Back then, the Five Elements Tribe had withdrawn in such a hurry that they had indeed left behind a great many clues.
It was only because Ancestor Hun Xing had no interest in the people of the Five Elements Tribe that he had not pursued them.
But after nearly twenty thousand years, no matter how many traces they had left behind, they had all been worn away.
Relying on the Eye of the Great Dao, Luo Qing had searched bit by bit before finally finding the direction in which the Five Elements Tribe had withdrawn.
After spending several years, Luo Qing finally arrived at a basin nestled against the mountains and beside the water, two million li farther south than the Five Elements Tribe's former territory.
There, he found the Five Elements Tribe, which had settled down once more.
This place was even more remote than the area around Hundred Gods Mountain. Going another ten million li south would probably bring one to the southern seas.
But the advantage was that there were no major powers nearby. The Phoenix Clan probably disdained this barren land as well.
Perhaps the Five Elements Tribe could even turn misfortune into fortune and avoid the Three-Clan War!
Now that his identity was different, Luo Qing had no intention of personally going to the Crimson Flame Tribe to avoid trouble.
He would not gamble his safety on the character of the Five Elements Tribe's Grand Unity ancestor.
Whether it was the human heart or the divine heart, neither could withstand being tested.
However, this still could not stump Luo Qing.
He found a Crimson Flame Tribe member near the tribe and had him find True God Huoshi to pass on a message.
Faced with a Metal God, this Crimson Flame Tribe member naturally did not dare refuse.
Huoshi, whose cultivation had already reached the Mystic God realm, was utterly stunned when he suddenly heard news from Luo Qing.
After ten thousand years without any news of Luo Qing, he had assumed that Luo Qing had already died somewhere in the Primordial Great Land.
As soon as he arrived at the place where Luo Qing had arranged to meet him, Mystic God Huoshi unhappily shouted,
"Brat, you're already home, so why did you make me come find you? Have you been away from home too long to dare come back?"
"Captain, don't blame me! Something unexpected happened, and the circumstances were unusual."
Seeing Captain Huoshi again, delight flashed through Luo Qing's eyes.
Toward Captain Huoshi, who had been both teacher and father to him, Luo Qing genuinely felt close.
When he saw Luo Qing appear, Mystic God Huoshi was just about to lecture him, but he immediately froze in astonishment.
"Brat, you..."
Huoshi simply could not believe his eyes. He knew that Luo Qing had excellent talent.
But he had never imagined that Luo Qing would already possess the cultivation of a Metal God.
When Luo Qing revealed the aura of an Innate God, Huoshi fell silent at once.
After holding it in for a long while, he gave Luo Qing a strange once-over, studying his even fairer and more flawless face than a thousand years ago.
"You weren't possessed by some Primordial god, were you? Are you here to fool me?"
Luo Qing advancing to the Metal God realm was astonishing, but it was not beyond Huoshi's understanding. He was a genius, after all!
But reverting to innate and becoming an Innate God in one move was simply unbelievable to Huoshi.
Luo Qing smiled. "Captain, I remember that when I was ten, you pursued a goddess from the Azure Flower Tribe and were rejected! Should I say her name?"
"Enough, don't say it! You little brat, nearly twenty thousand years have passed. How do you still remember my embarrassing past?"
Huoshi's expression shifted slightly, and he hurriedly stopped Luo Qing from continuing.
With just a few words, Luo Qing and Huoshi had broken through the unfamiliarity of not seeing each other for ten thousand years. A familiar feeling swept over them.
Mystic God Huoshi also came to understand Luo Qing's predicament.
It was not that the Five Elements Tribe could not accommodate someone who had reverted to innate.
Rather, for an Acquired Being to revert to an Innate God, one needed a Great Opportunity.
Would the tribe's Metal Gods not be tempted? Could the Grand Unity ancestor remain unmoved?
Even Captain Huoshi himself was uncertain.
Since that was the case, it was better not to meet, so that both sides could retain a favorable impression of each other.
"In that battle back then, Little Four, Stone, and Jingjing died one after another. Even that Azure Flower goddess you just mentioned failed to escape!"
When he mentioned that battle, Captain Huoshi sighed.
The first three had all been fellow tribesmen and friends from the same unit who had gotten along fairly well with Luo Qing. He had never expected them to die in that great battle.
After a moment of silence, Luo Qing said solemnly, "Lord of Hundred Gods Mountain, Ancestor Hun Xing, has already been slain by my own hand. That can be considered avenging the tribe for what happened back then!"
"..."
Captain Huoshi no longer knew how many times he had been shocked that day. In any case, he had already gone numb from it.
Luo Qing and Captain Huoshi talked at length for three days, and Luo Qing pointed out the flaws in Captain Huoshi's cultivation.
"Though the Fierce Beasts are dead, the Phoenix Clan is domineering as well. The Southern Primordial Territory will soon descend into chaos again. Captain Huoshi, I hope you can keep yourself safe!"
After leaving him with those words, Luo Qing bade Captain Huoshi farewell and embarked on a long journey.
At the same time, Luo Qing left all the dozen or so Low-grade Acquired Spiritual Treasures he had no use for, along with a large pile of Innate Treasures, to Captain Huoshi and let him decide how to distribute them.
To Luo Qing, who could already refine Mid-grade Acquired Spiritual Treasures, Low-grade Acquired Spiritual Treasures were not worth mentioning.
Rather than leave them gathering dust in his hands, he might as well give them to the Five Elements Tribe, which would also repay part of the tribe's kindness in raising him.
"An eagle spreads its wings and soars into the heavens! It's our Five Elements Tribe that can no longer keep this boy!"
Watching Luo Qing's vanishing back, Captain Huoshi let out a sigh.
The Five Elements Tribe was simply not strong enough. Otherwise, why would even an opportunity to revert to innate require such caution?
Seeing that the Five Elements Tribe was safe and sound, and that it had recovered some vitality over the past ten thousand years, while Captain Huoshi had even become a Mystic God, Luo Qing finally felt as though a heavy stone had been lifted from his heart.
Although he had a firm faith in pursuing the Dao throughout his life, he did not want to become someone without desires or attachments, without emotions or feelings.
How would that differ from becoming a slave to the Dao?
When humans and gods lived in this world, they pursued the Dao, while the Dao assimilated them in turn.
Those who pursued the Dao still needed a few anchors to constantly remind and steady their minds.
Looking back at the basin where the Five Elements Tribe was located, Luo Qing could not help but become dazed.
He had a premonition that after parting today, they might not meet again until countless epochs had passed.
"As long as the Five Elements Tribe remains secluded in one corner and does not get involved in the coming Three-Clan War, it should not be difficult for them to survive the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity!"
After steadying himself and driving away his sorrow at parting, Luo Qing smiled.
Although legends said that Grand Unity Golden Immortals in the Primordial Wilderness were as common as dogs and Grand Luo Golden Immortals could be found everywhere,
if they were truly spread out, an area with a radius of a million li might not even give birth to a single Grand Unity Golden Immortal on average.
The Primordial Wilderness had no shortage of barren lands.
A Grand Unity Golden Immortal was already one of the local tyrants of the Primordial Wilderness.
With a Grand Unity Golden Immortal guarding it, as long as the Five Elements Tribe did not act recklessly,
and with the Fierce Beasts, such mortal enemies, gone, surviving in the Primordial Wilderness would still be relatively easy.
Raising his head again, Luo Qing's gaze turned toward the west.
This region lay in the far southwestern reaches of the Southern Primordial Territory, incredibly far from the Zhou Mountain region in the Central Primordial Era.
However, it bordered the Western Continent.
Moreover, the Central Primordial Era had always been where powerful cultivators gathered. Luo Qing, a mere Golden Immortal, did not dare to run wild there.
The Western Continent, however, had suffered the slaughter of the Fierce Beast Clan's main forces. Five or six tenths of its former living beings had died.
The losses among powerful figures such as Grand Unity Golden Immortals and Grand Luo Golden Immortals had been especially severe.
At this time, the Western Continent lacked high-level experts. It was clearly more suitable for someone like Luo Qing, a Golden Immortal, to roam.
Therefore, Luo Qing planned to temporarily avoid the Phoenix Clan's edge in the Southern Domain and go to the Western Continent to cultivate.
As for the legendary Demon Ancestor Luohu, he was currently in the Western Continent.
That was a realm Luo Qing could not touch at present, so there was nothing to worry about.
At worst, when the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity began, he could simply run away again!
"It's decided. I'll head west next!"
Luo Qing muttered inwardly, and his body instantly transformed into a mass of flames as he sped westward.
At this time, the Fierce Beast Calamity in the Primordial Wilderness had just ended, and the Ten Thousand Stars in the sky were dim.
Even the Sun and Moon Stars lacked the later glory in which they alone illuminated the Primordial Wilderness.
At present, the Primordial Wilderness had no distinction between night and day. The phantoms of the Sun and Moon stretched across the Nine Heavens Above.
With Luo Qing traveling at full speed, it took only a few years before he could vaguely see the Western Continent of the Primordial Wilderness.
The Fire Source Ancestral Vein of the Primordial Wilderness was located in the Southern Domain. The farther one went from the Southern Domain, the lower the temperature became.
Standing at the border between the Southern Domain and the Western Continent, Luo Qing gazed into the western sky with the Eye of the Great Dao.
Compared with the surging flames of the Southern Domain, the West was dim in Spiritual Light and divinity, with immortal radiance flickering faintly.
"This appearance of the Immortal Dao rising is truly surprising!"
Luo Qing was astonished. Had the Immortal Dao already begun to flourish in the West at this time?
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