Chapter 45: Chapter 16: Tribe’s Shadow, Exposed the Moment It Opens Its Mouth

The next day, Niubi Mountain.

“Clan Leader, there are scattered arrows and crossbows here.”

When the group arrived at the foot of Niubi Mountain, they found the water interwoven with the shoreline, and the depth barely covered the foot.

“There are footprints in the water.”

Huo Chang looked at the chaotic footprints, but they all halted in the water.

Around the footprints, there were also dragging marks.

An hour later.

“Clan Leader, we’ve searched the vicinity, the arrows don’t seem to have any direction, they’re everywhere, and Huo Chi and the others…”

Six clan members came to investigate Niubi Mountain, all of them martial artists of the Stone-Breaking Realm.

Strangely, aside from the chaotic footmarks and scattered arrows, there were no other signs of combat, not even blood traces.

“Let’s go.”

Soon, Huo Chang had the clan members withdraw.

He had already deduced that the one who devoured six clan members in one gulp was likely a Water Beast in the water, possibly having similar witchcraft methods as the Tier Three Water Beast they hunted before.

Otherwise, the clan members wouldn’t have been unable to leave any signs of struggle.

He had witnessed witchcraft at Shen Can, and bringing so many clan members here only made them more vulnerable to ambushes.

Once all the clan members had left the wetland, Huo Chang slowly retreated.

After retreating more than ten miles, he instructed Huo Yaan on some matters, then quietly slipped up a small hill near Niubi Mountain with a clan member chosen from the scout team, Huo Qiu.

Huo Chang hid his body among the rocks, wearing a cloak woven from grass and wood, quietly watching in the direction of Niubi Mountain.

Huo Qiu, in a similar disguise, stood on the hill behind him.

Should anything happen to him, Huo Qiu would leave and return to inform Huo Yaan to lead the team swiftly back to the tribe.

He had the confidence to return because there was now a new Celestial Vein Realm warrior within the clan.

In fact, his recent clash with Huo Shan confirmed that Huo Shan’s Pure Qi Strength was no weaker than the newly promoted Celestial Vein Realm Huo Kui.

Considering this, aside from himself, the clan already had the combat prowess of two Celestial Vein Realm warriors — no, two and a half, since Huo Qii wasn’t far behind.

With development progressing, surpassing the Upper Huang Division was simply a matter of time.

Quietly staring at the direction of Niubi Mountain.

Three days passed.

Below Niubi Mountain, the wetland was nothing but small fish splashing in the water.

This inevitably made Huo Chang speculate: had Huo Chi’s group merely encountered a Water Beast emerging from the wetland?

As a result, Huo Chang quietly retreated again and had Huo Yaan lead a group to find a Desert Beast Rock Mountain Antelope and throw it at the foot of Niubi Mountain.

Two more days passed.

Apart from attracting some small fish to nibble, there was no sign of Water Beast activity. With no results, Huo Chang reluctantly retreated, meeting the arriving Huo Shan along the way.

“Brother Tang, are you alright?”

Seeing the fatigue on Huo Chang’s face, Huo Shan urgently spoke, “The news reached the clan, and Acan sent me with a Witch Talisman and Witch Blade. Haven’t you found Huo Chi and the others yet?”

“Let’s go back.”

Huo Chang washed his face with water. Since the tribal reform, this was the first time clan members had died outside, and it involved six warrior deaths.

“It must be a Water Beast emerging from the water, as it showed no activity during these days.”

The wetland is vast, and finding the Water Beast is incredibly challenging.

If one truly wanted to relocate the clan land for better development, it wasn’t as simple as imagined.

Such sporadic occurrences weren’t worrisome, but too many Desolate Beasts appearing near the water’s edge were a concern.

Seeing Huo Chang’s face relax, Huo Shan spoke, “Clan Leader, I brought along Huo Yui’s team. You take Huo Yaan and the others back to rest. I’ll handle the investigations ahead.”

Huo Chang shook his head, “We’ve encountered enough over the years. If I returned at every trouble, how could I continue leading as clan leader?”

“You should head back; have Acan offer consolation to the families of Huo Chi, Huo Zhi, and the others in the clan.”

“I won’t head back either. With both of us here, we can investigate faster. If we encounter the Water Beast, perhaps together, we can overpower it.”

Saying this, Huo Shan handed the Witch Blade to Huo Chang, while the Witch Talisman was stashed in his own pocket.

“I haven’t developed blood energy yet, so I can’t use this blade.”

Huo Chang understood now; with Huo Shan here, the plan of not returning was genuine.

Alright then.

Exploring the shallows over these days, this land was indeed optimal for the clan.

Surrounding is shallow water covering the ankles, unsuitable for planting wheat, but rice could be cultivated, and the waters contained abundant fish and shrimp.

Aiming to expand and strengthen the tribe, the presence of Water Beasts shouldn’t be a deterrent.

“Previously, it was my oversight not to consider this. Let’s adjust our method, capture more Desolate Beasts, place them across various shallow areas for investigation as bait, and also assess what types of fish, shrimp, and Water Beasts inhabit the waters.”

…

Blazing Flame Division.

Six tribe members were exploring outside the tribe, and their bodies were never found. As the Ancestral Temple Keeper, Shen Can personally set up a Divine Tablet for them and placed it in the Ancestral Temple.

Compensation was also given to their families.

In the following days, Huo Chang and Huo Shan jointly led nearly two hundred martial artists from the tribe to conduct extensive and meticulous exploration of the water-adjacent eastern region.

Their reconnaissance covered the fishery areas, shallow water lands suitable for water fields, the environment suited for the growth of witchcraft herbs, the desolate beast group at the intersection of the wetland and the main Giant Mountain Range, as well as the terrain and topography.

Although some tribe members were injured, fortunately, no one perished.

Two months later, Huo Chang brought them back to the tribe for rest.

Night fell.

On the sand table in the Ancestral Temple, a more detailed sand table combining soil and water appeared before everyone.

The top of the sand table represented the east-west running Giant Mountain Range, and below were the water and land divisions of the eastern region.

“Acan, the discovered iron mine is here, it seems it was revealed by a mountain flood.”

Huo Chang compared the sand table with the map in his hand, seeing an unmarked spot and pointing it out.

Regardless of other factors, just discovering an iron mine at the water’s edge was enough to justify migrating the tribe.

“This place is rich with large fish, just one is enough to feed a person.”

Huo Chang was excited.

Before the flood disaster, if someone had told him about such a resource-rich environment, even he would not dare to lead the tribe there.

…

The tribe was quiet under the night sky.

On the city wall, the campfire flickered.

Today’s patrol was led by Huo Ning, with the tribe members divided into several teams patrolling back and forth along the wall.

In the passage between the houses in the city, a limp shadow suddenly stood upright, revealing a fish body with a human face.

“Building a city, these wild people’s ambitions are quite big, just like the monkeys in the tribe wearing hats.”

The murmurs carried disdain, and the figure dropped down again, heading toward the opened pond below the Clan Mountain.

“Ridiculous, such a small tribe is quite complete.”

Jifu glanced at the pond and nodded, with water available it was much easier for him to hide.

Where there is water, there are people; this tribe is fated to become his Blood City.

Gazing at the clustered houses, Jifu’s eyes shone.

In the dark night, he could feast freely.

“Damn it for exiling me, who would have thought in this scavenged, plague-ridden wasteland, there was still such a tribe, wait till my Lingyu lineage transforms again, I’ll be sure to greet you properly.”

Jifu easily pushed open a door and quickly slipped inside.

The trickling water surged onto the stone bed, trapping and covering the mouths and noses of two sleeping figures lying on the bed.

Jifu’s form rose in the room, his mouth rapidly enlarging, ready to devour the figures on the bed.

As soon as he left the house, only shriveled bones soaked in water stains remained on the bed.

Then, he quickly headed to the next house.

“Boom!”

The sound of breaking through a house rang out; the Mountain-Opening Realm tribe member Huo Lei shattered a house, drenched with splashing water.

“Ayue!”

Huo Lei’s furious roar echoed to the city wall.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Immediately, torches on the city wall were lit and thrown across the city, landing accurately in large fire pits.

Woods soaked in oil, ignited and burst into flames instantly.

Boom!

Boom!

From the east wall to the west, one by one the fire pits blazed fiercely, dispelling the darkness in the Clan City.

This was originally prepared to defend against plague insects; although they hadn’t returned, the tribal defenses remained intact.

The campfires stood across the city like a chessboard, illuminating all corners of the Clan City, ready for any nocturnal incursion.

The shattered house and the upright human-faced fish figure were reflected in the flames.

Jifu, about to kill Huo Lei, was startled by the suddenly illuminated night sky, instinctively glancing at his own body.

Then, he looked up suddenly.

Seeing one fire pit after another being lit from east to west.

The surrounding city wall was encircled by torches.

He was directly exposed to the public view.

No way, does this tribe have an issue, setting up so many campfires.

Who are they guarding against!

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