<strong>Chapter 1209: Chapter 1200: Strengthening Oneself</strong>


    Zhang Po paused and continued, “The women hold onto stones to receive the vigers’ prayers, which is like carrying the vigers’ hopes and the protection of the gods. This way, when they marry into other viges, they won’t be bullied.”


    Xiao Yifei found it amusing. Zhang Po didn’t seem like a primitive person assimted by the vigers, so why didn’t he stop such foolish actions? He gently asked, “Have noble people always been this way?”


    Zhang Po understood what he meant and said indifferently, “I don’t know why, but since my father passed away, people in the vige have be unsuitable for cultivation, unable to absorb Qi from nature to strengthen themselves. I am the only one who can master the Zhang Family’s cultivation technique. In recent years, the few strong people we had in the vige passed away with my father. Now, I’m the only one left to guard here, so no one else has ess to the outside world. The vige’s production and life began to deteriorate. Many old bad habits that my father had abolished have revived. They feelfortable wearing animal skins, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”


    Xiao Yifei interrupted, “Then you could teach them, you are the n Leader.”


    Zhang Po sighed, “I’m a n leader in name only now. All the vige affairs are solely decided by the High Priest, and I can’t force them to obey me with power. Besides, the vige priest isn’t some malevolent person, and they manage vige affairs well. I’ve opted for aid-back lifestyle, why not enjoy it?” He then picked up a wine pot, drank a few sips, his tone filled with helplessness.


    Xiao Yifei grasped the situation; Zhang Po wasn’t someone content with the status quo, but as the n leader, he believed that the will of the people was more important. Excessive autocracy would hamper the Zhang Family’s development. He probably never expected the Zhang Family to end up like this and got used to it over time.


    “Then why can’t the Zhang Family’s n members cultivate?” Ci Xin asked.


    “I don’t know. It’s strange. One day, the Qi of some strong individuals in the vige suddenly became blocked. Since we practice the same cultivation technique, I tried infusing my Qi into them, but it wasrgely ineffective. Their meridians seemed blocked. I have no solution.”


    Upon hearing this, Xiao Yifei found it peculiar and was determined to help Zhang Po resolve this concern. Being a healer himself, saving and aiding is his very pursuit. A Cultivator unable to continue cultivation is like a person losing both legs. Besides, he and Ci Xin couldn’t just take others’ passwords without reciprocation.


    Ci Xin had the same thought, and the two quickly agreed and informed Zhang Po of their ns. Zhang Po was also very pleased and promised to assist them both fully.


    While the three were contemting strategies, a small boat emerged from the swamp. The mist was too thick for Xiao Yifei to see who was on the boat. Zhang Po quietly informed him that it was someone from a neighboring tribe, here to wed the two girls.


    Xiao Yifei suddenly realized it was the groom, and he wanted a closer look.


    Once the people on the boat reached the shore, Xiao Yifei finally saw their faces, and this nce startled him into a cold sweat. Weren’t these individuals the same as the only human statue he saw in the vige!


    Four robust men disembarked from the boat, each over two meters tall, shirtless, with dark skin, athletic builds, and sturdy frames. Each wore the same mask, obscuring their faces. With eyes asrge as brass bells, they walked with vigor and approached them with confidence.


    The only difference from the statue Xiao Yifei saw in the vige was that these people didn’t have the giant axe in their hands.


    Zhang Po told Xiao Yifei that these people lived at the end of the swamp, from a brave and warlike tribe. The vige had been intermarrying with this tribe for years. Girls in the vige longed to marry into this tribe and even erected a statue of their tribe’s leader in the vige.<fn0a20> The source of th?s content is Find[?]ovel</fn0a20>


    Xiao Yifei asked quietly, “Do they have any Cultivators in their tribe?”


    “I’m not sure either. The only condition for their tribe to marry with us is not allowing our rtives to visit the girls married there. However, the women send couriers each month, telling their rtives they are living like gods there, but who knows what’s really going on.”


    Xiao Yifei thought to himself, “You’ve been a real failure as a n leader, not knowing anything. How have you been managing all these years?”


    During the conversation, the group had walked up to them. After ncing at Xiao Yifei and Ci Xin’s strange attire, they cast questioning nces at Zhang Po.


    Zhang Po gave a slight nod, signaling them not to worry and to proceed. The robust men nodded, approached the brides, and bent slightly to show respect. Xiao Yifei thought these hulking brutes turned out to be gentlemen.


    Under the witness of a crowd, one of the robust men took a paper packet from his waist and opened it to reveal a handful of white powder. Xiao Yifei noted that when the strong men opened the packet, the brides immediately appeared excited.


    Zhang Po exined, “This is their tribe’s secret medicine, with beautifying and vein-clearing effects, making the body extremelyfortable. Their people present it as a meeting gift to brides.”


    The brides seemed like disciples awaiting divine grace, their eyes filled with longing and anticipation. At the leader’smand, the two brides, like mosquitoes to blood, quickly snatched the packet from the man’s hand, snorting the white powder into their noses entirely.


    After inhaling the powder, the brides copsed into the men’s arms, a blush of Yan Hong tinting their cheeks, their faces full of enjoyment and intoxication. One of the girls emitted an entrancing sound that made Xiao Yifei blush.


    Nodding toward Zhang Po, two of the robust men lifted the brides onto the boat, disappearing into the swirling mist.


    The wedding transfer ceremony seemed to end. Thinking of the brides snorting the powder, Xiao Yifei’s heart felt like a stampeding herd, utterly enraptured, like taking supplements akin to doing drugs.


    No way!


    Xiao Yifei immediately sensed something amiss, two acute words like hammers in his mind. He rushed to where the girls stood, touched the scattered powder on the ground with his hand, and sniffed gently.


    There was indeed an issue!


    Xiao Yifei ran to the river, looked toward the boat’s direction. All he saw was the ethereal swamp mist, with no clue where they went. In remorse, he pped his thigh, “You’ve been deceived!”


    Ci Xin, who had been watching from the sidelines, asked in surprise, “What happened?”


    Zhang Po also came over, looking at the powder in Xiao Yifei’s hand, confused.


    The vigers who had just held the ceremony looked at Xiao Yifei with strange eyes, as if looking at a monster.


    Xiao Yifei ignored them and said, “This isn’t some secret medicine; it’s sedatives, absolutely.”


    Zhang Po was shocked, “What’s going on?” Ci Xin leaned in to listen.


    “Our Xiao Family has been practicing medicine for ages, familiar with herbal smells. This powder contains Ephedra, typically used for chest tightness, asthma, cough, edema, rheumatism pain, and phlegm lumps, renowned for respiratory relief. However, excessive use of Ephedra can cause hallucinations, making users feel ethereal, inducing dependency. Those men’srge hands grasped a handful of powder weighing almost a pound. No wonder the girls reacted strongly; it’s not a supplement. I specte they intend to abduct women from your vige, but their motives remain unknown to me.”