Volume V: Ancient Legends Chapter 56: Adapting to Survival

That evening, bonfires were lit in the village where Chen Chen lived. They had killed a giant serpent and boiled a massive pot of meat.

For once, every villager had a taste of wild game.

Scenes like this were a frequent occurrence in the Qingfeng Tribe. Back in the early days, before humankind stepped into the era of modern technological civilization, a life of drinking blood and eating raw meat was the ultimate norm.

The stage where the Qingfeng Tribe currently found itself was precisely this: the primordial state of tribal civilization.

Untouched by the interference of external technological civilizations, it remained an indigenous society, and its civilizational development had yet to enter modernity.

It existed purely in the form of villages and tribes.

To survive, multiply, and thrive within the Qingfeng Tribe carried a profound sense of inception.

Endless enlightenment began to germinate from this preliminary stage of civilization.

More ancient auras had once manifested across the Qingfeng Continent.

Factions such as the Jiuli, the Nine Nether Underworld, the Southern Dipper, and the Big Dipper had undergone prolonged periods of development and evolution.

On the land of the Great Xiu Country, there were already representatives of cultivators.

In ancient times, the Jiuli Tribe was composed of seventy-two powerful figures, including Chiyou.

As for the Jiuli of the present day, although it was merely established by later generations to commemorate that era,

it still utilized such a form and framework to construct a system within the mortal world, adapting to contemporary survival. Perhaps that would ultimately fulfill them, allowing them to reclaim the courage and vigilance they had lost in the past.

The civilization of the Qingfeng Tribe marched forward as it always had. The people there needed food, and with that fragrant meat right before their eyes, that was what survival looked like.

The civilizational state of men farming and women weaving, of self-sufficiency, was vividly and thoroughly displayed.

Going up the mountains to hunt was an absolute commonplace, with men earning their livelihoods through bravery and martial prowess.

Women shared the pressures of survival by weaving garments and raising children at home.

One must not fear possessing food; the price of survival was sometimes that realistic and heavy. Even when the giant serpent came into the mortal world to take revenge on humanity, they had to bear it together.

The pressure of survival was immense, and to enjoy such provisions, one had to be able to endure that quality of life.

Compared to the people of that era, the survival pressure in the high-tech, modern civilization outside the tribes was equally fierce.

The struggle for their food was just as ruthlessly cruel, just as brutally skeletal.

Everywhere, there were underfed creatures, so skinny they were reduced to skin and bones.

That was the very meaning of competing for food with one another. No one wanted to starve for lack of sustenance, yet no one wanted to hand over the food meant to nourish their bodies to anyone else.

Consider the distant grain; countless people were striving for it.

Do not assume that seizing someone else's food or wealth is an easy task. Sometimes, it is ten times more perilous than fighting ten giant pythons for survival.

The food right before their eyes could be considered hard-won.

Further away, opponents were stronger, and the contests were far more brutal.

Many competitors in the struggle for survival were weighing how many provisions they had left; some of them had even begun laying out their plans long in advance.

Being sentient and wise beings, they had to adapt to such survival.

The snake meat in the village was gradually consumed.

As for any retaliatory revenge from the serpent clan, it had yet to materialize.

Even if it did, they would have to shoulder it and continue living on.

After partaking in meat for so long, that was its purpose.

If you refused to eat, do not cast greedy eyes on the bowl of others. No one's bowl of meat had ever fallen out of the sky overnight.

Following that, Chen Chen embarked on a new journey.

Within the Qingfeng Tribe, most people had found their respective divisions of labor. Even children had to study hard and play the role of a good student to be considered a relatively decent existence.

In addition to hunters, students, farmers, merchants, and physicians, there were various other social professions in the tribe.

The hunters brought back game, which the villagers shared together, making Chen Chen's family increasingly prosperous.

As the meat supply gradually decreased, Chen Chen's sense of presence and belonging within the village grew stronger. With neighbors occasionally gifting him daily necessities in return, Chen Chen, by maintaining this lifestyle, proved to be a very competent hunter.

Chen Chen had once ascended the Misty Sect; yes, he was an inner disciple of the Misty Sect.

It was through such experiences that he became a passable hunter. Hunting required a hunter to possess genuine skill in order to qualify as a proper one.

Neighbors began to trade what they had for what they lacked, which was a very good start.

Chen Chen's life regarding food, clothing, housing, and transportation improved significantly, and his mother returned to his side.

Within the village, there were many more residents.

The leader of the tribe had always been the unfathomable Chen Qingfeng.

A Ninth-Rank Immortal King, he would occasionally preside over his territory from atop the Misty Sect.

In the tribe where Chen Chen lived, there were various villages and numerous households.

The cultivators there supported an immortal mountain and a sect through this pattern, using it to coexist.

This survival model was also very common in the other few tribes of the Great Xiu Country.

The Jiuli Tribe was likewise formed from territories spanning ten miles and eight villages, similarly supporting a mountain and upholding the heritage and cultivation methods left behind by Chiyou and others of the Jiuli of old.

The Big Dipper Tribe each held their own traditions within the Great Xiu Country.

Just like the various duties and heritages recorded in the heavenly book *Conferment of the Gods* within the Daoist mythological system.

The Southern Dipper Tribe was the same, having passed down its traditions through many years and exerting a profound influence on Daoist culture.

Afterward, there were also many ghost cultivators within the Nine Nether Underworld Tribe.

Though the reason for the perpetual existence of such a faction remained unknown, the layers of the netherworld were like iron enclosures, containing myriad sins within.

Every year, a handful of criminals resided there, living extremely impoverished lives.

Some merely existed there for reasons unknown, yet persisted in the human realm through such a mode of survival.

Following the Nine Nether Underworld Tribe was the Flame Emperor Tribe, which had existed for many years.

By now, the Flame Emperor Tribe had long since been defeated, and many historical allusions remained frozen in that bygone era.

The Flame Emperor Tribe established within the Great Xiu Country today was merely a remnant mimicking the tribal model of yesteryear, surviving within the borders of the Great Xiu Country.

Following the Flame Emperor Tribe was the Yellow Emperor Tribe. Having been the victors in the ancient war between the Flame and Yellow Emperors, their heritage passed down to later generations, giving rise to dynasties such as the Xia, Shang, and Zhou.

Today, with the dynastic cycles turning, the Yellow Emperor Tribe of old no longer existed.

Yet, within the parallel universe of the Great Xiu Country, its silhouette remained.

Living in the mortal realm, these were the geographical outlines Chen Chen needed to understand.

It was not because future fame and fortune required him to possess such knowledge, but rather because survival was a rigorous test for any human being.

Those who understood little were like frogs at the bottom of a well, completely ignorant of what the world truly looked like.

Yet they failed to realize that the grand world still favored accumulation over time and a sudden bursting forth of potential.

Until many years later, biding one's time and accumulating strength remained one of the survival strategies used by humankind to achieve success and amass wealth.

Aside from this, there were survival strategies based on scheming and plots, survival strategies of hanging a bell and ringing it for a day as a monk,

and survival strategies of ignoring the facts and simply doing whatever must be done, and so on...

It was time for Chen Chen to go hunting once more, toiling away on the mountains day after day.

He hunted whatever prey crossed his path, and as time went on, an increasing number of beasts ended up on Chen Chen's dining table.

At this rate, let alone beast tides attacking the city, the beasts would likely be hunted to extinction by this single hunter before long.

The elders in the village instructed Chen Chen to exercise restraint, to leave behind a few beast bloodlines so as to maintain a sustainable source of prey.

Chen Chen's father was also a brave and battle-tested veteran hunter, who by this year had already been invited to visit other tribes as an honored guest.

Chen Chen and his mother survived together within the village, dwelling in a thatched cottage that appeared relatively backward—a reflection of the tribe's rather primitive civilizational stage.

Chen Chen's life gradually improved, but by this time, villagers were leaving and scattering in all directions.

The fateful war, the beast tide that arrived once every hundred years, was drawing steadily closer.

Unwilling to take the risk, the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled of the village migrated with their families to another habitation sanctuary.

Word had it that there were sturdy outer walls and brick-built houses over there.

Chen Chen and his family were among the very few who remained behind to guard the village.

Fortunately, Chen Chen's father returned, accompanying his family of three and giving them a true sense of home within this settlement.

Chen Chen still had many things to do, but above all, he needed to live well in the present and survive to the best of his ability.

Thus, Chen Chen reached the twentieth year of his life. In this year, Chen Chen was still a hunter, while his parents had gone to live in the city.

Chen Chen remained in the settlement as a representative. As an outstanding young man of the tribe,

he was required to stay behind on the Misty Sect of the Qingfeng Tribe, awaiting the arrival of the beast tide.

That year, most of the people who should have left had already departed. Under the rumors of the beast tide, numerous ferocious beasts arrived right on schedule, reaching the various villages of the Qingfeng Tribe.

In the distant other tribes, similar phenomena occurred.

The Jiuli Tribe, the Yellow Emperor Tribe, the Flame Emperor Tribe, the Big Dipper Tribe, the Southern Dipper Tribe, the Nine Nether Underworld Tribe, the Qingfeng Tribe, the Alpha Crucis Tribe, and others.

Chen Chen spent a day and a night atop the immortal mountain of the Misty Sect within the Qingfeng Tribe.

That very night, many fierce beasts and ferocious birds entered the village. Having received news in advance, the villagers had all gone to live in the city.

The mighty army of beasts marched into the village, only to find it completely empty.

Sitting quietly atop the Misty Sect for a long while, Chen Chen watched the grand spectacle of beasts invading the empty village, a sight that became the nightmare of his lifetime.

Those beasts would ultimately transform into a deep-seated shadow within Chen Chen's heart—symbolizing the myriad beasts he would need to hunt down face-to-face in the years to come, which gradually dissolved into mere illusion.

He was a hunter; hunting beasts was his mission, and he had no other destiny besides this.

The scheming plots of another faction became a complete joke.

Between heaven and earth, perhaps there were two lifelines running simultaneously.

Chen Chen was a human being; he had to harbor pursuits and fulfill his heavenly duty. That extra path was perhaps the incorrect trajectory.

Yet if Chen Chen had other actors playing roles, what would the identities of those actors be?

In this society, everyone had the division of labor most suited to them. One could not stray far; wandering too far meant leaving behind one's assigned post.

Chen Chen needed to find a place to settle down and work earnestly, while everything else was merely an illusion and a loss of ground that one would eventually have to face.

For the sake of genuine survival, no one had too much territory to wander across.

Material consumption was one matter; whether one was still at their post after straying too far was entirely another.

One had to adapt to this complex and ever-changing society while steadfastly guarding their original intent.

Recognizing oneself was the key to surviving in this world.

The outside society was simply that complex. Sometimes, as one walked along, they might lose their clarity or forfeit the ability to continue working at their post.

To persevere all the way through, the light of life—the Dao-mind of adapting to survival—must forever remain embedded within the individual's conscious awareness.