The mountains here rise one after another, majestic and imposing, their entire surfaces a dull gray-brown. For some unknown reason, they lack vegetation, appearing completely barren.
Along the way, numerous massive boulders are scattered across the landscape, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
When Xiao Budian saw the golden-furred ball of fluff standing on end, he was initially surprised. But suddenly, a chilling sensation ran through him, a sense of dread that was more instinctive than visual.
His hair stood on end, and his eyes scanned the surroundings in search of something, but he found nothing.
“What did you find, Mao Qiu?” Xiao Budian asked.
The fist-sized golden fur ball only screamed and stared with wide eyes, unable to articulate its feelings but clearly distressed and uneasy.
Soon, the unicorn also grew restless, its four hooves pawing the ground as it sensed a terrifying presence and refused to continue through the mountains.
“Eek!” Suddenly, Mao Qiu shot out like a streak of golden light, leaping over mountains and rushing toward the depths of the range.
“Mao Qiu, don’t be reckless!” Xiao Budian shouted, urging his steed to chase after it.
Reluctant but unable to resist, the unicorn’s entire body shimmered with silver light, crackling with the sound of gathering runes.
After traveling several dozen miles, Mao Qiu suddenly halted, its eyes filled with confusion, having lost the sense of danger that had caused its anxiety.
Ahead, the mountains were lush and green, a stark contrast to the barren, gray-brown peaks from before. This area was vibrant with life, with abundant vegetation and the presence of birds and wild beasts.
Looking back, the desolate, gray-brown mountains seemed even more forlorn, shrouded in an inexplicable mist, as if a long-sealed abyss were about to open.
“Wow, we’ve made it through,” Xiao Budian marveled, thinking the danger lay ahead, only to realize it was in that barren land.
“Crack!”
From the distant gray-brown mountains came a strange noise, like the sound of the earth cracking open, followed by the clanking of chains.
The eerie sound from the dead land was like the cries of the damned from hell. The mist swirled, and a grim aura surged up.
With a thunderous crash, several mountains collapsed without warning, releasing a cloud of gray-brown mist. The scene was terrifying.
“What’s that?” Xiao Budian’s eyes widened in shock, while the unicorn beneath him trembled and nearly collapsed.
Mao Qiu squeaked in alarm, jumping onto Xiao Budian’s shoulder and clawing the air tens of miles away, agitated and restless.
Several mountains had collapsed, and the earth had split open with terrifying cracks, large enough to swallow entire peaks. A massive, greenish claw reached up from the chasm, bound by red-golden chains.
“Heavens, what kind of creature is that?” Xiao Budian was stunned.
Even just the claw was larger than many mountains combined. Its emergence from the ground had caused the collapse of the giant mountains and the splitting of the earth.
The mist surged like a sea, and smoke rose into the sky. The enormous claw reached for the heavens, struggling as if trying to free itself from underground confinement.
The claw was covered in a layer of rocky shell and wasn’t very sharp, indicating it had been imprisoned for a long time.
The claw’s intense movement made the grinding of stone even louder, echoing across the land. The red-golden chains were pulled taut, clattering as if playing a hellish requiem.
“Boom!”
Finally, the massive green claw fell, and the smoke and dust dissipated, leaving behind a terrifying wreckage.
After a long time, there was no further movement, as if nothing had happened.
Xiao Budian was stunned into silence, realizing the vast wilderness was indeed full of fierce beasts. After only a few thousand miles, he had encountered such a monstrous entity. The fact that Mao Qiu was so unsettled suggested that this was likely an unimaginably powerful being.
The golden Zhu Yan (a type of mythical beast) was furious, showing its teeth and claws at the chaotic ground, implying a challenge for a fight. Xiao Budian grabbed its golden tail, lifting it despite its struggles, and urged the unicorn to flee without hesitation.
On a morning several days later, Xiao Budian woke up, washed by the mountain spring, ate some dried meat, drank from the spring, and set out again.
“Heading towards the rising sun, I’m coming to the border of the ancient kingdom,” Xiao Budian said, clenching his little fist and encouraging himself.
In the past few days, they had traveled tens of thousands of miles. With the unicorn’s help, their journey was remarkably swift, crossing mountains and valleys and avoiding many ferocious beasts.
Of course, there were unavoidable battles along the way, and they hadn’t completely shaken off the pursuit. A multi-colored giant insect had been chasing them for two days.
The relentless beast would pursue them whenever they stopped, trailing them by scent and causing constant trouble.
This was a multi-colored insect dozens of meters long, with terrifying strength and a tough, thick hide. It spewed a stream of slime that melted a mountain into a pitiful state.
From Xiao Budian’s estimation, it was much more formidable than the divine beast they had encountered in Beicun. It possessed powerful rune abilities and glowed all over. The only consolation was that it couldn’t keep up with the unicorn.
“Let’s move, or the giant insect will catch up again,” Xiao Budian said, mounting his steed. He believed that if they kept moving, the relentless insect would eventually tire and give up.
The unicorn neighed and shimmered with silver light.
Suddenly, Xiao Budian was startled. “Quick, it’s coming again!”
“Whoosh!”
As they rushed forward, a wave of turbulence surged toward them, covering the landscape in a mist. All the ancient trees and rocks were dissolved instantly, turning into white smoke.
With a buzzing sound, a network of runes fell from the sky, enveloping the area.
“Run!” Xiao Budian shouted.
“Boom!” The mountain area裂开了, and the dust billowed. They fled towards the distance.
A five-colored giant insect appeared, as thick as a water tank, covered in dazzling runes. It wasn’t a serpent but was even more ferocious, angrily thrashing about and nearly flattening the forest.
Suddenly, a bird’s cry echoed, and a gigantic bird, over a hundred meters long, swooped down from the clouds.
The giant insect panicked, hurriedly looking up and spraying light, using runes to defend itself.
“Whoosh!”
The monstrous bird blotted out the sun, unleashing a beam of light like a river of stars that flattened the entire mountain range, leaving rocks scattered in the air. The giant insect was struck into several pieces.
The giant bird descended, beginning a bloody feast.
This is the Great Wilderness, where danger and terrifying creatures are everywhere. One moment, you could be mighty, and the next, you might become another creature’s prey.
It is a world of the survival of the fittest, brutal and ruthless, with no room for reason.
And Xiao Budian must traverse three hundred thousand miles through such a savage land, facing countless hardships and dangers along the way, where death could come at any moment.
Next, Xiao Budian engaged in numerous bloody battles, encountering countless dangers and slaying many ferocious beasts. There was no choice—if he showed any weakness, he would become food for other creatures.
In just a day, his clothes were tattered and stained with blood, and several garments were torn to shreds. Eventually, he had no choice but to don freshly skinned animal hides to cover himself.
In such desolate areas, unimaginable and terrifying creatures were common. He could only avoid them from a distance, thankful that the most formidable beings, focused solely on dominating their own territories, paid them little attention.
However, creatures like the multi-colored giant insect, though not the strongest, posed the greatest threat. Along the way, he encountered a monstrous ape whose runes shook the earth, causing a mountain to collapse. It relentlessly pursued them for three days and nights before finally relenting.
Throughout this journey, he fought countless battles. If he couldn’t win, he would flee. In less than ten days, he had become like a wild man, covered in the blood of fierce birds and beasts, with no time to clean himself.
As he rode on, he could only eat and rest when he stopped. The mountains were too dangerous to waste even a moment, and he had to conserve his strength.
Later, he suffered a severe injury when, searching for a water source, a crocodile-like beast suddenly leapt out of the cold pool. The beast used its runes to suppress the area, nearly killing him.
This was the first time Xiao Budian had suffered such a grave injury. His powerful physique was torn apart, with bones exposed, and under the beast’s rune power, he was nearly crushed.
In the end, the crocodile-like beast attempted to devour him. Seizing the chance, Xiao Budian used his immense strength to rip off one of its clawed arms, leaving it bloodied and staining the cold pool.
Taking advantage of the moment, he leaped and crushed the beast’s head, nearly kicking it to pieces.
The beast, in excruciating pain, plunged into the cold pool, while Xiao Budian used this opportunity to escape to safety, running far away.
The unicorn, hearing the commotion, quickly came to his aid and carried him away, helping him avoid a deadly disaster.
The crocodile-like beast, still vicious, burst out of the water after its pain, spewing a burst of light that flattened a mountain peak. Had it not been for a giant bird appearing in the sky, causing it to retreat, the beast would have continued its pursuit.
In the following days, Mao Qiu found various strange fruits and, generously, even bit into its own flesh to squeeze out three drops of golden blood for Xiao Budian to consume, which helped him recover.
It must be said that the golden Zhu Yan’s blood had miraculous effects. After healing, Xiao Budian had no scars left.
Half a month later, Xiao Budian had traveled two hundred thousand miles from Stone Village. The unicorn was exceptionally fast, far superior to its kind, with only about a hundred thousand miles left to the border of the ancient kingdom.
Xiao Budian had truly become a wild child. From head to toe, he was covered in dried blood, with blood scabs all over, his black hair matted together.
“Squeak!”
One morning, while Xiao Budian was still asleep, Mao Qiu came bounding from deep within the primordial mountains, carrying an egg as large as a grinding stone, radiating an astonishing light.
Xiao Budian awoke to this commotion and saw the scene. Mao Qiu was making faces, looking extremely proud, holding such a large egg—many times bigger than itself. It looked quite comical, and it couldn’t stop squeaking with joy.
The crystal-clear egg was covered in multi-colored stripes, its colors incredibly vibrant, emitting radiant light. Even though it was still an egg, it exuded a terrifying aura.
Without a doubt, this was no ordinary object. Xiao Budian even suspected it might be the bloodline of a divine bird, given its unusual nature.
“Did you steal this?” Xiao Budian asked.
“Squeak!” Mao Qiu protested, putting on a serious face and patting its chest, implying, "Do you think I’m that kind of person?"
Suddenly, a terrifying bird cry echoed from deep within the mountains, causing the surrounding peaks to tremble. A menacing aura surged forth like a raging tide.
“Whoosh!” Mao Qiu threw the egg to Xiao Budian and leaped onto the unicorn’s back, unceremoniously fleeing.
Realizing the danger, Xiao Budian grabbed the colorful egg and jumped onto the unicorn, fleeing together.
“Mao Qiu, you’ve caused trouble again!” Xiao Budian scolded.
Mao Qiu looked up, ignoring him. But eventually, it couldn’t help glancing towards the mountains, seeing the overwhelming aura of danger, and quickly dove to the ground, grabbed a sturdy rock, and started chipping at the egg.
“Ah, such a rare egg, you’re just going to crack it open?” Xiao Budian hesitated.
Mao Qiu gestured, indicating it was for health purposes. In reality, its own saliva was already dripping onto the unicorn’s back.
Several dozen miles away, in another area, a group of people appeared. Leading them was a stunningly beautiful woman with a delicate face, large, lively eyes, and a graceful figure. She wore white clothes that fluttered in the mountain wind, as if ready to soar on the breeze. Beside her were an old woman and a dozen formidable individuals, each extraordinary in their own right.
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