Thoughts on Relocating the Tribe's Territory (Seeking Readership)

"A-Can, you're saying this is a blade from the Ling Yu Tribe?"

Huo Tang was startled.

After a long moment.

"It really is a Ling Yu."

He recalled what the remnants of Shi Fu had said earlier about the wave-treading giant ships that captured people and beasts.

The traces of the Ling Yu Tribe on this water beast's remnant weapon indicated that it had narrowly escaped the Ling Yu tribe's encirclement.

This further confirmed that the Ling Yu Tribe was hunting water beasts and capturing members of other tribes.

"Heh... In the eyes of the Upper Tribe, they probably see us all as savages. What kinship could there be?"

Huo Tang suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh. The legends of the Ling Yu Upper Tribe passed down through generations of his tribe gave him a complex feeling.

Shen Can stroked the broken blade, carefully examining the mutated witch runes on it.

Indeed, stealing knowledge was the fastest way.

It turned out that all witch runes shared a common origin. Although the characters appeared to have changed, their meaning remained the same, fitting the blade they were inscribed on even better.

"Buzz!"

Then, he lightly tapped the broken blade with his hand.

The black blade with golden flecks suddenly emitted a black light, and strands of water vapor gathered around the blade, forcefully cutting outward.

Rumble!

The water blade cut through the air, smashing into the solid rock at the top of the cave. The rumbling sound of falling debris rained down.

It caused both him and Huo Tang to scramble for cover.

"What's happening, what's happening!"

The commotion startled Huo Xian, who was inside the cave, and Huo Yu, who was guarding outside. One moved to go out, the other to rush in.

"Earthquake!"

Huo Yu shouted, covering his head. "Brother A-Can, Uncle Clan Leader, Grandpa Huo Xian, hurry!"

"Pfft, pfft!"

Huo Tang wiped the dust from his mouth and pulled back the shouting Huo Yu, looking at Shen Can. "A-Can, is this witchcraft?"

Fortunately, the moment he sensed something was wrong, Shen Can had reined it in. The falling stones weren't many, and the Ancestral Temple cave was fine.

Otherwise, if they buried the ancestors, they'd be laughed at by others in the future.

Shen Can reappeared inside the cave, wrapped in a layer of water light, completely free of dust.

Without answering Huo Tang's question, he handed the blade to Huo Tang instead. "Clan Leader, try injecting your blood energy into this blade."

Huo Tang took the broken blade, and a wisp of blood energy flowed from his palm into the blade.

"Buzz!"

Fueled by the blood energy, the witch runes on the blade lit up, as if entwined with a stream of blood-colored light.

Huo Tang's eyes widened at the phenomenon on the blade. He only snapped back to reality after the blood-red light dissipated.

"We really are savages."

"Clan Leader Uncle, how are we savages?" Huo Yu's eyes showed their clarity.

"This child." Huo Tang suddenly smiled.

He handed the broken blade back to Shen Can and said, "This is a witch weapon forged by the Ling Yu Upper Tribe for the Heaven Vein Warriors of their tribe?"

"Most likely."

Shen Can nodded and added, "Even the witch weapons forged by the Upper Tribe break. It's a bit hard to understand. It seems the Upper Tribe isn't an omnipotent existence."

"How many years has the Upper Tribe been passed down? We've heard their legends for generations. It's not surprising they have witch weapons."

Huo Tang also composed himself. "We will have our own witch weapons in the future."

Recovering his senses, he shifted his thoughts to the use of their current gains.

"A-Can, with the beast blood you brought back this time, do you think Huo Shan and Huo Qi can advance to Heaven Vein?"

"Not yet. Since it's exotic blood, it should be able to be preserved for longer. Clan Uncles Huo Shan and Huo Qi haven't reached the limit of their Qi energy in the Mountain Splitting realm."

"Still increasing?"

Huo Tang was surprised, then instinctively turned, a hint of sadness appearing in his eyes.

However, this hint of sadness vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"Good, it's a real bargain for those two. They've run into good times, and I even have to hunt beasts myself to supply their cultivation."

"If they can still increase their strength, then let them continue. For someone like me who advanced to Heaven Vein, this is as far as I'll ever get."

Then, Huo Tang changed the subject. "The Mafeisan you prepared played a significant role in hunting the water beasts in the eastern marsh this time. Some tribesmen even said it would be better to hunt desolate beasts in the water, and even suggested we migrate our tribe there."

In the Great Wilderness, none of the tribes held onto the idea of being unable to leave their homeland. Under natural disasters, migration was a common occurrence if it meant survival.

"Tribe Leader, how many jars of Mafeisan did we use this time?"

"All sixty jars we brought were used."

Shen Can nodded. He then asked Huo Tang about the process of hunting this water beast, which further confirmed his suspicion that the medicinal effect was still a bit weak.

"Migrating to the waterside land is not a problem, but I fear that floods might erupt again," said Huo Xian.

One flood had caused the Da Ye Marsh to backflow for two thousand li.

He also heard Huo Tang mention that the Ling Yu Upper Tribe had come by boat to hunt, which immediately made him worried.

"Elder Tribe Uncle, how can there be so many floods? Besides, the Ling Yu Tribe has already captured most of the nearby tribes.

Before, there was a plague rampant, and the tribes were declining. For the sake of the scattered tribes' people, it would not be cost-effective for the Ling Yu Tribe to cross ten thousand li again with their fleet.

If the Upper Tribe scrapes the land bare like this, they'll be exhausted. It's like planting crops; you have to wait for the new harvest season. This would take at least decades, even centuries."

Huo Tang explained, and he also leaned towards migrating the tribe.

"If it leads to better development, I agree to migrate the tribe's ancestral land."

Shen Can expressed his agreement. They had successfully hunted two third-tier desolate beasts consecutively, and both were water-dwelling desolate beasts.

Coupled with the fact that the effect of Mafeisan had become apparent, although the medicinal effect was slightly lacking, they could completely increase the dosage.

This was the tribe's advantage. Not using an advantage would be foolish.

The Ling Yu Water Control Book he had comprehended gave them more advantages when there was water.

Furthermore, according to Huo Tang's description, the waterside land was not entirely marshland; to the north, there were still mountains and forests where mountain and forest desolate beasts lived.

As for how to farm in the waterside land, they could search for aquatic wheat and millet, or even reclaim land by filling in water.

As long as it was beneficial for the tribe's development, these were minor matters.

"I think we should scout the area around the waterside land thoroughly to find a suitable place to settle. Once everything is feasible, we can prepare for the migration."

"A-Can is right, there's no rush for migration. I'll continue to lead people to explore the eastern waterside. If there are any dangerous places, we might be in danger if we migrate rashly."

Just as Huo Tang was about to leave, Shen Can stopped him.

"Tribe Leader, you should eat the meat of the third-tier desolate beast. There's still some leftover meat from that strange fish last time. As a third-tier warrior, further advancement requires necessary external supplements."

Before Huo Tang could refuse, Shen Can continued, "We will have martial arts techniques. Currently, only you and Uncle Huo Kui are Heaven Vein Warriors in the tribe, and we can afford to support you.

Besides, now that we have Mafeisan, we can just hunt more when it's used up."

Seeing that Shen Can had finished speaking and was still holding his sleeve, Huo Tang said, "Alright, I'll eat. Let go."

"Um, Tribe Leader, I want you to fight with Uncle Huo Shan."

"Uh, how about we leave the tribe and fight secretly."

"Call Uncle Huo Kui and Uncle Huo Qi to join us."

The next day.

Several figures sneaked out of the tribe and ran to a valley more than ten li away.

"Tribe Leader, I won't hold back."

Huo Shan clenched his fists. A-Can had been preventing him from advancing to Heaven Vein, and he had already figured out the trick.

To become stronger as a Heaven Vein Warrior, he had to focus on increasing his physical strength now.

After a long period of cultivation, Huo Shan felt that he could now fight two of his past selves from the time of the flood.

Huo Qi also had his own insights. Before he soaked in the beast blood, he felt that his qi and energy had barely increased.

Although the beast blood soaking had failed, in the following half year, he could feel his qi and energy increasing again.

"Prepare! If you win, you eat meat; if you lose, you'll be roasted."

In the valley, Shen Can sat cross-legged on a large rock.

He spread a beast hide scroll on his legs, preparing to record data, and held a small flag.

"Fight!"

"Rumble!"

The valley echoed with booming sounds, the clashing of fists, and the crashing against the rock walls, which continued intermittently for more than half an hour.

Shen Can was the first to walk out of the valley, a rolled-up beast hide scroll tucked under his arm and a small flag in his hand.

Behind him followed four bruised and swollen figures.

Under the cover of night, the four bypassed the tribal city and returned to the tribe by crossing the mountain behind the tribal mountain.

"Ouch, Brother Huo Tang, you said you wouldn't hit my face." Huo Shan grumbled, covering his left cheek.

"You talked too much, and you hit my eye."

Huo Tang had a black and red eye socket and was rolling around holding a medicinal poultice.

In his ear, Shen Can was sorting through data spread out on the desk.

"Huo Shan has about forty-nine Desolate Power, and he fought to a draw with his uncle Huo Kui, who had just advanced to Heaven Vein, but he couldn't beat Huo Tang."

Under the cover of night.

In the eastern marsh, outside the pond where water beasts were hunted, the water flowed with a rushing sound.

In the shallow water, where the aquatic plants were lush, a dark shadow appeared among them.

This figure moved through the shallow water, slowly rising from the water to reveal a pair of legs walking upright.

On the shimmering, faintly glowing fish head, a pair of arms stretched out, and the figure quickly emerged from the water, revealing a human face that looked middle-aged.

His nostrils twitched as he walked to the edge of the pond that had been dug earlier, his eyes surveying the half-filled artificial river.

As he muttered incantations, the fine scales that had coiled around his body quickly receded into him, transforming him back into human form.

A stream of water swirled around his sides, flowing and churning.

"There are still tribes nearby."

Wu Zhiqi's face showed surprise.

After sniffing around the pond, he stood in the water that reached his knees, twisting his body. Fine scales grew, and he hunched over, diving back into the water.