Primordial Era: Starting with Self-Created Mythical Great Luo Law

"Your tribe is the Houtu tribe, which is under the command of Fellow Daoist Houtu. As for the Zhurong tribe? This humble Daoist dares not set foot there lightly—if I were to go, I fear that the Ancestral Witch Zhurong would simply raise her hand and blast me ten miles away."

The Green Lotus Taoist smiled slightly, his words carrying a hint of mockery.

"You flatter me, sir. Your presence at the Houtu tribe is a great honor for our people, and I would never refuse."

"However, this place is located at the very edge of Antarctica, far from the tribe. It will take several days to travel there. I suggest you set off immediately."

Before she finished speaking, a thick, earthy-yellow divine light suddenly surged from beneath Houtu's feet, enveloping her figure, and she suddenly soared into the air, like a shooting star streaking across the sky.

Seeing that she had already set off and was heading straight for the heart of the primordial wilderness, the Green Lotus Daoist lightly flicked his sleeves and summoned a pure white auspicious cloud, which followed closely behind without haste.

He knew perfectly well that she was in such a hurry to leave because she was afraid of running into Zhu Rong again, getting into a fight, and causing trouble for herself.

The two moved with lightning speed, and in the blink of an eye, the Antarctic ice sheet was left behind and could no longer be seen.

Houtu's method of flying away is neither a cultivator riding the clouds and mist, nor a divine light tearing through the void. It relies purely on the power of the witch's body—the trembling of the muscles and bones activates the earth's veins, the surging of the blood connects with the mountains, and every move is in harmony with the rhythm of the earth.

Qinglian Daoist observed intently the whole way, and sighed inwardly: This is no ordinary movement, but an ancient cultivation in which flesh and blood and laws are perfectly integrated.

Half a month later, the vast, untamed land came into view.

Looking ahead, a sacred peak rises abruptly from the ground, shrouded in clouds; in front of the peak, a vast plain opens up, where a huge settlement of the Wu tribe stands prominently—stone houses are scattered like a forest, and people come and go like a woven tapestry, with shouts, the sounds of hammers and chisels, and the chasing of children all mixed together, full of vitality and unstoppable force.

Houtu's eyes were gentle, and the corners of her lips were slightly raised. She turned her head to Qinglian Daoist and said, "Please look, Master. This is the Houtu tribe that I lead. The tribe currently has 100,000 people, 80,000 warriors, more than 10,000 children, and more than 1,000 elders. The surrounding mountains, rivers, forests, and wilderness stretch for tens of thousands of miles and are all hunting grounds for the tribe."

The Wu tribe was very different from the human race of later generations: adults became warriors, regardless of gender; the so-called elderly were rare - there were no granaries in the Wu land, and it was difficult to live long without food. Those who could live past sixty were one in a hundred.

Upon hearing this, Daoist Qinglian was slightly shaken: a hundred thousand people was already a colossal number in the current prehistoric world.

At that time, agriculture had not yet been developed, and there was no method of farming and storing grain. How could they support 100,000 shamans by relying solely on hunting and gathering? He frowned slightly, a doubt arising in his mind—the shaman tribe did not engage in farming, so where did the food for the entire tribe come from?

Admittedly, high-level shamans can devour evil spirits and refine essence, without needing grains; however, shamans are physically strong and have an astonishing appetite, so even if they abstain from grains for half of their lives, the remaining needs are still as insatiable as rivers and seas.

"With such a large following, how will you manage to provide provisions?" Qinglian Daoist finally spoke, his tone revealing genuine bewilderment.

Houtu smiled upon hearing this: "You are overthinking it, Master. The mountains and fields teem with wild beasts and birds that darken the sun. Tens of thousands of warriors from our tribe hunt in the forests every day; how could we possibly lack food?"

The Azure Lotus Daoist remained silent for a moment, then gently shook his head: "Although the primordial world is vast and the creatures are numerous, if we take from it without restraint, there will eventually be a day of depletion. Today we hunt a hundred beasts, tomorrow we hunt a thousand birds; the cause and effect accumulate layer upon layer, our merits are quietly worn away, and our fortunes fluctuate accordingly—this is not a long-term strategy for securing our livelihood."

He said no more. Houtu did not argue, but simply smiled and led the way into the depths of the tribe. The shamans along the way all bowed their heads and stepped aside, respectfully making way for him.

But when everyone saw that the Ancestral Witch was accompanied by a Taoist in a green robe, they were all stunned. Their eyes frequently swept over, and whispers surged like an undercurrent.

"Why did the Ancestral Witch bring a Taoist priest back? Could it be that this Taoist priest is handsome?" A young witch lowered his voice and secretly pointed with his finger.

"What nonsense!" A bystander glanced sideways, lowering his voice even further. "What kind of status does the Ancestral Witch have? How could she be swayed by appearances? This person must be a supreme being with unparalleled supernatural powers—otherwise, how dare he walk alongside the Ancestral Witch?"

The moment the words "Great Supernatural Being" were uttered, the surroundings fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a commotion. The Ancestral Witch personally welcoming a guest, and a great master of the Daoist sect at that, was an event that had not occurred in the sect for a hundred years.

The two walked through the corridor and courtyard and entered a stone house. The house was more than three zhang high, with rough walls. Inside, there were only three things: a stone table, a stone chair, and a stone bed. It was extremely simple, but it was somewhat similar to a monk's meditation room.

Houtu raised her hand, her slender wrist gently gesturing for Daoist Qinglian to take a seat: "This humble abode is crude and unrefined; please, sir, do not stand on ceremony and sit wherever you wish."

The monks value rituals, and every bow and gesture follows a set pattern; the witches, however, have never valued empty formalities, and are frank and straightforward, like the wind passing over a mountain, leaving no trace.

"We who cultivate the Tao have always breathed in the morning glow and absorbed the purple aura, living on the wind and drinking the dew, and not getting involved in worldly affairs."

"Mountain rocks can serve as a couch, and streams can also be used as mats—why do you use the word 'simple', fellow Daoist?" Qinglian Daoist casually sat down on the bluestone chair, his tone indifferent.

"The True Man's virtue is so lofty that it is Houtu who has been disrespectful."

Houtu smiled gently, her gaze warm as she looked at Daoist Qinglian: "Just now, when you heard about the Wu Clan's hunt, you suddenly fell silent for a long time. Could it be that you see something amiss in this matter?"

After a slight hesitation, Daoist Qinglian slowly spoke: "The Wu Clan has no fault in hunting for food; however, this current Hunyuan is about to end, and the situation for the next Hunyuan is quite troublesome."

"If my prediction is correct, the Wu tribe will surely prosper in the future during the primordial chaos—this is ordained by Heaven. At that time, tribes will be scattered like stars across the vast wilderness, and their appetite will be boundless. If this continues, the killings will become more frequent, and the karmic consequences will become heavier. For the Wu tribe, this will bring a hundred harms and not a single benefit."

Upon hearing this, Houtu's eyes initially brightened slightly, but then her brows furrowed. She knew the weight of cause and effect, but the Wu clan did not cultivate their primordial spirit and were unaware of the flow of karma, making it difficult for anyone in the clan to perceive the danger.

Those powerful figures who avoided the witch clan were not afraid of their divine power, but rather did not want to be entangled in any cause and effect—this shows how heavy these two words were.

Food is essential and indispensable, but worries are unsolvable.

"To be honest, let alone the future of the Great Unity, even now, the food and provisions of each tribe are already scarce."

She sighed softly, her voice low and clear: "How could I not know the taboo of cause and effect? ​​It's just... I have no choice but to pretend not to see it."

The Green Lotus Daoist's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately pressed, "What do you mean by that, fellow Daoist? Your tribe commands 80,000 elite warriors; how could you possibly be running out of food?"

Houtu shook her head and smiled bitterly: "The number of warriors is indeed eighty thousand, but only a dozen or so great shamans among them can abstain from grains; the rest temper their muscles, bones, and blood day and night, how could they possibly fight on an empty stomach? If the granaries were full, how could there only be a few thousand elders left in the tribe?"

The Green Lotus Daoist fell silent for a moment. Even with the cultivation of a Great Luo Golden Immortal, one cannot conjure food out of thin air—not because it is beyond one's power, but because it is limited by the laws of Heaven: cultivators avoid karma as if it were a calamity, how could they indiscriminately commit acts of killing just to fill their stomachs?

He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, then suddenly opened them and said, word by word, "This humble Taoist has a plan that can solve the immediate crisis without causing any karma."

"However, the Dharma is not easily imparted—I am willing to take the cultivation method of the ancestral witch of the Wu tribe as a sign."