Perfect World

Chapter 3 - Guardian Spirit

The sacrificial platform was made from layers of huge rocks. It was quite wide, and its establishment neighbored the old and broken willow tree. Upon it lied a small mountain of fierce beasts.

Sanguine beast blood dyed the large stone platform scarlet as it trickled along the engravings on the face of the stone. A brilliant red shone on the tough and long beasts' fur, and cold light flickering on their scales malevolent horns as well. It was a horrifying scene that shook one's heart, and there was a bitter desolate air assaulting everyone's nostrils.

Under the guidance of the old Chief, Stone Village's residents all gathered to pray and request for the Willow Tree's protection. This was a solemn event of offering sacrifices, as well as a type of usual practice. This was carried out each time a hunt ended.

The scorched black tree's body stayed just as quiet as before, as if it didn't react in the slightest. It never used the offerings as always, but some of the village residents knew that it actually had a spirit!

Finally, the sacrificial procedures were finished. The villagers all released a large breath of air and once again happily smiled. They began to move the bodies of those fierce beasts in preparation of draining their blood and cutting them up.

"Many years have passed already, yet the guardian spirit hasn't moved once after our offerings. Do we still need to offer sacrifices every time?" A youngster murmured in a low voice.

"You stinky brat, what kind of garbage are you spouting!" His father's bronze eyes opened wide, and lifted his huge palm-leaf hands to beat him.

The old Chief gestured with his hands and stopped him from doing so. In a soft voice, he said, "We have offered sacrifices towards this guardian spirit, and it has provided for us. Only by remembering it sincerely within our hearts and treating it piously would it guard, bless and protect our village."

The youngster's face was completely red, and in hurriedly replied, "Chief, it's not that my heart is not sincere. It's just that I think that the guardian spirit does not really need all of these offerings, as it has never moved or utilized them."

"As long as your intent is good then that's enough." Shi Yunfeng patted his shoulders, and carefully explained.

The guardian spirit was also called the 'Spirit of Sacrifice'. It was an abbreviation for the tribe's 'Spirit of Sacrifice and Support'. It protected the village, and it intimidated the great desolate area's vicious beasts, keeping them away.

The village's Elder still remembered that this same guardian spirit was not quite the same ten years ago. There was instead a rather strange rock, and each time, the offerings would quickly lose more than half its blood essence from its absorption.

One day deep into the night, however, the old willow came, and that block of stone decided to go far away, and everything completely changed after that.

Thinking back to that rainy night, the old chief felt slightly distracted. That was when he was still a young youth, and at that time saw for himself that shocking and frightening scene.

During that late night, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and the heavy rainstorm was majestic. The rainstorm was violent till its utmost limits, and the mountains were heavily battered by the thunder and lightning. The mountain torrent seemed like an ocean, and vicious beasts were running away frantically like the tides; the scene was terrifying.

And right at that time, a large willow tree broke through the boundary of the heavens and appeared within the clouds. It bathed in the sea of thunder, and allowed the lighting from the mountains to course through itself. Tens of thousands of willow branches formed strips of burning divine chains and pierced into the heavens as if it was battling something