The Origin of Witchcraft Spells, Ideas for Reform

After seeing the tribal chief off, Shen Can breathed a sigh of relief.

Why wouldn't a tired tribal chief like Huo Tang just eat well, drink well, and hide in the Ancestral Temple as an elder?

It's just that there haven't been any sacrifices to the ancestors lately.

It's not that everyone doesn't respect their ancestors, it's just that even the tribes in the wilderness are empty, let alone desolate beasts.

Plague Worms treat people and beasts the same.

"A-Can, you don't want to be the chief?"

Shen Can got up and walked to the fire pit, pouring Huo Xian a bowl of medicine.

"Master, what's so good about being the chief? Look how tired Uncle Huo Tang is. I'd rather assist him from behind."

After the plague, Huo Xian's health hadn't been good, and he often coughed.

"A-Tang is indeed quite tired," Huo Xian nodded. "He was also exhausted by this plague, he just didn't show it to the tribesmen."

Not to mention Huo Tang, Huo Xian himself had lived for decades and had been terrified this time.

He had never experienced anything like it, nor did he have any inherited experience to follow. He lived in constant fear, praying for ancestral protection countless times a day.

After watching Huo Xian finish his medicine and fall asleep, Shen Can returned to his ear with the beast skin scroll.

There were too many beast skin scrolls sent back by Huo Shan, and he needed to sort them out one by one. He had already read more than half of them and hadn't found any descriptions of Witchcraft Spell yet.

Shen Can wasn't disappointed. He had talked with Huo Xian.

The Blazing Flame Tribe and the surrounding tribes were, to put it bluntly, formed by remnants and savages gathered together.

Just like this flood and plague, the surrounding tribes were destroyed.

The remaining survivors would gather together after the plague, forming new tribes and reoccupying these vacant areas.

The appearance of the Blazing Flame Tribe three hundred years ago might have been similar to the scene before him.

Tribes formed in this way had no foundation. Even if they could last for another three hundred years, they could only guarantee their survival.

The beast skin scrolls passed before Shen Can's eyes one by one.

As dawn approached, Shen Can pulled out a damaged scroll that was also blank and hairless. His eyes lit up; he had finally found it.

Although it wasn't Witchcraft Spell, it recorded things related to Witchcraft Spell.

Witchcraft Spell, like Martial Arts, originated from desolate beasts, specifically powerful异种荒兽 (异种荒兽).

异种荒兽 possessed supernatural powers, much like the Plague Bird he had dealt with earlier, which had a pale light on its body that could deflect the force of javelins.

And these supernatural powers seemed to be related to certain mysteries of heaven and earth.

Human ancestors, by comprehending 异种荒兽 and combining them with the mysteries of heaven and earth, could be said to have created 'witch runes'. It was more like they depicted these existing 'witch runes' in character form from heaven and earth.

Witch runes were basic characters that could form different Witchcraft Spells.

Furthermore, the inheritance of Witchcraft Spell was different from what Shen Can had initially thought.

Unlike Kui Ox Fist in Martial Arts, which many tribes could practice, the Witchcraft Spells inherited by different tribes were somewhat secretive due to the different 异种荒兽 they observed.

It was more like the family inheritance of scriptures in novels about the Eastern Han Dynasty that he had read in his previous life.

For example, the Runan Yuan Clan passed down the Meng Shi Yi through generations and was proficient in Shang Shu, while the Hongnong Yang Clan meticulously studied the Ouyang Shangshu.

In the current Great Wilderness, the Ling Yu Tribe, for instance, meticulously studied the Ling Yu Water Manipulation Manual. Unknown large tribes might specialize in the Kui Ox Lightning Control Manual.

There might be overlapping Witchcraft Spell inheritance among the major tribes, but each family had its fundamental Witchcraft Dao that established their lineage.

The foundation of a tribe's establishment was to ensure its inheritance for thousands of generations. It was natural that such knowledge would not be easily leaked.

They would also research, refine, and supplement it generation after generation, gradually increasing the power of their Witchcraft Spells.

It was no wonder that smaller tribes had no access to Witchcraft Spell.

Shen Can put away the beast skin scroll and stretched.

Practicing the Witchcraft Dao was indeed not easy. Most small tribes couldn't access the initial witch runes, and even if they did, no one was there to teach them literacy.

The threshold for inheritance was extremely high.

It was now certain that there should be many basic witch symbols.

But because he had access to the beast pattern diagrams of the Ling Yu Tribe, and the Ling Yu Tribe was familiar with water, the basic witch runes he had deduced were biased towards water manipulation.

He had currently deduced eighteen basic witch runes from the Ling Yu Water Manipulation Manual, and it was only a matter of time before he stole all the Witchcraft Dao of the Ling Yu Tribe.

Putting away the beast skin scroll, Shen Can lay down on the stone bed.

Time to rest.

Shen Can entered his dreams, but Huo Tang was still biting the end of his brush, his brow furrowed.

He did not feel any resentment about the advice Shen Can had given him, as in the Great Wilderness, only those with ability could lead everyone to survive.

If you're capable, people will respect you.

Selecting a group of people from the tribe to train in martial arts was indeed a good idea.

Now that Huo Shan was bringing in resources from other tribes nonstop, he no longer wanted to be a miser.

In the past, there was no other way. If they didn't ration their food, they could easily starve if they encountered any disasters.

With so many resources from various tribes now, and the tribe not even having three thousand people, it was enough to last for many years.

If they didn't consume them and ended up like the surrounding tribes, where the grain remained but the people were gone, it would be a huge loss.

The list of tribesmen was right in front of him, with simple portraits following their names.

Never mind whether the drawings were accurate, at least the basic characteristics of each person were described to ensure they could be identified.

"The elderly ones are not suitable."

Huo Tang pondered the selection criteria.

In fact, this plague had once again lightened the burden for the Blazing Flame Tribe. Most of the tribesmen who died were the elderly.

"Women with children cannot be chosen."

"Huo Yan..."

Looking at the names recorded on the animal skin scroll, Huo Tang's brow furrowed even more.

There were three Huo Yans on the list, with ages seventeen, thirty-four, and fifty-three.

Three generations: young, middle-aged, and old.

The probability of names repeating within the tribe was quite high. This was because when tribesmen named their children, they habitually used whatever they saw nearby at the time of birth.

Having the name Yan was fine, but there were over a dozen people named Shi, also spanning across the same generation and three generations above and below.

Having the same name was manageable within the tribe; at most, they would just call out a few more times. However, it could be troublesome when calling out names during a crisis while hunting outside.

Now that the tribe had a shaman, an improved Kui Ox Fist, and so many resources, it was clearly poised for prosperity.

Shouldn't the rules of just getting by, which had been followed in the past, be changed now?

Huo Tang put down the brush in his hand and leaned back on the stone chair, lost in thought.

Change!

It must be changed.

After a brief moment of thought, he made up his mind.

Not just this matter, but Huo Tang also thought about the chaotic bloodlines within the tribe. After three hundred years, relatives were already related to relatives.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so eager to send Huo Shan out before the plague had even subsided. He was trying to bring in some outsiders before the plague wiped everyone out.

The truth was, there were too many single men in the tribe, and it had been a long time since any outside bloodlines had been introduced. Occasionally, they could take in a few wildlings, but over time, they also became relatives.

The next day, early in the morning, Shen Can was practicing Kui Ox Fist when he saw Huo Tang appear before him with bloodshot eyes.

"Tribe leader, you still haven't slept."

"A-Can, I thought about it all night yesterday. I feel like the tribe might be falling behind now, and we need to change things."

"We'll also need cooperation from the Ancestral Temple to reduce the tribesmen's resistance."

Hearing Huo Tang say this, Shen Can stopped.

It startled him; he thought the tribe leader had gone down a rabbit hole again after their talk last night, but unexpectedly, the tribe leader brought a surprise.

"Tribe leader, tell me more."

"Change names."

The two returned to the ear cave and sat down. Shen Can listened to Huo Tang's ideas.

Huo Tang had discovered the problem of repeated names within the tribe causing internal chaos.

In the past, it wasn't an issue because everyone was just trying to get by and survive.

The desire to change now stemmed from the feeling that the tribe had a foundation for growth.

If they continued to muddle through as before when facing development, it would hold them back.

Shen Can knew that Huo Tang, as the tribe leader, actually had many ideas.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have immediately hidden the fragmented pieces of the Ling Yu Tribe's Iron Wood Boat when he found them, nor would he have secretly advanced to become a martial artist by collecting beast blood.

This showed that after decades as tribe leader, he had already gained his own experience.

However, these minor ideas were like ripples in the face of the subsequent plague.

In terms of ideas, Shen Can felt he had more than Huo Tang, and he could push for the tribe's transformation from behind the scenes.

The changes Huo Tang envisioned seemed a bit too small to him. Since they had decided to make changes, they should change in every aspect.