After returning from Nuwa Palace, Jiang He immediately went into seclusion to reflect on his mistakes.
What should he do now? He couldn't bring himself to give up all these technological inventions right away. It was impossible to cut them off all at once, so he could only gradually steer things in another direction and reduce the Human Race's dependence on external tools step by step!
Still, many things could be kept. Communication Rings, for example, could help the Human Race cultivate. As for things like Alchemy and artifact crafting, they had already existed in the Primordial World, so there was no need to change them. Weapon development would have to be limited to stockpiling technology. He might not use it, but he couldn't afford not to have it!
Everything else could be gradually replaced. They could trade spaceships for riding clouds and mist. The intelligent system could be removed; all that intelligence had done was make the Human Race stop thinking for themselves! The Red Dust Pearl modules, movies and entertainment, gossip, economics, and so on—all of it had to go! They would keep only the exchange function and the forum for sharing cultivation insights!
Wait! That didn't make sense. If these things were so bad, why had the Anti-Demon Alliance asked him for spaceships?
If Nuwa knew what he was thinking, she'd probably want to send him back to the furnace and remake him. What level was Nuwa on, and what level was the Anti-Demon Alliance on? Could they possibly see things from the same perspective?
Forget it. If they didn't want them, then so be it. He'd contact the Anti-Demon Alliance and sell them everything!
He had a plan, but these things had been in use among the Human Race for many years. There was no way to get rid of them all at once; they could only be phased out slowly!
Then Jiang He turned his attention to cultivation. From what Empress Nuwa had said, he was only now complete. Before this, he'd been like a premature baby!
From now on, he would have to focus on cultivation. After all, Empress Nuwa had said that the Human Race's top combat strength would determine the future of its fortune!
So he decided to continue traveling through the Primordial World. Only by constantly tempering himself in battle could he grow quickly enough!
His past-life experience wasn't reliable. Relying on experience could be deadly!
In the end, he could only count on his own strength. Trusting his fists was more reliable than trusting his Golden Finger!
Once he'd thought it all through, he called Jiang Shan, Shui Xi, and the others in!
After everyone sat down, Jiang He looked at the people before him. They were old brothers who had been born alongside him. Although he was the Clan Leader, the Human Race had always been managed by Jiang Shan and the others; he had only set the general direction. Deep down, he had never truly thought of himself as part of the Human Race in the Primordial World. He had always considered himself a passerby, a transmigrator!
Whether he'd worried about the Human Race or worked hard to develop it, his intentions had been good. But he'd made one mistake: he'd treated the Human Race like a simulation game!
It was as if a mouse on a sandbox game had controlled every step the Human Race took! And now, he'd successfully led the Human Race astray! If Empress Nuwa hadn't pulled him out of this mistaken way of thinking, the Human Race's present prosperity would probably have been destroyed by the Demon Race in an instant! The Human Race would then have returned to the path it had followed in his previous life, and Empress Nuwa would have painfully erased that history and started over!
Jiang He spoke slowly. "Jiang Shan! Thanks to Empress Nuwa's guidance, I've recently realized that the Human Race has been following the wrong path. We've made a fatal mistake, and it's all my fault as Clan Leader!"
At Jiang He's words, Jiang Shan and Shui Xi were stunned. Then Jiang Shan hurriedly said, "Clan Leader, what are you talking about? Our people are happy, and we have no internal or external troubles. What mistake could there be?"
"Jiang Shan, how long has it been since your cultivation improved?" Jiang He asked.
Caught off guard by the question, Jiang Shan paused before replying, "It's been a long time. Nearly ten thousand years, I'd say!"
Jiang He looked at the others. "And you?"
Shui Xi, Mu Ye, Lei Ting, and the others said, "About the same—nearly ten thousand years. Ever since we reached the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, our cultivation has seemed to improve very slowly!"
Jiang He then explained Empress Nuwa's words to everyone and clarified the situation with the Human Race's development.
Jiang Shan gritted his teeth. "Clan Leader, better a short period of pain than a long one. We have to turn this situation around!"
"Exactly, Clan Leader! Just tell us what to do. We'll follow your lead!" Shui Xi and the others chimed in.
Jiang He looked at everyone. "Good! The most urgent thing now is to encourage everyone to cultivate and strive to improve themselves, while gradually reducing our dependence on external power! Fortunately, this has only just begun. We'll start with the army and slowly stop using weapons and equipment like the Demon Extermination Cannons. But we must continue developing them. Having something and not using it is not the same as not having it!"
"For now, we'll only prohibit the use of weapons. We can keep the other things that help the Human Race fight more effectively. We have to discard the dross and keep the essence!
"As for everything related to the technological Small World, I'll take it all offline! Be prepared for that!"
"Also, all of you should take turns training and fighting in the Primordial World Small World, then go traveling through the Primordial World in rotation. Only by truly experiencing the Primordial World can you make rapid progress!"
"I'll set out to travel through the Primordial World soon. I'll do my best to reach the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm as soon as possible and strengthen the foundations of the Human Race!"
"Don't worry, Clan Leader!"
They all stood up and clasped hands, holding on tightly!
At that moment, they felt as though they'd returned to the Human Race's earliest days, when everything had to be fought for and everything they did was aimed at strengthening the race's foundations!
Afterward, Jiang He took out several of his merit treasures and handed them out!
He gave Jiang Shan the acquired merit flame he had made by Drilling Wood to Make Fire.
He gave Lei Ting the first beast-hide garment he had made.
He gave Shui Xi the first wooden house.
He gave Lin Bei the stone tablet on which he had created writing!
After distributing the treasures, Jiang He set out on the path of cultivation through the Primordial World with Feng Li Yue!
The two flew east toward the East Sea. Feng Li Yue was thrilled the whole way; it was her first time traveling through the Primordial World with Jiang He! Everything fascinated her. For twenty thousand years, she had either stayed in Nuwa Palace or served as the Human Race's mascot. She understood the world less well than many ordinary members of the Human Race!
After leaving Tianyuan City, the two traveled along the East Sea, heading north along its coast. When they got tired of flying, they occasionally caught a few nearby demon beasts to ride. The journey was quite pleasant!
After some time, Jiang He and Feng Li Yue were leaning against a huge Mystic Turtle when they heard what seemed to be the sound of fighting ahead. They exchanged a glance, then flew toward the noise together.
After crossing a hill, Jiang He saw an estuary leading into the sea. A group of Sea Clan Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals were battling a group of aquatic creatures from the Great River!
Jiang He stood far away on a mountaintop, looking down at the battlefield. The Sea Clan clearly had the upper hand. Most of the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals were around the Heavenly Immortal level, and their few leaders were Mystic Immortals. It looked like a small-scale conflict!
He just didn't know which factions the two sides belonged to! The area bordered the East Sea and North Sea, and a great river flowed into the sea here, so it was hard to tell!
Before long, the battle ended. The Great River Water Tribe fled upriver under the leadership of a Mystic Immortal from the Crocodile Tribe! The Sea Clan didn't pursue them along the river. It wasn't that sea creatures couldn't enter freshwater rivers; once they had cultivated to this level, that sort of thing was no problem!
The Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals quickly formed ranks and began clearing the battlefield under the command of a Mystic Immortal Sea Yaksha!
Jiang He seemed to recognize the armor on the Sea Yaksha. The Human Race never sold this kind of armor to outsiders. The only force in the Sea Clan that could have it was the East Sea Dragon Palace!
So these must be the Dragon King of the East Sea's troops.
At this point in time, the Dragon Clan hadn't yet conquered all four seas. Though they were called the Four Seas Dragon Clan, only the East Sea and South Sea belonged to them. The other seas were occupied by powerful local factions. The North Sea, for example, was Kunpeng's territory, while the West Sea was in the midst of chaos, with demons running rampant!
When Jiang He and Feng Li Yue appeared before the Sea Yaksha, it and the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals all went on guard in alarm!
"May I ask what brings the two immortals here? I serve under Ao Jia, the Crown Prince of the Dragon King of the East Sea."
The Sea Yaksha bowed respectfully to Jiang He and Feng Li Yue.
"Don't worry. We're only passing through. I noticed that your armor seems to be made by the Human Race, so I came over to take a look. Since you say you serve the East Sea Dragon Clan, there's no misunderstanding." Jiang He spoke calmly.
Hearing that they were members of the Human Race, the Sea Yaksha finally let out the breath it had been holding. After all, the Dragon Clan and Human Race were allies now, and the Dragon King had repeatedly ordered his people to treat members of the Human Race with courtesy!
"You said you serve under Ao Jia. Where is the Crown Prince now? Go report to him and tell him that Jiang He of the Human Race is here!"
"Replying to you, Immortal, the Crown Prince is at the Undersea Camp nearby. I'll report to him at once!"
With that, he darted off!
Feng Li Yue asked curiously, "Are these the Dragon Clan's troops? They seem so weak!"
"Yue'er, you can't put it that way. This is just an ordinary squad of the Dragon Clan's troops! The East Sea Dragon Clan is still quite powerful. Although they've fallen from their former glory and can't compare with top-tier races like the Wu Race and Demon Race, they've still held two seas for all these years, so they shouldn't be underestimated. And now, the Dragon Clan has gained five Quasi-Sages, so its upper ranks are already stronger than ours!
"You have to remember, the Human Race doesn't have a single Quasi-Sage yet!"
Jiang He explained to Feng Li Yue.
"Ah? Then what should we do? The Dragon Clan is our ally. What if they refuse to listen to us? We don't have any Quasi-Sages!" Feng Li Yue hurriedly said.
Seeing that, after twenty thousand years, Feng Li Yue was still such a sweet, naïve girl, Jiang He smiled faintly. Whenever Yue'er was with him, she seemed not to understand anything. She didn't even want to think for herself!
"Don't worry. We may not have any Quasi-Sages, but we have the Holy Mother, and we also have the Wu Race. The Wu Race has signed the Great Dao Covenant with us! Besides, of the seven Sages in the Primordial World today, five are on our side, apart from the Dao Ancestor. They wouldn't dare betray us!
"And they swore it in front of the Mother Goddess. Do they really think the Mother Goddess is easy to deal with?"
"True enough!" Feng Li Yue nodded.
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