Chapter 602 - Death
“Hao’er, wake up! You cannot close your eyes!”
“Child, you have to hold on! You have just returned and didn’t even get a good look at Stone Village yet! How can you just leave like this? You have to live!”
Heart tearing lung splitting cries sounded. Sad and bleak words sounded. Everyone threw themselves forward, carrying him in their arms. They poured divine force into his body as a final act of keeping him in this world.
“Actually… I don’t want to leave you guys either… to leave like this, I am already extremely satisfied…” Shi Hao’s eyes grew dim, losing expression. He was truly a lamp that had ran out of fuel, exhausting all of his energy.
“No, you said that you were going to come back to Stone Village to look around. You can’t leave like this!” Dazhuang grabbed his hands and roared loudly. Tears filled his eyes.
“Little Hao, we won’t let you leave!” Pihou felt incredibly anxious.
“You have to live, don’t die…” Ermeng muttered. He didn’t know what to say and could only continuously repeat himself.
Shi Hao looked at them. Dazhuang, Pihou, Ermeng, Huzi, snot baby, these people had all accompanied him since his youth. They had stolen from vicious birds’ nests and ran all over the mountains and plains, growing up together.
Many past events appeared in his mind. How happy were they when they were young? How carefree? They had caused trouble and explored the great wastelands together.
“Child, you have to persevere through!” A group of uncles were roaring loudly as well. The veins on their foreheads were bulging. They felt anxious and helpless.
A group of elders were trembling as they made their way up. Their old faces were full of flusteredness. They offered their prayers, continuously saying those words to prolong his life.
Even those great aunts were weeping. Their naughty children were silently crying. Everyone felt helpless, not knowing what to do.
“Silver peaches, there are still two more, hurry and feed them to him!” Village Chief Shi Yunfeng shouted loudly.
“Don’t, I… already wasted too much.” Shi Hao said softly. He was so weak that it was hard for him to even speak. It was because his dreams had already been realized. He released a breath of air. He was already on the verge of death.
Streaks that looked like copper stains appeared on his body one after another. Once these symbols activated, they were incredibly powerful. Now that he lost his supreme being bone, it became even harder for him to resist them.
Originally, based on the great doctor’s predictions, he still had a day of time left. However, now, his vitality was about to be completely exhausted.
“Eat it, how can this be considered a waste? You will definitely live. You cannot close your eyes!” Shi Yunfeng shouted. He always acted kindly, but right now, he was roaring loudly.
Shi Hao’s eyes didn’t have any luster left, as if he was a candle that had gone out with the wind. He was about to go out. His life force was scattering away. He was going to disappear from this world forever.
Shi Ziling was on one side, and Qin Yining was on the other. They both grabbed his arm to somehow keep him here, but they were powerless, unable to reverse the situation.
“The silver peaches are here. Feed them to him and help Hao’er refine them!” An elder roared loudly.
Right now, Shi Hao’s eyes were about to close. They were extremely dark. He already couldn’t see much anymore.
Qin Yining frantically brought over the silver peaches and sent them to his mouth, helping him refine them. It would be fine even if it granted him just a bit more time.
“The silver peaches aren’t enough. It has already been used, so the effectiveness is too weak. Use this!” Hairy Ball shouted loudly. It had rushed over together with Little Red.
One of them lost half its body, and the other a pair of wings. They were gravely injured and unable to move freely, but right now, they still forcefully gathered their strength and jumped over everyone.
It was a wine bottle that was simple and unadorned in appearance. It was full of an ancient feeling, carrying with it the aura of a passed time.
Inside of the bottle was only a drop of wine that was incredibly vicious. It was stuck at the bottom of the container, making it difficult to even extract. There was a unique wine flavor. As soon as it appeared, it made a few villagers fall from intoxication.
This was divine wine obtained from the Kun Peng Next. They had never used it after Shi Hao brought it back, preserving it to this day.
Before, this drop of wine had been brought to Stone Country Imperial Palace. They wanted him to ingest it, but he refused, because he didn’t want to waste too many divine objects since they couldn’t change the conclusion.
Even now, no one was willing to accept this ending. Meanwhile Hairy Ball and Little Red also wanted to give it a try. This was completely a type of faith in the Kun Peng, one of the Archaic Vicious Ten, as well as a final entrusting of hope.
This drop of liquid was the size of a dragon eye fruit. It was like a gemstone, flowing with dreamlike radiance. It was forcefully fed into Shi Hao’s mouth and then refined into his stomach.
At this moment, Shi Hao had already closed his eyes, seemingly devoid of life force.
“It is definitely enough, it will definitely bring him back to life.”
“Even if it is just a single day, that is enough!”
The wine entered his body. Everyone joined forces, taking action together, turning the liquid into a hot stream, guiding it into his limbs and blood vessels. A wave of flourishing radiance filled his body.
Everyone became shocked. They widened their eyes. Could it be that a miracle was going to happen?
“This wine has divine medicinal characteristics! It wasn’t ordinary after all!” Hairy Ball sighed and said.
Shi Hao’s body was shining. Every inch of his flesh was surging with multicolored mist that wrapped around his body.
The wine left behind by the Kun Peng was not ordinary after all. It was worthy of being one of the vicious ten, with even the alcohol it drank containing divine medicinal characteristics. If it wasn’t for Immortal Palace’s curse being so special, any other illness would have definitely been immediately cured.
Everyone watched nervously. They were all praying for a miracle.
This was something completely unexpected. It was just a drop, yet it seemed to be more effective than even the holy medicine the War King and the others found. This was great news.
However, Shi Hao’s eyes remained closed, and his life force didn’t recover. It seemed to have been severed from his body with no sign of improving.
This made everyone incredibly nervous. None of them could stand still.
Along with the passage of time, Shi Hao’s body released a wine fragrance. Hazy mist flowed about the surface of his body, as if he was sound asleep from drinking too much.
Unfortunately, his breathing seemed to stop, which made everyone incredibly worried.
Time seemed to be stretched extremely long. After an unknown amount of time passed, a few children whose cultivation weren’t high enough already fell asleep from the alcoholic scent, collapsing here.
It was clear how odd this wine was. It possessed unordinary effects.
“What a pity it is. In the end, it was still unable to defy the heavens…” Little Red sighed. It and Hairy Ball had ignited their divine flames, so their eyes were naturally powerful. They both couldn’t help but shake their heads.
“He should be able to revive and stay awake for a short period of time. However, it won’t change anything. It is still just wine that the Kun Peng left behind and not some life saving pill medicine.” Hairy Ball said.
When everyone heard this, their faces became deathly pale.
Chief Shi Yunfeng clenched his fists. Sighing softly, he said, “Let’s return to Stone Village. When the child opens his eyes again, he can see a place that is full of activity. This was the place where he grew up after all.”
Inside the village were stone houses made of sturdy mountain stones. Dried meat hung from the courtyard walls and beast skins hung from the back of the houses.
The streets were peaceful. Bluestone lined the floor, clean without any dust. Many spiritual medicines lined both sides of the road.
A while later, Shi Hao’s breathing became a bit more stable, and he finally opened his eyes. He looked around blankly, stirring up cries of alarm.
“I’ve made you all worried again.” He weakly opened his mouth. Regardless of whether it was him or everyone else, they all knew that there wasn’t much time left.
Ermeng carried him while walking through the village, walking from one street to another. The big yellow dog the village chief raised whose tail had long become bare ran along them.
These familiar streets, familiar people, Shi Hao was at a loss as to how to feel. He was truly reluctant to leave this place. It was as if he had returned to the past.
He was extremely small back then, being called the little guy by the villagers back then. He always ran behind a group of large kids and loved to pull on that big yellow dog’s tail. He was extremely young and naive back then.
Finally, everyone came to the head of the village. Shi Hao sat there, looking at the small pot inside the courtyard. He began to laugh.
Everyone else all began to smile in memory again, recalling how he was back then, always coming here early in the morning to sneakily cook beast milk so that no one else would find out.
Because of this, many people had laughed at him, but he didn't care. He continued to slowly cook it, every time coming out with his little face sticky and dirty.
“What a pity. Willow Deity has left.” Shi Hao sighed softly. He wanted to go to the higher realms and compete with those exceptional talents and heavenly geniuses, and he also wanted to go to the mysterious area to search for Willow Deity. However, in the end, he would never have the chance.
Everyone became silent. If the Willow Deity was still here, everything could probably be changed, right? How would it have ended like this?
When they saw the spiritual medicines, silver peach tree and octadic treasure chicken, everyone felt deeply emotional. Back then, Shi Hao was still little, yet he continuously brought things back to the village. He was a little adult that always thought about his home.
He was still young, but because of him, Stone Village had already undergone so many transformations.
“Little Uncle Hao, you have to live. Nothing bad will happen.” A little child pulled at the corners of his clothes while saying with his head raised. Tears filled his eyes.
For them, Shi Hao was their best uncle. Every time he returned, he would always bring them into the great wasteland to run around. They could steal from vicious bird nests and catch fierce beasts, satisfying all of their dreams.
In their hearts, Shi Hao was the most powerful. No one could compare to him. However, he was going to die today. Every single child was shedding tears.
Shi Hao gently caressed these children’s heads. When he saw them, he thought of his own past. He smiled but didn’t say anything.
Yue Chan stood in the distance. She didn’t leave Stone Village yet. Her emotions were complex. After she learned about everything, she could only sigh.
That evil mother-in-law had even asked her if there was a way to save him.
However, even if she helped it was useless. The main body cultivation method required too much time. Shi Hao wouldn’t last that long at all. He didn’t have that much time.
“Jiu jiu…” Big Peng, Little Green, and Purple Cloud rushed up, they continuously rubbed their heads against Shi Hao’s body. Their eyes carried tears. They all knew what happened, making them filled with reluctance.
“You guys have to protect Stone Village well. Don’t fly off too far, okay?” Shi Hao warned.
The three vicious birds earnestly nodded their heads. Tears erupted from their eyes.
Not far away, a unicorn also ran over. It was Little White, a creature with the potential to become a heavenly horse. It was entirely pure white, and there was a pair of wings on its back. It continuously ran around Shi Hao while crying out.
The red sun set, the setting sun looking like the color of blood. It was clearly a bleak color. Half the sky became a bloody red.
As he watched the sunset’s afterglow, the familiar village, and everyone in front of him, Shi Hao reached out his hand and forcefully grabbed outwards at something. He wanted to shout out his final words, but he didn’t have the strength left.
His eyes lost spirit, unable to see anything anymore. He used the last bit of his energy to reach out his hand and wave farewell.
“Child!”
Everyone cried out loudly. They all reached over their hands to grab him.
Under the deep red afterglow, Shi Hao’s life extinguished like a flame. His voice was lost and his eyes closed, carrying continued reluctance as he breathed his last breath.
“Child!”
Everyone screamed with incomparable sorrow. They had tried everything possible, but they were still unable to save him in the end.
Weeping, yelling, and muttering sounds interweaved together.
That night, all of Stone Village was filled with sadness. Sounds of weeping fell endlessly. In the end, they were still helpless in reversing the heavens.
The second day, the multicolored light of sunrise was still as brilliant as before. However, Shi Hao had already become completely silent. Everyone placed him into a coffin, raising him to that hill, burying him as he wished.
A grave appeared here, one that faced Stone Village.
Here, he could see Stone Village, see the villagers and forever be together with them.