Chapter 10

In the dense jungle where the sky is obscured, a hot spring bubbles up, emitting a steady stream of water bubbles.

The bottom of the clear hot spring is covered with a layer of fine white sand, and the area around the spring is clean, with a large black stone slab. The water continuously gushing from underground flows out along several marks on the stone slab and quickly seeps into the thick humus soil around it, disappearing without a trace.

Ji Wu comfortably soaks in the hot spring, with a faint glow of fire occasionally appearing on his skin.

Jiang Yan, holding a red snake about ten feet long, walks slowly around the hot spring, chanting an ancient and obscure incantation. The snake's neck is cut open by a black jade knife in Jiang Yan's hand, and the bright red, scorching hot snake blood continuously flows down, spontaneously forming dozens of strange runes the size of human heads on the stone slab by the hot spring.

About seven women, each nearly three meters tall, muscular and robust, stand by the hot spring, constantly throwing medicine packets made of various sizes of leaves into the water.

Sometimes, they throw even more peculiar items into the hot spring, such as animal teeth as long as an adult's arm, various strange venom glands and sacs, and the corpses and shells of various mysterious insects.

The originally clear hot spring gradually changes color, and under the influence of Jiang Yan's witchcraft, the water gradually turns into a thick, blood-red slurry. Strands of red gas continuously seep into Ji Wu's body, causing his body to convulse violently, and his rugged face gradually becomes twisted and fierce.

A few miles away, Ji Hao stands on the treetop of a towering tree, smiling as he watches the scene.

Old Stone paces around the base of the tree, troubled. His body is too heavy for any tree to bear his weight. He can only anxiously watch Ji Hao, curious about what he is seeing.

Beside Old Stone stands a tree spirit, whose form is roughly discernible as having human limbs but still looks like an old tree overall. The branches coiled around its body hold a large wine jar, and it opens its black, gaping mouth, sipping the wine bit by bit.

Every time Old Stone walks past it, the old tree spirit extends a branch and whips Old Stone's buttocks hard. However, Old Stone shows no reaction to the pain, and the branch has no effect on him.

On the treetop, beside Ji Hao, a beautiful girl covered in vines is playing with a long bow, smiling. Her demeanor changes in an instant; when she frowns and ponders, her aura is clear and ethereal like a mountain fairy; when she smiles gently and raises her eyebrows, she is like thousands of roses and peonies in full bloom, exuding boundless charm, making her seem both enchanting and demonic.

The girl rides a large, entirely red leopard with silver spots in its fur. This creature, over three meters long, stands lightly on a branch as thick as a child's arm, without any sign of movement.

Old Stone is a 'stone monster,' a giant stone in the mountains that has gained sentience and been nourished by the power of the stars, evolving into a 'spirit monster.'

The old tree spirit is a 'tree spirit,' an ancient tree in the forest that has gained intelligence and the power of nature, self-cultivating into a human form.

The girl is named 'Heng Luo Jun,' a name given to her by Ji Hao. She is a 'mountain spirit' or 'mountain deity,' a strange being formed by the natural gathering of spiritual energy in the mountains, nurtured by heaven and earth, and born with the ability to control beasts, identify plants, and communicate with spirits and ghosts.

Since he was young, Ji Hao has never been willing to play with the other children in the tribe. Since he could walk, he has spent most of his time in the mountains and forests. In recent years, Old Stone, the old tree spirit, Heng Luo Jun, and other strange creatures have been his friends.

With a 'cackle,' Heng Luo Jun suddenly points at a branch beside her, and a green bud quickly grows on the paper, soon turning into a flower the size of a human head. A rich fragrance emanates from the flower, and the voices of Jiang Yan and Ji Wu can be heard.

In the forest, the flowers and trees within ten miles of Heng Luo Jun become her eyes and ears.

Ji Hao squats beside Heng Luo Jun, listening quietly to the conversation between Jiang Yan and Ji Wu.

Jiang Yan walks quickly around the hot spring, throwing various strange herbs into the water and sternly scolding Ji Wu.

"Wu, you are my son, Jiang Yan. Your grandfather is the great shaman of the Bifang tribe, the most powerful elder. Your bloodline is far nobler than that of the lowly Fire Crow tribe. How could you lose to a brat three or four years younger than you?"

Ji Wu bares his teeth and growls softly, "Mother, I was just caught off guard. At the ancestral ceremony, I won't give him a chance. I will split him in two with one axe."

Excited by his own words, Ji Wu raises his hands and waves them vigorously in the air.

Jiang Yan narrows her eyes and says coldly, "That's right. You have the noble blood of the Bifang tribe flowing through your veins. How can you lose to the offspring of a bunch of black crows? Kill Ji Hao in front of all the Fire Crow tribe members... My son cannot lose to the son of a lowly Qingyi tribe woman."

Heng Luo Jun looks at Ji Hao curiously, "A woman from the Qingyi tribe? Are you talking about your mother? I really like the scent of your mother, Hao."

Ji Hao listens to the voices coming from the flower and says slowly, "I like my mother too, but if someone doesn't like it, there's nothing I can do."

From the large flower, Jiang Yan's voice continues.

"However, Wu, don't kill him. At the ancestral ceremony, you and Ji Hao will swear a blood oath to the ancestral spirits. The one who loses will become the other's slave."

"You must make Ji Hao your slave, understand?"

Ji Wu growls, "A slave? I don't need more slaves. Mother, Father has destroyed over a dozen small tribes in recent years, and I have over a hundred slaves. Why do I need Ji Hao as a slave? I want to get rid of him."

"Make him a slave, you fool," Jiang Yan's voice becomes especially eerie and sinister. "Make him a slave... If I kill Qing Fu at the ancestral ceremony, you can do whatever you want. But if I don't succeed, use Ji Hao's life to force Qing Fu to hand over the two ancestral witch treasures she brought as dowry!"

Ji Hao listens with a delighted expression, genuinely applauding Jiang Yan's cunning plan.

"Very good, very good. Her husband wants to take my father's position, she wants to take my mother's ancestral witch treasures, and her son wants to get rid of me! What a wonderful family of good people!"

With a laugh, Ji Hao points in the direction of the hot spring.

The old tree spirit opens its mouth, swallows the wine jar, and waddles its massive body toward the hot spring.

***

A serious reminder: Heng Luo Jun is not the main female character! She is at most a close friend, not the main female character!

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