Chapter Sixty-Four: So Many Monsters (Please Keep Reading)

The new settlement had been completed and was named Salt Spring. Luo Ancestor appointed Huo Wa, who had rich experience in village management, as the chief of Salt Spring, while Xi took over Huo Wa’s previous post as the head of Tiger Head Village.

Originally, Luo Ancestor intended for Ironhead Boy to lead a portion of Luo Township’s population to Salt Spring, but Ironhead Boy stubbornly refused. He only wished to serve as the chief captain of the hunting teams, which now had expanded to five squads. This not only alleviated the food burden caused by a rapidly growing population but also quickly helped the newly adult members of the tribe adapt to the wilderness environment.

After all, surviving and hunting outdoors required mastering countless skills and being prepared for many unpredictable dangers.

Among all the threats in these mountains, the most terrifying was not the giant beasts or monsters but the ever-changing weather. Sometimes, a sudden downpour would trigger a flash flood. Sometimes, it could switch from sweltering summer to the depths of winter in the blink of an eye. There were earthquakes, gales, and many other hazards that even Luo Ancestor found daunting at times.

In such an environment, it was crucial to observe the signs—here, “reading the signs” meant watching the face of the sky and changes in the environment. If anything felt amiss, one had to take shelter at once, preferably under a huge, sturdy cover that could shield against many disasters falling from the sky.

Other natural calamities had their own methods of evasion as well. It was best not to act rashly or heroically against the elements; in this world, they were not even as significant as ants.

Apart from natural disasters, another deadly danger came from poisonous creatures and miasmas. Some toxins could kill without being eaten, scratched, or even inhaled; mere contact was enough to bring death.

To deal with such threats, these “Cave Dwellers” needed to be intimately familiar with their environment and possess basic first aid knowledge. If one could recognize the right antidote, even a non-lethal poison could be survived, saving themselves and their companions.

Because of this, Luo Ancestor had compiled the “Luo Ancestor’s Herbal Classic” in his early years, as a tribute to future classics. Over the years, the “Herbal Classic” was constantly updated, with new poisons and antidotes added. It recorded the flora and fauna within a hundred miles of Luo Township. No one was required to taste these specimens; everyone simply brought them back, and Luo Ancestor would use a miniature figure conjured in his own magical vessel to test the poisons...

Some poisons documented in the “Herbal Classic” had already become extinct in the area, but Luo Ancestor never removed them from the book. If the “Cave Dwellers” expanded their territory and encountered them again, it would be a great loss to have forgotten them.

Beyond the “Herbal Classic,” Luo Ancestor and the hunters also compiled a “Survival Manual,” detailing how to escape when encountering certain giant beasts.

Such knowledge was truly invaluable.

Yet, despite all this preparation, accidents were never scarce in the wilderness; every hunting expedition brought casualties.

Not only novices, but even seasoned veterans sometimes fell during hunts. The “Herbal Classic,” the “Survival Manual,” and the accumulated survival experience of the hunting teams could not account for every contingency of this wild world.

Sometimes, an inexplicable migration of terrifying beasts would cross their paths, and the hunting teams could only hope for survival. Occasionally, a beast would unexpectedly awaken intelligence and become a monster, wielding supernatural powers—such encounters were not uncommon dangers.

Fortunately, there had been few recent battles between immortals in the area; if any occurred, they were a thousand miles away, visible only from afar, and brought no harm to this region.

Of course, Luo Ancestor could only look on with envy, unable to benefit from such events.

At last, the population of the “Cave Dwellers” had reached three thousand: fifteen hundred in Luo Township, nine hundred in Tiger Head Village, and six hundred in Salt Spring Village.

To accommodate more people in Luo Township, another expansion began six months ago, extending down from the mountaintop to the hillside, with two hundred new houses built.

Half of these were assigned to newborns, while the rest were freely available, generally without fixed owners. Whenever someone wished to mate, they could simply find a house to use...

By now, Luo Ancestor was powerless to curb the reproductive desires of the “Cave Dwellers”; all previous attempts at restraint had failed. He decided it was better to guide than to block, so he built these houses as “couple’s lodges,” allowing any man and woman with mutual affection and the urge to mate to take a room.

This prevented mating in the wild, sparing Luo Ancestor further embarrassment and reducing the risk of accidents—at least the houses of Luo Township offered some safety.

Additionally, many public toilets were built in Luo Township and the other two villages. Luo Ancestor strongly advocated for everyone to use these facilities, as accumulated waste was beneficial for agriculture.

No one objected to this proposal. Even when they lived in caves, Luo Ancestor had designated a cave as a public toilet, so everyone was already used to it—a good habit passed down to the fourth and fifth generations of the tribe.

Besides these small advances in daily life, the “Cave Dwellers” had also made significant progress in cultivation.

Although no one had yet advanced to the stage of refining spirit and transforming the divine, it had only been two years since everyone began practicing the Qi Refining Method. It required exploration and adaptation to one’s own body.

Despite Luo Ancestor’s many experiments, reality was full of variables. Each person's constitution was different, and only after several generations of tribal cultivation could a truly universal practice method emerge. When that day came, humanity as a race would surely experience a leap forward.

The Qi Refining Method and the Three Souls and Seven Spirits Sun and Shadow God Method were creations of Luo Ancestor, naturally best suited to him; for others, gradual adaptation and modification were necessary.

The Forty-Nine Profound Techniques also required adjustment for most practitioners, though some could use them directly without much modification.

Currently, the fastest progress in the Forty-Nine Profound Techniques was made by Ironhead Boy, who had reached the third transformation. His physique had strengthened immensely, and he could hoist a thirty-ton boulder, matching some of the medium-sized fierce beasts.

Everyone else had also become much stronger, drawing ever closer to the terrifying upright apes of the wilderness.

Luo Ancestor patrolled Luo Township, feeling gratified as he observed the small wonders created by his people. He then intended to visit Tiger Head Village and Salt Spring Village, but as soon as he set out for the mountain pass, he was stopped by someone.

The man was panic-stricken, scurrying about like a frightened rat.

“What’s wrong?” Luo Ancestor called out, instantly halting the man’s panic.

“Chief?... Chief! There’s a monster!” He gesticulated wildly in terror before blurting it out.

“A monster is a monster, what’s there to panic about!” Luo Ancestor snapped.

“There are so many... so many monsters!” he stammered in fright.

“How many can there possibly—”

“Mon...sters...?!”

Indeed, there were many. Very many.

When Luo Ancestor followed him to the scene, even he was left dumbfounded.