But as a shaman, he could hardly go against the will of the people. He thought to himself that he still needed to find something else to compensate Ethan.

Nathan Reed was the chieftain elected by the people of the Black Python tribe, a giant even taller than Samuel Clark.

Both his cheeks were covered with dark blue python-head totem tattoos, and his muscular arms, even thicker than a black python, were exposed. His right arm was wrapped in blue veins, extending all the way to his bare, hairy chest, which from a distance looked as if it was covered in snake scales.

Nathan Reed held a pitch-black refined steel spear in his hand, his whole body radiating strength, as if he could hurl the spear like lightning at any moment.

He glanced at Ethan Brooks without saying a word, but with uncontrollable joy, pondering the cause of death of this Black-Scaled Jiao:

“How could this Black Jiao have been struck dead by heavenly thunder? Did this beast think it could withstand the thunder, and ran up the ridge during a storm to seek its own death?”

“Give thanks to the Ancestor Spirit, but do not show disrespect to the Jiao,” Edward Clark said solemnly. “Legend has it that wild beasts live for a thousand years, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and can form a demon core. This Black Jiao has roamed the mountains and forests for three to five hundred years, perhaps it had reached a critical stage in its cultivation and wanted to draw lightning to temper its body, only to be killed by the thunder. If not for the protection of the ancestral spirits, the Northern Ridge might have produced a Jiao demon…”

Hearing Edward Clark say this, everyone felt a lingering fear.

A Jiao beast, though powerful, could still be slain if it left the mountains and the higher-ranked warriors of the tribes or even the Sky Barbarians joined forces. But if a true Jiao demon emerged deep within Mangya Ridge, the surrounding area would likely become uninhabitable.

On the other hand, the flesh and blood of wild exotic beasts are precious and nourishing. If this Black-Scaled Jiao had reached the stage of drawing lightning to temper its body, just how pure and potent would its flesh, bones, and blood be?

“If only we could capture a live Jiao, that would be even better. Thirty years ago, didn’t the Black Python tribe catch a live Jiao cub?” Samuel Clark still felt unsatisfied, licking his thick lips as he spoke.

“If you want to hunt a live Jiao, wait until you become a Sky Barbarian,” Edward Clark said with a twisted grin, seeing Samuel Clark's greed.

“There are hundreds of tribes around Mangya Ridge, but how many Sky Barbarians are there?” Nathan Reed said with deep emotion. “We are truly blessed by the Ancestor Spirit this time.”

Edward Clark said, “This Black Jiao has only been dead for a day, and there is still a remnant soul inside. You all guard the area while I seal the remnant soul within the Black Jiao. In three days, we will hold a soul-sacrifice beast feast, which will be even more effective…”

Hearing the shaman Edward Clark say this, the powerful warriors Samuel Clark, Nathan Reed, and the others spread out to guard the four directions.

Edward Clark then had his grandson Henry Clark carry Ethan Brooks farther away before he raised his bone staff and began chanting strange and mysterious syllables.

Most of the warriors of the Black Python tribe were physically strong force barbarians, while the shaman Edward Clark was a one-in-a-hundred shamanic barbarian.

In these three years, Ethan Brooks had been taken in by Edward Clark, but had rarely seen him perform shamanic secret arts.

Now, as Henry Clark carried him to a distant riverbank, he naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity. Ignoring his battered and bruised body, he lay in the grass, watching how Edward Clark performed his shamanic secret arts.

He saw that the usually unremarkable bone staff, under Edward Clark's increasingly loud chanting, seemed to gather the morning light that shrouded the earth, forming a faint python-shaped aura behind Edward Clark's thin body.

The python-shaped aura was enormous, nearly ten meters tall, exuding a terrifying and ferocious presence.

As Edward Clark continued chanting, the python-shaped aura became more and more solid, the cold, gleaming snake scales clearly visible, and the aura grew ever stronger, stirring the surroundings until a howling gale arose.

Was this the Black Python barbarian soul awakened by shaman Edward Clark?

Under the pressure of Edward Clark's Black Python barbarian soul, Ethan Brooks's consciousness was violently shaken, as if huge waves were crashing within him. Just as the python-shaped aura lunged at the Black-Scaled Jiao like lightning, the long-dead beast suddenly began to tremble violently.

Though there was no sound, deep in Ethan Brooks's mind, he could hear the remnant soul of the Black-Scaled Jiao roaring in defiance.

The furious roar quickly formed surging waves, crashing again and again against Ethan Brooks's consciousness.

Ethan Brooks felt as if he was under immense pressure, his head about to burst, and he nearly fainted from the relentless onslaught.

Beside him, Henry Clark's muscles were also taut, silently enduring the impact of the Black Jiao's remnant soul's shriek.

Ethan Brooks gritted his teeth and held on with all his might. He didn’t know how much time had passed before the Jiao beast’s corpse finally calmed down, and the shrieking remnant soul in his mind faded away, as if nothing had happened.

Was the remnant soul sealed just like that?

Was the sealing of the remnant soul meant for the soul-sacrifice?

Ethan Brooks's mind was filled with questions. He hadn’t expected that even the remnant soul of a dead Jiao beast would be so powerful, requiring the shaman Edward Clark to use all his strength to seal it. If it were alive, how terrifying would it be?

The shaman Edward Clark's wrinkled forehead was beaded with sweat the size of soybeans. He thought to himself that he really was getting old, and directed several warriors to bring out huge logs and ropes, preparing to carry the nearly three-thousand-jin giant beast over the mountains and back to the village.

Chapter 005 The State of Life in the Wilds