In the stone village, a burly woman emerged, shouting, "Damn monkey, stop right there!" Ahead of her, a golden sphere the size of a fist was fleeing while clutching a beast's leg weighing over a hundred pounds. It rolled across the ground in a comical manner, eating rapidly as it ran.
Incredibly, despite its height of just three inches, by the time it reached the edge of the village, the entire hundred-plus pounds of smoked meat had vanished into its belly, leaving only a large bone behind.
"Stupid monkey, can't you try another place? This is the sixth time in half a month," the middle-aged woman roared like a lion, grabbing the over half-meter-long bone and giving it a hard knock on the creature's head.
With a loud clang that sparked and sounded like hitting iron, the golden sphere looked innocent, blinking its big eyes, offering no resistance or retort.
"Tiger Aunt, it's not a monkey; it's a Zhu Yan," the little one corrected, tugging on the golden sphere's tail and lifting it upside down.
"Right, it's very annoying, even pigs dislike it," the middle-aged woman grumbled, giving the golden sphere another hit with the bone. However, the creature seemed impervious, like striking iron.
"Little Zhu, in the past half-month, you've stolen from the entire village. Are you still not full?" Shi Hao tugged at its ear.
"Zhi zhi," the golden sphere protested, clearly unhappy with the name.
"It's not 'pig' like in 'tree pig,' but 'Zhu' from 'Zhu Yan.' If you don't like it, I can call you 'Fuzzy Ball' instead," Shi Hao said with a smile, rolling it around in his palm.
The golden Zhu Yan was indignant at the names, feeling they were quite displeasing—calling it a pig and a ball.
Shi Hao rubbed and pinched it, and amid the Zhu Yan's protests, they reached the lakeside, ready to begin their training.
A group of children was already there, sitting cross-legged on the green grass, all focused on their rigorous training. The recent disaster had devastated a hundred thousand miles around, deeply affecting the children and igniting their determination to become stronger.
"Has Fuzzy Ball caused trouble again? I heard Tiger Aunt from the Lin family roar like a lion earlier."
"Ha ha, it's always causing trouble. I don't know how it can eat so much; its little belly seems like a bottomless pit."
The children stood up, laughing, and gathered around to poke the golden Zhu Yan’s round body, enjoying the pleasant texture.
"In the past half-month, the smoked meat it has stolen could weigh as much as a dragon-horned elephant."
Shi Hao nodded in agreement, "It might be starving. It was sealed under the lake for over a year, without eating or drinking. It's recovering its strength now."
The lake was clear, with golden fish occasionally leaping out. The group of children sat by the shore and resumed their training.
Over the past year, Shi Hao's strength had grown rapidly, akin to a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. His physical strength alone was enough to lift thirty thousand pounds of rock. Considering he was only six years old, this feat stunned everyone in the village.
Moreover, he was also deeply refining his bones. With this speed of growth, it was hard to imagine the heights he would reach.
True cultivation involves not only honing the body but also understanding primal symbols and connecting with the origins of the world. Without this understanding, even the strongest body may not reach the peak.
True supremacy transcends the separation of flesh and bone; when refining the body, mysterious patterns are formed, turning into fragments of the Great Dao and integrating into the flesh. When refining bones, these turn into divine light that nourishes the flesh, merging into one.
Thus, cultivators gradually realized this and, from the start, aimed to unify body and bone in their training.
Of course, this path is extremely difficult. In a village of hundreds or even a town of thousands, it is rare to find someone who can walk the path of cultivation.
The Blood Transmutation Realm is the first stage of true cultivation. Typically, it's impressive if a tribe of ten thousand has one person reach this stage, as the conditions are extremely harsh and the path is arduous.
This realm requires mobilizing all the body's essence and blood, which flows like thunder, refining bones, and inducing divine light from the blood to nurture the body and temper the world's creation.
In simple terms, the Blood Transmutation Realm involves the condensation of blood and symbols into divine light, nurturing oneself and seizing the world's creation to strengthen the body, achieving the goal of cultivation.
The destructive power in the early stage of the Blood Transmutation Realm is already astonishing, easily suppressing individuals like Shi Linhu and Shi Feijiao, who possess five to six thousand pounds of divine strength with a single swing of their arms.
If measured in terms of value, the early stage of the Blood Transmutation Realm requires at least eight thousand pounds of destructive power.
Little Zhu Yan also steps into the Blood Transmutation Realm by integrating symbols into the flesh and transforming them into divine light, continuously drawing divine essence from the world like an eternal divine furnace.
Even powerful individuals like Shi Linhu and Shi Feijiao do not qualify as being in this realm, as it is so difficult that it's notable if one out of ten thousand can cross this threshold.
In the mid-stage of the Blood Transmutation Realm, the destructive power reaches twenty thousand pounds, and in the later stage, it becomes even more astonishing, capable of unleashing fifty thousand pounds of divine strength, tearing through beast hordes.
Even in a tribe of tens of thousands, those who step into the Blood Transmutation Realm may never reach the later stage, achieving such remarkable power.
Little Zhu Yan, being only six years old, can lift thirty thousand pounds of rock with sheer physical strength. With the power of symbols in his flesh, his strength is even more extraordinary, already reaching the pinnacle of the Blood Transmutation Realm.
In the past two years, Shi Hao's progress has been rapid. He has thoroughly studied all the bone books collected by the old patriarch and has a profound understanding. He is on the verge of transcending to another realm.
Shi Yunfeng had refrained from letting him advance further because Little Zhu Yan’s cultivation speed was too fast. At such a young age, he had already covered much of what others achieve in a lifetime, which was astonishing. He felt that Shi Hao should solidify his foundation at this stage and wait for the recovery of the Willow God to receive its guidance.
Recently, Little Zhu Yan had almost worn out the bone books, mastering these symbols thoroughly. There was little left to learn, so he had to explore and research on his own.
Additionally, he was also studying precious techniques—one being the primal symbols of ancient magical birds and the other the great divine abilities of the Suan Ni, both of which would make even a tribe of tens of millions envious.
As the sun neared the horizon, the evening glow painted the sky red, making the lake even more beautiful. A group of exotic birds frolicked in the water. Suddenly, there was a commotion; all the giant birds flapped their wings and cried out continuously.
In the aquatic plants, a human-head-sized egg rolled rapidly, moving away from that area and was dragged over by a furry golden ball.
The children watched in astonishment as the golden Zhu Yan had stolen a fierce bird’s egg. The long red-feathered cranes, several meters in length, were angrily calling out nonstop.
"Fuzzy Ball, although this egg smells nice when roasted, it’s not a nourishing medicine. Go and fetch a nest of phoenix eggs; that’s the real treasure," the snot-nosed kid incited, though small, he was quite devious.
"Zhi zhi," Fuzzy Ball squeaked, turning into a streak of golden light and disappearing quickly. Its speed was incredible.
Soon, by the lakeside, a group of angry phoenix chicks was screeching and flapping their wings, splashing large amounts of water, expressing their frustration.
The fist-sized golden sphere was highly efficient, having stolen more than twenty eggs in a short time. If Shi Hao hadn’t held it back, it would have continued.
"Delicious!" The children started a fire by the lake to roast bird eggs, enjoying a feast with Fuzzy Ball.
Though there weren’t many eggs, they were very fresh and nourishing. The children ate heartily, feeling warm all over. The golden Fuzzy Ball, however, did not hog the food and was happy to share.
However, its large eyes were spinning around, already starting to ponder which of the children to visit tonight. It couldn’t just steal eggs from them without reason.
As night fell, a glowing aura suddenly emanated from the willow tree at the village entrance, enveloping the entire stone village, just as it did every night in the vast mountains.
It had been dormant for over a year, and this was the first time it had ended.
“The Willow God has awakened,” the villagers exclaimed in surprise.
At that moment, Zhu Yan, with its golden fur bristling and eyes wide with tension, stared fixedly at the glowing green sprig on the scorched tree trunk.
“Whoosh!”
It suddenly leaped up, aiming to gnaw at the tender shoots of the willow tree. It sensed the astonishingly abundant divine essence contained within, which harbored immense vitality.
“Fuzzy Ball, no!” Shi Hao cried out.
The glowing green willow branch fell, ensnaring Fuzzy Ball and hanging it in mid-air. To an untrained eye, it might have seemed like it had hanged itself. The sudden turn of events startled it, its big eyes widening in fear as it struggled desperately.
The little one hurriedly explained, “Don’t hold it against it. Although it’s an ancient beast, its internal symbols are shattered, and it might have forgotten its past.”
After a long time, the Willow God finally released it, clearly paying special attention to the golden Zhu Yan, but said nothing more.
Once freed, Fuzzy Ball squeaked in surprise, falling directly to the ground and hopping onto Shi Hao’s shoulder. It hid behind his hair, blinking its big eyes at the willow tree, not daring to move any further.
All the villagers had gathered, showing utmost reverence and earnestness in their worship, expressing their respect.
In the end, the patriarch, with a tentative attitude, asked about Shi Hao’s achievements in cultivation and inquired how to proceed next with the willow tree.
No one expected the willow tree to respond, sending out a divine thought: “In the ancient times, the most powerful ferocious beasts, such as the True Hound and the Golden-winged Dapeng, could lift a hundred thousand pounds of divine iron when they were young.”
“Ah!”
Everyone exclaimed in shock. It was incredibly astonishing.
Given the status of the Willow God, its words could not be false. This was far more credible than any legends they had heard; the news was just too shocking.
“That’s purely physical strength, without the use of their race’s unique supreme techniques,” the Willow God added.
Golden-winged Dapeng, True Hound—these celestial ancient beasts’ techniques were certainly unparalleled, beyond comparison.
The villagers were all stunned, unable to speak.
“Therefore, don’t rush to breakthrough. Strive to surpass the hundred-thousand-pound physical strength limit in the shortest time possible. It will be greatly beneficial for you,” the willow tree advised.
The villagers were taken aback. Clearly, the Willow God had taken a special interest in the little one, speaking more than it had in the past several decades combined.
“I will work hard,” the little one said, fluttering his big eyes and clenching his tiny fists. Then, hesitantly, he asked, “Willow God, can you help me look into my subconscious? I want to know what happened back then.”
He was anxious, fearing the revelation of a cruel truth, but was also very eager to know the outcome and understand the past.
“Yes,” the willow tree responded succinctly.
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