heaven money

For example, the dragon-horned elephant has a body as hard as iron, which even iron spears cannot pierce. Its horns are as sharp as drills, capable of easily shattering boulders. The Kui beast's roar is like thunder; if one is nearby, it can kill a person with its shockwave. As for the flying python with giant wings on its ribs, it is a killer of the mountains and forests, capable of suddenly swooping down from a mountaintop, making it extremely terrifying.

Among the prey were several more ferocious creatures, such as the two-headed fire rhinoceros with a completely red body and the impure-blooded Pixiu... These were all truly ferocious beasts, and one should have kept a safe distance from them, but now they have been hunted down, which is highly illogical!
"Thanks to Ziling and a bit of luck, we returned with a full load without anyone getting hurt."

The leader of the hunting party, Shi Linhu, laughed heartily and explained to the clan chief and villagers. These past few nights, a colossal beast had passed through the mountains, causing the earth to tremble and trampling many mountain animals to death or injury. During the day, guided by Shi Ziling, they had tracked it down and killed many severely wounded ferocious beasts—powerful creatures that the villagers normally had to avoid.

There were even two Inscription Realm remnants and five Spirit Transformation Realm ferocious beasts among them. Only Shi Ziling could hunt them down; otherwise, they would never have even considered hunting them.

Shi Ziling said with some regret:

"These ferocious beasts destroyed their precious bones before they died, otherwise the village could have had several more powerful magical techniques passed down!"

Shi Yunfeng laughed:
"Ziling, don't worry about it. This is enough. You've already helped the village a lot!"

Moreover, such a precious inheritance is far too difficult for the village to protect given its current strength; possessing it would only bring disaster!

Meanwhile, Shi Linhu and others were describing the changes in the mountains to their clansmen.

"Some of the large footprints in the mountains are shaped like human feet, but they are really huge, nearly a hundred meters long!"

"So big?!" the villagers exclaimed in shock; it was truly horrifying news.

Even the village elders gasped upon hearing this, becoming even more convinced that something unusual had happened deep in the mountains, attracting some ancient remnants from the vicinity of the Great Wilderness.

Looking at Shi Ziling again, their eyes were full of relief. Fortunately, Shi Ziling's family had integrated into the village in recent years; otherwise, if they had really encountered danger, the village would not have known what to do.

Regardless, it was a bumper harvest, and the whole clan was overjoyed. The village was filled with the laughter of children, creating a joyful atmosphere.

Clan chief Shi Yunfeng led the group toward the willow tree, carrying dozens of beast corpses to its vicinity. They placed all the bloodstained beasts on the stone platform, clearly indicating that this was a large altar.

The altar, built of huge stones, was very spacious and stood next to a broken old willow tree. At this time, it was piled with wild beasts, resembling a small mountain.

The bright red animal blood stained the huge stone platform and flowed along the carvings on the stone surface. It was a bright red color. Combined with the thick and long hair of the giant beast, the scales with cold light and the ferocious giant horn, it was shocking and gave a sense of tragic prehistoric times. The breath hit my face.

Led by the village elder, the men, women, and children of Stone Village prayed together, asking for the protection of the willow tree. This was a solemn sacrificial ceremony, a tradition that was performed every time they returned from a hunt.

The charred tree trunk remained silent as always, showing no reaction, and as always, no offerings were made to it. However, many villagers knew that it possessed a spirit!
Finally, the sacrifice was over, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, their joyful smiles returning. They began to move the carcasses of the beasts, preparing to bleed and butcher them.

"It's been so many years, the spirit hasn't touched the offerings even once. Is it still necessary to perform the sacrifice every time?" a boy muttered softly.

"You brat, what nonsense are you spouting!" His father glared angrily with his large, round eyes and raised his hand, as big as a palm leaf fan, to beat him.

The old clan chief waved his hand to stop them and said softly, "The spirit we worship and offer sacrifices to is precious because of our sincerity. Only when we treat it with devotion will it protect and bless our village."

The boy's face turned bright red as he hurriedly said, "Clan leader, it's not that I'm not sincere, it's just that I feel the spirit sacrifice doesn't seem to need these offerings, and they've never been used."

"The thought is what counts," Shi Yunfeng patted his shoulder and explained earnestly.

The sacrificial spirit, also known as the "spirit of sacrifice," is a shorthand for the "spirit of sacrifice and offering" of a tribe. It protects the village and deters the ferocious beasts in the wilderness.

The elders in the clan still remember that there was another sacrificial spirit decades ago, which was a strange stone. Every time a sacrifice was offered, it would lose most of its essence and blood, which would be absorbed by the stone.

One night, the old willow tree came, and the strange stone chose to leave. Everything changed because of this.

Thinking back to that rainy night, the old clan chief was somewhat dazed. He was just a boy then, and he had witnessed that shocking and terrifying scene firsthand.

In the dead of night, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and torrential rain poured down. The storm was so violent that many mountains were struck down by lightning, floods raged like the sea, and ferocious beasts ran rampant like a tide, creating a terrifying scene.

It was at that moment that a towering willow tree appeared in the clouds, bathed in a sea of ​​thunder, surrounded by lightning as thick as mountains. Thousands of willow branches transformed into blazing divine chains that pierced the entire sky, as if it were fighting against something.

Finally, the great willow tree broke, its body charred black, shrunk to its current size, and fell to the ground, taking root in the stone village. At the same time, the lightning disappeared, and the torrential rain subsided. That night, the strange stone that the village had worshipped and offered sacrifices to departed.

Every time the old chieftain thought of it, his heart trembled. The old willow tree was not transplanted from other large tribes or mountains and rivers, but fell from the sky and was damaged by endless thunder and lightning. Few people in the village knew this.

For the first few decades, it was completely charred black, devoid of any vitality, as if it had died completely. It wasn't until ten years ago that a tender green new branch sprouted, and since then, there has been no change.

However, Shi Yunfeng also understood that the reason why the village had not encountered any danger for so many years was not because of good luck, but because of the existence of the Willow God. Its mysterious aura made truly powerful ferocious beasts dare not come near.

This speculation was also answered by Shi Ziling, who was also able to sense the terrifying power of the Willow God.

"You brats, be careful. It's not easy to get these ferocious beasts. Their blood essence, tendons, and some bones are incredibly precious. Don't waste any of the essence," the old patriarch warned, coming back to his senses.

The young and strong men of the tribe were wielding silver knives, cutting into the giant beast, producing clanging sounds and sparks flying everywhere. The beast's bones were astonishingly hard.

Someone had already prepared a large earthenware jar to collect the blood essence preserved in a special part of the animal's body. This was an excellent blood-nourishing medicine and was extremely rare.

Among these beast corpses, the Pixiu is the most precious. Although it is only a descendant and far inferior to the pure-blooded Pixiu royal family, it still contains some true blood and is incredibly valuable.

It has been more than two years since the last time we captured a Pixiu, a ferocious beast. They are too ferocious and powerful; a single swipe of their claws can take the life of a strong person. They are really difficult to deal with and their ferocity is astonishing.

It's fair to say that the sheer amount of harvest this time was astonishing.

"Hmm, the true blood preserved in the horn of this two-headed fire rhinoceros is also extremely amazing, no less than that Pixiu!" An old man personally took the knife, cut open the flesh as hard as metal and stone under the rhinoceros horn, and a stream of true blood as red as fire flowed out.

Suddenly, the blood transformed into a ball of red light, and a palm-sized, two-headed fire rhinoceros appeared, its entire body crimson, lifelike, and roaring angrily. "Good stuff! This true blood has extremely strong medicinal properties, no less than that Pixiu!" The old man wielding the knife laughed heartily, quickly collecting the rhinoceros blood into a ceramic jar and sealing the opening tightly.

“Chief, the horn of this dragon-horned elephant is also a valuable item. When we found it, it was already on its last legs, otherwise we really wouldn’t have been able to handle it,” a young man said.

Shi Yunfeng nodded and said, "It's really rare. The pair of dragon horns on its head have been growing for quite some time. If you carefully chisel them off, they'll be a rare and precious medicine for strengthening bones."

"The tendons in Kui Beast's one leg are so tough that they can be cut with an axe."

"These are all good stuff. Be careful, brat, don't waste the precious blood from the flying python's wings!"

The clansmen were overjoyed, their faces beaming with smiles.

Only a group of children shrank back and ran away as fast as they could, because they knew that most of these so-called blood-nourishing and bone-strengthening medicines would be used on them, and they would have to start "suffering" again.

It wasn't until half an hour later that all the "precious herbs" growing on the beast's body were harvested. The clan chief and several elders nodded in satisfaction, took away the pottery jars, and went to process them.

"With so much prey, we'll marinate some, then smoke and make some into jerky," the experienced old man said.

So many wild beasts piled together like a small mountain, the whole village couldn't finish eating them for many days. If they rotted, it would be a waste, which was absolutely unacceptable for the villagers who were already facing food shortages.

The women from each household began to come forward to distribute the meat, all with genuine smiles. The men who had been worried about going out had not only returned safely, but had also reaped such a bountiful harvest. This was the best blessing from heaven.

Smoke curled from the chimneys of each household, and half an hour later, the aroma of meat filled the air. The chunks of meat simmering in the iron pots were almost tender, and the children were already impatient. The game meat roasting over the fire began to turn golden and glistening, dripping oil and sizzling as it fell into the fire. Even the burly men couldn't resist anymore, tearing at the meat, their mouths full of juice, their appetites whetted.

"Kid, this is Pixiu meat. Eating more of it will make you strong. It's a rare and precious meat."

"Eat more, you brat. This is meat from a two-headed rhinoceros. Eating more of this will make your skin and bones as strong as iron. Don't eat that useless tree meat."

Various wild animals became the villagers' most sumptuous food in the evening. The tempting aroma of meat wafted through the streets, whetting people's appetites. Laughter filled the air, and the whole village was filled with joy.

In the cruel wilderness where ferocious birds and beasts roam and lives are constantly threatened, the villagers' requirements are very simple: as long as there is food and they can eat their fill, they are satisfied.

The bonfire flickered, and the stone village was bustling with activity. Men and women, young and old, all wore smiles and were filled with laughter.

"Children, don't run around. Come and take a medicinal bath later. You'll get a good night's sleep and be stronger than any ferocious beast in the future."

An old man said with a smile.

"Aww...no!" Upon hearing this, a group of children screamed in terror and fled in panic, hiding in various parts of the village.

"You bunch of silly kids, you don't know what's good for you. That's a rare tonic. If you can keep taking those medicinal baths, your muscles and bones will be as strong as a giant beast." The adults scolded, grabbing their own children like they were chicks.

"It hurts! I don't want a medicinal bath. Last time it felt like being cut with a knife."

"Father, let go! I don't want to be boiled alive!"

A group of children resisted fiercely, but their small arms were no match for the large legs, and they were all brought back.

In an open space in the village, eight large bronze cauldrons had already been set up, with raging fires beneath them. The water inside the cauldrons was boiling, and several old men were throwing in medicinal herbs. Occasionally, they would also put in centipedes about a foot long and spiders the size of a fist, turning the originally clear water black and ink-like, which was quite frightening.

The group of children turned green with fright and wanted to run away immediately, but the adults held them down firmly.

Then, some clansmen brought dozens of pottery jars. Several elders took them, carefully opened them, and poured some of the crimson liquid into the large bronze cauldron. As a result, the black water boiled even more.

This is a small amount of true blood extracted from the bodies of those hunted ferocious beasts. It is extremely precious and can enhance the constitution of both adults and children. In addition, the villagers possess several ancient prescriptions, and by combining it with some herbs, the effects of the true blood will be even better.

In addition to the true blood, the elders also had people painstakingly crush the wing bones of the flying python and the foot bones of the Kui beast, and throw them into the boiling water.

Shi Ziling also helped put the true blood of the remnant into the bronze cauldron.

When the fire went out, the water in the cauldron stopped boiling. After the water temperature dropped slightly, screams and "plop plop" sounds came as the first batch of children were thrown in, with two or three children inside the cauldron.

"It hurts! This water can scald people."

"Help, my body feels like it has been chopped with a knife, the skin and flesh are all torn apart!"

They grimaced, grabbed and kicked, and tried to rush out, but were all pushed back down, screaming in agony.

In this way, dozens of children were thrown in batches. Most of them screamed and struggled. Only seven or eight children were slightly better. Although they were in pain and sweating profusely, they endured it without making a sound.

As for the little one, he couldn't escape either, and was given special treatment. He was thrown into a black cauldron with only a little water inside, the rest being the true blood of ferocious beasts, broken bones, and so on.

The villagers didn't think it was wrong or that they were favoring one child over the other, because their own children couldn't handle it and were already crying their hearts out in the ordinary medicine cauldron, while the little one could endure it.

In addition, when the viscous liquid in the black cauldron used by Little Dot boiled, the old clan chief opened two special earthenware jars and poured the liquid into the cauldron one by one.

A crimson glow shot out from one of the jars, condensing into a Pixiu, palm-length, majestic and ferocious, seemingly about to tear people apart and escape, its ferocity extremely strong.

Glowing characters appeared in Shi Yunfeng's palm, his bone script illuminating. With a slap, he shattered the Pixiu, turning it into blood that fell into the cauldron. (End of Chapter)