When Nathan and Olivia returned home, the Primordial Blood Tree had foreseen it.


    It dered that the day woulde when Azure Cloud would be stained with blood, and the sky would bear a single word—ckwood.


    On this day, the children of ckwood would return home!


    At that moment, Gratitude Vige seemed like a lone boat surrounded by endless dust storms, with the imposing presence of the giant rock rk tribe pressing in from all sides.


    The massive canopy of the Primordial Blood Tree shone with crimson leaves, dazzling as it grew to a hundred meters!


    Above Gratitude Vige, Nathan stood atop a coffin, hands behind his back.


    He heard the shouts of the vigers behind him, felt their kneeling worship, and his eyes zed with fury.


    Luna, too, returned to Gratitude Vige at that moment.


    She held Nathan''s arm and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder in silence, conveying years of longing.


    Then, with a captivating gaze, she looked towards the enemy ahead.


    Lucas, with the Celestial Sword in hand, stood a distance from his parents.


    He closed his eyes, indifferent to the approaching foes, his sword case humming with energy.


    And then there was William.


    This guy had actually caught up to his elders and was the first to return to the n.


    He held a dagger, licked the blood from it mid-air, and then spat it out with a grimace, cursing loudly, "Damn, that''s foul. Turns out those assassins do this just to scare people. It tastes awful!"


    His cursing only highlighted the eerie silence around Gratitude Vige.


    It seemed everything had changed since their arrival.


    The vigers'' eyes burned with intensity; they had cast aside their fear and grasped their swords.


    Some might havecked Foundational Energy, some might have aged from their prime, and others might have been disabled over the years.


    Yet, they silently picked up their weapons.


    They remembered the past, fighting alongside the ckwood n in Pine Forest Town, going wild in the Silver Iron Woods, battling together throughout the entire region of Taiqing County.


    Now, they could still wield weapons.


    Their strength might have been insignificant, but their will pursued the footsteps of ckwood!


    A gust of wind blew.


    The steps of the giant rock rk tribesmen faltered, and the dust covering them slowed.


    Time seemed to freeze at that moment...


    "Stop!"


    High above, although there were only a few of them, the druid masters atop the mountain-like stone heads of the giant rock tribe changed color, even... their high priest!


    Druids, who take strength as their surname, resembled mythical beasts more than humans, inheriting their powers through bloodlines and passing down their magic in the same way.


    By inscribing magic into their bodies with beast blood, they could cast spells instantly, faster than cultivators.


    The high priest of the giant rock tribe, named Cynthia, held a staff, an old woman herself.


    When she saw the Primordial Blood Tree suddenly grow to a hundred meters, even from ten miles away, it was still dazzling.


    She felt an inexplicable crisis and ordered everyone to stop.


    But no one in the giant rock rk tribe intervened or questioned her authority.


    It wasn''t about Cynthia''s dignity.


    The moment the ckwood n appeared, they felt an overwhelming murderous aura!


    Cynthia held two turtle shells engraved with inscriptions, chanting spells as the shells glowed in mid-air, her face turning pale.


    "High Priest, what''s wrong?"


    The chieftain beside her, wearing a ne of beast bones, changed his expression.


    He had never seen the high priest so pale; he could feel the terror hidden in the town they had destroyed along their journey.


    Cynthia took a deep breath, "The divination is slightly ominous, heavy casualties."


    "What?!!"


    All the chieftains were shocked.


    They had never imagined that attacking a town could result in such an ominous sign.


    Cynthia gestured to the chieftain who had just spoken.


    As he approached her, resigned to his fate and with a hint of honor, she stabbed him in the throat with a dagger.


    Blood flowed, running up the turtle shell.


    All the druids took it as usual.


    Cynthia''s gaze was vacant as she muttered, "The divination..."


    "Great misfortune!"


    "What?!!"


    All the chiefs looked towards the now quiet Gratitude Vige, where the mysterious Blood Tree grew more vivid and dazzling by the moment.


    It seemed as if the sky above their n was pressing down, about to copse, overwhelming them with its immense pressure!


    "How can this be, Great Shaman? It was only a minor misfortune before, how could it now..."


    "Let''s retreat, Great Shaman!"


    "It''s just a small town, the Bloodline Family... how could they pose such a great threat to us?!!"


    The chiefs murmured in fear.


    But Cynthia paid no heed to any of the chiefs.


    She withdrew the turtle shell from the sky and, under the astonished eyes of the chiefs, crushed it into powder. She spoke lightly, "Great misfortune, that''s all. I have found a way to break it. Order our people to prepare for battle. We will win this fight."


    With that said,


    Cynthia summoned a giant eagle and, under the puzzled looks of her tribe, headed towards the small town.


    She looked up at the sky.


    The sky, once obscured by dust brought by her people, was now clear.


    The closer she got to ckwood,


    the fresher the air felt, and she greedily breathed it in, memorizing all the beautiful colors of the world.


    Then, outside Gratitude Vige, near the Nathan family, she stopped.


    She saw it.


    Inside the small town, under the huge tree canopy, the humans were fiercer than any they had encountered on their journey. They were fearless, unafraid of death!


    Their will caused the energy of the entire Gratitude Vige to surge, even breaking through the clouds!


    And the source of it all...


    was the man in front of her, looking like a simple farmer.


    No.


    Or rather, it came from a family.


    The Psychic Position beside them shone brightly, their faith more devout than the Druids'' worship of nature!


    As she approached, the sword energy locked onto her, and a pair of enchanting fox eyes stared at her from above the clouds. She could even sense the spirits in the coffin under the farmer''s feet, ready to tear at her flesh.


    They were merely Developing Skill!


    "Friends of ckwood, I..."


    Cynthia tried to maintain a friendly smile.


    But before she could finish, Luna, nestled in Nathan''s arms, softly said, "Your name is Cynthia?"


    "...Yes."


    Cynthia''s smile froze.


    Luna was as gentle as ever, it was better for her to speak since the visitor was a woman, "Say nothing, we of ckwood do not beg for mercy. Cloudview County is ournd. Whether you are invaders or what kind of race your Giant Rock tribe might be, it doesn''t concern us, nor should you worry about what kind of family we ckwoods are."


    "Prepare your people, today..."


    "Blood will stain Azure Cloud."


    Cynthia turned around.


    She felt like she had swallowed a bitter pill. What made ckwood beg for mercy?


    She wanted to say they just wanted to pass through ckwood, they wanted to be friends with ckwood, they no longer desired ckwood''snd, nor to uncover its secrets!


    But...


    Behind her, Nathan, hearing his wife''s words, was extremely pleased. He looked back at the old friends of Gratitude Vige.


    "Everyone, did you hear that?"


    Just like when he used to walk through Gratitude Vige, leading the vigers into the Silver Iron Forest for hunting, he said casually, "My wife has spoken, don''t bother about who they are! These scoundrels havee knocking at our door, now what should we do?"


    Memories of the past were awakening!