Under the prayer of the village chief and some elders, all the young and middle-aged men showed solemn expressions and performed the worship. Many women and children also rushed over and prayed silently, praying that their hunting relatives could return unharmed.
The mountains are extremely dangerous. Once leaving the village protected by the willow tree, the outside is a completely different world, filled with terrifying raptors and beasts.
Just like this, the strongest group of people in the village, carrying huge bows and broad swords, set off and entered the mountains, rivers and lakes. Suddenly, a breath of the wild rushed towards them.
After watching the hunting team leave, the old village chief Shi Yunfeng led a group of children to the grassland at the village entrance and sat down, saying, "Alright, you naughty kids should start studying hard."
The group of children immediately frowned, looking listless and sitting around unwillingly, like withered leaves.
"Village chief grandpa, those bird-like and turtle-like characters are as complex as ghost and monster symbols. They are so difficult to learn. What's the use of remembering them painstakingly?"
"That's right. The archery skills taught by my dad are more useful!"
The group of children all had bitter faces and were very resistant.
"You kids really don't understand. Bone inscriptions are symbols naturally manifested on the bones of powerful ancient remnants, containing mysterious and unfathomable powers. Many people have no chance to learn them. Once you succeed in learning, you will be much stronger than your fathers." The old village chief scolded them, feeling frustrated.
"Village chief grandpa, show us the power of the bone inscriptions." One slightly older child said.
"Little Dot, come here." The village chief shouted towards the distance.
Little Dot, who had just finished chasing the multicolored bird and was vigorously pulling the tail of a big yellow dog, turned his head confusedly upon hearing the call. Letting go of the dog, he ran over skippingly, blinking his bright big eyes and asking, "Heya heya, Village Chief Grandpa, what's the matter?"
"Use the bone inscription I taught you." Shi Yunfeng said.
"OK." Little Dot obediently agreed, extending his two small hands, closing his mouth, and exerting all his strength. His little face turned red.
With a "buzz", a bright light appeared in his palm, revealing a strange character, as if cast in metal, with a metallic luster and texture. Soon, the same appeared in his other hand.
Little Dot took two steps forward and picked up a bluestone taller than himself.
"Amazing!" A group of children exclaimed loudly. This was just a little fellow over one year old. How could he lift such a big stone?
"Little Dot, did you use all your strength?" The older children teased him.
"Heya, yes, I used up all my strength." Little Dot threw down the bluestone, sat on the ground with a plop, smiled heartlessly and purely. The runes in his palms quickly dimmed and disappeared.
"Village Chief Grandpa, is this the mysterious power of bone inscriptions that you have been studying for over ten years?" A group of children's eyes shone, completely different from their disinterested look before.
"Don't get excited. These are just to lead you into the door. They are far worse than the celestial bone inscriptions that appeared in ancient legends." The old man nodded and shook his head.
"Village Chief Grandpa, tell us about the outside world." A group of children showed looks of anticipation.
Everyone in the Stone Village knew that when the old village chief was young, he had gone to the far end of the earth with over a dozen powerful villagers and adventured outside.
However, over ten years ago, only two people returned covered in blood. One of them died shortly after, and only Shi Yunfeng survived.
Over the years, he has been studying the mysterious bone inscriptions and sometimes used people with good physiques in the village for experiments. These children clearly knew that every time their strong fathers were called, they would let out heart-pounding howls in that stone yard, causing the children to develop resistance and awe prematurely.
Until recent years, the old village chief's research has eased down and is no longer so terrifying to the villagers. Moreover, Little Dot, who grew up drinking milk from various beasts and eating food from different families, was adopted by him and became the best research subject.
"The outside world..." The old man showed a look of reminiscence. After a moment of distraction and melancholy, he said, "The world is vast and boundless. From one region to another, it often spans millions of miles. No one knows exactly how vast it is. A person could not walk out of one region in a lifetime. The wild is endless. It is very difficult for the human race to communicate between different regions because it is too dangerous. There are many powerful species on the earth, terrifying and mysterious. Even tribes of hundreds of thousands of people or magnificent cities could be destroyed by several ancient remnants overnight. Of course, there are also incredibly powerful humans, with top combat power comparable to other species, awe-inspiring and can be called human geniuses."
A group of children were both in awe and yearning, curious about the unknown world. Someone asked, "Are there treasures and immortal medicines in the mountains that can transform a person overnight? How powerful is the most powerful genius of the human race?"
The old man smiled and said, "If you want to know, make yourself strong first."
"If we master the mysterious power of bone inscriptions, can we venture into all regions of the world?" Some children showed longing expressions.
Shi Yunfeng stroked a child's head and said, "Not to mention other regions. Even in our region, it would be remarkable if there is a wonder who can cross half of the territory!"
All the children were stunned.
"All I can do is guide you on the way. How far you can go depends on yourselves. What I have taught you should not be worse than what children of the same age outside have learned." At the end of his words, the old man's eyes showed a strange light as he touched a strange jade bone in his arms.
A group of children sat around the old village chief, finally concentrating and began to listen attentively to his teachings. They dispersed at noon.
"It's too difficult. The village chief actually said that it would take a few years for only a few people to incorporate a little bone inscription into their bodies, and most people might never succeed."
"But Little Dot is so young, yet he managed to do it."
Little Dot blinked his big innocent eyes and then went to pull the tail of that big yellow dog again. The big yellow dog barked more innocently.
The red sun was setting. In the afterglow of the setting sun, the entire Stone Village was dyed with a layer of pale gold. In the distance, the cries of apes and roars of tigers could be heard. However, the large patches of stone houses here were as sacred and peaceful as ancient temples.
Dozens of people appeared on the horizon. The setting sun elongated their shadows on the ground, and their body outlines were fringed with golden edges by the sunset glow, looking extremely tall and robust. Almost everyone was dragging a huge beast, returning with a full load.
"We're back!" A group of women and children who had been waiting at the village entrance for a long time cheered. The unease and fear in their hearts vanished instantly and they shouted loudly.
"Dad, they're back safe!"
"Oh my god, there are so many prey. It's really a rare bumper harvest!"
This hunting was very successful. Dozens of adult men all had gains. Among the prey were huge Longhorn Elephants, Unicorn-like Kuiniu Beasts, and bucket-thick Flying Pythons with wings...
The old people in the village showed astonishment. These creatures were usually very difficult to deal with, and some could be called fierce beasts. But today, so many of them were hunted, bloodstained, which was very unexpected.
For example, the Longhorn Elephant had a body as hard as iron, which was impenetrable even by iron spears. Its pair of longhorns was as sharp as a drill and could easily crush boulders. The Kuiniu Beast's roar was like thunder and could shock a person to death if nearby. As for the Flying Python with ribs and huge wings, it was a killer in the mountains and could suddenly pounce from a mountain peak, extremely terrifying.
Among the prey, there were also several even more powerful creatures, such as the completely red Double-Headed Fire Rhinos and the impure-blooded Pixiu... These were all genuine fierce beasts. Usually, one should avoid them from afar. But now they were hunted, which was seriously against common sense!
"This time, we were really lucky. We returned with a full load and no one was injured." The leader of the hunting team, Shi Linhu, laughed heartily and explained to the village chief and the villagers. These few nights, a super beast passed through the mountains, causing the earth to shake and many mountain beasts to be trampled to death or injured. During the day, they tracked all the way and killed many seriously injured fierce beasts, which were usually powerful creatures that the villagers needed to avoid.
"There are some big footprints in the mountains that are similar to human feet, but they are really huge, over nearly a hundred meters long!"
"So big?!" The villagers exclaimed in shock. This was truly a terrifying piece of news.
Even the old people in the village couldn't help but gasp upon hearing this, becoming more convinced that something extraordinary had happened in the deep mountains and attracted some ancient remnants from the nearby wild.
In any case, this was a bumper harvest. The villagers were overjoyed. The Stone Village was filled with children's laughter, creating a joyous atmosphere.
Village Chief Shi Yunfeng led everyone towards the willow tree. Carrying dozens of beast corpses and approaching, they placed all the bloodstained fierce beasts on the stone platform. Obviously, this was a large sacrificial altar. (To be continued)