Reincarnated as a Divine Tree-Chapter 179Vol. 1 - - The Great Sacrifice

Under threat to their lives, the group had no choice but to agree.

Seeing no objections, Chen Xingzhen smiled, then instructed Chen Tianquan and Chen Tianyu to lead the visitors to the family residence. Along the way, they were to help them familiarize themselves with the teaching areas and lesson content.

Chen Tianquan led the well-dressed, scholarly individuals toward the clan’s school grounds, but his expression was tinged with unease. The clan leader had clearly handed him responsibility for this task. If anything went wrong, how could he still show his face within the family?

As they approached the school, the sound of young voices reciting lessons echoed through the halls. Listening to the students’ chanting, the newcomers nodded slightly. These were subjects they could teach. As for what came next, they'd wait and see.

...

“Tianlu, Tianmo, Tianxuan—prepare for the Great Sacrifice to the Divine Tree tomorrow,” Chen Xingzhen said. “Let the household servants and the newly invited instructors and martial artists rest for now. Once the Great Sacrifice is concluded, they can begin teaching the clan members.”

Inside the ancestral hall, Chen Xingzhen was issuing orders to Chen Tianlu and several martial artists who had already reached the Blood Coagulation Realm. The family had been preoccupied for months with selling Blood Rice and cultivating strength. As a result, the ritual sacrifice to the Divine Tree had not been held in quite some time. Even Chen Xingzhen himself, as clan leader, had nearly forgotten.

Fortunately, he had been reminded by one of his elders the night before. Lately, there had been faint signs of change in the Divine Tree. Such changes were often tied to pivotal moments in the clan’s growth—but they usually required offerings. The better the sacrifice, the stronger the Divine Tree would become.

With the Blood Rice harvest complete and the clan’s strength steadily rising, there were no other pressing matters at the moment. The sacrifice couldn’t be delayed any longer. The family’s rapid development over the past few months meant they now had no shortage of livestock, and the recovering ecosystem in Chaotic Burial Mountain ensured that there would be no problem securing additional offerings. While the quality might not be the highest, the quantity would certainly suffice.

“Yes, Clan Leader,” the martial artists responded, quickly dispersing to make the necessary preparations for the following day.

As the number of Blood Coagulation Realm experts grew within the family, so too did the strength available to the clan. Gone were the days when they struggled to find capable hands for important tasks.

After issuing the orders, Chen Xingzhen fell into thoughtful silence. Currently, both Tianjing and Tianyu had reached the late stage of the Blood Coagulation Realm. Though older in age, they still had hope of breaking through to the Innate Realm. If they succeeded, it would significantly enhance the clan’s power.

But for ordinary martial artists, reaching the Innate Realm through their own strength was exceedingly difficult. Techniques like the Five Viscera Ascension Technique might allow one to break through a small sub-realm in a critical moment, but crossing into an entirely new great realm remained an almost impossible feat.

Even if they managed to step into it by luck, they would not be able to perceive the power of higher realms—only gain a bit more Qi and Blood. The result would fall far short of expectations, as Chen Xingzhen had experienced personally. Only the Divine Tree’s power could truly help them cross that threshold.

This time, during the Great Sacrifice, he intended to pray for two locust leaves from the Divine Tree. If successful, those leaves might help Tianjing and Tianyu glimpse the path to the Innate Realm early, greatly increasing their chances of breaking through.

While the clan was busy preparing for the ritual, the commotion hadn’t gone unnoticed by outsiders. Although they didn’t know what the Chen family was up to and didn’t dare approach, they still watched from afar as the family compound remained brightly lit beneath the night sky.

Inside the ancestral hall, Ji Yang stood rooted in a corner. The leaves growing from his branches glowed faintly under the moonlight, casting a gentle light across the shrine.

Though the light was weak, it was no match for the vigorous growth of Ji Yang’s thickening limbs and lush foliage. In a few months, the hall might no longer be able to contain his spreading branches.

Ji Yang already knew about the clan’s plans for the Great Sacrifice and was quietly looking forward to it. As the current clan totem, he depended on the family but was also separate from them. After all, he was merely a tree.

The sacrifice ritual, though lengthy and elaborate, served to unify the clan—and ensured that he, a Divine Tree who had never once left the ancestral hall, would not be forgotten. The more the clan remembered him and offered incense, the stronger the Incense Locust Leaf he had cultivated would become.

That was also why Ji Yang hadn’t rushed to teach the new battle technique he had comprehended during his last simulation. Though he was the Divine Tree and the clan’s totem, he had his own intentions. These roles were his identities, but not his entirety.

Normally, he wouldn’t meddle in clan decisions or attend clan meetings. But if he wished to elevate his position in the hearts of the people—and strengthen his ability to carry out simulations—he had to act with foresight. Imparting knowledge during a daily lesson and doing so during a ritual were two very different things. Ji Yang knew this, and this was his quiet strategy.

The next day, the Great Sacrifice to the Divine Tree was held as scheduled.

The ancestral hall, which had once been quiet, was now crowded with members of the Chen family, all arranged by seniority. At the front stood Chen Xingzhen, the clan leader. At the very back were the youngest children of the family, including the recently born Chen Qingcheng.

Though not even six months old, his body was already the size of a two-year-old. His baby face wore a solemn expression that seemed comically out of place, making some want to laugh. Still, no one dared to be careless during such a sacred ceremony.

As the clan members prayed, countless strands of invisible incense energy flowed from their bodies and gathered toward the special locust leaf growing on the branches. The leaf gleamed with a brilliant light.

Beneath the Divine Tree, Chen Xingzhen stood with solemn reverence. Upon the altar were many new offerings not seen in previous sacrifices: delicately prepared rice cakes, the roasted and blackened head of a Blackgold Beast, and a treasured bottle of Blood Rice wine that had been kept in the family’s store for years.

After completing a long sequence of rituals, Chen Xingzhen raised his head slightly.

“The rites are complete. Offer the sacrifices!”

Clan members stepped forward, carrying the fierce beasts one by one to the altar.

Meanwhile, not far from the Chen residence, two figures were hiding in a concealed spot, silently observing the Chen family’s actions.

Seeing the number of beasts being carried into the compound, both were filled with doubt.

“Potian, didn’t you say that the Chen clan’s totem is an incense totem? If it’s incense-based, why are they bringing in so many ferocious beasts?” Shi Podi asked in confusion.

Shi Potian frowned, just as puzzled. In the natural order, the world’s three types of totems each followed their own rules. A totem that absorbed incense could never take in the blood of beasts. Likewise, blood-absorbing totems couldn’t take in incense.

But what they were witnessing now—made no sense at all.

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