I Steal the Ancestors' Sacrifices to Nourish Myself

With the tribe members’ prostrations, the old tree in the middle of the tribe swayed, emitting layers of green halos.

A gentle breeze swept through, causing the old tree to sway and scatter droplets of green light, which merged into the bodies of those lying on the ground.

This made the prostrate figures even more excited.

After the ritual, a portion of the young and strong martial artists within the tribe were gathered, forming approximately two thousand-man squads of war soldiers.

Every member of the squad wore beast hide armor, most wielding bone weapons, while a few had metal weapons.

Soon, the two thousand-man squads of clan soldiers split into four groups, charging out of the tribe to patrol around it.

The remaining clan soldiers began to strengthen the tribe’s defenses.

Surrounding the tribe, the jungles were lush, filled with poisonous insects and wild beasts, also serving as their usual hunting grounds.

Outside the tribe.

"Worshiping a tree, abandoning their ancestors?"

Several figures concealed themselves in the higher jungle, observing this small tribe nestled in the mountains.

From this position, they could clearly see the entire scene within the tribe, especially the spectacle of a group of people prostrating in front of the ancient tree.

Yan Song held back the person beside him and said, "Wait, don’t go in!"

Judging by the size of tribes over in Yongyi, this tribe was considered a lower-grade tribe.

With roughly thirty thousand people, there were no fewer than five celestial vein martial artists, but none exceeding the fourth layer.

Yan Song, along with several Desert Patrol Envoys, were all divine treasure realm martial artists, naturally not regarding such a small tribe with much concern.

"That old tree should be a spirit plant, right? With its intense green glow, but even so, it shouldn’t be worshiped as an ancestor."

Hearing the person beside him speak, Yan Song slightly frowned, feeling that the old tree in the tribe was very strange.

At first glance, it seemed vibrant, yet carried an air of coldness, giving him an uneasy feeling.

Before leaving Yongyi, as the leader of this mission, he had investigated the scant information available about the Wood Ginger Race.

He discovered that this race was aligned with the Dao of Wood, skilled in dealing with spirit plants.

Now, with a spirit plant becoming the sacrificial spirit of the Human Race Tribe, worshipped by the whole tribe.

Knowing that the Human Race’s ancestral customs involved worshipping ancestors, it was said that this tree essentially became the ancestors of the Human Race.

Yan Song was now suspecting whether they had entered the territory of the Wood Ginger Clan.

"Amu, have you figured out anything?"

Subsequently, Yan Song looked toward the team’s only great wizard.

The others also looked towards Yan Mu.

Among the remaining five members of the group, Yan Song, Yan Mu, and another hailed from the Blazing Flame Bo Division, while the remaining two were from other Bo Divisions.

Throughout the journey, everyone deeply admired Yan Mu’s extensive knowledge.

"In the clan, I’ve dealt with many spirit plants, and this old tree feels very different, its spirituality is kind of strange, so for now, don’t get too close."

Yan Mu continued, "Look at the green light that’s falling and being absorbed by people; this is no different from a sacrificial spirit.

This implies the old tree might indeed have a spirit."

"Capture a few people and question them." Yan Song continued, "Weren’t their clan soldiers just out?

Look for an opportunity to capture a few and gather some detailed information."

Everyone nodded. Before leaving Yongyi, they wouldn’t have paid attention to such a small tribe.

But along the way, they had suffered too many losses to the Kuikui, even losing three brothers. Many unassuming grass and stones along the way could pose significant danger.

A spirit plant might seem trivial, but why has it become the tribe’s sacrificial spirit?

The Human Race has been passing down traditions for years, even altering the ancestral worship customs—what’s behind these changes?

...

"I circled the outskirts of the tribe, and indeed didn’t see any Ancestral Temple; they’re truly not worshipping ancestors, using the tree as the sacrificial spirit."

Desert Patrol Envoy Jiaozhou circled the small tribe, returned to Yan Song’s location, and continued: "Not only is there no Ancestral Temple, but there’s also no cemetery.

I searched within a hundred miles, and saw no traces of any cemeteries. Could it be they offered even their deceased tribesmen to the old tree as sacrifices?"

At this moment, another Desert Patrol Envoy, Lin Guang, approached quickly from a distance.

"Head, over here, there’s a fight breaking out."

...

In the forest a hundred miles from the tribe, shadows flickered as blades and swords clashed.

A squad of clan soldiers from the old tree tribe that had ventured out on patrol ran into a hunting team from another tribe.

The forest roared as this patrol team from the Yuee Mountain Tribe, comprising five hundred soldiers, clashed with the Jiaoshan Tribe’s hunting team of just three hundred.

The mountain tribe’s hunting team seemed busy for a while, carrying numerous large and small prey.

"Despicable Yuee Mountain, you ambushed us."

The leader of the Jiaoshan Tribe’s martial artists roared in anger, wielding a spear like a staff, continually batting away approaching bone arrows.

In the forest, with the old tree’s roots tangled and gnarled, both sides used the surrounding vegetation and rocks for cover, reaching a stalemate.

Behind an old tree, the Yuee Mountain thousand captain roared, "This is the hunting ground of our Yuee Mountain Tribe, these wild beasts are our prey, and the herbs are our herbs. You Jiaoshan Tribe bastards are stealing our resources."

"Hold them off; the other tribesmen will arrive soon."

"The Ancestral Tree Sacrificial Spirit loves fresh blood sacrifices; offering them your flesh and blood will surely earn the Ancestral Tree’s blessings!"

Whenever the Jiaoshan Tribe’s members began to retreat, inadvertently exposing themselves, they would meet a rain of arrows from the Yuee Mountain Tribe.

The forest floor had the corpses of seventy to eighty members of the Jiaoshan Tribe lying scattered.

Seeing his tribesmen on the ground, the Jiaoshan leader kept roaring, "You cowards only dare to ambush, come out and face us!"