Chapter 54: There’s Something Wrong with Your Manifestation

The Ghost Immortal Method that the Ancestor of Luo passed on to the Lord of Yang was merely a direction, encapsulating his recent insights into cultivating the Yang Spirit, the Three Souls and Seven Spirits. It was a great aid in the refinement of the mind, along with some of Luo Ancestor’s speculations and deductions about the cultivation of Ghost Immortals. Ultimately, the Lord of Yang would need to study the specifics himself, and Luo Ancestor could not guarantee the final results.

Having left behind the Ghost Immortal Method, Luo Ancestor vanished, leaving the Lord of Yang standing alone, lost in thought. His eyes, now slightly clearer, gazed at the four walls of the Martial God Temple, with the same reverence he once showed when studying the Yang Spirit Method in the temple outside the capital of the First Kingdom.

Despite the passing years, he remained a youth.

Luo Ancestor did not linger, nor did he return for the flowing banquet. Instead, he dissolved this incarnation, letting his spirit return to his true self, continuing to observe the world within the pot.

He also watched the newly opened "Immortal Realm."

This world was as empty as it was in the beginning—nothing but up, down, front, back, left, and right, with time flowing naturally and nothing changing. Luo Ancestor had added nothing to it.

Everything within awaited future generations to slowly fill it. Luo Ancestor had no intention of playing the role of an immortal sovereign or heavenly emperor.

As for the Martial God, he would assign him the identity of a Daoist in the mortal realm.

Perhaps one day, the script for a great war between mortals and immortals would unfold…

Luo Ancestor sat on a stone slab, rubbing his chin, thinking his creativity was rather poor.

After all, the stories within the pot world had always been more compelling than the fragmented plotlines he devised.

The population of the miniature human race version 2.0 had surpassed ten million, while the 1.0 version was growing even faster.

Back when efficiency in reproduction was sought, Luo Ancestor bestowed extra fortune upon the 1.0s—many children, many births…

Thus, their chance of bearing multiples was high, and their robust bodies could handle the strain of several children at once without significant harm.

(From here, the 1.0 miniature humans would be called the Barbarians, and the 2.0s the Humans. Since the 2.0s held authority, their propaganda labeled the 1.0s as savages and themselves as the Human race.)

Now, the unsealed Barbarians numbered six hundred thousand.

Their initial population was small, only three thousand. Luo Ancestor first let them develop on the fringes, raising their numbers to fifty thousand. Then the Humans discovered them, and their interference slowed the population growth. Eventually, the Humans saw them as no real threat and developed a mind to enslave them, allowing their numbers to soar.

While two intelligent races dwelling together inevitably led to conflict—under heavy oppression, resistance was born. Even if the Barbarians were less intelligent, they knew to rebel against extreme tyranny.

Moreover, a new phenomenon emerged—a new intelligent species was being born.

They interbred. Despite the Humans’ disdain for the Barbarians, when emotions ran high and the atmosphere was right, and the slave by one’s side was fair and attractive, sparks were bound to fly…

A story soon turned into a disaster.

Thus began the first non-civil war among the Humans.

After years of mingling, some anomalies appeared among the Barbarians—not hybrids, but pureblood Barbarians born with differences.

They had learned the Human method of refining the spirit and began to awaken intelligence. Yet, thanks to Luo Ancestor’s creative design, their minds were naturally less developed, unless they slowly evolved, generation by generation. Even the Humans, who were initially not very bright, evolved bit by bit through struggle against nature and the guidance of Luo Ancestor, eventually becoming what they were.

But the Barbarians had no such time. They longed for recognition, for freedom, and did not care for gradual progress. Excess intelligence overflowed from their minds.

Then, a Barbarian encountered the Yang Spirit Method—a technique already abandoned by Human cultivators, except for those in remote areas where information spread slowly.

Consequently, this method had no restrictions on the Barbarians, and they adopted it.

The first Barbarian to master the Yang Spirit Method was named Man. Later, he renamed himself Lord Man, a name he gave himself after fleeing the Human cities and venturing into the wilderness.

He had heard the story of Lord Yang…

Combined with the Yang Spirit Method, he chose this name for himself.

Once Lord Man mastered the Yang Spirit Method, he constructed a new “brain” outside his mind—his Heart Image Yang Spirit.

To make this “brain” capable of thought, he infused it with his abundant vital energy, causing it to undergo wondrous changes—changes not conceived by Lord Yang.

Lord Man now possessed magical powers!

Before this, only the Humans had magical abilities and could study various arts, while the Barbarians relied solely on brute strength. Thus, the Humans considered themselves superior.

But now, the Barbarians had magical powers as well. This miraculous state was called the Dharma Image by Lord Man, to distinguish it from the Heart Image Yang Spirit.

Despite his newfound wisdom, Lord Man did not immediately lead his people in retaliation against the Humans. Instead, he guided a large group of Barbarians westward, into the wilds—lands teeming with giant beasts and demons. The Humans, though powerful, had never conquered these lands but never ceased their invasions.

Lord Man led many Barbarians who already lived in the wild, thriving there. Accustomed to hardship, and unconcerned with death, they pressed forward relentlessly. Finally, the Barbarians found a place where they could settle.

It was an oasis in the heart of a desert—water, wild animals, but no giant beasts, perfectly suited for Barbarian development.

This oasis was not prepared by Luo Ancestor; it was pure fate. After stumbling into the vast desert and losing half their people to its harshness, they finally found this oasis.

At that time, only eight hundred thirty-two Barbarians remained.

After ten years of recuperation and growth, their population finally exceeded ten thousand.

Of these ten thousand, nearly half were those Lord Man had brought across the desert and wilderness from the Human territories. Their intelligence had increased, and they had learned some Human skills—all talents among the Barbarians.

Quietly developing, the Barbarians’ power grew, occupying one oasis after another. Those who mastered the Dharma Image became more numerous, and their opportunity arrived.

This opportunity came from within the Human race—someone rebelled.

Remember the hybrids of Human and Barbarian blood?

While the Barbarians prospered in the desert, the hybrid population within Human cities grew.

Then came the sound of a horn.

Woooo!