Chapter Twenty-One: The Enemy

On Golden Crow Ridge, golden flames shot straight into the sky. Over a thousand giant ravens spread their wings, hovering in midair and continuously letting out low, resonant cries.

The resounding dragonhide drums were beaten, their deep and powerful sound echoing hundreds of miles, reverberating between the mountains. The Fire Raven Tribe’s grand ancestral ceremony, held once every ten years, was in full swing. Countless offerings were carried into the ancestral temple, and under the guidance of the Grand Shaman Ji Kui, the ritual proceeded in an orderly manner within the great hall. The sleeping ancestral spirits were being awakened to indulge in the offerings presented by their descendants. If satisfied, they would bestow blessings upon those they selected.

The lake of magma left by the recent fierce battle between Ji Xia and Ji Shu had already cooled. Two mud monsters, their bodies formed from pitch-black, sticky earth, squirmed slowly across the rough rocks now hardened by cooling. Wherever the mud monsters passed, thick mud poured forth, and under their power, the rocks softened into soil, spreading evenly at their command.

A dozen treants, bound by an alliance and protected yet also commanded by the Fire Raven Tribe, swayed their massive bodies, scattering handfuls of seeds over the thick new soil. Nourished by the treants’ magic, the seeds quickly sprouted green shoots. In just a few days, the scorched woodland would burst anew with lush vitality.

All of this had nothing to do with Ji Hao.

Inside his humble wooden hut, Ji Hao sat with a somber face, gazing at Ji Xia and Qing Fu lying side by side upon a giant beast hide. Both were unconscious, suffering the same symptoms—faces flushed, the air they exhaled unnaturally hot, turning the small hut into a blazing furnace. Even the earth outside had been scorched pale by the heat.

The tribe’s most accomplished shaman healer, Ji Tu, sat cross-legged by their side, constantly extracting strange barks and roots and stuffing them into their mouths. Ji Tu’s fingers moved in intricate gestures as she chanted arcane incantations; the bark and roots melted into liquid, flowing into their stomachs, slightly reducing the heat they breathed out.

“Ah, the inherited shamanic treasure of the ancient King Sui Ren,” she sighed, having worked for a long while to barely restrain the rampant heat within Ji Xia and Qing Fu. She kneaded a stalk of medicinal herb and frowned. “The era of Sui Ren is too ancient, too distant. Even we old ones, entrusted with preserving ancestral knowledge, have only heard his name. Though revered as the Human King among all tribes, he mostly roamed the legendary Middle Lands. Never have I heard of Sui Ren venturing south, and yet his legacy appears here in the Southern Wilderness.”

“My father and mother’s injuries—are they grave?” Ji Hao interrupted Ji Tu’s reminiscence, asking the question that weighed heaviest on his heart.

“Very difficult, very difficult, very difficult.” Ji Tu shook her head repeatedly. “The power of an ancient Human King is unfathomable. Even if Ji Shu could only borrow a fraction of the Sui Ren Staff’s might, it is beyond our ability to withstand.”

Casting a helpless glance at the unconscious Ji Xia and Qing Fu, Ji Tu pondered for a moment before sighing, “Either their own bloodline strength can resist the fire’s invasion and they awaken naturally, or a shaman king skilled in controlling flames must draw out the Samadhi Fire from within them. Otherwise, I can only use shamanic medicine to suppress the fire, preventing them from being burned alive.”

She looked seriously at Ji Hao and spoke in a deep voice, “But suppressing the fire with shamanic medicine—Hao, after years of learning the art of shamanic medicine with us, you know well, this method can only barely maintain your father and mother’s lives. In truth, the fire is still steadily consuming their vital energy.”

“Given time, they will still be burned to death?” Ji Hao gazed at Ji Tu’s aged face and asked, powerless.

Ji Tu sighed and murmured, “We can only hope your father and mother can endure… I’ll return and seek more methods. There must be a way… For instance, perhaps in a few days, we can force Ji Shu to wield the Sui Ren Staff and see if he can draw the fire back.”

Leaving behind a pile of cooling medicines that could temporarily suppress the fire, Ji Tu leaned on her cane and slowly left the courtyard.

Ji Hao sat cross-legged beside Ji Xia and Qing Fu, quietly watching their flushed faces. He gripped Ji Xia’s hand; it was b