Chapter 43: Human Sacrifice

Guifang Kingdom, Ya Yi City.

This is the capital of the Guifang Kingdom, and also the only city in the Guifang Kingdom that is fully organized and scaled.

Unlike the feudal era in Li Li Boyang's impression.

This world is still in a relatively early slave-based primitive society, or even an earlier tribal clan stage.

Mountain villages like Li Family Village are the mainstream of this era.

Only those powerful tribes would break away from primitive fishing, farming, and forestry life, exhausting all efforts to build large cities capable of resisting attacks from other tribes.

This Ya Yi City was the capital built by the original Guifang tribe over more than ten years, consuming countless slaves and captives.

Ya Yi City covers an area of about seventy square kilometers, with the Wuding River as a natural barrier and water on three sides.

Because the entire city relies on cliffs tens of zhang high in the north and south as a shield.

And with the Wuding River as a natural barrier, it forms a terrain that is easy to defend but hard to attack.

At the same time, in the long-term life of the Guifang people.

Ya Yi City has naturally formed divisions into an inner city, outer city, residential area, commercial area, and sacrificial area.

Among these, the outer city is the outermost ring, allowing people from other tribes and mountain villagers to enter and trade basic supplies.

As for the inner city, separated alone by the two city walls on the east and west?

That is the core area that only true Guifang residents can enter.

In fact, this inner city not only has magnificent architecture and hard-surfaced roads far beyond this era, but even established dedicated granaries to store grain.

Walking along the roads of the inner city to the end leads to the most important area of Ya Yi City, and indeed the entire Guifang Kingdom—the Priest Temple.

Towering buildings stand in the center, with hundreds of slaves toiling hard within them.

And under the protection of those towering buildings, a high platform dedicated to sacrifices is holding a ritual to sacrifice to the Five Directional Gods.

Starting from the most basic chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep, to the slaves or prisoners selected as human sacrifices...

With every priest's hand raising the knife and striking down, a fresh life is ended.

When those rolling human heads are thrown into the sacrificial pit, the surrounding crowd lets out excited howls.

Perhaps because gods exist in this world...

Or perhaps due to the influence of some other unknown factors...

This barbaric nation, which still practices "human sacrifice," has already developed relatively complete bronze and ironware.

The most primitive stone tools have long been eliminated, and various bronze utensils can be seen everywhere...

As for the priests conducting the sacrificial rituals?

They each hold sharp iron tools, their faces filled with longing and worship for this sacrificial ritual.

If Li Li Boyang were present at this moment, he would be surprised to find that the iron tools in the priests' hands are far sharper and stronger than in his impression.

Let alone compared to iron weapons from the feudal period.

Even compared to high-carbon steel from the twenty-first century, these iron tools are in no way inferior.

Especially when the priests behead those human sacrifices, a faint luster appears on the corresponding sacrificial iron tools.

That is the blessing bestowed by the pleased Five Directional Gods—the fundamental reason why these sacrificial iron tools surpass their material nature.

"Truly a mad race..."

Overlooking the magnificent sacrificial platform below, E Tu, having taken human form, couldn't help but mutter quietly.

Looking across the entire natural world, E Tu has never seen such mad slaughter.

Not for fullness, nor for survival...

Purely killing for the sake of killing, and most of the targets are individuals of their own kind.

E Tu feels that even those evil gods and malevolent deities destined to bring disaster would not carry out such large-scale wanton slaughter.

"This is not madness; this is faith."

A calm voice came from inside the main hall, and a youth slowly walked out from within.

This youth wore exquisite black silk and held a skull scepter full of Guifang Kingdom style in his hand.

"The Five Directional Gods require our sacrifices, especially now that the Prison Soul Cauldron has been lost..."

"We must obtain more human sacrifices and blood offerings to regain the favor of the Five Directional Gods!"

The youth's name is Xuan Hui, the current candidate for Grand Priest of the Guifang Kingdom.

He is a genius who fought his way out of nearly a thousand candidates, a god-chosen one capable of communicating with the Five Directional Gods even before becoming the Grand Priest.

"More human sacrifices and blood offerings?"

Turning back to look at Xuan Hui with surprise, even some fear, E Tu asked in disbelief.

"You have already killed so many people; are you not afraid of triggering war again?"

Although E Tu is a spirit creature, he has at least mixed among human groups for so many years.

Therefore, E Tu knows better than anyone what it means for the Guifang Kingdom to launch such large-scale "human sacrifice."

"People?"

"Are you talking about those mountain villagers?"

A smile of disdain curled slightly at the corner of his mouth; Xuan Hui's words made E Tu feel fear.

"They are just a flock of two-legged sheep; they cannot be counted as people!"

"Those ignorant mountain villagers are like grass that cannot be eradicated; if one is not careful, they will emerge from the mountains and forests."

"If their blood can please the Five Directional Gods, then it will be their honor."

Xuan Hui's words also represented the mainstream thought of the Guifang Kingdom, and indeed of this era.

In the eyes of the rulers of this era, those mountain villagers are worthless.

Only during times of war or sacrifice would they capture large numbers of those mountain people, using them as cannon fodder and human offerings.

At other times, a ruler was considered relatively enlightened if they could merely dispatch some tribal members to the mountain people's villages to collect tributes.

Yes, in this era, the very concept of "taxation" did not even exist.

Collecting tributes and having the mountain people worship their gods was viewed by the rulers of this era as a complete act of grace.

After all, this was a world where gods truly existed.

Perhaps to outsiders, the faith of the Five Directional Gods seemed bloody and cruel.

But compared to those wild mountain gods who could not even respond, they were considered quite reliable true deities.

Primitive, yet not so primitive...

This was the characteristic of civilization in this era, and also the fundamental reason why Li Li Boyang could never determine exactly what era this was.

One could only say that the existence of "Primordial Qi" raised the upper limit of this world, yet also lowered the lower limit of this era.

"Never mind, these are your humans' own affairs."

Letting out a soft sigh, E Tu stopped dwelling on this issue and instead revealed the purpose of his visit here.

"I need some books, preferably related to medicine and herb classics."

"And ores; if possible, some bronze and iron ingots would be even better..."

After gazing silently at E Tu for a long time, Xuan Hui finally nodded.

"No problem, if this is your request..."

Monthly Pass / Recommendation Tickets

(End of Chapter)