Chapter 4 4. Rising Creatures (4k)
In the deep silence of the mountains, birds and beasts startled.
Through the pale full moon, you can clearly see the burly tiger standing on the mountain peak. Its hair is like flowing through flames, and its black stripes extend with teeth and claws. It breathes mountain fog and looks majestic.
It raised its head and ignored the firelight in the distance in the mountains, where humans lived.
His breathing became heavier, his bones and muscles twisted, and it was as if the chains in his body were cut off, and the majestic energy released poured into every inch of flesh and bone in his body. It knows that it is transforming at this moment, breaking away from the shackles of the world and embarking on an unknown and powerful path. And after waiting for it to transform, the people in that village will become the withered bones in its path, as sacrifices for its ascent.
That's how it should be, and that's how it should turn out for humans.
Once upon a time, deep in the Taihang Mountains, the tiger population was rare but powerful. They were entrenched in the mountains and demarcated territories among themselves. If there was a conflict, they would compete with claws and teeth, bones and blood. They are the kings of the mountains. They stand proudly above the beasts, overlooking the mountains and forests, and can see the trembling of the beasts.
But suddenly, they all died.
When it was a young tiger, it witnessed hunters dragging away its mother's body. Its older brothers and sisters pounced on it, trying to save it, but they only gained a few tiger skins. Although their roars shake the beasts in the mountains and forests, they are useless against the dark muzzles of human beings. Death is the end result.
Fortunately, it survived and slowly grew up. Its footprints were all over the green mountains, and the roar of tigers resounded throughout the countryside.
No more responses from the same race were heard.
It turns out that it is the only one left among these mountains.
Now it is rising, and it is sure to kill all the mountain people. Even if it faces terrifying firearms, its transformed claws and teeth are still fearless!
"Roar──!" The transformation has reached the most critical moment, and all the energy and blood in his body are burning, turning into pure fuel to supply himself. But this was too painful, and the fierce tiger finally couldn't help roaring,
The roar of the tiger contained the threat of rising creatures. In an instant, the creatures in the entire forest were dormant on the ground, daring not to move. The tiger's roar spread far away, causing ripples in the air around the edge.
There was silence in the mountains for a long time, and occasionally keen mountain people woke up from their sleep.
They walked out of the house with palpitations and looked up at the sky. They didn't know when the moon as big as a millstone disappeared tonight, and the stars also disappeared one after another. Seeing the black clouds pushing in from all directions, thunder could be faintly seen in the depths, flickering on and off.
Following a thunderstorm, it seemed like the heaven and earth were shaking.
The wind in the mountains on a summer night was actually mixed with the cold air, whistling, blowing on the door curtains, and driving the mountain people who came out of the house back into the house.
The mountain people who walked into the house naturally couldn't see the branch-shaped thunder pillars that reached all the way down from the sky and struck the top of the mountain, where rocks splashed and the air rumbled.
The next moment, the thunder pillar flashed out, wiping out the world.
The dark clouds dispersed, revealing the brilliant stars.
At this moment, a huge crater was left on the mountaintop that was struck by thunder. A terrible aura brewed in it.
"Boom!"
A huge claw stepped out, the claws were like sharp blades, but they were bleeding. There was blood foam between the teeth of the ferocious tiger head, and its flame-like skin was as black as a wolf, but its eyes were glowing with a terrifying green light, and its breath produced green-blue electric flakes.
Under the moonlight, the wound healed quickly.
The flame pattern is once again draped on the fierce tiger's body, like a crown crowning it. Its transformation was successful, and its body is now incredibly powerful. It roared, and the roar echoed through the sky, and the mountains and wilderness finally welcomed the king.
With a green light, it stared at the village and licked its lips with a red tongue full of barbs.
It's time.
But the pace stalled.
It heard the sound of rushing water, and a huge red creature raised its head in the river, with its scales like shapes.
…………
The fox was deeply shocked.
Big snakes run rampant at the bottom of the river, and the waterways extending in all directions seem to be shortcuts created for it. The red figure snaked among them, breaking through the water flow at an incredible speed. It curled up on top of the big snake's head, and it exhausted all its strength just to resist the impact of the water flow.
When the big snake got up, it ran to the shore and watched the big red snake facing the fierce tiger on the mountain.
Fortunately, we caught up. If we slow down a little bit, the fierce tiger will head to the village in the distance. By that time, everything about this newly born rising creature will be reduced to nothing, and the creatures living in this mountain will suffer together. It doesn't want this, so it hopes there is a stronger being to stop it.
This tiger is kind to it.
It was captured by hunters more than ten years ago. It was this tiger that attacked the village and accidentally rescued it. The majestic tiger just glanced at it from a distance and then stepped back into the mountains. When it broke open the cage, only an orange-red shadow could be seen running towards the mountains. The tiger may have forgotten it, but the fox knows it. The tiger follows and knows the laws of nature and seeks solutions to the most ancient violence, but the fox knows it cannot.
Once this happens, it will be irreversible.
"Roar——!" The tiger roared in the mountain forest, and even from a long distance away, the fox still glowed with white light to resist.
It seems that even if they are both rising creatures, the gap is not as big as usual. The fox's fatigue fell into Li Xi'an's eyes, and it swung its tail, breaking up the invisible deterrent of the ferocious tiger.
This made the ferocious tiger suspicious, and fear flashed deep in the green tiger's eyes. It thought that it was already one of the most advanced creatures in this world, but it turned out that this was not the case. There were powerful and terrifying existences that preceded it. Hit the road.
On that big snake, it felt a heavy pressure like a mountain.
It doesn't care what the other party is doing. Before it rises, predators face each other. If they don't give in to each other and leave, there will only be a fight. This was true before the rise, and it will be the same after the rise. It stared intently at the red figure with its head lowered under the moonlight. Its muscles exerted force, blue arcs of light rushed out, and the sound of thunder and lightning exploded!
Fighting is also a crowning for the king, and it is not afraid at all.
Li Xi'an looked at the ferocious tiger on the top of the mountain, wrapped with cyan arcs of electricity, and jumped down from the mountain in a few breaths. Every time a palm hit the ground, there was a rumbling sound. The fierce tiger stopped in a forest of trees not far from the river, and the lightning flashed and illuminated the flame tattoo. It is proud and smart at the same time. The body of a big snake in a river is completely different from that on land. Killing a big snake in the water is no different than seeking death.
So it waited.
It is the big snake that comes to it, not the big snake that comes to it. If the big snake doesn't come ashore, it will leave.
Li Xi'an understood. He pulled his long tail out of the river and escaped into the mountains.
Its purpose of coming here has changed slightly. On that ferocious tiger, it actually developed a long-lost appetite. You must know that since the calamity cloud, it breathed clouds and mist, and it has not plundered blood food for decades.
The red figure flashed past among the towering ancient trees. A behemoth of this size moved at such a speed, and a strong wind was naturally generated. Li Xi'an took a deep breath, and then exhaled it for a long time. The sound was like the friction of clouds, as if there was thunder and lightning in his throat.
The tiger roared, lowered his body to the ground, and then suddenly kicked out, leaving deep claw marks on the ground.
The fox could no longer see it, and could only feel the two monsters fighting deep in the mountains.
But soon, it was stunned and couldn't believe it. A gentle white light rose up on the fox, and it ran into the mountains quickly. Because the strong wind swept across the entire mountain forest, the red snake shadow extinguished the blue thunder light.
It's so scary, the mountain god is scarier than he imagined.
"Roar!" The ferocious tiger roared, but the lightning was not visible, and the golden candlelight swaying in the air reflected its embarrassed appearance at the moment, which was the cold gaze of the big snake.
Li Xi'an's huge body tightly wrapped around it, tightening it more and more. Its steel-hard body scraped the tiger's body. Thousands of iron scales opened and closed, just like thousands of sharp knives cutting the fierce tiger. flesh and blood. It looks down at the ferocious tiger, and the copper-like snake face looks slightly playful.
A rising ferocious tiger is still no different from a house cat in the eyes of the big red snake. "Please spare her life!" The white fox rushed over, transformed into a human form in an instant, and shouted anxiously.
Li Xi'an turned his head. The eyes of the ferocious snake's face were burning with golden flames, looking cold and aloof.
Fox knew that the other party was still waiting for her to speak. She knelt on the ground and took the tiger and her past together. Fierce Tiger also listened, his green eyes flashing with confusion. It wanted to be angry at the fox, but it felt powerless in its heart. It knew that the fox wanted to save it, but since it was determined to take this path, why should it fear death. Although it did not think about the impact this action would have on other creatures deep in the mountain.
Li Xi'an knew that the fox was afraid that it would eat the fierce tiger directly.
It was waiting for what chips the fox could offer to make it give up the blood meal it had obtained.
"I'm willing to trade the path I took for hers." The woman in white said with a solemn look on her face.
Li Xi'an pondered. It glanced at the blue lightning that occasionally appeared on the fierce tiger, and looked back at the woman in white in front of it.
The skyline was slightly brighter, and before I knew it, the full moon had moved to the corner of the horizon.
The big snake raised its head. It felt that something was watching here, and an indescribable feeling emerged from the bottom of its heart.
The figure of the woman in white gradually faded under the light of the sky.
She was lost after rising and planned to return everything to the mountain. The fox believed that the snake was the mountain god and returning to the mountain was equivalent to giving it as a gift. Under the light, the woman in white smiled softly
She read a string of words and told Li Xi'an that this was her path, but now it was blocked. The fierce tiger struggled and roared, trying to stop it. It didn't understand why the fox was here just for one side. But the struggling tiger body was firmly imprisoned by the big snake.
The mountains are silent and gentle.
Li Xi'an was also silent. The fox could understand what it meant. It clearly did not agree to the deal. The mountain god was just a name to it. Returning to the mountains was equivalent to returning to the cycle of natural order. It was equivalent to a wasted trip tonight. And also made enemies along the way.
The woman disappeared and turned into dots of white light, leaving only a comatose little white fox.
What is surprising is that the white light she dissipated did not fall on the mountains and fields, but fell on the huge red creature. The white shimmer comes into contact with the red scales, like water droplets melting into rivers, lakes and seas, with little ripples adding a touch of fantasy to the ferocious snake's body.
Li Xi'an was stunned.
As the path of the fox passed through his heart, the previously inexplicable feeling seemed to become clear.
It was the mountains that agreed to the fox's request.
And it is the traveler of the mountains.
Li Xi'an put down the fierce tiger and lowered his head, golden flames burning in his eyes.
"If you still choose to slaughter innocent creatures, I won't stop you, but her path will be ruined in vain." The voice was low, like rolling thunder.
Two hundred years have passed.
The big snake spoke.
The ferocious tiger lost its terrifying arrogance. It bent its front paws and laid its head on the ground. Its eyes stared at the sleeping white fox beside it.
"It's just an innocent creature." Orochi added.
Fierce Tiger was stunned, he understood something, and his eyes showed gratitude.
"Green Flame."
"This is the name she gave you."
After Li Xi'an finished speaking, he stopped looking after the ferocious tiger. It turned around and dived into the river. As a few clusters of waves splashed up, the water rippled to the river bank. The red figure quickly disappeared into the darkness of the deep water.
It has to go somewhere and has no time to play house with the kitten.
The fox's memory tells that rising creatures, except for a few creatures with extraordinary talents, generally need a medium, which is the key to opening the path to rise. There is such a "medium" where the fox lives. She rises by devouring the fruit when the medium is ripe.
In the deep water, the golden candle swayed, and the huge body stirred the water.
In Li Xian's impression, it had never eaten the so-called media.
So it is necessary to see what the "medium" is.
…………
A ray of sunlight from the sky shone on Lin Zhiqiang's face through the window.
He woke with a start. There is an old book open on his chest.
Lin Youxiang is a rare scholar of his generation, that is, his father. Yesterday, he saw his father's dead body in the yard, sitting on a bamboo chair by the river, with a satisfied smile on his face. His expression was peaceful, even his face was rosy. If it weren't for the fact that the old man had no breath, he would have thought that the old man was still alive and just asleep.
This is not the key.
The old man held a scale in his hand. It is red all over and is about the size of a baby's palm. When placed under the sun, the edge appears like a clear jade texture.
"Is this?" The man was stunned, and the expression on his face gradually turned into twisted ecstasy in surprise.
He knew at that time that he had found the right way, and he had finally found what King Hell was looking for. Originally, he scorned the stories told by the old man during his lifetime. The big snake as big as a water tank and the mountain god of the Taihang Mountains all seemed to him like ghosts and weirdos from the old times.
The scales are the size of a baby's hand. How big should the owner of the scales be?
He went through all the boxes and places where things could be hidden in his house last night, trying to find some more clues. So I have this book in my hand.
The books were yellowed and old, and it was clearly the old man's own handwriting.
There is a story in it that says that it rained heavily for three days and nights, and flash floods broke out. Originally, the village was about to be flooded, but a big snake appeared and dispersed the heavy rain and flash floods.
It's ridiculous, very ridiculous, but Lin Zhiqiang doesn't care. It's better to say that the more ridiculous this story is, the more likely it is to save his life.
After packing up the scales and the storybook, the man walked to the adobe building in the backyard and bowed down. This is the earthen grave he simply cleaned up for his old man yesterday, without even setting up a monument.
"Dad, Zhiqiang is gone. I hope you can bless my son and me... to live for a few more years." The man originally thought about wishing him better luck and making more money, but then he thought about it. If the old man's spirit in heaven knew that he was gambling, He lost all the money he had made in the early years, so he had to be whipped several times.
It's okay to live a few more years.
What father doesn’t want his children to live longer?
"Rumble--" At the end of the village, the tractor stopped, and a man in a suit stepped onto the back of the vehicle. The conditions were better than last time, and this time he had a few more gold and jade jewelry.
(End of chapter)