Chapter 44: Chapter 15: Lifespan Surges, Tribesmen in Peril

Recently, something curious happened in the tribe; the people discovered that Huo Shan had once again donned the plague-era face covering scarf.

No one could understand what was happening, and when some tribesmen inquired, they got kicked.

The Clan Leader left the tribe again to hunt.

Acan, who is both the Ancestral Temple Keeper and a Witch, inexplicably wandered around the tribe all day showing people his beast hide scroll.

A bit eccentric.

The tribesmen were all guessing blindly, but naturally Shen Can was not acting crazy.

He wandered around the tribe with a beast hide scroll written with Witch Runes.

Thinking that even if the kids have no talent, maybe an old genius could emerge; it’s never too late to start cultivating at eighty.

He didn’t mind his age; first, solve the problem of creating something from nothing.

First, there was the Ironwood Ship, then the Witch Blade, once again proving that the Lingyu Tribe had applied witchcraft to weapon crafting.

Such a large tribe, if they can apply it to weapons, then in daily life, like planting and cultivating Witch Medicine, it likely has been popularized long ago.

A strong tribe is indeed powerful in every aspect.

A few days later.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

At the stone shed in the southwest corner of the clan land, heat waves rolled as rhythmic pounding sounds began.

Shen Can stood outside the stone shed, watching Huo Shi leading people to forge rivets.

Since discussing with Huo Chang, going out to explore the terrain and look for resources, the clan hadn’t found any mineral veins, but they did bring back many scattered ores.

What they’re making now are the rivets lined on the leather armor.

“Ancestral Temple Keeper, did I forge it wrong?”

Seeing Shen Can staring intently inside, War-Arms Steward Huo Shi stopped his hammer.

“No, you’re doing great.”

Shen Can then looked at another middle-aged blacksmith, “Do you recognize this rune?”

“No, I don’t.”

The middle-aged blacksmith carried a large hammer, with its head larger than his head.

“It just looks like flickering flames.”

At these words, Shen Can was overjoyed.

It was truly difficult; he had wandered the entire tribe for days, and those who looked at Witch Runes all had clear eyes just like Ayu.

Water and fire are different, but the flow of water and the flicker of fire share commonalities.

“Uncle Shi, I’ll take this person with me, you can recruit two more blacksmiths.”

“Ancestral Temple Keeper, tell me what to do, I can forge iron.”

Huo Chong was somewhat puzzled, carrying the hammer as he walked out of the stone shed.

Shen Can glanced, thought for a moment, and then decided that there was no ancestral rule against practicing witchcraft with a hammer.

Witchcraft should be applied to the tribe; maybe in the future, they could cultivate a Witch Hammer Blacksmith.

“Let’s go, up the mountain.”

Outside the Ancestral Temple, the stone steps were covered with sun-drying mushrooms and some firewood that hadn’t fully dried. Shen Can took a detour back to the Ancestral Temple.

The tribesmen did not know that the ancestors actually did not need firewood.

“Ancestral Temple Keeper, what should I forge?”

Shen Can led Huo Chong to a cave and handed him the beast hide scroll inscribed with Witch Runes.

“Look at this, after you’ve looked enough, start writing.”

Handing the beast hide scroll and a pen to Huo Chong, he asked him to write the nine Witch Runes that form the Water Manipulation Technique.

As Shen Can left, Huo Chong stroked his large hammer, carefully picked up the pen, looking a bit uncertain.

Holding the pen was like holding a thorn; hands that didn’t tremble while wielding a large hammer, trembled as he tried to write on the beast hide scroll.

Unaware of Huo Chong’s shaky hand, Shen Can walked through the passage into another cave illuminated by beast oil lamps.

This cave contained a small-scale sand table.

The sand table was densely packed with small hills, wetlands, rivers, and dangerous areas clearly marked.

After the disaster, new tribes hadn’t emerged yet.

Right now, Huo Chang was taking people to the waterside in the east. Since they had the idea of migrating the clan land, the tribe’s focus would tilt towards the Great Marsh in the east for a long period.

Of course, while the focus tilted east, exploration in the north, west, and south wouldn’t stop.

The vast forested lands, dangerous places were too many. Right now, only a framework had been figured out, requiring slow and steady effort to fill in more details.

Staring at the sand table, Shen Can pondered over how the flood disaster had caused the Great Wild Marsh, originally five thousand miles away from the tribe, to expand over two thousand miles to the west, such cataclysmic change was astonishing.

Even more astonishing was how the Lingyu Tribe could navigate thousands of miles through floodwaters unchecked.

They treated the Great Wild Marsh as their personal fish pond.

The sheer size of the water body and catching fish and beasts in such quantities, how enviable was the Lingyu Tribe’s Ancestral Temple Keeper, without even a nick in the blade?

Truly enviable.

…

“Acan, Huo Ning’s hunting team is back, and they brought back a live Profound Patterned Bull-Wolf.”

Huo Xian shouted at the mouth of the cave.

The effects of the flood disaster were fading, and Wild Beasts were breeding again, emerging from the Giant Mountain Range.

The clan had achieved remarkable success in capturing Wild Beasts with the help of the anesthetic powder he concocted.

Currently, in the northwest area of the clan city, a small fortress has been built, using three separate small hills as boundaries, turned into breeding grounds where young Mountain-Splitting Kui were thrown in after being caught.

As for training, effective techniques haven’t yet developed; currently, it’s based on trial and error, with details still being explored.

In the fish pond at the northeast corner of the city, there are still some captured fish being raised.

Although it’s vastly different from the Lingyu, the Blazing Flame Division is progressing day by day.

Now, every time the Hunting Team returns, they try to bring back the last Wild Beast they hunted alive.

They used to fear the beast’s struggle, but now the hunters all carry anesthetic powder.

With a dose, the Wild Beast peacefully follows back to the tribe, some even sleep soundly when they enter the Ancestral Temple.

…

Inside the Ancestral Temple.

The strange-looking bull-bodied wolf lay sprawled on a wooden rack, still soundly asleep.

Shen Can tapped it.

“Still asleep, they’re here to collect you.”

This was an unranked Wild Beast, not because the clan doesn’t catch ranked ones.

But there’s a rule for hunting, the beast for ancestor worship is always the last one; if you can capture it alive, do so, if not, let it be.

Ancestor sacrifice is important, but the safety of the tribe is also important, you cannot sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice itself.

[Sacrificial Master extracts lifespan of fifty-seven years from the Non-tiered Profound Patterned Bull-Wolf.]

Sacrificial Master: Shen Can

Lifespan: 1998

Bloodletting was done step by step, smeared on stone drums and pillars, with the meat well cut and placed on the offering platform.

The ancestors are fortunate now.

There’s fish to be had, meat to be had.

After completing the ritual, Shen Can saw Huo Chong watching from within the ear tunnel.

Upon spotting him, Huo Chong quickly retreated, continuing to lie on the stone table.

He went over to see, and over time, on the Beast Hide Scrolls before Huo Chong, was a crooked script full of Witch Runes.

Witch Runes are quite mystical; it’s not about mere emulation; you must understand the shape without grasping its meaning; that’s why it’s considered highly challenging.

On how to teach witchcraft, Shen Can currently has no plan, letting Huo Chong copy until he masters it first.

Night falls.

Shen Can returned to the ear tunnel.

Currently, his developments in witchcraft have formed a primary with many subordinates.

The primary focus is on composing Witch Runes for the Lingyu Water Control Technique.

Over such a long time, he has gradually deduced thirty-four.

Huo Chang brought back four new Witch Blades, bringing the number to thirty-eight, with the new runes aiding his deductions.

The secondary developments are the Witch Medicine Anesthetic Powder, Wheat and Millet Insecticide Formula, and Neutralizing Anesthetic Powder Formula.

However, subsequent formula developments have shown a technological gap with the tribe’s current practices.

Enhancing potency either requires older medicinal herbs or exchanging plant species, but neither is currently feasible within the clan.

The Wheat and Millet Insecticide Formula works just fine, wheat and millet are mundane species, adequate for use.

But the anesthetic powder is not ideal; enhancing within current conditions equates to challenging his own abilities as the Tiger Bulk.

Yet both Huo Chang and he have aspirations for migrating the clan division; lacking this at the waterfront is problematic.

Especially as the water surface expands; simply throwing anesthetic powder inside is unsuitable; ideally, there should be anesthetic spears and arrows.

Night falls.

Shen Can lies on the stone bed to rest.

Far in the Eastern Division at the waterfront, Huo Chang continues to bustle.

Inside a newly-opened cave, he marks maps against the campfire, with a bull-nose shaped small hill marked on it.

“Have those who went to Niubi Mountain’s Huo Chi returned yet?”

After a while, Huo Chang spoke in inquiry.

To establish the clan at the waterfront, one must thoroughly understand this area to assess if it’s suitable to support a thriving new clan land for the tribe.

Thus, he led the Huo Yaan hunting team to inspect the surroundings once more.

A hundred people divided into varying teams, scouring every corner daily, striving to investigate every possible place nearby.

“Not yet.”

…

Niubi Mountain.

“whew!”

Huo Chi shot an arrow into the darkness behind, but immediately heard a scream from ahead.

“Swoosh! Splash!”

The sound of water followed, Huo Zhi struggled as if encompassed by currents.

“Brother Chi, hurry… gulp…”

Huo Zhi spoke but felt water rushing into his mouth and nose, rushing into his lungs, dragging him into the water.

“A Zhi!”

Huo Chi shouted, nocked another arrow into the dark.

He could hear noises, yet the surroundings were filled with water sounds, useless; every clan member vanishing amidst the night’s darkness.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep