Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

It was already noon at Barna Rainforest when he manifested in the oak tree again.

Due to the sweltering heat from the sun, Ji Yu did not see many tribesmen under his tree.

“It’s rare for them to witness a ‘miracle’ and they actually didn’t hold a festival in their craze? That’s a rare rational side coming from them.”

“But this is good too since it won’t disturb my meditation.”

Ji Yu laughed good naturedly and went back into a meditative state.

No words were exchanged during this time.

When he woke up once again, it was already evening.

The light from the sunset gradually faded.

There was a crowd under the oak tree.

Large and small bonfires were lit, and the tribesmen were pulling a few large black pigs which they had reared over.

The cries of the wild boars coupled with the festive atmosphere of the tribesmen created an unusual scene.

The women were sharpening their knives and preparing various ingredients while the men were setting up the celebration venue.

On both sides of the gravel path, the branches of the oak trees surrounding the sacred tree were decorated with brilliantly colored cloth.

At the same time, Ji Yu noticed that the number of people in the tribe suddenly increased as compared to what he saw at dawn.

The moment Ji Yu woke up, he took notice of the tribesmen who were circling at the outer most region with guns on their backs.

No, they were not tribesmen because these people were evidently different from the natives of the tribe.

They were wearing things made of chemical fibers – shirts, pants, and even a cap – which were only available in modernized societies.

Meanwhile, the natives of the tribe were all dressed in clothes made of animal skin. As for decent clothes and pants?

They did not exist.

That was the stark contrast.

In this tribe, it was evident that the natives were the winners of the battle between people from modern civilization and the tribe.

The reason was simple. It was because Ji Yu could see a native dressed in a crotchety cloth lecturing a few ‘outsiders’ who were carrying firearms. The outsiders had their heads lowered humbly and did not dare to utter a word.

At the same time, from the fact that these outsiders could only watch the festival from the perimeter, their standing in the tribe was apparent.

“Interesting.”

As Ji Yu looked at them curiously, he also noticed that there was a strong young man clad in proper clothing standing beside the tribe elder.

The tribe elder was all smiles as the strong young man supported him and spoke affectionately, as if talking to his parents at home.

Could this be the son the chief let go to the cities? Or perhaps his grandson?

Was this primitive tribe’s existence similar to that of a sacred land?

In order to maintain the purity of traditions and heritage, this place preserved its primitive way of living?

Ji Yu was deep in thought. At the same time, he began to speculate about the relationship between the tribe and the so-called outsiders.

As he observed, Ji Yu felt a sense of helplessness.

“At least say a few words that I can understand.”

West York Language was an internationally used language. Despite not being able to completely understand it, Ji Yu could understand about 30% of that international language.

“It’s boring if I can’t understand anything.”

Feeling bored, Ji Yu no longer paid attention to the chatter between the chief and his blood descendent.

He counted the number of outsiders.

“137 people?”

It wasn’t a lot, but it was not little either. Furthermore, it was hard to say if this was everyone. After all, it should be somewhat difficult to feed a primitive tribe with a population of 500 people, right?

Why did he use the term ‘feed’?

The answer was simple. Compared to authentic primitive tribes which he saw on the internet, the people of this tribe were too energetic and did not lack clothing or food.

If they were using the primitive hunting system, it was illogical for there to be no lack of food and clothing.

Therefore, it was not difficult for Ji Yu to deduce that many of the food in the primitive tribe might have been obtained through these ‘outsiders’.

Although the tribe was doing their best to reject foreign products, Ji Yu could see some traces of it from things like food and condiments.

“No wonder I always felt that there was something weird with this tribe!”

“It’s clear now.”

As a conservative primitive tribe, there were too few elders.

Apart from the chief and a dozen or so other esteemed elders, most of the people in this tribe were young women, strong men, and some healthy children and youths.

There were none who were sick or ill? Was that logical?

“From the looks of it, many people of the tribe have normal lives and stayed somewhere else.”

Ji Yu had his own conclusion which he couldn’t agree more with.

After all, these men who were armed with firearms had already appeared.

“Based on this deduction, this place where I am, these oak trees, as well as the existence of the gravel path, might really carry a strong symbolic meaning or is a significant tradition of the tribe.”

“Else, it wouldn’t explain why these people would live here using the most primitive methods.”

——————.

As night fell, the ritual began.

Under Ji Yu’s watchful gaze, the biggest wild boar hollered as it was pressed down by several burly men onto the stone platform under the oak tree.

After a terrifying wound was made on the wild boar’s neck using a long knife, blood immediately gushed out.

The wild boar howled incessantly, but as its blood flowed out, its cries weakened until it completely lost its breath.

The blood flowed along the stone platform, following the grooves beneath it, quickly spilling into the blood pool directly under the oak tree.

Looking at the scene before him, Ji Yu felt that it was a waste.

“How many meals of blood cakes can I eat with that? What a waste!”

“That’s a sick deal for the flies and maggots.”

This scene of pigs getting slaughtered was almost identical to what he’d seen at home when he was young, making him feel a little nostalgic.

Although he felt a little uncomfortable physiologically, his childhood memories quickly neutralized those feelings.

Wild boars were brought up one after another to the sacrificial altar and their blood pooled continuously.

The pool under the tree was not deep and blood was almost overflowing.

However, after the ninth wild boar was slaughtered, the blood ritual finally came to an end.

Then, as expected, it was another long chant from the tribe elder wearing the feathered crown.

Following that, all the natives and outsiders kowtowed and the prelude to the sacrificial ceremony was completed.

However, just as everyone stood up, the tribe elder on the high platform suddenly approached the foot of Ji Yu’s ‘sacred tree’.

Then, the tribe elder suddenly took a scimitar from another elder.

Grabbing a bunch of greens in his hand, the tribe elder used the scimitar to quickly cut them off.

Ji Yu was puzzled by his actions.

“Those are? It doesn’t seem like a branch from my body?”

Ji Yu finally got a clear look of the green plant which was cut off by the tribe elder.

It was a tuft which resembled tree saplings.

This thing did not grow from the ground and vined around the oak tree. Instead, it was like a small shrub which had directly emerged from the oak tree.

On a closer look, Ji Yu could see that there were many of such tufts on his oak tree.

They were small and were grouped in tufts as they grew.

“???”

“When did these things appear?”

Ji Yu clearly remembered that his branches were still bare yesterday – except for his own leaves.

At that, Ji Yu became slightly perturbed and worried.

Ji Yu planned to ‘log off’ a bit to go online to research. He glanced at the tribe elder’s actions below.