Chapter Forty-Six: The First Fugitive of the Great Wilderness

Tang departed.

She left together with her thirty companions.

Luozu did not try to stop her, for she had made it clear that keeping them would harm the Mountain Cavemen tribe far more than it would help. Moreover, they had their own mission and would not stay.

Yet Luozu imparted to them the Qi Refining Method he had devised, along with the Three Souls and Seven Spirits Yin-God Method, the Yang-God Method, and his various future conjectures about the Qi Refining Method. He permitted them to pass these techniques on to others—anyone of the human race could be taught and practice them.

Tang was grateful and, in return, gifted him a piece of beast hide.

She also gave Luozu a map. It was not of the vast expanse of the Great Yi Homeland, but of ten million miles of land under the jurisdiction of the Hot Witch tribe. In her account, the Great Yi Homeland could fill several galaxies, and the lands held by the Hot Witch tribe spanned a million miles.

This made Luozu wonder again how the previous generation of prehistoric humans managed to travel so far, for Tang claimed the Great Yi Homeland did not border the Buzhou Mountain.

Within this immense region, there were no human tribes, but there were three small demon tribes and one medium-sized demon tribe; five small witch tribes—including the now-scattered Hot Witch tribe—and one medium-sized witch tribe.

On this primeval earth, the witch tribe’s power slightly surpassed that of the demons, but the demon tribe had the support of the celestial demon gods in all ways except direct confrontation. Additionally, there were numerous wild clans among the demons, all stemming from demon lords who had imparted the worship of the sun and moon to all life forms.

Yet, according to Tang, the witch tribe was researching a method to transform other races into witches. Once successful, all affiliated races would be converted to the witch tribe.

This was a promise from the Hot Witch tribe’s Grand Elder, and Tang seemed to yearn for it.

Luozu could offer no judgment, only a wish for good fortune.

The map marked many mountains, rivers, and lakes. The mountain where Luozu resided was not noted, but its range was called the Zi Yuan Mountains.

The Zi Yuan Mountains stretched ten thousand miles, with its highest peak rising thirty miles.

Yet, if Luozu’s life were not long, he might never visit any of the places on the map.

Could a thousand years of life allow him to traverse all this land?

Unlikely.

The scenery is endless, especially in the primeval wilds.

Majestic, vast, towering, splendid, mysterious.

It is truly impossible to see it all, and one never tires of it.

“Chief, will we ever see them again?” Ironhead asked gloomily as he watched their fading figures.

“I do not know,” Luozu replied.

“Chief, is the witch tribe... really that big? That so-called Kuafu?” asked the leader of the second squad.

The Kuafu tribe belonged to the lineage of the Earth Ancestor Witch, named for the great witch Kuafu, whose strength was said to rival that of an ancestor witch.

Every member of the Kuafu tribe was a giant. The most formidable Kuafu, if he stood upright and stretched out his arms, could grasp the stars in the sky.

Yet the Kuafu tribe was peculiar; its members roamed the primeval lands year-round, like their chieftain. Though they belonged to the Earth Ancestor Witch, they rarely stayed in its territory.

Of course, with their enormous stature, they could stand overseas and still gaze upon the Earth Ancestor Witch from afar.

And with their formidable abilities, face-to-face meetings were unnecessary.

“Let’s head back,” said Luozu, no longer watching the direction of their departure. Instead, he turned to glance at the sea of fire.

The flames were spreading.

The bull-headed tiger demon had buried itself in the blaze, devouring a “buffet.” This brute did not spare even earth and stone, consuming bugs and fire along with everything else, then chewing noisily and swallowing.

Luozu would not watch it eat here, for such a colossal beast’s meal was not nearly as soothing as a metal-eating beast gnawing bamboo.

He wondered if the primeval wilds had any metal-eaters.

Time flowed on.

The years sped by.

Spring passed, autumn returned, and a year went by.

The Mountain Cavemen finally found their second settlement.

The tribe’s population had surged to eight hundred.

Three hundred would move to the second settlement, with Firechild chosen as its leader.

First, the lad was a prolific breeder. Second, he had spent much time at Luozu’s side, learning many methods of tribal management. Now, he was more stable and less impulsive, and after passing Luozu’s assessment, he was ready for the role.

“Stop crying, you’re not gone for good,” Luozu said, patting the shoulders of those about to depart—yes, one by one.

After three hundred shoulders, he did not feel his hand was sore.

Now, he had lingered long in the stage of refining spirit and returning to the void. He had set himself on the proper path of developing both spirit and flesh. He was no longer without a clue; the Three Souls and Seven Spirits Yang-God Method had new conclusions, and his Qi Refining Method had gained many new elements, greatly improving his absorption of sun and moon essence.

Thus, his flesh had reached the limits of the prehistoric human race—the first limit, to be precise.

Only now did Luozu realize the bodies of his people were not casually molded by Lady Nuwa; they were crafted with purpose.

Human supernatural abilities are born of both flesh and spirit, though the root lies in the flesh. Spirit is for stimulation and command. When the flesh grows strong, the spirit follows, and supernatural abilities strengthen in turn. When these powers reach a certain threshold, they begin to touch the natural world and draw strength from it to nourish flesh and spirit—a second gift bestowed by Lady Nuwa upon the human race.

Yet, very few can achieve this. Perhaps only the first generation of human ancestors did.

In short, Lady Nuwa did not abandon them but arranged everything well. It all depended on the effort of the human race itself.

If they worked hard enough, they could accomplish something in this wild land.

Of course, someone as dedicated as Luozu... even she might not have anticipated.

So, with the second gift, perhaps Lady Nuwa had prepared a third.

At present, Luozu had only discerned the second gift, which transformed his Pocket Heaven and Creation Manipulation abilities.

Pocket Heaven expanded to a hundred miles; Creation Manipulation could begin to analyze the demon tribe.

For now, he could only analyze beasts that had just gained intelligence.

Even this was remarkable, enough to add new colors to his Pocket Heaven.

This land was due for an update.

However, the update had achieved... a nostalgic version.

Small Human Tribe Version 1.0, limited-time return.

The ancestral Small Human Tribe was never purged by Luozu, merely temporarily sheltered, waiting to reappear in some future era.

Their bodies were ideally suited to Luozu’s new research on the second gift for prehistoric humans.

Though their intelligence was lacking, their bodies were excellent.