Chapter 2083: 866, Zhu Rong
Han Muye stepped forward, took off the beast skin draped over him, helped him put on his clothes properly, and then used a golden belt to tie the robe.
After this tidying up, the big man’s figure lost the previous roughness and wildness, and gained a bit more of a proper appearance.
The big man waved his sleeve and, smiling, patted Han Muye’s shoulder.
“I’m Zhu Rong, from now on you’re my brother.”
…
There were a total of over two hundred and thirty people in the Blazing Prairie Tribe, all of whom were of the human race and had been living in the Wasteland for generations.
Speaking of living here generation after generation, in fact, they themselves didn’t know where they came from, and then they migrated here step by step.
That was the way of the human race in the Desolate Wilderness.
Living by fate.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to build a permanent place to live, but in the Desolate Wilderness, there were too many powerful divine beasts and mutated beasts.
It could be that a great war would turn an area of a hundred thousand or a million miles into ruins.
It was also possible that at some point, the divine beast or mutated beast that sheltered them was killed because of a fall from grace, and they had no choice but to disperse and flee.
Sitting around the altar, Han Muye listened to Zhu Rong and the others talk about the life of the Blazing Prairie Tribe while eating the meat torn from the altar.
The only sharp bone knife in the tribe was in Zhu Rong’s hand, and now he was helping Han Muye cut the meat.
Around them, there was a group of not very old children who from time to time reached out to touch the robe on Zhu Rong’s body, not even the steaming hot meat could attract them.
Han Muye’s gaze fell on the altar in front of him.
There were no flammable objects under this altar, and the flames seemed to appear out of thin air.
But that was impossible.
Even divine fire needed to burn through its own power or attached to some object.
To burn out of thin air, this went against the Rules of Origin.
Seeing Han Muye’s scanning gaze, Zhu Rong showed a proud expression on his face.
Next to him, an old man named Zhu Tian, holding a Bone Staff, pointed to the bottom of the flames and said in a low voice, “There, lays a mark left by a Great Divine Beast.”
A divine beast mark.
Han Muye stood up, took a step forward, and landed on the altar.
The intense flames surged, and it seemed as though the overwhelming heat wanted to turn him to ashes.
From this angle, he finally saw three slanted marks underneath the fire.
Gazing intently at the marks, a suppressed power of Flame surged within Han Muye.
Divine patterns.
These were divine patterns that contained the power of Flame.
In the Desolate Wilderness, this represented rules, it represented power.
He stretched out his hand and waved it down through the air.
In front of him, three fiery marks flashed and disappeared.
“Brother Han, you, are you a Divine Pattern Master?”
“This is the power that only a Ritual Master can control!”
Both Divine Pattern Masters and Ritual Masters were of the human race who could control the power of Divine Patterns.
The former comprehended it themselves, and could transform it into divine patterns, then inscribe it on various weapons or beast bones.
The Bone Staff in Zhu Tian’s hand was refined by a Divine Pattern Master.
As for Ritual Masters, they controlled divine patterns with the aid of the power of divine beasts worshiped by their tribes.
Powerful Ritual Masters could even ride divine beasts.
When Han Muye had arrived riding the mutated beast Gray Wolf, he was welcomed because he was mistaken by Zhu Tian and others as a Ritual Master.
The surrounding members of the Blazing Prairie Tribe got to their feet, excitedly staring at the slowly dissipating halo in front of Han Muye.
In front of Han Muye, too, was the power of a Divine Pattern Master or a Ritual Master.
Strength drew respect and courtesy, a truth unchanged everywhere.
Han Muye watched the disappearing firelight in front of him, his eyes flickering with light.
He could feel the changes and movements of the power of heaven and earth when the horizontal lines appeared.
Only in a place like the Desolate Wilderness, where the power of heaven and earth surged until it almost materialized, could one have such a sensation.
It was the trajectory of the essence of power, pure and simple, yet the true Origin.
No wonder the divine beasts that emerged from the Desolate Wilderness were so powerful; with every gesture and movement, they could comprehend and apply the Origin Force, how could they not be strong?
“Buzz—”
When the flowing light in front of Han Muye dissipated, a rumbling sound came from the distant mountains.
A golden bird spread its wings and approached.
Below the altar, all members of the Blazing Prairie Tribe looked up, their faces filled with even more excitement.
“Ritual Master!”
“The Ritual Master has summoned the totem beast!”
“The Divine Fire Totem is here!”
Summoning.
By triggering the Source Power of the same origin as the fire on the altar, the Ritual Master could summon the Totem Divine Beast.
Han Muye turned his head to look at the spreading wings of the big bird.
“`
Their bloodline power contained the power of the Golden Crow, but it was impure and quite mixed.
“Swoosh—”
The big bird was extremely fast; a few flaps of its wings and it was outside the tribe.
Midair, with a sudden move, the big bird abruptly opened its mouth and a ball of fire shot down, spewing forth.
This flame was aimed at the Gray Wolf Han Muye was riding, crashing down onto it.
The already extremely tense Gray Wolf shuddered all over and turned to run.
“Boom—”
The flame scorched the land, turning everything within a thousand feet to flowing flames, igniting all the surrounding vegetation and melting the rocks and soil.
The terror of this strike made the members of the Blazing Prairie Tribe shout excitedly.
This was their Totem Divine Beast; the strength of the Totem Divine Beast represented the greater protection they could receive.
With a ball of fire, the Gray Wolf was driven away, and the big bird did not pursue further.
It seemed to be uninterested in hunting the Gray Wolf.
“Sigh—”
Watching the Gray Wolf flee, the golden bird folded its wings and landed on the altar.
It opened its mouth and swallowed the flames on the altar in one gulp.
These flames seemed to be a delicious treat, as the big bird gently chewed, slightly closing its eyes, looking utterly content.
A moment later, after all the flames were swallowed, the big bird flapped its wings and turned to look at Han Muye.
However, it did not pay much attention to Han Muye; its gaze swept around, it opened its mouth once more, and spat out a pale golden fist-sized Fire Bead.
The bead landed on the altar, transforming into a bowl-sized ball of fire.
Seeing this ball of fire, all the members of the Blazing Prairie Tribe below bowed in worship.
This was their fear of the fire, as well as their reverence for it.
The big bird satisfiedly flapped its wings.
Below, Zhu Rong stood up, took off the robe Han Muye had given him, and handed it to the person beside him, then stepped forward and landed on the altar.
“Brother Han, I’m about to make a sacrifice. To see a Ritual Master come to our Blazing Prairie Tribe is our good fortune,” he said.
“I hope you can help our Blazing Prairie Tribe become more powerful.”
Zhu Rong, having said this, walked towards the fire.
Below the altar, all the members of the Blazing Prairie Tribe had complex expressions on their faces—excitement mixed with reluctance.
A sacrifice?
Han Muye frowned.
He pondered for a moment, then reached out and placed his hand on the altar below.
“Hum—”
Memories flashed through his mind from within the altar.
Every time the Totem Divine Beast appeared to collect the fire, new flames required the strongest among the tribe to make a sacrifice.
To ignite this flame with their own bodies and carry on this legacy.
Because the flame was started by the strongest in the tribe, it was highly attractive to the Totem Divine Beast. Later, after each tribe’s hunt, they would sacrifice various wild animals and demon beasts to it, making the fire stronger and stronger.
This fire was both a treasure that protected the tribe and a bond with the Totem Divine Beast.
For a long time, the human race of the Desolate Wilderness had become accustomed to these rules.
The rules of coexistence with divine beasts.
Slowly standing up, Han Muye looked towards Zhu Rong, who was now nearing the fire.
“Brother Zhu Rong, wait a moment,” said Han Muye, then quickly stepped forward.
He reached out and pressed his hand on Zhu Rong.
The most purified Flame Power surged through his palm, rushing into Zhu Rong’s body.
Zhu Rong’s hair instantly turned crimson red.
His body trembled, took a staggering step forward, and fell onto the ball of fire.
The fire instantly enveloped his body.
“Hum—”
Wreathing flames swiftly consumed Zhu Rong’s body,
but in the very next moment, the fire explosively burst forth, ascending, turning into a hundred-feet tall pillar of golden light.
That was the pure Flame Power transforming into a spectacular display of rules.
Perched atop the altar, the big bird, initially stunned, then unfolded its wings and let out a long call, its eyes filled with excitement.
It took flight, then dived towards the fire, opened its mouth, and swallowed it in one bite.
As the fire entered its belly, the Golden Bird let out a long heavenly cry.
A burst of divine golden light enveloped its body, causing it to swell up, growing to a size of ten feet.
However, the cry abruptly stopped as soon as it began.
The Golden Bird’s body suddenly collapsed, and amidst the half-empty skies, a human figure wrapped in flames remained.
Zhu Rong.