?Chapter 880: Volume 6 Spirit Treasures Chapter 877 Heron Branch Chapter 880: Volume 6 Spirit Treasures Chapter 877 Heron Branch A caravan of about thirty people was making its solitary way across the vast grasslands.


    There were only seven or eight vehicles, but the horseback riders in leather attire nearby were all very young, brimming with energy, and some were merely children of eleven or twelve.


    At the forefront of the caravan rode an elder dressed in splendid attire, mounted on a yellow steed.


    Adorned with a flaming fox fur cap, his forehead marked with deep, blade-like wrinkles, his face slightly purplish, he cinched at his waist a tri-color brocade belt that signified his status.


    This was the emblem of the leader of a branch.


    This place was already the southern part of the Heaventide Prairies.


    This was a caravan of the Soaring Tribes on its way to the Holy Temple to present tributes.


    The “Heaventide Prairies” is what the Soaring Tribes call the Moulan Prairies because they have long worshiped the rumored Heaventide Beast as their guardian deity, offering it their devotion generation after generation, thus giving the grassland its name.


    Originally the Soaring Tribes only occupied the southern half of the Heaventide Prairies, but since defeating their sworn enemies, The Moulan, thirty years ago in a battle in the central grasslands, they have taken over the entire expanse.


    Their power surged dramatically, leaving no rivals on the grasslands.


    Of course, with the enormous size of the Soaring Tribes, the number of their internal branches was immeasurable.


    From small branches with tens of thousands to super branches with populations over a hundred million, they sprawled across the entire grassland.


    And with the numerous meritorious individuals in the last holy war, quite a few new independent branches emerged.


    Some of these branches were not small, while others were trivial in comparison, with populations of only tens of thousands.


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    The elder belonged to the Heron Branch, a small branch that had split off from a larger one.


    Though it could be called a branch, in reality, it had only seventy to eighty thousand people.


    This elder, named Ying Lu, fought bravely in his youth and during the holy war, he had successively defeated several small Moulan branches and captured numerous nobles, securing his current status.


    Yet now, unable to withstand the ravages of time and years of hard work, his body appeared aged, despite being only in his fifties.


    It was now midday.


    The elder glanced at the scorching sun high in the sky and then turned to look back at the young children in the caravan, heaving a long sigh.


    In theory, regardless of its size, each branch should have a certain number of Immortal Masters.


    Otherwise, in the event of natural disasters or demon beast attacks, ordinary mortals would be utterly defenseless.


    However, their newly formed small branch could not attract any Immortal Master, not even the lowest-ranked ones were willing to stay in such a diminutive branch.


    After all, for Immortal Masters, the larger and wealthier the branch they joined, the better, as it could supply them with ample resources for cultivation.


    While some small branches might have low-ranked Immortal Masters, these were usually individuals who originated from these branches or had such poor cultivation aptitude that the larger branches were unwilling to support them, which left them with no choice but to stay.


    The Heron Branch where the elder resided had not had the chance to cultivate their own Immortal Master, so when issues arose, they could only pay a hefty sum to hire low-ranked Immortal Masters from neighboring branches.


    But these Immortal Masters also commanded very high prices, with just a few interventions costing almost half a year’s income for the entire branch, exacerbating the hardship of the already not-so-wealthy Heron Branch.


    Fortunately, the Spirit Awakening Ceremony that occurred once every twenty years was approaching.


    Having long been concerned about this, Ying Lu naturally could not afford to miss it.


    He immediately led a few young tribespeople with Spiritual Roots to the nearest Heaventide Sanctuary.


    Originally, the Heaventide Sanctuary was built to honor the Heaventide Holy Beast, but after many years of change, it had become a sacred site in the hearts of the Soaring Tribes, a place dedicated to training low-ranked Immortal Masters of the Soaring Tribes.


    Each Sanctuary had several High-order Immortal Masters responsible for teaching basic cultivation methods.


    Those with mediocre talent would return to their respective branches to be supported once they had made some achievements, while those with promising prospects would be taken as disciples by those high-grade cultivators for special training.


    Ordinary mortals who had not undergone the Spirit Awakening Ceremony were strictly forbidden from being taught Immortal Techniques by high-grade Immortal Masters privately.


    There were not many of these Sanctuaries, only sixty or seventy, but they were evenly distributed across the grassland, with each being the central location of a vast area surrounded by thousands of branches, large and small.


    As the only Sanctuary in the region, the larger branches were naturally closer to the Sanctuary, but the Heron Tribe, being too small, was assigned a very distant location.


    It would take a three-month journey to reach the Sanctuary from the branch.


    Left with no choice, Ying Lu had led a team from the tribe four months earlier.


    During the last Spirit Awakening Ceremony, although he had already established his branch, he failed to gather enough tributes and could only watch as the opportunity passed by.


    This time, Ying Lu was determined not to miss it again, even if it meant the whole branch would have to tighten their belts for several years, they must secure their own Immortal Master.


    However, carrying tributes across such a vast expanse of grasslands was extremely dangerous for them.


    After all, the tributes were highly useful for Immortal Masters and were incredibly precious and rare for ordinary mortals.


    Many unscrupulous individuals would take this opportunity to rob weak caravans, and even some corrupt Immortal Masters might take action.


    This was not an uncommon occurrence during the period of the Spirit Awakening Ceremony.


    Branches closer to the Sanctuary were somewhat better off, as they were deterred by the reputation of the Sanctuary and dared not be too bold.


    But for branches as far away as theirs, the danger was extreme.


    It was said that in the last cycle, a medium-sized branch in this region disappeared mysteriously on their way to the Sanctuary with nearly a thousand year-old Spiritual Medicine among their tributes, after the word got out.


    Not a single person was found.


    As a result, numerous people were spreading rumors that some high-order immortal master from a major tribe coveted this treasure and thus, had resorted to murder and robbery.


    The Holy Temple was naturally incensed by the incident, and it was said that they had sent out their own immortal masters to investigate.


    However, no one knew why the matter had just fizzled out.


    So although the offerings were fully prepared this time, the absence of an immortal master leading the procession caused the chief of the Heron Tribe to become restless from the moment they set out.


    During the period of the Spirit Awakening Ceremony, the sorcerers from all the tribes were equally busy accompanying groups to the Holy Temple.


    Even if they had spirit stones, nobody was willing to be employed.


    By chance, a few wandering sorcerers were snatched up by nearby larger tribes with generous offers of gold.


    As the weakest tribal leader, Ying Lu could only watch helplessly.


    Thinking of this, the elder sighed deeply and couldn’t help but glance back.


    Among the seven or eight carts behind him, four were loaded with offerings, all pulled by carefully selected steeds from the tribe.


    These carts also held the esteemed title of being made from the tribe’s sturdiest red birch wood.


    Of course, to avoid drawing attention, every vehicle appeared tattered and extremely old on the surface.


    But it was a fortunate thing they had taken these precautions, otherwise, they might already have encountered trouble.


    Even so, during the last skirmish with a small pack of wolves, the group had nearly suffered casualties.


    But to break free from the wolf pack, the caravan had been forced to abandon the two slowest carts to ensure their safe passage to this point.


    Although those two carts didn’t contain anything of value, they had been packed with most of the food the travelers would need for the next two months.


    It seemed they would have to make an unplanned stop on the road in the upcoming days.


    In two days’ travel, there should be a canyon nearby.


    The place was rarely visited by anyone, and it could be hopeful to hunt some wild bulls or sheep there.


    With this in mind, the elder turned back to caress the hard wooden bow hanging on his saddle, his face revealing a contemplative expression.


    “Eh!


    What’s that?” Suddenly, a crisp female voice full of surprise came from beside the elder.


    It was that of a fair and graceful young girl following closely behind the elder.


    This girl was named Ying Shan, about fifteen or sixteen years old, a junior relative of Ying Lu and one of the few in the tribe found to possess a Spiritual Root.


    Naturally, she was very dear to Ying Lu.


    Startled by her words, the elder quickly looked up.


    Indeed, not far ahead in a thicket of dense bushes, there were flickers of green light moving erratically, as if something was inside them.


    He clearly remembered that just before he turned back, there had been no such light in that direction.


    A chill ran through the elder’s heart.


    As a tribal leader, he was quite familiar with the sudden thought flashed past emitted when an immortal master cast spells.


    Could it be that some immortal master really intended to strike at their impoverished caravan?


    With heavy concern, Ying Lu abruptly raised his hand, and the procession behind him came to an abrupt halt.


    The others too saw the green light in the bushes ahead and their faces involuntarily showed panic and wariness.


    The elder forcefully calmed himself and pulled back on the reins, standing still, but his mind raced with thoughts, desperately figuring out how to protect themselves.


    But shortly after, the elder realized something was amiss.


    Though the green light in the bushes flickered ceaselessly, no immortal master appeared, nor were any immortal techniques cast.


    Ying Lu’s eyes brightened, and he peered intently into the thicket.


    The bushes were so densely packed they were as tall as a man, making it impossible to see clearly.


    “Tu Meng!


    Go and see if there’s truly an immortal master over there,” the elder suddenly instructed after a few moments, his gaze shifting.


    “Yes, chief!” A robust and fierce-looking young man from the caravan was taken aback but quickly responded and dismounted, cautiously approaching the thick bushes twenty yards away.


    When he was merely five or six yards from the glow, the young man hesitated and subconsciously slowed his steps.


    “Would any immortal master present kindly reveal themselves?


    We are from the Heron Tribe and have come to pay our respects,” the young man, who seemed to have some status within the Heron Tribe, spoke with a refined manner and also wore a respectful expression.


    However, the bushes continued to ripple with spiritual light, with no response.


    Seeing this, the young man looked back at the elder.


    After a brief pause and a silent nod from the elder in return, the young man felt emboldened and silently stepped toward the bushes.


    Upon arriving at the bushes, the young man hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and parting the foliage in front of him.


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