Chapter 3: Spirit Sacrifice
The altar was made of huge stones, very open, built next to the broken old willow tree, and at this time, it was piled up with fierce beasts, like a small mountain.
Bright red beast blood stained the huge stone platform, flowing along the engraved drawings on the stone surface, red and colorful, coupled with the beast's thick and long animal hair, cold and glittering scales, and hideous huge horns, etc., shocking to the eyes, there was a tragic flood atmosphere coming to the surface.
Led by the old patriarch, the men, women and children of the stone village prayed together, asking for the willow tree's shelter, a serious ritual process, and it was a practice that was carried out every time they came back from a hunt.
The charred black tree was as silent as it had been in the past, and did not react at all, as it always did without taking offerings, but many of the village people knew that it had a spirit!
Finally, the sacrifice was complete, and the people all breathed a sigh of relief and a smile of joy resurfaced as they began to carry the bodies of these beasts, ready to go to be bled and cut.
"It's been many years, the sacrificial spirit hasn't moved the offerings even once, do we still need to perform the sacrifice every time?" A teenager mumbled in a small voice.
"What nonsense are you saying, brat!" His father stared angrily with wide copper bell eyes, swinging his bushy hand to beat him.
The old patriarch waved his hand to stop it, and softly said, "The sacrificial spirit, is the spirit that we sacrifice and offer to, it is valued in the sincerity of the heart, if we treat it with piety, it will guard and bless our village."
The young man's face suffocated red, panicked, "Matriarch I'm not heart dishonest, just think, the sacrificial spirit doesn't seem to need these offerings, never used."
"It's good that the heart is there." Shi Yunfeng patted his shoulder and explained with his heart.
The Sacrificial Spirit, also known as the "Spirit of Sacrifice", was the shortened form of a tribe's "Spirit of Sacrifice and Provision", which guarded the village and deterred the ferocious beasts in the Great Wasteland.
The elders of the tribe remembered that another spirit of sacrifice decades ago was different, a strange stone that lost most of its blood and was absorbed by it every time a sacrifice was made.
Until late one night, when Old Willow came and the strange stone chose to go away. Everything changed as a result.
Thinking about that rainy night back then, the old patriarch was a bit distracted, when he was still a teenager, and had witnessed that shocking and terrifying image.
In that late night, lightning and thunder, heavy rain, the storm raged to the extreme, the mountains were split by lightning and collapsed many, mountain torrents such as the sea, ferocious beasts such as the tide of wild running, the scene is horrifying.
It was at that time, a big willow tree through the sky appeared in the clouds, bathing in the sea of thunder, draped with mountain-thick lightning, thousands of willows transformed into a blazing divine chain, piercing through the entire dome of the sky, as if it was fighting something.
Finally, the big willow tree snapped, scorched black, shrunk to as big as it is now, crashed down, rooted in the stone village, at the same time the lightning disappeared, pouring torrential rain receded. The strange stone that had been sacrificed and offered in the village that night was gone.
Every time I think of it, the old patriarch was trembling, the old willow tree is not from other large tribes or mountains and rivers and swamps to remove the roots, but from the dome of the sky, encountered the endless sea of thunder and lightning and loss, the village did not know a few people.
For the first few decades, it was scorched black, without a bit of vitality, like it was completely dead, and it wasn't until ten years ago that it drew out a new tender green branch, and there was no change after that.
"Brat, you guys be careful, it's rare to harvest these ferocious beasts, their blood essence as well as sinews and some of their bones are precious and amazing, don't lose the essence." The old patriarch returned to his senses and admonished.
The clan's young and strong men with silver knives were cutting the giant beasts, from time to time there were clanging noises and sparks splashed everywhere, the skeletons of the giant beasts were amazingly hard.
Some people have long prepared a large pot made of pottery to receive that blood essence retained in special parts of the beast's body, which is excellent blood tonic medicine, very rare.
This pile of beast corpse and to brave the most precious, although only a descendant, far less than the pure bloodline of the brave royal family, but the same contains part of the true blood, the value is amazing.
From the last time to capture the brave this kind of ferocious beast has been more than two years past, they are too ferocious and powerful, a claw down can be bad for a strong person's life, it is really not good to deal with, the ferocity is amazing.
It could be said that the harvest this time was staggering.
"Well, the true blood retained in the rhinoceros horn of this Two-Headed Fire Rhinoceros is extremely astonishing as well, no worse than that Pixie!" An old man personally operated the knife, unraveling the hard-as-golden-stone flesh under the rhinoceros horn, and dripping out a stream of true blood that was as red as fire.
Suddenly, that blood unexpectedly turned into a reddish aura, and a palm-length two-headed fire rhinoceros emerged, reddish and lifelike, roaring angrily.
"Good stuff, this true blood has extremely strong medicinal properties, no worse than that Pixie!" The old man who operated the sword laughed out loud and quickly collected that rhinoceros blood in an earthenware jar, firmly sealing the mouth of the jar.
"Patriarch, this Dragon Horned Elephant's horn is also a good thing ah, it was already dying when we found it, or else we really couldn't clean it up." A youth said.
Shi Yunfeng nodded and said, "It's really uncommon, this pair of dragon horns on its head has been growing for some years, carefully chiseling them down, it's a rare bone tonic treasure medicine."
"This tendon of the Kui beast's one leg is so tough, it can't even be cut with an axe."
"It's all good stuff. Brat be careful, don't spoil the precious blood at the flying python's wings!"
The clansmen rejoiced, all filled with smiles.
Only a group of children shrank their necks and ran away like smoke, because they knew that most of these so-called blood medicines and bone medicines would be used on them, and they would start to "suffer" again.
Until half an hour later, the beast on the growth of the "precious medicine" was picked up, the matriarch and a few old people nodded with satisfaction, collected those pots, take to deal with.
"So much prey, in a moment, we'll marinate part of it, and then smoke it and make it into jerky part of it." The experienced old man spoke.
Such a large number of beasts piled up together like a small mountain, the whole village could not finish eating for many days, if it rotted it was really a waste, for the village people who were somewhat short of food it must not be allowed.
The women of each family began to come forward to share the meat, all with genuine smiles, earlier worried about the men who went out, and now not only are they all back safely, but also harvested so much, this is the best gift of God.
Smoke curls up from every household, half an hour later the aroma of meat spreads, the meat stewed in the iron pots of every house is about to rot, the children have long been waiting. And the rack on the fire roasted animal meat also began to become golden and oily, dripping grease, falling in the fire giggling, those strong men can not help it, began to tear the meat, biting the mouth full of flowing juice, appetite.
"Wazi, this is brave meat, eat more will grow great strength, is a rare rare meat ah."
"Brat eat more, this is the meat of the two-headed rhinoceros, make up some more can make your skin and bones strong as iron, don't eat that most useless tree pig meat."
All kinds of beasts became the most sumptuous food for the village people in the evening, the tantalizing meat aroma drifted out to the street, attracting people's appetites like a tide, bursts of laughter came, the whole village was a joyous celebration.
