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

Chapter 247 Insufficient Sacrifices
In the vast expanse of Yongyi, in the sky unnoticed by countless humans, streaks of shadow streaked across the sky and disappeared into some part of the eastern swamp.

Inside the cave, the ancient altar exuded a vast and desolate aura, and the enormous bird's nest on it glowed with a bluish light.

An obscure and difficult-to-understand sacrificial chant resounded from within the bird's nest. Along with the chant, runes continuously emerged from the blue light, forming ripples that spread outwards from the altar.

In the desolate forest surrounding the altar, the figures perched in the bird nests in the trees all devoutly prostrated themselves before the altar.

A bird came from outside and dropped the offerings it had caught onto the open ground in front of the altar.

At this moment, below the altar, there were already three humans, four wild beasts, and a mountain of source stones.

The three humans were unable to utter a sound, staring in astonishment at this cave world, unable to break free from their restraints no matter how hard they struggled.

The continuous flow of the sacrificial music drew them in, as if they were about to be drawn into it.

Before the three humans, there was a severely wounded figure kneeling below the altar. This person was covered in wind patterns, had a fist-sized hole in his abdomen, and was missing one of his legs.

Rather than kneeling, it was more like being thrown beneath the altar, blood flowing on the ground forming a pool, and his body trembling incessantly.

Inside the Bird's Nest Temple above the altar, the old priest knelt before the statue of the Black Bird God, and the sacrificial chants emanated from his mouth.

The black bird statue was surging with blue light, and all the runes seemed to be activated. The surging source energy caused the surrounding void to distort slightly.

It was clearly just a statue, but at this moment it seemed to come alive, as if it were spreading its wings and taking flight.

The old priest rose and walked out of the temple, looking down at the offerings below.

"These are the sacrificial offerings you captured?"

An aged voice rang out, and several kneeling figures in the jungle below the altar trembled violently.

The wounded figure kneeling below the altar collapsed into the pool of blood, his once-proud black feathers stained with foul blood, his body convulsing uncontrollably.

The old priest didn't even glance at the injured; his gaze fell on the bound sacrifices, making no attempt to hide his displeasure.

"Of the three human races, the highest level is only the mid-stage of the Divine Treasury Realm."

All four wild beasts had impure bloodlines, and two of them weren't even fourth-tier.

"The great Holy Spirit has entrusted us with the shepherding of Yongyi, and over thousands of years, as shepherds, we have actually raised the people of Yongyi to be like this."

"We can't even gather enough fourth-tier offerings for the great spirit!"

The hunters prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to say a word.

The situation in Yongyi has been bad for quite some time now. Qualified sacrificial offerings are becoming increasingly scarce, otherwise, how could they have even captured wild beasts that are not at the fourth rank?

The great Holy Spirit does not listen to explanations, but only looks at the results.

Ten hunting priests were sent out this time, and only six have returned so far.

Another person was severely injured and did not bring back any offerings.

He was kneeling outside the altar, and without the old shaman's permission, he didn't even dare to circulate his blood energy to stop the bleeding. He could only let the blood drip from his body. If this continued, he would soon bleed to death.

At this moment, apart from the struggling offerings beneath the altar, the hunters were terrified, as they could feel the disgruntled gaze of the old priest on the altar.

Finally, Yu Bo couldn't hold on any longer.

He crawled out of the jungle, saying, "Witchcraft and Sacrifice, the Yongyi people have fallen into depravity, and it is difficult to find high-quality sacrificial offerings among all the tribes. I request to lead a team into the Giant Mountain Range to hunt fourth-tier wild beasts."

The old shaman's eyes were filled with uncertainty. When the Yongyi people couldn't gather enough good offerings, they had hunted wild beasts before.

However, many wild beasts in the Juyue Mountains do not meet the requirements to become sacrifices. The Holy Spirit prefers wild beasts that possess the bloodline of auspicious beasts or have some innate energy.

These kinds of wild beasts are best if they are at least fourth-tier, and even within the Giant Mountain Range, they are extremely rare.

The human race of Yongyi was confined to this mountainous region, and the martial arts tradition that was once so prosperous during the Yongshanbo era was long gone. Their martial arts not only did not develop, but stagnated, so they were naturally no match for the Holy Envoy Clan.

The Holy Envoy Clan can arrest whomever they want. Even the so-called Tianzheng tribe is now obediently offering tribute, anxiously wondering who the Holy Envoy Clan is.

This is also why he forbids his people from having any contact with the monks of Yongyi. As the messenger of the great Holy Spirit, shepherding Yongyi on behalf of the Holy Spirit, how could he have any contact with the creatures he raises?

Even among human tribes, when those humans who raise wild beasts capture and eat them, do they care what the wild beasts think?

In the eyes of the Holy Envoy Clan, the humans of Yongyi were nothing more than domesticated beasts.

The Yongyi people lack strength, and now there are fewer and fewer qualified sacrifices available. They can capture them however they want, but the wild beasts in the Juyue Mountains have powerful backers.

There are three fifth-tier wild beasts in the mountains. In the early years, the Holy Envoy Clan had fought with the fifth-tier wild beasts in the mountains because of hunting wild beasts.

In particular, Lu Wu, who calls himself the Lord of Juyue Mountain and regards Juyue as his own territory, has never gained any advantage from Lord Lu Wu since the previous generation of old shaman priests.

The humans of Yongyi could not find the Holy Envoy Clan's grotto-heaven, but Old Lu Wu knew about it and had even come to their door to cause trouble.

Once detected again, wild beasts hunting auspicious beast bloodlines are likely to be attacked again.

Instead of hunting in the Giant Mountain Range, the old priest felt that the offerings before him were too few in both quality and quantity.

The quality of the offerings has declined, and no divine decree has been issued for thousands of years.

"Let's wait until the others return."

Thinking that four people had not yet returned, the old priest decided to wait for the time being.

If the final offerings are really too poor, then we'll have to find a solution from the Giant Mountain Range.

As time passed, a figure emerged from the jungle and arrived at the foot of the altar, setting down a human figure that it had seized in its claws.

He was about to speak when he noticed five hunter priests kneeling below, and another severely wounded man lying prostrate at the foot of the altar, bleeding profusely.

Without saying a word, he obediently went down and knelt in the jungle with the other hunter priests.

Inside the Bird's Nest Temple, the old shaman knelt beneath the statue, muttering obscure incantations.

His clan was once incredibly powerful, possessing even sixth-tier experts. They served as shepherds of Yongyi on behalf of the Holy Spirit Xuan Bird clan and frequently received divine pronouncements from the Holy Spirit.

The holy light bestowed by the Holy Spirit can help one advance to the sixth rank.

But now, the Holy Gift has not been bestowed for over a thousand years. The last time the Holy Light was bestowed was when it helped him advance to the fifth-order priesthood.

From the sixth rank to the fifth rank, the clan's overall strength was reduced to less than one-tenth.

Besides the decrease in divine gifts, the Holy Spirit has not personally manifested for thousands of years. If it weren't for the responses, he would have suspected that something had happened to the Holy Spirit.

If the clan's strength hadn't weakened, how could they have allowed a bunch of beasts from the Giant Mountain Range to act so arrogantly?

When the tribe was at its peak, even the beasts in the Giant Mountain Range had to die.

……

When the old priest emerged from the Bird's Nest Temple again and looked down, his gaze swept over the hunter priests present, and he couldn't help but frown.

"Yu Ling hasn't returned yet?"

Nine of the ten hunting priests have returned.

"Reporting to the High Priest, he has not yet returned."

Yu Bo responded, and then said, "I remember that Yu Ling's hunting range was north of Yongyi, and it may have gone west into the sandy area."

The sandy land is vast, and with sandstorms raging everywhere, it's normal to return a little late.

More than a month later, the old priest emerged from the temple once again.

Looking down at the altar, where all the people and beasts combined couldn't even gather enough offerings for ten divine treasures, his expression turned grim once again.

"Who is guarding the place Yu Ling went to?"

Xuan Chi quickly flew out from the jungle.

"Reporting to the High Priest, it is I."

Within the Holy Envoy Clan, members have a clear division of labor; one must be at least at the late stage of the Divine Realm to become a Hunting Sacrifice Envoy. Of the ten Hunting Sacrifice Envoys, seven are at the peak of the Divine Realm, and three are at the late stage.

Of the ten Spirit Shepherds, five are at the late stage of the Divine Treasury realm and five are at the middle stage.

"You go and see."

"Yes."

After receiving the order, Xuan Chi flew out immediately.

The route taken by the hunters to capture the offerings was determined by the routes patrolled by the ten shepherds.

Compared to the Hunting Priests who only need to go out when hunting for offerings, the Shepherds need to go out once every thirty to fifty years.

They imprinted all the sights they saw on their journey onto a jade slip, and then put it into the mouth of the deity statue.

As for where the jade slip went, that was none of their concern.

It's an ancestral rule to inspect every thirty to fifty years; don't ask why, that's just how it's set out to be.

For thousands of years, generations of shepherds have done this.

If all these inspection jade slips were taken out, the evolution and development of Yongyi over thousands of years would be clearly displayed.

After Xuan Chi left the barrier, he headed northwest.

He had already inspected the northern border of Yongyi more than ten times.

He had a good relationship with Yu Ling, so before this hunt for offerings, he secretly communicated with Yu Ling in private. Otherwise, Yu Ling would not have gone to the Northern Territory.

Xuan Chi remembered that during his last inspection in the northern border, there was a guy with a strong blood aura in the wasteland north of Ji, who was able to sense his spying.

Besides this guy, there's another guy in the northwest of Ji, who should have just advanced to the mid-stage of the Divine Treasury realm and has plenty of blood energy.

With these two offerings, Yu Ling will definitely stand out among all the hunting priests in this mission to capture offerings.

This time, Yu Ling is a bit slow. Everyone has returned, but why haven't we seen him yet? Could it be that he has discovered a new sacrifice?
Xuan Chi spread his wings, his entire body transforming into a gust of wind, with mountains, forests, and lakes flashing past beneath him.

At this moment, inside the cave.

Yu Bo knelt below the altar.

"High Priest, I request permission to lead people into the Giant Mountain Range to gather ten fourth-tier sacrificial animals for the great spirit."

"High Priest, rest assured, we will go in and out quickly and will not let that old Lu Wu notice us."

Yu Bo also knew that the Holy Envoy Clan was not like it used to be. There were only two fifth-level members in the clan. One was the old priest in front of him, and the other was the hunter priest from the generation before that, who was even older than the old priest.

Although he is at the fifth rank, his combat strength is far inferior to that of Old Lu Wu.

When Old Lu Wu came to our door back then, he was probably still in the early stage of the fifth rank. I wonder if he has advanced to the middle stage of the fifth rank now.

If they really angered Old Lu Wu, the Holy Envoy Clan would no longer have the Holy Spirit to bless them at any time.

The old priest looked at the four Divine Treasure Humans, the four Divine Treasure Wild Beasts, and the remaining few Wild Beasts with vigorous blood energy but only at the peak of the third-tier Auspicious Beast bloodline, and felt somewhat helpless.

It wasn't that they hadn't tried to capture other divine treasures in Yongyi, but the aura emanating from those other treasures disgusted the Holy Spirit.

This is a ritual to ask for blessings, not to anger the Holy Spirit.

"Great Priest, why don't you capture more wild beasts with auspicious bloodlines? We don't need to capture fourth-tier ones, just third-tier ones. That way, we won't attract Old Lu Wu's attention."

Xuan Ling, the leader of the Spirit Shepherds, spoke up: "The Giant Mountain Range is so vast, no matter how powerful Lu Wu is, can he keep an eye on fourth-tier auspicious beasts, let alone manage third-tier ones?"

"Since we can't gather enough fourth-tier beasts, we can capture thirty, fifty, or even a hundred third-tier auspicious beasts as sacrifices. We can even go to Yongyi to capture humans."

Among the human race at the third tier, there are quite a few individuals with abundant vitality.

Like this swordsman, with his sharp sword aura, there are probably many swordsmen in his clan. With such a sword, their blood and energy must be quite formidable as well.

The imprisoned Lord Moye had his sword aura bound and lost its sharpness.

For so long, he tried to break free of the constraints, even self-destruction, but to no avail.

Hearing someone say this, he felt extremely desolate. There were indeed many people in his tribe who practiced swordsmanship, but they had long been wiped out by the damned Tianzheng.

It was also said that his Moyebo tribe and Huantou tribe were in cahoots.

That's an absolute joke! The Moye tribe specializes in sword cultivation!

The old shaman stood on the altar, listening to his people speak.

In fact, the standards for sacrifices have already been lowered. Last time, we were able to gather ten fourth-tier offerings. Other offerings, such as Originium, are just icing on the cake.

But now we can't even gather ten fourth-tier offerings.

"go a head."

Hearing the sound, the hunter priest who was lying prostrate in the jungle stood up, and the injured hunter priest who was kneeling under the altar and was about to collapse suddenly perked up.

"High Priest, I..."

"Useless trash, retaliated against like this by the sacrifice."

The old priest didn't even glance at him before turning and entering the Bird's Nest Temple.

……

The land of the Blazing Flame Clan.

The clansmen who repaired the witch array had long since dispersed, leaving only an empty shell inside the ancestral temple.

If the Earl of Jishan could create a mobile ancestral temple, Shen Can naturally wouldn't let his family's sacrificial spirits die in vain.

Even he himself didn't intend to die.

During his conversation with Yan Wanyun, he learned that the bird-man who was holding him had been heading east, which meant that the bird-man's nest was very likely near the Great Swamp.

Furthermore, these human-bird creatures should have a clan, and there should be quite a few powerful beings within the clan.

Although the birds and humans were targeting powerful and vigorous beings like themselves, Shen Can still had to be wary of these creatures attacking his own people.

Fortunately, the Blazing Flame Clan members dispersed, and Yan Ran suffered a great loss.

Shen Can didn't know if there were any fifth-tier martial artists within the human-bird race.

If a fifth-order being were to arrive, he was prepared to unleash a massive explosion.

Beneath the ancestral temple's grand formation, golden-blood-colored energy pulsed continuously within a broken beast core.

Even though only a fraction of the original energy remained of this beast core from a sixth-tier behemoth, it was now enveloped in a dense array of runes.

Even now, though Zhiyan has been promoted to a high-ranking official, Shen Can still possesses the same courage he had back in the jungle: to divide his people into smaller groups and fight a desperate battle.

As long as there are people, what is lost will eventually come back.

At this moment, Xuan Chi, who had come out of the cave to search for his clan, happened to arrive at the territory of the Blazing Flame Clan.

Not many years have passed, but he still remembers that there was a vigorous fellow here.

As it soars through the sky, its eyes look down upon the ground below.

Suddenly, he saw a figure below looking at him.

In the clan's territory, Shen Can, who had prepared everything, looked at the black dot flying towards him with some surprise.

This doesn't seem like a fifth-order rank.

(End of this chapter)