I am the sacred tree, evergreen for eternity.

The last supply point on the border of Xia Kingdom.

Twenty four-legged lizards were ready, their packs bundled with dry rations, water bags, herbs, spare knives, and several bundles of spare bowstrings.

Each bag was weighed repeatedly to ensure it was not overweight and slowed down the journey, while also carrying as many potentially life-saving items as possible.

Qi stood outside the supply depot's fence, watching his tribesmen making their final preparations.

His gaze passed through the crowd and landed on Xuan.

The old man was inspecting his mount, moving very slowly, scrutinizing every detail from the gaps in the lizard's scales to the wear and tear on its claws.

"Uncle Xuan." Qi stepped forward.

Xuan turned around, his face expressionless.

He opened his mouth, but the words he had carefully considered on the way were now stuck in his throat like pebbles, and he couldn't get them out.

Finally, he managed to squeeze out, "You don't need to go yourself... Uncle Meng, Aunt Feng, and the others..."

"Alright, stop trying to persuade me."

Feng, carrying a rattan cane, walked step by step out of the stone house at the supply point.

"We old guys—"

Born in the mountains and seas, raised in the mountains and seas.

"Naturally, he should die by the mountains and seas."

Qi's throat moved, but he didn't reply.

Xuan patted the Xia clan's Grand Commander on the shoulder, smiling without saying a word.

As dawn broke through the clouds, the orange-red light fell upon the camp, illuminating every face with sharp, defined features.

Suddenly, a rapid sound of hooves came from the south.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a four-legged lizard rush out of the mist, carrying a tall, slender middle-aged man on its back.

His animal skin coat was soaked with night dew, a large iron-spine sword hung at his waist, and his baggage was piled up bulging behind him.

Qi jumped off his horse, walked quickly to Xuan and Qi, and bowed respectfully.

"Commander-in-Chief, I want to join the vanguard too."

Qi walked up to him, his face as dark as the sky before a storm.

He didn't speak, but stared into Qi's eyes for a long time, so long that the surrounding tribesmen quietly took a few steps back.

Then he spoke.

A full quarter of an hour.

She started by criticizing Qi for neglecting his post... and continued scolding him until she explained how difficult it was for Xia Kingdom to train an elite warrior.

By the end, his voice was a little hoarse.

Qi stood with her hands hanging at her sides, not daring to utter a single word in rebuttal.

Only after Qi's anger gradually subsided did he look up and weakly reply:

"Commander-in-Chief... the wind flows in my blood."

"It is destined to sweep across the mountains and seas."

He closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time.

Then he took the water bag that had been with him for many years from his waist and put it into Qi's hand.

"Alright, get lost."

"Remember, come back alive."

Qi took the water pouch, pounded his chest in respect, and climbed onto the lizard.

……

The journey was far more difficult than imagined.

It took the vanguard a whole year to cross the foothills of the Eastern Mountains and enter a wilderness that had never been set foot in by the ancestors of the Xia Kingdom.

Along the way, they encountered three monster lairs and two instances of spiritual energy loss due to ley line disturbances.

Another time, the entire group was trapped in a poisonous valley, and they managed to survive for seven days thanks to the wind's herbs and Yu's cooking skills.

When the group finally set foot on a high ground at the edge of the wasteland,

Looking back, the territory of the Xia Kingdom was already more than two thousand miles away.

Those criminals who once lived in luxury in the royal city now had cracked skin, calloused hands, and no longer had any arrogance in their eyes.

Qi and Yu had long since forgiven each other, and the group had become as united as one, entrusting each other with their lives.

One afternoon in the fifteenth month, the vanguard rested at the entrance to a canyon.

The mountain walls on both sides are as steep as if cut by a knife, and the valley floor is only a few feet wide. Looking up, you can only see a narrow strip of gray-white sky.

The air was filled with a damp, rusty smell, and the faint sound of flowing water could be heard in the distance.

As Xuan unfolded the animal hide map to check the location, a commotion suddenly arose at the front of the group.

"Everyone, stop!"

Qi turned back from the front and whispered, "There's something going on around the corner of the canyon."

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing—

Dozens of gray-black demon wolves formed a semi-circle, their back fur standing on end, their fangs bared, and low whimpers escaping their throats.

However, they weren't eyeing any prey, but rather a giant rock covered in moss.

The lead giant wolf circled the rock, its claws leaving white marks on the rock surface, as if both fearful and waiting.

Wolves? Rocks?

Xuan was somewhat puzzled, so he casually rolled up the map and stuffed it into his pocket:

"Go around it, don't cause trouble."

The group moved slowly along the left side of the mountain wall, the lizards' hooves making a soft crunching sound as they stepped on the gravel.

But those demon wolves had incredibly sensitive ears—

The lead gray-furred giant wolf suddenly turned its head, its eerie green vertical pupils locking onto the moving crowd.

Fresh flesh and blood are always more appealing than stones.

It tilted its head back and let out a short howl.

Dozens of demonic wolves turned around at the same time and surged out from the corner of the canyon like a gray-black tide.

"Looks like there's no way around it." He jumped off the lizard's back and stretched his wrists.

Xuan sighed and drew the iron sword from his back: "Let's finish this quickly."

Before she finished speaking, Qi had already rushed out.

The iron-spine broadsword in his hand drew a silver-white arc in the dim valley.

The blade swept across the neck of the foremost wolf, and its head flew off with a thud, blood splattering onto the rock wall with a hissing sound.

Yu followed closely behind, his twin blades flashing, a spiritual light clinging to the blades, each strike precisely slicing into the demon wolf's vital joints.

The remaining dozen or so second-generation travelers also greatly improved their strength through the trials and tribulations along the way.

Moments later, the valley floor was littered with wolf carcasses.

The purplish-black blood flowed into a stream, seeping down into the cracks in the rocks.

Yu squatted beside a demon wolf, skillfully slit its throat to bleed it, and then peeled off the entire wolf skin from its abdomen with fluid, graceful movements.

He tossed a plump wolf leg to his companion beside him, grinning as he said:

"At least in terms of cooking skills, I can be considered to have surpassed my father."

Several young criminals laughed.

"With your knife skills? Aren't you afraid of cutting the meat into pieces?"

"Back in the Western Frontier, the Grand Commander's skill in dissecting an ox was so legendary that it was said to be divine. You can't even break a skin properly."

Yu wasn't annoyed; he just smiled and continued to deal with the wolf carcasses.

Leaning against the rock wall, watching the group of young people chatting and laughing, he took a sip of millet wine from the earthenware pot at his waist.

"Alright, alright, let's get ready—" Xuan started to say, but before he could finish, he was still speaking.

The stone moved.

It was that giant rock, taller than a person and covered with grayish-white moss, surrounded by demonic wolves, that moved.

Cracks spread from the top of the stone to the bottom, and moss peeled off like debris, revealing the bluish-gray rock layer underneath.

The stones bulge outwards and contract inwards, as if something is pushing open the shell from the inside.

At the same time, everyone's inspiration struck, and the blades were aimed at the changing boulder.

The cracks grew denser and denser, like the frozen surface of a lake in the dead of winter, crisscrossing and covering the entire surface of the stone.

Then, the stone "stood up".

It's like a person slowly standing up from a squatting position, stretching out their limbs from a curled-up posture.

Gravel and moss rustled off its body, revealing its complete form—

A stone man.

It was three zhang tall, with limbs as thick as mountain beams and a torso as broad and thick as a wall.

Its head was an irregular rock, without clear facial features, only two deep cracks, which should be where the eyes were.

A dim yellow light shone through the crack, like two lit stone lamps.

The stone figure looked down at the humans below, who were barely up to its knees.

It's like the mouth's cracks widened to the sides, revealing the smooth rock layers inside—

It appears to be "smiling".

A thought emanated from the stone man's head, without malice, even carrying a touch of clumsy friendliness—

"Thank you so much for your help, I am extremely grateful."

Xuan's fingers, gripping the iron knife, loosened slightly for a moment.

He stared at the three-zhang-tall stone giant, at the simple, honest smile on its face, and was momentarily stunned.

"...Little one?"