The altar was built of huge stones, very open, and built next to a broken old willow tree. At this time, it was filled with ferocious beasts, like a small hill.
The bright red blood of the beast dyed the giant stone platform red and flowed along the carvings on the stone surface. The bright red, coupled with the beast's thick and long fur, gleaming scales, and ferocious giant horns, was shocking to the eye, and a tragic and ancient atmosphere came to one's face.
Under the leadership of the old patriarch, the men, women, young and old of Shi Village prayed together, asking the willow tree for protection. This was a solemn sacrificial process, and it was also a custom that was carried out every time they came back from hunting.
The charred tree body was as silent as before, without any reaction, just like it had never taken any sacrifices in the past. However, many villagers knew that it had a spirit!
Finally, the sacrifice was over, people breathed a sigh of relief, and joyful smiles appeared on their faces again. They began to move the bodies of the beasts, preparing to bleed and cut them.
"For many years, the offerings have not been touched once. Is it necessary to perform sacrifices every time?" A young man muttered in a low voice.
"What are you talking about, little brat!" His father glared at him with his eyes as big as copper bells, and swung his hand as big as a palm-leaf fan to hit him.
The old patriarch waved his hand to stop them, and said softly: "The sacrificial spirit is the spirit we worship and offer sacrifices to. It is important to be sincere. Only when we treat it with piety will it protect and bless our village."
The young man's face flushed red, and he said hurriedly: "Chief, I am not dishonest, I just feel that the sacrificial spirit does not seem to need these sacrifices, and has never used them."
"It's good as long as you mean it." Shi Yunfeng patted him on the shoulder and explained carefully.
The sacrificial spirit, also called the "spirit of sacrifice", is the abbreviation of a tribe's "spirit of sacrifice and offering". It guards the village and deters the ferocious beasts in the wilderness.
The elders in the tribe still remember that another sacrificial spirit decades ago was not like this. It was a strange stone, and every time a sacrifice was offered, most of its essence and blood would be lost and absorbed by it.
Until one night, the old willow tree came and the strange stone chose to go away. Everything changed because of this.
Thinking of that rainy night that year, the old patriarch was a little dazed. He was still a teenager at that time and had witnessed that shocking and terrifying scene with his own eyes.
In the dead of that night, there were lightning and thunder, heavy rain, and the storm was extremely violent. Many mountains were collapsed by lightning. Mountain torrents were like the sea, and ferocious beasts were running wildly. The scene was horrifying.
It was at that moment that a towering willow tree appeared in the clouds, bathed in a sea of thunder and surrounded by lightning as thick as mountains. Thousands of willow branches turned into blazing divine chains that pierced the entire sky, as if it was fighting with something.
Finally, the big willow tree broke, became charred, shrunk to its current size, fell down, and took root in the Stone Village. At the same time, the lightning disappeared, and the torrential rain retreated. That night, the strange stone that the villagers had worshipped and offered sacrifices to left.
Every time the old patriarch thought of it, his heart trembled. The old willow tree was not transplanted from other large tribes or mountains, rivers or swamps, but fell from the sky and was damaged by an endless sea of thunder and lightning. Few people in the village knew about it.
In the first few decades, it was charred black and lifeless, as if it was completely dead. It was not until ten years ago that a new green branch sprouted, and there has been no change since then.
"You little brats, be careful. It's a rare opportunity to harvest these ferocious beasts. Their blood, essence, tendons, veins and some bones are incredibly precious. Don't lose the essence." The old patriarch came to his senses and warned.
The young and strong men in the tribe were cutting the giant beast with sharp silver knives. From time to time, clanging sounds were heard and sparks flew. The bones of the giant beast were surprisingly hard.
Someone had already prepared a large ceramic jar to collect the blood essence retained in special parts of the animal's body. This is an excellent blood tonic and is very rare.
Among this pile of animal corpses, the most precious one is the Pixiu. Although it is only a descendant and far inferior to the pure-blooded Pixiu royal family, it also contains some real blood and is of amazing value.
It has been more than two years since the last time a ferocious beast like the Pixiu was captured. They are too cruel and powerful. One claw can kill a strong man. They are really difficult to deal with and are incredibly ferocious.
It can be said that the harvest this time was astonishingly abundant.
"Well, the real blood preserved in the horn of this two-headed fire rhino is also extremely amazing, no worse than that of the Pixiu!" An old man personally performed the operation and untied the flesh and blood under the horn that was as hard as gold and stone, and a stream of real blood as red as fire flowed out.
Suddenly, the blood turned into a ball of red light, and a palm-sized two-headed fire rhino emerged, its body red, lifelike, and roaring angrily.
"Good stuff, this real blood has extremely strong medicinal properties, no worse than that of the Pixiu!" The old man who performed the surgery laughed loudly, quickly collected the rhino blood into a pottery jar and sealed the mouth of the jar tightly.
"Chief, the horn of this dragon-horned elephant is also a valuable item. It was already dying when we found it, otherwise we would not have been able to deal with it." said a young man.
Shi Yunfeng nodded and said, "It's really rare. The pair of dragon horns on its head have been growing for quite a while. If you carefully chisel them off, they will be a rare bone-replenishing medicine."
"The tendons in the Kui beast's one leg are so strong that even an axe can't cut them."
"They are all good things. Be careful, little brat, and don't waste the precious blood on the wings of the flying python!"
The tribesmen were happy and all were smiling.
Only a group of children shrank their necks and ran away, because they knew that most of these so-called blood and bone medicines would be used on them, and they would start to "suffer" again.
It was not until half an hour later that the "precious medicine" growing on the beasts was completely harvested. The clan leader and several elders nodded in satisfaction, took away the pottery jars and took them away for processing.
"With so much prey, we'll marinate some of it, then smoke and roast the rest and make it into jerky." said the experienced old man.
With so many ferocious beasts piled up like a small mountain, the whole village could not finish eating them for many days. If they were to rot, it would be a waste, which was absolutely unacceptable for the villagers who were short of food.
Women from each household began to come forward to distribute the meat, all with sincere smiles. They had been worried about the men who had gone out, but now not only had they returned safely, but they had also received such a bountiful harvest. This was the best gift from God.
Smoke rose from the kitchens of each household, and after half an hour, the aroma of meat spread. The meat in the iron pots of each household was almost cooked, and the children could not wait any longer. The meat roasted on the fire began to become golden and shiny, dripping with fat, and making a hissing sound in the fire. The strong men could not help themselves and began to tear the meat, biting until their mouths were full of juice and their appetites were whetted.
"Kid, this is Pixiu meat. If you eat more, you will become stronger. It is a rare and precious meat."
"Eat more, little brat. This is the meat of a two-headed rhino. Eating more can make your skin and bones as strong as iron. Don't eat the useless tree pork."
Various ferocious beasts became the most sumptuous food for the villagers in the evening. The tempting aroma of meat wafted into the streets, whetting people's appetite. Bursts of laughter could be heard, and the whole village was filled with joy.