The primeval forest was thick and lush, with a heavy shade and a lot of sinister energy. Venomous insects lurked around, and the dull roars of beasts rumbled like thunder. The pungent stench of fierce leopards, serpents, and other creatures wafted through the air, sending chills down one's spine.
"Roar..."
Thunderous roars came from the depths of the mountains, causing rocks to roll down, echoes to rumble, and trees to sway violently, with fallen leaves swirling wildly. Large fierce beasts were on the move in the distance.
The faces of a group of children turned pale. They had already walked quite a distance from Shicun, having come out without telling the adults and entered the old forest. Fortunately, they had not yet entered the true habitats of the fierce beasts.
"Brother Dazhuang, the forest is too dangerous. We are still young and can't go any further." A child said tremulously.
They grew up beside the primeval forest and naturally knew its dangers. There were all kinds of fierce creatures. Even their fathers had to be cautious when entering the forest, otherwise they would lose their lives.
This group of children were not very old. There were a total of more than ten of them. The leader was Shi Dazhuang, who had once lifted a thousand-jin copper tripod. He had thick eyebrows, big hands and feet. Just as his name suggested, he was almost as tall as an adult. He looked at another person and asked, "Skinny Monkey, how far is it?"
Skinny Monkey, whose name was Shi Zhonghou, was skinny but had great strength and was very smart. He said, "I heard from Uncle Lin Hu and the others that the cliff is not far from the village, in this direction. We should be almost there."
"What's your opinion, Shi Hao?" Shi Dazhuang asked.
In the past, Shi Hao was just a tagalong behind a group of older children. Ever since he lifted the copper tripod, even the adults regarded him as a little monster, let alone the children. Suddenly, he became one of the "key members" among them.
"It will be very dangerous if we keep going." Little Shi Hao's voice was clear and crisp. His big black and white eyes were round and shiny as he spoke truthfully.
"But we are really not far from there." Shi Dazhuang said.
More than half of the children were tempted to keep going.
"If you all want to go, I'll follow." Little Shi Hao said in a childish voice.
So a group of children set off again. After walking for another mile or so, the big trees gradually became scarce, the vegetation decreased, and the boulders gradually increased, with a foul air spreading.
The mountain rocks were jagged. This was a large stone forest, silent and soundless. Some giant beast bones were scattered on the ground, white and astonishing.
Skinny Monkey looked around and whispered, "This is the place. I heard from Uncle Lin Hu and the others that its nest is built on the cliff deep in the stone forest."
Shi Dazhuang also lowered his voice to remind all the children, "These beast bones may be left behind when it ate fierce beasts. Although it should not be in the nest at this time, we still have to be careful not to be discovered, otherwise we might lose our lives!"
The dozen children, all growing up in the great wilderness, were very alert. Like little mountain beasts, they quickly and nimbly hid in the crevices of the stone forest to protect themselves. After observing for a moment and sniffing the wind for the smell, they nodded to each other. Like apes, they nimbly rushed towards the deepest part of the stone forest.
Along the way, they saw many bones, white and huge, including bird bones that were five or six meters long and beast skulls as big as millstones. They were all the remains of fierce beasts and birds in the forest that were torn and eaten alive. This place was lifeless.
"It really wants to settle here. If it breeds some offspring over time, when people from our Shicun enter and exit the mountains, they will face a fatal threat!"
"Uncle Lin Hu and the others have discussed for several days and have long observed its habits."
While whispering, these children galloped at an extremely fast speed. Like a dozen small whirlwinds, they rushed deep into the stone forest.
A stone cliff lay ahead. Here, it was even quieter, with no grass growing. At the top of the cliff was a huge nest, built with black parasol trees one after another, giving people a very oppressive feeling.
The children hid in the crevices of the rocks from a distance and watched carefully. The black nest was ten meters in diameter and very huge. Needless to say, it was the nest of a strange and fierce bird.
"Sure enough, it's here!"
"This green-scale eagle has been wandering here for a long time. Now it has built such a huge nest. Could it be that, as Uncle Lin Hu said, it has laid eggs?"
The eyes of a group of children all shone. This was their main purpose for coming here!
This was a very fierce and powerful strange bird. There was blood inherited from the ancient magic birds in its body, making it very difficult to deal with. Generally, any fierce beast or bird targeted by it would die and have no chance of survival.
"According to the observations of Uncle Lin Hu and the others, the male green-scale eagle has not appeared for several days and may have died in an accident deep in the mountains. Every day at noon, the female bird will go out to hunt for food by herself. The opportunity is right in front of us." Skinny Monkey said.
A group of children clenched their fists. They were obviously very nervous, but at the same time, there was also a kind of anticipation and excitement in their eyes. Children growing up in the forest were all very bold. Otherwise, they wouldn't have come to such a dangerous place on their own initiative.
"Everyone hide in the crevices of the stones. I'll throw a stone to have a try!" A dark-skinned child spoke. His name was Shi Meng. The villagers all called him Er Meng. During the martial arts display in Shicun, he once directly knocked down a big wild ox and almost lifted a thousand-jin heavy bronze tripod. Among these children, he was second only to Shi Hao and Shi Dazhuang.
With a whoosh, a large stone flew out, rushed into the distance, and finally landed with a loud thud on the pile of rocks in front of the stone cliff.
Everyone was greatly startled. Fortunately, there was no movement on the cliff.
"Er Meng, don't be so reckless. Be careful."
"I'm testing if it's in the nest. Now it seems okay. Let's hurry up!" Er Meng said and was about to rush over.
"Brother Er Meng, wait a moment." Little Shi Hao spoke. He grabbed a not-small stone and threw it forcefully. The stone whooshed up the stone cliff and landed near the parasol tree nest, making a loud noise.
After a moment, it was quiet on the cliff. The green-scale eagle did not appear.
"Let's go!"
A group of children, like a herd of beasts, shouted and rushed towards the stone cliff quickly. When they arrived nearby, they divided the work orderly. Some of them stood on the boulders, watched the sky, and stood guard to prevent the sudden appearance of the fierce bird. Several others were ready to climb up the stone cliff.
"Brother Dazhuang, all of you wait. I'll go up and have a look first." Shi Hao said.
"You're still a kid who hasn't been weaned. Just watch from the side. We'll go up." Shi Dazhuang said. A group of children all laughed. Little Dot was still drinking beast milk and was often teased by them.
"I've eaten meat a long time ago. I just drink it occasionally like water!" Little Dot pouted angrily, wrinkled his nose, and glared with his big black gem-like eyes to defend himself.
Of course, the little fellow was very smart. He knew that the older children were not really laughing at him at this time, but were taking care of and protecting him, not wanting him to go up first and take risks.
"I'm faster than all of you. Even if there's danger, I can escape quickly." Without waiting for them to speak, Little Dot, like a little monkey, whooshed and quickly climbed up the stone cliff, agile and sensitive.
"Don't let him take risks. Let's go too!" Shi Dazhuang, Er Meng, and Skinny Monkey all followed closely behind, chasing up like apes.
There were many crevices on the cliff wall, allowing the children to borrow strength and climb up quickly. Growing up in the mountains and beside the primeval forest, their climbing skills were naturally very strong, not inferior to the demon apes in the mountains.
"Whew... Finally, we're up!"
The stone cliff was three hundred meters high. After Little Dot climbed up, he waited for the other three for a moment. It was not until they all emerged that they walked towards the huge nest together.
"What a big bird's nest!" Skinny Monkey exclaimed.
Standing nearby and looking at it, it was particularly shocking. The nest was ten meters long and built with black parasol trees, occupying most of the top of the cliff, even larger than the houses in Shicun.
Besides this, there were also some big bones with blood streaks on the cliff. Each one was thicker and longer than an adult, which was terrifying.
Especially on the millstone-sized beast skull, there were several terrifying claw holes with residual blood, looking very ferocious.
"This is the bone of a dragon-horned elephant. It's really terrifying. A fierce bird actually wants to eat a giant elephant at will!" Er Meng was shocked.
"Don't worry about these for now." Shi Dazhuang said, climbing up towards the black bird's nest.
When they reached the nest, they immediately felt a wave of chilly air and the smell of blood. The edge of the nest was dark red. Apparently, the green-scale eagle often ate at the edge of the nest. After long-term soaking in various beast blood, this place was filled with a lot of evil spirit.
"The fierce bird isn't here!"
"Look, there are several bird eggs!"
Several children exclaimed in surprise. They were very bold. After eavesdropping on the adults' conversation in the village, they made their own decisions and came here for the eggs of the fierce bird.
"Great! Let's quickly move them and take them back to the village to hatch. In the future, there will be powerful fierce birds hunting fierce beasts and bringing back prey for us!" Skinny Monkey shouted excitedly.
Inside the parasol tree nest were soft golden silk grass, looking very comfortable. Three crystal-like jade eggs were quietly presented there, with some patterns and spots on them, and the luster was flashing.
Each of the eggs laid by this kind of fierce bird was as big as a washbasin, transparent and shiny, green like agate, and the patterns on them shone brightly in the sunlight.