Chapter 110: Blessed Paradise, Man Conquers Heaven

As the number of primordial spirits increased, Luo Zu sensed that the laws and principles governing his "Pot World" were gradually strengthening. Through deduction, he concluded that this was a result of the spirits' communion with the world itself; by drawing upon the power of nature, they simultaneously bolstered it—a reciprocal relationship.

This was truly a joyous development. However, it also created a new burden for Luo Zu: he had to maintain a balance in the natural laws of the mortal realm. Otherwise, as the number of spirits grew and their communion with nature deepened, the underlying laws of the world might be imperceptibly and irreversibly altered by their personal insights. While the world was expanding, Luo Zu had to remain vigilant against the chain reactions that even minor shifts in these natural laws might trigger.

He pondered whether he should impose certain restrictions, though not too many—perhaps such changes could yield positive outcomes. What kind of positive outcomes? Perhaps new paths of cultivation could emerge, or perhaps new paradises could be opened within the mortal realm. The possibilities were many, though they posed risks to ordinary people. For some creatures, even a slight change in the natural environment could be catastrophic, potentially leading to the extinction of entire species.

Luo Zu also considered a deeper implication: as the number of primordial spirits grew, all practicing the same Taoist methods, would the environment eventually influence future cultivators? Might it strengthen their innate talent for that specific path while simultaneously limiting their innovation to that singular framework? This was certainly not what Luo Zu desired, but he could not yet be certain if such a situation would arise. After all, those were matters for a century or more away; such phenomena of altering natural laws would require a sufficient number of spirits—at least in the double digits. Yet, in the current mortal realm, the number of primordial spirits had not even reached ten.

From this, Luo Zu extrapolated further: did the great powers of the Primordial World exert a similar, perhaps even more direct, influence on the natural order? The scale of the Primordial World was vast, but then again, the control the Wu and Yao tribes held over language already demonstrated their sway over heaven and earth. He wondered how the other great gods outside of those two tribes reacted to such things.

"If the number of primordial spirits in the tribe grows, could we perhaps transform this barren, hostile land into an environment suitable for human habitation?" Luo Zu mused. However, the Primordial World was not his Pot World; its scale and status were immense. Despite its seemingly rugged nature, it was impossibly stable, and Luo Zu was not confident that he could alter the fundamental laws of the Primordial World itself. Nevertheless, if the philosophy that "humanity can conquer nature" were deeply embedded in the human bloodline—if humans used their hands and wisdom to reshape the world—that would be a noble ideal. Luo Zu held this vision, and so he had to ensure the human race possessed this ambition.

"Humanity can conquer nature" must not only exist in the bloodline but also within the very fabric of human civilization.

"Chief, is there anything that needs improvement here?" Iron-Head asked, pointing at a glowing red block of iron being forged. Once the molten iron was cast into blocks, the shaping process began. Luo Zu had provided a manual for the forging work, and they had followed it well. He offered no criticism this time, as this was not for crafting magic artifacts, but simply for producing a batch of agricultural tools ordered by Tiger-Head Village.

The three villages—collectively known as the "Peking Man" tribe—were still in the midst of post-disaster reconstruction. Tiger-Head Village, in particular, had suffered a "man-made disaster" that left their livestock dead or fled; they needed to find and domesticate new species. Salt-Spring Village was even more miserable, as a fifty-meter layer of topsoil had been scoured away, clogging their salt springs. They had to excavate the eyes of the springs again, a project of no small scale. Thus, both villages were in dire need of iron tools to improve their efficiency.

Moreover, since everyone possessed supernatural abilities, these sharp tools were not merely for manual labor; they were used to channel and amplify their powers, making their work far more efficient. The hammers used for forging were stone mallets reinforced with spells, granting them both hardness and resilience to prevent shattering and to absorb the shock of the impacts.

"Chief, what do you think of Ah Jin and Da Xing's work?" Iron-Head asked again, pointing at the two men swinging the hammers.

Luo Zu nodded. "It is acceptable."

"Iron-Head, can you set aside your duties in the hunting team now?" Luo Zu asked.

Iron-Head was still reluctant. "Chief, I will listen to your arrangements." Though hesitant, he was gradually accepting his appointment to manage Iron-Mountain Village.

Luo Zu then said, "I want you to be the village chief of Iron-Mountain Village first and get the village established. If you still wish to return to the hunting team later, I will let you, does that sound fair?" His tone was a mix of firmness and flexibility; he did not simply issue an order but sought a consensus.

"I will listen to the Chief," Iron-Head finally agreed. In truth, he had already accepted it, but he still had reservations; he preferred roaming the dense forests over the sedentary life of managing a village.

"Good." Luo Zu wanted to cultivate more management talent so that one day they could take over his position as Chief. He had no intention of making the chieftaincy a lifetime position, nor did he wish to be trapped in it forever. As more talented individuals emerged, he could not block their path. Once the "Peking Man" tribe was on the right track, he could step down. As for what defined being on the right track, it meant the tribe could survive stably under the governance of the local Hot-Wu tribe. Fire-Kid, Creek, and Iron-Head were the successors he had chosen.

After inspecting the situation at Iron-Mountain Village, Luo Zu returned to Luo Town. The affairs of the hunting team also needed to be reorganized, with a new leader to be selected from the five squads. Iron-Head recommended Zhi, and Luo Zu readily agreed, appointing him as the Captain of the hunting team.

Time flowed like water. Another year passed in the Primordial World. In the blink of an eye, thirty years had passed within the Pot World. The reason for this slow pace was that Luo Zu had scaled back the "time acceleration" over the past year. The main reason was that with the increase in the number of primordial spirits, Luo Zu could no longer support the rapid acceleration of the Pot World. Accelerating the "time" of a primordial spirit consumed an immense amount of experience and energy.

However, this was also helpful to Luo Zu, as it forced him to frequently deduce the various changes of the spirits, thereby deepening his understanding and mastery of their power. Even though the "time acceleration" had slowed, Luo Zu felt it was worth it, as it did not hinder his own cultivation. After all, he had already refined three hundred and sixty eighth-tier Taoist arts and three hundred and sixty wisps of celestial energy. Combined with the thirty-six Dharma-image brains that had successfully condensed into Dharma bodies, each holding a wisp of celestial energy, he possessed a total of three hundred and ninety-six wisps of celestial energy.

Yet, even after reaching such a state of primordial fullness, he still could not break through to the realm of a True Immortal. It was not just a matter of falling short by a hair; it was a chasm that stood in his way.