Thought Splits into Hundreds, Intent Enters the Marsh's Heart

The Duolai Tribe was a large tribe among the Marshfolk, even larger than the Saluo Tribe in terms of size.

However, unlike the Nasaruo tribe, the Duolai Tribe was more like an alliance of tribes and sub-tribes, with varying quality and occasional sporadic conflicts between them.

Of course, these conflicts were kept within reasonable limits because there was a dominant main lineage in this tribe that held the position of chieftain for generations.

The current clan leader also comes from this lineage.

Not long ago, Chief Duolai was Biaoxin to join the allied forces and attack Jiannan, but after many setbacks, he finally returned empty-handed.

However, upon returning, Chief Dolai erected a new statue in the tribe, venerating it as the Kitchen God.

This aroused the dissatisfaction of other tribes, who believed that such behavior would anger the Marsh God.

The Marshfolk's worship of the Marsh God has a long history, the origins of which are now lost to time.

Legend has it that the Marsh God can protect the people and let the ancestors rest in peace. Over the past few hundred years, other gods have also risen in the Five Marshes, but most of them have been submerged. Even those that have survived have ultimately become mere foils to the Marsh God.

But Chief Dolai did something unusual this time: he placed the Kitchen God statue in the center of the settlement and moved the Marsh God altar that was originally there!

This was a serious act of blasphemy, but strangely, none of the elders and shamans who accompanied Chief Dorai on his military campaign objected, allowing the chief to do as he pleased.

This action ultimately angered the tribes that worshipped the Marsh God. Although these tribes were weak, they were able to maintain relative stability and were quite capable. Each tribe had at least one shaman.

The pent-up discontent, fueled by the erection of the Kitchen God statue, stirred up an undercurrent of unrest, ultimately leading to chaos within the Duolai Tribe.

In front of the Kitchen God, two groups of people were facing off. One group, led by the chief of the Dorai tribe, consisted of about seven or eight people standing in front of the statue. They looked ready for battle, each exuding an aura of authority and imperiousness, clearly leaders of their tribe.

Opposite them was a tall, burly man with a fierce face, followed by more than twenty people, all glaring angrily.

The atmosphere was heavy.

The somber atmosphere even emanated outwards, brewing and infecting people's hearts. It spread throughout the entire tribe, creating a tense atmosphere throughout the Duolai Tribe, with the main tribe and the various branches subtly at odds, as if a storm was brewing.

"Jindi, what is your purpose in bringing so many people here?" Chief Dolai frowned as he looked at the group of people in front of him and questioned them in a deep voice.

"The clan chief knows perfectly well what we want to do!" The man called Jindi sneered. "This military expedition was originally your decision, and the final retreat was also decided by you and the other clan chiefs. But everything the clansmen fought so hard to seize has been taken back by the Central Plains people. That's bad enough, but after you returned, you actually went against the grain, demanding that we worship some kind of Kitchen God..."

With each sentence, the man's voice rose several decibels, until finally it was booming, clearly demonstrating the skill in using internal energy. His words were also very persuasive, and coupled with the swirling thoughts in the minds of the crowd, influenced by a mysterious force, they immediately developed dissatisfaction with Chief Dorai.

"That's right! They risked their lives to plunder, but he sent it all back. Did he want his people to starve to death in order to curry favor with the people of the Central Plains?"

Discussions and shouts came from behind the Jindi. He looked smug, raised his hand, and the noise immediately stopped. There was a hint of command in his voice, which made Chief Dolai's brow twitch.

Then, Jindi at the image of the Kitchen God with a mocking expression. "Chieftain, I don't object to you inviting such a deity, but occupying the center of the tribe and even moving the altar of the Marsh God is going too far. Do you want our ancestors to have nowhere to rest from now on?"

"Oh? Are you standing up for your ancestors? Or are you just using this as an excuse to force me?"

Chief Dolai didn't mince words and asked directly: among the Marshfolk, there weren't many rules, and power grabs were commonplace. Jindi, this person was exceptionally brave and highly respected in the tribe. He was usually loyal to the tribe and had even shared life and death with them. But for some reason, he had suddenly raised a banner, rallied several other tribes, and launched an attack.

Inviting the Kitchen God was a decision made by Chief Dolai and the elders after discussions, for the sake of the tribe's safety.

Although the Marshfolk have revered the Marsh God since ancient times, he has never shown any divine power. If it weren't for the Kitchen God, the consequences of this expedition would have been dire. Moreover, spies in Jiannan Circuit have reported back many stories of the Kitchen God's miraculous appearances.

Compared to a deity who repeatedly manifests his power, the Marsh God, though revered, is merely a source of spiritual support, which is why they had the idea of worshipping the Kitchen God.

However, the Jindi attack by Jin Di caught Chief Dolai off guard. He had anticipated a reaction within the tribe, but he hadn't expected it to cause such turmoil. If not handled properly, splitting up would be the least of his worries; it could very well lead to infighting, bloodshed, and severe damage to the tribe's strength!

Thinking of the serious consequences, Chief Dolai frowned more and more, and the idea of temporarily compromising arose in his mind. However, although he was not good at political maneuvering, he knew that as the main clan, backing down to the branch clan would greatly affect his prestige and cause endless trouble.

Just as Chief Dolai was pondering a solution, a gaze fell upon him.

The gaze of the gods can extend through their statues. At this moment, Qiu Yan used the image of the Kitchen God to observe the changes and conflicts within the Duolai Tribe.

On that day, Geluolan and the Marshfolk surrendered and returned to the Five Marshes. Several tribes then began to invite the Kitchen God into their tribes. The Duolai Tribe was just one of them. The current chaos was not isolated and could very well unfold in other tribes as well.

The vision of the gods is different from that of mortals. Qiu Yan could see that this matter was not a simple power struggle within the clan, but also involved a struggle at a higher level.

His gaze slowly moved and landed on the Jindi in front of him. Qiu Yan caught a trace of divine power fluctuation. Although it was subtle and weak, it could not escape his perception.

Divine power and Divine Sense had long since spread throughout the muscular man's body, subtly altering and influencing his thoughts and will, causing him to do what the gods desired.

"The technique of bestowing divine power upon believers to enhance their abilities is called the Divine Possession Technique. Only deities of the Third Grade or higher can perform this. Although I can invade believers' minds with my Divine Sense, I cannot transmit divine power remotely. However, this deity possessing another seems exceptionally weak, only able to transmit a faint trace of divine power. Compared to this, another group... is even more difficult to deal with."

The deity shifted its gaze again, looking at the group of people behind the Jindi. Its perception expanded, covering most of the Duolai Tribe.

Instantly, the image of the entire tribe was reflected in the god's mind.

Above the group of people in front of the Kitchen God's image, their Fortune, thoughts, and emotions mingled together, like gathering and dispersing mist, invisible to the naked eye of mortals, but the gods could discern figures within it—some decaying, some aged, some dazed...

These are the Ancestral Spirits.

Ancestral Spirits are the spirits of ancestors, the aggregated consciousness of the ancestors of the Duolai Tribe after death.

After a mortal dies, their soul enters the underworld, either Six Paths of Reincarnation or remaining in the Netherworld. Only a few, due to special circumstances, remain in the Mortal Realm, becoming wandering ghosts.

Unlike the people of the Central Plains, the Marshfolk believed that their ancestors possessed spirits that would permeate their blood and the land beneath their feet, protecting their tribe.

These thoughts, gathered together and refined over Time River, became a powerful expression of People's Wishes. This changed the Samsara of life in the Five Marshes, allowing most of the souls to remain and become one with the plants, soil, streams, and even the flesh and blood of the tribe.

This is the prototype of the Ancestral Spirits.

However, once a person dies, without the Yang Qi energy binding their body, the thoughts and memories within their soul will slowly dissipate and scatter. Marshfolk are no exception. Over time, their Ancestral Spirits gradually become incomplete and their intelligence diminished. They slowly merge with each other, becoming what they are now, interconnected and entangled. A single movement can affect the whole body. If any one of them is infected by an external thought, all the Ancestral Spirits will be activated along with it, unable to distinguish right from wrong.

"When the Ancestral Spirits moves, the corresponding bloodline will be affected, and thoughts and will will be indirectly controlled, which caused the sudden turmoil in the Duolai Tribe. If this knot is not untied, other tribes will follow in its footsteps sooner or later, and the idea of Kitchen God Sacrifice will become a tree without roots."

As soon as the thought arose, the statue trembled slightly, emitting Divine Sense that radiated outwards!

"However, fortune and misfortune are intertwined; this is also an opportunity, and it remains to be seen how I will seize it!"

His Divine Sense flowed, instantly spreading throughout the entire Duolai Tribe and seeping into the hearts of every member of the tribe!

"Hehe, why be in such a hurry? Grasping the key right away will make you miss out on a lot of the fun..."

Suddenly, a sly laugh rang out, accompanied by a faint divine Divine Sense. The Divine Sense transmitted words, each one giving Qiu Yan a soft, bone-melting sensation.

"Hmm?" Qiu Yan's Divine Sense stirred, and he vaguely sensed a seven-colored figure on the Jindi body. The figure was graceful and the skin was as white as snow, and it was faintly visible through the clothes.

Immediately, he understood. The person who spoke was the mastermind behind the riot, one of the Five Marshes Gods.

Just as he realized his thoughts, the Divine Sense that radiated out completely seeped into the hearts of the Dorai people. Instantly, the light and shadow shifted, thoughts flowed, and one scene after another appeared before them.

In an instant, Qiu Yan's consciousness erupted with a sharp pain, and his Divine Sense shattered. It was as if he had transformed into hundreds and thousands of beings, Samsara thousands of years, and experienced hundreds and thousands of lives in an instant, depicting different life trajectories.

The incident happened suddenly, clearly indicating that the mastermind behind it all had intervened, intending to cause Qiu Yan's Divine Sense to be lost in the minds of the many Dorai tribesmen.

If Qiu Yan makes a mistake and gets caught up in it, he will become similar to the Ancestral Spirits, and his divine body may be usurped by the mastermind behind the scenes!

"You foreign god, you're quite interesting. You want to compete with me in controlling my mind? What audacity! If you can truly change the minds of this tribe, I'll give you all the Black Marsh tribes, that's fine with me. But if you lose, you'll become my servant..."

A Divine Sense drifted over, bringing a dangerous aura, but Qiu Yan paid it no mind. Instead, he immersed his consciousness in the thousands of lives, and a sense of joy welled up in his heart.

"I must thank this god. I only came here to promote the rituals in Five Marshes, but I never expected to have such an encounter, allowing me to experience the Human Path of Five Marshes and compare it with that Human Path the Central Plains to see the differences!" (To be continued)

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