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

"Is it for me to taste, or for your own cultivation?"

The minotaur was wary and somewhat fearful of the black snake that addressed him as its master.

The atmosphere between the two suddenly shifted from harmonious to somewhat awkward.

"Of course, it's to help the master appraise it."

The black smoke billowing above the black snake's head constantly changed shape and emitted a sinister sound.

A few breaths later, the bull-headed man released his grip on the black snake, stroking its head. A chill ran from his palm down to his shoulder. "Good, follow me. If I ever advance to the seventh rank, I will surely make you an ancestral spirit worshipped by all living beings."

Niu Tou casually remarked.

"Hehehe." The black snake's eyes darted around, and it let out a strange cry, then excitedly said, "Thank you, Master."

"I am willing to go through fire and water for my master, without hesitation."

The surging black smoke flowed back into the black snake's body, and it coiled around the bull-headed creature's shoulder.

"Master, what should we do next? Should we send the message back?"

The bull didn't speak, but continued to reach into the cooking pot with its large hand, scooping out the remaining bones, crushing them, and sucking them out.

His arrival was by chance. He overheard some creatures saying that there were humans here with good blood and energy, who were already at the fifth level and showed no signs of beastification, so he came to take a look.

Unexpectedly, hey... I copied it.

When it comes to offerings, sometimes it's not just about the level of the offering, but also about its "purity".

This is similar to using auspicious beasts as sacrificial offerings, where the concentration of their bloodline is considered.

I didn't see any strong individuals among this group of humans, but their blood and energy were indeed quite good.

In the past, to select a group of humans of similar quality and level, it was often necessary to capture humans from several regions. However, simply submitting the list like this is not enough.

Next, we need to determine the specific origins of this group of humans, where their homeland is, and how many more like them exist on their homeland. If there are enough of them to make one trip, then we can send the message back, and that would be considered a merit.

If these are the only people, then he can just arrest them and take them back without having to deal with the others.

The bull's head, which was gnawing on animal bones, shifted its gaze from the direction of the human pagoda to the entrance of the ruins.

Just then, he saw the Thunder Chariot enter the ruins. He recognized the driver as a member of the Thunder Ape Clan, a powerful race in the southern part of the Eastern Wilderness. Just as Minotaur was about to look away, he saw another silver light flash at the entrance of the ruins.

He hadn't paid any attention at first, assuming the Thunder Ape Clan had reappeared, but his gaze, which he instinctively turned back to, suddenly froze.

This time, it was the Silver Horned Beast King that emerged from the ruins.

Minotaur threw away the animal bone in his hand and his gaze fell on the bird's nest on the Silver Horned Beast King's forehead.

Inside the crow's nest, a patch of green stood out dazzlingly, shimmering with various colors under the sunlight.

At that moment, even the black snake coiled on the bull's shoulder straightened up.

"What a purebred auspicious beast!"

The black snake opened its mouth instinctively, then immediately withdrew its head.

At the same time, the bull-headed creature immediately withdrew its divine sense and gaze, fearing that it would be discovered.

"Master, it's a sixth-tier auspicious beast!"

The black snake, now curled up into a ball, trembled, its forked tongue flicking in and out.

"I never expected to encounter not only humans, but also a sixth-tier auspicious beast. Master, your journey to the east has been truly blessed with good fortune!"

Sixth-tier auspicious beasts are not easy to come by!

Auspicious beasts possess spirits, born from the essence of heaven and earth. Auspicious beasts that can cultivate to the sixth rank are mostly protected by even more powerful wild beast kings.

Even without the protection of the Beast King, it has the ability to avoid danger and seek good fortune, making it extremely difficult to catch.

As for the seventh-tier auspicious beast, Niu Tou has only heard of its legends over the years and has never seen one in person.

"Master, catch it! Catch it!"

The black snake spoke excitedly, but as it spoke, it retracted its head into its body.

"As long as we can capture and hand it over, your status will surely rise further, Master. If you can gain the favor and support of the Holy Spirit, your chances of advancing to the seventh rank will be even higher."

Even without the Black Serpent saying anything, the Minotaur's thoughts were also stirred by the Bluebird beside the Silver Horned Beast King.

As for the matter of the human race, he had temporarily put it out of his mind.

No matter how pure the bloodline of humans may be, they are still substitutes for auspicious beasts. But a real sixth-tier auspicious beast has appeared before him.

As for what Da Huang said about the calamity that would result from capturing auspicious beasts, that was a problem for other races, but he didn't care at all.

The bull-snake tribe is not afraid.

But soon, the bull-headed creature regained its senses.

He lacks the ability.

"Do you want to die? There must be a seventh-tier being behind every sixth-tier auspicious beast. Even if the seventh-tier being isn't here right now, that silver beast king guarding the auspicious beast is someone I can't afford to offend!"

Suppressing his excitement, the bull-headed man snorted at the black snake.

Black Snake finally realized what a great opportunity this was.

The sixth-tier auspicious beast was right in front of him, but he lacked the strength to capture it.

Minotaur cautiously peered out the window, and only after seeing that the Silver Horned Beast King had disappeared did he straighten his back again.

He came to the City of Ruins because he heard that there were some humans with good blood and spirit there, and on a whim, he decided to come and take a look.

Currently, all that is known is that the City of Ruins was established by several seventh-tier races and that they also formed some kind of merchant guild.

But for Bullhead, none of this news mattered.

The Bull-Snake Clan has wiped out far too many species and races over the years.

He himself did not possess the strength of a seventh-tier being, but the seventh-tier beings behind the Bull-Snake Clan were far beyond the comprehension of these creatures.

Most creatures in the Great Wilderness thought that the Bull-Snake Clan only captured some humans and sold some slaves.

To even think that the Bull-Snake Clan is a single race is a narrow-minded understanding that shows a lack of knowledge about these creatures.

The power behind the "Bull-Snake Clan" is beyond the imagination of outsiders.

Of course, the Bull-Snake Clan is incredibly powerful, but in reality, he is just an Earth Spirit Envoy with peak sixth-tier strength. He really can't defeat the Azure Bird, which is guarded by a quasi-seventh-tier Beast King.

Moreover, auspicious beasts are often wondrous. Even without the protection of a near-seventh-tier beast king, a mid-stage sixth-tier auspicious beast with such pure bloodline might be difficult for an ordinary peak sixth-tier beast to defeat.

"Let's find out what's going on first."

At this moment, Minotaur lost his appetite and began wandering around the City of Ruins, even leaving the city several times to intercept various creatures. After several soul searches, he finally figured out most of the situation in the City of Ruins.

"Heaven is helping me!"

"This trip eastward was truly wonderful; everything was auspicious, and it was definitely the right decision to come!"

"That sixth-tier auspicious beast was actually only accompanied by a near-seventh-tier beast king."

"Among the human race, there is also a fifth-tier auspicious beast and a group of auspicious beasts that are not pure-blooded."

Bullhead was so excited he almost danced with joy; he was simply too excited.

One is at level five, and the other is at level six.

"Master, sixth-tier auspicious beasts have near-seventh-tier guardians, but humans don't. Should we target fifth-tier auspicious beasts first?"

At this moment, the black snake spoke in a sinister tone, urging the bull's head to move.

However, this time the bull-headed creature wasn't agitated. "Do you think the auspicious beasts' ability to ward off evil and bring good fortune is just a joke? What if you disturb a fifth-tier auspicious beast and then alert a sixth-tier one?"

Capturing a fifth-tier auspicious beast is indeed a great achievement, but it can't compare to sending back news of a sixth-tier auspicious beast.

Although it's only a single tier difference, the two are worlds apart. A sixth-tier auspicious beast is more than enough to tempt a seventh-tier holy spirit. In the Great Wilderness, many seventh-tier beings who were stuck at the peak of sixth tier only managed to advance to seventh tier thanks to the guidance of a sixth-tier auspicious beast. It can be said that the abilities of a sixth-tier auspicious beast exceed the limitations of its tier.

As for the abilities of seventh-tier auspicious beasts, Niu Tou had never witnessed them, but they must be even more powerful.

"Master, quickly inform the Palace Master that with this merit, you will soon become a Celestial Envoy."

At this moment, the black snake spoke again, stirring up the bull's head.

The bull-snake did not respond to the black snake, but took out a dark jade communication token from its bosom.

The jade tablet was covered with animal patterns, outlining a strange, multi-eared beast with a ferocious appearance, fangs, and a blue face; its nature was unknown. "Reporting to the Palace Master, the Earth Spirit Envoy Niu Hun has discovered a sixth-tier auspicious beast, and this auspicious beast is not residing near any seventh-tier creature."

After activating the communication jade tablet, the ox-snake quickly began to speak.

In recent days, he not only found out about the situation in the City of Ruins, but also that the City of Ruins was controlled by the Crown Prince of the Zhangshui Dragon Kingdom, and that the Baxia Dragon Clan was also located there.

They also found out where the bluebird came from.

It did indeed come from the command of a seventh-tier beast king, but that beast king wasn't here.

"My Lord, there are some other matters concerning the human race. Among the humans here... there is a fifth-tier auspicious beast..."

Deep in a remote jungle, to the west of the City of Ruins.

Even during the day, when the midday sun is at its strongest, a thick, chilling mist hangs in the air, obscuring the jungle. The nights are even more terrifying; the vast jungle echoes with constant wailing, and phosphorescent lights dance everywhere, transforming into various figures that emit mournful cries. Any creature that dares to wander here will soon be reduced to a pile of bones.

Over time, people from all directions stopped coming here.

The jungle was vast, and the roots of the lush trees were covered with thick layers of decaying branches and leaves, which also covered the white bones.

Deep in the jungle, ancient buildings are hidden.

The building is covered with layers of shamanic script, ancient sacrificial texts, and countless scenes of worship, depicted on the rock face in the form of murals.

In these mural scenes, the more ancient and broken they are, the more likely the sacrificial offerings depict various auspicious beasts and their descendants will appear. In the relatively newer murals, the sacrificial offerings gradually become human.

Of course, even the new murals are at least tens of thousands of years old, and their surfaces are covered with ash.

The tiny candle flames flickered in the hall, illuminating only an area about half a foot in size.

The floor inside the hall was very clean, as if someone swept it every day.

Directly above is a stone carving depicting a winged beast with blood-red eyes.

A whooshing sound rang out, and three figures entered from outside the main hall. All of them had ox heads and snake tails, and their auras were extremely powerful.

"Lord of the Palace."

As the muffled sound rang out, the eyes on the blood-eyed statue turned even crimson.

Blood began to seep from the stone's veins, and a spirit resembling a sacrificial spirit emerged from the blood.

This soul was incredibly strange, with no clear head or feet, and countless tiny beans swirling around it.

His aura was terrifying, instantly enveloping the entire hall in its terrifying presence, causing the three bull-snake clan figures who entered to feel a chill run down their spines.

The envoys of the Bull-Snake Clan are divided into Envoys of Living Beings, Envoys of Earthly Spirits, and Envoys of Heavenly Spirits.

Niu Hun belongs to the category of Earth Spirit Envoys.

The three people in the hall are Heavenly Spirit Envoys, all of whom are at the quasi-seventh level.

However, although these three Heavenly Spirit Envoys were all near-seventh rank, their aura fluctuations were quite similar.

Below these three levels of envoys, there are varying numbers of other living beings and warriors, as well as various other forces that are attached to them.

"Niu Hun sent back news that there is a ruin city to the east, where a mid-stage sixth-tier azure bird auspicious beast has been discovered, but it is not yet at the seventh tier." "This azure bird is accompanied by a near-seventh-tier beast king, and there are several other near-seventh-tier beasts in the ruin city."

"In addition, Niu Hun also discovered a fifth-tier auspicious beast, which was mixed with a group of auspicious beasts of mixed blood and a group of humans with good blood energy."

"Where is the City of Ruins?"

The spirit envoy Niu Xun asked a question, but soon realized what he meant.

"It's so far."

"According to the records, this happened before the Shan Hai Calendar. It must have been the blood offerings planted by the envoys under the previous or even the previous generation of the Palace Master." "That's not right. I remember traveling east once a few hundred years ago. There were some humans with good blood energy, but they were all of low level, not enough for us to harvest. Niu Hun is really lucky to have caught up with them."

The spirit on the stone statue listened quietly to the three figures before it spoke for a while, then said, "Now that you've finished speaking, go and bring the auspicious beast and the people back to me."

"Yes, sir."

After receiving their orders, the three Bull-Snake Clan warriors quickly flew out of the main hall.

After sending the message back to the City of Ruins, Niu Hun did not return to the city, but instead hid in the mountains outside the city.

After the message was relayed to the Palace Master, it is likely that the Palace Master will send several Heavenly Spirit Envoys from within the Palace.

As for the powerful "Spirit King" Lord of the Palace, he most likely won't take action personally.

Although their branch hall is only the lowest level of spirit hall, the hall master is still a seventh-rank official.

As the sun set, a dragon boat sailed into the ruins city from the northwest and landed outside the pagoda.

On the dragon boat, a Baxia dragon was huddled together with Yan Liu.

"Thank you for your help, Brother Fu Miaolong."

Yan Liu thanked the Baxia Dragon Clan on the other side.

"Hey, it's nothing, let's have a drink sometime." Fu Miao shook his head. "See you later."

As Yan Liu watched Fu Miao steer the dragon boat away, the smile on his face gradually turned cold.

Of course, he wasn't being cold to Fu Miao. He was actually able to bring Yan Lin back this time thanks to Fu Miao's help, which saved him a lot of trouble.

Fu Miao was a member of the clan of the true crown prince.

Over the years, Prince Duozhen has taken good care of the human race. As the leader of the remnants, Yanliu also frequently hosts banquets for the dragon race.

Especially after establishing contact with the Giant Mountain Alliance, the alliance sent many pearls, dazzling robes, and spiritual items, which were given to the dragon race.

As a result, the relationship between the two sides grew stronger day by day.

Afterwards, Yan Liu returned to the pagoda.

A large, striped tiger, a herd of blue-striped spirit deer, and Yan Lin, who was unconscious and nearly dead.

When the Golden-feathered Sparrow saw the Striped Tiger, it wanted to cry out, but sensing the oppressive atmosphere around it, it shrank back. Although it hadn't been long since it delivered the message to the pagoda, it had been eating precious pills every day, and it felt it was close to advancing to the fifth rank. The Striped Tiger also saw the Golden-feathered Sparrow and even sensed that the Sparrow's aura was considerably stronger than its own.

Several doctors were giving Yan Lin a thorough examination, and someone was carefully applying medicine to his wounds, but everyone's expression was extremely solemn. "Elder Liu."

After examining her, the lead doctor, Tsuma, gently shook her head.

"The poison has penetrated to the bone marrow, and the soul has dissipated; there is no hope of recovery."

Yan Lin appeared to still have a glimmer of life, but in reality, this life force had merely not yet dissipated; it was more like an unfulfilled obsession that prevented it from dissipating. While he was unconscious, the snake venom had spread rampantly to every corner of his body, and his ruptured wounds had drained most of his blood. Yan Liu clutched two jade slips in his hand, one obtained from Yan Lin, and the other hidden on the Azure-Patterned Spirit Deer.

The two jade slips contained the same information, describing the events leading up to his capture and the manner in which his race was captured.

Slowly walking up to Yan Lin, Yan Liu grasped Yan Lin's hand and whispered in his ear, "I already know the news. I'll send you back to your clan."