Skull Mountain Envoy

From the Chieftain to the ordinary tribespeople, everyone knelt down. Even the White Dogs quieted down, sensing the danger in the black wind.

Wu Tian watched as the black wind landed and revealed a burly man in his thirties. He was bare-chested, with black tattoos on his bronze skin. The black patterns intertwined to form a lifelike black bear, adding to his fierce appearance.

"Hahaha, Shan Manmu, long time no see. Do you still remember your old friend?"

The Chieftain, who had been kneeling on the ground, showed an excited expression upon hearing the voice. He subconsciously looked up at the fierce and burly man in front of him and exclaimed, "Man Xiongmu, is that you?"

The burly man, called Man Xiongmu, walked forward, helped the Chieftain up from the ground, and said with some emotion, "Old friend, you've gotten old!"

The Chieftain's body trembled with excitement. He tightly gripped Man Xiongmu's arm. "Yes, I've gotten old. You're still the same as before, unchanged after all these years."

Man Xiongmu shook his head and said with emotion, "How can a person not change?" He didn't say more, but turned to look at the other tribespeople and said, "Everyone, get up quickly!"

The tribespeople looked at each other, hesitant to move for a moment.

The Chieftain quickly said, "You should all have heard that an elder from our White Dog Stockade entered Skull Mountain. This is him. He was also born in our White Dog Stockade."

Upon hearing this, the tribespeople also became excited. They got up from the ground and looked at this envoy from Skull Mountain with excitement and reverence.

"Man Xiongmu, why is it you this time? You weren't the envoy for so many years, I never thought I'd see you again," the Chieftain said, somewhat excitedly.

Man Xiongmu sighed softly, "Life on Skull Mountain is also very difficult. The path of cultivation is fraught with peril. I've struggled desperately for decades, and finally, I've achieved something, which qualifies me to descend the mountain."

What he didn't say was that within a thousand-mile radius of Skull Mountain, including White Dog Stockade and Crimson Blood Stockade, there were eighteen stockades in total, all territories of Skull Mountain.

Skull Mountain dispatched Patrol Envoys to the eighteen stockades every year.

One purpose was to repair the defensive Magic Artifacts within the stockades, and the other was to patrol the mountains for newly born monsters.

For Skull Mountain, the eighteen stockades and the monsters in the mountains were very important resources.

Such a task could not be accomplished by ordinary Skull Mountain disciples. Only those who had mastered Sorcery, generated Magic Power, and could fly through the wind were capable of patrolling a thousand miles.

As they spoke, the old Chieftain suddenly remembered the python they had hunted just yesterday. He smiled and said, "Man Xiongmu, the stockade just hunted a python that was close to becoming a spirit yesterday. It can be used for food."

Man Xiongmu had already noticed the python meat in the bronze ancient cauldron. He asked with interest, "I noticed it just now. This big fellow isn't much to me, but it must have been difficult for the stockade to take it down, right?"

The old Chieftain said with a hint of pride, "Man Xiongmu, you probably wouldn't guess that this python wasn't hunted by the Hunting Team. Instead, our stockade has produced another Dog King."

"This giant python was hunted by the Dog King alone."

Man Xiongmu was truly surprised this time. He looked around at the White Dogs, his gaze first falling on Silver Frost, but then quickly moving away. Finally, it fixed directly on Wu Tian.

"Good heavens, its entire being radiates vital energy, and its gaze is intelligent. It's probably not far from becoming a spirit!"

He walked up to Wu Tian and examined him closely, marveling, "It looks like this is still a pup. What kind of heavenly treasures did it eat to have such good fortune? Remarkable!"

"You little fellow, you have such great fortune!"

As Wu Tian was stared at by him, he felt as if a terrifying giant demon was in front of him. The hairs on his body stood on end. The sense of danger even made him want to turn and run.

Chili Mu saw how scared Wu Tian was. She suppressed her own fear and carefully held him in her arms, gently comforting him, "Bai Long'er, don't be scared. The envoy won't hurt you."

Man Xiongmu chuckled when he saw the young girl's actions, "Don't worry, I won't hurt it."

After speaking, he said to the Chieftain, "Old friend, let's get down to business first. We can catch up later after we're done."

"Good, good, good!" the Chieftain quickly agreed.

Every time an envoy from Skull Mountain arrived, it was a major event for the stockade, concerning its very survival.

Man Xiongmu said, "Old friend, you know the rules. Gather all the older children first, and I'll cast a spell on this bronze ancient cauldron."

The Chieftain nodded in agreement and then called out the children over the age of five. He knew the children in the stockade like the back of his hand and had already made preparations.

Soon, five children, including Chili Mu, were called out and stood before the bronze ancient cauldron.

However, Man Xiongmu didn't pay attention to the five children first. Instead, he took out a blood talisman made of animal hide from his embrace.

He chanted incantations, then held the blood talisman between his fingers. Suddenly, black flames ignited on his fingertips. In just a few breaths, the blood talisman turned into a streak of blood-red light and merged into the bronze ancient cauldron.

The once mottled bronze ancient cauldron was instantly renewed, emitting an ancient and awe-inspiring aura.

"Alright, now notify the other tribespeople to immediately use the Exorcism Talismans to absorb the aura of the ancient cauldron. This will ensure a year of peace," Man Xiongmu stopped what he was doing and instructed.

The tribespeople in the stockade also began to act. They had to go through this every year and were already accustomed to it.

Each household had prepared Amulets of Warding in advance. Besides warding children, some depicted celestial beings or legendary divine beasts.

However, these Amulets of Warding were useless on their own. Only after the envoy from Skull Mountain cast a spell on the bronze ancient cauldron and they used these amulets to absorb its aura could they effectively dispel evil spirits.

The aura on the bronze ancient cauldron would last for about an hour before retracting, anchoring itself in the center of the entire stockade. At night, it would dispel the Yin spirits of the myriad beasts and protect the tribespeople.

While the tribespeople were using the bronze ancient cauldron to imbue their Exorcism Talismans, Man Xiongmu's gaze fell upon the five children before him.

He said to the children, "I will cast a spell in a moment. You must tell me what you see."

The five children nodded in a dazed manner.

Man Xiongmu let out a soft shout and formed hand seals. A black wind immediately appeared around his body, swirling incessantly.

Wu Tian had also been lingering nearby. As Man Xiongmu cast his spell, he felt the spiritual energy of heaven and earth become denser. The black wind was surrounded by a cyan halo, like a flowing ribbon, which was quite beautiful.

Chili Mu also raised her fair, tender little face and stared intently at the top of the black wind. She said in surprise, "Uncle, why is there fire on that black wind? It's such a big fire!"

Upon hearing this, Man Xiongmu's face lit up with surprise. He asked Chili Mu, "You saw fire on this black wind? What else did you see besides the fire?"

Chili Mu shook her head, a little timidly, "Uncle, I only saw fire. That fire is too big, will it burn you!"

"Good, good, good, what a good child," Shan Manmu's expression was filled with immense surprise. He turned to the other children and asked, "What about you all? Did you see anything?"

The other children stared intently at Black Wind, but they saw nothing besides it, and could only shake their heads in confusion.

Shan Manmu persisted for a moment longer before dispelling the sorcery. However, beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead at some point, clearly indicating that casting such a spell was not easy for him.

"I didn't expect another child with an immortal root to appear in the stockade."

"Excellent, excellent, you are very good!"

He approached Chili Mu and asked gently, "Good child, what is your name?"

Chili Mu was a little afraid of the imposing envoy before her. She clutched the hem of her clothes with both hands and whispered, "Uncle, my name is Chili Mu."