the people of Stone Village were no longer angry, the ancestor who protected Stone Village would also forgive them.


    Since they had no idea how to return to their continent yet, the Outsiders knew that they had to rely on the benevolence of the peak expert ancestor if they were to survive in Perfect Continent.


    They were only dealing with ¡®ordinary¡¯ villagers today. But if cultivators from the city appeared in the desolate mountain forests one day, the Outsiders could be killed with a blink of an eye.


    To the bishop, survival was more important right now.


    ¡°Alright, we agree to your terms. We will serve you for the time being. Please forget about what happened earlier,¡± said the bishop with a fake smile.


    ¡°Great. Everything that needed to be said has been said. You can leave now,¡± said the village chief coldly and arrogantly with his hands behind his back. The farce today had finally ended and he was exhausted.


    Night had already fallen by the time they were done with their discussions and the children had yet to eat.


    The bishop and his men quickly left Stone Village looking extremely miserable. They were just grateful that they were able to leave alive in one piece.


    While they rejoiced, they also felt quite a bit of resentment towards Wolf Village.


    ¡°If Wolf Village had not lied, we would not have gone through all that trouble and risked our lives!¡± One of the men finally said what everyone had been thinking once they were already quite a ways from Stone Village.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. They must have known about the existence of the strong ancestor in Stone Village. That¡¯s why they asked us to investigate first,¡± said one of the members.


    ¡°F*ck, if we can¡¯t even deal with the people of Stone Village, how are we going to deal with those from Wolf Village? Alright, enough talking. It¡¯s time we take action!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Bishop. If Wolf Village went through all that trouble lying just to get us to deal with Stone Village for them, that must also mean that they are probably not as strong and confident against Stone Village. I think we should be fine if we deal with Wolf Village,¡± said one of the members.


    ¡°Everyone, please calm down and give me some time to think about things.¡± The bishop had indeed received quite some useful feedback from his members but he still needed to organize his thoughts.


    Deep down, he was quite furious. He was the bishop of the Hall of Souls and had the pride of one. But he had to humbly bow and kneel to mere villagers today and lost his dignity. How could he not be angry?


    At the same time, the incident at Stone Village had also traumatized him and made him slightly wary of the strength of Wolf Village as well.


    However, what they said made sense. If there were strong people in Wolf Village, why would they trick the Outsiders into doing what they could have easily done themselves?


    He was determined to take revenge on the people of Wolf Village. However, it was better to be cautious. Lest they let history repeat.


    ¡°How about we hold off on punishing Wolf Village for now and just focus on getting them to apologize to Stone Village first? That way, we can already appease some of that ancestor¡¯s anger. As for what we should do, we will discuss it after we get the truth from Wolf Village.¡±


    ¡°F*ck, I hope the strong prevail here. Otherwise, all the humiliation today will be repaid with double!¡± The bishop gritted his teeth and frowned in anger..

 Chapter 30 - There Really Is Another Guardian Spirit!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The bishop and his men left Stone Village in the darkness of the night, their bodies full of anger. They didn¡¯t know what kind of situation they would encounter in the Great Wastelands in the future since they had no way of returning to Martial Soul Continent for the time being.


    Now that the Outsiders had left, the villagers of Stone Village could finally make the necessary preparations for their sacrificial offering ceremony.


    Once they were done with that, they finally took in what the strange phenomenon had done to their village.


    The village was still in a sorry state ¨C houses were on the verge of collapsing and vegetation grew unrulily everywhere. If they had not seen it with their own eyes, the villagers of Stone Village would have simply thought of this as a dream or that it was fake.


    After all, the situation today had been too dramatic.


    But the villagers were also extremely excited. Their worldviews had changed thanks to the arrival of the strange phenomenon and the Outsiders. They looked at the villager chief to listen to his explanation.


    He was the oldest and the wisest among them after all. If anyone could explain what had just happened today, it would be him.


    But Shi Hao¡¯s mind was elsewhere.


    When the strong and terrifying Qi flow filled the entire Stone Village, not only was he terrified, he even felt like he had experienced it before.


    But no matter how much he thought about it, he could not figure out why and how he had found the Qi flow so familiar.


    ¡°Village Chief, the unusual display today is not the work of the willow tree guardian spirit, right? I¡¯ve thought about this quite thoroughly. When the strange phenomenon started, the willow tree did not react at all. However, I am not too sure who or what caused the strange phenomenon,¡± said Huang Feijiao confidently.


    The moment his words came out, everyone once again thought of the sword Qi that had descended from the sky to fight against the Suan Ni that day.


    ¡°You are right. We have always been worshipping the Willow Deity and know its behavior well. Although it has always protected us, it hardly made its presence known ¨C it will not touch the sacrificial offerings or reply to us. It stood as it always did every day,¡± said Huang Linhu as he agreed with Huang Feijiao.


    For so many years, the guardian spirit had never made a move in front of everyone, except for the times it touched the Green Eagle Egg and awaken its ancestral inheritance as well as when the willow tree emitted light in the middle of the night. Otherwise, the Willow Deity looked like any other willow tree.


    ¡°I¡¯m still feeling scared. I mean, even the Outsiders were scared witless,¡± said Huang Shoushan.


    ¡°Village Chief, what do you think of all this? Please share your thoughts with us.¡± Huang Feijiao noticed that the village chief had not spoken.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Village Chief, what do you think? Are there powerful people protecting us in the village? Even if they aren¡¯t our ancestors, could they be experts assigned by our ancestors to hide in Stone Village for our protection?¡± asked Huang Linhu.


    But the village chief simply felt helpless. He did not have answers to any of the questions. Even he wanted to know what was happening.


    He might have looked confident and unfathomable when he faced the Outsiders earlier. But he was also quite scared after the strange phenomenon as well.


    ¡°How can there be experts secretly arranged by our ancestors walking among us in the village? Alright, why not we just call it a day? Everyone, go wash up and get some sleep,¡± said the village chief in the end.


    ¡°What exactly is the situation? Please explain it to us. Otherwise, we will only continue to infer,¡± said Huang Linhu.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Village Chief, can you please explain it properly? We even saw the sword Qi in the sky today as well. If it wasn¡¯t the willow tree guardian spirit, then it had to be a hidden expert sent by our ancestors, right?¡± Huang Feijiao also pestered the village chief impatiently.


    In the end, the village chief helplessly said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened either today. If it was an expert, then he must have hidden his tracks really well.¡±


    He paused for a moment, ¡°However, the fortunate thing is that I can assure you that the hidden expert ¨C if there was one ¨C will not pose a threat to Stone Village. He is silently protecting it.¡±


    The villagers nodded their heads in unison.


    The village chief was right. The expert had not made a move against Stone Village.


    ¡°Village Chief, what do you think we should do now? Should we search for traces of the expert? After all, he has saved us twice. We can¡¯t just do nothing.¡± Huang Linhu smiled, hoping to be able to thank the expert.


    ¡°I also agree. We are not heartless and selfish people. Since the expert has helped us, we must properly thank him. Sadly, he¡¯s usually hiding. But I also have a feeling that he is always watching us,¡± said Huang Feijiao.


    ¡°Your analysis isn¡¯t without reason. It¡¯s just that-¡± The village chief spoke halfway when Shi Hao suddenly interrupted him.


    ¡°I know! The Qi flow today! I know it!¡± Shi Hao exclaimed excitedly. He had finally figured it out.


    ¡°Shi Hao, what is it? What exactly do you know that you had to interrupt the village chief?¡± Huang Feijiao was confused by the child¡¯s behavior.


    ¡°Yes, do tell. Your intuition has always been the most on-point in our village. What have you figured out?¡± asked Huang Linhu.


    Shi Hao then seriously said, ¡°Grandpa, remember when I told you of the strange Qi flow that I felt a while back?¡±


    ¡°Why are you bringing this up again? Didn¡¯t we already close that discussion?¡± asked Huang Linhu with more confusion. Why was Shi Hao bringing up something from the past that seemed unrelated?


    ¡°I felt the Qi flow again today, and it felt really similar to the one I felt last time. Maybe we came to the wrong conclusion last time. Maybe it isn¡¯t the willow tree guardian spirit¡¯s doing but that of another guardian spirit!¡±


    Shi Hao¡¯s words shocked everyone.


    ¡°How did you deduce this? Was today¡¯s Qi flow similar to the previous one?¡± The village chief tugged at Shi Hao¡¯s arm in excitement.


    Shi Hao blinked his eyes at the village chief. ¡°Grandpa, calm down. I only thought that it was similar after it had happened. If I can sense it again, I can make a better judgment.¡±


    ¡°Shi Hao, are you sure? But two guardian spirits in the same village? It can¡¯t be. We have verified it before.¡± Huang Linhu looked at Shi Hao dubiously. He felt that the idea of the expert made more sense.


    ¡°I can. I just need to feel the Qi flow when it surges out again,¡± said Shi Hao solemnly.


    Huang Feijiao frowned. He knew Shi Hao was not one to lie, but his words still seemed quite inconceivable.


    If Shi Hao¡¯s deduction was correct and two guardian spirits that had been silently protecting Stone Village¡­


    ¡°This matter has yet to be confirmed, and we can not make a firm decision at this moment. Even if our deduction is wrong, it won¡¯t affect us much. Why don¡¯t we wait for a period of time? Although we are not sure of this other guardian spirit¡¯s identity, if it had made a move twice, it will make a move again.¡± The village chief expressed his stance.


    ¡°I agree with the village chief¡¯s words. Even if we make all sorts of deductions, we are still unable to come to a conclusion. We might as well wait for a period of time. Shi Hao has also confirmed that if that mysterious existence makes a move, he will be able to distinguish it.¡± Huang Feijiao agreed with the village chief.


    ¡°Alright, alright. Today¡¯s discussion is over. The remaining questions can be discussed tomorrow. If a villager whose house has been destroyed, go to someone else¡¯s house and make do with it for now. Now, go get some rest everyone,¡± said the village chief..

 Chapter 31 - Is the Little Guy Tired of Living?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Since the discussion had ended for the day, the villagers dispersed back to their quarters. However, the group of Outsiders had yet to find a moment of rest as they ran around the mountain forest in embarrassment. They had just learned the hard way that the desolate beasts they had hunted earlier in the day were those at the bottom of the food chain. The night was when the others higher up the food chain came out.


    The Outsiders ran frantically throughout the mountain forest, not caring that they were leaving tracks everywhere. Their terror had not ended.


    They were being stalked by a pack of wolves whose eyes flickered with a gloomy dark green color as the desolate beasts locked onto their target.


    Wolf Village residents would have easily recognized the pack of wolves as it was the one that was once commanded by their guardian spirit.


    But now that their guardian spirit had been killed, the pack of wolves no longer had a leader and did not want to follow the commands of Wolf Village either. Thus, they ended up wandering the dense forest until they now bumped into the group of Outsiders.


    There were eighteen of the Outsiders in the group initially. However, only thirteen had survived. The rest had been taken, not by the humans of Stone Village, but the desolate beasts.


    Back at Stone Village, Ye Yun could not help but feel nervous when he saw the villagers leave.


    He had coincidentally heard the sentence by Shi Hao ¨C the Qi flow.


    But Ye Yun was confused, how could Shi Hao sense his Qi flow if he had been using the Breath Concealing Technique?


    [The host¡¯s Qi flow had been exposed during the recent breakthrough.]


    ¡°Oh, so you do know how to respond.¡± He was not sure how to trigger responses from the system and started to wonder if it had a soul.


    But now that he knew how Shi Hao was able to detect his Qi flow, Ye Yun felt more at ease. So what if the boy had sensed it? No one was able to find out his identity or locate him anyway.


    Ye Yun did not want to think about it anymore and decided to check his cultivation progress.


    He had now cultivated the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence to the point where he could refine his soul, and his roots had now spread out to cover every acre of soil in Stone Village.


    In addition, Ye Yun noticed that even if his main body could not move, his roots could, and quite agilely too. He could stretch his roots out of the ground and expose them to the air if he wanted to. But that was his limit.


    ¡°Heh, I may be just a blade of grass but it seems like I¡¯m almost on par with you now in terms of my root system, Willow Deity.¡± Ye Yun could not help but smile as he subconsciously communicated with the willow tree.


    ¡®Cultivating the Art of Nine Revolutions Essence means that I am forming my Golden Core. But I wonder when I will be able to get there.¡¯ Ye Yun muttered.


    ¡®Oh well, there is no use considering this at the moment. Let¡¯s check out the ranks of the items I have obtained. If the World Map is at the Super God level, the others shouldn¡¯t be too bad, right?¡¯ Ye Yun quickly browsed through the virtual screen.


    [Item: Sacrifice Acceptance Ability (can be accumulated); Rank: Dao Level]


    [Item: Art of Nine Revolutions Essence; Rank: God Level]


    [Item: Breath Concealing Technique; Rank: Dao Level]


    [Item: Shu Shan Sword Method; Rank: Ancient Immortal Level]


    [Item: Blood of Dragon¡¯s Son (can be upgraded); Rank: Dao Level]


    [Item: Guardian Spirit Essence; Rank: Dao Level]


    [Item: Spring Water of Life x1; Rank: Spirit Level]


    [Item: Clairvoyance; Rank: Immortal Level]


    ¡°System, how are you classifying these ranks?¡± Ye Yun was confused.


    [Beep beep, item rank classification: Spirit, Dao, Immortal, Ancient Immortal, God, Super God, Immemorial, Saint, Law.]


    ¡°Oh, so only Shu Shan Sword Method and the World Map are good items. The rest are basically trash?¡± Ye Yun felt that his worldview had been refreshed once more ¨C his rewards were not that great.


    Ye Yun started to feel restless.


    And it was as if the system had sensed it as it pinged again.


    [The system rewards items with a different ranking from this continent. Host, please note the number of continents.]


    ¡°What? What do you mean? Why are you being so ambiguous? Are the rankings related to the specific continent or world?¡± Ye Yun was still confused.


    [I hope the host can explore it on his own.]


    The system went silent after that.


    ¡°Well, I shouldn¡¯t have asked then if you weren¡¯t going to give me anything useful.¡± Ye Yun sighed helplessly.


    After sorting out the things that he had obtained, Ye Yun was once again feeling bored. He had just raised his cultivation not long ago and did not want to cultivate anytime soon. In the end, he decided to help the Willow Deity clean up its roots to kill his boredom.


    Meanwhile, the bishop and other Outsiders had finally escaped the pursuit of the desolate beasts and arrived at Wolf Village.


    And the latter had been waiting for them. Even though it was already nighttime, the people in Wolf Village, including those from other tribes, were still awake.


    Upon arrival, the Outsider children who had been left with Sand Eagle Tribe for their safety were on their way back to meet up with the bishop¡¯s group.


    Several groups of people gathered together, and the atmosphere was especially strange.


    The Wolf Village¡¯s chief walked forward with concern for the recent arrivals¡¯ wellbeing.


    On the surface, he looked warm and caring. But internally, he was laughing at the state of the Outsiders. Lang Ji had said that these people were strong. So why were they in such a sorry state upon their return from Stone Village?


    Moreover, they were missing a few people. Only thirteen were present out of the eighteen that they were informed of.


    Those at Wolf Village had heard of the commotion coming from Stone Village earlier. They did not bother to go over and thought it must have been the work of the people from the Hall of Souls.


    But if that were true, how did that explain their current state? Did they encounter an accident on the way? Was it the Stone Village¡¯s guardian spirit?


    But how powerful could their willow tree guardian spirit be? If the Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit was still alive, it could have taken out the willow tree guardian spirit, and Wolf Village wouldn¡¯t have had to go through all this fuss just to exact their revenge on Stone Village.


    ¡°You must be the Outsiders mentioned by Sand Eagle Tribe. Why are you in such a sorry state? Are you okay?¡± The Wolf Village¡¯s chief¡¯s voice was still masked with concern.


    But their cultivation prodigy decided to be the more honest one. ¡°What else could have happened? It¡¯s obvious they haven¡¯t taken out Stone Village with their sorry state. I¡¯ve already warned that that village has quite a few trump cards up their sleeves. And you can trust me to know because I faced one of them directly before.¡±


    That encounter was deeply engraved in Wolf Village¡¯s cultivation prodigy¡¯s mind like a grudge. The child from the desolate Stone Village had proven difficult to deal with, so much so that the child defeated him almost single-handedly! But he was just a child! That was how Wolf Village¡¯s cultivation prodigy was certain that the child had a magic treasure on him. Otherwise, how could he have hurt him?


    ¡°Little guy, are you tired of living?¡± The amount of pent-up anger and frustration accumulated from the entire day in the bishop was about to overflow and he really needed to vent it soon. Now that this arrogant young man had spoken, he must have decided to be the outlet for the bishop to vent.


    He no longer cared about the abilities of the people of Wolf Village.. He had to act now or he might just explode! He needed to teach this brat a lesson today or he could never maintain his dignity as a bishop!

 Chapter 32 - Apology

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The bishop struck out without warning, attacking the young man who had spoken so brazenly at lightning speed. In a blink of an eye, the young man suddenly vomited blood and his face turned ugly.


    This consequently unleashed the Wolf Village¡¯s chief¡¯s anger as well. ¡°How dare you!¡± He had not expected the Outsiders to attack before speaking.


    How could he tolerate such impudence?! He waved his hand angrily and the villagers of Wolf Village surrounded the Outsiders.


    The bishop glanced at the young man he had attacked and raised his eyebrows slightly. Hmph, he might not have killed the young man yet, but he would turn cold eventually.


    The bishop looked at the people of Wolf Village and signaled to his people with his eyes. Without any further hesitation, the Outsiders attacked.


    ¡°Kill them or leave them alive. It¡¯s up to you,¡± said the bishop as he ordered in a low voice.


    The other members of Martial Soul Hall who had been tormented in Stone Village were happy to hear that. They finally had an outlet to vent too as they immediately locked onto the villagers of Wolf Village.


    The latter also did not know what was happening and why. But when they saw the Outsiders attacking them, they had to defend themselves.


    Despite the silence of the night, Wolf Village was especially rowdy with the sound of a fight breaking out.


    The people from the other villages looked at each other, dumbfounded. What just happened? Why did the two parties suddenly start fighting?


    Some of them felt that the situation was a bit off so they decided to leave.


    Unfortunately, it was too late. The fight might have been chaotic but it lasted only for a short while. The outcome was decided in an instant.


    The people of Wolf Village had been defeated and captured alive by the Outsiders from Martial Soul Hall. The same fate landed upon the other village¡¯s people who had decided to help their Wolf Village allies. Only the people of Sand Eagle Tribe didn¡¯t make a move because they were responsible for the Martial Soul Hall group¡¯s children


    Those who insisted on resisting ended up getting killed by the bishop and his men.


    The cold corpses leaked an eye-catching red liquid, staining the land of Wolf Village bit by bit.


    Night eventually turned to day as the sky started to brighten.


    The people of Martial Soul Hall had just finished the battle and had yet to recover their energy. They dragged the people of Wolf Village and the other tribes to Stone Village. They planned to apologize to Stone Village as soon as possible.


    Just when the residents of Stone Village had woken up and started to work on rebuilding their homes, they noticed the people from Martial Soul Hall in the distance. They seemed to have a few people in captivity and were headed straight for their village.


    ¡°Village Chief, the Outsiders from yesterday have returned. The group they have restrained seems to be from Wolf Village.¡± Huang Linhu was the first to report to the village chief.


    And apparently, it wasn¡¯t just the people from Wolf Village that were being brought to Stone Village. Those from the other tribes were brought along as well, and these people were dumbfounded. A fight and a night had passed and they still had no clue as to why they had been put in this situation.


    They questioned their captors but unfortunately, the Outsiders were very good at keeping their mouths shut. They only said that they were going to Stone Village to apologize.


    The bishop and the rest did not care about what these people thought. They arrived at the village entrance and quickly reported their purpose.


    ¡°Village Chief, these were the ones who told us that the people of Stone Village brutally massacred the cultivators of other tribes. This particular person also told us that Stone Village hid many magical treasures. We have basically brought everyone to you. How do you want to settle this?¡± The bishop looked quite eager to please.


    But before the Stone Village¡¯s chief could reply, the Wolf Village¡¯s chief shouted angrily despite his sorry state. ¡°Huang Yunfeng, what kind of f*cking method did you use to make Outsiders obey your orders?!¡±


    Huang Yunfeng could not tolerate such an insult and angrily said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask yourself this question? Do you still have the cheek to question me? You were the ones who spouted nonsense and ruined the reputation of our village. What is your purpose?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? What I said is the truth. Weren¡¯t they really killed by Stone Village?¡± The Wolf Village¡¯s chief insisted.


    ¡°Gosh, why are you shouting? Explain yourself properly.¡± The bishop was annoyed by the Wolf Village¡¯s chief¡¯s behavior and kicked him.


    The Wolf Village¡¯s chief staggered and fell to the side, obviously angry. He was the Wolf Village¡¯s chief after all. How could he stand to be stepped on like this?


    ¡°So¡­ our people that had been sent to the depths of the forest were not killed by Stone Village?¡± The people from the other tribes had heard enough to start having doubts about what they¡¯ve been told before.


    ¡®F*ck, if they knew the truth¡­¡¯


    The Wolf Village¡¯s chief was really starting to regret his actions.


    ¡°What do you mean we killed them? It was Suan Ni that caused the tide of desolate beasts and killed the people you sent. We didn¡¯t do anything.¡± Huang Feijiao rolled his eyes angrily as he explained the truth of the situation.


    And with that, the people from the other villages became all smiles.


    ¡°Great, so we have simply misunderstood Stone Village. Can someone please ask these Outsiders to release us, then? We would like to leave and promise to leave Stone Village alone, now and forever. How does that sound?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. Wolf Village was the one who instigated everything anyway. They lied to us and said that you killed our villagers.¡± The others echoed.


    The Wolf Village chief¡¯s tone changed when he heard the majority¡¯s sentiments. But rather than feel guilty, he only became angrier. He was not willing to go down alone.


    ¡°Heh, you guys are really cunning. Didn¡¯t you also agree to my plan because you wanted to covet the weapons and treasures of Stone Village as well?¡±


    When the Stone Village¡¯s chief heard of this, he too became angry.


    He looked at the seven or eight people being restrained by the Outsiders and clenched his fists in hatred.


    ¡°Who else was involved in what you planned, excluding all of you?¡± asked the Stone Village¡¯s chief coldly with eyes filled with impending violence.


    The people of Stone Village knew from the tone of his voice that he now had the intention to kill the people before them.


    Only the chief of Wolf Village did not reply as the rest eagerly tried to make amends. ¡°We had never thought of attacking Stone Village. Wolf Village was the one who invited us to the discussion and we only sent our representatives to participate. Don¡¯t worry, we didn¡¯t let it spread too far.¡±


    ¡°F*ck! Don¡¯t speak if you have brains!¡± The Wolf Village¡¯s chief shouted at the others.


    He knew why Huang Yunfeng asked this question ¨C It was to identify everyone who wanted to attack them so that he could finish them off.


    ¡°Oh? Do you know of more people who were in on this?¡± Huang Yunfeng coldly stared at the Wolf Village¡¯s chief.


    They had to die!


    ¡°No! I don¡¯t know anything! I swear! Everything that was said were just mere deductions!¡± The Wolf Village¡¯s chief was starting to get scared.


    However, Huang Yunfeng was not in the mood to listen to their explanations. Now that the conspirators had been captured by the Outsiders, there was no need to waste time talking to them.


    The Stone Village¡¯s chief glanced at the bishop and his people. ¡°Kill them all. Do not leave any survivors,¡± said he coldly, his expression unperturbed.


    The people of Stone Village might be honest and simple-minded, but they were no saints. Huang Yunfeng was no different. Everyone had their principles to uphold.


    These people deserved to die. Even if most of them had been roped in because of Wolf Village to get revenge, none of them could be forgiven for wanting to also go after Stone Village¡¯s ancestral artifacts..

 Chapter 33 - Things Have Not Ended Yet

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The entire sky had been dyed scarlet red, blending in with the blood-stained ground.


    But Stone Village remained peacefully calm as if nothing had happened. No one would have known that just a few moments ago, everything that had begun with Suan Ni at the lake in the mountain forest had finally come to an end.


    Wolf Village was dozens of kilometers away from Stone Village, and unlike the latter, the former was in a mess. They were already feeling lost after losing their guardian spirit. Then, the Outsiders captured their village chief and a few others to be brought to Stone Village only to return and slaughter almost half of the entire Wolf Village. Their bodies now lay on the ground, already cold.


    After a long time, a figure staggered out of Wolf Village. He carried the Wolf Fang, a magic treasure left behind by their guardian spirit. It was the only reason he had not died yet. Lang Feng, Wolf Village¡¯s cultivation prodigy, walked away from Wolf Village with Wolf Fang in his hand.


    Huang Yunfeng had ordered the Outsiders to kill those at Wolf Village who had been privy to the scheme the Wolf Village¡¯s chief concocted. But only a handful of Stone Village¡¯s people knew about their village chief¡¯s instructions.


    Some things were better left unsaid and unknown to certain people. After all, it was related to Stone Village¡¯s ancestral artifact, something that should not be spoken of in public.


    Even though he knew that his method was very cold and heartless, Huang Yunfeng stood by his decision. He was the leader of Stone Village, so he had to ensure that he upheld his duties of protecting Stone Village. Showing even the slightest bit of mercy could be their downfall.


    Ye Yun agreed with Huang Yunfeng¡¯s decisions as well and would have done the same if he was in the village chief¡¯s shoes.


    Night had fallen but Ye Yun could not sleep at all. He was still busy helping the Willow Deity clean its roots ¨C it was quite a time-consuming and laborious task. As he was cleaning, he kept thinking about what might be able to restore the willow tree¡¯s vitality.


    He glanced at the willow tree and said, ¡°Willow Deity, what do you need to wake up? Vitality? Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t think it will be long until you are restored to your former glory.¡± Ye Yun had a thought in mind.


    But he decided to ponder on it later. Cultivation was more important as it was destined to be a long road. He had to plan ahead and prepare himself for any potential hiccups along the way.


    If his memory of ¡®Perfect World¡¯ served him right, things would start to get rowdier around here. He had to quickly increase his combat strength and his impatience was making him feel as if his cultivation speed was not high enough.


    But Ye Yun decided to cast aside such distracting thoughts and focused on cultivation.


    As for Shi Hao, the four-year-old child had become more mentally matured. Despite the chaos, violence, and corpses he had witnessed previously, he remained unfazed. He knew that this was all part of the process of making him stronger.


    In the next few days, the village chief had the villagers prepare the black cauldron for his rite of passage while Shi Hao prepared for it by trying to quicken the fusion of the Bone Text¡¯s energy with his body.


    The rite of passage was similar to a catalyst. Once Shi Hao passed it, his cultivation would increase by leaps and bounds.


    Thus, it was no wonder Shi Hao was looking forward to the rite of passage. Like Ye Yun, he couldn¡¯t wait to get stronger.


    While the preparations for Shi Hao¡¯s rite of passage were in progress, the Outsiders from Martial Soul Hall had not been idle either.


    After they had completed the task given by Stone Village¡¯s chief to deal with the people of the other tribes, the Outsiders had been assigned to settle in Stone Village¡¯s quarters further up the mountain range even though the place had been destroyed by the storm winds the other day. The village chief just needed them to be close since the Outsiders had promised to hunt desolate beasts for Stone Village for half a year. He could care less about their living conditions.


    And Stone Village had nothing much to fear about the Outsiders from Martial Soul Hall living among them. The latter now deemed these villagers to be stronger than them and would never dare lay a single hand on any of them.


    Stirring conflicts would only cause major casualties on both sides, a situation anyone would want to avoid. Thus, it was better to abide by the Stone Village¡¯s chief¡¯s instructions and stay at the residence at the mountain range.


    Moreover, at least they would still be within the range of the willow tree guardian spirit¡¯s protection. The Outsiders weren¡¯t sure how long they would survive if they were left in the open Great Wastelands before getting devoured by the desolate beasts.


    However, that also meant that they had been worried about how they were going to keep their end of the bargain. In the end, the bishop and the others decided to leave Stone Village quietly. They had to find a place to cultivate and figure out a way to return to Martial Soul Continent as soon as possible. Otherwise, they would have to be on tenterhooks every day.


    While they were aimlessly searching, one of them spoke his mind. ¡°Bishop, why don¡¯t we go to Wolf Village to settle down? They have already lost their chief and a significant number of their members. There aren¡¯t many of them left. If we go there, we can take control.¡±


    ¡°Are you stupid? We just attacked them. We are the ones who killed their people. Why the hell would they let us take over? Plus, we still need to return to Martial Soul Continent. We can¡¯t stay in Perfect Continent forever.¡±


    ¡°But Bishop, why can¡¯t we stay here? Can¡¯t we just study the cultivation method of Wolf Village? Since we are going to be cultivating to improve our strength, what need do we have to be afraid of the future?¡± asked a child naively.


    A young one like him would not know the terrors of Perfect Continent. He had been staying at Sand Eagle Tribe and had not experienced the terrors of the mountain forests or Stone Village.


    A child like him could simply think of improving his strength and cultivation methods.


    Moreover, he had also heard of another child from Stone Village who hadn¡¯t even reached his age but was already much more powerful than most adults. This only inspired the Outsider child to work on his cultivation to be as strong as the other child one day.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you figure that out for yourself,¡± said the bishop helplessly.


    Such an idea had crossed the bishop¡¯s mind before. But just like someone¡¯s personality, cultivation methods become more deeply rooted in a person with age. Children like the one who had just spoken could easily learn new ones, which was probably why his proposition made sense to him. But for the bishop and the other adult Outsiders in the group, trying to learn Wolf Village¡¯s cultivation method was useless.


    Moreover, the cultivation methods of the two continents were different. How could they be learned and mastered just like that? There was only one certainty, and that was if the Outsiders stayed any longer in Perfect Continent, they would die.


    Back at Wolf Village, none of the survivors had noticed that someone among their ranks, and a very important one too, had left.


    Things were not over for Lang Feng, not with the Wolf Fang in his possession. But his misfortune in meeting frightening people continued.


    Lang Feng used to be a cultivator with exceptional talent in Wolf Village. But he would soon meet a group of people after he left Wolf Village that would make him realize that he was just a frog at the bottom of a well. He would finally understand what it truly meant to be a prodigy.


    The group of people Lang Feng would stumble upon were cultivators from larger tribes who had arrived in this part of the Great Wastelands to investigate the strange phenomena from the past few days in the desolate mountains. This group of people consisted of the elites of each tribe. They were initially out and about to train in the mountains, but when they sensed the strange phenomena, they knew it was related to an ancient descendant and wanted to investigate to see if they could obtain any of the treasures left behind.


    The people of Stone Village would not have expected the departure of someone from Wolf Village would trigger an incoming series of events.


    For now, the desolate Stone Village remained as peaceful as ever.


    Shi Hao¡¯s cultivation had reached the level required for him to take the next step..

 Chapter 34 - Persistent Sounds, An Indication of A Magic Treasures Appearance

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Shi Hao was sitting in the black cauldron, cross-legged.


    Ye Yun knew what the villagers and Shi Hao had been up to so when the rite of passage was about to begin, Ye Yun looked on with interest and extended his roots to gently touch the bottom of the black cauldron. He noticed that the cauldron was surrounded by unfathomable energy. Even though its entire body was pitch black, there were many ancient symbols carved on the surface of the cauldron.


    Sounds started to come from within the black cauldron ¨C they were the remnants of Suan Ni¡¯s magic treasure as well as some of the other ancient descendants¡¯ precious bones that had been thrown into the black cauldron.


    Ye Yun began to think deeply.


    Before his transmigration, he had read quite a number of novels and many had mentioned similar kinds of black cauldrons which had made him quite curious about them. Now that there was one right before him, he had to make full use of this opportunity to observe it.


    He immediately used his Divine Sense to fully explore it.


    Shi Hao instantly caught the same sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu as he started to feel the familiar feeling of being able to cultivate smoothly as if he was sitting under the willow tree.


    Ye Yun studied the black cauldron for a long time, but he did not quite understand what made it such a big deal. He was just about to retract his roots back into the soil when he suddenly felt the energy in the cauldron continuously flow out and into his roots.


    Ye Yun had received energy from the cauldron and his cultivation suddenly increased by leaps and bounds.


    The system¡¯s sudden notification came.


    [Beep beep, the host has been detected to be absorbing Black Cauldron Elixir Fire. Do you wish to check in?]


    Now, that¡¯s more like it!


    ¡°Check me in!¡±


    [The check-in has been completed. Congratulations to the host for obtaining Black Cauldron Elixir Fire. This fire can burn anything and everything in the world. As such, it is very lethal. I hope that the host will use it carefully.]


    ¡°Well, well, well. The system is not being stingy today since I¡¯ve received quite an impressive reward.¡± Ye Yun decided to check out the attributes of the new item.


    [Black Cauldron Elixir Fire: Incinerates all living things, even the strongest creatures in this world. Once the Elixir Fire is released, it will turn into anything it touches into ashes. Note: The Black Cauldron Elixir Fire can be used to refine holy medicine. Level: God Rank]


    Shi Hao, on the other hand, was now gritting his teeth very hard. If he could just pass the rite of passage, he would be able to reconstruct his bone marrow.


    Ye Yun admired Shi Hao¡¯s willpower. He was just a child, yet he could endure the pain without making a sound.


    He was deserving of the Desolate Heavenly Emperor title.


    Ye Yun continued browsing through the rewards and when he came upon Guardian Spirit Essence, he looked at the Willow Deity next to him. When he checked the item¡¯s attributes, an idea appeared in his head.


    He instantly used Guardian Spirit Essence on the willow tree, causing the latter to suddenly shoot out a dazzling array of lights. But soon after, it returned to normal. The Willow Deity had absorbed Guardian Spirit Essence.


    ¡°Willow Deity?¡± Ye Yun called out.


    Unfortunately, there was still no reply.


    Guess the amount of Guardian Spirit Essence he had given wasn¡¯t enough to restore the Willow Deity¡¯s vitality. However, Ye Yun did not give up. He was determined to restore the willow tree until it could one day speak to the villagers.


    Ye Yun decided to return to his cultivation.


    Suddenly, there was a deafening explosion in the forest more than a hundred kilometers away from Stone Village. It sounded as if a majestic mountain range had been shattered and was crumbling. Everyone within hearing range of the explosion was shocked and curious as to what had happened.


    Even though there were often fights in the forest, there had never been such an earth-shattering sound in the past few decades.


    Ye Yun was startled from his cultivation state and immediately activated his Clairvoyance to check out the situation. He was also curious.


    His Clairvoyance might not be highly ranked, but it was already considered quite good since Ye Yun¡¯s Divine Sense was simply not strong enough to do what he needed.


    Ye Yun looked in the direction the explosion came from and instead of a mountain range that had been destroyed, he saw a fierce battle break out. When he turned to look, he was met by a pair of beast eyes.


    They were strange and huge, and the blood-red vertical holes were emitting golden light.


    Even though Ye Yun knew that the beast was not staring at him, he was still frightened because he felt as if he was right there.


    However, he knew nothing about the beast, and he wasn¡¯t sure if he could stand up against it if he fought with it. Could his Shu Shan Sword Method kill it in one strike?


    Ye Yun shook his head, changed his viewing angle to observe from a larger distance, and found that it was a battle between two demonic beasts he could not identify.


    The two demonic beasts seemed to be of a high level. They did not use brute force to fight but their ancestral artifacts instead, allowing them to move so fast that the two turned into blurry figures as they went at each other.


    Sparks flew with each clash as their runic energy collided when their bodies hit one another. One attacked while the other defended, and the impact caused the nearby peaks to be destroyed. Rocks fell into the streams below and countless desolate beasts died as casualties.


    Ye Yun had probably only heard of such a battle in the legends he read of before his transmigration.


    As he looked on, a distant memory appeared in his mind and he sucked in a quick breath of air. He had seen this scene before. The desolate mountain¡¯s treasure was about to appear, and soon, this place would face a life-threatening crisis.


    But why was this battle happening already? Wasn¡¯t time moving a little too fast? If he did not hurry to cultivate, he would not have the chance later on. He let the beasts fight on as he returned to cultivation. Besides, the treasure hadn¡¯t appeared yet. He still had time.


    A few days eventually passed and Shi Hao¡¯s rite of passage had finally been completed. He shook his arm slightly, and if he wasn¡¯t careful, a single hit from him could measure four kilograms of power.


    It was truly inconceivable for a child to be able to do so.


    Even though he had completed his rite of passage and reconstructed his bone marrow, Shi Hao persistently cultivated under the ancient willow tree every day. And with Ye Yun¡¯s Influence nearby, Shi Hao continued to experience breakthroughs.


    Ye Yun had also been absorbing the feedback energy from Shi Hao¡¯s cultivation as the two of them formed a positive feedback loop. Ye Yun also felt that he would soon be able to break through and upgrade his soul refinement ability.


    Now that his body had essentially become indestructible, Ye Yun could confidently say that even if an ancient descendant like Suan Ni tried to bite him, his body wouldn¡¯t be damaged at all.


    In fact, Suan Ni¡¯s teeth might be the ones to get damaged.


    The villagers of Stone Village noticed that the sounds in the mountain forest were becoming more and more intense. The village chief had previously wanted to go into Closed Door Cultivation, but the sound was just too loud for him to do so in peace. In the end, he had to forego cultivation and stand guard by the village.


    He stared at Shi Hao who was cultivating under the willow tree and was reminded of the child¡¯s parents. Huang Yunfeng started to get emotional.


    This child had been on the verge of dying years ago but was now not only living so well but had also become a rare cultivation prodigy of Stone Village.


    It might have been because Shi Hao drank beast milk every day. But his ability was something no one else in the village could match.


    In any case, Shi Hao was the apple of Stone Village¡¯s eye..

 Chapter 35 - Lang Fengs Scheme

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Village Chief, why are you standing there in a daze? What are you thinking about?¡± asked Huang Feijiao.


    ¡°I¡¯m just wondering when the noise will end. Even if the peerless treasure is about to appear, we don¡¯t have the ability to wield it. I¡¯ve already told the others not to go hunting during this chaos. I¡¯m afraid something might happen to them.¡±


    ¡°I know. I agree with you. The commotion has been going on forever.¡±


    ¡°Also, I haven¡¯t heard the from the Outsiders for a while. I know they entered the forest recently but with all of this going on, I¡¯m afraid they might have been devoured by desolate beasts. I¡¯m guessing that their corpses might not even be around anymore.¡±


    ¡°Who cares about them? They don¡¯t even know anything about the guardian spirit or magic treasures¡±


    ¡°I wonder how long the peace in our village will last? If the chaos there doesn¡¯t end soon, we have to brace ourselves for the worst. Even if we might be able to restrain or take down whatever threat is looming, we don¡¯t know what that¡¯ll cost us. We must be careful,¡± said the village chief with his hands behind his back.


    Stone Village had just rebuilt the houses destroyed by the storm of the strange phenomenon from last time. Was their peace and tranquil life about to be disrupted again?


    ¡ª¡ª


    ¡°How strange, Uncle. I think I see a figure moving over there. What a courageous figure to be wandering in the dense forest where desolate beasts hide.¡± A girl with fair and tender skin stared at the embarrassed Lang Feng who was slowly approaching them.


    This group of people consisted of three teams where each team represented a separate large tribe. The few children among them were the cultivation prodigies of their tribes and had been traveling around to train, escorted by the older cultivators from their tribes. These young ones were their tribe¡¯s pride and joy after all and had to be protected at all costs, even when they were simply training.


    ¡°Hmm, he seems to be in quite a sorry state. He probably won¡¯t be alive for long,¡± said another girl from the same team.


    How could there be experts in the desolate mountain?


    ¡°This young man is still in the prime of his youth. Have you noticed the treasure in his hand?¡± The old man next to the girls had a fake smile, making him look a little weird.


    ¡°Yes, I have. Is it Wolf Fang? I think it¡¯s a gift given by guardian spirits to their worshippers,¡± said one of the girls.


    ¡°The treasure in his hand doesn¡¯t have much luster anymore. It¡¯s probably no longer that powerful. Maybe their guardian spirit has grown weaker,¡± said another child from another team. But his voice came from above.


    This child was very different from the other children ¨C he had a mount on which he was now sitting cross-legged: a flood dragon.


    Not long after, Lang Feng finally arrived at the group¡¯s camp and stared at the strangers with vigilance.


    Before the Wolf Village¡¯s chief was captured, he had instructed Lang Feng to go to Lone Mountain Town and look for a strong warrior of a tribe. As the cultivation prodigy of his village, his possession of Wolf Fang would convince that person to return to Wolf Village, exact revenge on the perpetrators, and help reclaim their village.


    Thus, when Lang Feng escaped the chaos in Wolf Village, he headed straight for where he thought Lone Mountain Town was. He had been injured by the bishop, which did not make his travels through the forest that lurked with danger easy. And now, he had stumbled upon a group of strangers.


    At least they didn¡¯t seem to be Outsiders.


    ¡°Show me what you¡¯re holding in your hand,¡± said one of the members of the group. Lang Feng looked serious and frowned unwillingly. However, they had the advantage of numbers, and his body was not strong enough to deal with them.


    And from the looks of it, some of them were especially powerful.


    Lang Feng also did not fail to notice the flood dragon flying above him. Honestly, that alone would have been enough to make him tremble in fear. Since they seem to know of Wolf Fang, they must be from one of the larger tribes.


    Ultimately, Lang Feng had no choice but to hand over Wolf Fang. The child on the dragon dismounted and stepped forward. But instead of receiving Wolf Fang, he cracked his whip at Lang Feng¡¯s face. The left side of his face split open and blood started to drip down his face.


    ¡°Why do you look so unwilling? Are you looking down on me?¡±


    Lang Feng was shocked by the unexpected reaction. The left side of his face seared in pain and two of his teeth had been knocked out as he spat them out with a mouthful of blood.


    Hatred and anger built up inside him, but he knew that he was at a disadvantage right now. Thus, he stiffly smiled as he handed Wolf Fang to the boy.


    The child held Wolf Fang and inspected it. ¡°It¡¯s not anything good, Uncle Luo. What do you think? In my opinion, this person and his guardian spirit aren¡¯t worthy. How about we kill them and use the guardian spirit as a medicinal bath for me? The blood essence of a guardian spirit is probably better than that of a beast,¡± said the child calmly as if killing a guardian spirit was a simple thing.


    Lang Feng¡¯s head hung low, shocked once more.


    Killing a guardian spirit? If they had the ability to kill a guardian spirit, it would be effortless for them to wipe him off the face of the earth. But that also meant that they could go to Stone Village, slaughter them, and indirectly help Wolf Village take revenge.


    With this in mind, Lang Feng plucked up the courage to say, ¡°Respected cultivators, you might not know of this but the guardian spirit of our village has been killed. However, there are other more powerful guardian spirits around the desolate mountain. If you want, I can show you the way.¡±


    ¡°Oh? An even more powerful guardian spirit? What ability does it have? Tell me.¡± Lang Feng¡¯s words piqued the child¡¯s interest.


    ¡°A lightning-stuck tree. It is still alive and has but a single low-hanging branch that is evergreen,¡± said Lang Feng.


    Afraid that that wasn¡¯t enough to arouse their interest, he added in the incident with Suan Ni too. ¡°Some time ago, their village took all of the precious bones and blood essence of an ancient descendant, Suan Ni. I believe you are more worthy of such treasures than those villagers.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? Suan Ni¡¯s precious bone?¡±


    If they found the lightning-struck tree interesting, the thought of Suan Ni¡¯s precious bone made them excited.


    No matter the tribe, an ancient descendant¡¯s precious bone was always considered an unparalleled treasure. What right did a mere desolate mountain village have to obtain it?


    When the other teams heard Lang Feng¡¯s words, they also secretly plotted a plan in their heads. If they used Suan Ni¡¯s precious bone to help the children temper their bodies, then their trip down the mountain wouldn¡¯t have been in vain.


    ¡°Where is this place? Hurry up, lead the way.¡±


    Lang Feng¡¯s plan was working!


    Back at Stone Village, the villagers had not been out hunting recently, as instructed by the village chief. Today, they were marinating desolate beast meat they had previously obtained to prevent it from rotting.


    While the adults were busy, Shi Hao¡¯s eyes had been locked on the crimson bird resting on the willow tree.


    He had seen it before in the desolate mountains, but he was not sure why he was here today.


    ¡°Why are you staring at me? Be careful, or I¡¯ll peck you blind,¡± said the crimson bird in human language.


    The three Green Scaled Eagle chicks below the willow tree shivered as if they had sensed something terrifying.


    And that was what woke Ye Yun. He activated his Divine Sense to check the willow tree. He had thought that the Willow Deity had awoken when he heard the voice earlier.


    But the one who spoke was a crimson bird that could speak human language. Ye Yun knew that it was not an ordinary magical beast. Perhaps it was a high-level magical beast that could change its form.


    Ye Yun found it interesting and kept observing the crimson bird..

 Chapter 36 - The Willow Deitys Revival?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The crimson bird stared at Shi Hao angrily, unaware of Ye Yun¡¯s presence.


    But Shi Hao did not panic. He simply thought that the crimson bird was intelligent. ¡°I have some beast milk and it tastes quite good. Do you want to try some?¡± asked Shi Hao to the crimson bird.


    But the crimson bird simply rolled its eyes and left.


    ¡°Why are you leaving? You don¡¯t think the beast milk tastes good?¡± Shi Hao was confused.


    Ye Yun could not help but laugh. In the end, Shi Hao was still just a little boy. His thoughts and gestures were too heartwarming, which tempted Ye Yun to pull a small prank on the boy.


    He stretched out his roots and lightly wrapped around Shi Hao¡¯s ankle. Then, he quickly withdrew his roots.


    Shi Hao was caught off guard. With a face full of confusion, he crouched down to touch his ankle,


    ¡®What was going on? Did something touch me?¡¯ Shi Hao wondered.


    Now that he was much closer to the ground, Ye Yun was able to take a good look at the boy. There were traces of beast milk on the edge of his lips as his black hair hung loosely on both sides of his shoulders. His clothes were white and smooth and his face looked just like an exquisite porcelain doll.


    Ye Yun could not help but smile. No one could dislike such an endearing child.


    The two of them had been cultivation buddies, even if Shi Hao did not know it. And throughout their cultivation time together, Ye Yun had witnessed Shi Hao¡¯s cultivation growth and breakthrough.


    It was clear that Ye Yun had grown very fond of the boy to the point where if Shi Hao asked for something, Ye Yun was willing to help him, no matter what. It was most likely mainly because they were both orphans.


    Even though Shi Hao smiled brightly every day and had a good relationship with the other people in the village, Ye Yun had noticed that the boy¡¯s eyes would follow other families from time to time with a yearning in his eyes.


    Three Green Scaled Eagle chicks were flying around in the sky right above the willow tree while children chased after each other in the shade, playing around.


    Ye Yun laughed as he watched the children play while Shi Hao was still looking confused by what he had felt on his ankle earlier. Perhaps it was just a small snake slithering past. He quickly shook his head and joined the other children.


    The children had already tempered their bodies and experienced their own breakthroughs. And compared to the others, Shi Hao¡¯s body looked weaker and smaller. Moreover, he was the only one among them holding a bottle of beast milk. However, none of the others¡¯ cultivation progress and abilities could compare to Shi Hao¡¯s. Still, everyone was happy with how far they had come.


    As such, the village chief had allowed them a day off from cultivation today. That was why they were able to play so happily as the other villagers looked on.


    Meanwhile, tens of kilometers outside Stone Village, Lang Feng was leading the large group over.


    But when they were about to arrive, they did not head for the entrance of the village. They went to the willow tree instead.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect such a huge lightning-struck tree to exist. The lightning strike must have charred its body black, but it still had some life left in it. This village¡¯s guardian spirit is quite interesting.¡±


    ¡°Sir, this guardian spirit is quite strange and possesses quite shocking abilities. Please be careful,¡± said Lang Feng. He didn¡¯t actually know what the guardian spirit was capable of. He simply wanted to fan the flames of desire of the group to attack the village.


    And he got what he wanted. The child on the flood dragon contemptibly said, ¡°It¡¯s just a guardian spirit of a village. It shouldn¡¯t be that strong. Wait for me here. I¡¯ll go over and just tear off the willow tree branches to make myself a new whip.¡±


    ¡°You really know how to brag. How sure are you that they don¡¯t have any hidden experts? Didn¡¯t you see the weirdly huge, straight, and clean path carved out from the mountain forest leading here? I don¡¯t think we should underestimate them,¡± said the girl.


    The elder next to her also agreed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be such a scaredy-cat. Aren¡¯t you also a cultivation prodigy of your tribe?¡± The boy retorted, unwilling to be outdone. The adults around them simply smiled as they let the two argue.


    Another child said, ¡°But how did that path get carved out like that, then?¡±


    The adults nodded, proud that the children had been observant.


    What the children said was true. Such a path could not have been carved out of the thirty-foot-deep forest by a desolate beast.


    ¡°Why do you care so much? It¡¯s just a backward village. What hidden abilities could they have? Even if there are experts among them, do you really think that they could be stronger than us?¡± The child sitting on the flood dragon scoffed.


    He left the expert who was protecting him behind and headed over to check things out.


    Ye Yun had already sensed the presence of the group when they first stepped foot on the Great Wastelands. His roots had grown to an extent that had covered many places. Moreover, this group of people emitted Qi flow that he had never encountered before. How obvious could their presence be?


    He quickly activated his Divine Sense and Clairvoyance to secretly observe this group of people. He wasn¡¯t sure if he should make a move or not.


    It was obvious at first glance that they were not good people. But he did not know why they were heading to Stone Village.


    Ye Yun looked back at the busy villagers and then at the group of people who were about to arrive at the village entrance. In the end, Ye Yun decided to wait a little longer to see what happened before making a move.


    The child sitting on the flood dragon could not suppress the excitement in his heart. He gave the flood dragon a pat, indicating for it to go over a little more quickly.


    The flood dragon understood and immediately sped up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go over first. I¡¯ll definitely get the willow branch.¡±


    ¡°Why are you in such a hurry?¡± The expert guarding him frowned as he went after the child.


    ¡°He¡¯s so bold. Is he planning to use the flood dragon to collide with the lightning-struck tree?¡± The girl was confused. How reckless could he be?


    ¡°Just let him be. We¡¯ll go at our own pace. We¡¯re almost there anyway.¡±


    The other two teams of people did not bother to rush over.


    Not long after, a miserable voice echoed throughout the lands. Did someone encounter an accident?


    The others looked over and saw a green light suddenly appear. The emerald green willow branch swayed and just barely restrained the flood dragon.


    Not long after, the flood dragon roared in pain and the birds in the dense forest quickly fled as a reflex.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Everyone was shocked. Whatever happened must not have been simple. They immediately sped up using runic energy, especially the experts of the tribe the child on the flood dragon belonged to.


    Their cultivation prodigy must not be met with any accidents.


    Unfortunately, the child they were worried about had fallen off his fallen dragon from the sky. His body had been stained red and huge red gashes sliced across the skin of his arms.


    What had happened was that the willow tree branch had reached out towards the flood dragon, startling it and throwing off its rider. The branch of the willow tree wrapped tightly around the flood dragon, but rather than suffocate it to death, it pierced into its body.


    The flood dragon continuously struggled, trying to break free from the willow tree¡¯s control. Unfortunately, it was completely useless.


    In a blink of an eye, a large amount of vitality and blood essence could be seen leaving the flood dragon and flowing into the willow tree through the branch. The scales of the flood dragon fell off its body like a dying tree shedding its leaves.


    Before the flood dragon could react, it was almost dead.


    Ye Yun stared at the scene, more interested in the willow tree¡¯s branch wrapped around the flood dragon¡¯s body than the flood dragon itself. He excitedly used his Divine Sense to communicate with the Willow Deity.


    ¡°Willow Deity, have you finally recovered?¡±

 Chapter 37 - The Willow Deity’s Wish

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Unfortunately, the Willow Deity did not reply, as usual. But it was still using its branches to absorb the flood dragon¡¯s blood essence and vitality. Ye Yun felt helpless. He shouted a few more times but was only left in silence.


    ¡°You must be in a really deep sleep. Which makes sense, I guess. You are lacking quite a lot of vitality. Otherwise, you would have been revived a long time ago,¡± said Ye Yun with a sigh.


    Then Ye Yun looked at the child who had fallen because of the Willow Deity and landed on the altar. His arm looked badly mutilated and his blood had splattered all over his body. He struggled to break free, wanting to leave the altar as his eyes filled with tears and fear.


    After a short while, the villagers of Stone Village arrived after hearing the commotion.


    Their eyes were wide open as they stared at the willow tree¡¯s branches that were continuously curling around the flood dragon. They were excitedly astonished by what they were witnessing.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is the willow tree actually moving? What is it twining around? A flood dragon?!¡± Huang Linhu stared at the willow tree¡¯s branch.


    ¡°There must be a reason for this. The willow tree guardian spirit never makes a move unless it was absolutely necessary. The flood dragon must have been planning to attack the willow tree, thus provoking the guardian spirit. That¡¯s how it ended up like this.¡± Shi Hao stared at the flood dragon with clenched fists.


    ¡°How should we deal with the child on the altar? His entire body is covered in blood and he looks quite frightened. Maybe the guardian spirit intervened to save him? Or was he the one who lured the flood dragon here?¡± Huang Feijiao frowned as he looked at the child laying miserably on the altar.


    ¡°How can such a young child control a flood dragon? I think that the flood dragon had snatched the child away from his home and was rescued by the guardian spirit.¡± Huang Linhu thought Huang Feijiao¡¯s reasoning was inconceivable.


    While everyone was still speculating, the child on the altar suddenly spoke. But rather than ask for help, he threatened the villagers.


    ¡°I advise you to be sensible and let me go. If you don¡¯t, the experts of my tribe will definitely kill all of you.¡±


    But as soon as the child finished speaking, Shi Hao went up to him and slapped the child.


    ¡°Watch your mouth.¡± Shi Hao¡¯s face was filled with anger.


    ¡°Huang Linhu, Huang Feijiao, go check out our surroundings. I want to know if this brat is speaking the truth. Do you see any other tribes on their way?¡± The village chief spoke with a heavy voice.


    ¡°If you see anyone, don¡¯t approach. I don¡¯t want any conflicts to start prematurely.¡± The village chief immediately warned his men.


    Huang Linhu and Huang Feijiao nodded and prepared to leave the village.


    Unfortunately, before they could step out of the boundaries of their village, they had already noticed more than ten to twenty figures charging towards Stone Village like a threat. There seemed to be a leader in front who shouted at them.


    ¡°Who has the guts to touch our tribe¡¯s young prodigy?¡±


    But by the time he spoke, the Willow Deity had finally absorbed all of the flood dragon¡¯s blood essence and vitality. Everyone knew because the body of the beast had turned into nothingness.


    The person who shouted earlier immediately froze. He finally realized that Lang Feng was right. The willow tree guardian spirit was no ordinary being. He started to be more cautious.


    But then, the willow tree branch simply drooped back down again, as if nothing had happened. The willow tree returned to its original state.


    Ye Yun used his Divine Sense to check on the Willow Deity¡¯s vitality. It was more spirited than before, but not enough to support its full recovery.


    Then, Ye Yun wondered, could it be that the Willow Deity was simply reacting to the impending threat of the flood dragon and the child towards it and the desolate Stone Village?


    But before he could continue with his train of thought, he suddenly felt an endless stream of energy surging into his body from the intersection between his and the Willow Deity¡¯s roots.


    The Willow Deity was channeling energy into his body!


    Ye Yun had once thought that plants were always in competition for resources. Never would he have imagined that plants could share resources, such as vitality like the Willow Deity was doing with him now.


    Ye Yun¡¯s heart was filled with joy by this kind act.


    The system¡¯s sudden notification came about.


    [Beep beep, detected that the host has triggered a check-in. Do you wish to do so?]


    Ye Yun did not hesitate to say yes.


    [Check-in successful. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Flood Dragon Soul Power. Do you wish to use it?]


    ¡°Use it, quickly.¡±


    In an instant, Ye Yun felt an endless stream of soul power rapidly surge into his soul. For a moment, it was as if his soul was floating in Heavenly Lake. Not only was he refreshed, but all the negative energy and impurities in his body had also been removed.


    Ye Yun¡¯s spirit felt so comfortable that it could not help but refine itself.


    Now that Ye Yun had obtained the ability to refine his soul and spirit, Ye Yun felt that forming his soul avatar was just around the corner.


    The system seemed to have waited for Ye Yun¡¯s spirit to be refined as it was only after that it beeped again.


    [Detected the host¡¯s use of the reward. A mission has been triggered: Please help the Willow Deity fulfill its wish to remove the current threat to Stone Village. I hope the host can complete it before sunset.]


    What? Didn¡¯t the Willow Deity just absorb the flood dragon¡¯s vitality and blood essence? Did it know that it was still lacking the ability to protect Stone Village?


    Ye Yun could not help but laugh out loud.


    ¡°Well, the mission sounds pretty fun anyway.¡± Moreover, based on past experience, Ye Yun felt that the system would reward him well if he completed the mission.


    Ye Yun was suddenly filled with excitement. It had been a while since he last completed a mission from the system. He had been so busy cultivating that he had almost forgotten his potential and abilities in combat.


    By the time Ye Yun accepted the mission from the system, the teams from the other tribes had arrived at the entrance of Stone Village.


    The village chief noted more than ten figures with unknown origins and he knew that they were not good people as he looked at them seriously. Moreover, he could tell that many of these people were experts.


    And if today¡¯s events went public, it would only attract more attention and cause more trouble.


    This matter was not easy to handle.


    For a moment, the air was still.


    Then, the old man next to the girl spoke.


    ¡°Perhaps you have misunderstood. We are not evil people. We just happened to hear the cries of children as we were passing by and became curious, which is why we hurried over. I hope you can understand. Is your tribe leader around?¡±


    When they had seen the willow tree guardian spirit¡¯s ability, they had decided not to attack Stone Village so soon. After all, they were supposed to be training during this period of time. There was no need to start fights.


    Once they had determined Stone Village¡¯s abilities and stance, then they could decide whether to attack or not.


    Since the strangers showed no intentions of attacking, Huang Yunfeng said, ¡°I am the tribe leader of the village. Leave with your children. Our village does not welcome you.¡±


    But when someone from Luofu picked up his tribe¡¯s cultivation prodigy and stared at Huang Yunfeng¡¯s pathetic appearance, he said, ¡°Leave? Your people attacked our cultivation prodigy.. How can we just leave?¡±

 Chapter 38 - The Descent of the Divine Sword

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Ridiculous. He was clearly the one who controlled the flood dragon to attack our village¡¯s guardian spirit.¡± Shi Hao retorted when he heard this.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you looking properly? Our cultivation prodigy was simply flying his flood dragon over your village. He wasn¡¯t attacking you. Do you really expect us to believe that your guardian spirit had acted on its own accord without any commands from you? And it attacked a child too! If you ask me, I¡¯d say that your guardian spirit is actually an evil demon!¡±


    A gentle breeze blew and the willow tree¡¯s branch swayed with the passing wind. Everyone felt a shiver down their spine and shuddered.


    But nothing happened.


    The people from Luofu Tribe immediately felt relieved. They quickly told their people to prepare to attack.


    Huang Fenyun stared at the strangers before him. He knew that there was no way to avoid today¡¯s battle. But why had Stone Village been so unlucky these days? They had been encountering one strange and dangerous thing to the next.


    He simply hoped that the guardian spirit could protect him and defeat this group of people.


    The old man next to the girl held her hand. When the people of Luofu Tribe wanted to act, the old man also made his decision. He told his team that it was better to leave Stone Village.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    The command came and the experts from Luofu Tribe jumped on Stone Village¡¯s cultivators. For a moment, runic lights appeared and it was obvious their attacks would be fatal.


    The people of Thunder Tribe and Luofu Tribe had always been arrogant. Even though they had already witnessed the Stone Village¡¯s guardian spirit¡¯s ability, they still believed that they could win this battle.


    They even wanted to show off their use of the Bone Text energy to the Stone Village residents. They were that confident. After all, they were experts from large tribes and had destroyed countless villages. Why would they lose today?


    Huang Yunfeng, Huang Linhu, and the others also braced themselves for the impending battle. Shi Hao¡¯s eyes were filled with flames of hatred. He simply could not understand.


    It was clear that the people of Stone Village were kind and simple. They had never stirred up trouble with any village, so why were these people targeting them?


    Suddenly, there was a change in the Qi flow in the atmosphere. Shi Hao was dumbstruck because this Qi flow that had just started was very familiar to him.


    The villagers of Stone Village felt it too and immediately recalled the sword Qi that killed Suan Ni and Wolf Village¡¯s guardian spirit. These events had been so deeply engraved into their memories that there was no way they would forget about them anytime soon.


    And just like they had remembered it, the sword Qi shot out of the ground, almost as if from a random location, and went straight into the sky. It brimmed with the same brilliant bright light as the ground shook from its sudden appearance.


    The Stone Village¡¯s houses that had just been rebuilt not long ago were destroyed once more but by the sword Qi this time. Stone Village was filled with the familiar turbulent Qi flow,


    The divine sword descended, bringing with it an endless stream of cold air. Even in the middle of summer, everyone felt a chill run down their spines, as if they were in a world of ice and snow.


    ¡°Damn, just what kind of treasure is this to actually possess such a terrifying ability and presence?¡± The experts of Luofu Tribe turned pale with shock. They had initially thought that the willow tree guardian spirit was terrifying enough.


    Who the hell could have guessed that such a terrifying magical treasure was hidden in this mountain village? Or at least what they thought was the village¡¯s magical treasure and not a sword Qi that had a completely different origin.


    The members of Thunder Tribe were enraptured by the divine sword wrapped in lightning in the sky. Even though they felt a little terrified, it soon turned into excitement as they thought, ¡® If we could obtain such a powerful treasure, it would be a great merit to our tribe.¡¯


    The divine sword swept across the sky before its sharp blade pointed straight at the ground. It hovered in the air, slowly swaying as if it would fall at the next second.


    The immaterial sword Qi was so sharp that everyone felt the threat in their souls.


    Elsewhere, the other team who were from Cloud Palace and had decided not to participate in the battle had also noticed the divine sword. They were dumbfounded. Even if they were not in Stone Village, they could still sense its destructive power.


    ¡°Uncle is smart. I agree that we shouldn¡¯t attack a village so rashly,¡± said the girl standing beside the old man.


    ¡°This village isn¡¯t what it seems. The guardian spirit at their entrance isn¡¯t an ordinary guardian spirit either. The flood dragon is quite a terrifying creature in the continent but it was easily restrained by a willow tree branch before having all its vitality absorbed and turned into nothing. The guardian spirit¡¯s potential should have been obvious based on its history as a tree that had once been charred by lightning yet still grew an evergreen branch, thus containing vitality. It¡¯s truly extraordinary,¡± said the old man.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Moreover, look at that child, the one who slapped Luofu Tribe¡¯s cultivation prodigy. He had quite an exquisite appearance with his porcelain doll-like face and astonishing abilities. He must be the village¡¯s cultivation prodigy. The other cultivators also seemed to have undergone body tempering ¨C their physiques are quite impressive,¡± said the girl as she shared her opinions.


    The girl had been captivated by Shi Hao the moment she arrived at the village. Just looking at him made her heart skip a beat.


    As the two were conversing, the divine sword started to change its tactics.


    The divine sword let out a hum and its sword Qi continued to spread out ¨C a storm started to form. The people present stared at the growing hurricane, unable to keep their eyes open long.


    The old man started to feel that it was getting hard to stand on his feet and he quickly pulled the girl under him to protect her.


    The pressure from the divine sword pressed down on the cultivators of Thunder Tribe and Luofu Tribe until they vomited blood. A portion of those who were not strong enough had already knelt on the ground.


    ¡°Damn, Village Chief¡­ This divine sword is exactly the same as the one before¡­¡± Huang Linhu was shocked, not knowing how to continue.


    The sword Qi that killed Suan Ni was indeed from their village!


    That must mean that there were experts in their village!


    Shi Hao stared at the divine sword in the air with his pair of clear eyes in shock.


    Ye Yun looked at the expressions of the strangers and nodded. He did not plan on killing them quickly. He wanted to prolong their agony as long as possible and see if they would let out any clues.


    Or they could just give him the treasures they brought with them.


    After all, now that the divine sword had appeared, how could the strangers still dare to attack Stone Village?


    Boom!


    The divine sword suddenly fell from the sky and pierced straight into the middle of Stone Village. It stood upright like a pillar of support, surrounded by a terrifying Qi flow.


    But the divine sword had not simply fallen. When it descended, it had somehow slashed a portion of the strangers¡¯ bodies with its sword Qi. In a blink of an eye, ten people ended up dead.


    The people from Thunder Tribe became hesitant. They were not sure if they should attack or not. The Luofu Tribe, on the other hand, stared at the fallen divine sword with secret intentions.


    They did not know who was in control of such a powerful magic treasure but if they attacked that person, they would have seized the chance to steal it for themselves.


    Wouldn¡¯t it just be ironic if these villagers were killed in their own village?


    A strange smile appeared on the face of the leader of the Luofu Tribe..

 Chapter 39 - The Divine Sword Has a Good Appetite

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Shi Hao was on guard as he patiently and carefully stared at the divine sword that had landed in the middle of Stone Village. Its sword Qi had previously dealt with Suan Ni with lightning speed before it left. The scene had shocked him and it happened so fast that he had no time to observe it.


    Now that the divine sword was standing in front of him, he had to study it as much as he could.


    The entire body of the divine sword was not the typical quasi-black color of iron. It was a pure white, just like the snow on the peak of a mountain that had not melted. The body of the sword was enveloped in wisps of emerald-green mists that continuously revolved around the body of the sword.


    If one listened intently, it would not be difficult to hear the revolving mist around the sword let out small but audible clangs.


    The more Shi Hao looked at the sword, the more he wanted to touch it.


    The village chief noticed how Shi Hao had been behaving and quickly pulled the child aside.


    Ye Yun noticed Shi Hao¡¯s actions and his heart slightly trembled. What was Shi Hao thinking? Did he want to touch the sword in such a situation?


    The Luofu Tribe cultivators had been waiting patiently for a chance. Since the divine sword had not made another move, they no longer had the patience to continue waiting.


    They quickly used the energy of their magic treasures and Bone Text to attack the residents of Stone Village.


    When the Thunder Tribe cultivators saw the Luofu Tribe cultivators start their attack, they decided to do the same too.


    But the moment their runic lights appeared, the lightning flashed more intensely in the sky and a large amount of the mana released by the group of strangers gathered towards the center of Stone Village.


    Ye Yun stared at the group of people who were courting death and sighed helplessly.


    ¡°I am now very confused by the intelligence of the leaders of the large tribes. These tribes are so supposed to be powerful, so shouldn¡¯t they know the ways of the world?¡±


    He silently leaned on the Willow Deity. ¡°And here you are, still so relaxed. After showing off to them, you now want me to pick up your scraps? Well, since you have yet to fully recover, I will help you out.¡±


    ¡°How? How is this happening?!¡± The Luofu Tribe cultivators shouted in shock.


    The moment they attacked, their runic energy was absorbed by the divine sword. Its blade vibrated to the new energy it had just received.


    The people of Stone Village stared at each other, their faces full of confusion. They stopped attacking and staggered. This was also the first time they had encountered a divine sword absorbing the runic spells of others.


    It was as if the divine sword had implanted itself there to protect the people of Stone Village.


    In the end, no matter what methods the Luofu Tribe and Thunder Tribe cultivators used to attack, they were not able to harm the people of Stone Village in the slightest. Every time they made their move, the divine sword would rapidly absorb their attacks.


    This divine sword was not picky about its food, eh?


    Time passed as they fought and soon, the sun was about to set. The Luofu Tribe and Thunder Tribe cultivators had basically used all the moves they knew. They did not have any strength left.


    Ye Yun looked at the strangers and was starting to get bored. He shifted slightly and looked at the sky. It was time to end things ¨C he was going to kill them.


    These people had come with ill intentions, after all. So, how could he be merciful?


    Everyone still had their eyes on the divine sword when they saw it shrink. Even the people from Cloud Palace saw what was happening from a distance. They had almost laughed out loud when they saw how dumbfounded and confused the Thunder Tribe and Luofu Tribe cultivators had looked earlier. They shouldn¡¯t have acted so insolently. Now, they had to reap what they sowed.


    They might have thought arrogantly about the actions of the group that was now attacking Stone Village. But the team from Cloud Palace was equally as terrified of Stone Village too.


    When they saw the divine sword shrink, they stood up in shock.


    ¡°Is it done? The divine sword seems to have disappeared.¡±


    The Thunder Tribe and Luofu Tribe cultivators thought the recent developments of the divine sword were strange too. They were from large tribes and were well-informed about many things in Perfect Continent. But this was the first time they had encountered such an unparalleled treasure.


    They had never encountered a sword that could emit such terrifying and cold killing intents, and also be able to absorb attacks.


    However, the most interesting part about it was that it had been defending rather than attacking in the past few hours. Could it be that it was a treasure used for defense in the village? But if the desolate mountain village was in such dire straits, how did they get their hands on such a treasure? And why were they still in this desolate state?


    What about their guardian spirit?


    For a moment, countless perplexities lingered in their minds. One of the people in the attacking teams became annoyed at Lang Feng as he was the one who had instigated all of these. ¡°What are your intentions? Do you know what you have just done? Be honest or I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    ¡°Sir, I¡¯m not lying to you. I only know that there are treasures in their village. I didn¡¯t know how powerful the treasures are. But once you win this battle, you can just sit back and reap the benefits,¡± said Lang Feng with a smile, trying to appease the man.


    ¡°Who do you think you are? The two tribes have attacked for several hours, but they haven¡¯t injured anyone in Stone Village. Are you saying that we should join in and walk into the devil¡¯s lair?¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he kicked Lang Feng again. This time, the force was too strong as Lang Feng rolled two meters away with no strength left to move.


    Although the sword in Stone Village was gradually shrinking, the energy contained within it was increasing. A bright light suddenly blinded everyone for a moment before it disappeared along with the divine sword.


    If it were not for the long and deep cracks on the ground, everyone would have thought that it had all been a dream.


    The villagers of Stone Village slowly opened their eyes and stared at their surroundings in shock.


    Shi Hao crouched down in confusion as he reached out to touch the crack. The remnants of the sword Qi cut his finger and blood seeped out.


    He quickly withdrew his finger and held it in his mouth as he began to think. Tears slowly dripped down his face and his eyes were bloodshot. He felt his vision suddenly turn pitch-black and his body started to sway. Suddenly, his eyes stared at the grass below the willow tree and he had an epiphany.


    It was not the willow tree, but the grass next to it.


    He thought long and hard about it and decided that now was not the right time to discuss this with the others. Shi Hao decided to hold his thoughts for now and bring them up when the time was right.


    Everyone else in Stone Village was focused on their opponents¡¯ movements, watching to see if anyone would make a move.


    Shi Hao eased the discomfort in his body and then looked in the direction of the enemy. That was when he saw how petrified the Thunder Tribe and Luofu Tribe cultivators were. Their bodies had stopped moving, frozen mid-stance and the light had left their eyes.


    Huang Feijiao wanted to go over to them to check out the situation. But Huang Linhu immediately stopped him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be rash. Let¡¯s just wait for a while. What if this was all part of their plan to lure us to them?¡±


    ¡°Uncle Linhu, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re alive anymore. It seems like they are already corpses.¡± Shi Hao pulled at the sleeve of Huang Linhu¡±s clothes and blinked as he spoke. His eyes were bright and clear.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me that they¡¯re already dead?¡± Huang Feijiao was shocked by what he heard and immediately went over to check things out.


    There were no wounds on their bodies and even the expressions on their faces were frozen in place. Some of them still had sweat on their faces, proof that they had just been alive a few moments ago.


    Huang Feijiao was confused and immediately nudged one of them but the person suddenly fell down and his head rolled to the side.


    Huang Feijiao was stunned and turned to look at another one still frozen in place. The person had a face full of shock. He looked as if he was about to speak but was killed by someone with a slit on his neck before he could do so..

 Chapter 40 - How Strange

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    As he continued to investigate, Huang Feijiao noticed that there was a thin, long mark left on each person¡¯s neck like a silver thread.


    If he had not observed carefully, he would still be wondering about the real cause of death of this group of people.


    The people from the large tribes who had come to cause trouble had all been killed by this sword mark. Because of the speed of the attack, not even blood had time to flow out.


    In a blink of an eye, over a hundred people had been killed by the sword Qi before they could even react. Not a single one of them survived.


    Huang Feijiao was still in shock. This was completely different from the time when the sword Qi killed Suan Ni. Previously, it almost didn¡¯t leave the corpse behind. However, this time, the corpses were still around and intact.


    This was simply too terrifying! Fortunately, the person who used the divine sword was not an enemy of Stone Village.


    The other residents of Stone Village also started to move around the corpses, staring at them in shock.


    Eventually, Huang Feijiao asked, ¡°Village Chief, how are we going to deal with these people¡¯s corpses? Bury them in the ground?¡±


    ¡°Bullsh*t! Do they even deserve to be buried? Just throw them out. If the divine sword didn¡¯t protect us, do you think they would bury us?¡± The village chief¡¯s tone was cold.


    Even if no one in the village was injured or killed, the village chief couldn¡¯t forgive these people.


    As the Stone Village residents worked together to transport the corpses away from their village, the team from Cloud Palace had approached to get a closer look at the situation.


    When they noticed the bodies being carried by the Stone Village residents, the former was shocked. With that many enemies, the chances of Stone Village winning unscathed was too small.


    After all, they did not see the guardian spirit make a move and saw that the divine sword was defending more than attacking.


    The old man sensed that something else must have happened when the divine sword was shrinking. Otherwise, how could all the people from Thunder Tribe and Luofu Tribe die just like that?


    The people of Stone Village moved the corpses calmly, and the people from Cloud Palace grew suspicious.


    ¡°Are they used to doing things like this? Killing cultivators and casually dumping them in the Great Wastelands? Are they really that violent?¡± Seeing was believing, and for the elder of Cloud Palace, the current actions of Stone Village were all he had to have an impression of them.


    The sun¡¯s rays started to stretch across the sky as it set, dying the sky crimson. And right now, Stone Village seemed like an ancient desolate beast, hiding behind the sunset with its mouth wide open as it waited for the rabbit to fall into its trap. That was how the elder of Cloud Palace saw Stone Village.


    The only thing the Stone Village people could not dispose of properly was the blood from the corpses that had stained the ground red.


    In a short moment, the people of Stone Village had thrown the corpses on the outer perimeter of the desolate mountain forest. The corpses of more than a hundred people stacked like a hill, standing out from the background.


    Three Green Scaled Eagles flew over, prompting the desolate beasts from the surrounding vegetation towards the mound of corpses. In a short while, the beasts had eaten all the corpses and there was hardly anything left.


    The people of Cloud Palace dared not speak recklessly. They had been waiting for the people of Stone Village to finish disposing of the corpses.


    As the red sunset gradually dimmed and the remaining rays of light dissipated, the people of Cloud Palace noticed that the people of Stone Village were about to close the doors to their village. The people of Cloud Palace became anxious and quickly approached them.


    ¡°We had waited for a long time for the battle to be over. Since it¡¯s already late, do you mind letting us rest in your village?¡±


    Stone Village¡¯s chief looked back at them coldly. They had indeed not attacked his people and they had spoken more amiably than the ones who had just died.


    However, if they were allowed to spend the night in the village, his people probably would not be able to rest well.


    No one could predict the consequences of letting these strangers with shocking abilities spend the night.


    However, these people were requesting with smiles on their faces. How could he refuse so directly? In the end, Stone Village¡¯s chief reservedly said, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t want to let you rest for the night. But you must understand. We are simple people and do not have many quarters available to host your mighty group of people.¡±


    ¡°I know what you mean, Village Chief. How about just letting these two children take refuge in your place for the night?¡± The old man patted the shoulders of the girls on either side of him as he spoke, indicating that he was referring to them.


    Before the village chief had time to reply, the old man spoke again. ¡°We don¡¯t really care about ourselves. We¡¯re adults and have endured the hardships of history. But these are just children. You know how dangerous the outside world can be for them. Don¡¯t worry, they are very obedient and easy to take care of.¡±


    The village chief gave it a thought and finally agreed. ¡°Alright, I can let the children stay in the village. As for the rest, we¡¯ll talk about it tomorrow. It¡¯s already late, we need to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Sounds great. We¡¯ll meet you at the entrance tomorrow at dawn. Sorry for the trouble.¡± The old man smiled and then instructed the children beside him to follow the people of Stone Village.


    ¡°You go over. The old man before you will take you in for the night. Don¡¯t worry, Uncle will rest at the entrance of the village and meet you back at dawn.¡±


    The two girls nodded obediently and let themselves be led by the village chief of Stone Village to their accommodation.


    The residents of Stone Village had been waiting for the village chief. But it was probably not convenient for them to talk about what happened during the day tonight. So, the village chief told his people who had been trembling in fear for a few hours to go home and have a good sleep.


    As for the two girls from Cloud Palace, they were placed in his house while he and Shi Hao rested in another.


    However, the village chief was not in the mood to sleep. He decided that it was best to be on guard instead.


    The night gradually descended over the entire land and the village fell silent. Only the willow tree at the entrance of the village was emitting small specks of light.


    The people from Cloud Palace had no intentions to rest either.


    They were observing the ancient willow trees that seemed to be covered in starlight and recalled what had happened today. The flood dragon that had been completely devoured, the divine sword that roamed the sky, and the corpses of the experts from the two tribes that had been completely devoured by the desolate beasts.


    This village was definitely not as simple as it seemed. If the cause of this matter had not been clearly investigated, how would he reply to the others?


    The various tribes had co-existed in relative harmony over the years.


    If they were the only ones to return safely, the other tribes would inevitably be suspicious.


    They had to investigate what had happened here and the village itself.


    As for the treasure that was about to appear and the disputes between the tribes, those will be coming up very soon..