When Shen Nong took Cao Qing to the courtyard for dinner, he was beaming with excitement. Only Lu Shuang had ever been to this courtyard before; among the priests and chieftains of their affiliated tribes, he was the only one to have done so.
Shen Nong planted many flowers and plants in the courtyard and built a small pond. There were no lotus flowers in it, but she did raise fish, not koi, just ordinary fish.
When Ze returned, he saw that the table was set with vegetables and meat, and a young priest was sitting at the table, staring at the meat and vegetables with his mouth watering.
"You're back." Shen Nong placed a jar of jam on the table and said to Ze, "Transform into your beast form. You don't need to transform completely; just make your eyes the golden pupils that only beast forms have."
Ze always obeyed Shen Nong's words without question. When he closed his eyes and then opened them again, the color of his pupils changed. His golden pupils, illuminated by the firelight, were mysterious and alluring.
Shen Nong pushed the jam toward the grass, "Whether you can tie him up with vines or not, this jam is yours."
Cao Qing craved the table full of meat and vegetables, and also the sweet jam. He thought that the high priest had asked him to use his powers to bind the tall orc opposite him, probably to test whether his ability to manipulate nature had improved recently.
Desperate to perform well, Cao Qing exerted all his strength to activate his supernatural abilities. Ze also thought that Shen Nong wanted to test how well the young priest had learned to manipulate nature, but when he was about to dodge the vines, he noticed the priest beside him shaking his head, signaling him not to move.
Ze stood still, and the green vines successfully encircled him. He hadn't expected to succeed so easily, and he jumped up with joy.
Shen Nong's guess was confirmed; his time travel might not be as simple as he had imagined.
Chapter 112
High Priest of Beast City
As the weather gradually warms up, the beastmen of the coastal tribes are also getting active.
The priests of each tribe were very happy to see that all their people had survived the winter unharmed, and they led their people to work even harder.
Making dried seafood was enough for the orcs; most of the orcs in the coastal tribes needed to fish in the sea. Since they couldn't fly like the Feathered Tribe orcs, they could simply fly around with their nets and catch plenty of fish. Therefore, after spring arrived, Shen Er began teaching the orcs of the coastal tribes how to use boats.
Rowing is a skill, but fortunately, the beastmen of the coastal tribe live by the sea year-round and are very familiar with it. Although they have fallen into the water many times due to their poor balance, none of them have drowned.
Some orcs still retain their aquatic animal forms, giving them better swimming and balance skills, and allowing them to learn exceptionally quickly. Within two days, they were able to independently row fishing boats out to sea to fish.
The three major coastal tribes have entered into a truce. Even the most foolish among them know that now is not the time to fight.
Currently, all the other tribes along the coast have banded together and become subordinate tribes of the Wood Tribe. The Wood Tribe has somehow managed to find drinkable water. The Sea Tribe has no way to control them with the stream water, and the priests of the three tribes are practically sitting on the mountaintop every day, gazing at the sea and worrying about it.
"Look at the sea. I don't know what the priests of the Wood Tribe were thinking, that they could make orcs walk on the sea." The priest of the Whale Tribe looked at the ships on the sea with admiration in his voice.
The priest of the Sea Tribe sensed a softening in his words and, fearing he might still be trying to curry favor with the Wood Tribe, quickly feigned anger, saying, "Hmph, they're just an outsider tribe. How long has it taken them to occupy the coast? If this continues, will there still be any place for our three tribes to stay on the coast?"
The Shark Tribe priest nodded slowly, agreeing, "The Sea Tribe priest is right. Before they came, our Sea Tribe lived so well. It's all because they tricked the other tribes away. This winter, no other tribes gave meat to the Shark Tribe, and several more of our Shark Tribe's orcs starved to death than last winter."
The thought of the orcs starving to death in the tribe made the Shark Tribe priest furious. "Whale Tribe priest, if you want that thing that allows the orcs to walk on the sea, then after we drive out the invading tribes and reclaim the other coastal tribes, it will all belong to our three tribes."
Seeing that the Shark Tribe priest was completely on his side, the Sea Tribe priest quickly replied, "That's right. Our three tribes are rooted in the seaside. For the sake of the seaside's stability, we must join forces to drive them away."
The shark tribe priest was delighted by this and immediately declared his intention to join forces with the sea tribe. However, the whale tribe priest, because of the sea tribe's previous act of cutting off their water supply, didn't entirely trust the sea tribe priest. But he had no better option but to follow both tribes.
In any case, their Whale Tribe is a large tribe by the sea. How can they allow an outside tribe to run rampant on their territory?
——
In the Beast City Saltworks, during winter salt production, snowflakes fall into the sea. To prevent the seawater from freezing, the orcs at the saltworks need to constantly stir the water to prevent it from freezing.
Winter is cold, and the physical labor is even more demanding than in the other three seasons. Many beastmen couldn't endure it and died from the cold, hunger, or exhaustion. After a winter, the salt fields visibly had far fewer beastmen.
Snake Forest waited all winter, but the High Priest of Beast City didn't come to the salt fields even once. He later asked the old orc, who said that the High Priest rarely came to Beast City in winter. He came most often in spring.
With those words in mind, Shelin gritted his teeth and persevered. He was now so thin that he was no different from a slave in the saltworks.
Spring arrived, and the Serpent Forest counted down the days until the High Priest finally arrived.
When the high priest arrived, all the beast slaves had to kneel on the ground to greet him, and were not allowed to raise their heads. Snake Forest was unwilling; he only knelt before the Beast God and those who submitted from the bottom of their hearts. But now he was at the saltworks, and no matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to kneel.
Snake Forest held his breath, focusing all his attention on the High Priest of Beast City, keeping track of the distance between them.
He had to make sure that his voice could be heard immediately, otherwise he would surely die.
A pair of shoes, unlike ordinary animal hide shoes, far more ornate and exquisite, appeared before the snake forest. He silently chanted, "Come here... come here..."
The shoes turned around three steps away from him. Snake Forest knew he couldn't wait any longer, so he took a deep breath and called out loudly, "High Priest! I have something to offer you!"
As Shelin finished speaking, a deathly silence fell over the surroundings. Only a deep, powerful male voice rang out, "Since when have beast slaves been allowed to speak freely without permission?"
The saltworks' chief commander and the squad leaders following behind the man immediately knelt down. The chief commander trembled and said, "High Priest, I will drag him out and beat him to death right now."
Snake Forest knew that the High Priest of Beast City was unlike any other orc or priest he had ever encountered, and he also knew that the lowly beast slaves of the salt fields were the lowest of the low, in the eyes of both the High Priest and the other orcs. But he never imagined he wouldn't even have the right to speak…
Snake Forest pretended not to hear the words that he was going to be killed, and gritted his teeth and said, "High Priest, I have a kind of divine blood here. As long as you drink enough, no matter how serious the injury is, it will be healed."
The footsteps grew closer, and Snake Forest knew he had attracted the High Priest's attention. A surge of joy filled him, and he looked up, only to have the High Priest of Beast City stomp on his face, knocking him backward. Snake Forest couldn't see the other's face clearly, but he knew the tone was filled with extreme disgust and loathing. "Who gave you permission to look up? How dare this lowly slave look at me?"
Snake Forest, his face being stepped on, was speechless. He gently shook his head.
“It’s filthy.” With that, he lifted his foot, and the saltworks captain, who was not far away, quickly crawled over on his knees and used his sleeve to wipe the high priest’s shoes.
The high priest kicked the captain aside and looked down at the snake forest, who was kneeling on the ground again. "Where is the divine blood you spoke of?"
Snake Forest felt excruciating pain on his face. He said in a deep voice, "That divine blood is in the Wood Tribe. I am willing to risk my life to go to the Wood Tribe again in place of the High Priest."
"Again?" the man asked, sensing the hidden meaning in Snake Forest's words.
She Lin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Since the other beastmen were willing to listen to him continue, there was hope. He quickly said, "Because the Ninth Young Master sent me and several beastmen from the Beast City before, apart from me, the other beastmen should have been killed by the Wood Tribe beastmen. It was during that trip that I accidentally learned that the Wood Tribe beastman named Ze was the one with divine blood."
The Namu tribe not only has powerful orcs, but their tribe is also surrounded by high stone walls, and their priests can even manipulate trees and vines. To bring back the divine blood, more orcs will need to be sent.
The man grabbed She Lin's hair, clearly flustered, "What did you say!"
A sharp pain shot through Snake Forest's scalp, and he finally got a clear look at what the legendary High Priest looked like. The man appeared to be the size of an orc who had only lived through twenty-odd winters, but he had a burn scar on the right side of his face, while the left side was quite handsome.
"To bring back the divine blood, you must..." Snake Forest replied painfully.
"The sentence before that!"
Snake Forest was startled by the other party's fierce gaze. He swallowed hard. "The priests of the Wood Tribe can control trees and vines..."
Mu Qing frowned deeply. How could this be? He had killed all the priests who possessed the power of inheritance. How could they reappear after so many years?
Whatever the reason, if one appears, he'll kill another; if two appear, he'll kill two more. After figuring this out, Mu Qing released the sticky hair from his hands; the feel and smell disgusted him. "Take this orc away and clean him up, then bring him to see me."
...
With sufficient manpower, the Wood Tribe was able to quickly build the school dormitories. After receiving Shen Nong's notification, Yu Ji made a special trip back to the tribe on the day the Feather Tribe beastmen came to deliver goods.
He said during the winter that once the place where the Wood Tribe studied writing was completed and the houses were habitable, he would return and bring the beastmen to the Wood Tribe to learn writing. He would bring all the children from the entire tribe.
The Feather Tribe people were overjoyed. Whenever they had free time, they would look up at the sky to see if their priest had returned to call them to the Wood Tribe to learn the written language.
When Yu Ji returned this time, he took almost half of the tribe with him. It wasn't that he brought a lot of people; the main reason was that the Feather Tribe's orcs were working for the Wood Tribe, and they were constantly flying around to different places. The Feather Tribe was already quite empty, and the tribe could only gather its members during the winter.
All that remained, besides the guards, were the children and the elderly who were too frail to move. Now even the children were gone, leaving only the guards and the elderly in the Feather Tribe.
Yu Ji looked towards the tribe from mid-air, wondering if he should move the tribe to the vicinity of the Wood Tribe. That way, Ying Xi could learn how to fight from the Wood Tribe's military guard, and the elders could do some work to earn some good meat for themselves.
Once the idea took hold, it was impossible to erase, but I still needed to discuss it with Eagle Creek and obtain the High Priest's consent.
If the high priest doesn't agree, the other affiliated tribes certainly won't want a new tribe to suddenly appear around them.
With the addition of the children from the Feather Tribe, Shen Nong's fifth task now includes a long list of orcs, with the number of characters they have learned being tallied.
Even a small fly is still meat; little by little, it adds up. Now, by learning to read from the beastmen, he has accumulated 100,000 infrastructure points, enough to buy a Marrow Cleansing Pill.
Moreover, he recently discovered that the tribal priests who weren't chosen by him to take the Marrow Cleansing Pill were learning to read exceptionally fast, gaining dozens of infrastructure points every day when their names were updated. Furthermore, according to reports from the team leaders, these tribal orcs were also working particularly hard.
They eagerly volunteered for any dirty or strenuous work, especially digging the moat, which was incredibly exhausting. After a day of that work, the orcs were too tired to move.
They rushed forward one after another as if they had found some treasure.
Shen Nong could guess what it was all about. After all, while Lu Shuang and the others hadn't publicized their training, they hadn't deliberately hidden it either. It was normal for the priests to know after so long.
They probably thought he chose Shanfeng and his group because these tribal orcs did a good job, so they were eager to show off in front of him.
However, among the remaining priests, their spirit cores were not very pure. Even if they had awakened, it would take them several years to advance to the next level. Marrow Cleansing Pills weren't candy, and Shen Nong didn't have enough infrastructure points to buy them.
This matter couldn't be delayed any longer, so Shen Nong took some time to gather the priests together.
He didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "The orcs do a good job, and the various teams of the Wood Tribe will reward them according to their regulations. However, the reason why Mountain Wind and the others have the ability to manipulate nature is because they themselves contain a huge amount of energy, enough for them to control."
I won't beat around the bush or use fancy words today. You all have this kind of energy, but far too little. Even if you awaken, controlling and upgrading it would take at least five or ten years. If I had enough awakening pills here, I wouldn't have so many concerns; one for each person wouldn't be out of the question.
Unfortunately, I have very few awakening pills left. If any of you hold a grudge against me or the priests who have awakened their abilities because of this, bring it up now, and I will sever the contract attached to the crystal. If you bring it up after today, I won't be so kind as to help you sever it. Even if you are unwilling, you will be bound by the crystal and loyal to the Wood Tribe.”
Sometimes it's like this: if you don't have something, and others don't have it either, everyone feels comfortable. But when someone who started on the same footing has something you don't, there's always a sense of imbalance.
Those who can let go will only dwell on it for a moment and then move on. Those who can't will hold onto it and torment themselves for a lifetime.
Shen Nong's words were clear, and the priests understood them. They lowered their heads and remained silent. Shen Nong did not urge them, giving them ample time to think.
The old priest of the River Tribe stood up, bowed to Shen Nong, and said earnestly, "High Priest, I was wrong. In the past, when the Salt Tribe and the Cannibals were around, we lived every day in fear of starving to death, freezing to death, being captured as human shields, and being sent to the Cannibals to be eaten."
Our tribe is slowly getting better; our people have enough to eat and wear, our children can learn to read and write, and our chief and hunting party can learn how to fight in the military guard. All of this is thanks to the high priest. This made me forget for a moment that the high priest didn't have to give all of this..."
The old priest's words awakened the two or three priests in the room who were unhappy because only Shanfeng and his companions had gained the ability to control nature. They had truly been blinded by greed; the high priest could have given them nothing at all. These people felt very uneasy and restless.
They never wanted to leave in the first place, and once they realized they couldn't obtain the ability to control nature, the priests were quite indifferent. After the old priest finished speaking, they all stood up to express their opinions. The two or three who were initially dissatisfied also quickly stood up and chose to continue following the Wood Tribe.
The priests all swore an oath to the beast god, "From now on, we will all obey the high priest's orders."
After everything was laid out, Shen Nong felt much more at ease.
As the weather gradually warmed up, spring was coming to an end. The beastmen of the clothing-making team were finally able to use the linen provided by the cloth-making team to begin making summer clothes.
Both the clothing-making team and the cloth-making team were led by Shen Shier. Originally, the two teams were separated for two reasons: first, the clothing-making team already existed and mainly made animal skin and fish skin clothing; second, it was for the purpose of division of labor and increasing efficiency.
However, the cloth-making team now has a problem: they've run out of raw materials for making linen. According to the timeline in the Beast World, the first harvest of ramie won't be available for another two or three months. To prevent the orcs in the cloth-making team from being idle, Shen Twelve gathered everyone from both teams together and taught them all how to make clothes.
Chapter 113
sugar cane
The Beast World has always been a place of barter. As the Wood Tribe developed, all the surrounding tribes became its subordinate tribes.
Although the tribes were not yet at the point where they had no worries about food and clothing, Shen Nong also discovered that these tribes of beastmen would use the meat and animal hides they obtained to exchange for various furniture, seasonings, and earthen houses and brick houses.
Bartering is no longer suitable for trade between tribes.
Shen Nong brought the concept of "money" to the forefront of the tribes' attention.
From now on, orcs working for the Wood Tribe will no longer be given cured meat or animal hides. Instead, they will be given silver and copper coins.