I Steal the Ancestors' Sacrifices to Nourish Myself-Chapter 49 - 20: Plotting the Shipwreck, Lingyu Book Categories
Upon hearing Jifu’s words, Huo Chang and Shen Can both thought of the ironwood ship fragments.
"Of the three sunken ships, one sank in the Great Marsh, one sank not far from the Lingyu, and another should have sunk near you."
"I can take you to find the location of the sunken ship nearby."
Hearing this, Shen Can stirred the honey in the jar again.
"I already told you, why are you doing this?"
Seeing Shen Can’s actions, Jifu was startled.
Shen Can said nothing, and applied a handful of honey on Jifu.
The ironwood ship fragments indeed confirmed the presence of a sunken ship nearby.
But he didn’t believe Jifu knew the exact location of the sunken ship.
An exile, imprisoned within the tribe.
The exile road was far and wide, with floods raging and ten thousand mountains overlapping.
Jifu was either locked in a cage or confined to the cabin, at most hearing the Lingyu tribe people say that a ship had sunk.
So, this guy just wanted to use this as an excuse to get out.
The fact that they caught Jifu was Jifu’s bad luck.
The two major means of summoning plague insects and wild beasts were fully utilized on Jifu without pity.
If Jifu really escaped, the tribe would suffer endless ambushes.
Attacks every now and then, and Blazing Flame wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
For a moment, the cave became quiet.
The eerie silence frightened Jifu.
"I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you, I don’t know the position of the ship sunk on the road ahead, but I know where the one sunk in the Great Marsh is."
"You’re lying. The Great Marsh is vast. Can you remember where the ship sank?"
"Really, after being exiled, I followed for a while and saw with my own eyes where the ship sank."
"Lying again, does the Lingyu tribe have so much wealth that they just leave a sunken ship without salvaging it?"
Jifu hurriedly explained, "The Great Marsh’s waters surge terribly, there’s no way to salvage it, they were all broken into..."
The words abruptly stopped.
In the vast Great Marsh, water flows endlessly from west to east, how could shattered fragments possibly sink to the bottom without moving?
As for those who fell into the water, do you think the water beasts only eat vegetables?
Jifu was terrified, feeling that all the survival means he wanted to grasp were useless.
"I know witchcraft, I know witchcraft."
Shen Can glanced at Huo Chang, then grabbed a jar of Mafei Powder nearby and poured it into Jifu’s nose.
This guy was definitely going to be killed, but before squeezing everything out of him, let him sleep a bit more.
After all, once dead, he could never wake up again.
"Acan, will this work?"
Huo Chang was a bit worried, "What if he dies?"
"He won’t die."
Shen Can spoke, feeling that the secrets from Jifu were almost entirely squeezed out.
Sacrificial artifact, martial dao, even in his best witchcraft, he probably didn’t know much.
An exile who had actually cultivated the tribal core witchcraft path would have been executed before stepping out.
Shen Can was prepared to repeatedly interrogate these questions in the coming days.
Once everything was extracted, directly dunk him in the dung pit.
Simply stopped Jifu’s bleeding, assigned Huo Kui to guard inside the cave, and then Shen Can and Huo Chang entered Huo Xian’s ear chamber.
Inside the ear chamber.
Shen Can recorded on the beast hide scroll.
Huo Chang sat cross-legged to the side, sometimes frowning, sometimes relaxing.
For a long time.
Shen Can organized Jifu’s words, and Huo Xian eagerly started reading.
"Acan, how credible do you think what this person says is?"
Shen Can sensed hesitation and a bit of confusion in Huo Chang.
Jifu had revealed far more than they had imagined.
These things might be common knowledge in Lingyu, but here they were separated by countless mountains and rivers from Lingyu, and lacked this information.
"Acan, how much has Ashan’s Qi strength increased now, is there a chance to reach the Power of Seventy-Two Desolations?"
Before Shen Can could respond to the previous question, Huo Chang spoke again.
Now he felt that Shen Can, as the Ancestral Temple Keeper, indeed had a broader perspective than him as the clan leader.
Stopping Huo Shan from soaking in beast blood to advance to the Celestial Vein back then was indeed the right decision.
"Uncle Huo Shan might reach the Power of Seventy-Two Desolations, but Uncle Huo Qii won’t."
"Having one is enough, I’m not picky, take it slow." Huo Chang chuckled.
"Looks like I should also start caring more about Huo Shan."
At this moment, Shen Can saw the strong affection Huo Chang had for Huo Shan on his face.
To the side, after reading the beast hide scroll, Huo Xian sighed, "Sacrificial artifacts, martial dao, witchcraft path; we lack all of these."
"We will have them eventually." Huo Chang’s eyes were firm, "Tomorrow, I will look for Shi Fu and the others, they are survivors from the tribes near the wetlands, see if there are any news about the sunken ship in the water.
However, I think the chances of finding it are very small, the flood is overwhelming, and the broken ship might have long been swept away by the water.
"Since we discovered the fragments of an Ironwood Ship nearby, let’s start searching around this area,"
Huo Chang spoke, focusing their target on the Ironwood Ship near the tribe.
"Elder Clan Uncle, Acan, do you remember when the flood had just passed, the Upper Huang Division came twice to inquire about the whereabouts of the Ironwood Ship fragments.
It’s been so long since the plague subsided, yet no one from the Upper Huang Division has appeared.
I previously thought they might have suffered severe damage and were recuperating, or perhaps they looked down on our small tribe nearby.
But now, is it possible that the main forces of the Upper Huang Division are searching for this sunken ship?
It’s been a long time since the flood, the Upper Huang Division might have found more fragments."
Huo Chang’s eyes lit up, "If things continue like this, sooner or later we will have a battle with Upper Huang."
Huo Chang thought deeply, if Blazing Flame did not develop, this battle might not occur.
Bowing humbly might work, perhaps they would take us as slaves.
However, Blazing Flame has now developed greatly, with a distance of three thousand miles, it cannot accommodate two simultaneously developing tribes.
"No, I will go near the Upper Huang Division tomorrow to take a look."
...
Returning to the cave, Shen Can lay down.
"Sacrificial Artifact?"
Calming himself, he could sense the Three-legged Small Tripod Cauldron within his body, though he could sense it, he was unable to summon it.
It seemed like a lively mark between flesh and blood.
This Sacrificial Artifact absorbed the longevity of sacrifices, could protect the body, nurture the spirit, and develop martial arts.
The Sacrificial Artifact Jifu mentioned was a vessel for storing ancestral power.
Moreover, the Sacrificial Artifact needed yearly sacrifices for maintenance, and when activated, it required communication with the Ancestral Temple Keeper, more like a tribal trump card.
Trying to mobilize the Three-legged Small Tripod Cauldron was in vain, Shen Can intermittently recalled Jifu’s words.
"Sacrificial Artifact, ancestral power, without a strong figure in the clan, having the Sacrificial Artifact is temporarily useless."
"What kind of special mineral can store ancestral power, is it possible that a martial artist poured their blood essence into the Sacrificial Artifact before dying?"
Shen Can didn’t doubt Jifu’s words regarding the Sacrificial Artifact material.
If someone knew the secret material of the clan’s most confidential object, it would be abnormal.
Muttering repeatedly, the day broke.
Shen Can got up to serve the ancestors.
And within the tribe, there was movement before dawn.
Huo Chang left the tribe with people under the cover of night, taking Huo Yui’s hunting team of a hundred, along with more than ten agile clan members serving as scouts and messengers.
After cleaning the ancestral temple, Shen Can entered the cave where Jifu was held.
Huo Kui sat opposite Jifu with eyes wide open.
Jifu had yet to wake.
"Uncle Huo Kui, you should rest."
"Acan, I’m not tired, he hasn’t moved all night."
Shen Can reached for Jifu’s arm.
"Ah..."
Jifu was forcibly awakened.
"Tell me what kind of witchcraft can resonate with the witchcraft texts engraved on the Ironwood Ship."
The Ironwood Ship sank, its fragments scattered over a vast area, making it difficult to locate.
Still in pain, Jifu immediately realized.
Here it comes, yesterday he remained indifferent to witchcraft, intending to play a trick to catch me off guard.
If given the opportunity to get out, I will repay the pain inflicted a hundredfold.
"Ah!"
Before Jifu could boast, Shen Can began the harsh interrogation.
He found that although Jifu was a wizard, he had a robust physique.
Whether Jifu spoke or not wouldn’t change the final outcome, worst comes, Shen Can would deduce directly, seeking Jifu only to save longevity.
"I’ll tell you, the Lingyu Water Control Book’s Artifact Refining Chapter has Spiritual Response Technique and Witch Rune..."
"Huff, huff!"
Jifu quickly explained, gasping from the pain.
"I can teach you."
...
Half an hour later.
Shen Can returned to the cave and began writing on a Beast Hide Scroll.
According to Jifu’s narration, the Lingyu Book was a comprehensive witchcraft encyclopedia.
It consisted of Witchcraft Chapter (Combat), Witch Talisman Chapter, Hunting Chapter, Weapon Enchantment Chapter, Spirit Plant Cultivation Chapter, Plague Treatment Chapter, and many other categories.
Since the founding of the Lingyu Tribe, successive wizards have continuously expanded and compiled.
No wonder small tribes struggle to survive while large tribes stand firm like mountains; the difference is too great.
He had only deduced a few Witch Runes, while others have played with them extensively, compiling them into the ’Lingyu Grand Ceremony.’
Due to the numerous categories, Lingyu Tribe’s wizards would divide specifically for witch cultivation based on their circumstances.
Some made talismans, some farmed, some enchanted weapons, truly applying witchcraft in every corner of the tribe.
For instance, Jifu, before the mutation, practiced the Witchcraft Combat Chapter, he just didn’t expect to mutate while cultivating.
