Chapter 677

Fang Yu stood up and spoke.

"I want to return to the village. Though the Marquis of Desolate Heaven's mansion is large, I'm uncomfortable living here—it's better to go back to Shi Village."

The Little Dot blinked his eyes and immediately agreed.

"Let's go. We're returning to Shi Village."

Fang Yu extended a finger and pointed; the empty space before him shattered, revealing an utterly black void.

"Yes."

The Little Dot stepped into the void.

Immediately, Fang Yu activated the Great Void Art and departed from the imperial capital in an instant.

He could never wait in the imperial capital for Shi Yi—he wasn't even worthy—but visiting Shi Village to meet the Willow God was a fine matter indeed.

The Willow God was once a supreme Immortal King, though she suffered a calamity; now, having returned from her rebirth, conversing with her about the Dao might help him more easily enter the Longevity Secret Realm.

Using the Great Void Art to head toward Shi Village was an extreme speed—tens of thousands of li in a thousandth of a blink; soon, the two arrived at Shi Village's location.

From afar, Fang Yu and Shi Hao saw the Willow God at the village entrance; over these many days, she had changed greatly—the parts scorched by lightning were nearly invisible, all blackened char had vanished, and her bark now bore scales like those of a dragon, with eighty-one tender branches total.

The Willow God radiated vigorous vitality, appearing immensely tall.

"You've come?"

"You've come."

"You've actually cultivated to this level."

Seeing Fang Yu and Shi Hao, the Willow God spoke three sentences.

The first was to Fang Yu: years ago he left Shi Village, and now he had returned.

The second was to Fang Yu and Shi Hao: the Little Dot had traveled and now returned to Shi Village.

The third, again to Fang Yu and Shi Hao, expressed the Willow God's shock at Fang Yu's rapid cultivation speed, and a certain surprise at the Little Dot Shi Hao's own pace.

When Fang Yu first came to Shi Village and met the Willow God, he was merely a 4th Stage of Divine Abilities cultivator, with little magic power and only one divine ability—he had not yet reached the Heavenly Man Realm of 5th Stage of Divine Abilities, and was very weak.

Now, times have changed; Fang Yu's cultivation base has reached the 10th Stage of Divine Abilities, reversing fate and defying heaven, his magic power vast and dense, reaching the power of one Ancient Celestial Dragon, and his myriad Great Dao divine abilities are unprecedented in antiquity—he alone wields many Great Daos, a feat unimaginable even in this world.

For instance, Shi Ziteng, Shi Hao's uncle who fought him earlier, displayed only five divine arts: Sleeve Containing Heaven and Earth, Jin Wu Divine Art, and the Spider Divine Ability of the Demon Spirit Lake—none exceeded five. Had he known Fang Yu cultivated ninety-nine Great Dao divine abilities, supreme arts that would cause bloodshed across millions of li and draw endless battles if revealed, he would have prostrated himself before Fang Yu in worship.

Now, the Willow God's divine awareness focused on Fang Yu; on him, she sensed many mysterious energies, and in that instant, she felt as if a great destiny itself resided within this being.

This left the Willow God stunned.

"I've come back to take a look."

Fang Yu smiled as he spoke to the Willow God.

"Willow God, I've returned too—I met my Master in the Northern Sea!"

Shi Hao was overjoyed; in Shi Village lived his closest people—whether his Master or the Willow God, both were closest, and of course, many other kin of Shi Village.

His gaze turned toward the distance: Shi Village was peaceful, its spiritual energy abundant, with dozens of spiritual herbs planted, and at its center stood a silver peach tree nearly at saint-herb level.

"Ah, two people have arrived at the village entrance!"

"One looks like Brother Hao?"

"The other is our Master?"

"Heaven, our Master has come!"

The entire Shi Village erupted in commotion; years ago, Fang Yu had taught many disciples here, and now they had all advanced rapidly.

"Young Master Fang has arrived!"

"It's truly Young Master Fang!"

Men, women, old and young of Shi Village all came, a lively, bustling scene.

Upon seeing Fang Yu and the Little Dot Shi Hao arrive, the entire village felt as if the New Year had begun early.

Some slaughtered chickens, others butchered sheep, and some adult strongmen even entered the mountains to slay ferocious beasts in celebration.

"Your cultivation is also quite good."

Fang Yu looked at the few Shi Village children he had once taken in; now, kids like Da Zhuang, Er Meng, and Pi Hou had all entered the Cave Heaven Realm, and one small child had reached the Spiritual Transformation Realm—this child was Qingfeng, brought back by Shi Hao after his travels.

"Master, we haven't seen you in so long—where did you travel to?"

"Master, our realms have all improved—we're all now in the Cave Heaven Realm."

"Brother Hao, your cultivation seems to have advanced faster than ours—what realm have you reached?"

The children all asked questions; the young adults stood in deep respect, for though Young Master Fang showed no divine might, every movement he made was terrifying.

This being now seemed like a god, far more terrifying than any ferocious beast they had ever seen; in all of Shi Village, only their great spirit guardian, the Willow God, might rival this being.

Thus, the older and more mature one was, the more reverence they felt—they could not behave like children without decorum.

"On this journey, I cultivated to the Inscription Pattern Realm; as for my Master, his cultivation base must have reached the Divine Spirit Realm."

Amid the crowd, Shi Hao revealed his own realm; as for his Master's realm, he could not discern it, but being able to effortlessly subdue a Venerable, his power must be equivalent to a Divine Spirit.

"Divine Spirit!"

"A Divine Spirit walking among mortals? That's too powerful!"

The people of Shi Village were stunned upon hearing Fang Yu's cultivation might be the legendary Divine Spirit realm; though the children did not know what realm a Divine Spirit was, since the Willow God was also a god, their respect for Fang Yu deepened further.

"Enough. Today, I'm treating everyone to meat."

Fang Yu moved his hand and produced a spider leg—this was the leg of an Ancient Demon Spider, originally containing lethal poison; even smelling it could kill an Inscription Pattern Realm cultivator or a Formation Realm cultivator, but through Fang Yu's Dao manipulation, all toxicity was stripped away, leaving only the non-toxic leg.

This was a spider leg as large as a tree, thick and massive—no one recognized it at first.

Impossible to recognize: the Ancient Demon Spider itself was as vast as an Ancient Shenshan; its leg was naturally enormous, comparable to a tree.

Fang Yu personally roasted the Ancient Demon Spider leg with Hao Truefire; soon, the scent of roasted meat filled the village.

"Eat only a little—this is pure-blooded life, the purest of pure-blooded beings; eat too much and you'll be dancing in your sleep!"

"This stuff—ordinary mortals who take one bite will float away. Don't be greedy. Save it, slowly nourish your body, or you'll overdo it and get sick."

……

Although the village's elders had warned them, it wasn't long before many of the children had eaten too much, their bodies glowing with light as they began running around the great lake.

What kind of being was the Ancient Demonic Spider? It was a Venerable—one who, placed in the outside world, could become the sovereign of a nation, the master of an ancient divine mountain, the taboo of a forbidden land. Yet before Fang Yu, it was nothing at all.

How much essence did just one of its legs contain? A tiny bit was enough to make those little ones' blood burn and boil.

The village was lively and bustling, wonderfully warm. Shi Hao was overjoyed, because here, he didn't need to be on guard at all.

Fang Yu, too, felt a measure of warmth here. This place, Stone Village, was indeed a warm harbor—one where there was no need for guard, no need for overthinking. Every single person was simple, hospitable, and kind. Staying here made one's spirit utterly at ease.

But in the Eternal Life Realm, such places were few. Upon the Yuhua Sect's True Transmission Peak, one could certainly feel safe as well, but it was different somehow.

Step off your own True Transmission Peak, and before you knew it you'd be dragged up to Elder Tian Xing's platform for a beating.

And if you left the Yuhua Sect and ran into disciples of other Immortals or Devils, it was always the same—"You're done for, you hear me? You're done for!" "Get on your knees. Be my dog." "No one in heaven or on earth can save you now."

But here, now—long caged, at last returned to nature.