Chapter 4: A Chance Encounter with Kuafu

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Only after touching the formation array of Yingzhou Immortal Island did Bai Jing realize just how naive he had been. The island’s innate grand array was so profound that even a Great Daoist could only sense it; to break it would require at least a Quasi-Saint level.

However, perhaps because Bai Jing had grown and taken shape on Yingzhou Immortal Island, once his physical body’s strength reached the level of a Great Daoist Golden Immortal, the island’s innate restrictions did not bar his entry or exit.

Moreover, Bai Jing could even leave his own imprint within the innate restrictions. Once his primordial spirit cultivation reached the level of a Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal or a Quasi-Saint, he would be able to fully master the island’s innate barriers and make this place his own Daoist sanctuary.

Afterward, Bai Jing left Yingzhou Immortal Island and appeared above the Eastern Sea of the Primordial Wilderness.

At first, he was somewhat nervous. He had not ventured far from Yingzhou Immortal Island, ready to retreat at any moment, for he was a traveler from another world—who knew if the Heavenly Dao might trouble him?

As it turned out, Bai Jing had worried unnecessarily. He was the twelfth-grade Pure World White Lotus incarnate, grown from a seed of the Chaotic Azure Lotus, and bore the Hongmeng Celestial Measuring Rod given by the great Pangu. His identity issues had long since been settled.

After waiting a while and confirming that the Heavenly Dao would not trouble him, Bai Jing finally relaxed. With a thought, a white lotus pedestal appeared beneath his feet, and he rode it westward.

He headed west because the shore of the Eastern Sea lay in that direction. He had no knowledge of other places and decided to first explore the Eastern Sea’s shore.

The Primordial Wilderness was vast beyond measure. Initially, Bai Jing could tell he was flying west, but after about five hundred years, he lost all sense of direction.

Fortunately, he encountered many sea beasts along the way, captured a few, and used them as guides. After flying for another thousand years, he finally reached the shore of the Eastern Sea.

The Eastern Sea shore was where the human race would later flourish; it was not a famous mountain or river, nor did any powerful cultivators dwell there.

Bai Jing wandered around but found nothing particularly interesting.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard sounds of fierce fighting from the southeast. Hesitating for a moment, he steered his lotus pedestal toward that direction.

After flying over three mountain peaks, Bai Jing saw a battlefield. The combatants were the tribe of shamans and a group of goat-like demons.

Observing for a while, Bai Jing realized it was less a battle and more the shamans hunting. During the skirmish, the shaman below called out, “Be careful with your strikes; don’t damage the food.”

Perhaps to prevent the prey from escaping, or maybe to protect the shamans themselves, Bai Jing sensed a powerful shaman lying in wait beyond the mountains.

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“Do they see these demons as food? Could it be that this lifestyle of the shamans is one of the sparks that ignited their conflicts with the demon clans?” Bai Jing pondered silently.

After watching the entire hunt, Bai Jing saw that the shamans had annihilated the goat demons at the cost of one severely injured and three lightly injured among their own. They reverted the demons to their original forms, hoisted the carcasses, and departed.

Bai Jing shook his head and turned to leave.

“Why the shake of your head, fellow Daoist?” A figure suddenly appeared, blocking Bai Jing’s path and asking.

Bai Jing had sensed this person’s presence earlier but did not expect him to suddenly stop him.

Sizing up the newcomer, Bai Jing saw a tall, burly man with muscular build, two yellow snakes hanging from his ears, and holding a peachwood staff—an unmistakable image of Kuafu.

Having confirmed the visitor’s identity, Bai Jing was about to speak when a sudden stirring arose in his heart. It seemed that, invisibly, he had become entangled with the shamans.

Frowning, Bai Jing pondered for a moment before suddenly understanding.

Bai Jing could safely take form in the Primordial Wilderness thanks to the Hongmeng Celestial Measuring Rod, a spiritual treasure, and the grace of the Chaotic Azure Lotus and the great Pangu. In the terms of the Primordial Wilderness, he owed a debt of causality to these two.

The Chaotic Azure Lotus had already disintegrated; within the spiritual treasures formed from her essence, Bai Jing was the only conscious being. Essentially, the Chaotic Azure Lotus was dead, so that causality debt was no longer owed.

But Pangu was different. Regardless of whether the great Pangu had truly perished, his descendants unquestionably existed, namely the Three Purities and the shamans.

Later, the Three Purities would become disciples of the Dao Ancestor, so their status as true descendants of Pangu became less authentic. However, the shamans, who never revered Heaven and Earth but only Pangu, reasonably bore that causality debt.

With this in mind, Bai Jing’s tone became sincere as he said seriously, “I only feel that the shamans’ hunting methods are like draining the pond to catch fish—unsustainable in the long run.”

“What do you mean by ‘draining the pond to catch fish’?”

“It means to draw all the water from a pond to catch fish.”

“You mean to say that we shamans act without foresight, caring only for immediate gain without leaving any reserves?”

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“In terms of hunting, yes.”

Kuafu clearly disliked Bai Jing’s words. He snorted coldly, saying, “Your words are somewhat alarmist. The Primordial Wilderness is vast—killing some animals to feed our people is nothing; what causality could there be in that?”

“Sigh, but those ‘animals’ you speak of are demons!”

“So what if they are demons? Does the shaman tribe fear them?”

“Of course not, the shamans do not fear them. But there’s no need to provoke conflict, right? Besides, when the shamans go hunting, they inevitably get injured or even perish. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be following them in secret, am I right?”

Upon hearing Bai Jing’s words, Kuafu did not refute him. Ever since Emperor Jun and Taiyi established the Heavenly Court, the shamans’ hunting had become increasingly difficult, with frequent casualties. The ancestral shamans had no choice but to send great shamans like Kuafu to accompany and protect the hunters.

Kuafu did not care about conflicts with the demons but did care for his people. He clasped his hands respectfully toward Bai Jing and asked, “Do you have a solution?”

“Yes. I have here a primordial-grade spiritual root called Millet. When planted, it bears millet grains. Planting these grains again yields postnatal supreme-grade spiritual root millet.

If cultivated generation after generation, within no more than ten thousand years, conservatively, millions of postnatal primary-grade spiritual root millet plants could be produced.

Such millet can be harvested over a dozen times without issue. Even if grades decline later, as long as this primordial-grade spiritual root remains, it can continuously nurture postnatal primary-grade millet.

Relying solely on millet grown from these postnatal primary-grade spiritual roots would be enough to feed the entire shaman tribe.”

Having finished, Bai Jing took out the spiritual root millet he had gathered on Yingzhou Island and handed it directly to Kuafu.

Kuafu instinctively accepted it. He was well aware that, if Bai Jing’s method was feasible, it could indeed spare the shamans from hunting, making this primordial spiritual root invaluable. He could not refuse.

“By the way, if the shamans still want meat, they could protect some smaller animal tribes. The condition of protection would be that these tribes provide meat to the shamans. I believe many clans would accept such terms, as even the demon clan’s Heavenly Court is not so hospitable.”

Bai Jing’s words suddenly illuminated Kuafu’s mind. The ancestral shamans had long worried about the severe casualties during hunts, but now it seemed all those problems might be resolved.