Zhang Chen heard this, a trace of surprise appeared in his eyes. He lowered his head and looked at the nest, his gaze full of curiosity: "In this First Heaven of the Spiritual World, Creation is indeed everywhere. No wonder the sages’ books of the Human Race depict this place as the supreme holy land."
"For those who are strong and capable, this place is certainly friendly. But for those with low strength, like the ants of the Human Race, this is a purgatory." The Great Freedom Celestial Demon added from the side.
Zhang Chen heard this and fell silent. In this world, common people are oppressed by Divine Spirits, living day-to-day in uncertainty. It’s unlikely that any of them would willingly live in this world.
Zhang Chen put away the Nine Bends Yellow River Talisman Array and stood silently at the cliff waiting. Suddenly, at a certain moment, the wind rose between Heaven and Earth, and the distant sea of clouds began to churn. Without waiting for the Great Freedom Celestial Demon to remind him, Zhang Chen had already transformed into a Vampire Bat, soaring skyward and pulled away by that immense suction force toward the distance.
Coming was hurried, and leaving was hurried too.
Zhang Chen once again repeated his trick, transforming into ice within the clouds to accelerate further, then, with increased speed, he broke free from the pull of that suction, heading toward the primitive forest below.
This coming and going had already become the dawn of the second day.
When Zhang Chen appeared at the tribe, ’Earth’ was sitting at the village head, wiping his weapon.
"Why are you up so early?" Zhang Chen looked at ’Earth’ bathed in the morning light and asked.
The young man’s face was now full of determination.
"I didn’t sleep last night, pondering for a long time. I think it’s best to migrate the tribe first, then I will go alone to challenge Ant. If I succeed, and I kill Ant, then the tribe can naturally retain its place; everyone can come back then. If I fail, no need to worry about Ant Tribe’s retaliation; fleeing early will increase the chance of survival." The young ’Earth’s eyes were full of determination.
Zhang Chen looked at ’Earth’, his eyes showing a hint of mockery, speaking calmly: "You plan to challenge Ant alone?"
"Exactly!" The young ’Earth’ nodded firmly, then looked at Zhang Chen with eyes full of plea: "Big brother, could I ask you to take care of the tribe’s people during their escape?"
Zhang Chen didn’t answer the young man’s request but instead posed a counter-question: "How confident are you in dealing with that Ant?"
"Not even a bit! Only after becoming Divine Spirit did I realize the gap with the opponent, and further understood the tribe’s desperation. The Ape Tribe can’t possibly withstand the retaliation of a seventh-tier Divine Spirit. Even if the opponent has been heavily injured, it’s still not something I can resist. I only hate the lack of time. If I’m given ten years, I could easily behead him!" ’Earth’s voice was full of pain.
"There are Divine Spirits, there are tribes. When Divine Spirit dies, the tribe disperses. Now that you’ve become a Divine Spirit, as long as you escape, it’s easy to establish a new tribe later. Why care about the survival of the current tribe?" Zhang Chen asked.
"Because I’m still human!" ’Earth’ looked at Zhang Chen, lowering his head to stroke the cold spear: "As long as you’re human, you can’t escape the fetters of emotion, and won’t be that rational."
Zhang Chen looked at Earth, patting ’Earth’s shoulder: "Don’t worry. I’ve found a way to deal with Ant. If Ant doesn’t come, so be it. If Ant does come, he won’t leave again."
At this point, Zhang Chen patted Earth’s shoulder: "Instead of worrying about Ant, think about how, after Ant’s death, to smoothly swallow the Ant Tribe, expanding the numbers of your tribe."
"Big brother, you have a way?" The young man’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
Zhang Chen patted the young man’s shoulder: "For now, your job is to eat, sleep, and soothe the people’s hearts."
As he spoke, Zhang Chen walked towards the village leader’s house. Now that Houtu had fallen, it was the perfect timing to fish in troubled waters, seeking information about the Great Emperor of the Ape Tribe.
With the Ape Tribe’s Divine Spirit fallen, the whole tribe was in disarray; some were even preparing to flee. Had it not been for Thunder’s timely reassurance that they would soon find a new Divine Spirit to protect the tribe, it would be scattered by now.
Though Thunder reassured everyone, he did not reveal that ’Earth’ had become Divine Spirit. It was better to reveal it when the two faced off, letting everyone see ’Earth’s Divine Techniques firsthand, which would be more direct.
Thunder was a wise person; if ’Earth’ defeated Ant, he would surely become the new Divine Spirit of the tribe. If ’Earth’ fell, the tribe would vanish; whether said or not would make no difference by then.
The entire tribe was shrouded in gloom. Zhang Chen used the Invisibility Rune and arrived in Thunder’s room. Thunder’s room was much like his own; very simple and coarse.
Zhang Chen’s gaze swept the entire room. Golden Light flashed in his eyes, yet he didn’t find a trace of mysteriousness inside.
"It makes sense. If Thunder’s ancestor fled with the mysteriousness, it’d be too conspicuous, perhaps unable to escape the hunt of old enemies." Zhang Chen squinted, retracting the Golden Light from his eyes, then his gaze shifted to the animal skin pressed on the bed; it was bear skin.
"If I were Thunder, where would I hide something?" Zhang Chen approached the bed, lifted the bear skin, finding it to be just an ordinary piece of bearskin, with nothing peculiar about it.
He swept the entire room, inspected every nook and corner but still found nothing.
"Could it be that during the construction back then, the legacy was buried under the foundation?" Zhang Chen gazed at the house’s foundation.
Upon seeing Zhang Chen eager to dig the foundation, Great Freedom Celestial Demon, standing nearby, couldn’t help but say: "Kid, stop imagining. Once you help them kill Ant and grant mysteriousness to the whole tribe, Thunder will definitely trust you. You can ask him directly without resorting to guesswork."
"You make a fair point."
After searching for a long time without finding any clues, Zhang Chen could only nod in agreement and then leave.
Time seemed to slow, each minute and second passing so painfully. All the Ape Tribe members were wiping their weapons while packing their belongings.
If Thunder hadn’t repeatedly assured them of finding a way to counter the opponent’s Divine Techniques, they would have already set out on the escape route, seeking out a new tribe to depend on.
But even with Thunder’s assurance, people secretly prepared themselves, ready to flee like birds and beasts at the slightest indication of the Ape Tribe being overwhelmed, ensuring an early escape.
The repulsion from the Ant Tribe came earlier than anyone expected.
At dusk, as the sun was setting, a divine light flowed in the distance, majestically oppressing towards the Ape Tribe. The towering figure of Ant, emanating divine light all over, seemed like a living Divine being, leading the Ant Tribe people to surround and attack.
"Ga ga ga! The divine light of Houtu has already extinguished, it must be dead. All of you in Ape Tribe listen: Hand over Houtu’s corpse, and this god will degrade you to slaves, letting you continue to live. If you dare to be stubborn, you’ll all be killed and devoured, becoming a feast for your ancestor." Ant’s voice was filled with dominance, looking down on all living beings with arrogance.
At this moment, seeing Ant approaching, the young ’Earth’ turned towards Zhang Chen’s residence, seeing no movement from Zhang Chen. He slowly stood up, divine light rising around him, the spear in his hand slowly tightened, and his voice roared like thunder: "Ant, if you want to swallow the Ape Tribe, you’ll have to ask me!"
Though he didn’t know why Zhang Chen wasn’t taking action, seeing the opponent already pressing in near, he had to step up on his own.
He was the hope of the tribe, the future of the tribe. He could not retreat even a half step.