Chapter 7 - Black Wood Nest
The primitive mountain forest was lush with plant growth, however, it was permeated with an overcast aura. Poisonous insects roamed about, and beasts were releasing oppressive and thunderous roars. The fishy odor left behind by the vicious tigers, snakes, and other creatures wafted about, making people’s skin and bones turn cold.
Aohou...
From within the depths of the mountain range, deafening roars could be heard. Mountain boulders tumbled as echoes rumbled through this place. Trees began to violently shake and leaves flew about chaotically. In the distance, large vicious beasts roamed about.
A group of children’s faces were currently pale. There was already a bit of distance separating them from Stone Village, and they had entered the old forest without informing the adults. Fortunately, they still had not entered the true resting grounds of vicious beasts.
“Older brother Dazhuang, the mountain forest is too dangerous. We are still too small, so we shouldn’t go forward anymore,” a small child said with a trembling voice.
These children all grew up near this forest, so they naturally knew how dangerous it was. There were all types of ferocious creatures living within it. Even their fathers had to be careful when entering the forest, or else they would lose their lives.
These children were all still young, and there was total of around ten kids. They were lead by none other than s.h.i.+ Dazhuang, who was able to lift the 1000 jin copper cauldron. He had thick eyebrows, big eyes, as well as thick and bulky arms. Moreover, his height almost overtook some of the adults. He looked towards another person and asked, “Pi Hou, how much farther is it?”
Pi Hou’s birth name was s.h.i.+ Zhonghou. He was born rather dark and skinny, but he was still rather strong and quick-witted. “I heard from Uncle Linhu that the mountain cliff is not far from the village. It’s in this direction, and we shouldn’t be too far off.”
“s.h.i.+ Hao, do you have any suggestions?” s.h.i.+ Dazhuang asked.
In the past, s.h.i.+ Hao was only the group of kids’ b.u.m beetle, tagging along wherever they went. Ever since he lifted up that copper cauldron, he left the adults thinking that he was some little freak, let alone these children. He immediately became one of the group’s ‘important members’.
“It will be very dangerous if we keep going.” Little s.h.i.+ Hao’s voice was sharp and clear, and his clear black and white eyes were darting back and forth as he replied realistically.
“But the distance from here really isn’t that far,” s.h.i.+ Dazhuang said.
More than half of the children wanted to keep going.
“If you guys want to go, then I am too.” Little s.h.i.+ Hao said in a young and immature voice.
Just like that, the group of children went on their way and continued for another li. Less and less large trees could be seen, and the vegetation became more and more scarce. More and more large boulders could be seen, and waves of vicious energy flooded this place.
Mountain boulders lined the rugged terrain of the enormous Stone Forest. It was completely silent, and the bony remains of enormous beasts were scattered over the ground, snow white and frightening.
Pi Hou looked around and said in a soft voice, “This is the place. I’ve heard Uncle Linhu and the others talk about it before. It’s nest is built on a cliff within the depths of the Stone Forest.”
s.h.i.+ Dazhuang also lowered his voice and reminded all of the children, “These beast bones might have been left behind after it had its meal. Even though it shouldn’t be at its nest right now, it is still better if we be careful. We definitely cannot be discovered, or else we will definitely lose our lives!”
These children all grew up within the great wastelands, so they were extremely vigilant. They were just like small mountain beasts as they quickly and nimbly hid within Stone Forest’s cracks to conceal their bodies. They briefly surveyed their surroundings and sniffed the air before mutually nodding towards each other. They were like monkeys as they rushed towards the depths of the Stone Forest.
Along the way, they encountered many skeletal remains. They were snow white and enormous, including bird bones that were over five to six meters in length and even large millstone-sized skulls. They all belonged to ferocious beasts and vicious birds that were feasted upon, creating an atmosphere that was lifeless and dreadful.
“Turns out that it did want to live here after all! After some time, if it produces some offspring, our Stone Village’s men will encounter great dangers when they enter these mountains!”
“Uncle Linghu and the others have already discussed this for several days. They have already thoroughly studied its habits.”
The children were speaking softly as they sped along quickly. They were like ten little tornadoes as they rushed into the Stone Forest depths.
A rocky cliff stretched in front of them. This place was even more silent, and not a single blade of gra.s.s grew here. At the very top of the cliff rested an enormous nest built from strips of black wood. It gave off an almost suffocating type of feeling.
The children were still quite a distance away from it, watching carefully from within the mountain openings. The black nest was simply enormous, with a diameter of at least ten meters. Anyone could see that the nest belonged to an incredible vicious bird.
“It was here after all!”
“The Green Scaled Eagle has hovered around this area for a long time already. Now that it finally built this enormous nest, could it really be as Uncle Linhu predicted? Had it already laid its eggs?”
The eyes of the children sparkled. This was their main goal!
This was an incredibly powerful and aggressive species of bird, and within them flowed the blood pa.s.sed down from archaic demonic birds. They were incredibly difficult to deal with, and once it set its eyes on an ordinary fierce beast or vicious creature, they would most likely die. They would find it difficult to escape with their lives.
“Under Uncle Linhu and the others’ observations, the male Green Scaled Eagle hasn’t showed itself for several days already. It’s possible that something unexpected happened within the depths of the mountain range that caused it to lose its life. The mother goes out to hunt for prey every day around noontime, so now is the best time chance for us to go in,” Pi Hou said.
The children all clenched their fists. It was clear that they were extremely nervous. However, at the same time, there was a type of excitement within their eyes. These kids all grew up within the mountain forest, so they were all rather bold and daring. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to venture into such a dangerous place on their own.
“Everyone, hide inside these mountain openings. I’ll throw a rock to test things out!” A dark skinned child spoke. His name was s.h.i.+ Meng, and the villagers all called him Ermeng. During Stone Village’s martial arts practice, he directly knocked down a fat cow and almost lifted up that thousand jin copper cauldron. Within this group of kids, he was only preceded by s.h.i.+ Hao and s.h.i.+ Dazhuang.
A hu noise sounded, and a large piece of rock took flight into the distance. Eventually, it dropped into a pile of rubble front of the rocky cliff with a loud dong sound.
All of them were startled, but luckily, there weren’t any signs of activity on the mountain cliff.
“Er Meng, don’t be so reckless. Be a bit more careful.”
“I wanted to test to see if it was inside its nest. There doesn’t seem like there are any problems, so we should hurry and go up!” Following those words, Ermeng was ready to rush over.
“Brother Ermeng, wait a bit,” Little s.h.i.+ Hao spoke up. He grabbed a decently-sized rock and threw it forcefully. With a sou sound, it flew over the rocky cliff and smashed down in front of the nest, creating an extremely loud sound.
A short while later, the mountain cliff became very peaceful again. The Green Scaled Eagle did not actually appear.
“Let’s go!”
The group of children were like a pack of beasts. With loud shouts, they charged at lightning speed towards the rocky cliff. When they got closer, they split into different roles. A part of their group was stationed below the enormous rocks to watch the skies. They stood guard here and kept a lookout in case the vicious bird suddenly appeared. The others got ready to climb the rocky cliff.
“Big brother Dazhuang and everyone else, wait here. Let me take a look first,” said s.h.i.+ Hao.
“Milk baby, stay on the side and just watch for now. We will go up.” When s.h.i.+ Dazhuang spoke, all the other children laughed. The little guy was still drinking beast milk even now, so he was always being teased.
“I’ve already started eating meat a long time ago! I only drink it sometimes like water!” The little guy wrinkled his nose in discontent. He looked at them with his gem-like large eyes as he tried to defend himself.
Of course, the little guy was very intelligent and knew that the bigger kids were not really mocking him, but were rather looking out for him. They did not want him to take the risk of being the first one up.
“I am faster than you guys, so if there is danger, I can run away quickly.” The little guy did not wait for their response. Like a little monkey, he rushed over with a sou sound and began climbing the rocky cliff cleverly and nimbly.
“Don’t let him face danger alone. We are going as well!” s.h.i.+ Dazhuang, Pihou, and Ermeng all followed behind. They quickly ascended in a similar manner.
The cliff had many cracks, and the children borrowed them to quickly climb up. They grew up within the great mountains near these ancient forests, so their climbing abilities were naturally quite great. They wouldn’t even be inferior to the mountain range’s fiendish apes by much.
“Hu… I’ve finally made it to the top!”
The rocky cliff was three hundred meters high. After making his way here, he waited a bit for the other three children. Only when their all gathered together did they head towards the enormous nest together.
“What an enormous nest!” Pi Hou gasped in admiration.
When they looked at it up close, they were all overwhelmed with shock. The nest was more than ten meters in length, and it was constructed from black wood. It occupied the majority of the cliff’s summit and was even larger than Stone Village’s houses.
Outside the bird’s residence, there were a few large bones sticky with blood. Each one was taller than an adult, creating a horrifying scene.
In particular, there were even small claw marks and holes on a millstone-sized beast skull. It looked extremely malevolent.
“These are the skeletal remains of a Dragon Fanged Elephant! It really is terrifying. The vicious bird could actually feast on such a huge elephant!” Er Meng cried out in alarm.
“Ignore these things for now,” s.h.i.+ Dazhuang said. He then began to climb the black bird nest.
Upon arriving on top of the nest, they immediately sensed waves of thick aura, as well as a b.l.o.o.d.y odor. The edges of the nest were a dark red color, making it clear that the Green Scaled Eagle ate its meals here. Being contaminated with all types of beast blood for such a long time made this place developed an extremely deep baleful aura.
“The vicious bird is not here!”
“Come look, there are several bird eggs!”
The children cried out in alarm. After listening in secretly on the adults’ discussions, they rushed here on their own precisely for these vicious bird eggs.
“Perfect, let’s quickly carry them back and raise them within the village. In the future, we will have giant vicious birds to help us hunt and bring back prey!” Pi Hou excitedly yelled.
The inside of the nest was lined with soft golden silk gra.s.s. It looked rather comfortable, and the sparkling and translucent jade-like eggs were resting peacefully within. On the outside of the eggs were net-like patterns as well as scattered dots that flickered with l.u.s.ter.
These ferocious bird eggs were all as big as water basins. They were translucent and dazzling like precious gems, and under the sunlight, the patterns on their surfaces glistened with radiance.