“There's no time! Its speed is too fast; we can’t possibly make it back to the village,” Pihou yelled, grimacing in pain. A stone that had been blasted toward him had grazed his arm, leaving a large gash with blood streaming down.
“There’s a deep cave over here. Let’s go in and take cover,” Little Stone, Shihou, shouted to the others.
They fled through the mountains, dodging several large rocks, and dashed into a thicket of giant vines. Little Stone quickly squeezed through, and the other children followed closely behind.
The cave was damp and hidden behind the vines, with the faint sound of running water in the distance. Inside, the light was dim, shrouded in darkness. The cave was incredibly deep, and after the children took refuge inside, they dared not stop, continuing to run for several dozen meters before coming to a halt.
Heavy, ragged breaths filled the darkness. Having run several miles, the children were exhausted and terrified. The Qinglin Eagle, a fearsome beast, was too powerful; if they were caught, a single swipe could turn them into a bloody mess and broken bones.
“Phew, that was close. We almost didn’t make it,” they sighed in relief, all collapsing onto the ground.
“The entrance isn’t very big. That beast shouldn’t be able to get in,” the children relaxed a bit but remained on guard.
This experience was extremely perilous; they had come dangerously close to being killed by the claws of the ancient magical bird’s descendant. Now, as they calmed down, their backs were coated in cold sweat.
The cave was deep, connected to an underground river. A cold wind blew through, and the children looked at each other in worry, unsure how to return to Stone Village.
“Wait a minute, Little Stone, how did you know there was a cave here?” The children suddenly realized that it was Little Stone who had led them to safety at a crucial moment.
“Uh…” Little Stone looked embarrassed, fiddling with his clothing. He mumbled, “Last time, I chased a crimson sparrow out of the village and almost got lost. I accidentally stumbled upon this place.”
The children were speechless. Little Stone was curious and active; even as a child, he had several times run out of the village after chasing the village chief’s big yellow dog. As he grew older, his abilities had expanded, and he became relentless in pursuing anything strange or unusual.
“Hehe, still not weaned at three, chasing sparrows, Little Shihou,” the older children teased.
Little Stone blushed, puffing up his cheeks, and said angrily, “Don’t laugh. It was a crimson sparrow, red all over, just like the Vermilion Bird recorded in the Bone Book.”
“Hmph, whether such legendary creatures exist or not, even if it were a Fire Cloud Sparrow or its descendants, they could annihilate a super-large tribe. If it were really a Vermilion Bird, just a yawn could shatter the territory of a king,” someone scoffed.
“But it really looked exactly like the Vermilion Bird described in the Bone Book, red and beautiful,” Little Stone insisted, his small white hands clenched tightly, his red face flushed with excitement, and his black, gem-like eyes shining in the dark.
“Boom!”
Suddenly, a loud, muffled noise startled all the children. They turned to see a cold, metallic light flashing at the cave entrance. The head of the Qinglin Eagle appeared, its eyes cold and terrifying, staring at the children inside the cave.
“Oh no, it’s coming in!” Many of the children’s faces went pale.
“It’s okay. The entrance is small; it can’t come in,” Ermeng, who was quite strong, said, grabbing a large stone and hurling it with all his might.
“Bang!”
The large stone, propelled by his immense strength, flew swiftly and hit the Qinglin Eagle’s head. However, it only produced a shower of sparks and a loud clang. The metal-like green scales of the eagle gleamed coldly, showing no damage, while the stone shattered and fell to the ground.
The group gasped. The beast had a copper-like hide and iron bones, too powerful and chilling.
“Phew!”
With a single swipe, the Qinglin Eagle grabbed several hundred pounds of rock from the cave entrance as if it were picking up clay, effortlessly extracting a huge chunk.
The children watched in stunned silence. The cave wasn’t even a barrier?
“Crack!”
The sound of breaking rocks echoed again. The Qinglin Eagle flapped its wings, slicing through the rock face as if cutting through with a blade, causing huge stones to roll and crash down. The enormous body forced its way in.
“It’s terrifying. Can it really split this small mountain open? If this goes on, will it be able to collapse the cave and flatten this place?”
Pihou nocked an arrow on a dragon-horn bow, a bow made from the horn of a Dragon-horn Elephant, typically only usable by adults, and the best bow material in Stone Village.
“Whoosh!”
An arrow shot out at high speed, with immense force. The arrow was like a meteor, swift and fierce.
“Clang!”
Surprisingly, the arrow struck the Qinglin Eagle’s head, creating a shower of sparks but failing to penetrate. The hard bow and sharp arrow were ineffective.
The children felt a chill. What should they do? Even the strong bow couldn’t hurt it, and it was impossible to fight it up close. They were trapped in a dire situation.
“Eiya, let me give it a try.”
Little Stone borrowed a heavy iron spear from one of the older children, weighing forty to fifty pounds. He sprinted a short distance, then suddenly accelerated and hurled the spear towards the cave entrance. It shot through the air like a lightning bolt, its cold gleam heading straight for the entrance.
Shihou, who could lift a thousand-pound bronze cauldron, threw the spear with terrifying force, aiming directly at the Qinglin Eagle’s eye. The spear flew through the air with a whistling sound, the compressed air roaring behind it.
The Qinglin Eagle, which had been disdainfully pursuing the children, showed a flicker of surprise in its eyes. It quickly turned its head, avoiding the spear from hitting its eye.
With a deafening clang, the spear’s immense power crashed into the Qinglin Eagle’s head, creating sparks like two metal plates scraping against each other, the sound piercing and harsh.
In the end, the spear fell to the ground, but a scale from the Qinglin Eagle’s eye, flashing with cold light, had fallen off, with a noticeable streak of blood.
A high-pitched bird cry rang out, like a lightning strike to the soul, initially grand and then shifting to sharp and piercing, resembling a dragon’s roar, extremely intimidating.
Several children staggered back, falling to the ground and quickly covering their ears to protect themselves from the potentially eardrum-shattering sound.
The beast, enraged by its injury, was now frenzied. Its eyes were as cold as a blade, fixed on Little Stone. It swung its massive claws, wildly tearing at the cave walls, fiercely pushing its way inside.
Rocks tumbled, ranging from tens to hundreds of pounds, falling apart like rotting wood under the powerful claws. The cave was being expanded, and the Qinglin Eagle roared furiously, pressing in further.
“This is bad. The big bird has gone mad. Are we going to be crushed to pieces here by its claws?” Pihou and the others were alarmed. The children began to regret their decision, realizing why the adults had always been cautious. This beast was too terrifying.
“It’s very close to Stone Village. Grandfather Chief and the others will definitely hear the commotion and come to rescue us,” Little Stone said.
“Right, let’s attack with everything we’ve got, provoke it, and make more noise. The Chief will detect it sooner,” Shida Zhuang said, grabbing a large rock and hurling it at the beast.
The bird’s cry grew even more terrifying, shaking the cave with falling dust and rolling stones. Its massive, scaled body moved closer step by step, angrily carving through the rock walls.
A group of children aimed their arrows at the Qinglin Eagle's eyes, while the iron spear was given to Shihou, Ermeng, and Shida Zhuang, the strongest individuals among them, to throw and target the eagle’s eyes.
The area was chaotic with falling rocks and swirling leaves. The fierce bird, trying to avoid its vulnerable eyes, repeatedly retreated from the narrow cave, flattening the surrounding mountainous terrain.
“What’s going on? Why has the Qinglin Eagle gone mad and started causing trouble near our village?”
People in Stone Village noticed the unusual disturbance and looked puzzled. They quickly sent someone to inform the elders. A group of people gathered on a high platform at the village edge to observe the area.
“Chief, today I saw Ermeng, Shida Zhuang, and Little Shihou sneaking around together. Could it be that they caused this trouble by leaving the village?” said a fourteen or fifteen-year-old, informing them that several younger children were missing.
“These little rascals,” Shilinhu slapped his thigh, suddenly recalling that the children had been peeking around when they talked about the Qinglin Eagle.
Upon learning of the situation, the village chief, Shiyunfeng, realized the urgency and decisively said, “Quickly, fetch the ancestral relics. We’re heading over.”
The strongest men of Stone Village sprang into action. For the sake of the children, their eyes were bloodshot. Regardless of whether the beast was a descendant of the ancient demon bird, they were determined to fight. Some carried huge wolf-tooth clubs weighing hundreds of pounds, others carried enormous bows taller than a person, and some wielded black iron greatswords, all exuding a murderous aura.
“Don’t worry, the kids will be fine. If that featherless big eagle dares to act tough, we’ll chop it into pieces and feed it to the tree pigs!” the men shouted to reassure the women and children, then roared and charged into the mountains.
The group of young men moved like a pack of beasts, fierce and imposing. They began shooting arrows from a distance, with thick shafts resembling spears and iron-tipped arrows of tremendous power.
“Boom,” “Boom!”
A barrage of massive arrows shot out, piercing and breaking many trees. It was a wild, overwhelming sight, like a horde of towering savages roaring as they scolded the fierce bird.
The Qinglin Eagle had already retreated from the cave entrance. Its eyes were cold as it observed the battle-ready group. It wasn’t intimidated; it was the top predator in the area and could dominate as long as it didn’t enter the deepest parts of the mountains.
Spreading its wings, a fierce wind howled. Many of the heavy arrows and iron spears were deflected with a clattering sound and flying sparks. The eagle let out a long, loud cry, its eyes flashing with a fierce light as it soared, ready to attack the crowd.
Its body was seven to eight meters long, and with its wings spread, it reached fifteen meters. This enormous creature diving down had an awe-inspiring presence, shattering remaining branches and leaves before even reaching them. The terrifying gusts of wind caused pain on their faces.
“Everyone, gather together for defense. Linhu, use the ancestral relics,” instructed Chief Shiyunfeng.
Facing such a terrifying demon bird descendant head-on would undoubtedly result in heavy losses. Only the ancient relics passed down in the village might be able to intimidate it.
“Come at me, featherless big eagle!” Shilinhu roared, positioning himself at the forefront, gazing up at the descending beast. Meanwhile, he pulled out a beast bone from his chest, presumably an arm bone of a fierce beast.
The Qinglin Eagle’s eyes narrowed, sensing something, and halted its assault, focusing intently on the dull bone, showing a look of caution. Its black beak, over half a meter long, suddenly glowed, and a rune appeared, emitting a terrifying pressure.
“This beast is indeed extraordinary. It has a rune imprint from its bloodline inheritance, representing a powerful force,” the elder chief marveled.
“Roar!”
At the same time, Shilinhu let out a loud roar. Understanding the urgency, he used all his strength to activate his power. His left arm lit up with glowing bone runes, and then he pressed the beast arm bone onto it.
“Boom!”
A powerful aura shot up into the sky like a raging hurricane, as if the king of all beasts had been resurrected. The fierce bird in the sky was startled and quickly soared away, creating a significant distance.
Shilinhu’s left arm shone brightly, and the beast arm bone fused with his arm, becoming a part of him, blending flesh and bone together in a mysterious way.
The light from his left arm grew even more intense, eventually forming an ancient symbol, as if a ferocious beast was about to emerge from the rune.
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