Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 144 What a huge minotaur!
Chen Ye had long had ideas about integrating the beliefs of the barbarians.

It's impossible to completely reverse things all at once. Chen Ye isn't a cruel person; he wouldn't kill someone just to force them to convert.

But the ancestral spirits that the barbarians believe in are nothing more than illusions created by the power of incense and prayers, so we can try to change that.

The Black Whirlwind replacing the Eagle Spirit, the faith of the Black Feather Clan, is just the beginning.

As long as a suitable substitute is found, Chen Ye can transform all these incense offerings and prayers into "deities" worshipped by the Yellow Springs Sect.

Later, let them do their own statistics, and Chen Ye will go to Baihai Valley to buy a few more spirit beasts to help with the incense offerings, so that a bunch of demons and monsters won't fight over incense offerings in Fengdu City.

Having made a rough plan, Chen Ye left the Yellow Springs Palace and headed to the Kun trigram position of Fengdu City, which is the southwest.

The entire city of Fengdu was built around the underground palace where the ginseng fruit was located, according to the Bagua (Eight Trigrams). The Kun trigram represents the people, the masses, and the citizens of the country. The spirits of the dead reside underground, while the living live on the southwest side of the surface.

However, this is only a temporary measure. Once a city is full of people, it becomes difficult to further subdivide it. But now, the vast city of Fengdu only has a few dozen living people, so setting up a few tents will suffice.

When Chen Ye arrived, the young barbarians rushed to greet him, but their faces were filled with awe and restraint.

Even though they had learned the truth from the ghosts of their family and friends—that Chen Ye had avenged them—in their eyes, Chen Ye was still the new leader who had conquered this place.

As newly surrendered subjects, they should have shown their loyalty according to the rules of the northern frontier.

Who would have thought that after staying in the city for several days, Chen Ye wouldn't even bother to meet them? This treatment made the barbarians worry that their new leader might not even look down on them.
Is Fengdu City only for wandering spirits to reside in?

Thinking this way, the group felt even more uneasy. Their tribe was destroyed, and their family and friends were all ghosts. They had nowhere else to go but to stay here. If they sought refuge with another leader, they would likely be treated as slaves, being so few and weak.

Now that Chen Ye has appeared, these young barbarians are filled with fear and trepidation, wondering how their new leader intends to deal with them.

Looking at the forty or fifty young men in front of him, Chen Ye asked, "Which of you speaks the Central Plains dialect?"

Chen Ye was going to take people to the Deer Hunting Festival, and Wan Hun Fan needed to stay in Fengdu City to continue infrastructure construction. He needed someone by his side who could help with translation, not a ghost.

A commotion arose in the crowd, and after a while, a tall figure crawled on all fours to Chen Ye's side and said in broken Central Plains dialect, "I, I know a little Central Plains dialect."

Chen Ye looked at the man. Although he was lying on the ground, he was intimidatingly tall. He was almost as tall as Chen Ye's waist just by lying there.

Chen Ye was intrigued by the man's unique physique and asked, "Get up. What's your name?"

The man slowly stood up, and was indeed two heads taller than Chen Ye. His dark face looked down at Chen Ye, and he said cautiously, "Reporting to the leader, my name is Qiqi Gesang. I was originally from the Liman tribe, and I studied the Central Plains language with the priest for a few years."

Chen Ye took a closer look and was somewhat surprised, because the giant in front of him was not the kind of imposing and strong man, but a slender woman.

She was tall, but not too bulky; in fact, she was rather slender.

In her previous life, someone with this physique would at most become an athlete, but this is a world where immortality can be cultivated. Chen Ye guessed that this woman's bloodline was somewhat special, which is called innate talent and extraordinary phenomena.

Chen Ye asked, "Qiqi Gesang, do you know witchcraft?"

The methods of the Nirvana School are called supernatural powers, which are acquired through prayer to the Buddha and the practice of precepts. According to the people of the Northern Frontier, any magic obtained through prayer is collectively called witchcraft, because it can only be obtained through shamanistic rituals performed by tribal priests.

Qiqigesang bowed slightly and replied nervously, "Yes, but the ancestral spirit of the Liman tribe has been destroyed, and our witchcraft is getting weaker and weaker. If the chief wants to see it, I can only try."

The essence of witchcraft is still borrowing from the gods, not magic cultivated by oneself. If the gods are destroyed, the related power will naturally disappear as well, but it will take a process.

Although the Liman tribe was destroyed, most of its spirits remained. Although the altars of the ancestral spirits had been dismantled, they had not completely dissipated. Qiqi Gesang recited a few prayers to the gods, and his body began to change.

Her once slender body became thick and strong, her body swelled up a lot, her feet turned into hooves, and a pair of horns grew on her head.

Chen Ye felt a little disappointed; it turned out to be another form of animalistic witchcraft.

This kind of thing is too common among barbarian tribes. After transforming into a beast, one becomes stronger, but there is also the risk of losing one's mind. This kind of witchcraft is really useless.

But Qiqigesang was already tall, and after transforming into a cow, he grew even taller, so he looked quite imposing.

Chen Ye said to Qi Qigesang, "I have spoken with the priests of the Liman tribe. In a few days, they will hold a new ancestral worship ceremony in the underground of Fengdu City. You don't need to worry."

"Thank you, leader."

The woman, who had transformed into a minotaur, immediately lay down, her enormous head slamming into the ground with a thud that shook the earth.

"From now on, address me as Sect Master. I am the Sect Master of the Yellow Springs Sect. From now on, you will live in Fengdu City. There is no need to worry, the Yellow Springs Sect will protect you."

Qiqi Gesang quickly thanked Chen Ye for his kindness and then translated Chen Ye's words for the other barbarians. Upon hearing this, everyone knelt before Chen Ye, tears of gratitude streaming down their faces.

Seeing that things were about right, Chen Ye said to Qiqigesang, "I heard that the deer hunting festival is about to begin. You will select twenty people to come with me to participate in the deer hunting festival. This is a tradition of the people of the northern frontier. You should know who is suitable to participate."

"Twenty people?" Qiqigesang hurriedly said, "Sect Master, twenty people are far from enough, we need at least a hundred."

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "Fengdu City has just been established. Where would we get a hundred able-bodied men to participate in the deer hunting party? We'd be lucky to get twenty. Our purpose in going there is to bring back sheep and people for Fengdu City. You should choose the men first, and then come to the Yellow Springs Palace to find me. I'll explain everything to you in detail later."

After Chen Ye turned and left, everyone got up from the ground.

Qiqigesang retracted her beast transformation, but she was still much taller than everyone else. She looked at her clansmen and asked, "If the sect leader wants to participate in the Deer Hunt, he needs to select twenty warriors."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately erupted in uproar.

"Qiqigesang of the Liman tribe, do you know what you're saying? Twenty people participating in a deer hunt? Isn't that just sending them to their deaths?"

"Yes, there are too few people. Going there would be suicide. They would just be swallowed up by the other tribes."

"Did you lie to the leader because you can speak the Central Plains language?! Are you trying to get us killed?"

……

Faced with the accusations of the group, Qiqi Gesang was somewhat nervous. Although she was stronger than the average person, in the traditions of the people of northern Xinjiang, women were mostly considered weak and resources, like sheep. Even though Qiqi Gesang knew witchcraft, she found it difficult to gain the respect of this group of barbarians.

Seeing the surging emotions of the crowd, Qiqi Gesang felt troubled. If he couldn't gather twenty people, how could he bear the blame if the sect leader found out?

In the past, there were priests from the Liman tribe who could be consulted with this highly respected old man, but now most of the Liman tribe members are dead, and Qiqigesang has no one to consult with.

But the crowd wouldn't let Qiqi Gesang off the hook just because she remained silent. They all blamed her for Chen Ye's participation in the deer hunt. They criticized her relentlessly, as if if they scolded her harshly enough, Chen Ye would retract his decision, or they wanted to make Qiqi Gesang take the blame herself.

Watching this scene from a distance, Chen Ye sighed, "What a waste of such a big guy, to be bullied like this."

Chen Ye had initially thought highly of Qiqi Gesang; these days, anyone who could speak two languages ​​was a talent and worth nurturing. However, this young woman's personality was a bit too weak, and he feared she might not be up to the task of management.

Seeing that Qiqi Gesang was about to be scolded to the point of burying his head in the ground, Chen Ye sighed.

As soon as Chen Ye had a thought, a huge fire snake appeared beside Qiqigesang. This was not a small snake the size of a finger, but a giant python thicker than a person.

The raging flames and scorching heat startled everyone, who quickly moved aside.

The fire serpent flicked its tongue and came to Qiqigesang, speaking in Chen Ye's voice: "Raise your head."

Qiqigesang looked up in shock at the fire serpent, which was much taller than himself, and thought he had encountered the ancestral spirit of some tribe.

Upon recognizing Chen Ye's voice, Qiqigesang immediately knelt down.

"Sect Master, please forgive me. I failed to complete your orders."

“Since you know you’re wrong, go and correct it. Tell them that your words are my will, and if they don’t obey, then get out of Fengdu City. This snake is my witness.”

The giant flaming serpent roared, its roar causing everyone's eardrums to ache, and the flames on its body scorched the nearby ground black.

Only when everyone was trembling with fear did the giant python slowly shrink and then coil around Qiqigesang's arm.

The flames did not cause any harm; instead, they gave Qiqigesang a warm feeling, as if a power was coming from the fire serpent.

Looking at her trembling kin, Qiqigesang finally mustered her courage. She transformed into a minotaur once more, raising the fire serpent in her right hand and roaring at the crowd, "This is the power bestowed upon me by the sect leader. Participating in the Deer Hunt is the sect leader's order. All of you, listen up! If you resist, get out of Fengdu City. Otherwise, I will personally crush your heads."

The ox's hoof stomped, causing the earth to tremble, and several terrified barbarians fell to the ground in a sorry state.

Seeing the fire snake on Qiqi Gesang's arm, no one dared to say another word. They immediately prostrated themselves on the ground and loudly praised the name of the Yellow Spring Sect Master.

Qiqigesang looked at his fellow clansmen kneeling before him, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Because of his unusual physique, he had been subjected to a lot of disdain since childhood. He never imagined that one day he would be worshipped by so many people.

Gently stroking the fire snake on her arm, Qiqi Gesang knew that this was an honor bestowed by the sect leader. From this day forward, she would be the ox of the Yellow Springs Sect, willing to dedicate all her strength to it.

(End of this chapter)