Chapter 76: The Cro-Magnon's Guide to Cultivation (First Update)

For Ironhead's advancement, Luo Zu was not surprised. After all, Ironhead had always been the most diligent cultivator in the tribe. Coupled with the innate talent of the prehistoric human race, it was reasonable to expect a breakthrough soon. However, the rudimentary cultivation methods had held him back, which was also the reason why many humans progressed slowly in their training.

Although the spiritual energy of the wilderness was dense, allowing for feats of brute strength—like hurling bricks with ease—there were countless giant beasts nearby, and many wild demons muddled through their cultivation to become calamities in their regions. Yet, such things carried immense uncertainty. The human race was too frail; now numbering only a few thousand, a single misstep or unforeseen accident—such as deviation in cultivation—could spell doom for the entire tribe.

Thus, although humanity needed power, Luo Zu remained extremely cautious in spreading cultivation methods. Every step had to be taken with care, so that the path could continue far and reach the limits of the world.

After the meeting, Luo Zu asked Ironhead to stay behind for a physical examination and to discuss his current cultivation progress.

Having already surpassed this realm himself, and with many samples in the Heaven-in-a-Jar world, Luo Zu was intimately familiar with this stage. With such abundance of examples, he could readily answer any achievements or difficulties in the realm of refining qi and transforming spirit.

“Chief, my spirit can now leave my body, but I can’t forge it into a Yin Spirit. What should I do?” Ironhead voiced his confusion.

This problem was easy to resolve. “Take it slow; don’t rush. Practice diligently using the ‘Complete Explanation of Techniques’ I gave you. Comprehend the essence of the techniques and integrate them into your soul. Later, you can combine techniques, soul, and true energy to refine a Yin Spirit. It’s not necessary to forge the Yin Spirit immediately upon reaching the stage of refining qi and transforming spirit; it’s a gradual process.”

These points Luo Zu had not recorded in the cultivation method itself. The refining qi method only described how to practice breathing and absorption, and the method for the three souls and seven spirits simply outlined the process, without detailing the situations encountered at each stage.

Ironhead’s reminder made Luo Zu realize this oversight; he had always transmitted the methods, but only provided a general outline of cultivation stages.

Refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit to return to emptiness, and merging emptiness with the Dao—these four realms before reaching true immortality had been established for the tribe.

However, the minor stages within these great realms were not subdivided, nor were their various manifestations explained.

Refining essence into qi was relatively simple; given the talent of the prehistoric human race, it was easily attained. Now, except for newborns, every member of the tribe had reached the stage of refining essence into qi.

So, having one Ironhead among two thousand people advance to refining qi and transforming spirit was hardly surprising.

After addressing all of Ironhead’s questions, Luo Zu sent him back to digest the answers at his own pace, while he returned to his cave to begin drafting detailed guidelines for cultivation within the four major realms of the pseudo-immortal.

He could only write up to the stage before merging emptiness with the Dao, as he was still exploring what lay beyond.

Drawing from his own experience and the diverse cultivation paths among humans in the Heaven-in-a-Jar world, Luo Zu had no need for materials, suggestions, or repeated experiments, nor did he require generations of annotation. He alone could compose the ‘Guidance for Mountain Cave People’s Cultivation.’

When finished, it needed to be published.

Although the tribe lacked mass paper production, Luo Zu had discovered a tree whose bark, once dried and roasted, could be sliced into sheets about two millimeters thick—perfect for writing. This was far superior to the rough straw paper previously made. The trees were abundant, easy to plant, and their bark regenerated quickly after harvesting.

Thus, Luo Zu led the tribe to plant a grove of these trees on the mountain and established a small department dedicated to making bark paper. He even planned to eventually build a village specialized in its production.

He wrote his ideas onto the paper in shamanic script, and also drew lifelike diagrams of human meridians, bones, and flesh.

Here, “lifelike” was no exaggeration—the illustrations were as vivid as photographs.

Spending a whole day, Luo Zu wrote and summarized as he went, contemplating all the while, and finally completed the thousand-page tome—a thick stack over thirty centimeters tall.

“Never thought I’d publish a book one day, even if it’s self-funded.” Luo Zu flipped through the ink-heavy volume and smiled with satisfaction.

The ink was invented by the humans in the Heaven-in-a-Jar world, refined from various metals in the soil, suitable for writing and drawing in multiple colors. Later, Luo Zu brought the technique to the tribe.

With his work finished, Luo Zu gathered everyone again. This time, he couldn’t ask them to copy the whole thing as before—the sheer volume would take days of transcription and discussion.

Instead, he announced the existence of the book, placed it in the cave, and allowed anyone to read it or copy parts as needed. If there was anything unclear, they could come to him for guidance.

Luo Zu never withheld the spread of his knowledge. Like the cultivation methods he had created, he always made them openly available.

“Chief, Tigerhead Village has almost been rebuilt,” Xi suddenly raised his hand.

“Good, have the original villagers move back,” Luo Zu affirmed their progress.

During the reconstruction, the villages were replanned—the layout of roads and houses altered, and many expansions made. After that fierce battle, the area around Tigerhead Village had become a vast plain, now suitable for a settlement of ten thousand people.

However, housing so many together would bring new issues, requiring new considerations and arrangements.

Luo Zu presented his concerns at the time, offering partial suggestions while letting Xi and the others handle most of the planning and design. He would then review their work, using the “advanced experience” from the Heaven-in-a-Jar world to evaluate, amend, or commend as needed.

“Does anyone else have any questions?” Luo Zu asked, seated across from the group.

“Chief, we’re running out of iron,” Fireboy raised his hand.

“Iron…” This was a major problem.

It all traced back to the previous battle between shamans and demons—when the ‘Lost’ shaman used some mystical art that depleted most of the metallic elements in the area.

Previously, a single scoop of earth could yield three or four grams of iron; now, not even ten or a hundred scoops would produce a gram.

That villain was truly guilty of grave crimes, severely limiting the development of the ‘cave people’s’ civilization.

“Copper… alas, the same. We’ll have to search outside and see if there’s a place rich in iron ore.”