After a century of worship, I became the ancestor of the tribe.

Chapter 2 Inheritance
Go straight up?
If the fire was too salty, Shen Can would be rendered speechless.

No internship required?

He felt it was all happening too fast; he had just become the head of the ancestral temple of the tribe, and then he was promoted to the official position.

The old man is too impatient.

"Don't be afraid, learn from me."

Huo Xian grabbed the Luan Blade and the Blood Vessel with both hands and placed them in Shen Can's hands. He then picked up a copper jar from the wooden shelf, which contained a thick, blood-red liquid.

"follow me."

Shen Can obediently followed behind Huo Xian.

Seeing Huo Xian's actions, Huo Shan, who was about to leave, stopped and gestured for everyone present to be quiet.

"The first step in the ritual is to offer prayers and draw symbols on the animal's ears. I'll draw them while you learn."

Shen Can nodded in agreement to Huo Xian's immediate introduction to the lesson. In fact, he had already seen the process of worshipping the ancestral temple countless times in his memory.

The prayer involves reciting the "Sacrificial Incantation" in the ear of the animal after drawing a talisman on it. The incantation is "The sacrificial animals are plump and juicy, and the offerings are plentiful and abundant," meaning that the sacrificial animals are clean and pure.

It is said that in large tribes, the ancestral temple worship is even more complicated, and the captured wild beasts must be kept for a period of time and fed medicinal herbs to cleanse their stomachs.

They eat better than the warriors of the Blazing Flame Tribe.

Before the sacrifice, wild beasts with uniform fur and no injuries would be selected as offerings.

Even the containers for holding them come in many kinds.

The Blazing Flame Tribe does not have this condition.

Although Huo Xian looked very old, he was very impatient. He drew witch symbols on the ground with his finger and made Shen Can practice several times.

"Great, we can now draw shamanic symbols on animal ears."

Shen Can's strokes in drawing the talisman were winding and looked somewhat weak, but he still received praise from Huo Xian, who then handed Shen Can a copper jar containing blood-red liquid.

This signaled to him that he could proceed.

……

Lieshan Kui was tightly bound and struggled on the ground. Ayu went up and pinned him down.

"Brother Can, don't worry about drawing the talisman, I'll press it down for you."

However, Ah Yu was still a bit too weak, and Lie Shan Kui swayed her body along with him.

“Come on, everyone lend a hand. This is Ah-chan’s first time presiding over the sacrificial ceremony. If he loses face, we will also lose face. The ancestors will only scold us for not being united.”

As he spoke, the volcano walked towards Lieshan Kui. The tribesmen who had been watching the commotion at the cave entrance also came in laughing and immediately pressed down the bound Lieshan Kui tightly.

"Thank you, uncles and brothers."

Shen Can expressed his gratitude. Although he was forced into this situation, he felt less anxious now that everyone was working together.

Shen Can turned around and glanced at Huo Xian, who nodded gently.

"Ah Chan, relax, we're pressing really firmly."

The volcano pressed its hands onto the two horns of the mountain-splitting Kui, its immense force rendering the Kui immobile and pulling its ears outwards.

Shen Can dipped his hand into the liquid in the copper pot and applied it to the ear of the Rift Mountain Kui. Drawing witch runes on the beast's ear was more difficult than on the ground; the slightly soft ear made his fingers curve more like reptiles when outlining the runes.

“Ah Can, this is your first time performing the sacrifice. If the ancestors are watching, they will only be pleased that there are successors and will not blame you.”

With Huo Xian's help, Shen Can's hands became increasingly smooth, and soon he had drawn witch symbols all over the two ears of Lieshan Kui while chanting incantations.

"The sacrificial animals are plump and juicy, and the offerings are plentiful and abundant."

After reciting the incantation, he took the Luan knife handed to him by Huo Xian, raised it above his head with both hands, and bowed towards the direction of the divine tablet.

Then, he grabbed the Luan Blade and came to Lieshan Kui's side.

Although this Mountain-Splitting Kui has not yet reached the next level, it has scales on its body. If a knife were to be plunged into the scales, it would be very difficult for him, who is not even at the first level of the Rock-Splitting Realm, to pierce the Mountain-Splitting Kui's neck, let alone obtain blood from the bronze vessel.

The idea of ​​dismembering the Kui body and offering its shoulders, ribs, and thighs to the ancestors is out of the question.

"Stick here."

Then, another member of the clan spoke up.

Shen Can looked and saw that a large hand had already pried open the scales on the neck of the Rift Mountain Kui, revealing the area where the scales were interspersed.

Huo Xian also witnessed this scene.

Decades ago, when he first offered a sacrificial animal to his ancestors, his clansmen treated him in the same way.

Generation after generation, he grew old.

Next, it's about passing the skills down from one hand to the other.

Having no time to express his gratitude for his clansmen's help, Shen Can gripped the Luan Blade and stabbed down.

With a "thud," accompanied by the ringing of the Luan Blade, the blade pierced into the neck of the Rift Mountain Kui.

At that moment, Shen Can suddenly felt his eyes turn blood red. He felt as if a wisp of blood-red light was being absorbed into his eyes, and he subconsciously tried to wipe his blood-stained eyes.

But he felt a thought manifest in his mind, and a delicate three-legged cauldron appeared in his perception, as if it had merged with his flesh and blood.

Priest: Shen Can; Martial Arts Realm: Unranked.

Sacrificial vessel: sacrificial tripod

Tempering Method: Kui Niu Fist (Inferior)
Skills: None
Martial Arts Supernatural Powers: None

Attributes: Sacrificial artifact, absorbs the lifespan of offerings, can protect the body, nourish the spirit, and enhance martial arts.

The priest seized the offering and shattered the lifespan of Kui, who had been alive for 33 years.

At this moment, the words "(can be deduced)" appeared after "[Ku Niu Fist (Inferior)]".

Shen Can was quite surprised that the tribe's only inherited martial arts training method was deemed inferior.

The original owner had already practiced this martial art before he transmigrated, and had been practicing it for more than ten years.

Simply put, you eat beast meat to practice your fist techniques and build up your body to be strong. Once your physique is sufficiently tempered, you can soak in beast blood to complete the final advancement.

Shen Can had seen this soaking process before. It involved soaking in a blood tank, letting the beast's blood wash over you, and then jumping out of the tank every now and then to start practicing the Kui Niu Fist.

Repeat this process of soaking and punching until you can't take it anymore, or until you successfully advance to the next level.

A very crude way to advance.

During the last annual festival, out of eleven clansmen who were soaked in animal blood, only three succeeded. Two of them had already been soaked in animal blood once before and were repeat soaks.

The success rate is low, and the injury rate remains high.

Leaving aside the cultivation situation of other people in the tribe, just look at Shen Can's own situation. He has been cultivating for more than ten years, but it is still a long way from advancing to the next level.

The Kui Niu Fist is indeed a poor-quality fist technique, as its absorption of beast blood energy is too low.

At this moment, the inferior Kui Niu Fist technique presented a predictable situation, which made Shen Can realize something in an instant.

Wouldn't it be said that as long as one's lifespan is sufficient, the Kui Niu Fist can be developed to a higher level?

And lifespan...

A single sacrifice granted them thirty-three years of freedom, and the tribe would offer sacrifices at the ancestral temple every time they returned from a hunt.

"Roar!"

The roaring sound made Shen Can's ears ring, waking him up.

"Ow!"

Lieshan Kui struggled violently in pain, but was held down firmly and unable to move.

According to the rules of ancestor worship, when piercing the animal to draw blood, the best blood must not splatter.

After regaining his senses, Shen Can quickly took the bronze vessel and began to collect the blood of the Rift Mountain Kui. During this process, no matter how much the Rift Mountain Kui struggled, it was held firmly down by the large hand, and not a single drop of its blood spurted out.

"Huh, it seems that A-Can is a person with great luck. This mountain-splitting Kui is not struggling much."

At that moment, the volcano opened, and he felt the struggling movements of the crumbling mountain Kui that he was pressing down slow down.

With everyone's help, he finally completed the second step of blood collection, picked up the bronze vessel with both hands, and walked towards the altar under Huo Xian's guidance.

Animal blood needs to be smeared on the temple gate, temple pillars, stone drums, and sacrificial vessels inside the ancestral temple before the rest is sent into the ancestral temple.

Unfortunately, with the torrential rain, the tribe's buildings at the foot of the mountain have long been washed away, and the entire tribe has migrated to the mountain to avoid the flood, making the sacrificial rites simpler.

Shen Can smeared the beast's blood on the stone pillars and drums placed inside the cave, and finally placed the bronze vessel on the altar.

After doing all that, the next step is to divide the meat.

The sacrificial animal was to be enjoyed by the ancestors. It was necessary to divide the animal into seven parts: the spine, shoulders, ribs, and thighs, and place them on a bronze table to be presented to the ancestral temple for the sacrifice.

The flesh from the left shoulder should be offered to the ancestors first.

Once all this is done, the remaining meat can be divided so everyone can enjoy it together.

With the help of his clansmen, Shen Can completed the division of Lieshan Kui. Although the process was slow and intermittent, he eventually completed the sacrificial ceremony.

One real-world experience is worth more than a dozen rehearsals.

As Shen Can placed the bronze table in front of the offering table, Huo Xian, who had come over at any time ready to lend a hand, spoke up.

“Ah Can, long ago, in addition to worshipping our ancestors, our human race also worshipped heaven and earth and calamity beasts to pray for peace.”

In fact, even without Huo Xian saying it, Shen Can already remembered these related rumors, which were passed down orally from generation to generation in the tribe.

At this moment, he listened quietly as Huo Xian spoke.

“Take animal fat and animal heads and burn them on a pile of firewood. The smoke rises into the sky as a sacrifice to heaven.”

"The remaining animal carcasses were buried in the pit, and the blood and food were returned to the earth as a sacrifice to the earth."

"Hunting live animals on the altar is called animal sacrifice."

“They eat the offerings from our tribe, yet they do not protect us.”

“Thunder, earthquakes, and calamity beasts emerged, leaving the land barren and the seas vast. Therefore, our ancestors no longer believed in heaven and earth, nor did they respect the calamity beasts. They relied solely on their own two hands to find food and survive in the wilderness.”

“These divine positions are not inanimate objects; they are the essence of the 300-year heritage of my Blazing Flame Tribe. From now on, I will entrust this responsibility to you.”

(End of this chapter)