Poor Taoist Qiu Chuji

Chapter 398 Survival is a Great Calamity

The sky and earth were covered in dust, and grains of sand were striking Qiu Chuji's cold brow bone.

The cracked earth stretched out in a spiderweb-like pattern beneath his feet, withered branches caught on the hem of his animal skin coat, and a short sword, forged and reforged many times, hung at his waist, long since rusted.

Walking through the post-apocalyptic world, Qiu Chuji did not seek out any new races suitable for cultivating civilization.

Because he had realized that doing so would only plunge him into a deeper loneliness.

Beyond the brilliant civilization, he would be an even more out-of-place outsider.

Perhaps 'loneliness' is the reason why those who have already seen through everything still tirelessly choose to spread their teachings and accept disciples and followers, rather than some so-called fortune or lineage.

It's just to find more 'kindred spirits'.

Everyone needs their own kind, and saints are no exception.

Of course, this idea was only relevant to Qiu Chuji at that moment.

Even the most intelligent individual cannot see the entirety of the universe; similarly, any practitioner can only comprehend a part of the Great Dao.

Why the Taoist patriarch passed down the Taoist tradition is a question that every practitioner will have a different understanding of.

Whether something is right or wrong depends solely on one's perspective.

As he walked and reminisced, Qiu Chuji split his thoughts in two. One half was deeply immersed in the past, repeatedly chewing on his past self to avoid being assimilated by time and becoming like the wind, light, water, stones, and grass in nature—existing but without a self. The other half was always looking at the world with fresh eyes, finding differences even in the most monotonous scenery and finding joy in it.

Without any extraordinary power other than physical abilities, Qiu Chuji could only do so much. He could not seal away the 'memories' that were already ancient, and could not reappear in this world as a newborn, each time as if he were reborn.

Qiu Chuji now fully understands why immortals, even great immortals, are so abundant in all the heavens and myriad worlds, and why the same individual has a large number of powerful 'other selves' in different time and space planes.

However, those who achieve the Golden Immortal status are so rare that Qiu Chuji himself seems to have only seen the Heavenly Nezha and the Antarctic Immortal among those who are above the Golden Immortal.

Because immortality is the greatest tribulation for the Golden Immortal.

Compared to the test of time, tribulations like earth fire and heavenly thunder, or heavenly demons and evil spirits, are all child's play!
Every problem that has form and substance, whose existence can be concretely felt, has a clear solution.

But there's no time!
Many are qualified to stand before the gates of the Golden Immortal, but very few can truly break through and trample time under their feet.

At the cost of an entire world, helping qualified and well-connected junior cultivators refine immortality—upon closer reflection, it's not actually that difficult.

The difficulty lies in how he himself, through the tempering of time, solidified those ethereal immortalities into true immortal divine metal.

And so I walked, reminiscing as I went.

Qiu Chuji himself did not know exactly how much time had passed.

After the destruction of the Leopard civilization, he stopped recording time.

This signifies both his numbness and his growing disregard for the regularity and conventional concepts of time.

In the chaotic universe, time has no meaning.

Because it can neither constrain nor change anything, everything is predetermined, and all things and celestial bodies follow established laws and trajectories, ushering in birth and destruction.

Time only began to be fixed when intelligent life started to think about survival, from the earliest sunrise and sunset, to knotted ropes as a means of recording time, and then to the emergence of various tools for recording time.

It can be said that the more advanced a civilization is, the more stringent its rules regarding time will be.

Time and civilization complement each other and are born together. Time is like a whip, always following behind, constantly lashing and urging us forward.

Qiu Chuji had become an immortal being, so the first thing he did to break free from the control of time was to truly forget about time, ignore the concept, and return himself to the universe, just like the stars that have existed for billions of years.

Whether a year or billions of years have passed, treat it as this moment, this instant.

Beyond Qiu Chuji's wandering and oblivion, the world never ceased to change. The animals that escaped the great catastrophe rebuilt new homes amidst the ruins.

The darlings of the new world will be born naturally at some point, and then embark on a journey of civilization.

However, without Qiu Chuji's intervention, the transformation of civilization would have come much later.

Newly formed civilized races need a long time to resolve the most basic survival conflicts, then to improve their production methods, change their lifestyles, and liberate their minds from barbarism and ignorance.

This process is no longer measured in hundreds or thousands of years, but in tens of thousands of years.

······
It's another new day!
Sunlight falls evenly through the misty ancient forest, and the wind rustles through the treetops as if an invisible hand is caressing this lush forest.

In the pale golden morning mist floating among the intertwined branches, the vine-woven covered bridge appears and disappears through the gaps in the leaves.

Thousands of nests hang from the branches of ancient trees, and upon closer inspection, they are all made of twigs and moss. In front of each house, wind chimes made of grass stems sway, making soft sounds as the air currents through the forest collide.

The worker birds flapped their slightly metallic tail feathers as they flew across the aerial walkway, amber-colored sap dripping from the clumps of resin they clutched in their claws.

Below, on the natural plaza formed by the folds of tree bark, a group of white-necked bird architects are tapping on newly formed burls with their beaks, and the outline of a storage room with spiral patterns is gradually revealed amidst the flying debris.

A sudden commotion startled a few downy feathers as two crested birds raised their crests in a struggle for control of the silk thread, their claws digging deep into cracks in the bark.

Suddenly, a cry of three short and one long came from the lookout nest higher up, and all the figures moving about froze at the same time.

A gray finches carrying seeds hover in front of half-open flowers, while wrens carrying moss press their tail feathers into a wary arc.

Only when the silver-feathered sentinel at the highest treetop spread its wings and drew arcs of safety in the sunlight with its wingtips did the stagnant air begin to flow again.

The grinding sound continued deep inside the tree hollow, the scent of crushed pale purple berries mingling with the morning mist...

Everything was so peaceful and beautiful!

This is the new civilization in the world, a shared civilization belonging to many different kinds of birds.

The emergence of bird-based civilizations is, in a way, related to leopard-based civilizations.

The leopard civilization evolved into a spirit-controlling system that used potions to manipulate beasts, which included many elements that stimulated the development of the animals' brains.

Although this comes at the cost of shortening the lifespan of those beasts, with the aim of making them more obedient, the negative effects are slowly overcome as the species reproduces generation after generation, while the positive effects continue.

After the major disaster, birds suffered the least damage. Unlike fish, they were rarely domesticated by leopards, so they were the first to grow strong. Some of the 'wise' birds came together to fight the risks and acquire the resources to survive.

By chance, some birds received the legacy of the leopard spirit civilization, which further unlocked their collective wisdom, uniting all birds, each with different roles, and forming a true bird alliance.

They are like spirits of nature, gathering berries, making jam, constructing numerous interconnected high-altitude bird nests, and raising plump worms in giant trees.

The entire bird civilization displayed a unique vitality.

This world will eventually become lively again.

Qiu Chuji had long noticed the rise of bird civilization, but he neither approached, nor participated in, nor interfered. He would only occasionally spy from afar, and would quickly retreat after being spotted by some sentry birds. He had stepped back from being a guide to civilization to becoming a simple observer.

Record and watch, but do not interfere.

Whether this civilization prospers greatly or, like the Leopard Civilization, is destroyed one day, he will only watch from the sidelines.

However, with the development of bird civilization and the expansion of territory, it was only a matter of time before Qiu Chuji, this unique anomaly, was discovered.

Aban is a godwit who acts as a scout among the flock.

It has extremely strong endurance and a decent flight speed, making it a very qualified scout.

It has flown over many places, recording where birds can inhabit and migrate, and where there may be dangers, etc.

On this day, it had just flown over a snow-capped mountain and saw a vast hot spring lake surrounded by dense forests. In these forests, it also saw many delicious insects, making it a perfect place to set up a small camp for temporary shelter.

It landed, wanting to get a closer look and, incidentally, satisfy its appetite.

Then Aban discovered Qiu Chuji sitting on a rock in meditation.

This is a strange-looking 'beast' covered in colorful fur. Aban has been to many places, but he has never seen such a 'monster' before.

His head was covered in hair, but his body was hairless, making him look very clean, and he exuded a relaxing aura.

Without realizing it, A-Ban landed and squatted down next to Qiu Chuji.

Qiu Chuji opened his eyes, his clear, pure gaze fixed on A-Ban.

"who are you?"

What kind of animal is it?

"They look a bit like monkeys, are they related to them?"

"Was it because you were too ugly that you were expelled?" Aban asked Qiu Chuji in the language common to birds.

It didn't expect Qiu Chuji to answer; it just wanted to ask the question.

Just like humans talk to cats and dogs, it's more like a form of self-entertainment and soliloquy.

“I am human!” Qiu Chuji replied in the language of birds.

Although Qiu Chuji did not actually come into contact with bird civilization, with his talent, having heard and experienced bird language, it would have been very easy for him to learn it.

However, this language requires a sharp, bird-like voice to produce intermittent wave frequencies. Without extremely precise control of the muscles, even if an ordinary person studies it thoroughly, they will basically not be able to truly learn to use it... unless they use tools to assist them.

"Huh! You can talk?" A-Ban was startled, but he didn't run away. Instead, he tilted his head and continued to look at Qiu Chuji with curiosity, showing no intention of running away.

Bird civilizations basically do not have any real natural enemies.

Or rather, many small birds' natural enemies are actually larger birds.

Today, birds have formed a shared civilization. The highest bird nest has long issued a statement that it will not allow large birds to bully small birds. Moreover, they do not need as much food as leopards, and the breeding and raising of insects is easier than herding and raising large herbivores.

Birds achieved food security faster than leopards, and the overall atmosphere was more peaceful and harmonious.

These are the foundations for A-Ban's innocent and carefree nature.

What is humanity?

"Is it also a kind of bird?" When Qiu Chuji did not answer, Aban immediately pressed on with the question.

Qiu Chuji originally wanted to answer and explain the difference, but when the words were about to come out, he suddenly burst into laughter.

Is he still considered 'human'?

This is question one.

In a broad sense, what is the essential difference between humans and birds?
This is question two.

Therefore, Qiu Chuji nodded, which was considered an affirmation of A-Ban's question.

"Wow!!"

"I've never seen a bird as big as you!"

Are you called Human Bird?

"Then where is your clan? My God! You are taller than a giant eagle. Every time they take flight, they have to rely on a strong wind to glide down from a great height. How can you... how do you fly?" A-Ban had many questions and wanted to get answers from Qiu Chuji.

"I can ride the clouds and fly, I can ride the air!" Qiu Chuji said.

"And what about your wings? And your feathers!" Aban continued to ask, her little DouDou eyes full of curiosity.

"I don't need wings to fly, nor do I grow feathers," Qiu Chuji replied.

"That's really... a shame!" Ban sighed and shook his head, then proudly displayed his wings.

It had always thought it was ugly, its feathers were gray and white, not bright at all, and it couldn't shine brightly in the sunlight. But now, compared to the 'human bird' in front of it, it felt extremely beautiful!

At least it has healthy wings and full feathers.

"Then... let's have a race and see who can fly faster!"

"I'm quite confident in my speed!" Aban playfully invited Qiu Chuji to have an impromptu race with it.

"I can't fly yet!" Qiu Chuji said.

Actually, he does have a way to fly, such as... making a big jump.

Jumping thousands of meters or hundreds of meters high in a single leap... how can that not be considered a form of flight?

Of course, you can also do a hang glider, but... that's too much trouble!
Qiu Chuji no longer seeks such simple pleasures.

I had enough of this kind of fun during my first playthrough!
"Ah! I'm sorry... I mean, it's such a pity!" A-Ban looked at Qiu Chuji's bare arms with pity.

“It’s alright, you can come back with me. Perhaps the old birds in the highest nest can come up with a solution for you,” Aban suggested.

Qiu Chuji closed his eyes again, suddenly regretting having bothered with the bird.

It's a bit too lively... and a bit too talkative.

(End of this chapter)