Seeing the cavalry around him line up to reconnoiter the battle array, sitting on the earthen platform, Zhang Lisheng looked around and said in a low voice, "Let's go." Two words.

In an instant, the entire scout force escorted four monster-like clay creations, like a giant beast with a head and tail for thousands of kilometers, and galloped towards the high ground under the cover of night.

The highest altitude shown on the satellite map obtained by Zhang Lisheng from the general of the earth garrison of the 'Sea Shrimp No. 2 World Frontier' is 4,800 meters, but because of its flat ground on all sides, it gradually climbs, and the peculiar landform of the high uplift in the center has an average altitude of only about 3,200 meters.

However, even so, the harsh climate and natural environment unique to the plateau are enough to make it impossible for ordinary organisms to survive.

The Wuli scouts surrounded their gods and galloped all night on the slopes, the vegetation around them thinning out, the tall green was long gone, and the endless desert was dotted with clumps of low trees and lichens.

At dawn, the huge stars unique to the plateau slowly receded in the sky, and a red sun faintly revealed a red outline on the barren horizon in the distance of the pole, and in this rising sun, a dilapidated barbarian tribal camp broke into Zhang Lisheng's eyes.

At this time, it was less than a day before the scouts raided the barbarian tribe, and after the scaffolds were cut down, the smoldering wisps of green smoke were still emitting from the smoldering beast skin tents scattered on the ground, but a group of hungry wolves had gathered among the corpses everywhere.

Not far away, there are many greedy beasts such as badger dogs and wild jackals scurrying around the camp anxiously, waiting to taste the leftovers after the wolves have eaten their fill.

"Is this the camp where those barbarians were captured?" Zhang Lisheng stood up on the earthen platform. He asked, pointing ahead.

The morning wind blew on the young man's body, scraping the robe made of clay and hunting, and the sun behind him slowly rose, emitting infinite brilliance, reflecting on his body, revealing an indescribable majesty, and before the Wuli scout column approached the abandoned camp, hundreds of hungry wolves had already 'wooed...' and ran away with a low roar.

"This is it, great deity. "The leader of the scouts, who had already shown his spear to kill the wolves, saw this group of hunters who claimed to be the most greedy and cruel group hunters on the Rocky Plateau. Inexplicably fled in a hurry. There was a surprised expression on his face, but his mouth replied respectfully.

As he spoke, the earthen platform that the scout tribe had guarded rushed into the barbarian abandoned camp, looking at the rough stoneware bowls and pots on the ground;

Half of the burnt has been turned into a dry hard piece of meat with black charcoal;

Giant axes and sledgehammers made of stone. Zhang Lisheng couldn't help muttering to himself. "It's a terrible living environment...". Jumped off the platform.

Without hesitation, he stepped on the rubble and walked around the camp to an old statue more than three meters high and covered with thin strips of animal skin cloth that stood in the middle of the camp. Stretched out his hand and rubbed the puppet, which was almost the same as the mummy of the earth, and then flicked its hard shell with his fingers, and asked, "Is this the 'ancestral idol' known as the barbarian god of Northern Xinjiang?"

Ancestral idols, symbols of the survival of ancestor worship of the barbarian tribes in northern Xinjiang, appear under very harsh conditions, only when the strongest warrior leader of the tribe bravely sacrifices to defeat a strong enemy in a war related to the survival of the tribe, and the corpse remains intact, can it have the basic requirements of becoming an 'idol'.

After the battle, the tribal elders would personally soak the corpse of the hero in the blood of the barbarian warriors who followed him in battle, wait until it was naturally dry, and then wrap it layer by layer with strips of animal skin cut from the skin armor of the war dead, and set it up in the center of the tribe for the tribe to worship.

Because there is no embalming treatment, most of the corpses will turn into dry bones in a very short period of time under the wind and sun, but the animal skin cloth will naturally loosen down, and the remaining bones will be dedicated to nature according to the simple natural cycle idea of the stone people, that is, after leaving the tribe, they will be washed with clean water, and then thrown in the field to be crawled by beasts and insects.

And if the hero's corpse can be immortalized over the years, and gradually become as hard as a stone under the worship of the clansmen, then even if it succeeds in becoming an 'ancestral idol', its soul will slowly revive with the passage of time, and gradually possess the unfathomable power of the gods that bestow the clan's elders with the ability to cast spells.

Looking at the strange statue not far away that was inexplicably in awe and therefore did not topple it, the leader of the scout turned over and jumped off the beast, took a few steps behind the young man, bowed his head and replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, this is the ancestral idol of the Geguta tribe. ”

"Is this the only one?" Zhang Lisheng withdrew his hands, stretched them out in front of his chest, and asked again.

"Your Majesty, there were less than two hundred barbarians in the camp when we attacked 'Geguta', and this tiny tribe of stubborn stones, which could perish naturally with a natural disaster, could only have one ancestral idol at most. The scout leader explained.

As he spoke, the dried and bloody soil under Zhang Lisheng's feet surged up, and the dark red soil that condensed in the void turned into dark red dirt, slowly flowing into the head of the barbarian ancestor idol that was wrapped in a circle of animal skin.

As the red mud full of divine power continued to pour in, the 'idol' body revealed a shallow yellow and blue light, and the stubborn head shook dry and stiff, and in the dust raised by the squirrel, a vague, but crazy, violent voice faintly sounded, "Light, light, life, wind, life..."

The sound was faint at first, but as time went on, it became clearer and louder, and it drifted through the desolate barbarian camp littered with corpses, sending chills down the hearts of even the bravest warriors, as if the sun was rising overhead, as if it had lost all its warmth at once.

Only Zhang Lisheng showed a happy and nervous expression on his face, and said in response: "Yes, life, I can re-endow you with a body full of vitality, as long as you can offer me pious faith." ”

First the head, then the neck, then the chest, and then the limbs, the barbarian idol shook his body desperately as if he hadn't heard what the young man said, and continued to roar loudly, "Life, light, wind, life..."

"Big man, it's no good to pretend to be crazy and stupid in front of me," If you didn't cross the barrier behind the most and become a real god, Zhang Lisheng could only stop casting spells at this time, but now looking at the 'idol' whose joints around him were becoming more and more flexible, his face turned gloomy and he roared in a low voice: "What the gods give you, you can also take it away!"

Wu Li was furious, and there was no noisy scene, but the yellow and blue light of the barbarian idol's body slowly dissipated, and the body that had become active and soft stiffened again.

"No, no, no..."In an instant, the 'idol''s face wrapped in gray cloth showed hollow eyes and extremely distorted facial features, and he roared desperately inexplicably, "Pitch black, that pitch black, I will never, never go back...", and actually tilted his body and waved his palm at Zhang Lisheng.

A trace of hideousness flashed in his eyes, and a water-blue giant palm suddenly appeared behind Zhang Lisheng, gently pinching the arm waved by the barbarian idol and turning it into gray flesh.

Then the young man said in a sarcastic tone: "You rely on the power of faith to keep your soul alive, and you should be stronger than anyone who can see me, but you would rather choose to destroy yourself than succumb to my feet or become a stone statue again."

Unfortunately I'm not as merciful as you think, so you have to choose between offering piety or continuing to be a statue forever, and now tell me your answer?"

The face of the barbarian idol that appeared on the gray cloth showed a struggling look, he died a thousand years ago, when the 'Geguta' was still a large tribe with more than 10,000 people, and had more than 50 'idols', after dying in the battle for the tribe, relying on the piety of the ancestors before his death, the 'idol' successfully avoided the catastrophe of corruption and obtained a cruel eternal life.

Later, by absorbing the beliefs of the tribesmen, he reunited with his dissipated soul, but he lost many memories, and only deeply imprinted the imprint of protecting the tribe in his consciousness.

Although worshipped by thousands of barbarians, as a barbarian idol, he was like a prisoner in a dark cage without a trace of light or sound, and even more miserable was that he could not see, speak, and completely lose all consciousness.

Only when the tribal elders summoned him could he hear a slight sound, and instinctively transmit his strength to the summoner.

After a thousand years of such days, even if he is brave and fearless, a warrior who is willing to sacrifice will deteriorate, if it is not for the fact that he has lost many human desires after becoming a barbarian idol, he is afraid that he has already been tortured to madness.

Therefore, when the life force extended by the god Wu Li by manipulating 'earth' and 'water' radiated new life in his corpse, which had long been ossified into stone, and made him regain consciousness and mobility after a thousand years, although his consciousness was still confused, the smell of his nose was also a disgusting rancid smell;

When his eyes opened, he could only feel a glimmer of light, which could make him happy from the bottom of his heart and willing to pay for it.

However, when Zhang Lisheng asked him to contribute his faith, a taboo in the dark made him resist from the depths of his soul.

In the end, in the dilemma, the 'idol' chose to wave his hands at the existence that was more brilliant than the sun in the reflection of his soul in the presence of yellow, red, and blue, seeking salvation from destruction.

But unexpectedly, instead of shattering him for his offense, the god Wu Li cruelly put the two choices of surrendering or falling back into endless darkness in front of him.

So when the body gradually became stiff again, the light in the eyes slowly disappeared, and the sound of the wind in the ears passed away again, an inexplicable fear actually washed away the taboo engraved in the depths of the soul of the barbarian idol.

"No, no, no, wind, light, no, no, no, it's pitch black, pitch black, it's bright, no..." he stretched out his remaining arm in pain and despair and cried out vaguely, kneeling in front of Zhang Lisheng. (To be continued......)