Time in the Great Wasteland passed quickly. Two or three years vanished in the blink of an eye. Long Xuan, now over four years old, was about a meter tall. Shi Hao, who was just over three, was only a little shorter than him.
His physique was now astonishing, and he often ran around with the other children.
The open space where the bonfire party had been held was now completely surrounded by people of all ages, watching the children's performances.
A group of children, bare-chested, were swinging stone locks weighing several hundred jin. Some were fighting wild bulls, while others could lift stone mills weighing thousands of jin. They were joyfully sweating as they played.
Every adult was praising their own child's strength, saying they would surely become great heroes in the future. They argued with flushed faces and animated expressions.
The Clan Leader and the others were very pleased. The medicinal baths of the past few years had not been in vain; the effects were now apparent. Surely some powerful individuals would emerge from among them.
In the crowd, a little tyke saw them lifting the cauldrons and pushed forward eagerly. An adult noticed him and turned, smiling. "Little Hao, do you want to try too? I hear from those rascals that you have amazing strength, so now's a good time to test it."
Shi Hao was now over three years old. His long hair fell to his shoulders, and his skin was fair, making him very cute.
"Hey!" Little Hao shouted, his voice still childish. He directly picked up a stone mill, then dashed forward like a great roc, knocking over a wild bull.
Following that, under the shocked gazes of the crowd, he lifted a stone mill that weighed 20,000 Jin.
Everyone was stunned. For a child just over three years old to do this was too astonishing. He was simply a descendant of a ferocious beast, comparable to the offspring of Ancient Descendants.
Long Xuan watched quietly. The current Shi Hao was much stronger than he remembered, and his growth was also faster.
Bang!
Shi Hao threw the stone mill to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The massive sound once again shocked the villagers. This was a monster!
Except for the freak Long Xuan, the villagers couldn't believe it. A child just over three years old could lift something so heavy. It was unheard of in the surrounding villages, and even those ancient, great sects might struggle to cultivate such a disciple.
Even the Clan Leader couldn't believe it; he didn't think the current Shi Hao should be capable of this.
Some elders were discussing, "He's simply comparable to the Ancient Descendants. With Hao'er and Little Xuan, Stone Village will surely flourish," their faces filled with smiles.
Speaking of Little Xuan, they all looked at Long Xuan.
Seeing the gazes suddenly focused on him, Long Xuan smiled slightly. He was still stuck at the 108,000 Jin bottleneck. After several years of accumulation, he hadn't continued to break through, but instead, he was storing up his foundation. He planned to break his limit soon.
He walked towards the heaviest 100,000 Jin boulder and easily lifted it.
Everyone else was shocked. He was truly a monster! But only Clan Leader Shi Yunfeng knew what Long Xuan wanted to do by not breaking through to the Grotto-Heaven. If he succeeded, it would probably scare some of the big shots.
Shi Feijiao said with a smile, "With you and Little Hao, our Stone Village will definitely advance a great deal. In the future, we'll rely on you two to catch any ferocious beasts or Ancient Descendants."
Shi Hao and Long Xuan smiled and readily agreed.
The Bear Kids saw how fierce Shi Hao and Long Xuan were and ran over directly, saying, "Brothers, let's go check out that Nest now."
Shi Hao heard this. He hadn't gone last time, so he definitely had to go this time. He raised his hand and shouted, "Me! Me! Me! I want to go!"
The others didn't object either. They had all seen Shi Hao's performance just now, and he was stronger than most of them. Seeing that Shi Hao was going, Long Xuan agreed without hesitation. He had been immersed in cultivation for a long time and needed to relax. They should go and have some fun.
"Yes!"
Seeing Long Xuan agree, their confidence grew even stronger.
The adults didn't interfere either. With Long Xuan and Shi Hao, these two little monsters, as long as they didn't go looking for trouble, there wouldn't be any issues.
Everyone went home, gathered their equipment, and assembled at the entrance.
They had gone once a few years ago, so this time they were familiar with the way. They quickly arrived at the previous pile of rubble.
A cliff appeared in the children's sight. There wasn't a single blade of grass here. On the cliff was a black giant nest, built of tung wood.
They were far away, watching from the gaps. The black giant nest was more than ten meters wide, and judging from its size, it should be the Azure-Scaled Eagle's Nest.
A group of children's eyes were shining. Their target was this nest.
Besides Long Xuan, everyone else clenched their fists, their faces a little tense, with anticipation and excitement in their eyes. They were all very daring, otherwise they wouldn't have dared to come to this place.
A child named Er Meng directly threw a stone. Crack! The stone landed directly on the pile of碎石, making a loud sound.
Everyone else jumped in surprise, glanced at the cliff, and thankfully there was no movement.
After a while, it was still quiet; the target hadn't appeared.
A group of Bear Kids yelled and charged towards the cliff like a whirlwind. Several people had clear divisions of labor and, in a few moves, entered the Nest.
Three eggs, each as big as a washbasin, were lying quietly inside, crystal clear, like jade and agate, emitting a green glow.
A few mischievous kids chuckled, "We've never seen such a big bird's nest before." Everyone else nodded in agreement.
On the green eggshells, those runes shone brilliantly, like stars in the sky. There was a mysterious power flowing within them.
Shi Hao looked at the surface of the eggs, noticing something. He said, "Even if the bloodline isn't pure, there are still rune inheritances. This is very precious."
The Bear Kids were delighted. This meant the凶兽 were very powerful and could be cultivated properly.
They put the three bird eggs directly into a beast-skin bag. After looking around, they saw no Azure-Scaled Eagle and immediately ran.
Meanwhile, Long Xuan was a bit bored. He hadn't done anything and had made the trip for nothing.
The group of children didn't dare to be careless, speeding up and running directly toward Stone Village.
Just as they were about to reach the village, a loud cry pierced the sky, splitting the clouds and cracking the stones, making the children's eardrums ache.
Several children cried out in alarm, "It's bad! The Azure-Scaled Eagle returned and found the eggs missing! Run, or we're done for!"
A shadow drifted toward them. A huge bird, blotting out the sky, fanned its wings, creating a whirlwind as it rapidly flew toward them. It exuded a fierce aura, its body shimmering with a cold, azure light.
They saw it and let out a cry, scattering in all directions. They specifically ran towards the densest parts of the forest.
The ferocious bird, covered in scales, was relentless. Its eggs had been stolen, and it had completely lost its mind.
Boom! Those towering trees were like paper in front of its iron wings, instantly shattered, with debris flying everywhere.
Seeing this, the group of children turned green with fright and ran even faster.
Long Xuan sighed, preparing to fight back. He unleashed a dragon claw attack, which only cracked a few scales. The azure bird was enraged and pursued them even more frantically, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
He didn't really want to hurt it, so he decided to stall it, occasionally harassing it. He waited until they were far enough away before leading it to Willow Deity, who would have a way to subdue it.
Shi Hao also understood Long Xuan's plan, staying behind to interfere and allow the others to escape.
And so, they chased and were chased, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. They finally managed to lure the Azure-Scaled Eagle away.
Seeing the willow tree at the entrance of Stone Village, Long Xuan shouted loudly, "Sister Willow Deity, lend a hand!"
As if hearing the call, the willow branches emitted a verdant glow, directly deterring the Azure-Scaled Eagle. The eagle was frightened, but still unwilling to leave, circling in the sky and finally landing on a distant stone wall.
(End of Chapter)