The sacrificial altar was built with huge stones, very spacious, and was constructed close to the broken old willow tree. At this moment, it was piled full of fierce beasts, like a small mountain.
The bright red beast blood stained the huge stone altar, flowing along the engraved patterns on the stone surface, bright red. Coupled with the thick and long beast hair of the fierce beasts, the glinting cold scales, and the ferocious huge horns, etc., it was shocking to the eye, and there was a kind of tragic and primal atmosphere rushing towards us.
Under the leadership of the old village chief, all the men, women, and children of the Stone Village prayed together, asking for the protection of the willow tree. This was a serious sacrificial process, and it was also a routine that was conducted every time after hunting.
The charred tree trunk was as silent as in the past, without any response. Just as in the past, it never took the offerings, but many villagers knew that it had a spirit!
Finally, after the sacrifice was completed, people all let out a sigh of relief, and joyous smiles reappeared on their faces. They began to move the corpses of these fierce beasts, preparing to bleed and cut them.
"For so many years, the sacrificial spirit has never touched the offerings once. Is it necessary to conduct the sacrifice every time?" A teenager muttered in a low voice.
"Stinky boy, what nonsense are you talking about!" His father glared with wide eyes like copper bells and raised his hand as big as a palm-leaf fan to hit him.
The old village chief waved his hand to stop him and said softly, "The sacrificial spirit is the spirit that we sacrifice and provide for. The most important thing is sincerity. If we treat it devoutly, it will protect and bless our village."
The teenager's face turned red and he hurriedly said, "Village chief, I'm not insincere. I just think that the sacrificial spirit doesn't seem to need these offerings and has never used them."
"As long as the intention is there, it's fine." Shi Yunfeng patted his shoulder and explained patiently.
The sacrificial spirit, also called "the spirit of sacrifice", is the abbreviation of "the spirit that a tribe sacrifices and provides for". It guards the village and intimidates the fierce beasts in the wild.
The elders of the tribe still remember that the other sacrificial spirit decades ago was not like this. It was a strange stone that would absorb most of the essence and blood of the offerings every time.
Until one late night, the old willow tree came and that strange stone chose to leave. Everything changed because of this.
Thinking of that rainy night, the old village chief was somewhat absent-minded. At that time, he was still a teenager and had witnessed that shocking and terrifying scene with his own eyes.
On that late night, there was lightning and thunder, and the heavy rain poured down. The storm was extremely violent. Many mountains were split and collapsed by the lightning. The mountain floods were like a sea, and the fierce beasts rushed like a tide. The scene was terrifying.
At that time, a huge willow tree reaching the sky appeared in the clouds, bathing in the sea of thunder, surrounded by lightning as thick as mountains. Countless willow branches turned into burning divine chains, piercing the entire sky, as if fighting something.
Finally, the huge willow tree broke, its whole body was charred black, shrank to the size it is now, fell down and took root in the Stone Village. At the same time, the lightning disappeared and the torrential rain subsided. That night, the strange stone that the village sacrificed and provided for left.
Every time he thought of it, the old village chief trembled. The old willow tree was not transplanted from other large tribes or big mountains and rivers, but fell from the sky and was damaged by the endless sea of thunder and lightning. Few people in the village knew about this.
In the first few decades, its whole body was charred black, without any vitality, as if it was completely dead. It was not until ten years ago that it sprouted a new tender green branch, and then there was no change.
"Stinky boys, be careful. It's rare to harvest these fierce beasts. Their blood essence, tendons, and some bones are extremely precious. Don't let the essence be lost." The old village chief regained his senses and reminded.
The young and middle-aged men of the tribe held silver knives and were cutting the fierce beasts neatly. From time to time, there were clanging sounds and sparks were flying. The bones of the fierce beasts were astonishingly hard.
Some people had already prepared large pottery jars to collect the blood essence remaining in the special parts of the beasts. This was an excellent blood tonic medicine, very rare.
Among this pile of beast corpses, the pixiu was the most precious. Although it was only a descendant, far inferior to the pure-blooded pixiu royal family, it still contained some true blood and was of astonishing value.
It has been more than two years since the last time such a fierce beast as the pixiu was captured. They are too fierce and powerful. With one claw, they can take the life of a strong man. They are really difficult to deal with and extremely fierce.
It can be said that this harvest is astonishing.
"Well, the true blood retained in the rhino horn of this double-headed fire rhino is also extremely astonishing. It's no worse than that pixiu!" An old man personally operated the knife, cut open the hard flesh under the rhino horn like metal and stone, and a stream of bright red blood like fiery light flowed out.
Suddenly, the blood turned into a ball of red light, and a palm-sized double-headed fire rhino emerged, its whole body bright red, vivid, and roaring angrily.
"Good stuff. This true blood has a very strong medicinal property, no worse than that pixiu!" The old man who operated the knife laughed heartily, quickly collected the rhino blood in the pottery jar and sealed the mouth of the jar tightly.
"Village chief, the horns of this dragon-horned elephant are also good things. When we found it, it was on the verge of death. Otherwise, we really couldn't handle it." A young man said.
Shi Yunfeng nodded and said, "It's really rare. This pair of dragon horns on its head has grown for many years. Carefully chisel them down. They are rare treasures for strengthening bones."
"The tendon of this one-legged kui beast is really tough. Even an axe can't cut it off."
"All are good things. Stinky boy, be careful. Don't waste the precious blood at the wings of the flying python!"
The villagers were overjoyed and all had smiles on their faces.
Only a group of children shrank their necks and ran away like a gust of smoke because they knew that most of these so-called blood medicine and bone medicine would be used on them and they would start to "suffer" again.
It was not until half an hour later that the "treasures" growing on the fierce beasts were all collected. The village chief and several elders nodded in satisfaction, took away those pottery jars and went to deal with them.
"So many prey. Later, marinate some of them, then smoke and roast some to make dried meat." An experienced old man said.
So many fierce beasts piled up like a small mountain. The whole village couldn't finish eating them in many days. If they spoiled, it would be a waste. For the villagers who were somewhat short of food, this was absolutely not allowed.
The women from every household came forward to divide the meat, all with sincere smiles. Previously, they were worried about the men who went out. Now, not only did they all return safely, but the harvest was also so abundant. This was the best gift from heaven.
The cooking smoke rose from every household. After half an hour, waves of meat aroma spread. The pieces of meat stewed in the iron pots in every household were almost cooked. The children couldn't wait any longer. The roasted meat on the fire also began to turn golden and shiny, and the grease dripped down, making sizzling sounds when it fell into the fire. Those strong men couldn't hold back either and began to tear the meat with their hands, biting and making their mouths full of grease, with a big appetite.
"Kid, this is pixiu meat. Eat more and you will gain great strength. It's a rare delicacy."
"Stinky boy, eat more. This is the meat of the double-headed rhino. Eat more to make your skin and bones as solid as iron blocks. Don't eat that useless wild boar meat."
All kinds of fierce beasts became the most sumptuous food for the villagers in the evening. The inviting aroma of the meat drifted to the street, stimulating people's appetite. Waves of laughter came, and the whole village was filled with a festive atmosphere. (To be continued)