After a century of worship, I became the ancestor of the tribe.

Chapter 222 Yinglong lies dead, sword in hand, arm severed, where does the blazing path lead!

The black bird, hovering outside the Blazing Flame Tribe, overlooked the Blazing Flame Tribe's territory, taking in the entire scene of the Blazing Flame Tribe.

Then, the black bird traveled westward, crossing mountains and valleys to enter the sandy land.

Continue to look down on the earth from high above, taking in the mountains, forests, yellow sand, tribes, wild beasts, humans and so on.

However, it made no other move, simply watching everything quietly, its blood-red eyes filled with indifference, as if everything below had nothing to do with it.

After surveying the sandy area from high altitude, it returned east to the Great Swamp, flew south along the edge of the Swamp, and entered a mountain range near the water after several days of flying.

The mountains are not particularly remarkable; there are many such undulating mountains along the shore of the Great Marsh and even within the Great Marsh itself.

The mountains are lush and green, with ancient trees growing everywhere, exuding an ancient and wild atmosphere.

The black bird flew into the miasma valley deep in the mountains. Patches of dark green miasma surged like mist and silently swallowed the black bird.

Passing through the miasma, it landed on an ancient, emerald-green path. A mysterious light shone from its body, and its wings quickly folded back onto its back. Its entire body transformed into a human form, and it continued along the ancient path.

The ancient road to Bishi was shrouded in mist, exuding an air of decay.

At the end of the road lies a hidden world, where the vegetation is even more lush and ancient.

In the forest, you can see stone pillars, stone altars, and stone beasts carved with animal patterns. They have been eroded by time and are covered with dark green moss.

Besides the stone pillars, stone altars, and stone beasts, there are also bones of various sizes. The larger bones are over ten feet long and come from some wild beasts, while the smaller ones are human bones.

Whether it's ancient trees, stone pillars, stone altars, stone beasts, or bones, their surfaces are all carved with the shapes of large birds soaring high.

The figure did not fly here, but walked along the winding path in the forest, heading deeper into the ancient forest.

The old trees are covered with nests, and creatures live inside them.

However, some of the creatures are humanoid, some are bird-like, and some are half-human and half-bird.

Deep in the ancient forest, an altar stands taller than the grass, trees, and stone pillars.

The altar was incredibly ancient, standing nine stories high, its surface covered with a mixture of gray, white, and dark green.

Beneath the altar, there was a large pile of bones, including animal and human bones, surrounding the altar. Some of the bones had weathered and broken into dust.

Among the weathered bones, some still gleamed with a mysterious light, clearly indicating that they had been sacrificed here not long ago.

The bottom layer of the altar is covered with images of people bowing in worship.

Humans bowed their heads, and wild beasts prostrated themselves, worshipping the being on the altar.

There was a mottled stone staircase directly in front of the altar. When the figure reached the altar, he skillfully crawled down and began to climb up the stone staircase in a kneeling posture.

After climbing the stone steps to the top, a huge bird's nest appeared before us, exuding an ancient and weathered aura.

Outside the bird's nest, there were black bird runes everywhere.

Inside the bird's nest, there is a statue of a black bird.

It is a bronze-cast black bird, depicted in the posture of spreading its wings and flying high.

The surface of the black bird was covered with a blue light, as if it contained countless flashing runes.

Below the statue, an old priest, dressed in wide animal fur and adorned with magnificent bird feathers on his head, has a bird-patterned face painted on his face, and the top of his staff is a jade-like bird head.

The old shaman knelt before the statue of the Black Bird God, remaining silent.

The newcomer did not dare to look up at the Xuan Bird statue. He crawled on his knees to the foot of the statue, took out a jade slip from his pocket, and presented it high with both hands.

With a 'hum', the jade slip was swallowed by the falling blue light.

Inside the jade slip were scenes he had witnessed during his patrol, imprinted with his divine sense; this was his mission.

After a long while, the high priest slowly raised his head. Without asking what the jade slip contained, he said, "Xuan Chi, the Holy Spirit has received your jade slip."

"Go back."

"Yes!"

Xuan Chi responded without daring to ask any further questions. He withdrew from the bird's nest while still kneeling, and then stepped down from the altar.

Only after getting far away from the altar did Xuan Chi stand up again, find his lair, jump in, and lie down inside, squinting his eyes.

Inside the bird's nest on the altar.

The high priest bowed before the statue of the god, chanting incantations.

His lifespan was running out, and he desperately hoped that the Holy Spirit could manifest once before his life was over.

But none of his ancestors, the generation before that, or the generation before that... had ever witnessed the Holy Spirit's manifestation.

The Holy Spirit seems to have forgotten them, and has not manifested himself for thousands of years.

The Holy Spirit did not truly forget them; He bestowed blessings upon them at each sacrifice.

Each blessing grants the clansmen an opportunity to ascend to the divine realm more easily.

Then, those who have the opportunity gradually grow into a new generation of Shepherds and Hunters.

The shepherds patrol the vast land of Yongyi for the Holy Spirit, imprinting what they see on jade slips, which are then offered on the altar.

The hunter-gatherer was responsible for capturing suitable offerings for the Holy Spirit; any living creature in Yongyi was a sacrifice to the Holy Spirit.

However, there were too many ants on the land of Yongyi, and the Holy Spirit did not like to taste ants.

Therefore, those captured were all fourth-order beings within the Yongyi territory, whether they were humans, wild beasts, or alien races.

However, the hunters were very secretive, and the tribes where the hunted offerings were located could not find out that they were responsible.

As for why they had to hide themselves like this, the ancestral teachings said that they should live in seclusion and not make a name for themselves in the outside world.

The high priest stared blankly at the bronze statue of the Black Bird, where countless runes appeared and disappeared amidst the shimmering blue light.

This was the scene when he first became a priest.

For hundreds of years, the scene has remained unchanged.

Deep within the runes, beyond the reach of the high priest, lies a dazzling yet illusory pathway.

After the jade slip was sucked into the mouth of the Xuan Bird statue, it was engulfed by endless runes and quickly teleported away.

"Bang!"

The jade slip was enveloped in countless runes, and after traversing countless mountains and rivers, it suddenly fell out of a circular rune exit.

Below were piles of jade slips, all identical in style and color.

There are several other such drop-off points, and the jade slips below are piled up into small mountains, some of which are already covered with a layer of dust.

It is obvious that no one has seen these jade slips for a long time.

The jade slips were piled up like mountains.

This is a wondrous place, where the five elements' energy is abundant, condensing into a five-colored glow that floats in mid-air.

A towering tree was snapped at the root, and the broken root was riddled with fragments of magical artifacts. Broken chariot fragments and the flesh and blood of the giant beast were mixed together and piled up at the base of the tree.

The blood and sap flowing from the sacred tree formed a great river that flowed out and spread far and wide.

Two black birds with broken wings floated on the river, but there were also huge chariots, beast corpses, and human corpses half-submerged in the blood.

The fallen battle flag was already stuck to the blood and mud, making the words on it illegible.

Amidst the fallen sacred trees, a figure lay prostrate on the ground, his body enveloped in a gentle mist that created intermittent, localized rain.

This is a Kui Niu (a mythical beast), its massive head pierced with a large hole, its brain matter already completely devoured.

Beside it, another similar figure lay sprawled on the ground, a massive, pillar-like leg of a giant tree stretched out between the branches of a divine tree as large as a mountain ridge.

Above the sacred tree, within a massive nest, blood flowed freely, and a colossal Yinglong, over three hundred feet long, hung upside down.

The dragon's wings drooped downwards, and blood dripped down the edges of its wings.

Inside the nest, several enormous black birds were fast asleep, their bodies riddled with ravine-like wounds, from which countless tiny runes surged, as if they were healing themselves.

One of the black birds had a longsword engraved with a Kui ox pattern embedded in its body, with a severed arm still tightly gripping the hilt. The entire blade was embedded in the bird's body, and a dark ring around the wound constantly clashed with the bird's life force, preventing it from healing.

Apart from the black bird pierced by the longsword, all the other black birds, whether dead or in a deep sleep healing, had a tiny bit of black shimmering in the golden blood flowing from their wounds.

Like some kind of poison, it caused the silent black bird to occasionally let out a mournful cry.

……

As time goes by, half of the assessment period for the Blazing Flame Tribe has passed, and there are currently fewer than a thousand participants still taking the test.

Outside the clan mountain, many clansmen had already arrived from their respective settlements, especially some parents who had arrived long ago.

On the stone tower of the clan's territory, more than thirty stone tablets were hung, each marked with the name of the trial participants in order of ranking.

The order of these names is based on real-time messages sent from various outposts, and is refreshed every two to three days.

Yan Jiang is currently ranked first.

Yan Liu ranked second.

Yan Ling ranked third.

Fourth is Lu Chen.

The fifth is the stone sword.

……

After seeing that the trial was on track, Huotang returned to his clan's territory.

Selecting promising talents for the clan is important, but the clan's future development is equally important.

After the assessment is over, the most important thing for Zhiyan is to steadily advance to the Bobu level.

Before advancing to the next level, there are some issues within the clan that need to be resolved, especially those concerning the emotions and thoughts of the clan members.

Inside the main hall atop the stone pagoda, a dozen or so figures took their seats.

Huotang sat in the main seat, Huoshan was in the first position on the left, and the other four elders and five commanders were also present.

Huo Tang spoke up, "As everyone knows, Yanran tribe is about to be promoted to a rank of rank, and our Zhiyan tribe is not far off either, we could even be promoted to a rank now."

The promotion to the Kebo tribe is not an end point. There is no specific date for the promotion yet, but I see that many people in the tribe are already proud and self-satisfied.

It wasn't just ordinary clansmen who had this idea; many members of the clan soldiers also shared it, believing that once they were promoted to the rank of Earl, they would have no more worries.
The nearby Xiaoyang stronghold has been destroyed, but that doesn't mean we're out of danger.

boom!
Huotang slammed his hand on the table, which invigorated the clansmen present.

In fact, not to mention the clansmen, even they are now idle.

His cultivation and combat strength have already reached the ninth level of the Heavenly Vein Realm. Is he about to advance to the Divine Treasury Realm?

Is there any chance?

With Xiaoyang defeated, the vast northern region of Ji has no rivals left.

My anxiety naturally eased a bit.

Huotang often wanders around the clan, and he has a clear understanding of the situation of many clansmen.

Just like cultivating martial arts and accumulating strength, the clan was accumulating strength before, but now some people are either giving up or preparing to give up.

The people in the hall fell silent. After a long while, Huo Tang spoke again: "Now, let's begin a clear census of the clan's strength."

Do not overlook any member of our tribe, including our tribe's reserves of armor, provisions, and manpower.

"What are the statistics department going to do? Is there going to be another war?"

"Could we be going to attack the sandy areas to the west?"

“I agree. Fighting Xiaoyang is better than staying in the clan’s territory all day.”

……

Upon hearing Huotang's words, the eyes of the elders and commanders present lit up.

"Go ahead and get busy. Get the statistics done and report it as soon as possible."

Without answering the elders' and commanders' questions, Huotang dismissed everyone and walked to the window to look down.

To be honest, even he himself doesn't know what to do next.

To develop into a powerful tribe?
Now we're just waiting for the clan leader position to be handed over to the volcano.

Promoted to Marquis level?

Even the Marquis of Yongshan was merely the leader of the alliance and the chief of the various tribes in Yongyi. He couldn't even imagine what a Marquis's tribe was like.

Huotang vaguely felt that Zhiyan needed another reform, and this reform should originate from the hearts of the people, rather than from the superficial system.

Otherwise, Zhiyan will eventually follow the same path as the other tribes of Yongyi.

Half a month later, Huotang went to find Shen Can with a thick stack of statistical data.

At that moment, Shen Can was also busy.

Ever since he realized he was being spied on, he has been especially vigilant.

After cultivating to such a level, his ability to perceive things was almost impossible to be wrong.

Even the spirits didn't notice, which made Shen Can feel a sense of crisis.

This also served as a reminder to him that the Blazing Flame Clan was divided into settlements, and their territory was far more expansive than that of other tribes.

In this situation, outsiders can easily sneak into the tribe's territory to spy.

Therefore, he decided to try to create a large-scale sensory artifact.

Simply put, it involves creating miniature magical artifacts to serve as sensor contacts.

This magical artifact can be a stick or a stone.

The appearance is not important; different appearances can be created according to the terrain and environment, which also makes it easier to hide.

The magical artifacts will be placed throughout the tribe's mountains and rivers, in every nook and cranny, on mountaintops, atop giant trees, and so on. They will be connected through internal runes to sense changes in the surrounding environment.

As for those that fly high in the sky, they can build tall towers on the clan's territory, arranged in formation, crisscrossing each other.

By sensing changes in the magical artifacts at the top of the tower, one can determine whether anything is passing through the sky.

These minor magical artifacts also require a major magical artifact as their core hub.

In his view, with the current resources within the clan, crafting a small-scale magical artifact would not be difficult and could be accomplished.

Shen Can drew his ideas on the blueprints, then proceeded to deduce them, and annotated the blueprints with the corresponding sequences of witchcraft symbols.

At that time, his disciple Huo Zhong will be able to conduct research and build according to his ideas.

"Ah Chan".

Sensing Huotang's arrival, Shen Can stopped what he was doing and saw Huotang come in carrying a bundle of mulberry paper.

"Ah-Can, I've had the clan reassess their strength. Take a look and see where we're headed next?"

P.S.: I had a great plan yesterday and was even thinking of adding an extra chapter, but I didn't expect to be so stuck in writer's block today.

I've been out of sorts all day. I've already figured out the general outline for this part, but I just can't type it out. I don't know why, I just can't type it out. I can't get it to move at all. I feel like my mind is blank. The more I try to type, the more confused I get.

The plot is about to take another turn, and the protagonist's tribe needs to be given a goal. In recent chapters, the Blazing Flame Tribe has lost its 'goal'.

I've been struggling with how to describe this goal for the past few days, and the more I struggle, the less I can write it down.

The subsequent advancement of the tribe to the Bo tribe will not involve changing the map. The map will only expand outward from the center of the Blazing Flame, gradually transforming into a new 'ancestral land'.

I'll just focus on securing my perfect attendance record for today, that's all for now. I'll rest for a night and then continue tomorrow.

Once everything is sorted out, any missing information will be added later.

(End of this chapter)