The snow on the ground began to melt quickly, and the surroundings were no longer silvery white.
In the Yanjiao tribe, there was a joyful atmosphere everywhere. Some people were happy because the seeds they planted had survived, some were happy because they had found a partner, and most of them were happy because of the upcoming sacrificial ceremony.
Strength and belonging were what the wanderers had been looking forward to.
For the wanderers, becoming a totem warrior used to be an unattainable thing, but now, it was no longer an extravagant hope.
Early in the morning, the old warriors of the Yanjiao tribe went to draw totem patterns on the faces of the wanderers who were about to become real members of the tribe. This was a necessary step of the sacrificial ceremony. Even those who had not awakened their totem, and those wanderers from other tribes who were accepted as members of the tribe as relatives, had to draw on their faces.
Only those who had gone through the sacrificial ceremony could be considered as real members of the Yanjiao tribe. Those who did not have the blood of the Yanjiao tribe, even if they could not awaken their totem power, would get some power from the fire seed. Even if they could not be compared with the real totem warriors, they would be stronger than before. It was better than nothing.
It was the first time for the wanderers to experience such a thing, so they were very excited. They wanted to touch the pictures on their faces, but they did not dare to do so, for fear that they would break them. It seemed that the pictures on their faces were not pictures, but their lives.
They had prepared for the whole winter, and they were not willing to wear the animal skin clothes in the coldest time. They wore them carefully, for fear that they would break something. This was their sacrificial animal skin clothes, and it was also a very important ritual.
Shao Xuan was called in early in the morning. Together with other sacrificial dancers this year, the Shaman and the Chief told them one thing after another to ensure that they would not make any mistakes this time.
When the Shaman came out, he glanced at Shao Xuan several times. Although he did not show it on his face, he sighed regretfully in his heart.
There was no change. The bead on the bone ornament still did not change. It was still as dim as when he took it out.
Shao Xuan knew what the Shaman was thinking when he saw him like this, but he was helpless. What could he do if the bead did not light up? Maybe the First Shaman didn't think highly of him, so he didn't light it up. After all, according to the animal skin scroll about the elders, most of the elders were old. Even if they weren't as old as the Chief, they were at least as old as Ta and the others. Compared to them, he was still too young.
Many people had seen the bone ornaments, especially those who were in Shao Xuan's hunting group. When they carried their ancestors back to the tribe, they remembered the ornaments and weapons on their ancestors. Therefore, after seeing the bone ornament on Shao Xuan's body, many people were surprised. They didn't know the true meaning of the bone ornament, but even if they did, it didn't matter. For the old Yanjiao people who came with them, the shaman and the chief's decisions were right even if they were wrong. Besides, Shao Xuan had indeed done a lot for the tribe.
Dusk fell.
All the Yanjiao tribesmen, old friends, wanderers, and non-Yanjiao relatives and wanderers were taken to the place of sacrifice. The people who might be awakened this time were also taken to the fire pit. Because of the large number of people, there were several circles around the fire pit. Those who were closest to the fire pit were the youngest. Then they were arranged according to their age. Of course, those who had made obvious contributions to the tribe during their return, such as technical talents in planting, breeding, pottery, etc., were also given the opportunity to move forward.
Many people knew that the closer they were to the fire pit, the more power they might get. But no one had any objection to this arrangement. Even if they did, they had to hold it in.
Last time, it was to light the fire seed. Today, it was the first real sacrifice in the old land.
In the fire pit, a palm-sized flame suddenly rose. It was the First Flame of the Three Flames of the fire pit, Soaring Flame.
Soaring Flame, the totem appeared!
With the appearance of the totem, the totem patterns on each totem warrior also appeared. They looked at the direction of the fire pit devoutly.
The flame in the fire pit was higher than usual. It seemed to swallow everything around. The two-horn totem in the fire pit was much bigger than in previous years. The surrounding area was covered with a thick layer of fire color.
The Shaman stood by the fire pit, raised his arms, and recited the incantation that others could not understand but made their blood boil. Along with the Shaman's chanting, the sound of bone and stone music with strong tribal characteristics intertwined. The animal skin drums rose and fell, sometimes fast and sometimes slow. The sacrificial dancers wearing leather and horns also began to dance around the fire pit.
The Second Flame, Flying Flame. The sparks were denser than in previous years. Moreover, unlike in previous years, some of the flames in the fire pit spread out of the fire pit. They extended from the air to the outside of the fire pit and did not touch the ground. Six fire lines stretched out from the fire pit to the outside.
Shao Xuan was dancing attentively. Suddenly, he felt something strange. The totem in his mind was surging violently, and the "shell" that wrapped the totem also lit up.
This was different from before.
In order to find out what was going on, he glanced at the bone ornament from the corner of his eyes as he performed the "Moon in the Bottom of the Sea" pose. He was so shocked that he almost forgot what to do next.
The bone ornament lit up. The bead that the First Shaman turned into after his death lit up.
At first, the bead seemed to reflect the light of the fire pit, but gradually, the dim surface began to brighten. The bead itself also emitted a flame-like light.
Shao Xuan paid attention to the bead and had to make sure that the sacrificial dance did not make any mistakes, so he did not pay attention to other things. However, the people who looked at the fire pit were all stunned. Especially those who had seen Shao Xuan's awakening. If they could speak at this moment, they would definitely shout to Shao Xuan, "You're on fire again."
It was normal for the sacrificial dancers to surround the fire pit. However, one of the dancers was suddenly on fire, which was very conspicuous. However, seeing that nothing happened to him and he was dancing so happily, the Shaman and the Chief did not say anything, and the others pretended that they did not see anything.
The Shaman found that something was wrong with Shao Xuan. Unlike other people who saw the flames on Shao Xuan's body, the first thing he noticed was the bone ornament on Shao Xuan's body.
The Shaman's raised hand trembled. He could not wait to see if the bead really lit up, instead of reflecting the light of the fire pit. However, he was still in the sacrificial ceremony, so he could not give up halfway.
It took him a lot of effort to control himself. The Shaman continued to recite the incantation, but the wrinkles on his face trembled because he was too excited.
It lit up, right? It really lit up!
Even if we did not find the other half of the fire seed, our ancestors still did not abandon us!
This was what the Shaman thought.
He wanted to continue to preside over the sacrificial ceremony calmly. However, with the end of the Second Flame, the Third Flame began. In the sea of fire that spread out from the fire pit, a figure gradually appeared on the edge of the fire pit, and the place where the figure appeared was exactly where Shao Xuan was standing.
The huge figure gradually became clear, like a giant standing up in the sea of fire, overlooking the Yanjiao people who were kneeling on the ground.
No one could see his face clearly. He was just a person wrapped in flames, exactly the same as the one in Shao Xuan's dream that night.
Because of the sudden appearance of the flame giant, the Shaman froze for a while. The sacrificial dancers around the fire pit could not help but stop. They knew that they should continue to dance, but when they saw the flame giant, they could not help but stop. They stared at it blankly, and had an impulse to kneel down.
Shao Xuan also raised his head and looked at the flame giant in front of him.
Not only the people around the fire pit, but also the wanderers who could not awaken far away could clearly see the giant standing by the fire pit.
What was that? Or, who on earth was that?
The Shaman thought of a possible answer, but he was not sure. After all, there was no record of this in the records left by the ancestors. The only thing he could be sure of was that this situation was not a threat to the Yanjiao tribe. On the contrary, it was better for the tribe's protection.
The Third Flame of the fire pit was spreading, and its range was almost to the boundary that was drawn.
At that time, the Third Flame of the fire pit should have reached the boundary between the tribe and the Ferocious Beasts Mountain Forest.
However, no one paid attention to whether the flame had reached the boundary, or how far it was from the boundary. All their attention was on the flame giant beside the fire pit.
The giant, like the Shaman, raised his arms. It was a very similar movement, but there was no sound.
When the Third Flame was gradually withdrawn, the surrounding flames faded away. The flame giant who stood up disappeared little by little. Finally, it returned to the fire pit with the flame.
Everything returned to normal again.
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