Chapter 279 - Return Again
“My grandfather… is still alive?!” Shi Hao was stupefied, but soon after, he shouted loudly. Sorrow and alarm were mixed together. His thoughts were completely thrown into disorder, but in the end, he was full of happiness at this new turn of events.
He was truly shocked, because he knew that his grandfather had been hunted down by a Pi Xiu back then. As a result, all news of him disappeared, so they completely lost track of his whereabouts. Everyone had thought that he had already been killed.
Otherwise, why didn’t he appear after so many years?
If he was still alive, then he should have returned a long time ago. In particular, if he was still alive, he definitely would not have tolerated something like Shi Hao having his supreme being bone dug out and Shi Ziling’s exile.
“Where is my grandfather?” Shi Hao calmed down a bit before asking.
“In Stone Country’s capital,” the Willow Deity replied.
“I want to go, I want to go see my grandpa!” Shi Hao shouted loudly. After so many years of not seeing any of his blood relatives, his heart began to long greatly.
It was because he knew that his grandfather disappeared and almost died completely for his sake. He left to find some pure blood for Shi Hao, and that was why he entered the Hundred Clan Battlefield to offend a Pi Xiu, bringing about a disaster.
“Don’t be too anxious.” Shi Linhu and the others walked over to comfort him.
Only after a long time had passed did Shi Hao calm down. After obtaining such unexpected news, he was really moved emotionally. His mind was filled with all types of scenes and anticipation.
This time, he left for two years, so when the villagers saw him again, they were all extremely happy. He was surrounded by a large group, and besides Pihou, Ermeng and others that had their arms around him, there were still also a few one or two year old fellows that were tugging at his pants while looking up at him curiously.
Ermeng, Huzi, Pihou and the others were already married and had their own children. Even snot baby was going to get married soon.
“Uncle, uncle, we want to eat good things!” There were several small fellows that looked at him with their big clear eyes. They were full of expectation.
“Haha, we all know you are a foodie. All of them were waiting for you to come back.” Snot baby laughed loudly.
These fellows had already heard a lot about the uncle that was always away from home but would always bring back delicacies. They had already equated him to good food.
“So cute!” Shi Hao laughed as he pinched one of the small fellow's’ cheeks. There were boys and girls, and all of them were tender and charmingly naive.
With a putong sound, Shi Hao brought out an ocean beast, immediately causing the group of kids to cry out loudly. They weren’t scared in the slightest, and even the small ones that had just learned how to walk were rushing forward. The adults all hurried moved to stop them.
“Today, we are going to eat a seafood banquet!” Shi Hao laughed as he spoke.
He brought out a pile of ocean delicacies, such as giant turtles, silver sharks, ocean flood dragons, demonic octopuses… The variety was just too great, with too many to count. All of them were strange and bizarre.
The villagers all cried out in alarm. Being born in the Great Wastelands, they had never seen such things. All of them were astonished as they poked and pinched about in wonder.
The village had changed greatly. Those several dozen stalks of spiritual medicine were all alive and growing vigorously. At the center, there was still that stalk of divine medicine -- Silver Peach Tree, that was gushing with even greater multicolored light.
The entire village’s spiritual essence could clearly be felt. The village elders’ complexions were rosy, and they were extremely healthy. Even though two years had passed, it almost seemed as if they became even more robust. Their bodies seemed to possess even more vigor than before.
Within the village, a chicken was leisurely pacing about. It shot Shi Hao a sidelong glance before turning around to continue walking. It seemed extremely calm and collected.
This was precisely the Octadic Treasure Chicken. After not meeting for two years, it had already become a resident of this place. Moreover, the villagers carefully cherished it.
This was because it would lay an egg every half month that possessed similar qualities to spiritual medicines. Towards the villagers, this was a chicken that they would not exchange for even a mountain of gold.
Shi Hao’s return made all of the villagers extremely happy, especially those aunts that were looking at the pile of food. They were all smiling, because they were going to reveal their cooking skills.
“What about Big Red and Second Baldy?” Shi Hao was a bit puzzled. At the same time, he didn’t see Ziyun and the others either.
“They’ve entered the mountains. During this period of time, they’ve come and gone. They would only return after several days, so they might be searching for some supreme treasury or some great land,” said Ermeng.
Shi Hao became reassured. Aunt Green Scaled Eagle had already started exploring two years ago, and now with the big red bird and the others, their party’s strength should be quite great.
The lake in the distance was clear and bright. Large golden fish would break through the water surface from time to time. On the shore, small Luans would wander about in a carefree manner.
Even further out, there were roughly a dozen unicorns that flickered with silver light. They quickly ran over, and among them, there was one that was particularly valiant. It was truly like a heavenly horse. It was shining with resplendent silver light, and its speed was extremely great.
In the blink of an eye, it had already arrived in front of Shi Hao. Its massive head rubbed against his body to express its affection.
Little White was now a vicious beast, far surpassing its past in terms of strength. According to what the villagers said, it now not only ate grass and wild fruits, but also meat. Moreover, the vicious beasts it hunted were all extremely powerful.
Shi Hao’s return was definitely an event full of laughter and happiness. The clansmen were all incomparably joyous, and soon after, smoke began to rise in spirals. All types of seafood entered the pots.
Two years had passed, and his childhood companions had already grown up. Even Qingfeng had matured quite a bit, no longer appearing as young and tender as he was in the past.
“Little big brother, this time, you have to bring me when you leave again!” He was extremely hopeful, wanting to explore the land under the heavens together.
“I will think about it,” Shi Hao said. He didn’t know what his grandpa was like currently, so he wanted to understand the situation before making a decision.
Finally, everything calmed down a bit. After his conversation with the clansmen came to an end, Shi Hao once again returned to the village entrance below the great willow tree. He began to inquire about the current situation’s details.
The Willow Deity’s words were extremely concise just like before. It spoke about some of the events that happened during this period of time, and they were all things that it learned from the Void God Realm.
“What? Grandpa shot down the Rain King with a single arrow…” Shi Hao was completely shocked. He stared blankly, and then his face turned red with drops of water appearing.
He knew that his grandfather definitely went mad from anger after learning about what happened to him back then, and that was the reason why he risked his life like that. He could understand how sorrowful his state of mind was at that moment.
His grandfather’s actions could also be looked at as helping him released a stifled breath. Shi Hao’s supreme being bone was gouged out, and he suffered for several dozen years. Only after the Great Demonic God reappeared did everything take a turn for the better.
“Grandpa, you really are strong!”
When Shi Hao heard how his grandpa killed the archaic Black Eyed Green Spider, he began to sigh with even more admiration. His grandfather was too powerful! His return marked a road of power and suppression.
That night Shi Hao drank with the villagers around the bonfire. They ate a great feast together while talking and laughing the entire time. The village entrance was extremely lively.
It was because he was going to leave the next day.
“Willow Deity, I didn’t use the branch you left with me.” He took out a green and lush branch to return it. After two years had passed, the branch was still tender and glistening like before.
“You should carry it with you,” said the Willow Deity.
Deep into the night, Shi Hao already told the Willow Deity about how he obtained the Kun Peng’s precious technique. Throughout the night, the entire tree continued to glow, and from time to time, it would shine even brighter.
An extremely powerful wave of life force was filling the air. It was clear that the Willow Deity’s received great insights, gaining great benefits!
Early in the morning, a mist curled up around the distant mountain peaks, creating a large haze. Meanwhile, Stone Village shined brilliantly. The Willow Deity was full of vitality, releasing auspicious and peaceful energy the entire time.
The sun rose into the sky. Shi Hao once again went on his way, leaving Stone Village. Many people were emotionally unwilling to separate from him, because he was leaving again right after returning.
However, they could not stop him, because Shi Hao was going to meet his grandfather. It was a fulfillment of a dream to reunite with his family, so it was a happy occasion. No one would dissuade him from such a thing, and all of them felt happy for him.
“Willow Deity, I want to reach Stone Country Capital as fast as possible.”
Shi Hao said this because he wanted the Willow Deity’s help in opening up a passage. He did not want to waste another second, and wanted to hurry towards that capital as early as possible.
The Willow Deity agreed and set a destination. It was not right inside Stone Country Capital, because such a sudden descent would attract too much attention. However, it was not too far from the actual location.
Finally, Shi Hao went on his way. He had just returned, but he left again after only staying one night.
This time, he did not bring Qingfeng or wait for the big red bird and others. He continued to travel alone, because he felt that the Stone Country Capital was not some kind of sacred land. There were too many unpredictable aspects, making it extremely dangerous.
A brilliant passageway was opened. Shi Hao rushed inside and turned around to wave back with all of his strength. He then quickly rushed forward, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The gate of light closed, and what happened after that was something that not even the Willow Deity could completely anticipate. It merely constructed a passageway, and did not pay attention to what was going on millions of li away.
This time, Shi Hao didn’t even bring Hairy Ball with him. He sprinted by himself along the brilliant passageway. He felt as if time became blurry and space became unstable. It was as if he was travelling through history.
Hong!
Suddenly, while passing through a region, he felt a tremendous pressure. The passage suddenly became unstable, as if it was going to explode. It began to shake violently.
Meanwhile, he saw an enormous spider. Its entire body was green, and its pupils were pitch-black. It was as large as a mountain and incredibly terrifying. It was currently fighting intensely with another creature.
“What is this?” He was shocked. Through this passageway, he seemed to be able to witness the outside events.
To be precise, there were figures fighting a great battle outside. They were so ridiculously powerful that the scene was projected into this passage. It was an incredibly dangerous matter.
It was because those that possessed this kind of strength were definitely supreme experts. Moreover, it just so happened to be taking place outside the passageway. If this passage was not created by the Willow Deity, then it definitely would have exploded just now.
‘A mountain-sized demonic spider and a shining creature fighting a great battle…” Shi Hao was extremely astonished. It was simply like a fight between deities! Even though he was only able to get a hurried glimpse, the impression it left on him was still great.
“Stone Country Imperial Capital, ha!” Outside the passageway, that mountainous spider sneered. Its malicious intent soared into the heavens.
Shi Hao was immediately shocked. The opposing party was an archaic demonic spider, but it mentioned Stone Country Imperial Capital. This all… made his heart and mind tremble.
Fortunately, the Willow Deity’s cultivation was great, and the passage it created did not suffer any damage even after passing through those two supreme experts’ battle.
In the end, Shi Hao appeared within a great mountain. He walked out from the passageway before quickly rushing toward the mountains.
After probing about, he learned that this place was not that far from Stone Country Capital. There was only several hundred li between them. With his speed, it wasn’t that far.
Shi Hao went on his way. He did not use any precious artifacts, but instead depended on his two legs to hurry towards the legendary giant walls.
Finally, he saw them. The imposing city walls were extremely large. As they stretched in front of him, they seemed extremely majestic. The city wall was like a mountain ridge, lofty and grand.
“I’ve returned again…” Shi Hao softly spoke.
He was born within these walls, but he had travelled to foreign land when he was still young. He hadn’t returned for more than ten years, so he was not familiar with this place at all. His thoughts were extremely complicated.
During these years, he never thought about returning. He always felt that if his strength was not great enough, there would be no point in coming back to the Stone Country Capital. According to his plans, it would still be several years before he returned.
He never expected for this to take place now.
Shi Hao’s thoughts were complicated, but in the end, he took large steps towards the massive city.