I am the sacred tree, evergreen for eternity.

The night is like ink, full of stars.

The valley was filled with the sweet aroma of roasted meat and fermented wild fruits, and the glow of the campfire danced on every face, reflecting the satisfaction and joy of a bountiful harvest.

Today, the hunting party brought back a rare ironback rhinoceros—the giant beast was covered in a hard keratin layer, and ordinary knives and axes would only send up a string of sparks when they were hit, without even breaking its skin.

But it fell when Hong and his totem walkers joined forces to hunt it down.

The iron-backed rhinoceros meat was distributed to every member of the tribe, with even the weakest elderly and children receiving a delicious rib.

The rhinoceros hide was peeled off and dried, the rhinoceros horn was offered on the altar of the tree god, and the rhinoceros blood was filled into pottery jars and used to smear on the foreheads of newborns in prayer for the tree god's protection.

This is a Xia family tradition—after every successful hunt, the blood of the prey is used to bless the newborn.

Hong sat by the campfire, holding a bowl of rhinoceros blood wine with his newly grown left arm, watching his people laugh, sing, and dance.

His gaze swept across the faces, from the young people dancing around the campfire to the old women squatting at the door of the shed mending animal skins, and then to the children chasing and playing in the crowd.

Everyone was smiling.

Everyone was happy.

But Hong saw it—the crack that was quietly widening beneath the smile.

He lowered his head and drank the rhinoceros blood wine in the bowl in one gulp. The spicy liquid slid down his throat, burning his stomach.

Hong suddenly remembered many years ago when the tree god bestowed words upon him.

At that time, the entire tribe consisted of ordinary people, and everyone was eager to learn. Every word they learned was like a precious treasure.

Back then, there were no barriers, no alienation; everyone was on the same boat, rowing hard in the same direction.

What now?

The boat is still here, the oars are still here, and the direction is still here.

But some people on the ship stood even higher, almost as high as they could walk off the ship.

Those who couldn't stand tall began to doubt whether they were still worthy of staying on this ship.

Hong closed his eyes, and a sentence once spoken by the Tree God floated into his mind—

"The boundaries of bloodlines are not insurmountable."

But the tree spirit did not say that this door was only open to a select few.

He didn't say what to do about those who couldn't open the door...

The night grew deeper.

The campfire burned out and turned to ashes.

The tribespeople dispersed in twos and threes, returning to their huts, and the sound of snoring echoed through the valley.

Hong stood up from the ground, stretched his stiff legs, and strode toward the direction of the tree god.

The moment he stepped into the edge of the shade, a warm and profound spiritual energy enveloped him.

The spiritual energy flowed into his lungs with his breath, along his meridians to his limbs and bones, transforming into a life-nourishing force.

The further you go, the more abundant and active the spiritual energy becomes.

Hong looked up at the giant tree bathed in spiritual light.

He unconsciously knelt on one knee, his right hand on his chest, his forehead bowed.

"By the Tree God."

"Today's hunt was a great success, and the tribespeople are very happy... We are grateful to the Tree God for bestowing blessings."

The lush green leaves of the Yu Su tree shimmered with a faint light, as if echoing the starry sky above.

In Hong's perception, a gaze radiating endless brilliance descended and enveloped him.

"Are you having trouble?"

Hearing the voice beside him, Hong's lips moved several times, but in the end he just lowered his head deeply.

Yu Su did not urge him.

He waited quietly, like a tree waiting for the seed beneath its feet to sprout.

After a long silence, Hong finally spoke, his words halting and broken:

"The Tree God... the tribe is splitting apart."

"There are already signs of discord between the travelers and the ordinary people."

"If this continues, in a few generations... or maybe not even a few generations, when all of us old folks are dead..."

"The Xia family is about to disband."

Hong's voice grew softer and softer until it almost became a murmur.

"But... I can't do anything about it."

He lay prostrate beside the roots of Yu Su's tree, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"Please...give me guidance."

The night breeze stopped.

The entire valley fell into a deathly silence.

Even the chirping of insects disappeared, as if all living things in this world were holding their breath and waiting for something.

Hong felt a warm and gentle force rise from the ground and support his shoulders.

He saw that the flowing lines on the trunk of the tree god suddenly lit up, extending from the roots all the way to the crown, making the entire giant tree translucent like jade.

A spiritual energy surged from the tree's veins, coalescing into a dynamic and lifelike scene before Hong:

The valley where the Xia clan lived gradually shrank in the picture, from a lush forest to a palm-sized patch embedded in the vast wilderness.

Hong's pupils suddenly contracted.

He saw it—

To the east of the valley lies an endless mountain range, deep within which dwell countless powerful life forms, some of which are as terrifying as taboos.

To the west of the valley lies an endless swamp wetland, filled with poisonous miasma, beneath which lies unimaginable eeriness.

To the south of the valley flows a mighty, roaring river, where enormous shadows can be vaguely seen moving about, more terrifying than the surging waves.

And on the north side of the valley...

To the north lies the dense forest where they once risked everything to hunt the two-headed venomous python.

But in this scene, the dense forest connects to the boundless wilderness, where countless unnamed entities form their own forbidden zones.

The landscape, stretching for hundreds of miles, was clearly presented before Hong.

For the first time, he realized so intuitively—

How insignificant was the Xia clan?

"Sudden power breeds arrogance."

"This is dangerous."

Yu Su's voice was devoid of any emotional fluctuation; she was simply stating a fact.

It was this ordinariness that made Hong feel a chill that penetrated to the bone.

"Our valley is not even a drop in the ocean in this wild world."

"The road ahead for the Xia family is still very long."

The scene slowly faded away, and the spiritual energy returned to nothingness.

The night wind blew again, the insects chirped once more, and everything returned to normal.

Hong understood what Yu Su meant.

Because of ignorance, they became arrogant.

The Xia family is too small; after only a few decades of development, it is still just a slightly stronger ant...

Yu Su's voice rang out again, gentler and deeper than before.

"You now have names, you have power, you have food."

"But you are not yet worthy of being called 'civilized'."

Hong's eyes were full of confusion.

civilization?

He didn't understand the meaning of the word.

The spiritual energy surged once more, coalescing into a new image before Hong.

This time, many scenes appeared on screen that Hong had never seen before—

Some people mold clay into various shapes of vessels, then fire them to turn them into hard and beautiful pottery jars.

Some people twist plant fibers into fine threads, then weave these threads into soft and warm fabrics that are a hundred times more comfortable to wear than animal skins.

Some people search for all sorts of exotic plants in the mountains and fields, plant them around their dwellings, water and fertilize them, and wait for them to bloom and bear fruit.

In each scene, those people are not totem walkers.

They lacked extraordinary strength, powerful physique, and keen perception.

But with their hands, their minds, and through day after day of trial and error, they created one new thing after another that was ordinary yet incredibly important.

Hong was completely absorbed in watching.

He never imagined that mortal humans could do these things.

"Civilization begins with creation."

Yu Su's voice was like a lamp, illuminating the chaotic darkness in Hong's heart.

Everyone has their own unique talents, and there's always more to be done than just self-cultivation.

"Cultivators protect the tribe, ordinary people build the tribe."

"The totem walker is the shield, and ordinary mortals are the hands. Without the shield, the tribe will be destroyed; without the hands, the tribe will forever remain in barbarism and ignorance."

As the sound faded, the image of condensed spiritual energy dissipated.

Hong knelt there, motionless, like a stone sculpture.

After a long time, he slowly stood up.

His eyes were bright, as bright as two ignited stars.

"Tree God, I understand."