Chapter 9

(Thank you to the enthusiastic support of Fanle's brothers, a new alliance master has been born for the new book, adding one more chapter)

At this moment, the village was filled with laughter and joy. Looking through the cracks in the wall, it was already after dusk, and time had passed so quickly. The Soul Sacrifice Feast was about to begin, and the people of the Black Python tribe outside had started to sing and dance.

Chen Xun did not rush out of the hut. The mysterious feeling brought by cultivation came unexpectedly, and he needed to savor it. After a while, he walked out of the hut and headed toward the stone hall.

The peaks of the distant mountains were shrouded in a rosy twilight, with faint sounds of beasts roaring and birds chirping.

Bonfires were lit on the square, casting flickering shadows on the stone walls.

The stone hall was the most revered place in the village, where the Black Python tribe held meetings and sacrificed to the ancestors.

Chen Xun was not a member of the Black Python tribe. Although he had lived in the village for three years, he had never stepped into the stone hall.

At the center of the square in front of the stone hall stood a massive altar made of huge stones, nearly ten meters high and over a hundred meters in circumference, towering in the center of the square, more magnificent and grand than the stone hall itself.

In front of the altar, the Black Python people had piled up countless logs to form a fire altar, almost as high as the altar itself.

On either side of the fire altar, two huge wooden poles were erected, with a thick rope stretched between them, suspending a giant bronze tripod that looked as tall as a person.

The Black Python tribe lacked iron and bronze tools, and most of the able-bodied men used stone knives and wooden spears for hunting. Chen Xun had not expected that the village would have such a large bronze tripod.

The two ears of the bronze tripod hung from the thick rope, and the four sides were carved with many birds and beasts and various ancient tribal scripts, giving it a sense of ancient weight and mystery. It was an ancient relic passed down from who knows how many years ago, probably kept deep in the ancestral hall, only brought out for major sacrifices.

Grandpa Zong Tu said that the Black Python tribe had a glorious history. Just looking at this giant tripod, Chen Xun believed that Grandpa Zong Tu was not exaggerating.

At this moment, Zong Sang was directing people to fill the bronze tripod with mountain spring water using pottery jars, while others were taking out countless rare herbs and plants from the village's collection and throwing them into the tripod.

Could the Soul Sacrifice Feast be about cooking and distributing the flesh of the Black Python to everyone?

Feast, feast, a feast of beast meat.

But was it really necessary to make such a grand ceremony just to cook and distribute the meat of the Black Python?

Chen Xun was pondering this when Zong Ya suddenly appeared from somewhere, grabbing him and asking, "Xun, where have you been hiding all day? I haven't seen you, and Grandpa didn't let me come to find you?"

Zong Ya was too straightforward and couldn't keep secrets, so Grandpa Zong Tu had specially instructed that matters like the silk book must not be told to him. Moreover, Zong Ya had about eight or nine followers who couldn't keep secrets either.

"Right, right, where have you been hiding these past few days? Zong Ya said you dragged the Black Python back. It was so heavy that it took six or seven of us to carry it. How did you manage to drag it back?" The young boys following Zong Ya, who hadn't seen Chen Xun for several days, all gathered around and asked him.

After returning to the village, Chen Xun first lay in his hut to recover from his injuries, then received the silk book from Grandpa Zong Tu and practiced cultivation, not interacting much with the villagers for three days.

Now, as he was grabbed by Zong Ya, he just smiled and lied, "My injuries haven't fully healed yet, so I've been lying in bed all day. Grandpa probably didn't want you dragging me around everywhere..."

Zong Ya looked at Chen Xun for a moment and saw that he was lively and energetic, with only some scars that would take a few more days to heal. There was no sign of any injury.

"Even though you haven't practiced martial arts, your body is stronger than Zong Ling's. Zong Ling boasts that he has found 'that feeling' in his martial arts practice and can now lift the stone pillars in front of the village. He wants to challenge you to an arm-wrestling match to win back the ironwood bow he lost to you last time, but he can't find you."

Zong Ling was Zong Sang's son and a cousin to Zong Ya—though the Black Python tribe didn't use such terms. The two of them, along with Nan Xi, the son of the Nan Liao tribe, were considered the most outstanding young men of the Black Python tribe.

Nan Xi, however, stood aside, arms crossed, looking rather coldly at Zong Ya, seemingly disdainful of Zong Ling's claim to have found 'that feeling' in his martial arts practice.

Chen Xun was surprised.

For martial artists, the early stages of practicing the soul and martial arts to the point of body and mind harmony were crucial.

Only by achieving body and mind harmony could one awaken the soul, which was the most critical step.

Zong Ling, at only twelve years old, had found 'that feeling,' meaning he was just a step away from truly entering the realm of soul cultivation, showing that his talent was not inferior to Zong Ya's.

"How about it, do you dare to compete?" Zong Ling, slightly thinner and smaller, stared at Chen Xun with his black eyes, afraid that he would say 'no.'

Chen Xun smiled bitterly, "Last time I went into the mountains, I accidentally dropped the ironwood bow down a cliff. You know that, right? Unless you want the broken bow, I can't find anything to bet with you!"

"You can bet the tusks!" Zong Ling, being young, couldn't hide his thoughts and revealed them in just a few words.

"Tusks?" Chen Xun looked at Zong Ya in confusion, not knowing what this was about.

Zong Ya mysteriously pulled out two long tusks from his animal skin bag, which were the two snow-white and shiny tusks of the Black Python, and said, "Everyone says these two tusks are yours, and Grandpa asked me to give them to you..." He said he would give them, but he was reluctant to let go of the tusks.

The Black Python had lived in Tu Mountain for hundreds of years, about to form a demon core, but was struck by lightning and died. Every part of its body was a treasure.

These two tusks, when struck, produced a metallic sound. They had come out of the deep mountains and collided with rocks and trees in the ravines countless times, yet they showed no signs of breaking, being as tough and sharp as the finest weapons.

The Python Tooth Ridge did not produce copper or iron, and the best iron weapons came from Canglan City, thousands of miles away.

Even mid-rank martial artists in the Black Python tribe did not have iron weapons, and ordinary people mostly used stone blades and wooden spears for hunting.

Zong Ya had a bronze short sword, which many young martial artists in the village envied.

Now, with two tusks that were even tougher and sharper than iron weapons, it was no wonder they were eager to find him for an arm-wrestling match, hoping to win the tusks.

Seeing Zong Ya's reluctance, Chen Xun pointed to the bronze sword at his waist and said, "You can trade your bronze sword for one of the tusks."

Hearing this, Zong Ya's face lit up, and he quickly pulled out the bronze short sword from his grass belt, afraid that Chen Xun would change his mind: "Here, if Grandpa asks, you must say you offered to trade with me."

Chen Xun put the bronze short sword at his waist and handed the other tusk to Zong Ling: "Last time I went into the mountains, I walked further and took your ironwood bow for protection. I intended to return it after use, but it fell down the cliff and broke. I can't win you in an arm-wrestling match, so this tusk is my compensation..."

"Really?" Zong Ling was both surprised and delighted, looking at Chen Xun uncertainly.

He thought that the ironwood bow was something he had lost to Chen Xun, and a man should win the tusk through his own abilities, but he wasn't sure he could beat Chen Xun...

Seeing Zong Ling's conflicted expression, Chen Xun laughed and turned away, ignoring him.

Grandpa Zong Tu, respected and revered, had taken Chen Xun in despite opposition, but the other villagers had not fully accepted him as an outsider.

The Black Python people were reluctant to talk about their past, but Chen Xun could still sense their deep hostility toward outsiders.

However, under the leadership of Zong Ya and Zong Ling, the young people in the village treated Chen Xun warmly.

Whether out of gratitude for the Black Python tribe's kindness or to build good relations with the rising stars like Zong Ya and Zong Ling, Chen Xun was not stingy with a tusk, as he was not a child.

Zong Ling, seeing how easily Chen Xun gave him the tusk, was naturally delighted and generously untied the animal skin bag at his waist, spreading out his collection of "treasures" for Chen Xun to see: "Take whatever you like, consider it a trade for the tusk."

"You're so talkative, as if I'm a miser," Chen Xun said, feigning dissatisfaction.

Zong Ya also mocked Zong Ling, "Just a bag of junk, if you really wanted to trade, would Xun give you the tusk?"

Zong Ling scratched his head, embarrassed, and felt even closer to Chen Xun.

At this moment, Nan Liao led people carrying a huge skeleton out of the stone hall, immediately capturing the attention of the young people.

The snow-white snake-shaped skeleton was coiled like a giant millstone, and two mid-rank martial artists struggled to carry it with wooden poles.

"Ah, Grandpa is going to boil the Black Python skeleton with the Black Python for the feast!" Zong Ya was surprised to see the villagers carrying the skeleton onto the platform and throwing it into the bronze tripod.

The Black Python tribe revered the python as a sacred totem. A hundred miles west of the stone village was a snake valley, where the black python, the king of snakes, was extremely venomous.

The most important ingredient in making the Black Python pill was the snake saliva from the snake valley.

Chen Xun had seen Black Pythons over twelve meters long in the snake valley, which were already enormous, but this skeleton, if fully extended, would be twenty to thirty meters long. He wondered how many years this Black Python had lived before it died.

Chen Xun thought that the Black Python tribe must be bringing out all their best treasures to boil with the Black Python for the feast.

---

End of the page, AD starts

End of the page, AD ends