I Steal the Ancestors' Sacrifices to Nourish Myself-Chapter 22: Plague Beast Qi Zhong, the Witch Talisman’s Might Unleashed

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Plague Beast Qi Zhong, the Witch Talisman’s Might Unleashed

Inside the Ancestral Temple.

Shen Can organized his Witch Plague Dispersal Talismans, preparing to hand these talismans to the frontline tribesmen.

The effectiveness is best tested in real combat.

According to reconnaissance reports, the infesting Plague Insects are less than half a day’s distance from the clan land.

"Acan, you stay in the Ancestral Temple, give me the talismans you’ve inscribed."

Huo Xian, with a bamboo basket on his back, prepared to leave the Ancestral Temple. He figured that since Shen Can had drawn the talismans, there was no need to dampen his confidence, so he decided to take them for the tribesmen.

The medicinal scent from the talismans was useful, at least more convenient to wear than his medicine balls.

It’s just that the production output is a bit low.

"Alright."

Shen Can nodded, lifted his hand, and tossed a hemp rope that hooked onto him.

With another lift of his hand, a piece of hemp cloth was stuffed into Huo Xian’s mouth.

"Master, you’re getting on in years, you should rest in the Ancestral Temple, I’ll go instead."

"Mmm mmm!"

With bulging eyes and blowing his beard, Shen Can tied Huo Xian inside a mountain cave.

"Don’t worry, Master, I’ll record everything for you."

The bamboo basket contained pen and ink, and Huo Xian’s intention was obvious: he wanted to carefully observe the situation of the infesting Plague Insects and then record it for future generations.

Shen Can hoisted the basket and followed the small path along the Clan Mountain eastward, seeing the large ravine below from afar.

There were three in total, blocking the northeast portion of the tribal clan land.

The ravines were separated by a distance of ten zhang, with wooden planks placed as bridges above.

Both in the ravine and on the flatland, piles of firewood were stacked, with prepared witch medicine placed above, ready to ignite when the infesting Plague Insects attacked.

Inside the ravine, many high racks were erected, with jars of beast oil placed atop them.

If the number of Plague Insects was too great, the jars could be shattered to spill beast oil into the large ravine.

Martial Artists had strong resistance, provided they weren’t bitten by the Plague Insects.

Therefore, the tribesmen guarding here were all martial artists, fully protected, each exuding the scent of medicinal soup, with ready-made medicinal soup beside them, allowing them to jump in for a wash at any time.

As for weapons, mostly spears, crossbows, fire arrows, and beast oil.

Digging three wide ditches was to keep enough distance from the infesting Plague Insects and then conduct fire attacks from afar.

"Uncle Jiang, Uncle Mu..."

Shen Can greeted people as he descended from the mountain.

"Acan, give me the stuff, you go back and look after the elderly and young in the tribe."

"We’ll hold them off, no way those Plague Insects get through."

Shen Can greeted them while taking out medicine balls from the bamboo basket to distribute among the present tribesmen.

"Eat as medicine, or crush them and rub on your body, it works too."

"Acan, you should return, don’t go to the front."

Seeing Shen Can heading towards the outermost area, someone quickly shouted.

Guarding the outermost line was Huo Shan and other Mountain Opening Realm Martial Artists, who also started calling out.

"Acan, don’t come over here."

"Uncle Shan, here, take these witch talismans."

Shen Can crossed two ravines and reached the flatland behind the third ravine, handing over three witch talismans to Huo Shan.

"Witch Talismans?"

Seeing the neatly trimmed and somewhat blood-tinged sigils that emitted a medicinal and evil qi aura, Huo Shan was taken aback.

"Since when did our tribe have witch talismans?"

At this moment, the other Mountain Opening Realm Martial Artists guarding the front lines gathered around.

"Go away, don’t crowd Acan."

Huo Shan immediately glared, dispersing the people who had gathered, and stuffed the talismans into his bosom.

"Got it, now you quickly go back."

Shen Can distributed the remaining witch talismans and instructed them on how to use them.

"When you use it, tear it open forcefully and toss it out."

"Okay, okay, we know, you better go back quickly, the Plague Insects are almost here, you’re too frail to withstand their infection."

Whoosh!

A fire arrow shot through the sky in the distance.

The infesting Plague Insects had arrived.

Huo Hou leaped and bounded from afar.

"They’re here, get ready!"

...

"Acan, you better leave."

Seeing this, Huo Shan hurriedly pushed Shen Can towards the back.

Shen Can didn’t linger, retreating to the back.

Inside and outside the Clan Mountain, bonfires were lit everywhere, the thick smoke of witch medicine rising into the air.

In the wilderness, the scent of medicine was overwhelming.

Back behind the ravine, Shen Can turned to gaze into the distance.

A group of figures moving like zombies appeared sporadically from the mountain gaps.

The number was about three hundred.

These people infested by Plague Insects, though their bodies appeared stiff, could still make rolling, climbing, and jumping actions, some even holding weapons.

In the vast mountain range, they had managed to reach the Blazing Flame Division.

He had a feeling these Plague Insects controlling the Human Race were targeting the Blazing Flame Division.

This surprised Shen Can greatly; could it be that the Plague Insects had high spiritual wisdom and had captured the memories of the Fushan Tribe people?

"Buzz buzz!"

Within a hundred zhang from the first line of defense, the infested humans stumbled, as if their bodies were bursting like broken sacks, releasing bean-sized Plague Insects that swarmed towards Huo Shan and the others.

At a distance of thirty zhang, entering the area infused with the pleasant smoke of burning witch medicine, the fiercely rushing Plague Insects suddenly wandered in place.

As their numbers grew, some broke through the hesitation and continued crawling forward, quickly charging into the dug ravine.

In the ravine, the piled witch medicine was ignited, while tribesmen prepared to smash oil jars atop the ravine.

"The witch medicine is effective for now. Don’t pour the oil yet. Wait for the plague insects to gather more before pouring it."

The plague insects that had entered the ravine were fumigated by the ignited witch medicine inside, spinning around in confusion, unable to climb out.

After inspecting the situation, Huo Shan immediately stopped the tribesmen who were about to pour the beast oil.

"Drench them!"

Huo Shan pointed at the possessed humans rushing forward.

Using a long-handled wooden ladle, they scooped out the beast oil and flung it towards the approaching possessed humans across the ravine.

Then, rockets followed from the rear.

For those possessed humans advancing too quickly, they directly threw ignited wooden spears, pinning them to the spot.

Then, another ladle of beast oil was splashed over.

Under the enhancement of the fire attack, the possessed humans were ignited before they could even get close to the ravine.

The plague insects crawling out were like ants on a hot pan, spinning around in confusion, losing their ability to advance.

Blazes erupted outside the ravine, sparking sounds like firecrackers that burst continuously.

Upon being ignited, the possessed humans released swarms of plague insects, quickly heading towards Huo Shan.

When entering the ravine, like the insects before them, they lost their sense of direction under the fumigation of the ignited witch medicine.

Not to mention the inability to get close enough to bite and injure anyone.

Without the harassment of plague insects, the battle began with a one-sided situation.

Even if the possessed humans jumped, they would be speared down in mid-air.

The tribesmen throwing the spears were as skilled as if they were hunting, each throw hitting its mark.

Seeing this, even the first line of defense seemed impenetrable, let alone the third.

Seeing this, Shen Can breathed a sigh of relief. After all, despite their agility, they were not real humans and lacked the intelligence they had in life.

The possessed plague insects didn’t seem as formidable anymore.

Though the clan records seemed to exaggerate them.

"Chirp!"

Just then, a figure at the rear of the possessed humans opened its mouth, emitting a piercing screech.

The listeners’ eardrums throbbed, covering their ears with their hands, and squatted down in pain.

"Chirp!"

Shen Can’s mind went blank, feeling a spiritual attack.

"Not good!"

Huo Chang, who had been overseeing the entire situation, quickly rushed to the front.

"Huo Shan, fall back to the second ravine quickly."

The possessed humans outside the ravine spread their arms like large birds, leaping up all at once.

Huo Shan reacted first, grabbing the wooden spear in his hand and throwing it towards the wooden racks in the ravine, shouting at the same time.

"Pour the oil quickly!"

"Fire the rockets!"

Earlier, when the insects couldn’t get through, he didn’t ignite the flames inside the ravine.

At that time, it didn’t make much difference; the plague insects were fumigated away anyway.

But now, the members of the Fushan Tribe, though also humans, were possessed by plague insects, and somehow gained the ability to fly.

This was very un-witchlike.

Charging to the very front, Huo Chang kept knocking back the leaping possessed humans.

But there were too many of them, and in a blink, dozens of possessed humans crossed the first ravine, exploding open.

"Crackle, crackle."

The plague insects fell like hailstones, scattering everywhere, striking down on the tribesmen.

A significant portion of them aimed for Huo Chang.

At the same time, the back of the possessed human who made the bird call split open, and a monstrous bird emerged.

This bird had an owl-like head, a single foot, and a long tail resembling a pig’s tail.

Whipping its tail, it flew towards Huo Chang, its pale eyes flickering with a ghastly glow.

The plague insects scattering across the sky threw the martial artists of the tribe into chaos, instinctively slapping the insects off their bodies.

On the hilltop, the situation suddenly turned chaotic.

Seeing Huo Chang surrounded by insects and the monstrous bird preparing a sneak attack, Shen Can shouted.

"Quick, use the witch talisman on that bird!"

Huo Shan was the first among the tribesmen to respond, wanting to help Huo Chang, when he heard the cry from the hilltop.

He instinctively took out a medicine ball and a witch talisman from his chest.

"Tear and throw, tear and throw!"

Just about to throw, Huo Shan immediately pulled back, tearing three pieces of beast hide with a ripping sound, and hurled them towards Huo Chang’s direction.

"Buzz!"

In an instant, after the witch talismans cracked open, a torrent of blood-colored water surged upwards.

It condensed mid-air into overlapping serpentine runes, fiercely rushing towards the single-footed monstrous bird.

"Chirp!"

At the moment the witch talisman activated, a look of fear flashed in the pale eyes of the monstrous bird.

The blood runes swept across its wings, sizzling and emitting white smoke.

The monstrous bird shrieked in misery.

"True witch talisman!"

While throwing the witch talismans and continuing to charge forward, Huo Shan froze, his eyes wide, instinctively coming to a halt.

However, his legs didn’t receive the command, and his whole body fell face down with a slap.

"Acan, is this a true witch talisman!"

Huo Shan, who had taken a tumble and mouthful of mud, scrambled up quickly, shouting.

"Quick, tear the witch talisman and hit that damned bird!"

"Acan is for real!"

He wasn’t satisfied just by shouting, rushing up to the nearby tribesmen, seizing their witch talisman, and hurling it at the monstrous bird.

"Ha... the witch talisman is so satisfying."

ps: Image sourced from the internet, will remove if it violates copyright.