Clearance of Wild Boar Ridge

Early morning, dark clouds blanketed the sky.

The people of the Wind-Fire Tribe were cooking over fires.

A bowl of meat soup in the morning kept them energized throughout the day.

Feng Xu practiced tai chi in the snow while several Earth Immortal experts studied nearby.

After waking from his dream last night, Feng Xu had thoroughly examined himself.

The Merit Mall had undergone major changes, and the exchange channels for most owned items had been closed. Feng Xu wanted to inspect the core of the Merit Mall—the Fragment of the Jade Disc of Creation.

The Xuan Zhen Sword had not been refined into his bound Dharma Treasure. Instead, it had turned into a ball of spiritual light.

In other words, it truly had been refined, but for some reason had returned to an unformed state.

Was there something wrong with the Xuan Zhen Sword? Should he refine it into a sword again?

Feng Xu hesitated. The changes to his body were too great; what he had experienced last night was far more than a simple dream.

The meridians throughout his body had shriveled, and his cultivation had regressed considerably.

Yet his physical body had opened the Four-Cycle Tendon-and-Bone Circuit, while his Primordial Spirit had opened the Three-Cycle Yin Spirit Circuit.

Although the Purple Palace Grotto-Heaven he had opened in the dream contained nothing, he could still sense a trace of it.

His entire body seemed riddled with holes. Forget circulating the circuits—even breathing caused him to feel the swelling pain in his meridians.

The pain in his meridians was still bearable, but whenever his Primordial Spirit Circuit circulated, a piercing agony that sank deep into his heart was nearly impossible to withstand.

It seemed he would need quite some time to nourish himself back to health.

Could it be that after I cultivated to the Quasi-Sage Peak, the Dao Ancestor drained away all my cultivation?

That should not have been possible. Given the Dao Ancestor's status, position, and strength, there had been no need for him to do such a thing.

Feng Xu endured the swelling aches and stabbing pains throughout his body. After finishing his tai chi, he filled himself a bowl of meat soup.

The hot soup went down, and his body felt slightly better.

"I was refined by the Pig Demon's magic power inside its stomach, so something went wrong with my body. I won't be able to contribute to clearing Wild Boar Ridge later. The rest will be up to you."

After saying that, Feng Xu filled another bowl of meat soup.

"You're still young. You shouldn't have been going into battle in the first place. Leave such minor matters to us."

Jiang Ze smiled.

The Eagle King had swallowed the Pig Demon's inner core and returned to seclusion, while the Heavenly Net and Earthly Web had already been retrieved.

From here on, they could only rely on the Human Race's Earth Immortal fighting strength.

Before the Supreme Golden Elixir Cultivation Method had spread, few members of the Demon Race could cultivate an inner core before becoming True Immortals.

This Pig Demon had likely encountered some other fortunate opportunity.

Feng Xu decided to follow them and take a look, though he would no longer participate in battle.

The Pig Demon leader's corpse and the piglets would belong to the Wind-Fire Tribe. The Lin Tribe, Marsh Tribe, Wind-Fire Tribe, and Red Iron Tribe would divide ninety percent of the remaining adult Pig Demons, while the Lukun Tribe would receive ten percent.

The Wind-Fire Tribe would help process the meat and collect its blood as payment.

Although clearing Wild Boar Ridge had already been included in their previous agreement, Feng Xu had no intention of letting them work for nothing.

After breakfast, the group led their warriors down the mountain, slaughtering the pigs below while driving them back toward Wild Boar Ridge.

The herd's stamina weakened by the moment, and its resistance grew increasingly feeble. Yet the beasts were thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, making them difficult to wound with ordinary bone spears.

Feng Xu followed behind the group at an unhurried pace, surveying the surrounding terrain.

Dense forest covered both sides of the valley, and the beasts had long since fled.

The herd had eaten all the weeds and shrubs, making the path much easier to travel.

The road had been trampled flat and compacted. With a little work, it could accommodate carts.

If the Wind-Fire Tribe occupied Wild Boar Ridge and built a road connecting it to their old settlement, their territory could expand considerably.

The only problem was that they had too few people for now.

Riding Little White, Feng Xu pondered the tribe's future development.

Next year, they needed to expand the scope of their trade and exchange all surplus supplies.

Ahead, the shouts of battle shook the heavens, and miserable screams rang endlessly through the mountains. Feng Xu had long grown accustomed to such scenes.

They had once invaded the Wind-Fire Tribe. Now they were being slaughtered by the Human Race.

What went around came around.

Wild Boar Ridge's terrain was relatively level. Standing at the far end of the ridge, Feng Xu looked over the land to the east.

It truly was an excellent place for farming.

The mountain path down from here was not particularly steep. If they were willing to invest the time, they could build a cart road.

There was also a great river on the plain, which should have been downstream from the Marsh Tribe.

They could clear land below for farming and build scattered villages. Wild Boar Ridge could serve as the core residential area in the early stages. They could retreat into the mountains to hide or descend to farm.

"Xu, we found something below."

Feng Xi found Feng Xu and led him to the entrance of a cave.

The cave was enormous, a hundred zhang high and over a hundred zhang wide. The farther inward they went, the more spacious it became.

Feng Xu and the others carried torches deeper inside. After walking for half a day, they reached the edge of a cliff.

A dim violet light glowed below, but they had no idea how deep it went.

Feng Xu tossed a stone down. After a long while, they heard no sound.

"It's very deep down there. Even sound can't travel back up," Feng Xu said.

"Should we go down and take a look?"

Kun Tai leaned forward and peered below. The glowing object down there might have been some sort of treasure.

"It's too deep. If we fall, we'll be crushed to death."

Feng Sui shook his head.

The group searched the surrounding area for a while but found nothing. In the end, they could only leave helplessly.

"If there really were a treasure, that Pig Demon would have taken it long ago. Why would it leave it until now?"

Kun Tai consoled himself, while the others said nothing.

After leaving the cave, they began dividing the spoils.

The pig carcasses were piled separately. Before long, heavy snow would bury them, and with no large predators nearby, there was no need to worry about theft.

There was too much to transport, so they planned to send people to haul it away after spring began.

The group returned along the way they had come, and Feng Xu asked about the Human Race tribes in the surrounding area.

"When we were originally assigned here, there were around three hundred tribes. Ours are the closest ones. Farther away, I only know the locations of more than a dozen small tribes to the north and west."

Feng Sui spoke while gesturing with his hands.

He had spent less time with Feng Xu and was not as skilled at expressing himself as Feng Xi.

"I know of more than twenty, though they're all rather remote."

Lin Sen answered.

The other chiefs also knew of several tribes near their own, but they did not understand why Feng Xu had brought this up.

"Next year, the Wind-Fire Tribe will need a large population. Adults and children alike are welcome—the more, the better. You can exchange for more people with nearby tribes. We can trade pottery and iron tools to you."

After this battle, none of these tribes lacked food anymore. Using food to exchange for people was nearly impossible.

Having lived in the Wind-Fire Tribe recently, they had all learned the usefulness of pottery and iron tools, and they were indeed tempted.

"What do you need so many people for? If all the nearby tribes gather together, it would go against the will of the Great Wilderness Lord."

The Great Wilderness Lord had sent them out to develop tribes precisely to spread the Human Race's sparks across the land. Gathering them together again would run contrary to the lord's intentions.

"There were originally more than three hundred tribes in this region, yet fewer than a hundred are known to you now. Doesn't that explain enough?"

Feng Xu gazed into the distance and let out a deep sigh.

"The lord's idea was good, but it doesn't suit the Human Race's actual circumstances. To truly flourish throughout the Great Wilderness, every tribe needs at least a True Immortal to guard it."

The chiefs remained silent for a long time.

As tribal chiefs, they understood better than anyone the hardships of tribal development and how difficult it was for the Human Race to survive in the Great Wilderness.

For example, one tribe had nearly starved to death in a pit, saving them even the trouble of digging graves.

"There is strength in numbers. A larger population can better withstand risks and avoid many unnecessary casualties. Besides, the lord never forbade us from joining together."

Feng Xu swept his gaze over the chiefs and shook his head helplessly.

It would have been wonderful if these tribes could merge with the Wind-Fire Tribe. Unfortunately, their lives had improved now, and they would be difficult to persuade.