The campfire flickered and crackled, creating a lively atmosphere as the villagers celebrated with enthusiasm.
Shih Fei Jiao and a group of adults were devouring meat and bragging about their children’s strength, declaring that they would surely become great heroes in the future, able to shake the vast wilderness with their power.
Of course, the most praise was heaped upon Little Brat. Shih Linhu bellowed, “Child, you’re not so little anymore. In a few months, you’ll be eight years old, and with such strength, you should be thinking about marriage. How about my daughter, Huniu?”
Little Brat blushed with embarrassment and said, “Uncle, I’m still young.”
Shih Linhu glared and said, “Young my foot! I was married at twelve, and I wasn’t nearly as strong as you. With your current abilities, you could already be married.”
A group of children laughed and made faces at Little Brat.
Shih Linhu gave them a stern look and said, “What are you laughing at? You’re not so young yourselves. It’s time for you to think about it too. And Da Zhuang, Er Meng, and Pi Hou have made rapid progress these past two years. They should also be thinking about marriage.”
“That’s right, they’re ready,” nodded an elder.
“Ah!” The children exclaimed in surprise, all feeling embarrassed as the campfire cast a red glow on their faces.
These comments might not have been a big deal to others, but they overwhelmed Little Brat, especially with a few girls directly pressing the issue.
“Grandfather and Father said we should be engaged. When will you agree?” Shih Fei Jiao’s daughter asked loudly.
“I’m still young and don’t want to get married,” Little Brat said, scratching his head with a flushed face.
On the other side, Huniu, who was even younger and sporting pigtails, placed her hands on her hips and stared with wide eyes, shouting, “Little Brat, when are you going to marry me?”
“When did I say I would marry you?” Little Brat almost fled in panic, unable to handle the pressure.
“Ha ha ha!” The adults erupted in laughter.
“What are your plans, child?” The clan leader asked with a smile.
“I want to deliver the clear wind to the Bu Tian Pavilion. We’ll cultivate our way there. Didn’t Grandfather say that traveling ten thousand miles is better than reading a million books?” Little Brat replied.
“But you’re still a bit young. The journey is too long, and none of us know where the Bu Tian Pavilion is,” the elder clan leader expressed concern.
“Don’t make hasty decisions,” other elders advised, urging him to be cautious.
Little Shih Hao nodded and said, “Yes, I understand. I’ll wait until the Willow Goddess wakes up. She said she would take me to a mysterious world. Also, I’m worried about the bandits. What if they appear again?”
That night, the villagers had a great time, eating late into the night. They shared many mysterious stories of the vast wilderness, leaving the children in awe.
The only regret was that the pangolin self-destructed at the last moment, leaving the original treasure bones and scales shattered without any remaining valuable techniques.
In the later part of the night, Stone Village was restless as a group of children screamed like ghosts, unable to stop. They had overeaten the sacrificial meat and were glowing and overheated. They ran through the village and eventually jumped into the lake to cool off.
The elders had clearly warned them to eat no more than two pieces each and not to use it as a meal, but the result was still chaos.
Until dawn, the children and some young people climbed out of the lake with panda eyes, retreating home in embarrassment.
“Ha ha ha!” Some early risers among the villagers laughed heartily upon seeing this.
There was no doubt that this sacrificial spirit was extraordinary. It contained a powerful essence, making it a fleshly treasure that significantly improved the villagers' constitution.
Years ago, when the village unexpectedly obtained the corpse of a Suan Ni, they consumed the entire beast. That greatly improved the villagers’ constitution, enabling even children to practice bone scripts.
After all, a tribe of ten thousand could hardly find a strong practitioner in the Blood Transformation realm, but these children all had the potential to break into it in the future.
Clearly, the ancient species' treasure body had played a significant role, given its rarity and value. Top tribes would risk extinction to obtain it.
Because the Suan Ni was no ordinary ancient species.
Though this sacrificial spirit was not as powerful as the Suan Ni, it was far from mundane, coming from the mysterious Little Western Heaven, incomparable to the old spirits of the village.
In fact, the pangolin should have been stronger than it appeared, but it severely injured itself to preserve and revive the golden bone scissors, leading to its demise.
In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed, and the massive sacrificial spirit had been completely consumed by the villagers.
The children’s abilities had advanced by leaps and bounds, with deep achievements in bone scripts. This outcome shocked the elders, who ended up laughing until they almost pulled out their white beards.
Besides the children, a few adults also showed explosive growth, such as Shih Linhu and Shih Fei Jiao. They had been studying bone scripts even longer than the children, but the clan leader had only taught them after returning from outside. Since they missed the prime age for training, their achievements were not ideal.
With the recent acquisition of the astonishing Suan Ni’s body and such an extraordinary sacrificial spirit, their blood and flesh contained immense divine essence, greatly enhancing their physical condition.
As a result, their years of training and accumulation gradually burst forth. Shih Linhu and Shih Fei Jiao had both advanced to the Blood Transformation realm, and their levels were high with profound cultivation.
People couldn’t help but marvel at how the ancient species and the mysterious spirits from the Little Western Heaven were indeed extraordinary, truly rare and valuable treasures of flesh. Nothing could be exchanged for them.
Months passed again, and it was nearing a year since the Willow Goddess fell asleep, and Little Brat was now eight and a half years old.
During this long period, Little Brat had refined the sacrificial spirit's flesh into a treasure, creating the fourth “Volcano” on his back, with “lava” flowing and vital energy surging, deeply mysterious.
“It’s so slow. It’s been almost a year, and there’s only been a little progress,” Little Brat muttered, feeling that cultivation was getting harder.
When the elder clan leader heard this, he was speechless for a while, eventually wiping his cold sweat and telling him that this was already a miracle. Many people could barely make any progress in their lifetime, even with exceptional talent. It could take years to advance a single step.
“Is that so? Then I’m relieved,” Little Brat said with a smile, no longer frowning.
The Celestial Realm involves opening an immortal channel or pure land within or outside the body, or even a world, to connect with the boundless void, seize the creation of heaven and earth, and cause the divine power of symbols within oneself to surge, always maintaining its peak state.
According to the elder clan leader, Little Shih Hao was now a remarkable master of the Celestial Realm, having constructed four immortal channels.
“Some people can only have one channel throughout their lives, drawing power from the vast heavens and earth. They can enter a higher realm, but it’s hard to reach the pinnacle and achieve near the end of their potential,” the elder clan leader explained.
Typically, strong practitioners consider accumulation after opening four or five “Celestial Realms,” hoping to one day burst forth, expelling endless symbol divine power from the Celestial Realm and pushing themselves into a higher great realm.
The elder clan leader further explained, “Those who can open six Celestial Realms are already considered exceptional in this realm. As for opening seven Celestial Realms, it is the mark of rare geniuses, and those who can open eight are exceptionally gifted, as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns. People with nine Celestial Realms are usually only found in ancient records; if one were to appear in reality, it would be a divine prodigy.”
Little Brat blinked his large eyes and listened attentively. It turned out he could now consider breaking through to a higher great realm. However, he couldn’t make such a choice.
According to the clan leader, every additional Celestial Realm unlocked more potential. If one Celestial Realm represents a base potential of one, then two Celestial Realms represent two, and so forth. By the time one reaches eight Celestial Realms, the difference is enormous.
As time passed, after the bandits were eliminated, no other groups of bandits appeared, and Little Western Heaven showed no reaction. Perhaps it believed that the ancient species like the pangolin had been buried in the wilderness.
During this time, the villagers of Stone Village had once excavated the black gold hidden by the bandits. Although it was only half a meter square, it weighed over ten thousand pounds. This material was precious for forging weapons and was also a rare metal used to counteract magic arrays. It was quite rare, and collecting half a piece showed how many calamities they had caused over the years, with countless lives lost on their hands.
Half a month later, a gentle breeze blew, and the ripples on the emerald lake danced. The willow tree at the village entrance, which had been silent for a year, suddenly began to glow. Green light surged into the sky, enveloping the entire mountain range in a hazy aura.
“Ah, the Willow Goddess has awakened!”
The villagers exclaimed in astonishment and then rejoiced. With the spirit revived, they no longer needed to worry about future bandit attacks. Even if powerful otherworldly beings came, they believed the Willow Goddess could fend them off.
At this moment, everyone, regardless of age or gender, rushed over to perform rituals and pay homage to the willow tree.
“Crack, crack”
The old bark fell off, and the place where the tree had once shown signs of growth now blazed with green light. Several new branches sprouted, dripping with vibrant green, and in an instant, light mist surrounded the area with auspicious colors.
The willow tree rejuvenated, sprouting four new branches that quickly grew to several meters in length, just like the previous ones.
The five willow branches, green and gleaming like divine chains, emitted a brilliant light that enveloped the entire land, mysterious and astounding.
The villagers rejoiced. The Willow Goddess had become even stronger, with some parts of the previously charred tree regaining green vitality. The emerald light spread, filling the world with a rich life force.
“Willow Goddess, you are well,” an elder said with a trembling voice.
“I am well; the deep sleep has ended,” the Willow Goddess communicated. She retracted her divine light, and the green waves receded from the mountains, restoring them to their previous state.
That day, Stone Village celebrated with great festivity. With the Willow Goddess present, they no longer had to worry about retaliation from the bandits.
“You’re doing well, even having slain a sacrificial spirit. It was no ordinary spirit; it surpassed the Celestial Realm. If its foundation hadn’t been shattered, you would have been in danger,” the Willow Goddess discerned its condition through the few bones left behind by the pangolin.
“Willow Goddess, I have opened four Celestial Realms. According to the clan leader’s theory of potential, I hope to open more,” Little Brat said, his eyes gleaming with hope.
After some discussion, the willow tree understood and gently shook its branches, as if shaking its head, and said, “Is eight Celestial Realms the ultimate? This is just the standard for humans. Nine Celestial Realms are not just recorded in ancient texts; they truly exist.”
“Ah!” Little Brat exclaimed in surprise, asking for more information.
“Based on the conditions of the ancient times,” the willow tree began, and Little Brat immediately knew it was measuring against the standards of the most powerful ancient beasts, a formidable benchmark.
Indeed, the willow tree continued, “In ancient times, the Taowu, Vermillion Bird, and Taotie believed that in the Celestial Realm, nine Celestial Realms could be considered kings, but ten Celestial Realms represent the ultimate peak and true respect in that realm.”
Little Brat was astonished; this notion was terrifying and far beyond the current standards of humanity.
“Being so isolated in this vast wilderness, it’s hard to encounter true prodigies or engage in life-and-death battles with creatures like the True Hound cubs, which is detrimental to your training here.”
“Willow Goddess, do you have a solution?” Little Brat caught the meaning in the spirit’s words.
“I mentioned before that when I awaken, I can take you to a mysterious world. Are you willing? Perhaps you could even meet your elder brother Shih Yi there, though not in his true form.”
“I’m willing,” Little Brat replied firmly.
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