Xiong Wu’s question had been asked with complete sincerity. After asking, he couldn’t help but glance toward the big stone pot again, the craving in his belly roaring louder and louder.

However, he sighed inwardly. If only he had known about chili peppers earlier, then he could have brought some along this time, and he might’ve been able to trade for some sesame seeds.

Once he got back to the tribe, his mate would be able to eat meat slices mixed with sesame sauce.

Such a delicious thing—Lu Xin would definitely love it!

Fan Zhou looked at him in that state and raised an eyebrow. “Hmm… have you heard of the Holy Temple?”

The moment those words left his mouth, Xiong Wu’s attention was immediately pulled back. He stared at Fan Zhou in surprise. “You actually know the Holy Temple?”

“Of course,” Fan Zhou nodded.

Back when Niu Shan had set off for the Great Bear Tribe, his supernatural ability had not yet been exposed, so Xiong Wu didn’t know that he had already raised the banner of the Beast God.

Fan Zhou asked with a serious expression, “Then do you know about the High Priest and the Beast King?”

“I do!” Xiong Wu’s eyes widened. As the chief of the Great Bear Tribe, he was well-informed! Besides, their priest’s teacher had come from the Central Continent.

But how did Tu Zhou know about this?

“Then, do you know why the Beast Spirit Flower went extinct? Do you know why the Beast God no longer descends upon the Beastman Continent?” Fan Zhou continued to ask with that same serious tone.

“…No,” Xiong Wu shook his head honestly.

“I do.”

“You do?!” Xiong Wu was shocked. His exclamation drew the attention of Niu Shan and the others not far away, as well as several brown bears who were tending the fire and roasting meat.

Feng Xun’s hearing was exceptional. He could clearly hear the conversation between Fan Zhou and Xiong Wu. He set down his chopsticks and walked toward Fan Zhou.

His pitch-black eyes fixed on Fan Zhou, lips pressed tightly together.

He had already guessed what Fan Zhou was going to say.

“Why did the Beast Spirit Flower go extinct? And the Beast God! Doesn’t the Beast God care about this?!” Xiong Wu was extremely agitated. He instinctively held his breath, eyes burning with eagerness as he stared at Fan Zhou.

“Because the Beast King and the High Priest angered the Beast God, the Beast God sent down punishment and caused the Beast Spirit Flower to go extinct.”

Fan Zhou didn’t keep them in suspense; his expression was extremely serious.

“What?!” Xiong Wu gasped sharply, his body instinctively leaning backward.

Although he didn’t know much about the High Priest and the Beast King, he knew exactly what kind of status and position those two held!

The High Priest was the beastman closest to the Beast God—practically the Beast God’s personal attendant!

And the Beast King was the warrior chosen by the Beast God to lead all beastmen!

But now what was Tu Zhou saying?

“You don’t believe me, do you?” Fan Zhou raised his right hand, and in an instant, a water ball the size of a basketball appeared in his palm.

The sight was both mysterious and sudden, causing Xiong Wu to take two steps back—what was going on?!

“The Beast God granted me a divine miracle, allowing me to cultivate the Beast Spirit Flower. Come with me.” Fan Zhou gestured for Xiong Wu to follow him up the mountain cave. The Beast Spirit Flower couldn’t be exposed to rain, so he had planted them all inside the cave.

“You have Beast Spirit Flowers?!” Xiong Wu asked urgently. He couldn’t even care about the earlier shock. He subconsciously stepped forward a few paces, reaching out to grab Fan Zhou’s hand.

Just then, Feng Xun happened to walk over. He extended his long arm and gripped Xiong Wu’s shoulder. Xiong Wu immediately froze in place, unable to move, as if a thousand-jin boulder had been dropped onto his shoulder.

“You?!” He looked at Feng Xun in disbelief.

Feng Xun was a head shorter than him, and his muscles weren’t exaggerated at all—yet his strength was this powerful?!

“He was the previous Enforcer, but was framed by the High Priest and the Beast King, and thus ended up on the Wild Continent,” Fan Zhou explained, then said to Feng Xun, “Let him go for now. Once he sees the Beast Spirit Flower, he’ll believe what I said.”

Seeing is believing.

When Xiong Wu heard the words “Enforcer,” he was shocked once again. The unending string of shocks left his already simple mind in a daze—he couldn’t think anymore. He subconsciously followed Fan Zhou up the cave.

And then he saw the Beast Spirit Flowers.

The few plants that Fan Zhou had grown himself had already matured. He had collected the seeds and replanted them. With the irrigation of the spiritual spring water, the seeds had already sprouted. The tiny seedlings were about a finger long, and there were dozens of them.

The few that Feng Xun and Ying Xiao had brought back had just happened to bloom over the past few days, glowing softly with a holy and gentle radiance.

Xiong Wu stood there stunned. He raised his hand and rubbed his eyes. When he saw that the Beast Spirit Flowers were still there, not a dream, his eyes instantly turned red. Choked with emotion, he asked Fan Zhou, “I want to trade for the Beast Spirit Flower! What can I use to get it?”

“My mate has come down with a strange illness—only the Beast Spirit Flower can save him. I beg you, please let me trade for it!”

The Beast God has blessed them—Tu Zhou had Beast Spirit Flowers!

“What kind of strange illness did your mate get?” Fan Zhou asked with a frown. Beastmen from the Giant Bear Tribe were getting strange illnesses, too?

Xiong Wu suppressed his excitement and explained in detail, “Starting the year before last, his mouth and nose often began bleeding—he lost a lot of blood. Last summer, he also began shedding fur. This spring, over half of the fur on his body has already fallen off. On the bare spots, black blotches appeared. Now he only wants to hide in the cave and refuses to go outside.” By the end, his eyes were already misty.

Lu Xin was the best-looking beastman in the Giant Bear Tribe—fair-skinned, tender, super cute. Lu Xin had grown up with him, but only ever saw him as a friend. It had taken him a long time to persuade Lu Xin to become his mate.

But who would’ve thought Lu Xin would fall ill with a strange disease? Once lively and cheerful, he now wore a gloomy face all day. Xiong Wu was worried sick and truly didn’t know what to do.

The reason he came to the Waterfall Tribe this time was because, recently, black blotches had also appeared on Lu Xin’s cheeks. Lu Xin felt his appearance had been ruined and refused to see him, he even drove him away.

Other beastmen advised him to leave so Lu Xin could calm down. Maybe once he’d calmed down, he would start to miss him.

He had no other choice. He could only instruct his tribesmen to take good care of Lu Xin and then set out for the Waterfall Tribe. The round trip would take over a month—hopefully, Lu Xin would miss him.

Fan Zhou’s expression turned a bit heavy.

Xiong Wu’s account was very similar to what Yang Zhang had said. The beastmen who got sick all first bled, then lost fur, and afterward developed either black spots or severe redness on their bodies.

Previously, Fan Zhou had speculated that the strange illness among beastmen was probably caused by drinking polluted surface water—there was no other way to explain why similar symptoms were appearing in such far-apart places.

Yang Zhang’s original tribe was in the north, while the Giant Bear Tribe was in the south.

And besides, Que Yu had also said that beastmen would start falling ill on a large scale—this was just the beginning…

“Do you have Beast Spirit Flower seeds? If you do, then I can give you one Beast Spirit Flower,” he said to Xiong Wu.

“Seeds? I don’t, but our Priest does!” Xiong Wu hadn’t expected Fan Zhou’s condition to be so simple. Overjoyed, he flailed his arms wildly and almost jumped up.

The priest of their tribe was named Hou Yan. In past years, he had tried growing Beast Spirit Flowers, but never succeeded, so in recent years, he stopped trying.

But Hou Yan still had some seeds!

Back when the Beast Spirit Flower was gradually going extinct, Hou Yan had deliberately collected quite a few seeds.

“Alright, when you leave, I’ll give you the Beast Spirit Flower, and then you can bring the seeds over,” Fan Zhou said, also quite pleased. Having seeds was a great thing!

Upon hearing that, Xiong Wu gasped again. Such a precious thing, and Tu Zhou was actually giving it to him first!

Tu Zhou was too generous!

He was so excited that he slapped his chest hard. “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely bring the seeds over. I’ll head back to the tribe later!”

Fan Zhou nodded with a smile.

Such a big tribe’s chief—he might run away, but his tribe won’t move.

“Go back tomorrow. Rest a bit first, and I still have something to tell you.”

“What is it?” Xiong Wu asked anxiously. His mind was completely occupied with Lu Xin.

“It’s about the High Priest and Beast King angering the Beast God. Try this,” Fan Zhou said, handing Xiong Wu a water sphere.

He was hoping Xiong Wu would spread the word.

“Oh, right, right!” Xiong Wu slapped his forehead—he’d almost forgotten! Curiously, he took the water sphere and put it in his mouth. Smacking his lips, he let out a surprised noise—it tasted sweet.

And he seemed to feel a bit more energized.

He was really hungry and a bit tired from the long trip, but after swallowing the water sphere, he didn’t feel as worn out anymore.

He asked Fan Zhou for confirmation and got an affirmative answer.

“This is the miracle the Beast God granted me. It’s the lifeline the Beast God left for the beastmen. It’s with this spiritual water that I’m able to grow Beast Spirit Flowers.”

After hearing that, Xiong Wu glanced at the Beast Spirit Flowers on the ground, then looked at Fan Zhou and said with some uncertainty, “Then you’re the new High Priest chosen by the Beast God?”

“…I’m not the High Priest. I can’t communicate with the Beast God.”

“But the Beast God gave you a miracle! And it was just recently. The Beast God is clearly letting you save the beastmen. If you’re not the new High Priest, then who is?”

Xiong Wu couldn’t understand why Fan Zhou would deny it.

Fan Zhou hadn’t expected Xiong Wu to have such internally consistent logic. Rarely was he at a loss for words for a moment.

“Well, the Beast God never said anything about appointing me as the High Priest. Since the Beast God didn’t say it, then I’m not.”

He had no interest in being any kind of High Priest.

“But it was true that the current High Priest and Beast King angered the Beast God—they violated the Ten Commandments of the Beast God, and thus the Beast God became furious.”

He laid out Feng Xun’s experiences, one event after another, to prove that the High Priest and Beast King had betrayed the Beast God.

Xiong Wu, having seen the water ability and the Beast Spirit Flowers, already deeply believed Fan Zhou’s words. Now, after hearing so many infuriating examples, he clenched his fists, no longer holding the fear he once had toward the High Priest and Beast King.

Traitors! They no longer deserved to sit in the positions of High Priest and Beast King!

He became even more convinced that Fan Zhou was the new High Priest chosen by the Beast God. The way he looked at Fan Zhou was filled with reverence.

No wonder Tu Zhou could produce salt and hemp cloth—those were skills originally taught by the Beast God to the Temple.

Also, Tu Zhou had discovered chili peppers and sesame, and could create foods that had never existed before. That showed Tu Zhou was more favored by the Beast God.

Not to mention the sweet little water.

That was something only Tu Zhou had!

Fan Zhou was exhausted at heart. He wasn’t, he didn’t, he didn’t want to be the High Priest, but Xiong Wu had already made up his mind. Soon, a few of the Xiong Xing group called for Xiong Wu to come down and eat the roasted meat—they had finished roasting the mud beast.

After Xiong Wu went down, he immediately announced to the others that the Beast God had chosen a new High Priest.

And this new High Priest could even grow Beast Spirit Flowers.

The Great Bear group didn’t really know much about the High Priest or Beast King, but the words “can grow Beast Spirit Flowers”—those they understood.

They hurriedly asked who it was. Xiong Wu slowly began telling them about the Temple.

It wasn’t until they finished eating that they became a little impatient, and only then did Xiong Wu loudly shout out Fan Zhou’s name.

The scene was actually a little cringeworthy, but to get these brown bears to spread the news that the High Priest and old Beast King had angered the Beast God, Fan Zhou could only smile and let them go up the mountain cave to see the Beast Spirit Flowers and drink the sweet little water.

After that, the brown bears had no more doubts—Beast Spirit Flowers!

Tu Zhou was the new High Priest!

Moreover, Tu Zhou was so generous—he was even willing to let their tribe leader take the Beast Spirit Flowers back first. If it had been the Temple’s High Priest, they definitely wouldn’t have been willing!

From now on, the Great Bear Tribe would come to the Waterfall Tribe to participate in the sacrificial rituals.

The Wild Continent now had a new Temple!