Rediscovering daylight, the three stood under the sun, savoring its rays to the fullest.
Gu Sheng took out the small tripod, voraciously absorbing the essence of sunlight until there wasnât a trace of Yin Qi inside. Only then did he put it back in his body and set out with the two again.
After traveling tirelessly, the three finally returned to Stone Village at dawn.
Seeing the busy crowd, Shi Lou joyfully shouted, "Fellow villagers, weâre back!"
Upon hearing his voice, everyone turned their heads to look.
Seeing them, the people of Stone Village showed ecstatic expressions and quickly came forward to greet them.
"Gu Sheng, youâre back! Are you hurt?"
"Let us see where youâre injured?"
"You must be tired from the journey? Come sit down and have a good rest."
Listening to everyoneâs concerned chatter, Gu Sheng and the other two felt warmly comforted.
After being pressed into seats, Gu Sheng finally found the opportunity to speak.
"Donât worry, everyone. We are all unscathed."
As soon as he spoke these words, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Itâs good that youâre not hurt, itâs good that youâre safe."
"As long as youâre safe, thatâs all we need."
The crowd looked at them with concern, showing their care without reservation.
From start to finish, they only worried about the three of them, never mentioning anything about the Shadow Wood.
After resting for a moment, Gu Sheng got up, found a vacant spot, and took out the Shadow Wood.
"Fellow villagers, from today on, I will rebuild Stone Village with everyone. With this Shadow Wood, Stone Village will no longer be vulnerable."
Seeing the pile of Shadow Wood forming a small hill, everyone was stunned.
"Gu Sheng, this... this..."
"Thatâs right, this is the Shadow Wood we brought back. Itâs enough to expand Stone Village to double its size, so use freely, donât hold back."
"I canât believe you really brought back the Shadow Wood."
"You all must have suffered a lot on the way?"
After being asked, Shi Lou stood out and said: "Er Gou and I didnât suffer at all. It was all Brother Sheng who, alone, defeated the water monster and retrieved it from the icy, bone-chilling stream."
Hearing this, everyone was astounded.
"Gu Sheng, you encountered a water monster?"
"Yes, but the monster was not strong, and I killed it. Thereâs no need to worry about details. The fact that the three of us brought back the Shadow Wood unscathed is a good thing."
Gu Sheng sketched over the dangerous parts, leading everyone in planning for the future.
Grateful, everyone entrusted the duty of rebuilding Stone Village to him.
During planning, Gu Sheng intentionally included those rescued from the Soul Training Cave.
"From now on, youâre members of Stone Village. Now that weâre rebuilding Stone Village, you all should have your own place to settle. This area is planned for expansion and will be yours in the future. Please unite with us, and provide your efforts for Stone Village at crucial times."
Upon hearing this, they nodded continuously.
"Donât worry, Brother Sheng, from now on Stone Village is our home, and everyone here is our family. We will never let you down!"
Gu Sheng nodded and began leading everyone to rebuild Stone Village.
With his leadership, everyoneâs enthusiasm surged unprecedentedly high.
Throughout the whole day, everyone worked tirelessly, as if spinning tops.
Not until dusk fell and visibility was obstructed did they stop their hands.
At this moment, everyone stood together, looking at the empty village, yet feeling fulfilled inside.
Just then, Shi Lou and Er Gou ran over, warmly inviting, "Dinner is ready, everyone come!"
Gu Sheng took the lead, and everyone followed suit.
After a whole day of work, finally sitting down to a hot meal made everyone feel incredibly satisfied.
Everyone sat together, chatting and joking, sometimes dreaming about the future, their laughter filling the fields.
After a hearty meal, everyone gathered to chat.
While chatting, Gu Shengâs expression suddenly froze.
Shi Lou and Er Gou, who had been with him for a long time, immediately noticed something was off.
"Brother Sheng, whatâs wrong?"
As soon as Er Gou asked, everyone looked at Gu Sheng.
Gu Sheng pursed his lips and said softly, "Thereâs someone in the southwest."
Upon hearing this, everyone hurriedly inspected their surroundings. Seeing everyone gathered here, they immediately realized the grave situation.
All the people of Stone Village are here, so the southwest must be malicious!
"Wait here, Iâll go take a look."
Saying this, Shi Lou stood up to leave.
Seeing this, Gu Sheng quickly stopped him.
"The opponent has many people, if you go alone you will be in danger."
"But the Shadow Wood is still over there..."
"I know, thatâs why weâll go together."
Saying this, Gu Sheng got up and headed directly towards the southwest.
Everyone followed closely behind, all showing fierce determination.
As they were about to reach the southwest corner, Gu Sheng instructed everyone to find places to hide.
After confirming everyone was hidden, he peeked out and looked over, quickly spotting vague silhouettes circling the Shadow Wood, obviously targeting it!
Unable to see clearly, Shi Lou eagerly asked, "Brother Sheng, whatâs the situation over there?"
"Iâm not sure who they are, but theyâre targeting the Shadow Wood."
Hearing this, everyoneâs anger surged to their foreheads.
"Gu Sheng, that Shadow Wood was painstakingly brought back by you. It mustnât fall into otherâs hands!"
"Yes, you defeated the water monster to fetch the Shadow Wood, how could you let others take it easily? Gu Sheng, letâs face them head-on!"
"I agree! Letâs fight our way out now!"
As everyone spoke eagerly, Gu Sheng nodded.