The scene from ten years ago seemed to resurface in his mind in the blink of an eye. It was so clear that it seemed like it had happened just yesterday. Every single person's appearance, movement, and expression had been frequently recalled by Lu Chen over the past few years. It was as if they had been carved into the depths of his bones and could not be forgotten.
The Fire Shaman was an exceptionally powerful barbarian. Even in front of the three highly respected elders of the Demon Cult of the Three Realms, he did not seem to be at a disadvantage. In fact, his aura was even stronger than theirs. The source of Lu Chen's pain for the past ten years was the Fire Shaman. Ever since that day, the mysterious, strange, and incomparably powerful Black Flame Curse had entangled him unwaveringly. He could not escape it even if he died.
Sometimes, during the most painful moment when the Black Flame burned his body, Lu Chen would vaguely see an illusion of the Fire Shaman's old and ferocious face. The burning flames were like the old man's terrible curse, taking revenge for the sins he had committed.
Lu Chen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again after a while, his expression had completely calmed down. He looked at the tribe of barbarians that had suddenly appeared in front of him, his eyes were completely indifferent.
It had been more than ten years since that incident. It was a long and painful period of time, but he had never regretted it.
… …
There were barbarians in the Disorienting Lands. As for their origin, it was because of the earth-shattering war between the human race and the barbarians thousands of years ago. The barbarians suffered a crushing defeat and retreated to the Southern Wasteland. However, because of the overwhelming strength of both sides, the weather changed, the mountains collapsed, and the earth cracked. Even the topography of the Disorienting Lands had changed.
After the shocking and bloody battle, most of the barbarians retreated. However, there was still a portion of barbarians that had been cut off from the Disorienting Lands forever, never to return to the Southern Wasteland.
As the victors, the human race did not show any mercy to these barbarians. Once the barbarians were discovered, they would be killed. Hence, in the end, this group of barbarians were forced to escape into the depths of the Land of Chaos. To be more precise, they hid in the treacherous central region of the Land of Chaos. Only then did they barely manage to escape the pursuit of the human race.
For many years, the Barbarians could hardly be seen in the outskirts of the Disordered Lands. Only some old Barbarians who had been cruelly exiled due to their old age could be seen occasionally. For example, the Barbarian that Lu Chen and Yi Xin saw was one such Barbarian.
Apart from that, the fact that the barbarian tribes could only barely survive in the central region of the Chaotic Lands was a well-known fact that was deeply ingrained in everyone's hearts.
However, the scene before him clearly told Lu Chen that things seemed to have changed.
Looking at the caves on the mountain walls and the many houses made of wood and stone, it was obvious that the size of this tribe was not small. There were at least over a hundred people.
For such a large tribe to sneak into the outskirts of the Disordered Lands without anyone noticing was indeed a shocking matter. Furthermore, looking at the houses and caves of the tribe, it was obvious that this tribe had been here for a long time.
Why did these barbarians suddenly head north? Even if they risked being discovered by the human race, they still chose to secretly settle down on the north bank of the Dragon River. Lu Chen did not know the reason behind this, but he guessed that the central region on the south bank of the Dragon River was too dangerous. Or perhaps this small tribe could no longer withstand the many dangers there, so they decided to take this risk.
Needless to say, the tribe had chosen a very clever location. In front of them was the Rat Mound Mountain, and behind them was the Evil Python Valley. Both were notoriously dangerous places. Normal humans would never come here. Even if there were people who happened to pass by, they would usually walk straight down the mountain. They would not think of running into the mountain valley to investigate, so it was very difficult to discover this tribe's hiding place.
Unfortunately, Lu Chen and Ah-Tu discovered the location of this secret due to a stroke of luck on this day.
Ah-Tu ran back with the Cloud Mouse in his mouth. He had long since shaken off the barbarians behind him. From afar, the barbarians could only curse a few times, then helplessly went to clean up the mess.
Passing through the rocks and trees, Atsu ran back to Lu Chen's side and placed the dead cloud rat in front of Lu Chen. It even wagged its tail at Lu Chen, looking very pleased with itself.
Lu Chen smiled and patted its head, saying, "You're amazing. Eat up."
Atsu didn't stand on ceremony. It buried its head and began to chew away.
The cloud rat was a type of demonic beast. The spiritual energy contained in its flesh was much stronger than that of ordinary wild beasts. It was just right for Atsu's current situation. It seemed to be eating with relish.
As for Lu Chen, he naturally wouldn't fight with Atsu for food. He only looked at the tribe from afar, carefully observing it. As the morning sun shone down, the sky gradually brightened. More people in the tribe began to wake up. Lu Chen saw more barbarians, and he also saw that their faces were covered with strange tattoos. They looked very familiar.
They seemed very similar to the tattoos on the face of the Fire Shaman ten years ago.
Lu Chen's face became more and more stern and cold.
… …
Ah-Tu happily finished his feast. Although the Cloud Mouse was much smaller than him, Ah-Tu seemed to be very satisfied with his meal. He even let out a loud burp as he walked up to Lu Chen.
Of course, it wasn't because it had eaten too much meat, but because Atsu's body was absorbing the rich spiritual energy contained in the cloud rat's flesh.
Lu Chen looked down at Atsu, then softly said, "Let's go, Atsu. Let's go take a look over there."
As he spoke, he brought Ah-Tu along as he flashed towards the tribe.
Of course, Lu Chen wasn't stupid enough to walk straight through the gate. Instead, he used the surrounding terrain and forests to circle around, slowly approaching the tribe from the back.
As he got closer, he could see many things more clearly. The men and women of the tribe, and even some of the children, all had tattoos on their faces. It seemed to be some kind of tradition passed down from ancient times, or perhaps it was some kind of religious totem. Most of them were very similar. From this, it seemed that the Fire Shaman of the past was inextricably linked to this tribe. But as Lu Chen carefully observed, he quickly came to a somewhat surprising conclusion.
This tribe didn't seem to be very strong.
Not to mention the incomparably terrifying Fire Shaman of the past, Lu Chen didn't even see a single barbarian that was even half as powerful as that expert. He even vaguely remembered that during the battle of the Desolate Valley, the Fire Shaman had brought along seven incomparably powerful barbarian warriors. They were similarly terrifying existences that inspired awe and veneration, but he also didn't see them in this tribe.
This morning, the barbarians walking around in this barbarian tribe looked like a group of slightly stronger and stronger people. But in the eyes of human cultivators, these barbarians were no different from helpless rabbits. So after a while, Lu Chen's gaze turned towards the few caves on the mountain wall in the depths of the tribe.
The Disorienting Lands was extremely cruel and realistic. Without strength, one wouldn't be able to survive. For this tribe to be able to survive until now, they should have some sort of background. If there were any experts around, they should be in the cave.
Atsu accompanied Lu Chen in the hidden forest for a while. Gradually, it became a little impatient and softly called out a few times. Lu Chen patted its head and said, "Don't worry, these barbarians can be considered as my enemies. Moreover, they are of some use to us."
… …
About an hour after dawn, under the watchful eyes of Lu Chen, the tribe suddenly changed. Everyone walked out of their wooden houses and came to the center of the tribe, surrounding the pyramid that was pierced by black wood.
After a while, from the cave under the mountain wall, people started to walk out one after another.
Just as Lu Chen expected, the barbarians that came out of the cave this time were much stronger than the barbarians that came out of the cave. Not only did the warriors look sturdier and stronger, but there was also an old priest that came out from the back of the crowd that was surrounded and protected by many strong warriors.
In the system of the barbarian tribes, the Shaman held a supreme position. He represented the ability to communicate with the most sacred ancient ancestors of the barbarian world, and obtain the power that had been passed down from ancient times. However, powerful individuals like the Shaman were rare. They needed the right time, the right place, and the right people, as well as an especially good opportunity. Therefore, in most of the barbarian tribes in the Southern Continent, there were more people like the priest who were of a lower rank.
People like the Shaman or the priest basically occupied the leading position in the barbarian tribes. They possessed the rare wisdom of the barbarians, who were known for their brute strength. They were the backbone that guided the growth and development of the tribe. At the same time, they were also the minority of the barbarians who could master the Shaman Witchcraft. This kind of power, which was completely different from the cultivation world of the Central Continent, was extremely powerful. During the Thousand Year War, countless people were plunged into misery and suffering.
And now, Lu Chen's gaze was fixed on the old priest in the crowd. His eyes flickered.
The old priest looked so old that even his fangs had fallen out. He walked with a trembling gait, as if he was a candle that had one foot in the grave. If it was according to the cruel survival rules of the barbarian tribes in the Chaotic Lands, this old man would have been banished from the tribe long ago and left to fend for himself.
But of course, the priest was different.
The strong barbarian warriors around the old man clustered around him, their eyes filled with reverence. Then, they slowly walked to the center of the tribe and stood in front of the pile of stones.
After the old priest steadied himself, he began to stretch out his hands. Facing the strange black wood, he began to chant some kind of strange and sorrowful song.
Along with this song, all the barbarians knelt on the ground, prostrated themselves on the ground, and kowtowed to the totem carved on the black wood. Their faces were filled with reverence and yearning.
Lu Chen looked at all this indifferently, then he raised his head and looked in the direction of the mountain ridge that he had come from. He thought to himself, those righteous' Evil Cult assassins' who enforce justice on behalf of the heavens should be catching up soon.
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