Inside the Flaming River Castle, in front of the Flaming River Tower. Amongst the three individuals who stood looking at the totem flames on the wall, one of them looked clearly different from the rest.
Although all of the Flaming Horns were burning and the flames from their bodies were not the same height, there wasn’t too much of a difference.
However, the flames from the person who stood in the centre between the current chief and shaman of the Flaming Horn tribe suddenly burst upward and scared many of them.
Those who were still shocked at the burning bodies of the Flaming Horn tribesmen suddenly shifted all their attention to Shao Xuan.
The burning human figure suddenly burst upward and was as tall as the Flaming River Tower. It continued to extend upward until it could see everything in the nearby region.
This was the reason why Abuli tilted his head upward to look. He looked over the moment Shao Xuan’s flames burst upward.
When the burning figure stopped extending upwards, it started expanding in all directions. The fire pillar grew thicker and more flames flew out from it.
Although the people of the Flaming Horn tribe were shocked at first, their eyes were gleaming with joy after they calmed down.
Shao Xuan was able to hold the title Grand Elder because he had all six bone ornaments that only an elder was qualified to wear, and no one complained.
Not just anyone could wield them.
These six bone ornaments carried the wills of their ancestors, only when Shao Xuan wore the bone ornaments could the burning giant appear.
The reason they held a sacrifice after the grand feast was to inform their ancestors about their achievement, and now, the bone ornaments were responding. The flames were not as solid as before, but everyone could tell that it was a burning giant! It was the first ancestor’s burning giant!
Their ancestor’s will has appeared!
This made all the Flaming Horns so excited that they were on the verge of crying, but they maintained their composure.
At this moment, what they felt was similar to what a very hardworking student would feel after he had tried his best in answering on a test. Now, a teacher who was going to correct their papers and give them a good grade had appeared. This was someone they had waited to meet all along, someone they respected. Of course they would be excited.
The fact that the first shaman of the Flaming Horn tribe left them these six bone ornaments really was a big deal to them. Without these six bone ornaments, they had no ancestral power and it would not be possible for them to merge so quickly and smoothly. Regardless of whether it was the time when they were chased by the murderous slave masters on the other side of the sea or when they parted the sea to return, they used the power from these ancestral bone ornaments.
But after the bone ornaments were used to part the sea, it lost too much energy and entered into a resting state. After that, not much really happened.
Back when they were planning this sacrifice, they didn’t expect the bone ornaments to suddenly power up. This was a joyful surprise.
They were not sure whether it was because the bone ornaments had not completely recovered, but when the burning giant came into shape, the flames were wavering and the figure wasn’t as firmly held together. But even so, the Flaming Horn tribespeople were already really satisfied. They couldn’t wait to bow down to it a couple more times.
In the forest outside the Flaming River Trading Point.
The teams that came to attend the feast left a few people outside to wait and observe what was happening on the inside. Not only did they have to check what was happening on the inside, but they also had to be careful of everything suspicious outside.
Besides these people, others who followed the teams that came to attend the feast who were not invited were also hiding in the forest. They came because they were curious.
When the grand feast started inside the trading area, they could smell the food from outside. It made their mouths water and their tummies growl. But all they could do was drink some unclean water and chew on some stiff jerky.
When the flame suddenly burst upward inside the trading area, it naturally caught their attention.
“The Flaming River Trading Point...is burning?! What happened?!” someone exclaimed.
Just now, they only sensed energy coming from inside the trading area that made them feel uncomfortable. They understood that this was the Flaming Horn’s territory. It was normal to feel this way in other people’s territory.
Before they were even not used to not having this type of energy around. But what was the violent flame all about?
“Don’t tell me... that the Flaming Horn tribe actually made a move?” the person who spoke gestured with his hands, demonstrating a chopping action with his hands as blades.
“That doesn’t make sense. How could the Flaming Horn tribe be that stupid? And don’t forget, amongst the tribes that went in, besides the smaller tribes, there was the Mang tribe, Thousand Masks tribe, Eight Limbs tribe, and others. You think they could get rid of them all in one go? There are even eagles from the Hui tribe and Tianshan tribe watching from all around. They didn’t even fly in yet.”
Indeed, there were eagles from the Hui tribe and Tianshan tribe watching from all around, but they were not flying around and keeping watch in the sky now. Rather, they were farther away from the trading area, either resting on a tree, a mountain, or a rock, watching the movements inside the Flaming River Trading Area.
They didn’t hear any whistles signalling them to come down. Of all the tribes that went in, none blew on their whistles.
“Let’s wait and see!”
The people who were hiding inside the forest speculated on the movements inside the trading point anxiously. They were tensing up and ready to rush in that direction anytime.
Meanwhile, the people who saw this inside the trading area were also shocked.
Especially the people who were closest inside the Flaming River Castle. They felt extremely confused. If the fact that the Flaming Horns could summon the energy of the fire seed shocked them, then seeing the Flaming Horns burning up shocked them even more. Now, Shao Xuan’s transformation looked like a pot of oil was splashed onto a blazing fire, its sizzling sounds burned on everyone’s nerves.
They could not comprehend or imagine the scene in front of them. This was not at all similar to the world they were familiar with. Their views that they firmly held onto must be changed now.
Blood and fire from the same source.....
This was the only hypothesis that could justify the fact that the Flaming Horn tribe didn’t have a fire seed and could still cause such a scene. Even if it was just a guess, when they encountered this, they couldn’t stay calm. The theory that blood and fire were coming from the same source couldn’t really explain what they were seeing now. This was probably a unique skill possessed only by Flaming Horns that was passed down by their ancestors. Other tribes didn’t have this.
They could only stand on the side and watch, and see what this grand elder of the Flaming Horn tribe was about to do.
Shao Xuan also never expected the bone ornaments to suddenly awaken and activate its power.
The power of totem, transmission, and other special powers inside his body was all being pulled away at that instant. The six bone ornaments were spinning wildly like a whirlwind, sucking in all the energy Shao Xuan was providing.
This was different from previous times.
Before, these six bone ornaments were activated purely by their own power and did not require too much of Shao Xuan’s power. Shao Xuan could not even choose when they were going to appear.
So Shao Xuan could use his own power to activate the bone ornaments, just like back then when he used it to part the sea and return. When the bone ornaments could no longer provide enough energy to support its function, Shao Xuan would use his own energy to support it.
But now, Shao Xuan did not even use his own energy to activate the bone ornament’s power. It activated automatically but it still relied on Shao Xuan’s energy for support.
The bone ornaments had not completely recovered. Shao Xuan suddenly figured out the reason.
Maybe their ancestors left a remnant of their consciousness inside the bone ornaments, and because they saw such a grand feast, they got too excited and jumped out by themselves?
This sudden energy that was welling out of the bone ornaments might be caused by the remaining consciousness of their ancestors. Shao Xuan’s emotions were also slightly stirred by it, making him feel like howling with all his might.
Sure enough, the ancestors were probably very happy.
After being stirred by all these emotions, Shao Xuan moved.
All the people in the Flaming Horn tribe: “.......”
Their eyes looked up at the flaming giant up above, and then fixed onto Shao Xuan. From their eyes, it was clear that their feelings were at first filled with utmost reverence, then shock, then terror.
Wait! Grand Elder! What are you trying to do?
Don’t lift your leg! Please show some mercy!
We are still standing beside you, grand elder! Look at us!
Don’t lift your foot! Don’t step on us!
The people of the Flaming Horn tribe, whether they had seen Shao Xuan use the ancestral powers before, or heard about it after, all thought the same way when they saw Shao Xuan’s sudden movements.
Everyone in the Flaming Horn tribe, from the ex-chiefs to the current chiefs and shamans, and other hunt leaders like Duo Kang, all of them were terrified. But the flames that were surrounding them covered them so it was not obvious.
If Shao Xuan was to lift his foot and step down, everything they had worked so hard to establish, the entire grand feast, would all go to waste. Not only would it ruin the Flaming Horn tribe’s powerful image, they would even be laughed at by others.
If they were to suffer a step from this giant, and if they didn’t die, they would be severely injured, right?
Especially Zheng Luo, Duo Kang, and others who had seen the might of this flame giant before. Their hands were all trembling. That year when they migrated from the other side of the sea and encountered the teams that the slave masters sent out to capture them, they had seen Shao Xuan summon the power of the ancestral bones to step on the ground. In an instant, the ground split apart as if an earthquake happened and shocked the team that was hunting for them. It stopped those people from following them so tightly.
If it could split the ground, fight the king of beasts, and part the sea, could people like them bear this kind of power?
Thinking about the earth splitting apart back then, they recalled seeing giant boulders being thrown up. Then they imagined, if that situation was to happen again here and now, how would it look like?
They recalled the time when they went to the salt mine and encountered the King Beast. Before they even got to see how Shao Xuan summoned the ancestral power, they already flew towards the snow, so all of them were shaking with fear.
The more they thought about it, the paler their faces became.
Grand Elder, please don’t do anything stupid!
But, judging from Shao Xuan’s looks, it didn’t seem like he was doing it on purpose. It was like, maybe, perhaps, what their ancestors wanted to do?
They really wanted to stop Shao Xuan from doing what he was about to do, but they didn’t want to disrespect their ancestors so they didn’t act recklessly. But right when they hesitated, Shao Xuan moved again.
This time, Shao Xuan did not move his foot. Instead, he moved his hand.
It looked as if Shao Xuan’s arms were carelessly raised from his side. The blurry burning figure also followed suit and raised its arms.
Seeing this, everyone in the Flaming Horn tribe breathed out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it did not lift its feet. It scared them so much that cold sweat covered their foreheads. Before, during their previous sacrifices, the flaming giant that represented their ancestors also lifted its arms, like it was cheering, so they finally stopped worrying.
Turns out our ancestors are just cheering?! Gosh, that was close! Wait!
Huh?
Huh!
Huh!!!