I Steal the Ancestors' Sacrifices to Nourish Myself

Yanran Camp.

The four elders, the mainstays of the tribe, gathered together and took turns reading the letter sent by Shen Can.

The Second Elder spoke first, "Good, that’s exactly what we need to do!"

"Damn it, we’ve been resisting Xiaoyang for so many years, losing so many brothers. Just look at what we’ve been protecting."

Although the remaining three elders did not speak, there was a trace of eagerness in their eyes.

Unlike the Jishan Bo Division, Yanran has only risen for a hundred years. During this time, they have been in a period of rapid development, engaging in numerous battles against the Mu Kang Branch’s Xiaoyang.

During this time, they have frequently sought to unite with some southern tribes in Ji Land to jointly resist Xiaoyang’s attacks, but the response has been sparse.

Particularly Great Elder Yann Chixia, upon witnessing the tragic state of Yann Wanyun earlier, once suggested migrating west and south, letting the Yu Region and Luo Region experience Xiaoyang firsthand.

The four great elders are of one heart, and the Great Elder’s words naturally represent what the other three elders are thinking.

If the clan leader were not deeply entangled in the three-headed tattoo bindings and unable to sever ties with Xiaoyang, they might have already migrated.

"Where is the Clan Leader, what does the Clan Leader say?"

The Second Elder, being impatient, said, "Come on, let’s go find the Clan Leader."

"No need to look."

Outside the tent came the voice of Yann Wanyun.

"Let’s do it."

...

Ink Pool.

A water-rich area of the Guimu River.

On the land by the shore, the soil is fertile, and the surrounding rice grows wildly, blending with the lush wild grass due to lack of harvesting.

A glance reveals faint traces of the ridges between fields.

Although Xiaoyang’s troops have advanced southward, they have not actually reached this far; this area is near Xiaoyang’s occupied territory.

Yet, the Upper-class Tribe, Yanshui Division, which thrived here, abandoned this fertile land and migrated south as a whole tribe.

The upper-class tribe has a varying number of lower-class tribe vassals under its command, and when the Yanshui Division left, they did not care for these lower-class tribes.

It truly played out like a drama of "the tree falls and the monkeys scatter."

The lower-class tribes pay tribute to the upper-class tribe annually in exchange for protection.

Yanshui Division merely collected the tributes without fulfilling their duty to protect.

In the great lake of Ink Pool, there were once fish known as Black Ink Carp.

Consuming them could nourish one’s blood and aid in progressing from Tier Two to Tier Three.

Before leaving, the Yanshui Division took all the large Black Ink Carp with them.

On the northern shore of the Ink Pool, a beast-hide measuring over ten zhang was laid on the shore, leaving nothing else besides the hide.

As the organizer of the alliance, Shen Can had arrived long ago.

The arrangements were rather sparse, mainly because they were too poor. No matter how he tried, it couldn’t compare to Ji Mountain’s Jishan Bo Division with an eight-thousand-year history.

Thus, he decided to keep it simple.

At worst, they could just kill a few Xiaoyang to spice things up.

Hence, Shen Can didn’t even bring any attendants.

He personally caught some small Black Ink Carp from the Ink Pool, putting them aside to keep while waiting for the arrival of the two clan leaders.

Yann Wanyun arrived first, also coming alone.

He came by himself to avoid detection by Xiaoyang.

Seeing the blue sky, green water, and a piece of beast-hide, he was momentarily stunned.

He looked around in all directions, seeing the Huo Temple Keeper here, which signified this was indeed the place for the meeting.

"Does the Yann Race Leader eat fish?"

From afar, Shen Can called out to Yann Wanyun. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"If you want to eat fish, fetch some firewood, or else how will we roast it?"

Yann Wanyun, who was just about to step forward, turned and headed into the distance, returning with a bundle of dry branches.

So it was, the two Tier Four powerhouses each squatted, one building the campfire, the other cleaning the Black Ink Carp by the lake.

"It’s the first time I’ve heard of an alliance gathering where you have to grill your own fish."

Yann Wanyun lit the campfire, and Shen Can skewered the fish with branches, placing them above the fire.

"Without food, you just have to do it yourself."

Shen Can went back into the Ink Pool and brought out two jars of wine, handing one to Yann Wanyun.

"Limited conditions, so let’s just drink from the jar."

The two ate grilled fish and drank wine, not once mentioning whether Jishan Clan Master would show up.

While they were eating, a figure from afar came treading on air. Upon seeing the figures on the Ink Pool’s shore, hastened their steps.

"Had I known there was grilled fish, I would have come earlier."

Jishan Clan Master approached briskly, sitting directly by the campfire, grabbing a fish and tearing off a piece to eat.

Shen Can fetched a few more jars from the water, cleaned the remaining Black Ink Carp, and set them on the campfire to roast.

"I feel like it’s been centuries since I’ve eaten like this."

Jishan Bo, finishing one fish, accepted a second from Shen Can, eating and reminiscing.

"I heard Elder Yuan was a ranger before becoming Jishan Race Leader?"

Yann Wanyun gestured with the wine jar, having not met often with the Jishan Bo before, never imagined they would one day sit and drink together.

"Ah, that was long ago, I enjoyed the freedom of being a ranger, but my clan was being targeted by Xiaoyang. After several gifted brothers fell, I had no choice but to return and inherit the division."

Jishan Bo took a large swig of wine, "As it turns out, rangers don’t make good clan leaders."

"Under my leadership, the Jishan grew weaker with each battle."

If one were to blame the decline of the Jishan Bo Division on the current Jishan Bo, that would be unfair; its decay began several generations back.

Coupled with Muo Xiao’s rise in Xiaoyang, as Xiaoyang grew stronger and the Human Race weakened, the gap widened further.

"I truly don’t know the extent of Xiaoyang’s resources at this point."