The crimson bird stared at Shi Hao angrily, unaware of Ye Yun's presence.
But Shi Hao did not panic. He simply thought that the crimson bird was intelligent. "I have some beast milk and it tastes quite good. Do you want to try some?" asked Shi Hao to the crimson bird.
But the crimson bird simply rolled its eyes and left.
"Why are you leaving? You don't think the beast milk tastes good?" Shi Hao was confused.
Ye Yun could not help but laugh. In the end, Shi Hao was still just a little boy. His thoughts and gestures were too heartwarming, which tempted Ye Yun to pull a small prank on the boy.
He stretched out his roots and lightly wrapped around Shi Hao's ankle. Then, he quickly withdrew his roots.
Shi Hao was caught off guard. With a face full of confusion, he crouched down to touch his ankle,
'What was going on? Did something touch me?' Shi Hao wondered.
Now that he was much closer to the ground, Ye Yun was able to take a good look at the boy. There were traces of beast milk on the edge of his lips as his black hair hung loosely on both sides of his shoulders. His clothes were white and smooth and his face looked just like an exquisite porcelain doll.
Ye Yun could not help but smile. No one could dislike such an endearing child.
The two of them had been cultivation buddies, even if Shi Hao did not know it. And throughout their cultivation time together, Ye Yun had witnessed Shi Hao's cultivation growth and breakthrough.
It was clear that Ye Yun had grown very fond of the boy to the point where if Shi Hao asked for something, Ye Yun was willing to help him, no matter what. It was most likely mainly because they were both orphans.
Even though Shi Hao smiled brightly every day and had a good relationship with the other people in the village, Ye Yun had noticed that the boy's eyes would follow other families from time to time with a yearning in his eyes.
Three Green Scaled Eagle chicks were flying around in the sky right above the willow tree while children chased after each other in the shade, playing around.
Ye Yun laughed as he watched the children play while Shi Hao was still looking confused by what he had felt on his ankle earlier. Perhaps it was just a small snake slithering past. He quickly shook his head and joined the other children.
The children had already tempered their bodies and experienced their own breakthroughs. And compared to the others, Shi Hao's body looked weaker and smaller. Moreover, he was the only one among them holding a bottle of beast milk. However, none of the others' cultivation progress and abilities could compare to Shi Hao's. Still, everyone was happy with how far they had come.
As such, the village chief had allowed them a day off from cultivation today. That was why they were able to play so happily as the other villagers looked on.
Meanwhile, tens of kilometers outside Stone Village, Lang Feng was leading the large group over.
But when they were about to arrive, they did not head for the entrance of the village. They went to the willow tree instead.
"I didn't expect such a huge lightning-struck tree to exist. The lightning strike must have charred its body black, but it still had some life left in it. This village's guardian spirit is quite interesting."
"Sir, this guardian spirit is quite strange and possesses quite shocking abilities. Please be careful," said Lang Feng. He didn't actually know what the guardian spirit was capable of. He simply wanted to fan the flames of desire of the group to attack the village.
And he got what he wanted. The child on the flood dragon contemptibly said, "It's just a guardian spirit of a village. It shouldn't be that strong. Wait for me here. I'll go over and just tear off the willow tree branches to make myself a new whip."
"You really know how to brag. How sure are you that they don't have any hidden experts? Didn't you see the weirdly huge, straight, and clean path carved out from the mountain forest leading here? I don't think we should underestimate them," said the girl.
The elder next to her also agreed.
"Don't be such a scaredy-cat. Aren't you also a cultivation prodigy of your tribe?" The boy retorted, unwilling to be outdone. The adults around them simply smiled as they let the two argue.
Another child said, "But how did that path get carved out like that, then?"
The adults nodded, proud that the children had been observant.
What the children said was true. Such a path could not have been carved out of the thirty-foot-deep forest by a desolate beast.
"Why do you care so much? It's just a backward village. What hidden abilities could they have? Even if there are experts among them, do you really think that they could be stronger than us?" The child sitting on the flood dragon scoffed.
He left the expert who was protecting him behind and headed over to check things out.
Ye Yun had already sensed the presence of the group when they first stepped foot on the Great Wastelands. His roots had grown to an extent that had covered many places. Moreover, this group of people emitted Qi flow that he had never encountered before. How obvious could their presence be?
He quickly activated his Divine Sense and Clairvoyance to secretly observe this group of people. He wasn't sure if he should make a move or not.
It was obvious at first glance that they were not good people. But he did not know why they were heading to Stone Village.
Ye Yun looked back at the busy villagers and then at the group of people who were about to arrive at the village entrance. In the end, Ye Yun decided to wait a little longer to see what happened before making a move.
The child sitting on the flood dragon could not suppress the excitement in his heart. He gave the flood dragon a pat, indicating for it to go over a little more quickly.
The flood dragon understood and immediately sped up.
"I'll go over first. I'll definitely get the willow branch."
"Why are you in such a hurry?" The expert guarding him frowned as he went after the child.
"He's so bold. Is he planning to use the flood dragon to collide with the lightning-struck tree?" The girl was confused. How reckless could he be?
"Just let him be. We'll go at our own pace. We're almost there anyway."
The other two teams of people did not bother to rush over.
Not long after, a miserable voice echoed throughout the lands. Did someone encounter an accident?
The others looked over and saw a green light suddenly appear. The emerald green willow branch swayed and just barely restrained the flood dragon.
Not long after, the flood dragon roared in pain and the birds in the dense forest quickly fled as a reflex.
"What's happening?" Everyone was shocked. Whatever happened must not have been simple. They immediately sped up using runic energy, especially the experts of the tribe the child on the flood dragon belonged to.
Their cultivation prodigy must not be met with any accidents.
Unfortunately, the child they were worried about had fallen off his fallen dragon from the sky. His body had been stained red and huge red gashes sliced across the skin of his arms.
What had happened was that the willow tree branch had reached out towards the flood dragon, startling it and throwing off its rider. The branch of the willow tree wrapped tightly around the flood dragon, but rather than suffocate it to death, it pierced into its body.
The flood dragon continuously struggled, trying to break free from the willow tree's control. Unfortunately, it was completely useless.
In a blink of an eye, a large amount of vitality and blood essence could be seen leaving the flood dragon and flowing into the willow tree through the branch. The scales of the flood dragon fell off its body like a dying tree shedding its leaves.
Before the flood dragon could react, it was almost dead.
Ye Yun stared at the scene, more interested in the willow tree's branch wrapped around the flood dragon's body than the flood dragon itself. He excitedly used his Divine Sense to communicate with the Willow Deity.
"Willow Deity, have you finally recovered?"