I Steal the Ancestors' Sacrifices to Nourish Myself-Chapter 17: Upper Huang Division

"Witchcraft."

With a thought forming in his mind, Shen Can became increasingly restless, eager to dig out the remnants of the Ironwood Ship to take a look.

The Ironwood Ship was a Tier Three Ship, suspected to be from the Lingyu Tribe.

If it truly came from the Lingyu Tribe, then the likelihood of witchcraft being attached to it was quite significant.

In this light, it’s not surprising that the Upper Huang Division came knocking at their door.

Perhaps the Upper Huang Division had already acquired more parts of the Ironwood Ship and thus gained or witnessed great benefits from it.

They wouldn’t have mobilized their Celestial Vein Realm martial artists to cross mountains and forests in search, using even threats and inducements, had it not been for the prospects.

Shen Can returned to the ancestral temple, contemplating how to secretly dig a small hole behind the divine platform to sneak inside.

Returning to the clan land above, Huo Chang also fell into deep thought.

Huang Shi came again, which further emphasized the importance of the Ironwood Ship.

As for exchanging it, after hundreds of years of being neighbors, everyone understood each other’s nature.

If Upper Huang truly offered something useful in exchange, it would be worth considering; however, they wouldn’t offer anything that could enhance the clan’s strength.

"I wonder how Huo Shan’s investigations are going."

Huo Shan had already been out for a month and there was no news, which worried him significantly.

Even though the intent was to pick up the leftovers from other tribes, the mountain wilderness was riddled with dangers and the risks were too great.

...

Huang Shi arrived once again without causing much stir, as the tribe members’ thoughts were all consumed by the plague.

Shen Can continued to isolate the tribe members as usual.

The Witch Medicine Formula was effective, and combined with the absence of large-scale plague insect attacks, the symptoms of the plague within the tribe had been under his control from the very beginning.

That night, after finishing his busy work.

He glanced at the sleeping Huo Xian, and secretly moved to the back of the ancestral spirit tablet.

The Simurgh Blade used for ancestor sacrifice was once again taken down by him as a tool for digging.

This wasn’t his first day of excavation.

Despite the pile of dirt and rocks appearing almost like a collapse behind the divine platform, there was a difference inside and out.

The outer collapse was merely deceiving; digging a little further inward revealed cracks between the stones.

Clearing the outer cover, a small hole that had been dug out long ago appeared in front of Shen Can.

With a swift movement, Shen Can squeezed into the hole.

The interior of the hole was a natural cavern within the mountain, without any signs of excavation, and the airflow was somewhat stagnant.

The flickering torchlight quickly revealed the location of the Ironwood Ship remnants.

On the fragmented wood, Beast Patterns he hadn’t examined closely before were now scrutinized at close range.

The beast patterns etched onto the surface of the wood resembled more of a fish scale pattern.

Shen Can lit up the torch and began copying them meticulously.

After copying, he compared the drawings and found that the connection between the fish scale patterns was winding and indeed had an uncanny feel, resembling some strange symbols.

After checking thoroughly, Shen Can exited the hole, sealing the original route.

"Forgive me, ancestors."

He bowed to the divine tablet, forgave himself one-sidedly, and returned the Simurgh Blade to its original position.

Always seeking from the ancestors without offering gratitude; striving to maintain the ancestors unharmed in the future.

He touched the beast hide in his chest, feeling satisfied, and returned to his West Ear Cave.

His ear cave now contained numerous beast hide scrolls and witch medicine, all obtained from Master Huo Xian.

Changing into a robe, he spread the freshly copied Beast Patterns on the stone table by the oil lamp and examined them closely.

The Beast Patterns on the remnants of the Ironwood Ship were incomplete, but the overall image resembled a wild beast, though Shen Can couldn’t discern whether it was a fish or a beast.

The winding patterns resembled fish scales.

It couldn’t conclusively prove anything; in the Great Wilderness, there was no distinct difference between flying birds, beasts, and scale-armored insects, ants; beasts could have fish scales, fish could have fur.

The entire remnant presumably comprised the outer body of the Ironwood Ship.

Submerged beneath the water’s surface, the prolonged immersion caused the Beast Patterns to become somewhat dark and indistinct.

The upper section appeared slightly pale, with the colors of the Beast Patterns badly faded.

Thus, Shen Can sat behind the stone table, focusing intently on the copied Beast Patterns, attempting to imprint them entirely into his mind.

...

~You invested ten years of lifespan comprehending unknown Beast Patterns, but achieved nothing after ten years~

On the stone bed, Shen Can opened his eyes; they were crystal clear like that of a university student in a previous life.

Ten years of lifespan and not a single sound was heard.

This time, the Sacrificial Tripod Cauldron didn’t make any rash comments.

"The path is correct."

He immediately responded as his eyes darted around.

"Once again."

~You stared at the Beast Patterns for another ten years, eyes blazing hot, but still gained nothing~

[You’ve stared at the Beast Pattern for twenty years, repeatedly copying it, attempting to see the mystical within, yet always feeling as if it is barely there or nonexistent.

You’ve begun to doubt whether you’re overthinking things, that a random Beast Pattern could infer Witchcraft.

In the twenty-second year, you started to doubt the genius you believed yourself to be.

You simply continued to copy the Beast Pattern Map, once, twice... a hundred times, a hundred times...

The beast hides you used for copying filled the entire cave, but still, no Spiritual Light suddenly appeared; in the thirty-seventh year, you stopped copying, the inference ended]

"Continue inferring."

[You stubborn thing, you’re at it again]

...

[Stubborn one, today is the hundredth year of your Beast Pattern Map copying.

After a hundred years of copying, a Spiritual Light finally appeared.

You try to grasp it, but you can never quite catch it.

You didn’t lose heart and started copying the Beast Pattern Map again, finally capturing that fleeting opportunity.

The densely packed scale runes within the Beast Pattern Map, winding around like the scene of flowing water, sometimes rushing, sometimes calm, sometimes foamy, all of it possessing the momentum of water.

You began attempting to use this opportunity to further comprehend more of the mystical]

[You spent another ten years gradually understanding, this meandering pattern essence seemed to possess profound mysteries involving riding and guiding the water.]

...

[Another fifty years later, during your copying process, that mystical essence finally transformed into a crooked and twisted character in your hands.] 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

[At the same time, you discovered this character was overly singular, so you chose to continue comprehending, but your brain was a bit tired, and the inference ended]

...

Inside the cave, Shen Can looked at the character he had just written on the beast hide, rubbing his dizzy head.

Witchcraft: Water Guidance (Too defective to start)

It’s not easy, but it’s finally here.

Starting is the hardest part, now that there’s a lead, there’s hope for an easier journey ahead.

Shen Can wiped away the rune before him, along with the previously copied Beast Pattern Map.

It’s not to guard against the clan members, but to guard against outsiders.

The Upper Huang Division acts domineeringly, behaving even more boldly in Blazing Flame than at their own homes, just in case they burst in and turn things upside down.

Although the probability is small, it’s still necessary to guard against it.

When going out to sweep the Ancestral Temple, he ran into Huo Xian.

"Acan, seeing you so worn out, let me do today’s patrolling."

"No need, Master, I can handle this small task."

After eating, Shen Can routinely began inspecting the tribe, checking the clan for plague conditions.

Busy during the day, continuing to infer Witchcraft at night.

...

Three thousand miles away.

Under the blazing sunlight, a layer of splendid light spread over the tall Lin Mu above.

This was a Giant Mountain that had been largely leveled out, with half standing caves and half being undulating stone halls and stone houses.

The entire tribe overlooked the area, even mountain floods couldn’t reach it.

Inside the ring of stone halls and caves was a vast cavern; upon entering, the first sight was a firepit, the aroma of burning Mugwort was pervasive.

The fire danced inside the pit, reflecting all around, while large and small fragmented Iron Wood leaned against the walls.

Every Iron Wood shard bore a Beast Pattern.

A thin old man’s head was almost resting on the Beast Pattern, brow furrowed, nostrils flaring.

"The Upper Lingyu Division’s belongings are profoundly mysterious and vast as the abyss, truly baffling."

"Can’t fathom, can’t fathom!"

Inside the cavern, after piecing together many fragmented wooden shards, a vaguely fish-like creature with limbs emerged as a Beast Pattern Map.

Its fish head bore a blurred human face.

Just from this Beast Pattern, the origin of this fragmented Ironwood ship piece can be confirmed.

The Upper Lingyu Division is a powerful tribe near Giant Mountain Wild Marshes, famed but unseen by other tribes in the vicinity.

It is a major tribe with the Divine Treasure Realm guarding it.

Things that one cannot comprehend are likely commonplace at the Lingyu Tribe.

Huang Zhao withdrew his gaze from the Beast Pattern on the fragments, sitting near the firepit, lost in thought.

From acquiring the first shard around two months ago to gradually finding over a dozen more, observing the Beast Pattern on the fragments daily yet gaining nothing.

As both the tribe’s Ancestral Temple Keeper and Witch Doctor, he also invited the tribe’s youth to view them, similarly perceiving no mysteries.

It makes sense; he’s the most authoritative witch in the tribe, and if he can’t see it, it’s normal for the clan to be unable to.

As for nearby tribes, they only know to shave the Iron Wood fragments into wooden spears.

Witchcraft, they can merely roll a medicine pill.