As the sun gradually sank behind the mountains, scattered points of firelight appeared at the foot of Heavenly Candle Peak.
Countless tents and houses stood amid the grasslands outside the mountains. A small river could be seen flowing past one side, while an enormous stockade supported by logs enclosed the perimeter. From a distance, it looked like a small town surrounded by wooden walls.
The Western Sea Tribes were all centered on their clans and had a strong sense of kinship. As such, almost every tribe housed its young children in its main stronghold, where the elders looked after them, while the able-bodied men and women went out to work and travel to support the tribe.
The Dongming Tribe lived off medicinal herbs, so its main stronghold had been built high in the rugged mountains, surrounded by smaller settlements and towering peaks. Easy to defend and difficult to attack, it was the safest place in the Dongming Tribe.
The Wuma Tribe was much the same. Although it made its living herding livestock and raising horses and could not settle among the more habitable mountains, it had still placed its main stronghold beneath Heavenly Candle Peak for its people's security. Behind it stretched three hundred li of rugged mountains, beyond which lay the sandy desert. In front, several pastures and towns stood in the way. Even if enemies attacked, the tribe could receive advance warning and retreat into the mountains for a time. Under normal circumstances, the stronghold simply could not be breached.
After so many years of peace, the atmosphere inside the Wuma Tribe's main stronghold was naturally far less tense than outside. The clan elders had lit a bonfire in the central square, and countless young children and girls danced around it. Elderly people sat nearby doing needlework and