Chapter 10, The Mysterious Soul Festival

With this understanding, Chen Xun thought that this spear dance and barbaric song might be the secret method by which the people of the Wumang tribe comprehend the essence of the barbarian and awaken the barbarian soul

A corner of the animal hide, known as "burnt remnants," is missing a piece and still bears the marks of scorching.

Chen Xun secretly sensed the overwhelming force that could almost pierce the heavens, perhaps it was the strongest path of the Wu Mang barbarian martial inheritance

There are cunning beasts, the bones of pythons, and countless spiritual herbs and exotic plants. Chen Xun can sense that within the bronze cauldron, there are countless life essences howling wildly. However, including Zong Ling, many of the python youths have yet to awaken their barbaric souls and are fundamentally unable to consume them

At this moment, Nan Liao led the people and carried out the children who could not bear it any longer

Although he cannot see, after the opening of his spiritual consciousness, the spiritual perception born from the barbaric soul can keenly sense the faint aura within a radius of twenty meters

Wugong Zongtu stepped onto the altar, while Nan Liao led a group of fierce warriors, some pulling, some carrying, and some capturing, bringing with them a variety of wild beasts and ferocious birds as they approached from outside the crowd

Zongya, Zongling, and other youths slowly rose, encircling the altar. Beneath the totemic figure made of animal hides, with even more devout and fervent expressions, they imitated the posture of the barbarian war god, stepping forward in a manner resembling the thrust of a spear, while chanting barbaric songs.

Subsequently, over a dozen tribesmen carried large earthenware jars filled with dripping fresh meat to the fire altar and poured them into the bronze cauldron

Although the bronze cauldron is enormous, after placing the giant python's skeleton, the pieces of cunning beast meat, and countless spiritual herbs and exotic plants inside, there is hardly any extra space left to put in these additional wild beasts and ferocious birds for boiling

The wild bull is a relatively docile beast, but this does not mean that the strong wild bull will allow itself to be slaughtered at will. It is merely bound by ropes on all four hooves, while a figure known as Nan Liao presses down on its enormous head, leaving it to let out a mournful and helpless roar. As Chen Xun speculated on how Nan Liao and his companions would deal with these wild beasts and fierce birds, he saw Nan Liao leading several warriors, circling the altar, and placing the wild beasts and fierce birds down, forming a large sacrificial circle.

The colossal barbarian warrior loomed before him, almost as if it were about to come to life. The moment Chen Xun looked up, he felt the immense power of the giant spear held by the barbarian god in the painting, a force capable of piercing the heavens!

Chen Xun felt a surge of unease, worried that some children might directly lose their souls and perish under such a powerful spiritual impact

Why is it so difficult for him to visualize the Nine Nether Barbarian Soul, while he can easily visualize the first stance of the Great Peng Secret Fist?

The barbarian martial arts of awakening the barbarian soul, while consuming spiritual medicine, can directly refine the medicinal power into the vital energy and blood by meticulously engraving the barbarian soul in the sea of souls, thereby tempering the muscles, bones, and flesh of the entire body

The shaman, dressed in coarse hemp garments, stood before the altar, adjusting his attire while holding a dark bone staff. His piercing gaze swept over the gathering members of the Python tribe in the square, and he hoarsely shouted: "Soul sacrifice to the first barbarian!"

Is this the remnant image of the Nine Nether Barbarian Soul, as mentioned in the ancestral scriptures of the Wu Python, which has been passed down for a thousand years

Chen Xun was also unsure whether this was the flesh and bones of the cunning beast after it had been dismembered

Chen Xun looked up in surprise at the beast skin totem.

It is too strange

According to the ancestral illustrations, the black-scaled cunning beast is a wild and exotic species, possessing innate true blood within its beastly heart. The true blood of this extraordinary creature is a hundred to a thousand times more precious than ordinary spiritual herbs, and obtaining just a single drop can transform a person fundamentally.

Ah

What!

Under the fire altar, members of the Python tribe raised torches and ignited the altar soaked in animal fat, with a crackling sound, as the flames gradually grew stronger amidst the billowing black smoke

Chen Xun never expected that this painting of a barbarian on animal skin could actually devour beast souls

Chen Xun thought that the blue liquid in the ceramic bowl was likely the true blood extracted from the body of the black-scaled cunning creature, but to supply the hundreds of black python children for body tempering, it might have been diluted with a large amount of other medicinal liquids

It resembles trembling in the absence of wind, as if the fierce force is about to tear apart the invisible hand into fragments, while the giant python totem on the body of the figure exudes a glossy sheen.

Chen Xun's spiritual consciousness suddenly opened, revealing a shimmering phantom suspended above the tumultuous sea of consciousness.

Worship the ancestors! The shaman's ancestral diagram is once again accompanied by a thunderous roar

Grandfather Zong had specifically instructed him not to show any unusual behavior in front of Zong Sang, Nan Liao, and others. Chen Xun did not expect that upon seeing the Mánxiàng, he would involuntarily enter a state of visualization with form.

The souls of these beasts exude a powerful aura, resembling phantoms desperately struggling before his eyes, attempting to resist the devouring force of the barbaric image, among which the remnants of the cunning beast and the black python are particularly formidable.

Zongya, Zongling, and other youths, along with younger children, at this moment stepped out from the crowd, baring their chests and walking to the open space between the altar and the sacrificial beast enclosure

Chen Xun had not yet witnessed the scene of the Soul Sacrifice Beast Feast, and usually, such matters were not discussed with him. However, seeing these wild beasts and birds of prey, including wild boars, blue wolves, mountain civets, leopard badgers, tiger sparrows, mountain eagles, and red-capped storks, Nan Liao personally carried a sturdy wild bull, its limbs tightly bound with ropes, on his shoulder

"With the spirit of this land, I beseech the ancestral serpent!" Standing on the altar, the shaman Zongtu's voice thundered like a storm, resonating across the square. In an instant, the remnants of the animal skin released an invisible force, absorbing the turbulent impact of the souls.

Visualization with form is, in essence, the mental depiction of the principles of heaven and earth upon the sea of consciousness of the spirit and soul

Chen Xun thought to himself, they won't be slaughtered and then cooked together in the bronze cauldron, will they

Chen Xun then realized that he was drenched in sweat, his entire body soaked with a foul-smelling perspiration, to the point where his bones felt as if they were about to fall apart. Had it not been for his grandfather Zongtu waking him in time, he would likely have stood there until his vital energy was depleted and he perished.

but the remnants of the beast skins are devouring the souls of the beasts and birds trapped within the beast pen, as well as the cunning beasts and the remnants of the black python released from the bronze and the book cauldron

Chen Xun stood a little farther away, yet he could still feel the invisible force field being released from the altar. As time passed, he began to feel weary and fatigued. He wondered how great the pressure must be on the more than one hundred young boys and girls dancing around the altar like black pythons.

Chen Xun was jolted awake by a sharp pain in his eardrum, only to see his grandfather, Zongtu, standing before him with a ceramic bowl, looking at him with a concerned expression

However, he did not expect that the Nine Nether Barbarian Soul, inherited for a thousand years by the python, would possess such formidable power

If the Da Peng boxing manual that Qingmu Daoist copied from the silk book can be said to exhibit exquisite painting skills, then this giant battle flag before us can be considered as having reached a profound level of mastery

He could only visualize a phantom above the sea of his soul, which suggests that the purity of his blood energy at this moment is still far from sufficient to interpret the profound path of the Heaven-defying stab, and he is still far from possessing the complete Nine Nether Barbarian Soul.

At this moment, Chen Xun recalled that fleeting instant and felt a sense of dread. He secretly realized that if he were truly to manifest the Nine Nether Barbarian Soul in the sea of his consciousness, the gathered power would be sufficient to collapse the enormous altar before him. However, the energy within his body was far from enough to provide such a vast amount. Forcing the manifestation would only serve to drain him to the point of becoming a mere husk.

At this moment, the sky had completely darkened, and one could see the shaman priest Zongtu ascend the altar, swallow a handful of black python elixir, brandish an extremely dark bone staff in his hand, and begin to chant loudly

The drop of blue liquid touched his forehead, instantly merging into a heated flow that penetrated deep within, bringing a sensation of searing warmth from the depths of his soul, reminding Chen Xun of the moment when the giant had dripped that drop of golden blood into his body

Chen Xun instinctively raised his hand and stepped forward, just about to enter that subtle realm of harmony with his intentions, when a thunderous sound suddenly echoed in his ears

The priest of the Wu clan had already bestowed true blood upon all the young men, and then ascended the altar. Upon hearing his command of "sacrifice," the individuals such as Nan Liao, who were standing beside the beast enclosure with their blades in hand, swiftly raised their knives and severed the heads of the wild beasts that formed the enclosure one by one

As the chanting resonated, a mysterious force from the heavens and the earth, along with the books, converged towards him. Subsequently, Zongsang and three fierce warriors from his clan carried a massive wooden pole onto the altar, where a totemic beast skin hung suspended. Under the illumination of the flames, it resembled a battle flag of a great python

The fierce roars of these beasts have ceased, but Chen Xun suddenly felt an even stronger impact. His spiritual consciousness opened abruptly, and he saw countless phantom souls of decapitated beasts and birds converging above the altar, gathering like dark clouds, silently howling in rage.

Soon, a child could no longer bear it, and after struggling to walk out from the crowd of spear dancers, fell to the ground, convulsing with limbs twitching and foam coming from the mouth

Under the illumination of the flames, amidst the remnants of animal skins, stands a primal warrior, bare-chested and wrapped in animal hide, poised to thrust the giant spear he holds. In that moment, the sense of power coalescing seems as if it could pierce the heavens

Chen Xun thought to himself: The drop of golden blood transformed from the heart of the troll is indeed the true blood of the six-armed troll

The fresh blood of the beasts sprayed in all directions towards the altar.

At this moment, Master Wu Gongzong changed into a coarse hemp garment in gray and white, and together with several elderly men from the village, walked out of the stone hall and ascended the altar

At this moment, Chen Xun finally understood what the sacrificial beast banquet was all about

Only then did Chen Xun realize that the moment he thought he had lost his senses had actually passed quite some time ago. However, he did not know what Grandfather Zongtu was doing as he came down from the altar holding a ceramic bowl.

Indeed, there are distinctions in the ways of heaven and earth, as well as differences in the strength of laws; thus, the visualization of forms naturally presents both challenges and ease.

The people of the Python tribe outside the beast circle, as well as the Southern Liao and other barbarian warriors, showed no signs of abnormality; they merely looked solemnly at the remnants of the former barbarian.

Chen Xun had never learned the spear dance; he stood on the periphery watching Zong Ya and the others dance around the altar, listening to the barbaric songs that gathered above the altar like dark clouds. He felt an indescribable charm, sensing that if he were to step down in the same manner, perhaps he could manifest the souls of the Nine Nether Barbarians in the sea of his consciousness.

It is not about absorbing the impact force endured by the soul and the books

On the altar, someone used a long-handled wooden spoon to ladle out the meat broth that had been simmering in the bronze cauldron for a long time, passing it down in bowls, while individuals such as the Southern Liao were responsible for pouring it into the mouths of the children who could not withstand it. However, these children were sent to the altar to sit directly beneath the barbaric image, absorbing the medicinal power of the meat broth.

Within the beast arena, Zongya and Zongling, among others, were experiencing a violent impact on their minds and souls. The slightly weaker youths began to tremble uncontrollably, their limbs starting to convulse.

The barbaric figure, which devours countless beast souls and bird spirits, did not cease its movements at this moment; instead, it radiated a brilliant light, releasing an invisible immense force that enveloped the hundreds of dark, serpentine children, including Zongya and Zongling, beneath the massive altar.

Seeing that Chen Xun was unharmed, Wu Gongzong reached into the陶碗 and dipped a drop of thick green liquid, which he then dripped onto Chen Xun's forehead

At this moment, two silent roars emanated from the bronze cauldron, as an invisible tempest howled, nearly extinguishing the blazing fire on the altar. The serpent-like and cunning shapes of two phantoms violently struggled to break free from the bronze cauldron

Chen Xun still thought that his momentary distraction was just a fleeting instant, but looking at the flames at the bottom of the fire altar, they had completely surged up, the roaring fire engulfing the bronze cauldron, and the stone wall on one side of the altar was charred black.

Ordinary individuals consuming elixirs do so within certain limits; taking highly potent elixirs typically results in explosive death.

Zongya waved to Chen Xun to come over. Chen Xun was puzzled for a moment, but when he looked up and saw his grandfather Zongtu nodding affirmatively at him, he then walked out from the crowd and stood inside the beast enclosure

The priest of the Wu family stood atop the fire altar, his withered, aged face illuminated by the flickering flames, which at that moment also emitted a shimmering glow.

These wild beasts and birds of prey vary in size, but a single bull can weigh between three to four thousand jin

It is quite similar to the release of an invisible force field, with its actual function resembling that of the Barbarian Soul Tool. It assists the children of the black python in refining the medicinal power within the beast banquet, purifying their vital energy while also tempering their muscles, bones, and skin, thereby strengthening their physique