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

Chapter 242 The 'Disaster' that happens once every two hundred years

Blazing City, outside the Water Gate.

One after another, treasure ships were entering and exiting the gate in an orderly fashion.

The treasure ships entering the city were loaded with ores and witchcraft medicines, while the treasure ships leaving the city were loaded with armor, grain seeds, and witchcraft medicine pills.

Since the establishment of the four major garrison areas in the north of Ji, hundreds of vassal tribes have been gathered, and the number of subjects has exceeded ten million.

These tribes established themselves around the market town, cultivating and mining land, and exchanging ores and medicinal herbs for high-quality grains, armor, and finished medicinal herbs.

The Blazing Flame Tribe sent a shaman to various tribes to teach them the unified Great Wilderness script, as well as body tempering techniques and planting and cultivation skills.

Talented young people who specialize in witchcraft or martial arts are selected to enter the martial arts and witchcraft academies set up in various markets for early training.

Those with exceptional talent and character during their training can go to the Blazing Flame Headquarters for further training.

This series of combined measures, from daily life to spiritual practice, will immediately make the vassal tribes behave themselves.

Plant crops and produce grain, mine ores, and exchange them with the Blazing Flame for more high-quality weapons, armor, and magical artifacts, as well as to cultivate magical medicines.

In just a few years, the four major garrison areas have managed to organize their millions of troops.

Treasure ships passed through the Guimu River, delivering ores and witchcraft medicines collected by vassal tribes to the Zhiyan tribe.

Although most of the ores were of low quality, they greatly alleviated the tribe's needs.

Prior to this, the tribe either mined its own minerals or purchased them from markets throughout Yongyi.

Zhiyan has shops in several large markets in Luodi, where he trades large quantities of goods with some tribes.

On this day, in the land of Yu, at the market town of Bifang.

As a city established outside the clan by the Bi Fangbo tribe, this place can be said to be the largest mineral trading center in the entire Yongyi.

The largest complex of buildings and palaces in the city center is the Bifang Divine Weapon Hall of the Bifangbo tribe.

This Divine Weapon Hall is also where the Bifangbo tribe sells its magical weapons, and occasionally holds a Divine Weapon Barter Conference.

"What? The price has gone up again. A third-grade high-quality witch weapon is actually asking for 15,000 source stones."

A martial artist dressed as a wandering knight emerged from the Bifang Divine Weapon Hall, his expression showing some dissatisfaction.

Not only this wandering swordsman, but many of the martial artists who came out of the hall also showed some fluctuations in their expressions.

The price of the shamanic soldiers of the Bi Fangbo tribe has increased.

In Yongyi, most of the larger tribes have their own craftsmen who forge weapons. However, the warriors and elders of the larger tribes prefer to come to Bifang to purchase a witch weapon that is more suitable for them.

This is the reputation that Bi Fangbo's tribe has built in Yongyi over the years with their superb forging skills.

What's a weapon made by a tribe that's always the same as a custom-made one that suits you best?

Some tribes even went so far as to purchase large quantities of second-tier shamanic soldiers and armor from the Bifangbo tribe.

"Manager Bi, Manager Bi, let's go, let's talk while we eat, it's just a meal."

At the side gate of the Divine Weapon Hall, a steward from the Bi Fangbo tribe was pulled by an elder from the Xuanming tribe into a restaurant.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the elder of the Xuanming tribe spoke up, "Manager Bi, what exactly happened? Your tribe could have made a lot of money from this batch of soldiers and armor, so why aren't you taking it?"

After finishing his meal, Steward Bi made no attempt to hide anything, saying, "To be honest, the clan is going to seal off its furnaces. Even the Fire Dragon Furnace is going to be sealed off, let alone the furnaces used to forge ordinary witch soldiers."

"Why would you seal the furnace when everything is fine?"

Steward Bi shook his head. "These are clan decrees issued by the clan chief and elders. We stewards just need to obey them."

Didn't you see that the prices of the third-tier witch weapons in the hall are going up?
There's nothing we can do; once the furnace is sealed, we don't know how many years it will be before it reopens.

The elders of the Xuanming tribe were also somewhat bewildered, wondering why their business had suddenly closed down.

I came here to purchase a batch of second- and third-tier witch armor and witch soldiers for the tribe, but now, the Bifangbo tribe is not accepting the offer.

"Manager Bi, is there really no other way?"

As he spoke, the elder of the Xuanming tribe took out a medicinal herb from his shaman's bag.

"Think of a solution."

Upon seeing the witch's medicine, Steward Bi gently shook his head.

"It's not that I don't want to help you, but the clan leader personally issued the order to seal the furnace, and even the Fire Dragon God Craftsman has gone into seclusion."

If you're crafting just one or two Tier 3 wizard weapons, that's manageable.

My Bi Fangbo tribe has many craftsmen, and I am on good terms with a few of them. They can find furnaces outside to forge your pieces.

"But you've asked for two thousand pieces right off the bat, which is beyond my capabilities. Your department isn't without artisans, so why don't you make them yourselves slowly?"

In the end, Steward Bi put the witch medicine into his sack and returned to the Divine Weapon Hall after a hearty meal.

Hearing some discontented voices at the palace gate, Steward Bi gave a cold laugh.

Still complaining about the price increase? The price will be even higher in a few days.

……

The news that Bi Fangbo's tribe was going to close its furnaces spread very quickly. The fact that a market town that had risen to prominence because of weapons and ores was about to close its furnaces for smelting ores and forging weapons caused an uproar.

The Zhiyan tribe also has a small shop in Bifang Market called Yanhuo Pavilion, which mainly buys and sells rare ores.

Wandering knights and merchant caravans from all directions would bring their ores here, hoping to get a good price.

The person in charge of Yanhuo Pavilion is Huoyang, a burly female martial artist who is no weaker than a man.

Back then, Huo Yang and Huo Tu got together and discovered the Blood Witch at the site of the shipwreck.

Now, Huo Tu commands the soldiers, and Huo Yang, because of his quick and efficient nature, came to Bi Fang Market after advancing to the Heavenly Vein level in martial arts.

"The price of third-tier witch weapons in the Bifang tribe's Divine Weapon Hall has increased by 40%, and second-tier witch armor has also increased by 20%. There are rumors that the Bifang tribe is going to close its furnace and shut down."

“Some people outside say that Bi Fang is playing a trick. When Bi Fang sealed the furnace, he didn’t even want the bulk of the ore, which caused the price of ore to drop, while the price of witch weapons actually rose.”

Inside the Flame Pavilion, two members of the Blazing Flame Clan in their twenties were telling Huo Yang about the news from the outside world.

"Master, should we take this opportunity to buy some ore?"

"Our tribe's forged witch weapons are quite good. Should we take this opportunity to bring in another batch from the tribe to sell?"

Yanhuo Pavilion has never sold witch weapons in Bifang Market, mainly because many people only recognize witch weapons from the Bifang Bo tribe.

"You two watch the shop. If anyone comes to sell ore, exchange it at the original price. I'll go see what's going on."

Faced with the sudden news, Huoyang decided to go out and ask someone.

Having lived in Bifang Market for so many years, she has also made a few familiar friends.

"The furnace is sealed once every two hundred years to nurture the earth's fire."

Not long after, Huo Yang returned and sent a letter to the clan. Then, taking advantage of the fluctuations in the city's ore exchange, he successfully secured several high-quality ore exchanges.

……

Huo Yang's letter was quickly sent back to the tribe.

Upon seeing this, Huoshan summoned Huojia and other elders.

The First Elder, Huo Zhang, went to the Dai region, and Huo Jia temporarily took over the clan's affairs. Elder Huo Jia was about the same age as Huo Zhang and had advanced to the Heavenly Vein realm with the power of sixty-four Desolate Forces.

After reading the message sent back by Huo Yang, Huo Jia pondered for a moment and then said, "Chieftain, it's normal for the Bi Fangbo tribe to seal their furnace and nurture the earth fire, isn't it?"

However, the Bi Fangbo tribe has temporarily stopped manufacturing weapons and armor, so we can take this opportunity to sell our weapons and armor to others.

The gravity hammer forged by the tribe's shamans is equivalent to hundreds or thousands of hammer blows from a blacksmith in a single strike.

In addition, there are water-based witchcraft tempering and witchcraft suppression techniques. One of our tribe's witch hammer forging workshops can produce as much as a hundred blacksmiths every day.

Because many tribes only recognize Bifang, our soldiers and armor are not used much. Now that Bifang has sealed its furnace, isn't this our opportunity?
"I think we could have Huo Yang try contacting the Bi Fang sealed furnace. Those tribes that don't have a place to forge witch soldiers and armor can come to our Zhi Yan." Huo Jia had seen the armor of the Bi Fang tribe, and he didn't think the armor forged in his own witch hammer forge was inferior to that of the Bi Fang tribe.

On the contrary, their own armor is now forged in one piece, with witchcraft imprints inside and out, and even double-layered beast pattern armor with double witchcraft restrictions. Although it is only at the second tier, it can withstand heavy blows from the third tier.

Such a good product, yet not many have been sold.

"Then let's contact Huo Yang. Also, let's contact the people in charge of the other markets as well. Since Bi Fangbo's tribe is no longer selling weapons and armor in large quantities, it will also affect the price of weapons in other markets."

After Huo Jia and the others left, Huo Shan sat listlessly in his seat, folding the animal skin paper on which the messages were recorded.

After folding for a while, he got bored and got up to leave, preparing to go to the barracks to cultivate with the clan soldiers.

However, just as he reached the entrance of the barracks, Volcano Spirit suddenly jolted and then charged back towards the clan hall.

The tribal soldiers stationed at the gate of the barracks were just about to salute when they discovered that their tribal chief had vanished like a rabbit that had been let loose.

Back in the clan hall, Volcano quickly spread out the animal skin paper he had just folded.

“Bi Fangbo’s furnace is sealed.”

Then, the volcano went to the next level of the clan temple, where stone shelves were filled with various animal skin scrolls and books.

After becoming the clan leader, he has been adapting and learning to be the clan leader.

According to the intelligence sent from Yongyi, what he had were the originals, while what was sent to Shen Can were rubbings.

At this moment, Volcano suddenly remembered that several years ago, Shen Can had ordered him to investigate Yongyi.

At that time, we investigated the situation of each tribe, but unfortunately, the tribesmen had limited abilities and could only find out a general situation.

After taking down a pile of animal hide scrolls, Volcano examined them one by one.

Thanks to the unified script of the Great Wilderness, writing became much more convenient and easier, eliminating the need for guesswork due to inconsistencies and pictographic characters.

Half a day later, the volcano emerged from the palace.

"Someone is coming."

"Send a message to the clansmen in each market to inquire about the barter fairs in the major markets of Luo, Qing, and Yu, and send the news back as soon as possible."

As soon as the clan chief gave the order, the azure phoenixes rushed out of the clan's territory and headed south.

A month later.

With the animal skin scroll rolled up in his arms, and bathed in moonlight, Volcano entered the side hall of the ancestral temple.

Inside the hall, Shen Can sat cross-legged, studying the fifth-order technique of the Chengtian Clan.

Unfortunately, the inspiration from this rare copy is limited.

"Ah Chan, I've discovered a problem."

After entering the room, Huoshan handed the animal skin scroll to Shen Can.

“A month ago, our clansmen in Bifang Market sent a message back saying that the Bifang tribe was going to shut down their furnaces and stop buying ore.”

I suddenly remembered the news about Yongyi that you had the clan collect several years ago.

So I went back and reviewed the previous intelligence, and asked my clansmen to find out about the barter conferences in various markets.

Guess what? In the large markets of Luo, Qing, Yu, and Ze, there hasn't been a single fourth-tier barter conference during this period.

These large markets are controlled by various tribes.

I searched through intelligence reports from the past thirty years and found many documents that documented the relevant barter conferences. Basically, there was a four-tiered barter conference every one or two years.

Unfortunately, large-scale barter conferences haven't been held in recent years.

Shen Can opened the intelligence brought by the volcano, and to be honest, from the perspective of the barter conference, it really was a unique approach.

Barter conferences are very profitable; a well-organized one can yield several times, or even ten times, the profits.

The sudden decision to stop is unlikely because they felt they had too many resources.

What is the story behind "Bifang sealing the furnace"?

"We publicly claimed that it was a process of sealing the furnace once every two hundred years to nurture the earth fire." Volcano spoke softly. "I didn't think anything of it at first, but it wasn't until you, A-Can, had the clan investigate Yongyi a few years ago that I realized something was wrong."

"Nurturing Earth Fire?"

Shen Can recalled the fire dragon of Bi Fangbo's tribe, which he perceived as extremely intense.

However, on the other hand, it's quite normal for them to nurture the earth's fire.

"By the way, A-Can, I sent people to the Bifang, Aoshan, and Tianzheng tribes to have them explore the outer tribal cities and major markets of these tribes."

At this point, Volcano scratched the back of his head, a gesture he hadn't made in public since becoming the clan leader.

"I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

"No."

"That's good, that's good. When Brother A-Tang was the clan leader, he seemed quite relaxed. I'm still only at the Divine Realm, and I always feel pressured when I sit in the clan leader's position."

Volcano felt very relaxed as he casually sat down in front of Shen Can.

"It's right to be wary of the various tribes of Yongyi. Don't forget that we also killed the elder of the Aoshan tribe. We also want to take back the witch artifacts left behind by Yongshan. We'll have to confront them sooner or later."

Volcano nodded. That night, Volcano didn't leave. Instead, he lay down on the table in the main hall of Shen Can's side hall and fell fast asleep.

The next day, after sweeping the ancestral temple with Shen Cansa, they walked firmly toward the main hall of the clan tower.

Three months later, the tribesmen who had been sent by the volcano to visit Aoshan, Tianzheng and other tribes returned.

After reporting the relevant information, Shen Can left the ancestral temple and went to the Jishan Earl's tribe.

There are many tribes in Yongyi, but only a few, such as Tianzheng and Aoshan, can be considered powerful.

These tribes were indeed shrinking, and their internal and external connections had decreased, such as tribute, normal exchanges and trade between tribes.

These kinds of news can be found out by the clansmen when they wander around the neighborhood.

The purpose of going to Jishan was to inquire about the situation of the various tribes in Yongyi.

Although Jishan is not a major tribe, it has a complete history spanning eight thousand years.

……

"Decades have passed, but the temple still retains its former glory."

The Earl of Jishan was quite surprised to see Shen Can arrive.

He quickly led Shen Can to the clan hall and had all the elders come to pay their respects, appearing very solemn.

"The same goes for Lord Ji; his energy and spirit are at their peak, and it seems he has a good chance of advancing to the late stage of the Divine Treasury Realm."

It's all about flattery; if you flatter me, I'll flatter you. Besides, the Zhiyan and Jishan families have been through thick and thin together.

After exchanging pleasantries, Shen Can made no attempt to hide anything, as his sudden visit must have been for a specific reason.

Even if you hesitate, you still have to say it later.

He explained the situation regarding the sealing of the Bifang furnace and the reduction of activities in various departments.

After hearing Shen Can finish speaking, the Jishan Earl smiled and said, "It seems that the temple is not confined to the ancestral temple, yet it knows about the affairs of Yongyi. It is well-deserved that Zhiyan has been able to develop."

"What you're talking about isn't a secret. Every two hundred years or so, each department does this."

If the temple shrine hadn't come, I would have completely forgotten about it. Calculating the time, it's almost time. There's a clear record of this event in my clan's annals.

As for the reason, I'm not entirely sure.

(End of this chapter)