Chapter 5

The altar was built of huge stones, very spacious, and constructed right next to the broken old willow tree. At this moment, it was piled high with fierce beasts, like a small mountain.

The fresh red beast blood dyed the stone altar, flowing along the engraved patterns on the stone, bright and vivid. Coupled with the thick fur, the gleaming scales, and the fierce horns of the beasts, the scene was shocking, exuding a fierce and ancient aura.

Led by the old village chief, the men, women, and children of the stone village prayed together, asking the willow tree for protection. This was a solemn sacrificial process, a tradition that had to be followed after every hunt.

The scorched tree trunk remained silent as always, showing no reaction, just as it had never taken the offerings in the past. However, many villagers knew that it had a spirit!

Finally, the sacrifice was completed, and everyone let out a long sigh of relief, their faces breaking into joyful smiles. They began to move the corpses of the fierce beasts, preparing to bleed and cut them.

"For many years, the spirit of the sacrifice has never touched the offerings. Do we still need to perform the sacrifice every time?" a young boy muttered softly.

"You brat, what are you saying!" His father glared at him with coppery eyes, ready to hit him with his large hand.

The old village chief waved his hand to stop him and said softly, "The spirit of the sacrifice is the spirit we worship and offer. It is important to be sincere. We must be devout, and only then will it protect and bless our village."

The young boy's face turned red, and he hurriedly said, "Chief, I am not insincere, but I just feel that the spirit of the sacrifice doesn't need these offerings. It has never used them."

"Intent is enough," Shi Yunfeng patted his shoulder and explained earnestly.

The spirit of the sacrifice, also known as the "sacrificial spirit," is a shortened term for the spirit that a tribe worships and offers. It protects the village and intimidates the fierce beasts in the vast wilderness.

The elders in the village still remembered that the spirit of the sacrifice decades ago was different. It was a strange stone that would absorb most of the essence and blood of the offerings each time.

Until one night, the old willow tree came, and the strange stone chose to leave. Everything changed from then on.

Thinking back to that rainy night, the old village chief felt a bit dazed. Back then, he was still a young boy and had witnessed the shocking and terrifying scene.

That night, lightning and thunder raged, and a heavy rainstorm raged to the extreme. Many mountains were struck by lightning and collapsed, and floods surged like the sea, with fierce beasts running like a tide, creating a terrifying scene.

At that moment, a towering willow tree appeared in the clouds, bathed in the sea of lightning, with lightning as thick as mountains swirling around it. Thousands of willow branches turned into brilliant divine chains, piercing through the entire sky, as if fighting something.

In the end, the willow tree broke, its body scorched black, and it shrank to its current size, falling and taking root in the stone village. At the same time, the lightning disappeared, and the torrential rain ceased. That night, the strange stone that the village had been worshiping and offering to left.

Every time he thought about it, the old village chief shuddered. The old willow tree did not come from other large tribes or mountainous areas but descended from the sky, damaged by endless lightning and thunder. Few people in the village knew this.

For the first few decades, it was completely scorched black, with no sign of life, as if it had died. It wasn't until ten years ago that it sprouted a new green branch, and there has been no change since.

"Brat, be careful. It's rare to capture these fierce beasts. Their blood essence, tendons, and some bones are incredibly precious. Don't let the essence be lost," the old village chief came back to his senses and warned.

The young and strong men of the village were cutting the giant beasts with silver knives, making clanging sounds, and sparks flying. The bones of the giant beasts were incredibly hard.

Some had already prepared large earthen jars to collect the blood essence retained in the special parts of the beasts. This was an excellent blood tonic, extremely rare.

Among the pile of beast corpses, the most precious was the Pixiu, even though it was just a descendant, far inferior to the pure-blooded Pixiu royal family, but it still contained some true blood, making it incredibly valuable.

It had been more than two years since the last time they captured a Pixiu. They were too fierce and powerful, capable of killing a strong man with a single claw, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

One could say that this harvest was astonishing.

"Hmm, the true blood retained in the horns of this two-headed fire rhinoceros is also incredibly impressive, not inferior to the Pixiu!" An old man personally wielded the knife, cutting through the hard, stone-like flesh under the rhinoceros horns, and a stream of blood as red as fire flowed out.

Suddenly, the blood turned into a red glow, and a palm-sized two-headed fire rhinoceros appeared, its body bright red, vivid, and roaring in anger.

"Good stuff, this true blood is extremely potent, not inferior to the Pixiu!" The old man laughed and quickly sealed the blood in an earthen jar, tightly closing the lid.

"Chief, the horns of this dragon-horned elephant are also good. We found it almost dead; otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to deal with it," a young man said.

Shi Yunfeng nodded and said, "It's rare. The dragon horns on its head have grown for many years. Be careful when you chisel them off; they are rare bone tonics."

"The tendon of the one-legged Ku beast is incredibly tough; even an axe can't cut it."

"All good stuff. Brat, be careful not to waste the precious blood from the flying python's wings!"

The villagers were delighted, all smiling.

Only a group of children shrank their necks and ran away like a streak of smoke, because they knew that most of these so-called blood and bone tonics would be used on them, and they would have to "suffer" again.

It took half an hour to collect all the "precious medicines" from the beasts. The chief and several elders nodded in satisfaction, collected the earthen jars, and took them away for processing.

"Since there are so many prey, let's cure some, then smoke and dry some," an experienced elder suggested.

So many fierce beasts piled up like a small mountain; the entire village couldn't finish them in many days. If they rotted, it would be a waste, and the villagers, who were short of food, could not afford to let that happen.

The women from each household came forward to divide the meat, all with genuine smiles. They had been worried about their men who had gone out, but now they had returned safely and with such a bountiful harvest. This was the best blessing from heaven.

Smoke rose from each household, and after half an hour, the aroma of meat spread. The meat in the iron pots was almost cooked, and the children could hardly wait. The meat on the spits over the fire was turning golden and shiny, dripping with fat, sizzling as it fell into the fire. The strong men couldn't resist and started tearing the meat, biting and drooling, their appetites whetted.

"Kids, this is Pixiu meat. Eat more to grow strong. It's rare and precious."

"Brat, eat more. This is the meat of the two-headed rhinoceros. Eating more will make your skin and bones as hard as iron. Don't eat the useless tree pig meat."

Various fierce beasts became the most sumptuous food for the villagers that evening. The enticing aroma of the meat wafted through the streets, stimulating everyone's appetite. Laughter and joy filled the air, and the entire village was festive.