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Chapter 175 Freedom
Everyone carried heavy sacrifices and headed towards the volcano.

The bare mountains tower above the ground, the slopes are not too steep, and they are covered by thick volcanic rock formations. These rock formations are accumulated by past eruptions. There are many jagged rocks, but fortunately formed by lava and volcanic ash deposits The ground is relatively flat and even, and it is not difficult to walk.

The previous earthquake caused the gravel on the mountain to roll down, overturned many trees, blocked the road, and caused many difficulties for everyone to travel.

The earth vibrated from time to time, and the closer you got to the mountain, the stronger the vibration felt. With each vibration, columnar smoke rose from the top of the mountain, and the rolling stones issued a stern warning to them.

But all this can not stop the high priest's footsteps.

Chi Tu said that there is a sacred flame in this mountain.

The crow has always been dubious, until this moment, he didn't believe it completely.

It was too hot, unnaturally hot.

The cold day has just passed, so it shouldn't be so hot.

The ground under his feet was hot, as if he had been exposed to the hot sun for a long time. He felt that he was stepping on hot charcoal. He seemed to be able to feel the surging flames under the ground. It was the scorching of the flames that caused the earth to suffer. to trembling.

He was scared.

If the flames, which are unbearable even to the earth, really erupted from the mountains, they would definitely die!
He turned his head to look at the others. The leopard skin and liver were equally terrified, but the barbarians showed no fear, especially the young high priest. Her eyes were firm and her steps were firm, and she had an inexplicably reassuring power.

Seeing this scene, the crow became even more disturbed.

A bunch of lunatics!They don't really think that they can control the flames!
It was evening when we arrived at the quarry camp.

The camp was in a mess. The simple shelters made of grass and trees were neither shockproof nor strong, and most of them fell apart. There were broken logs and stones everywhere. Scavengers followed the smell of blood and occupied the place. In the ruins, a pack of hyenas prowled the camp, looking for food left by the Twolegs.

"Go away!"

The hunters threw stones to drive away the hyenas, and they cleared a clearing to build a pyre of wood and hay.

After the ice and snow have melted, there is still damp water vapor in the vegetation, which is not easy to ignite.

The strange thing is that none of the hunters intended to start a fire. Instead, the high priest put her fisted hand on the woodpile. From the gap between her fingers, one could see something crimson in it. .

What kind of ceremony is this?

As soon as the crow had this idea, he heard a puff, and the firewood pile burst into a grand flame!

Immediately the crowd bowed down to the flames, and praised the high priest for his mercy.

Only the crow, leopard skin and leopard liver were stunned on the spot, and they couldn't believe their eyes!

This woman... can really control flames!
The three of them were terrified and couldn't help but look at Ziyan, only to see that the other party calmly withdrew his hand from the flames, unscathed!

Zi Yan noticed the gaze, turned her head to look, and met the eyes of the three.

The three hurriedly bent down, imitating the barbarian's movements, kneeling on the ground, and bowed to the flame.

Her strength may be stronger than Shanxi!
Priest Xueling can only use Xueling's power to cast a curse, but she can directly manipulate the flames!
The crow was terrified, and behaved more and more respectfully. Xue Ling's curse had already caused him a lot of suffering, and he didn't want to offend a more powerful fire priest.

He originally planned to wait for an opportunity to escape, but now he absolutely dare not act rashly.

As night fell, everyone was resting in the quarry camp. Everyone was tense and silent. A slight shock would make them react like a frightened bird. In their view, earthquakes are far more terrifying than flames, and even the high priest is powerless response.

"Crow, I heard that you are from the far north?" Zi Yan asked suddenly.

"Yes, my lord priest."

"What's it like there? Is it different from ours?"

Crow was a little surprised. Before that, no one asked him similar questions. No one cared about the past of a savage. Even Chi Tu paid more attention to his talent and never got to know him in depth.

Want to talk about something light-hearted, so as to relieve everyone's tension?

The crow pondered the intention of the high priest, and began to talk about the homeland that could not go back, and about the tribes living near the river valley camp.

Because he said before that their life was very difficult and they had to migrate, so he described it in the direction of hardship as much as possible, such as the Dahe Tribe who gnawed bark for a living, and the Big Tree Tribe who starved for nine meals in three days...

As he was talking, he suddenly remembered a story he heard at the tribal assembly. It was a very shocking story that left a deep impression on him. This story is enough to prove that the far north is a land full of disasters, and Not suitable for human survival.

The crow sighed, and said in a very heavy tone: "The environment there is much worse than here. Compared with the place where we live, what are the flames in the mountains? Long, long ago, there were ten suns in the northern sky. !"

Everyone gasped!
"You must think that this mountain is already very hot, but compared with ten suns, it is as cool as a cold day! You will never imagine how hot it is, the forest is scorched, the river is dried, and the earth Roasted, sucking fire with every breath..."

The mountain was already hot. After hearing the crow's description, everyone suddenly felt sweaty, and the air seemed to be a little hotter, making it unbearable.

The crow recounted the story of Hou Yi shooting the sun with embellishments.

Everyone looked terrified, but they couldn't stop their fear, and even temporarily forgot that they were in a dangerous situation, so they were fascinated by it.

Zi Yan was particularly fascinated. Since she could remember, she has been surrounded by people and protected by them. She cannot try risky things, and cannot go to dangerous places.

During the sacrifice, she stood on the top of the volcano and looked into the distance. She saw the forest covering the continuous mountains, showing colorful colors, seeing the lakes scattered on the ground, reflecting the golden light, and seeing the birds flying high without any restraint. The grassland is so vast, extending to the horizon, without end...

However, she can only be trapped in this small world, leading an unchanging life.

She's actually not happy.

But no one cares about her feelings. In other words, in the eyes of the tribe, the high priest is the embodiment of the fire spirit, and the tribe will do everything possible to protect her safety. Devouring, this is her fate.

The world of the ten suns described by the crow is terrifying, but it is also extremely novel, which aroused her strong curiosity.

"... Hou Yi sacrificed himself and saved everyone. In the end, there was only one sun left in the sky, which is the one we see now. People praised Hou Yi as a hero, praised his courage, and told his story. He Although he is dead, he will always live in our hearts."

The story ended here, and everyone was still immersed in the shocking and sad atmosphere, unable to speak for a long time.

They had no doubts about the veracity of the story, and having seen the High Priest's ability to manipulate flames, shooting down the sun did not seem impossible.

"It's amazing! I'm not as good as him!"

Ziyan admired it sincerely, then changed the subject and asked: "Are there any other stories? There must be! I want to hear more stories!"

"This……"

The crow was a little dumbfounded. Seeing the eager and curious look of the high priest, it seemed that he really wanted to hear the story, not just to ease the tense atmosphere.

After all, the high priest is just a young girl!

He remembered that at the tribal meeting, the Dahe Tribe told many stories, but at that time he was busy with women and procreating offspring, and his mind was not on it. Even the story of Hou Yi shooting the sun was heard from the tribe later.

Crow said apologetically, "This is the only one I can think of."

Zi Yan's disappointment was beyond words.

"I still remember one!"

"I remember one too!"

Zi Yan immediately regained her interest, sat up straight, and urged: "Speak quickly!"

Leopard skin and leopard liver respectively tell the stories of Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs and Pangu creating the world.

The earth was still shaking continuously, but everyone's attention was attracted by the two people's narration. These stories shocked them far more than the earthquake. Gu.

It was a very quiet night.

In the past, I could still hear the chirping of insects and birds in the forest, and occasionally the faint howling of wolves floating in the night sky. Tonight, only the crackling of burning firewood is left, and even the men don’t snore anymore. They all slept very lightly.

This is not a good sign.

Early the next morning, Ah Shui gave everyone a piece of soft and furry leather, and told them: "There is a lot of smoke near the crater, and the smoke is poisonous. If you inhale too much, you will feel sick, feel weak, and even die. .Wet the animal skin with water and cover the mouth and nose to block the poisonous gas."

Finally, when it was time to head towards the top of the mountain, the top of the mountain continued to spew out thick columns of smoke, like water vapor coming out after boiling water, but everyone knew that it was not water vapor, and what was boiling inside the mountain was not water, but rocks!

The mountain's anger is so strong that even rocks can be burned!
This is the knowledge passed down from the ancestors, but no one has seen the lava with their own eyes, including the oldest terracotta and blue flames, and the volcano has been dormant for a long time.

Everyone was apprehensive, but when they thought of the story of Hou Yi shooting the sun and opening up the world, they all mustered up their courage.What is Dashan's anger compared to ten days of volleying in the sky, compared to the fact that the world has not yet opened?
The more you go to the top of the mountain, the hotter the air is, and the scalding heat wave blows towards your face, engulfing everyone, except for Zi Yan, who is not afraid of heat or fire, everyone else is frowning.

The crow said last night that "every breath is like sucking fire", he really feels this way now, when he sucks, his lungs feel like they are burning, and when he exhales, he seems to be able to breathe out fire!How uncomfortable it is!
Everyone covered their mouths and noses with wet animal skins, and entered the smoky mountain top area.

The crow stayed in the quarry for a cold day, but this was the first time he climbed to the top of the mountain. It was different from all the mountains he had climbed before. The cone-shaped mountain top was sunken inward, forming a huge pothole, thick smoke It is sprayed out with a heat wave, and the strong sulfur smell fills the nasal cavity, making people suffocate!

He stood on the edge of the crater, only three or four steps away from the hole. He heard explosions erupting in the hole like the roar of wild beasts. Peeking into the pothole.

The gray smoke blocked his vision, making him unable to see clearly. He could only vaguely see the crimson color under the smoke. Could that be the flame hidden in the mountain... No, where is this flame?It is simply the lake of fire!
The fire in the mountains can actually flow, just like water!
How can flame flow like water?Could it be snow?

It must be like this... Snow is the source of all things, it can turn into anything, it turned into flames, this is a curse on me, Snow Spirit came to me, and it didn't let me go!
Crow's face was pale, and he hurriedly backed away a few steps, not daring to look any further, for fear that the flames would suddenly spew out and engulf him.

Zi Yan also glanced into the crater, the "water level" of the lava lake is not very high, it seems that it will not erupt immediately.

"Put everything here," she ordered.

Everyone put down their sacrifices, thinking that the sacrifice was about to begin, but the high priest called them down the mountain.

The people didn't understand, so when they saw the high priest walking down the mountain without saying a word, they had no choice but to follow.

After leaving the "poisonous gas area", Qing Yan asked: "Zi Yan, what are you doing?"

Zi Yan stopped and said, "Go down the mountain, hurry up and get away from here, the farther the better. I can solve the rest of the matter by myself."

"Nonsense!" Qing Yan reprimanded, "The reason why we stayed here is to help you complete the sacrifice, we are all here, how can we leave you and leave?"

Everyone agreed one after another, unwilling to leave.

"It's enough for you to help me carry the sacrifice up."

For the next thing, even if you stay, you won't be able to help... Ziyan added in her heart, took off the sacrificial commander at her waist, grabbed Ah Shui's hand, and tried to stuff it into her hand, but Ah Shui held on tightly. Clenched fists, desperate to answer.

"Hear me out!"

Ziyan raised her voice, looked into Ah Shui's eyes, and said seriously: "I'm not afraid of fire, even red stones can't be burned, but the priest is not resistant to fire, so you keep it for me and return it to me when I come back. If I don't come back, then you will be the next high priest, and you must lead the people away from this mountain and never come back!"

"Purple smoke..."

Ah Shui almost cried.

Zi Yan didn't change her expression, she firmly stuffed Ji Ling into her hand, and then looked at Qing Yan, Qing Yan had a serious face, with a look of refraining from oil and salt.

She knew that no matter what she said, Qing Yan would definitely go with her, this was his duty and pride as a priest.

She sighed, without dissuading her, and turned to Chitu and the stonemasons: "Go back and continue making sacrificial vessels. When I come back, if you don't see enough sacrificial vessels, I will scold you!"

She paused, her eyes finally fell on the crow, and said with a smile: "I owe you a favor, what do you want?"

"I don't want anything."

"No, you have. Didn't you say it? You want to go to the warm south, to a place without snow, this is not your destination. Crow, leopard skin, leopard liver, I give you freedom, go, go Wherever you want to go, don't be caught by the people from the bottom of the mountain!"

Crow waited for the three of them to be stunned, raised his head and looked at Zi Yan for a moment, confirming that she was not joking, Crow hurriedly thanked Chitu, and then thanked Chitu for his care during this period.

Chitu opened his mouth, and was about to say something, but saw the crow turn away with the leopard skin and liver without hesitation, and he didn't want to stay for a moment.

He suddenly felt his spirits fade, and turned his head to bid farewell to the high priest.

"Ah Shui, let's go."

Ah Shui was dragged away by Chi Tu and a group of masons.

Zi Yan, Qing Yan, and several hunters who voluntarily stayed stood on the mountainside, watching everyone leave, and when everyone disappeared from sight, she turned around and sank into the lingering smoke.

(End of this chapter)