The next day, Ox-Nose Mountain.
"Chief, there are scattered arrows and crossbows here."
When the group arrived at the foot of Ox-Nose Mountain, they found the shoreline crisscrossed with water, shallow enough to cover only the tops of their feet.
"Footprints in the water."
Huo Tang examined the chaotic tracks, but every one of them ended in the water.
Near the footprints, there were also signs of dragging.
An hour later.
"Chief, we've searched the surrounding area. The fired arrows have no pattern—they're everywhere. Huo Chi and the others..."
There were six tribesmen who had come to investigate Ox-Nose Mountain, all Stone Splitter Realm warriors.
What was strange was that aside from the disorderly footprints of varying depths and scattered arrows, there were no other signs of battle—not even a trace of blood.
"Leave."
Very quickly, Huo Tang ordered the tribesmen to withdraw.
He had already surmised that a water beast lurking in the water had swallowed the six tribesmen whole. It might even possess methods similar to witchcraft, like the Third Tier Water Beast they had hunted before.
Otherwise, the tribesmen could not possibly have vanished without leaving behind even a trace of struggle.
He had already witnessed witchcraft through Shen Can. Bringing so many tribesmen here now would only make them easier targets for an ambush.
Only after every tribesman had left this marsh did Huo Tang slowly withdraw as well.
After retreating more than ten li, he gave Huo Yan several instructions, then quietly brought Huo Qiu—a tribesman chosen from the scout team—to a small hill near Ox-Nose Mountain.
Huo Tang hid among the jagged rocks, draped in a rain cape woven from grass and branches, quietly watching Ox-Nose Mountain.
Dressed the same way, Huo Qiu waited on the small hill behind him.
If anything happened to him, Huo Qiu would leave and return to tell Huo Yan to lead the group swiftly back to the tribe.
The reason he was confident he could return was that the tribe now had a new Celestial Meridian Realm warrior.
Moreover, when he had fought Huo Shan earlier, he had already confirmed that Huo Shan's pure qi force was no weaker than Huo Kui's, who had only recently entered the Celestial Meridian Realm.
By that count, aside from himself, the tribe already possessed the combat strength of two Celestial Meridian Realm warriors—no, two and a half. Huo Qi was not far behind either.
If this momentum continued, catching up to the Shanghuang Tribe would merely be a matter of time.
He quietly watched in the direction of Ox-Nose Mountain.
Three days passed in a row.
In the marsh below Ox-Nose Mountain, there was nothing besides the splashing of small fish breaking the surface.
Huo Tang could not help but wonder whether Huo Chi's group had simply happened to encounter a water beast that had emerged from the marsh.
Thus, Huo Tang quietly withdrew again and had Huo Yan lead people to catch a desolate beast Rock Mountain Antelope, then throw it beneath Ox-Nose Mountain.
Another two days passed.
Other than attracting some small fish that came to gnaw at it, they detected no movement from any water beast. With nothing to show for it, Huo Tang could only withdraw. On the way, he ran into the arriving Huo Shan.
"Brother Tang, are you all right?"
Seeing the weariness on Huo Tang's face, Huo Shan urgently asked, "Once word reached the tribe, A-Can had me bring witch talismans and a witch blade. Haven't Huo Chi and the others been found yet?"
"Let's go back."
Huo Tang bent down and splashed water over his face. Since the tribe's reforms, this was the first time tribesmen had died while out on a mission—and six warriors had died at once.
"It should have been a water beast that shot out from the water. We guarded this place for days without seeing any sign of it."
The marsh was so vast that finding a water beast was far too difficult.
Sure enough, moving the tribe and seeking better development was not as easy as he had imagined.
A few isolated incidents were not frightening. What he feared was too many desolate beasts appearing along the waterside.
Seeing Huo Tang's expression ease, Huo Shan said, "Chief, I brought Huo Yu's team. You can take Huo Yan and the others back to rest. I'll handle the investigation from here."
Huo Tang shook his head. "Haven't we encountered too few problems over the years? If I go back every time something happens, how can I remain chief?"
"You go back. Have A-Can see to it that Huo Chi, Huo Zhi, and the others' families are properly compensated by the tribe."
"Then I won't go back either. The two of us can investigate faster together. If we encounter that water beast again, perhaps you and I can join forces and give it a good beating."
As he spoke, Huo Shan took out the witch blade and handed it to Huo Tang, while tucking the witch talisman into his own chest.
"I haven't developed blood qi yet. I can't use this blade."
Huo Tang understood now. Huo Shan truly had not intended to return after coming here.
That worked too.
Their investigations of the Waterside Land over the past few days had shown it to be an excellent tribal site indeed.
The surrounding waters were all shallow enough to reach only their ankles. Though wheat and millet could not be planted there, rice could be grown, and the water teemed with fish and shrimp.
For a tribe seeking to grow stronger, the presence of water beasts was not a reason to shrink back.
"I was negligent before and failed to think of this. Let's change our method. Catch more desolate beasts and place them throughout the Waterside Land we need to investigate as bait. We can also see what kinds of fish, shrimp, and water beasts inhabit each stretch of water."
Blazing Flame Tribe.
Six tribesmen had died without even leaving corpses behind while investigating the lands beyond the tribe. As the keeper of the ancestral temple, Shen Can personally erected spirit tablets for them and brought them into the ancestral temple.
Their families were also compensated.
Over the following days, Huo Tang and Huo Shan joined forces, leading nearly two hundred tribal warriors in a broad and meticulous investigation of the eastern waterside region.
Fishing grounds, shallow waters suitable for paddy fields, what environments nearby were suitable for growing which witch medicines and herbs, the desolate beast herds where the marshes met the main range of the Giant Peak Mountain Range, the terrain and landforms—they investigated everything thoroughly.
Though some tribesmen were injured, fortunately no one died.
Two months later, Huo Tang led his people back to the tribe to rest and recover.
Night fell.
On the sand table in the ancestral temple, a more detailed model of earth and water appeared before everyone.
At the top of the sand table lay the east-west Giant Peak Mountain Range. Below it, land and water divided the eastern and western regions.
"A-Can, the iron mine we discovered is here. It should have been exposed by mountain floods."
Huo Tang compared the sand table with the map in his hand. Seeing an unmarked area, he spoke and pointed out its location.
Leaving aside everything else, merely discovering an iron mine in the Waterside Land was enough to become one of the reasons for relocating the tribe.
"This place also has lots of huge fish. Catching one would be enough to feed a person."
Huo Tang was greatly excited.
Before the great flood, if anyone had told him of such a resource-rich environment, he would not have dared bring his tribesmen there.
The tribe was very quiet beneath the night curtain.
Bonfires danced atop the walls.
Huo Ning and the tribesmen under his command were on duty today. They were divided into several teams, patrolling back and forth along the walls.
In the passage between houses within the city, a limp, soft figure suddenly rose upright, revealing a fish body with a human face.
"They even built a city. A bunch of savages sure have lofty ambitions—like the monkeys raised by my clan learning to wear hats like people."
Its mutter carried contempt. The figure went limp again and headed toward the pond dug beneath the tribal mountain.
"This is hilarious. Such a tiny tribe is actually quite well-equipped."
After glancing at the pond, Wu Zhiqi nodded. With water, hiding himself would be even more convenient.
Where there was water and people, this tribe was destined to become his blood fief.
As he looked at the tightly clustered houses, Wu Zhiqi's eyes gleamed.
The night was dark. Couldn't he eat however he pleased?
"Damn those who exiled me. They never expected that in this dead land, stripped bare and ravaged by plague, there would still be such a tribe. Once my Lingfish bloodline evolves again, I'll definitely go back and properly greet you all."
Wu Zhiqi easily pushed open the door of a house and swiftly slipped inside.
A trickling stream immediately surged onto the stone bed. The two sleeping figures lying there were instantly trapped by the water, their mouths and noses covered.
Wu Zhiqi's body rose inside the room, his mouth rapidly widening as he swallowed toward the bed.
When he emerged from the house, only shriveled corpses soaked through with water stains remained on its bed.
Then he swiftly headed toward the next house.
Boom!
The sound of a house being smashed apart rang out. Huo Lei, a Mountain Opening Realm tribesman, burst through the building, his body drenched and water spraying everywhere.
"A-Yue!"
Huo Lei's furious roar carried to the city wall.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In an instant, torches were lit along the walls and hurled throughout the city, landing precisely in one large fire pit after another.
The firewood, long soaked in grease, erupted into flames the moment the fire touched it.
Boom!
Boom!
Starting from the eastern wall, one fire pit after another blazed with roaring flames, driving away the darkness within the tribal city.
These had originally been prepared to guard against plague insects. Though the plague insects had not returned, the tribe's defenses had never been withdrawn.
Bonfires stood throughout the city like a chessboard, illuminating every corner of the tribal settlement, all to guard against anything happening beneath the cover of night.
The broken house and the upright monster with a human face and fish body were revealed beneath the firelight.
Wu Zhiqi, who had been about to kill Huo Lei, was startled by the suddenly illuminated night sky and instinctively looked down at his own body.
Then he abruptly raised his head.
He saw Fire Pits being ignited one after another, from east to west.
The walls all around were ringed with torches as well.
He had been exposed directly before the eyes of everyone.
What was wrong with this tribe? Why had they set up so many bonfires?
Who were they guarding against?
Before you continue