Boom!
Lightning flashed at the cave entrance, as the power of the lightning surged wildly, constantly striking inward. It seemed the escape of its prey had caused it to lose face.
Stones constantly fell, and in moments, the entrance was blocked. Even Shi Yunfeng was forced deeper by the lightning. Fortunately, the cave was deep, or he would have been finished.
The cave was pitch black, with no end in sight, as if it directly pierced the Yellow Springs Road of Hell, unfathomable and bringing a chill.
He advanced for tens of thousands of meters, still not reaching the end, but he arrived at a strange place, similar to the mountain's belly. Due to the lack of light, he couldn't see how large it was.
This place probably isn't good.
Although Shi Yunfeng was heavily injured, years of experience in the wilderness made him cautious. He sensed something was wrong. It was too quiet here!
Using the faint glow from the surrounding stone walls, he took a closer look, and the scene before him shocked him.
The ground was covered in the dry bones of dead animals, all kinds, some ferocious beasts, some small creatures. But they all had one thing in common: their skulls were all facing outwards, as if they had encountered some great terror here, struggling to escape even in death.
Stone Village was surprised. The surface of this mountain belly seemed normal, but upon closer inspection, he found it very abnormal.
In the vast mountain, there were no birds chirping, no beasts roaring, and no trace of insects. Only the ground was covered in beast bones, silent to the point of near-death. All that remained was silence. He knew that not long ago, he could still hear the Golden Thunderhawk's roars and the earth-shattering shaking.
It was as if this mountain belly was another world, isolated from all other life.
Is this a blessing or a curse? And what choice do I even have?
Stone Village had come to terms with it. It was fate. Outside, the Golden Thunderhawk; inside, the ground was covered in beast bones. Even the heavens seemed to be deliberately making things difficult for him.
He patted himself down and, fortunately, hadn't lost the Flint. Tearing off strips of his clothes, he picked up a Beast Bone from the ground and fashioned a simple torch, and then started to walk into this space.
He had noticed before that these Beast Bones were all struggling outwards, as if the source of terror here originated from the center of the mountain's belly.
Using the firelight, he advanced about fifty meters before stopping, because in front of him was a bizarre stone egg, more than half a meter high.
It wasn't quite an egg. It was a strange object wrapped in three-colored lotus flowers. It looked like an egg on the outside, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was formed by closed lotus flower patterns.
Most importantly, Shi Yunfeng sensed a faint life force on it.
"Alive!" Shi Yunfeng took two steps back. Those withered bones were vivid in his mind. Their deaths were very likely due to this egg-like thing.
Then he forced himself to calm down, didn't touch it, and instead went past it to other places. Whether it was the doing of the weird Lotus Egg, he would naturally know once he finished exploring the mountain's belly.
About a quarter of an hour later, Shi Yunfeng was disappointed. This mountain's belly was only a hundred meters in size, and he quickly finished exploring it. There was nothing here except for the Lotus Egg in the center of the mountain's belly.
For two whole days, Shi Yunfeng was utterly disheartened. He still had a mission to complete and was unwilling to die here. But hunger and fatigue made him realize he had to leave.
Just then, the center of the mountain's belly suddenly lit up with three colors: gold, chaos, and black. These colors intertwined, creating an incredibly bizarre tricolor glow.
Following that, the Lotus Egg slowly cracked open a sliver, revealing the object inside.
Shi Yunfeng's eyes widened in disbelief. "An infant!"
He rubbed his eyes and looked again. The Lotus Egg had already closed, and the eerie tricolor light had disappeared. Even the hazy infant that had appeared was gone, as if it had all been a hallucination.
But Shi Yunfeng knew this was likely real. He had seen that tricolor light a day before.
Yesterday, at this time, he had gone outside, wanting to leave. Unexpectedly, the Golden Thunderhawk was still there, as if it was determined to stay.
On his way back, he had seen the tricolor light flash within the mountain's belly. He had thought it was a hallucination at the time. He hadn't expected it to be formed by the Lotus Egg opening and closing.
"Once a day, like it's breathing... Is that the Divine Infant?"
Shi Yunfeng seemed to see hope. Perhaps this Lotus Egg could help him.
He returned to the center of the mountain's belly again, unafraid. He was only accepting. He had long since come to terms with life and death. The only thing he was worried about was the mission in his heart.
The strange Lotus Egg was light to the touch, only about twenty jin. With his strength, it wasn't too difficult to carry.
The only thing that made him feel relieved was that the Lotus Egg hadn't shown any unusual activity.
Afterward, Shi Yunfeng carried the Lotus Egg and went out of the stone cave. He wanted to leave this place and return to his hometown.
Rumble!
The Golden Thunderhawk outside hadn't left; it was still using Lightning to chop at the mountain, seemingly trying to carve a path through the stone cave. It was like trying to dig out a loach, first creating a hole for you!
Stone Village's Stone Cloud Peak felt a chill. Beasts of this level possessed intelligence, even understanding human language. They were incredibly difficult to deal with.
Boom!
A massive roar came from above, startling Stone Cloud Peak, who quickly dodged. He was less than a thousand meters from the cave entrance, yet the Golden Thunderhawk had still noticed him.
A wave of ferocious pressure descended from above, making Stone Cloud Peak feel bitter. The Golden Thunderhawk had cut off his escape, blasting a two-meter-wide hole above the cave.
Following that, a massive golden head peered down, tilting its head and glaring with malicious intent, as if mocking his weakness.
But the next moment, a sudden change occurred. The golden eye inadvertently glanced at the strange Lotus Egg, and with a scream, it immediately retreated. It seemed to have seen something terrifying, and without a second glance, it fled, a streak of light.
That speed made Stone Cloud Peak feel fortunate. Luckily, that Thunderhawk had been toying with him all along; otherwise, he would have already become its meal.
With the Golden Thunderhawk gone, Stone Cloud Peak carried the Lotus Egg out of the mountain cave. Standing on the rubble, he savored the beauty of the outside world.
Everything came about with great difficulty.
Ten years later.
Stone Village, located in the Vast Mountains, was surrounded by towering peaks and deep valleys, with vast mountains rising majestically.
Now, the sky was already dark. The small village was pitch black, but the house at the head of the village was brightly lit. A faint figure of an old man could be seen sitting inside, seemingly silently talking to an egg-shaped object.
The dim light illuminated the area around the house. If anyone were here, they could see a half-section of a giant withered tree next to the house. The trunk had a diameter of more than ten meters and was completely charred, seemingly struck by Lightning.
(End of chapter)