Possession Plague Worm

The sun hung high in the sky.

Below the tribal mountain, figures over two meters tall carried massive stones as if they were toys, swiftly building field ridges along the rolling terrain.

As the temple heir, Shen Can naturally did not have to do such heavy labor.

Of course, even if he had wanted to, it would not have been his turn. The tribespeople all thought his skin was too tender, that he ought to help Huo Xian sort medicinal herbs instead.

A-Can's physique talent was not ideal.

This had already become the consensus throughout the tribe.

Shen Can emerged from the isolation cave and looked down toward the foot of the mountain.

The tribespeople truly worked quickly. The tribal grounds below had nearly been cleared.

"A-Can, the chief is looking for you." A tribesman stopped him halfway.

Shen Can changed direction and headed for the cave where the chief was.

As the tribe chief, Huo Tang's greatest difference from the other tribespeople was that he had a cave all to himself.

Naturally, his cave was also where tribal meetings were held.

"Chief."

After entering the cave, Shen Can spoke first.

"A-Can, your Uncle Huo Xian says you are very talented in the path of shamanic medicine. You have nearly caught up to him already."

Huo Tang examined Shen Can. Ever since Shen Can had helped him isolate the tribespeople last time, he had felt that Shen Can was one of the few people in the tribe with a brain.

He was someone worth cultivating.

The Blazing Flame Tribe had over two thousand people. There were plenty who dared to charge headfirst into danger, but truly few who knew how to use their heads.

"I called you here to prepare neutralizing shamanic medicine. I will need it soon. Just like the previous isolation of the tribespeople, this must be done secretly. Do not let the tribespeople know."

"Prepare three portions of Second-tier medicine first. I will need them in the latter half of the night."

"Since the chief has ordered it, I will make them as soon as I return."

Shen Can did not ask further. Having accepted the task, he left the chief's cave.

Night fell.

Inside the ancestral temple, Shen Can stared keenly at the strange fish that still had one breath left.

His lifespan was insufficient—wasn't this just the perfect replenishment?

The tribespeople were really pulling their weight.

The next part went smoothly. The ancestors had another feast.

Sacrificial Host plundered 232 years of lifespan from the Second-tier Desolate Beast Snakebone Scale Fish.

The Luan Knife slit open the fish's body. Its beast blood filled three entire stone troughs, after which the fish meat was taken away along with it.

Huo Tang did not leave.

"Elder Uncle, the plague worms have not appeared outside the tribe for a long time. Moreover, the infected tribespeople are all recovering. Do you think this plague is about to pass?"

Huo Tang spoke. Naturally, professional matters had to be discussed with someone experienced.

Huo Xian lowered his head in thought.

This year, affected by the shamanic medicine, the plague worms had not approached the tribal grounds. Even the number of infected tribespeople had fallen considerably.

Naturally, he knew that Shen Can had isolated tribespeople with fake plague sickness.

Huo Tang continued, "The houses at the foot of the mountain have now been cleared out. The silt is fertile. If the plague has passed, we can have the tribespeople begin farming and gathering as soon as possible."

When it came to food and drink, earlier was always better than later.

"Also, I do not intend to move the ancestral temple for now."

"Arrange things as you see fit. A-Can is the temple heir now. This old man has already washed his hands of it."

Huo Xian pondered before saying, "As for whether the plague has truly passed, this old man must first look through the records left by our ancestors."

"I will do whatever the chief says." Shen Can had no objections at all.

Keeping the ancestral temple on the mountain would make it even more convenient to deliver sacrifices there in the middle of the night.

Clearly, the improved martial arts and shamanic medicine had stirred the chief's ambition.

What opinion could he, a mere temple heir, possibly have?

The chief was a man with plans. Shen Can only needed to serve the ancestors and plunder lifespan.

Very good.

Huo Tang did not leave either, waiting for Huo Xian to review the tribal records.

Shen Can also helped search through them nearby. The Blazing Flame Tribe did not have much ancestral experience to begin with—only three or five Beast Hide Maps.

The tribal records stated that the longest plague had lasted three months, while the shortest had lasted one month.

Judging by the shortest precedent and the tribe's current condition, the Blazing Flame Tribe should have weathered the plague following this flood.

But how should he put it? In Shen Can's eyes, this was Schrödinger's meow.

The Blazing Flame Tribe knew nothing about the situation farther outside. All they knew was that things around the tribe were looking good.

Of course, he thought this way because he was not the tribe chief.

He only needed to serve the ancestors.

Huo Tang, meanwhile, had to oversee the entire tribe's food, clothing, shelter, and waste.

After discussing it, Huo Tang decided to wait a little longer. He would only send part of the tribe down the mountain to reclaim farmland, while their housing would be arranged elsewhere.

At the same time, medicinal broth and the like were not to be stopped.

Inside the ancestral temple.

"Shengquan Feitu, offerings abundant and prepared."

As Shen Can chanted, the Luan Knife pierced the Desolate Beast's neck before him.

Sacrificial Host plundered 57 years of lifespan from the First-Order Desolate Beast Mountain-Cleaving Kui.

Lifespan: 1098

Holding the blood goblet, Shen Can felt a thought rise in his mind. His lifespan, which had been depleted before, had once more surpassed a thousand years.

The sacrifice was completed, and the meat was distributed. Shen Can walked to the cave entrance and took a breath of fresh air.

Below the mountain, green shoots had already sprouted across the terraces that had settled once more.

Every few days, tribespeople returning from hunts would bring back a Desolate Beast to offer at the ancestral temple.

However, First-Order Desolate Beasts were generally delivered during the day. After their beast blood was drained, tribespeople would be arranged to soak in it.

Second-tier Desolate Beasts, meanwhile, were brought into the ancestral temple under cover of night, and their beast blood was taken away by the chief.

Moreover, the hunting teams delivering the sacrifices had been divided into two groups.

Shen Can never pried into such matters. Nor was he curious about Huo Shan having disappeared again.

Within Juyue Mountain.

Huo Shan, whom Shen Can had been muttering about, was carefully leading tribespeople through the mountains. Everyone had clear duties.

One person cleared the way in front, while another followed behind, occasionally taking out a piece of dried ferocious beast dung from a beast-hide pouch and scattering it along the route.

Huo Shan moved around the front, rear, and sides of the group, going back and forth as he watched over them.

More than ten li behind the group, a nimble tribesman walked and stopped intermittently. Following the branches stuck along the way and the stones laid out as markers, he gathered the scattered ferocious beast dung back into his beast-hide pouch.

They had been out for over twenty days already, yet they had not found a single Second-tier Desolate Beast. Their range of activity had also carried them farther and farther from the tribe.

"Go around the Fu Shan Tribe."

Huo Shan took out the Beast Hide Map and studied it. The area within three hundred li of the tribe was still familiar territory, and the tribe had long marked locations through certain distinctive landforms.

For example, the mountain in the distance with a massive boulder on its peak—the Fu Shan Tribe was located beneath that boulder-strewn mountain.

The tribal records stated: three hundred li northeast of the tribe lay the Fu Shan Tribe.

Fu Shan was already one of the tribes closer to the depths of the Giant Peak Mountain Range. There were other tribes living farther in, but the Blazing Flame Tribe did not know much about them.

For three hundred years, the tribe's range of activity had been this large. Going farther out risked losses that were too great.

This time, Huo Shan had led the group out to see whether they could find a Third-tier Desolate Beast while the various tribes were busy guarding against the plague.

He had also come in the direction of the Fu Shan Tribe because tribal records said that Third-tier Desolate Beasts had once appeared near it.

He had come to try his luck.

Previously, he had visited several other places, only to find nothing. Instead, he had encountered quite a few plague worms moving through the mountains.

After circling around the Fu Shan Tribe, the group climbed toward the mountain with the giant boulder on its summit, intending to cross over it.

"The Fu Shan Tribe is being quite careless. Why have they not even lit their bonfires? Do they think the plague has completely passed?"

After climbing the mountain, Huo Yan leaned against a boulder and gazed into the distance. There was not even a trace of smoke in the direction of the Fu Shan Tribe.

Huo Shan held his breath and looked over as well.

More than a month ago, he had come to observe the Fu Shan Tribe. Smoke had curled through the air, the scent of medicine had pervaded everything, and the tribespeople had stood ready in battle formation. The chief had been deeply disappointed that he had found no chance to pick up a bargain.

After watching for a while, Huo Shan thought it over and said, "Let us rest here for now."

The group found shelter beneath the boulder and began replenishing their strength. Once night came—

There was still no firelight in the direction of the Fu Shan Tribe.

Now no one could sit still.

"Go down the mountain. Wait for me at the foot. I will go take a look."

Huo Shan made his decision, and the group once again rushed down the mountain in hunting formation.

Huo Shan cautiously made his way toward the Fu Shan Tribe.

The Fu Shan Tribe's grounds were much like those of the Blazing Flame Tribe. They went up the mountain during floods and came down when there were none.

To drive away plague worms, bonfires had been set on all the hills around the tribal grounds.

Huo Shan approached from the west of the Fu Shan Tribe and climbed a small mountain to its west. The place on the mountaintop where a bonfire had once burned had long since become a pile of ashes.

He carefully looked down from the mountain.

The direction of the Fu Shan Tribe's grounds was quiet.

The sight sent a chill through Huo Shan. He bit down on his scarf, and the thick scent of shamanic medicine flooded his mouth and nose, jolting his spirits awake.

He waited like that until dawn.

Then he saw tribespeople emerge from the Fu Shan Tribe's caves. Their movements were somewhat stiff, and no one greeted anyone else.

The atmosphere was so quiet it was unnatural.

A terrible thought surfaced in his mind.

Huo Shan was horrified. He hurried down the mountain, nearly falling flat on his face along the way.

"Brother Shan, how was it?"

"Monkey, your legs are fast. Hurry back to the tribe—no, you cannot enter the tribe. Stay outside and call for the chief. Tell him... tell him the Fu Shan Tribe has plague... plague worms."

"Plague worms that can possess people."

At those words, everyone was shocked.

Huo Hou had not even reacted yet.

"Did you hear me?"

Huo Shan lifted his foot and kicked Huo Hou.

"Everyone, give Huo Hou all the medicinal broth you have left. Wash yourself clean with the medicinal broth before you go near the tribe."

Thanks to the tribespeople who advertised this story. When the author gets recommended, the author will ask other authors for chapter recommendations.