Introduction
A speck of dust can fill an ocean. A blade of grass can destroy the sun, moon, and the stars. A flick of a finger can turn the world upside down.
Groups of heroes rise, and innumerable clans stand together. Various saints fight for power and the entire world goes into chaos. I ask the boundless Mother Earth: Who decides the ups and downs?
A young man walks out of the barren wilderness, and everything starts from there…
Prologue – Wilderness
It was deep into night, pitch-black everywhere, and sceneries could not be seen. However, it was not silent within the mountains. The roar of fierce beasts shook the mountains and rivers, and as countless trees trembled, leaves rustled and randomly fell.
Between the groups of mountains and endless ravines, the fierce beasts ran wild within the flooded wilderness. Ancient remains appeared and disappeared, and various types of scary sounds rose up and down in the darkness as they split open the world.
Within the mountain range and while looking from afar, a lump of gentle light vaguely appeared. It flickered like a candle in the endlessly dark curtains of the night as well as within the ten thousand mountains, and it was going to be extinguished at any time.
Gradually nearing, one could clearly see that there was a huge dead half-tree. The diameter of the tree trunk was a dozen meters or so, and it was completely burnt black. Other than the main half-tree trunk, there was only a single weak branch left. However, it was still emitting life. The sparkling and translucent leaf on the branch was as though it was carved by green jade, and dots of soft light spread and enveloped a village.
To be more precise, it was a tree that was struck by lightning. Many years ago, lightning that was filled the sky passed by here, and the old and huge cover of the willow tree as well as its flourishing life was destroyed. At that moment, only a nine meter tall tree stump was left on the ground. It was frighteningly thick, and that single willow leaf was like divine chains of green glow. The ring of light permeated, and it engulfed and guarded the entire village. It caused the entire residential area to be blurry and hazy, like a land of saints, and it was extremely mysterious within the wilderness.
Within the village, all the houses were made out of stone. It was deep into the night, so people were silent. In that area, it was peaceful and tranquil, as if it was separated from the darkness outside as well as the howl of beasts.
*wu…*
A gust of wind blew past, and a huge black cloud crossed in the air. It covered the entire black sky, and as it obstructed the tiny bit of light from stars, the mountain range became even more dark.
A tyrannical bird cry rang out from the high skies, piercing through gold and splitting rocks. It had actually came from the black cloud, and if one looked more carefully, they could see that it was an inconceivably huge bird. It covered the sky, and it covered the moon. No one could even know how long it was.
It passed over the Stone Village, and it looked downwards. Its two eyes were like two blood-moons, and its cruel atmosphere filled the skies. After staring at the old willow tree for a while, at the end, it flew towards the deepest part of the mountain range.
Silence continued for a long period of time, and straight until past midnight, the ground trembled and an unclear shadow walked over from a distance. It was as high as the group of mountains!
An indescribable aura was emanated, and the group of mountains and countless ravines were as silent as death. The tyrannical birds and fierce beasts remained hidden, and they did not dare to make any sound.
It came close. It was an organism that had a shape of a human. It walked upright, and it was terrifyingly huge. Its shoulders were comparable to the mountains, and there wasn’t any hair on its body. Golden-coloured scales covered its body, and it was bright and dazzling. Its face was extremely flat, and it only had a pair of horizontal eyes. As it opened and closed, it was like golden-coloured lightning that streaked past, and it was frightfully sharp. Its entire body’s blood and qi was like an ocean, making it seem like a divine devil!
It walked past that land, shot a glance at the old willow tree, stopped for a short while, then as if it was hurrying, it ultimately quickly went far away. Many mountains and their peaks violently trembled by the vibrations of its footsteps.
Dawn. A ten-meter long, as thick as a bucket, glittering with silvery-light centipede wiggled and walked within the mountain. It seemed as though it was formed by casting white-silver. Every single section was shiny and fierce. As it scratched past the mountain rocks, it resounded and sparks flew. But at the end, it avoided the Stone Village and it did not invade. The area that it went over churned with black mist, and all sorts of beasts stayed away.
A single weak willow leaf that emitted lustrous green glow was lightly swaying in the wind…
Chapter 1 – Full of Life and Energy
Stone Village was located within a vast mountain range. All around it were tall peaks and huge ravines, and endless groups of mountains towered over.
Early morning. The sunlight that passed through the dyed clouds sprinkled like fragmentary gold as people warmly bathed within.
Dozens of children in a group with various ages from 4 or 5 years old to over 10 years old faced the sunlight in an empty ground in front of the village, and they were training their bodies with ‘hmph’s and ‘ha’s. The young and tender little faces were all serious. The older children gave off might like the roar of tigers, while the younger ones still practiced with good form and style.
A middle-aged man with a body as well-built as a tiger or leopard wore clothing from beasts. The colour of his skin was like copper, his black hair spread over his shoulders, his bright and lively eyes were scanning over every single child, and he was seriously giving instructions to them.
“When the sun rises, every single living thing starts, and the air of life is the most vigorous at that time. Although we cannot take the sunlight as meals and eat air like in the legends, there are still great benefits by training oneself while facing the sun and it can fill one’s body with energy. A day’s plan depends on the morning. Every day, rise early, and work hard. Strengthen your muscles, tendons, bones, and circulate your blood. You must do that to be able to survive in this vast mountain range.” The middle-aged man who stood at the front and instructed the group of children had a face of strictness. He seriously warned, then yelled, “Do you understand?”
“We understand!” The group of children had plenty of vitality as they loudly replied.
There were many appearances of prehistoric lifeforms in the mountain. Occasionally, huge wings that covered the sky would pass over and cast a giant shadow on the ground. There were also some desolate beasts standing on mountain peaks, and howling after swallowing the moon. Of course, the various types of poisonous insects hiddenly moving around could not be forgotten, and they were abnormally terrifying.
“Understand~” Xiao Budian who was clearly distracted and was half a beat slower babyishly yelled out.
[TN: Xiao Budian means “little child”.]
It was a very young child, being around 1 or 2 years old. After knowing how to walk for a few months, he was also training along with them. Obviously, he went over by himself and he mixed himself along with the older children. It was clearly not supposed to appear in that group.
“Hmph hmph ha heh!” Xiao Budian made sounds from his mouth, and his tender little hands tried their best to wave around. He tried to imitate the older children’s movements, but he was too small and young. His movements were slanted and twisted, and his steps were unstable as he staggered around. In addition to the white-coloured milk stains left on the corner of his mouth, he was quite hilarious.
A group of older children were looking at him, and all of them were moving their eyebrows and eyes, causing the atmosphere of the originally strict morning exercises to relax.
Xiao Budian was quite beautiful with white and tender skin, and his big, black eyes were revolving around. His entire person looked like a porcelain doll, causing him to look quite cute. His young and tender movement and the “yi yi ya ya” sounds coming from his mouth made him seem loveably naive. Within another piece of land, some old people who sat cross-legged on huge rocks and were breathing in and out also revealed smiles.
Even the male adults who were tall, big, well-built, naked in the upper-body, had shiny muscles that stuck out also looked over with smiles.They were the strongest people in the village, and they were the most important powers who hunted and guarded the village. They were also training. Some person held on a big bone club from an unknown huge beast’s skeleton, and there was also another person who held a black-coloured, metal-casted broadsword. He powerfully waved it, and the noise from the wind was like thunder.
Because their living environment was extremely nasty, because there were floods, fierce beasts, poisonous insects, and for food, for survival, before many males even matured, they died early in the wilderness. If one wanted to live, they could only strengthen themselves. Work hard in the morning. No matter if it was adults, or elders, or children, it was a habit that was formed since they were young.
“Retract your heart!” The middle-aged man who was responsible for supervising and instructing the children’s training loudly yelled. The group of children hurriedly went back to being serious, and they continued to train in the soft and dazzling morning sunlight.
“Huu…yiya..tired.” Xiao Budian exhaled a breath, then he sat on the ground as he looked at the training of the older children. However, after a while, his attention was taken away. He stood up, and while staggering, he rushed towards a five-coloured sparrow which was jumping and bouncing around nearby. At the end, it did not go well. He fell on his butt a few times, but he did not cry. As he huffed, he climbed back up to chase again with hmphs and sighs.
“Okay, stop!”
Following a loud shout, every single child cheered for a while. They massaged their aching hands and feet, then with roar, they separated and charged towards their own homes to prepare to eat breakfast.
The old ones all smiled as they climbed back up from the huge rocks. As for the adults who were as well-built as tigers, they also laughed and some of them followed their own children as they held their bone clubs and broadswords while heading towards their own homes.
The Stone Village was not too big. There were around 300 people if you added up the males, females, old, and young. The houses were made out of huge stones, and they were plain and natural.
At the front of the village, there was a huge tree which was struck by lightning and it had a diameter of a dozen meters or so. At that moment, the light from the only willow leaf left on the tree was already being concealed by the morning sunlight, and it became quite ordinary.
“Oh? You have Dirt Dragon meet? Hand me one!”
Some children were lively and restless, and as they ate, they didn’t have much etiquette and many of them came out from their homes to gather together while hugging their pottery bowls.
Grass and trees flourished around the Stone Village and there were many fierce beasts, but they guarded the big mountain. There wasn’t really abundant amounts of food for the villagers. They only had some rough wheat bread, wild fruits, and the rare meat in the children’s bowls.
In reality, insufficient food was always a very serious problem to the Stone Village. The mountain range was extremely dangerous, and the abnormal beasts and fierce birds were too strong and terrifying. Every time they went out to hunt, it was possible that someone would lose their life.
If there was a choice, the villagers would not be willing to entre the mountain, because entering the mountain indicted blood and sacrifices.
To them, food was always extremely precious, and wasting was not allowed. Every single child understood that since they were young. Hunger. Food. Hunting. Life. Blood. They were all interconnected.
The courtyard of the old chief, Shi Yunfeng, was located at the front of the village. It was pieced together by huge stones, then tightened up with huge burnt willow wood. Within the courtyard and in front of the kitchen, the white-coloured liquid inside a pottery pot was boiling. The fragrance of the milk pounced towards one’s nose, and he was currently simmering milk from beasts. Other than that, occasionally, he threw some medical herbs in and slowly stirred it with a wooden ladle.
[TN: Shi = Stone]
After a short while, the old man yelled, “Xiao Budian, come over and eat!”
Xiao Budian lost his parents when he was half a year old, so he grew up by drinking the milk of beasts. At that moment, he was already one year and a few months old. If he was a normal child, he should have already weaned yet he still drink the milk quite deliciously. He was unwilling to stop drinking the milk, so he was teased by some older children.
“Yiya, hu…I can’t run anymore…” He was always preserving to chase after the five-coloured sparrow and he was already out of breath. At that instant, he fell and sat on the floor.
“Xiao Budian, drink your milk!” A bunch of older children clamoured together.
“You little monkeys, didn’t all of you also pass through his age?” The old chief smiled and reprimanded.
“But we didn’t still drink milk at the age of one and a half! Hehe..”
Xiao Budian sillily smiled as he faced the teasing of the older children. His big, bright, and black eyes squinted into a crescent moon and he didn’t seem to mind. He sat in front of the pot, scooped with the wooden ladle, and he drink the milk quite delightfully.
After breakfast, several extremely aged old people in the village gathered in the courtyard of the chief, Shi Yunfeng. Although their hairs all turned while already, they were still very vigorous.
“Something’s wrong recently. Deep into the night, there are always some big guys passing by and there are truly too big movements. Something must have happened deep within the mountain range.”
“Mm. Last night, I was woken up a few times and my skin and bones were chilly. Undoubtedly, some cruel beasts or huge insects must have passed by.”
Several old people spoke one after another. They were either frowning, or in deep contemplation. They discussed some hints of danger recently, and they felt that something different happened.
“I feel that in the deep wilderness, something impressive must have appeared to attract the attention of the surrounding areas or ancient remains, so all of them quickly went over.” The chief, Shi Yunfeng, said after thinking.
“A mountain treasure wouldn’t have appeared right?” Another old person instantly widened his eyes. His hair and beard all stood up, and he expressed surprise.
Others also expressed unusual expressions and their gazes were burning. But very quickly, they put out the flames in their eyes. Things like those were not something that they could get. No one would enter the deepest parts of the faraway mountain range.
From all these years, not a single person was able to survive after entering such a place. All sorts of overpowering things appeared within the mountain, and even if every single person in the Stone Village went in together, they would not even be able to do anything.
“Chief, we haven’t entered the mountain in quite a few days.” Just at that time, a powerful adult male walked into the courtyard. He was the leader of the hunting team, and he was also the chief who was going to serve the Stone Village next.
“It’s not too peaceful recently.” Chief Shi Yunfeng furrowed his brows.
“But there really isn’t much food left.” Shi Linhu said. His build was extremely tall and big, being other two meters tall. He carried a broadsword that weighted 300 catties or so, and his entire figure looked like a human-shaped bear. Chunks of copper-coloured muscles were all over his body, and they were moving around like a python.
“The dolls need the grow and they cannot starve. We must think of some methods.” An old person spoke.
“Although it isn’t too peaceful and quiet at night here, on the other hand, there aren’t many abnormalities in the day. I’ll bring some people out, and there shouldn’t be many problems if we be careful.” Shi Linhu said.
At the end, dozens of males at their prime gathered at the front of the village. The chief, Shi Yunfeng, brought them in front of the lightning-struck wood and seriously prayed towards the old willow tree.
“Spirits, please protect my clan members, let them hunt some plump prey for the children, and peacefully return. With devout hearts, we offer sacrifices and offerings to you for generations to come.“
Extra Information
Perfect World (完美世界) is a Chinese web novel by Chen Dong (辰東). It is still currently ongoing with over 1330 chapters. It belongs in the “Xuan Huan” category and the subcategory of “Eastern Fantasy”.
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