There were fire crystals on the ground. Half of them had been dug out by the Fox people but now they were all frozen. They had to dig again.
However, the three chiefs had better tools and were stronger too. With the illumination of the glowing crystals, they dug faster. But they were alert as they dug, in case other people came, like the Fox and Shen tribesmen.
Shao Xuan planned to jump into the pit they dug for the fire crystals. There was a layer of white ice on the walls of the pit. He tied a rope to the bottom and slid down along the straw rope.
The hole was deep and slippery. It was easier to use a rope.
After Shao Xuan entered the hole, he landed where the beast used to be.
After the beast left, this was a long tunnel. The walls were covered in a layer of white ice. Although it was thin, it was frozen together with the rock. It was very hard.
The temperature was so low that Shao Xuan could not even feel the warmth of his breath.
He could feel that there were Fire Crystals all around this "tunnel". Perhaps, this giant beast stayed in this place because of the Fire Crystals. Just like the Bat King of the past.
However, even after so many years, this' snake 'still hadn't come out. Hibernating for a few hundred years? That was really long. He wondered how big it was.
Waving his sword, he cut through the ice and dug out a fire crystal embedded in the wall. Sensing it, Shao Xuan realised that this fire crystal had been absorbed before. It was just not completely absorbed.
That 'snake'?
Regardless, Shao Xuan sped up and waved the sword in his hand. He didn't need the glowing crystal. With his special vision, he could see the fire crystals on the wall clearly. His attacks were accurate.
Zing! Zing!
In an instant, the entire tunnel was filled with the sounds of digging, as well as Zheng Luo and the rest digging.
After Zheng Luo and the rest had collected all the fire crystals, they even dug out the crystals from the frozen bodies of the Fox people and put them all into their own pouches. Only then did the three of them jump into the long 'tunnel' below.
"I was planning to snatch the salt mine from Fox. I didn't expect to snatch their fire crystals instead." The Taihe leader laughed.
No matter what, he was able to get the fire crystals. His heavy heart was finally comforted.
The Fox team had already reached the fire crystal layer. Each crystal was bigger than the ones in Yanjiao's salt cave.
The three leaders rested for a moment before continuing their operation. No one knew how long the beast king would be gone. They had to take advantage of the opportunity to dig as much as they could. They would leave when the beast king returned.
"I've lived for so long, but I've never seen so many fire crystals." The Taihe tribe's leader's breathing quickened. No one knew if he was tired or happy.
"I've lived for almost eighty years, but I've never seen so many fire crystals." Lanmu of the Mountain Wind tribe sighed.
Shao Xuan paused in his digging. Zheng Luo was silent too.
The Taihe leader glanced at Zheng Luo but didn't say anything.
The three leaders looked about the same age, around forty years old. But in reality, they were much older than Zheng Luo.
Perhaps others who didn't know the Yanjiao tribes didn't know this but the Taihe tribe, who had lived with the Yanjiao for a long time, knew that among all the tribes, the Yanjiao had the shortest average lifespan.
Shao Xuan only found out later. He had sensed it on the other side of the sea but wasn't sure. He only found out after coming here. The Yanjiao people were different in many ways but there was one thing that made them different from other tribes. They were like the most ordinary people without any power. That was their lifespan.
Among the people from the Taihe tribe who came this time, there were many who were over a hundred years old, but they looked like they were still in their prime. However, in the Flaming Horn tribe, those over a hundred years old, even if they were still alive, would definitely not be able to hunt. They could only help with farming and couldn't do anything too tiring. At the end of their lives, they would age very quickly.
Because their lives were incomplete.
This was something they didn't expect when the fire seed split.
The reason why the ancestors felt so guilty in the notes they left behind was not only because they could not return to their homeland, but more importantly, they felt the punishment brought to them by the splitting of the fire seed — they did not have a complete lifespan.
The Flaming Horns were stronger than other tribes in many aspects, but in terms of lifespan, there was a knife hanging over their heads. Before they could finish their journey, their lifespan would be cut off mercilessly.
Perhaps the shaman on the other side of the sea knew about this too but didn't tell anyone. Plus, the Yanjiao tribe had always been isolated from the rest of the world so no one noticed this problem. They didn't feel any negative emotions or pressure. The people here didn't interact much with the outside world either so most people didn't know. Perhaps some of the warriors knew but kept it to themselves.
Back then, the ancestors of the tribe allowed intermarriage with other tribes. Perhaps they wanted to use this opportunity to solve this problem. Unfortunately, it didn't work. The blood of the Flaming Horns was too strong, and the blood of other tribes couldn't suppress it.
When Shao Xuan first came here, most of the ancestral notes he read were filled with guilt but they didn't mention the reason. It was only when Shao Xuan returned to the tribe from Gongjia Mountain and practiced controlling the ancestral bone ornaments that the shaman told him.
Many people in the tribe knew their lifespan wasn't as long as other tribes but they didn't know the reason. Some people thought it was because the Yanjiao people's lifespan was used to increase their strength. They were given divine strength so they were stripped of other things. Many people felt better when they thought about it this way.
The shaman didn't tell them because she didn't want them to have such a slim hope. Generations passed. It had been almost a thousand years but they still couldn't go back. They didn't know when it started, but this was selectively forgotten. Only the higher-ups of the tribe knew. Zheng Luo knew, the shaman knew. Others didn't know the real reason.
Shao Xuan's arrival was a ray of light, a ray of hope.
In the past year, the shaman had sent a few batches of people to the seaside. Shao Xuan had been waiting for an opportunity to move the entire tribe. Unfortunately, they never found the opportunity. No one knew how long it would take for the opportunity to come again.
Go back … How?
As Shao Xuan pondered, he became absent-minded while digging for the fire crystals.
The Mountain Wind chief was puzzled. What was with the atmosphere? He suddenly felt stifled.
"I'll take a look around first." Shao Xuan passed the fire crystals to Zheng Luo and ran along the tunnel.
As he ran, Shao Xuan identified his bearings and calculated the distance. He stopped at a spot and looked at the top of the 'tunnel'. This should be close to Yanjiao's salt cave. It wasn't directly above, but diagonally above.
He didn't start digging immediately. Shao Xuan walked along the 'tunnel' until he reached the end. This was where the king beast had emerged from the ground. But the entrance was already frozen. A very thick layer of ice blocked the entire entrance. The closer he got to the entrance, the colder it got.
Shao Xuan didn't walk over. He listened carefully. When he didn't hear the sound of the king beast outside, he turned back.
The king beast had frozen the entrance. It probably wasn't going to come back anytime soon.
He called Zheng Luo and the others over and told them his plan. He planned to start digging below Yanjiao's salt cave.
If they were going to be trapped here for a few more days, would they have to come down from Fox's place every time? The Fox tribe was clearly being targeted by the beast king. If they went there, they might provoke the beast king. Besides, most of the Fox and Shen tribe members weren't here. If they came back, a fight would be inevitable. There was no need to waste time with the Fox and Shen tribes.
The four of them discussed and decided to do it.
It didn't matter where they dug.
Shao Xuan quickly waved his sword, using it as a shield to block the shovel. He broke through the ice layer of the 'tunnel' and dug out the rocks on the wall one by one.
Zheng Luo and the other two worked harder too.
They weren't sure what was going on outside so they couldn't leave immediately. They might as well get more fire crystals. Even if they had to fight the king beast later, they would protect a portion of the tribesmen back. If they could bring the crystals back, they wouldn't have wasted their time in this weather. The fire crystals they dug out could last the tribe for a long time.
They didn't dig a large area, not even a tenth of the size of Fox's but with the four of them working together, they progressed quickly. In the beginning, the rocks were hard but the higher they went, the easier it became.
In Yanjiao's cave, the warriors guarding the fire crystal pit panicked when they heard the commotion. They hurried to look for Duo Kang.
Duo Kang sent a portion of the people in the cave up first to prevent the ice from spreading. After that, he brought a few people carefully to the fire crystal pit. They planned to run as soon as they saw the ice.
What else was underground other than the king beast?
Screech —
The sounds from below grew clearer. It didn't sound like the king beast. There was no intimidating aura and no ice.
Was it an enemy? Fox tribe or Shen tribe?
Duo Kang grew cautious and inched closer, craning his neck to look into the pit. He signaled for the others to be ready.
The other soldiers around him were also gripping their weapons, their facial muscles twitching nervously. They were frightened by the king beast, they didn't want to see anything strange jump out from below. They hoped it was a human, no matter if it was Fox, Shen or any other tribe.
The sounds came closer.
The people around the pit were tense. It really didn't sound like a giant beast.
There was movement below.
Duo Kang raised his hand.
Poof! Rumble!
The soil and rocks were pushed aside.
Duo Kang was about to wave his arm and shout, "Attack!" when four heads popped out from below, their faces covered in dirt.
He focused his gaze.
Yo —
Three chiefs and an Elder jumped out of the cave!
The four of them had worked so hard to dig their way up. When they popped their heads out, they saw a group of people surrounding the pit, all pointing their weapons at them.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
