Sacrificial Spirit

The altar was built from massive stones, broad and open, erected right beside the broken Old Willow Tree. At this moment, it was piled high with ferocious beasts like a small mountain. Bright crimson beast blood stained the stone platform red, flowing along the carved patterns on its surface. The blood gleamed scarlet, while the enormous beasts' coarse, long fur, coldly glittering scales, and savage giant horns made for a heart-stopping sight, carrying a bleak, primordial aura that rushed straight at them.

Led by the old clan chief, the men, women, old, and young of Stone Village prayed together, asking the Willow Tree for protection. This was a solemn ritual and also an established custom, performed every time they returned from a hunt.

As always, the charred tree trunk remained silent, showing no reaction whatsoever. Just as before, it had never partaken of the offerings, yet many villagers knew that it possessed a spirit.

At last, the ritual ended. Everyone let out a long breath, joyful smiles returning to their faces as they began moving the carcasses of the fierce beasts, preparing to drain their blood and butcher them.

"It's been so many years. The Sacrificial Spirit has never touched an offering. Do we still need to hold this ritual every time?" a youth muttered softly.

"You little brat, what nonsense are you spouting?!" His father glared with eyes as round as bronze bells, raising a palm the size of a cattail fan to smack him.

The old clan chief waved his hand and stopped him. "The Sacrificial Spirit is the spirit we worship and provide for. What matters is sincerity. Only if we treat it with reverence will it guard and bless our village."

The youth's face flushed crimson as he hurriedly said, "Clan Chief, it's not that I'm insincere. I just feel that the Sacrificial Spirit doesn't seem to need these offerings. It has never used them."

"It is enough that the intention is there." Shi Yunfeng patted his shoulder and explained patiently.

A Sacrificial Spirit, also called the "spirit of sacrifice," was the shortened name for a tribe's "spirit of worship and provision." It guarded the village and intimidated the vicious beasts of the Great Wilderness.

The elders of the clan still remembered that the previous Sacrificial Spirit, decades ago, had not been like this. It had been a strange stone. Every offering presented to it would lose more than half its blood essence, which the stone absorbed.

Until one midnight, the Old Willow Tree arrived, and that strange stone chose to depart. Everything changed because of that.

Thinking of that rainy night long ago, the old clan chief's mind drifted. He had been only a boy then, and had witnessed that terrifying, earthshaking sight with his own eyes.

That midnight, lightning flashed and thunder roared as rain poured down in torrents. The storm was savage beyond measure; many mountains were split apart by lightning, mountain floods surged like seas, and vicious beasts fled like a raging tide. The scene had been horrifying.

It was then that a towering willow tree appeared amid the clouds, bathed in a sea of lightning and wreathed in bolts as thick as mountains. Countless willow branches transformed into blazing divine chains, piercing the entire vault of heaven as though they were fighting something.

In the end, the great willow tree broke apart, its whole body scorched black. It shrank to its present size, fell from the sky, and took root in Stone Village. At the same time, the lightning vanished and the torrential rain withdrew. That very night, the strange stone the village had worshipped and provided for left.

Whenever he recalled it, the old clan chief's heart trembled. The Old Willow Tree had not been transplanted from another great tribe, nor from mountains and vast marshlands. It had descended from the heavens, damaged by an endless sea of thunder and lightning. Few in the village knew this.

For the first few decades, it had been charred black from top to bottom, without the slightest trace of life, as though it had died completely. Only ten years ago had it put forth a single tender green branch, and since then it had not changed again.

"You little brats, be careful. It was not easy to bring down these fierce beasts. Their blood essence, tendons, and certain bones are astonishingly precious. Don't let their essence go to waste," the old clan chief said after coming back to himself.

The clan's strong young men wielded silver blades, cutting apart the giant beasts. Clanging sounds rang out from time to time, sparks flying in all directions. The beasts' bones were astonishingly hard.

Someone had already prepared large earthenware jars to collect the blood essence preserved in special parts of the beasts' bodies. This was an excellent blood-tonifying medicine, exceedingly rare and precious.

Among this pile of beast carcasses, the Pixiu was the most precious. Though it was only a descendant, far inferior to the pure-blooded Pixiu royal line, it still contained a portion of true blood and was worth a fortune.

It had been more than two years since they had last captured a fierce beast like a Pixiu.

They were far too savage and powerful. A single swipe of their claws could end a powerful warrior's life. They were truly difficult to deal with, their ferocity frightening beyond measure. It could be said that this harvest was so abundant it left people tongue-tied.

"Mm, the true blood preserved in this Twin-headed Fire Rhinoceros's horn is also astonishing. It's no worse than that Pixiu's!" An old man personally took up the knife, cutting through the flesh beneath the horn, hard as metal and stone. A stream of true blood flowed out, red as firelight.

Suddenly, the blood transformed into a mass of crimson radiance. A palm-long Twin-headed Fire Rhinoceros emerged, completely scarlet and lifelike, roaring furiously.

"Good stuff! This true blood's medicinal potency is extremely strong, no worse than the Pixiu's!" The old man handling the knife laughed heartily, quickly collecting the rhinoceros blood in an earthenware jar and sealing its mouth tightly.

"Clan Chief, this Dragon-Horned Elephant's tusks are good stuff too. When we found it, it was already at death's door. Otherwise, we truly couldn't have dealt with it," a young man said.

Shi Yunfeng nodded. "They are indeed rare. This pair of dragon horns on its head has grown for many years. Chisel them down carefully. They are a rare treasure medicine for strengthening bones."

"This Kui Beast's single leg tendon is incredibly tough. Even an axe can't chop through it."

"They're all good things. You little brats, be careful! Don't ruin the precious blood in the Flying Python's wings!"

The clansmen were delighted, their faces full of smiles.

Only the group of children shrank their necks and fled in a puff of smoke, because they knew that most of these so-called blood medicines and bone medicines would be used on them. They were about to start "suffering" again.

Only after half an hour were all the "treasure medicines" growing on the fierce beasts completely harvested. The clan chief and several elders nodded in satisfaction, took away the earthenware jars, and brought them off for processing.

"With so much game, we'll salt some of it later, then smoke and roast another portion into jerky," an experienced elder said.

So many fierce beasts were piled together like a small mountain. The entire village could not finish eating them in many days. Letting them rot would be a terrible waste, something the villagers, who were somewhat short on food, absolutely could not allow.

The women of every household stepped forward to divide the meat, all wearing heartfelt smiles. Earlier, they had worried about the men who had gone out. Now, not only had they all returned safely, but their haul was so rich. This was heaven's finest blessing.

Smoke rose in wisps from every household. Half an hour later, waves of meat fragrance drifted through the village. The chunks of meat stewing in each family's iron pot were nearly falling apart, and the children had long since become impatient. The beast meat roasting over the fires had also begun turning golden and glossy, fat dripping down into the flames with sharp sizzling sounds. Even the burly men could no longer hold back. They began tearing into the meat, biting down until juice ran from their mouths, their appetites fully awakened.

"Kid, this is Pixiu meat. Eat more, and you'll grow great strength. It's rare, precious meat."

"You little brat, eat more. This is Twin-headed Fire Rhinoceros meat. It'll strengthen your skin and bones until they're like iron blocks. Don't eat that useless Tree Pig meat."

All kinds of fierce beasts became the villagers' most sumptuous evening meal. Tempting meat fragrance drifted into the streets, stirring appetites like surging tides. Bursts of laughter rang out, and the entire village was filled with celebration.