Chapter 917: Meeting Sanpin

Li Qi looked around the small tribe.

Calling it a tribe was a stretch; it was really just a Family. This world seemed far from developing things like cities, and all their bonds were built on Bloodline.

However, correspondingly, among the newborns in the Family, only the eldest male and females would be kept. Other males would be expelled from the tribe after adulthood to find other Families.

Li Qi looked at this tribe; there were seventeen people, several pairs of Parents and children. Their relationships were aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, and they all lived together.

But there were no couples; this was a system of group marriage. As long as they weren't relatives, all men and all women were shared. The children born were also raised communally by the tribe. Males from outside tribes would mate with the females who remained, giving birth to qualified next generations, basically eliminating inbreeding.

Besides this, there was also an Old Ancestor. Li Qi knew that she was already forty years old, frail and aged, and could die at any moment. However, because her son was the former eldest male and currently the Parent of this Family, she was still allowed to stay here.

Normally, elders of this age would be abandoned to save food and the need to care for them. But the Parent of this Family was clearly unusual.

Not only did he not abandon the elder, but he also tried his best to care for her, allowing the Old Ancestor to live to the ripe old age of forty.

It was already night, and except for a few of the youngest children who were still full of energy, everyone's movements were extremely slow; they were clearly exhausted.

Today, they had also worked all day. The women skinned animals, collected fat, dried plants, and walked a long way to find a windless place to cook.

The men brought back a hunted animal, a large, fat fish, enough for the whole Family to eat for two days. This meant they wouldn't go hungry or cold for at least two days.

Fat was a very important resource; whether for eating, greasing clothes for warmth, or directly burning for heat, it was excellent. In this world of ice and snow, fat could even be called hard currency.

This tribe had a very clear division of labor. Even the children knew what they should do. While playing by the fire, they also helped with tasks, assisting and learning these jobs, doing their part.

The younger children would also occasionally look for plant roots as firewood, or skin small creatures similar to mice, using this method to practice their ability to skin large game.

Day after day, year after year, life required repeating these tedious tasks daily to survive a little longer, though they didn't know why they needed to live longer.

But if they could survive, what was wrong with that? No one wanted to die; this was the instinct for survival.

However, it was precisely because of this instinct that they were able to continue.

If the Dao of Man were to arrive at this place, they would probably quickly analyze and determine the forms of these Mortals and local animals, then transform the entire planet, build cities here, improve infrastructure, and then, after preserving samples of these natives, eliminate them all.

In the eyes of the Dao of Man, these Mortals were no different from animals, having not escaped their biological instincts, and were not worth wasting time on. After collecting samples, they could simply be removed.

Of course, in reality, this planet had no value. It had no valuable minerals to exploit, no unique local resources, and even its species were unremarkable, with few possessing any talent.

In other words, there was no interest in exploiting it; it was better to just ignore it.

This situation prevented them from developing a more advanced civilization, but it also meant they didn't need to worry about external erosion, much like the giant isopods or horseshoe crabs at the bottom of the sea.

They don't have much meat, so no one eats them.

They themselves also have no motivation; they can lie on the seabed for hundreds of millions of years without any change.

It's no wonder the Dao of Man looks down on them. Such worlds, though numerous, truly have no meaning. Technology is almost impossible here due to the climate, and means of cultivation are almost nonexistent.

The fire of civilization cannot be ignited in this region.

Humanoid creatures have existed for two hundred million years, and after evolving into highly intelligent life forms, another two hundred million years have passed, yet they still live as before, unchanging, as always.

It's similar to the situation with dinosaurs.

This will continue until a natural disaster occurs one day, and then they will go extinct.

Countless worlds end this way, are in this situation, and... it's getting worse.

Because the construct of 'world' no longer exists; the existence of celestial bodies has replaced worlds. The subtle differences in Dao between worlds have also diminished. Although a large number of unique Dao have also emerged within individual 'single Universes,' compared to the density of worlds, the Universe is simply too sparse.

This directly led to the disappearance of many special products, and the number of special species also decreased significantly.

However, there are also benefits.

That is, at least ninety trillion times the matter density can compensate for this in quantity, so the total amount of special products has actually increased quite a bit.

But... the probability of appearance is smaller, yet the total quantity is greater, meaning there are more 'stepping stones' as well.

Such hopeless worlds have also become more numerous. A large number of Mortals are filled with emotions, and the number of subjective wills has also increased, and correspondingly...

"The number of demonic thoughtss has also increased. The Desire Realm's collapse doesn't seem to have had much impact on the Demonic Dao. Did the Heavenly Demons make up for it?" Li Qi thought.

The collapse of the Desire Realm theoretically should have an impact on the Demonic Dao.

However, the expansion of the Universe's matter and the increase in intelligent life have made the Demonic Dao even stronger. It's likely that places similar to 'City of Dreams' have also increased by at least ninety trillion times.

This might be enough to compensate for the losses caused by the Desire Realm.

Li Qi sighed. Every slight change in the Universe corresponded to the direction desired by the Great Dao Orthodoxy, making it truly difficult to choose in such a situation.

While thinking this, Li Qi had already arrived at the tribe, and the residents of the tribe also saw Li Qi.

Li Qi was immediately welcomed. No one cared that he was a stranger; he was almost immediately accepted.

This tribe welcomed him, then took out charcoal and drew patterns on Li Qi's skin. The charcoal drew stripes, which was a welcoming ritual.

It wasn't some brainwashing method; it was simply a 'tradition.'

Men would leave their Families after adulthood and go into the wilderness. They had to survive alone for a very long time until they were lucky enough to encounter a second tribe.

A considerable portion of 'weaklings' would be eliminated during this process. Only men capable of surviving alone in the snowy wilderness would have a chance to find a second home.

And if they did find one, this new home would be very willing to accept a strong male capable of surviving alone in the snowy wilderness.

They warmly welcomed Li Qi, and immediately, the women eagerly wanted to mate with this stranger. This was a rare opportunity to add newborns of different Bloodlines to the Family.

It is well known that the more diverse the Bloodline, the healthier the group; this is tradition.

Li Qi, of course, respectfully declined. He refused the invitation, which caused confusion among the tribe.

Li Qi didn't explain, because the Parent would help him block all of it.

Sure enough, the Parent came out and mumbled a few words, probably along the lines of Li Qi being very hungry, lacking stamina, eating first, and discussing other things tomorrow, and so on.

The others understood immediately and shared their food with Li Qi.

The simple primitive tribe didn't have so many intrigues. Although crude and brutal, without any public order or good customs, abandoning elders due to lack of food and plundering other tribes were common occurrences, yet it also revealed a kind of wild goodness.

Brutal, foolish, yet not cunning, and sometimes even showing a clumsy cuteness, though this cuteness might have been seen on the bloody carcass of a hunted animal.

But none of this caused any emotional disturbance for Li Qi. He simply went through these procedures, then found a place to sit down alone with the Parent of this place.

The others had already started resting. The women who had failed to approach Li Qi earlier had each found other male companions and begun their daily reproductive activities.

Their living arrangements were not fixed; if there was a cave, they lived in it; if not, they would build igloos. Everyone lived in the igloos, and reproduction naturally wasn't avoided in front of others.

There was no need to avoid it; everyone was Family, and there was no need for any privacy among Family members.

Moreover, in cold weather, the most convenient way to keep warm was actually the skin of fellow tribesmen. This was even warmer than fire. Everyone's body temperature was always similar, allowing both parties to have a warm night.

For these natives, everyone huddling together under a blanket made of many sewn animal skins was the warmest way, much like penguins huddling together in a blizzard.

Penguins can reproduce and thrive in a seventy-degree below zero storm by relying on their companions' body heat, and these natives naturally can too, not to mention they even use animal fat to light fires, which can even raise the temperature inside the igloo to minus twenty degrees.

That's so warm.

However, Li Qi and the Parent did not stay in the warm igloo. They sat outside the igloo, enduring the silent cold of this planet. Fortunately, there was no wind tonight, so it didn't seem too bad.

Without wind, the wilderness was exceptionally quiet. Although there was ice and snow everywhere, it was neither damp nor did plants bloom. This was a frozen wilderness, unsuitable for any creatures other than the simplest plants and the most adapted animals.

Due to the inability to grow crops, this place also could not raise livestock. Therefore, most settlements on the frost-covered ice caps sustained themselves through hunting and gathering, relying on other animals and the simplest plants and algae to maintain their lives.

However, beneath the ice sheet was a warm ocean, which was a paradise for living beings.

The ice sheet was seventy degrees below zero, but the ocean could reach around minus two degrees, which could be said to be incredibly warm. Therefore, fishing and catching sea beasts were indispensable skills, and the fat they used mostly came from the fat of sea beasts.

Both were dressed in furs, their attire no different from the natives, but Li Qi's was an illusion, while the other's was genuinely worn; he was truly clad in the furs of local animals.

The Parent was a man who looked to be in his twenties, but from his appearance, he was already a middle-aged man of the world, with sharp teeth, a bulky body, nearly three meters tall, a typical polar monster, and a top predator of this region.

Of course, even in the entire Universe, the other party was one of the top predators. He didn't know why he was confined to this place.

Then, Li Qi spoke, saying, "In any country, region, or settlement, there are always those who are ostracized, for reasons that are truly bizarre. So, what is your reason?"

Li Qi was not using the native language, but the typical elegant speech of the world.

At first glance, this sounded a bit strange, because it was clear that this Parent was not ostracized. On the contrary, he was a highly trusted person among the natives, even able to support the Old Ancestor, who had no ability to work, simply because of their command.

One must know that in this icy world, an elder who had no ability to work and could only eat without contributing was a great burden.

However, the other party clearly understood what Li Qi meant.

He merely said, "This is home. Is there anything wrong with me staying here?"

Li Qi shook his head: "This is not your home."

"I'm afraid what you say doesn't count," the other party smiled.

Li Qi sighed and said, "To be honest, for a Third-Rank to stay in a place with nothing special, talking about Family, it's really hard to believe."

"Is it difficult? Being accepted by others is a very happy thing. Is that reason enough? Rather than rushing about between heaven and earth, bewildered and at a loss, I think this is better," the Parent said.

"Rushing about between heaven and earth... that's true. From the perspective of your race, rushing might be unavoidable." Li Qi nodded.

He knew that the Parent before him was a Zhongwei Bird, an ultimate observer capable of standing at the end of time, meaning a Third-Rank like Li Qi.

However, the characteristics of the Zhongwei Bird dictate that they are almost unable to communicate with normal creatures. If they maintain their 'true form,' they will be insulated from all fundamental interactions except gravity.

That is, they are invisible, intangible ghosts, almost completely cut off from all civilizations, able to only wander alone in the Universe as a single civilization.

Before they mastered the art of transformation, they were always lonely travelers in the Universe, because even at the Ninth-Rank, they could travel through the Universe at near light speed.

But the problem was, they traveled, but they couldn't discover anything except gravitational wells.

For them, this Universe had no celestial bodies, only gravitational wells, and there was nothing in the gravitational wells.

Zhongwei Birds are destined to be lonely.

"But... such loneliness, can it actually make you feel unhappy?" Li Qi asked.