All Humanity Feasted

"That's Order Guardian Qing Hu!"

It didn't take long for someone to recognize the proud, imposing woman.

People nearby began gathering around her of their own accord. Quite a few thick-skinned men even went up to strike up a conversation, only to be met with a cold stare that kept them at arm's length.

"Gao Yuyan." Wu Hen called out to her.

The woman in the green velvet cloak stopped and glanced back at Trash No. 2.

She took a closer look, and after some effort, recognized him through Wu Hen's filthy appearance.

"Wu Hen?" Gao Yuyan asked.

"Heh, it's me. Long time no see. You've grown quite a bit," Wu Hen said with a smile.

He hadn't expected to run into an old acquaintance so soon.

Gao Huan and Gao Yuyan.

They were siblings from the Gao family.

Back when Wu Yingting was Licheng's richest man, the two families had been on fairly close terms. As it happened, each family had a son and a daughter, and the two families had often gone on summer study tours together over the years.

"I can't believe a scumbag like you made it all the way to Nuwa Divine Mother's realm. It's pathetic," Gao Yuyan sneered.

"It's been almost two years, and I still haven't properly apologized to you. At that study camp, I genuinely thought no one was in the bathroom," Wu Hen said.

"Shut up and get lost!" Gao Yuyan bristled like an enraged fox, her eyes blazing with fury.

"All right, all right. I only just got here, and I don't know the place very well. Could you show me around?" Wu Hen asked.

As he said this, there was a hint of provocation in his eyes.

Gao Yuyan knew exactly what kind of person Wu Hen was. If she refused, who knew what he might say in front of everyone?

She bit her lip and snorted, then turned and headed deeper into the Five-Colored Soil.

"Thanks!" Wu Hen immediately beamed and hurried to her side.

The people nearby were all astonished. She hadn't even agreed—so why was he shamelessly sticking to her? And more importantly, why hadn't Gao Yuyan chased the scoundrel away?

After knowing her for so many years, Wu Hen had long since figured out Gao Yuyan's temperament.

If she didn't angrily tell him to stop, that basically meant she agreed.

"I saw your brother on TV. He's impressive. Your Gao family really is something. Not only has your business kept growing, you've also earned a lot of prestige throughout humanity," Wu Hen said. He was a bit socially anxious, in the sense that he was a social menace.

"You've only just entered the Desolate Dust, yet you're already near Nuwa Divine Terminal. That's rare," Gao Yuyan replied coolly.

"Everyone calls you an Order Guardian. What does that mean?" Wu Hen asked.

"It's a title given by Nuwa Divine Terminal to certain Awakened who guard our homeland and the Thin Boundary," Gao Yuyan said.

"Oh, I see..." Wu Hen nodded.

It sounded similar to Ming Yi and the others, though their duties were different.

Ming Yi and the others were field operatives. They often had to venture beyond Nuwa Divine Terminal's Thin Boundary to clear away obstacles and hidden threats.

"I have a friend with the Patrol Corps. Which branch of the tree are they on?" Wu Hen looked up at the boundless branches, completely lost.

Gao Yuyan shot him a glare. "Watch how you phrase that!"

Wu Hen smiled indifferently. There was truth to the saying that humanity's ancestors had come down from the trees.

"Just follow me," Gao Yuyan said.

"Sure. It's been a while since we've seen each other. Let's catch up... I mean, share some memories," Wu Hen said.

"Come this way. The Five-Colored Stream will take us to the foot of the Divine Mother." Gao Yuyan walked toward a flowing Five-Colored Stream.

Wu Hen followed her into the stream. He'd expected an experience like riding in a boat, but was astonished when the surroundings blurred as the Five-Colored Stream flowed beneath his feet!

It was like riding a vessel through time and space at high speed, even though they were walking at a leisurely pace through the stream.

Nuwa Divine Terminal had seemed as distant as a range of sacred mountains. Even on horseback or by carriage, it would have taken days and nights to reach the foot of the mountains.

But after they stepped into the Five-Colored Stream, space seemed to flow by, and time with it. In the time it took to walk along the corridor of a courtyard, Wu Hen and Gao Yuyan had reached the foot of the Divine Terminal, which had seemed impossibly far away!

When they arrived beneath the Divine Terminal, Wu Hen looked up again. Nuwa Divine Terminal loomed like the ninth heaven, majestic and ethereal. It was as if an invisible Dragon Gate stood before him. He was only a little fish, and only after enduring countless trials might he leap over it and behold the true sanctuary beyond.

Wu Hen noticed strands of beautiful branches hanging down from the sky, like the aerial roots of a banyan tree. Some had already burrowed into the Five-Colored Soil, while others were slowly extending toward the earth. A few were as immense as ancient trees that had stood for millennia, radiating spiritual energy and sacredness. They were undoubtedly pillars from myth, holding up the sky!

Nuwa, the Five-Colored Soil, the pillars of heaven...

It was as if all the ancient myths passed down through humanity were slowly taking shape here!

"Go inside," Gao Yuyan said, pointing to one of the pillar-like hanging roots.

Wu Hen approached and discovered that the hanging root, as massive as a thousand-year-old tree, was hollow inside. He guessed it might be one of the roots through which Nuwa Divine Terminal drew nourishment from the earth, and couldn't help nodding in admiration.

As soon as he stepped inside, he felt the root gently writhing. Then a lively breath, colored like Yuan You, rose from beneath the Five-Colored Soil. Before Wu Hen could react, the earth's breath carried him soaring upward!

Soft root walls cushioned him, so he wouldn't be hurt even if he brushed against them. At that moment, Wu Hen felt as if he were riding an elevator to the heavens. The intense sensation of weightlessness, combined with the strange feeling of hurtling through space, sent a thrill straight through his soul!

In fact, Wu Hen really was rising into the sky.

The root hanging down from the heavens connected to the heights of Nuwa Divine Terminal. A vast sea of colorful clouds already lay beneath his feet!

Gao Yuyan gave Wu Hen a hard shove, pushing him out of the hanging root.

When Wu Hen came to his senses, he found himself on a tree trunk that curved like the surface of the earth and stretched toward the sky. The view above the clouds was breathtaking. Below him lay an endless expanse of Five-Colored Soil, where he could just make out tiny people, smaller than sesame seeds, living and walking around.

Honestly, it felt as if he were an immortal in the heavenly court, looking down through the clouds at the countless lights of the human world.

"So this is the heavenly court, then?" Wu Hen exclaimed.

"This place is called Wood Cloud Dome. See that Nest Tower? That's the Patrol Corps' territory." Gao Yuyan pointed toward a nest-shaped tower near the very edge.

"Thanks. I'll treat you to a meal sometime," Wu Hen said.

"No need." Gao Yuyan didn't want to say another word to Wu Hen. She turned and walked toward another part of Wood Cloud Dome.

Unfazed by Gao Yuyan's cold words, Wu Hen watched her leave. The girl seemed to have a phobia of men. Even her own brother, Gao Huan, never got a warm reception from her. Yet she was especially close to Yu Yu...

As he headed toward the Nest Tower above the clouds, Wu Hen couldn't help feeling excited.

He'd finally found his people!

Honestly, in this current environment, nothing was better than a steady job. Wu Hen had entered the Otherworld Desolate Dust relatively late, and he wanted to catch up with the pioneers as soon as possible.

"Ming Yi!"

"Miss Ming Yi!"

Wu Hen didn't know how to knock, so he simply raised his voice and called out.

Before long, a pretty, delicate face peeked out of a nest window. When she saw Wu Hen, she leaned out so far that half her slender yet shapely upper body came through the window, and she waved to him.

"Wu Hen, you came at just the right time!" Ming Yi said excitedly.

With that, Ming Yi leapt straight out of the curved window. Like a beautiful, brightly colored bird, she landed lightly in front of Wu Hen, like a celestial maiden drifting down from the clouds—both enchanting and gentle.

"Is this your headquarters?" Wu Hen asked.

"Yep! But first I have to take you somewhere. I've already asked the people upstairs, and they've agreed to give you a body. Come on, come on, come on! You can have an Original Body of your own instead of relying on a Lost One's body." Ming Yi took Wu Hen's hand and pulled him toward another direction.

"I... I... I'm still totally confused!" Wu Hen really hoped Ming Yi would explain things to him. Gao Yuyan had been too cold to tell him much.

"Don't you want a strong, handsome body? Look at you now—you're as skinny as a dog, and you don't even look like your body back in the homeland," Ming Yi said.

"Uh..." Wu Hen didn't know how to answer, so he simply said, "I still don't really understand."

Ming Yi explained as they walked. "Strictly speaking, humans from our homeland aren't born in the Desolate Dust. We're still in Nuwa Divine Mother's belly, nothing more than Prepared Eggs with thoughts of our own."

"Since it's easy for us to die young while wandering through the Desolate Dust, Nuwa Divine Mother keeps us in her amniotic fluid. Only when someone among us awakens, or grows strong enough to face the Otherworld Desolate Dust, will she bring that Prepared Egg to term."

Wu Hen felt dizzy just listening to her.

What? Even being born here requires taking a number?

And did that mean he had to start leveling up as a baby?

"Don't worry. Nurturing a soul takes a long time, but bodies grow very quickly here. You've heard the story of Nuwa creating humanity, right? Well, it's just like that. She shapes you, blows a breath into you, and there's an adult—all suited to the age of your soul," Ming Yi said.

Ming Yi clearly knew that no amount of explaining could beat seeing it for himself, so she simply led Wu Hen toward the place where people were created.

Honestly, Wu Hen felt as if someone were taking him to be reincarnated.

What should I keep in mind for my first time being human?

"You know that a host body is incomplete. They're inferior to almost all ordinary people. But the body Nuwa Divine Terminal truly nurtures for you belongs entirely to you. Your genes, instincts, survival advantages, and inner potential will all manifest in your Original Body. When you face certain Desolate Dust creatures in the future, you won't be such a glass cannon."

"And if you find an Evolutionary Chain Gate that suits you, you might even become an ascended new human as powerful as the sun and moon!"

"When that happens, all humanity will feast in your honor. No one would dare touch their chopsticks until you sat down. Imagine how impressive that'll be!"