Giant Stone God

Qi Tian stared in alarm at the primitive man he had "slapped away." Only then did he realize that his consciousness could do more than inspect distant places—it could also take on a tangible form.

The river was four or five meters wide, but probably only half a meter deep, and the current wasn't particularly strong.

The primitive man, who had been slapped into the river by the enormous hand of consciousness, was sturdy enough. He stumbled around in the water before managing to get back to his feet.

But his internal organs and brain had clearly been rattled, and he looked a little dazed.

Before he could fully recover, the giant wild boar, which had skidded to a halt on the grass, flexed its bulging muscles once more and let out a snorting grunt.

Its enormous tusks were as thick as a human forearm and looked as white as jade. They were slightly worn and scratched, and wouldn't have looked out of place on a small elephant.

"Grunt, grunt!"

After a loud squeal, the wild boar charged at the primitive man in the river again, with unstoppable momentum.

Seeing that the primitive man still hadn't come to his senses, Qi Tian acted out of consideration for a fellow human. His consciousness once again took on a tangible form and slapped toward the wild boar.

"Bam!"

After a thunderous thud, a shallow handprint appeared in the grass. The giant hand of consciousness had struck the wild boar so hard that its bones and sinews were shattered. Blood poured from its mouth, and it probably wouldn't survive.

The dull thud startled the primitive man in the river. He came to his senses with a jolt and stood frozen in the flowing water, staring at the wild boar's mangled state on the riverbank.

The primitive man waded slowly ashore and cautiously approached the wild boar. Its faint grunts proved that the beast was still alive.

He glanced around and saw no one, then fixed his gaze on the ten-meter-tall humanoid boulder.

Remembering how he had been slapped away when he tried to climb onto the stone, he looked at the handprint over the wild boar on the grass. Then he hurried over to the boulder that was Qi Tian and dropped to his knees, muttering something over and over.

Watching the primitive man kneel before him, Qi Tian thought that he was pretty clever to realize who had intervened.

Although he couldn't understand the man's words, he could make out their general meaning through the connection with his consciousness. The man seemed to be thanking him.

As Qi Tian watched the man kneeling before him, he had the strange feeling that his consciousness had grown ever so slightly stronger, but he didn't dwell on it.

Then his consciousness solidified again, forming an invisible giant hand that picked up the enormous wild boar and set it beside the kneeling man. He tried to use his consciousness to tell him to take it.

"Take it."

The primitive man stared at the wild boar that had landed beside him, his expression suddenly blank. Then a clear voice sounded in his mind, telling him to take it.

Now the primitive man was completely convinced that the humanoid boulder before him had saved his life. He hurriedly bowed again and again, repeating the same phrase.

Since Qi Tian had spoken to him through his consciousness, this time he could fully understand what the primitive man was saying.

"Thank you, Giant Stone God."

Qi Tian didn't respond. The several times he had made his consciousness tangible had left him feeling a little tired, especially when he had struck the wild boar dead the second time. He had used nearly all his strength.

Gradually, Qi Tian seemed to fall asleep. His consciousness sank into the sea of consciousness and, beneath the golden light of the Lotus Throne Buddha Statue, slowly grew still.

When the primitive man had knelt for a while and the Giant Stone God still hadn't responded, he got up and struggled to drag the dead wild boar back to the tribe.

He crossed the river and left the grassy clearing. Not long after he entered the woods he had come from, three tribesmen who had also gone hunting arrived, apparently having received a signal. They had followed the tracks left by the wild boar as it crashed through the forest.

The four of them then lifted the wild boar together and hurried back, exhilarated. Along the way, the man Qi Tian had saved told the other three how the "Giant Stone God" had stepped in to save him, leaving them astonished.

After they had gone far away, Qi Tian's consciousness began to grow stronger as he slept. A faint Sanskrit chant drifted from within the humanoid boulder.

In the days that followed, the primitive man who had been saved often brought warriors from his tribe to kneel and worship. They also offered fruit and wild beasts as sacrifices, but Qi Tian remained asleep and gave no response.

Although they received no reply, those who came to worship Qi Tian found that they felt refreshed and invigorated near him.

And aside from some gentle herbivores, the fierce beasts that usually roamed the mountains and forests wouldn't dare approach. This convinced everyone in the tribe that the "Giant Stone God" was protecting them.

For safety's sake, the man who had been saved suggested that the tribe move to the grassy area in front of the woods. They would keep the river between themselves and the "Giant Stone God" and avoid getting too close.

After discussing it, the tribal elders agreed. The entire tribe, more than four hundred people, then moved to the area near Qi Tian.

The grassy area wasn't very large, and they didn't dare get too close for fear of disturbing Qi Tian. So they set up camp across the river, cleared the woods within a radius of over a hundred meters, and built wooden houses.

From then on, every day the tribespeople knelt and prayed before the humanoid boulder that Qi Tian had become.

Before heading out to hunt during the day, the hunting party's warriors would bring their weapons before Qi Tian and pray for a successful hunt and a safe return.

At night, when the tribe gathered to enjoy the day's catch, they would set aside a generous portion in front of Qi Tian. Everyone would kneel before him together, thanking him for protecting the tribe.

A few years passed like this, and Qi Tian's sleeping consciousness gradually began to stir.

"Damn, that was a wonderfully restful sleep. I've never slept so peacefully in my entire life."

Once his consciousness had cleared, Qi Tian saw that he was inside his mental space. The golden Lotus Throne Buddha Statue hadn't changed much, though its radiance seemed somewhat more subdued.

The Sanskrit Phantom had been filled with about one percent of the golden light that misted through his sea of consciousness. As the golden radiance continued to gather within the phantom, the glow surrounding it grew increasingly dense.

In fact, while Qi Tian had been asleep, a small puddle of Golden Liquid had appeared beneath the phantom, as though the golden light had liquefied.

Qi Tian estimated that there were several hundred drops.

He extended his consciousness over the Golden Liquid and guided one drop away. As it floated upward, he examined it closely and discovered that it contained immense energy.

"What is this? Energy liquid?"

After studying it for a while without figuring out what it was, Qi Tian could only guide the drop back into the puddle beneath the Sanskrit Phantom.

Then, after surveying the mental space, he withdrew his consciousness and returned it to the body of the humanoid boulder.

Only when his consciousness sensed the outside world did he realize how much had changed around him.

The place in front of him, across the river, had once been a stretch of woods. Now the trees had been cleared, and a large number of wooden houses stood there.

After a brief inspection, Qi Tian discovered that there were over three hundred houses. The place had already grown into something like a village.

"How long was I asleep for?"