Totem Weapons

The eight forefathers had become powerful figures among the clans, and as their strength continued to grow, they became objects of worship for their people.

The forefathers had no interest in power. Otherwise, the Chaos Plateau would not have its current structure, and the Tauren would have unified the plateau long ago.

The Behemoth Orcs and the other Orcs also had powerful experts among them, but they were still far inferior to the eight forefathers.

The forefathers did not care for power, but neither would they allow us Tauren to be humiliated or let the plateau fall into chaos. They gathered the legacies and banners of every Tauren clan on the plateau and recorded them here in the Ancestral Court.

Whether a clan was large or small, its basic rights were equal here in the Ancestral Court. No one could bully another, and every clan had the right to worship at the Ancestral Court.

Any clan that produced an elder-level expert had the right and obligation to reside permanently in the Ancestral Court. Those unwilling to take up a post could build a residence near the Hall of Ancestral Spirits.

Other than the initial period after their advancement, they could cultivate in seclusion here or travel outside. The Ancestral Court placed few restrictions on elder-level experts.

Why did elder-level experts have to cultivate near the Hall of Ancestral Spirits for a time? That was another secret of the clans.

There were rumors that after cultivating here for a time, they would venture out to travel, explore, fight others, and seek breakthroughs.

If they were unfortunate enough to die in battle or meet with an accident, their souls could return to the Hall of Ancestral Spirits, become Ancestral Spirits, and continue watching over their own clans and tribes.

That was the origin of the name Hall of Ancestral Spirits. At first, it had merely served as a resting place for the souls of powerful experts and possessed no other miraculous functions.

As time passed, more and more experts died in battle, and their souls returned to the Hall of Ancestral Spirits.

As the Hall of Ancestral Spirits gathered more and more Ancestral Spirits, many extraordinary effects began to appear.

For example, observing the Runes on the Eight Totem Pillars in the Hall of Ancestral Spirits made it easier to improve one's strength, though most people gained no insight from them.

For example, one could imitate the Runes on the Eight Totem Pillars and inscribe them onto one's own Totem Pillar or weapon.

The weapon would become more powerful, but this required a Rune Engraver blessed by the Ancestral Spirits to perform the engraving.

These were all conclusions Tauren had drawn over generations. In addition, the Totem Pillars passed down by every tribe had been used and worshipped by generations of powerful experts.

Their materials gradually became increasingly unusual, until they were neither metal nor wood, and they became ever sturdier. It was not merely the Sturdiness Runes upon them at work, but also the power of the Ancestral Spirits.

A few clans did not use Totem Pillars, and engraving Runes onto their weapons was just as effective. It was only because the eight forefathers had used Totem Pillars in the earliest days.

And Tauren truly were suited to such ultra-heavy weapons, so the practice had been passed down generation after generation.

Among these inherited Totem Weapons, Totem Pillars were overwhelmingly dominant. As a result, most later experts became accustomed to using Totem Pillars as well.

"Your staff, for example. Though its material is ordinary and it only bears a Sturdiness Rune, if you use it, then your son uses it, then your grandson uses it, passing it down generation after generation, and worshipping it in your family's Ancestral Shrine when it is not in use, it can eventually become a Totem Weapon."

"Totem Weapons are not easily damaged. Though they take a long time to form, there are still quite a few in the tribe. The older the tribe, the more it has."

Leland stared at Lei Mo's Totem Pillar and spoke leisurely.

"That is roughly all I know. If there is anything you do not know, you can ask Asa. Asa should know a little more; he has stayed in the Ancestral Court for a long time."

Leland said, "You want to travel. Do you have a destination in mind?"

"I don't know. I want to learn about human magic. Don't we have two human captives? I wonder if I can learn something from them. How did humans end up in our Chaos Plateau?"

Lei Mo still had some questions.

"There truly are not many humans in the Chaos Plateau, and many of them are powerful experts. But these two are only level-six warriors, so they might be wanderers from a fallen nation."

"Even our Chaos Plateau has clans and tribes that have been destroyed. Human wars are even more frequent. There are too many fallen nations and families. When they can no longer survive among humans, they may seek opportunities in the Chaos Plateau."

Leland made a casual guess.

"Alright. I'll go ask Nuyan about it."

Lei Mo replied. After bidding farewell to Chieftain Leland, he prepared to take the lift down to the temporary camp on the eighth level and find Nuyan.

Though Nuyan had lost his tribe, he still qualified to enter the Hall of Ancestral Spirits, but he had given up that right.

Other than Rune Engravers, ordinary warriors found it difficult to receive the Ancestral Spirit's Blessing.

Just as Lei Mo was about to descend to the eighth level, he felt the Earth Law tremble. A beam of light shot into the sky from within the Hall of Ancestral Spirits.

Moreover, the light lingered without fading. Everyone emerged from their courtyards and stared at the Hall of Ancestral Spirits in astonishment.

The elders of the Elder Council shot directly into the sky and flew toward the Hall of Ancestral Spirits to investigate.

However, the beam of light was illusory. The elders passed through it without any reaction, while others went to inspect the Hall of Ancestral Spirits.

They discovered a hole in both the roof of the great hall and the ground. The eight Totem Pillars were completely unharmed.

The hole in the ground was not deep either. It had merely shattered the floor tiles, leaving a large pit over ten meters in diameter.

Lei Mo's mouth hung open, his eyes blank. He was clearly shocked beyond measure.

But in his eyes, it was not a beam of light shooting into the heavens at all. It was the phantom of a Purple Totem Pillar over a thousand meters tall, thrust straight into the sky.

The Runes on it were dazzling and resplendent. Lei Mo wanted to stay and gain insight into a few more Runes, but after thinking about it, he felt that would be courting death. He quickly took the lift down to the eighth level.

After arriving at the camp and finding Nuyan Giant Axe, Lei Mo questioned him and learned that the two humans were called Yaye Ilier and Lade Ilier.

Although both humans bore the surname Ilier and were indeed members of the Ilier Family, they were unrelated by blood. It was much like how the Bloodhoof Tribe all shared the surname Bloodhoof.

Several hundred years ago, there had been a nation in the eastern part of the continent—the Ilier Kingdom. It had been destroyed by the king's great vassals, who joined forces with neighboring kingdoms.

No one knew what the nation established afterward was called. Yaye Ilier and Lade Ilier had not come to seek revenge, nor were they direct descendants of the Ilier royal family.

Perhaps they had possessed royal blood many years ago, but it was too distant a matter. So distant that Yaye Ilier and Lade Ilier themselves did not acknowledge that they were of royal blood.

The two simply felt that life was easier in Orc territory than in human territory.

The strength of level-six warriors was even less impressive in the Chaos Plateau, but if both of them were also level-five mages, they became somewhat valuable.

By this point, Lei Mo was growing excited. He would finally escape the awkwardness of being a Saint Realm mage who knew nothing!

When he had gained insight into the Runes at the Hall of Ancestral Spirits, Lei Mo had sensed densely packed elemental specks of light in the surrounding air.

He had no way to tell which element he was naturally attuned to, but he remembered seeing red specks of light. There were not many, so it should be Fire Element. Hopefully one of the Iliers knew Fire Element magic.

After bidding farewell to Nuyan Giant Axe, Lei Mo found Yaye Ilier and Lade Ilier. He tried his best to make his attitude gentler and explained why he had come.

Fortunately, Yaye was of the Thunder Law, while Lade was indeed of the Fire Element. Lade was also willing to teach Lei Mo all the magic he knew at level five and below.

Magic inheritances were scarce in the Chaos Plateau. In human kingdoms, magic was still rare, but a peak level-seven expert could still gather it, especially basic magic like this.