The Yak Herd Beneath the Sacred Mountain (3.4k) (Bonus chapter for Waiting for an Age of Splendor and Fireworks)

The mage was somewhat sorrowful.

But he would never abandon his mission because of his sorrow.

"Where the great roc roosts, the Demon Kingdom's demon subjects have risen from the earth. The King of All Beings is leading his people in resisting the Demon Kingdom's encroachment.

The Yak God has called upon us to subdue those devils of the Demon Kingdom.

Those demons crawling out of the frozen earth—the Yak God is guiding us. My sons will not have died in vain. They will become white yaks and follow in the Yak King's footsteps to the Divine Kingdom."

The mage murmured as he spoke, blessing those who were still alive. He softened thick fat with his hands and smeared it over everyone's faces.

Then he took out an incense burner made from a yak skull. Amid the strange sandalwood fragrance, he kindled a great fire right there.

There was clearly no firewood here.

Yet the Flame rose uncannily high.

Lin Feng watched from beginning to end, but still could not see how the mage had started the fire. There was no fuel, no spark. A great blaze emerged from nothing. The mage told the survivors to throw all the bodies into the Flame, then continued making the sounds Lin Feng had heard earlier. The pitch was the same, but this time it carried profound sorrow.

He danced around the fire, presumably communicating with a deity.

"O merciful Yak God, please lead your warriors to fertile, bountiful lands."

"O valiant Yak God, please lead your warriors and grant us supreme courage."

"O mighty Yak God, please bring your flesh and blood and bless us with invincible bodies."

As he sang his praises, the Flame grew ever larger. From a distance, it resembled a lingzhi mushroom.

Under normal circumstances, flames like