Chapter 61 The news of Cang Li's return came quickly...
News of Cang Li's return quickly spread throughout the human race, and tribal leaders came one after another to see Cang Li and report on their actions over the past year.
"Great Chief, you're back!"
Cang Li noticed that during the year she was gone, everyone spoke with more reverence, and Cang Li felt that something might have happened that she didn't know about.
"Well, I've been away for quite a while this time. How is everyone?"
"Great Chief, we're doing great! The houses you taught us to build before you left are much better than thatched huts! We don't have to worry about fires in winter anymore!"
"Yes, yes, and we also have weaving skills. After we finish our work in the fields, we go weaving. Now the children all have clothes to wear and don't have to go naked anymore."
After everyone shared their thoughts, Cang Li got a general understanding that the human race was now on the right track.
Cang Li was very satisfied and listened quietly to the tribal leaders speaking.
After recounting most of what had happened that year, Amu said to Cangli:
"Chief, it's good that you're back. Some things have happened in the tribe these past few days. There are some people from the south who seem to have come from nowhere. They're different from us; they have darker skin and are much stronger. They can hunt tigers with their bare hands. They've been harassing the tribe a lot lately and have stolen a lot of food."
Amu spoke with a heavy expression. The theft of their food was a serious matter; without food, they would starve to death. However, those people were very fast; they beat people, stole their things, and ran away. By the time they organized a group to chase after them, they had long since disappeared.
Cang Li's expression immediately turned grim: "Someone's trying to steal something!?"
They're incredibly audacious to steal Cang Li's things!
Nini, the leader of Tribe No. 1, also said: "Chief, what Amu said is right. The tribes near the cave are okay, but those on the edge have been robbed. Now we have organized people to patrol the perimeter every night and moved all the grain to the middle to protect it so that it has not been robbed again."
"But those people come and go without a trace, and we can't guard against them at all. We can't just abandon the outer tribes, so we've been troubled these past few days. Fortunately, you, Great Chief, have returned, otherwise we really wouldn't know what to do."
Cang Li thought for a moment: "Besides their skin color, what else is different about those people? Do they look similar to us?"
Nini and Amu nodded: "Yes, they are also humanoid like us, unlike the demon race that the Great Chief mentioned, and they don't seem to be our own kind either."
Cang Li knew in his heart that this was most likely the Wu Clan. He hadn't expected the Wu Clan to expand their territory to the vicinity so quickly. This wouldn't do; the living space of the human race could not be compressed.
This is a battle for survival. The Wu tribe is warlike, and once they discover that humans don't need to worry about feeding them, they will definitely seize human territory.
Cang Li took a deep breath and said to the tribal leaders, "Starting today, select strong tribesmen and train them. Organize them to practice martial arts every day, patrol the territory, and immediately bring back any suspicious persons you find."
Nini and Amu immediately took the lead in responding.
Cang Li then instructed, "I see that the grain in the fields has just been harvested. Those who are free during this time should cut more bamboo. I will teach you how to make bamboo spears, bows and arrows, and other weapons to fight back."
Seeing Cang Li's calm demeanor, all the tribal leaders were no longer afraid. With their chieftain there, they were certain they could defeat the enemy.
Following Cangli's instructions, the people of each tribe began to select the strong and capable members to form a military force, while the rest went up the mountain to cut down trees and bamboo and transport them to the riverbank to await Cangli's next instructions. The children were all gathered in the center and protected. Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.
Cang Li patted his sleeves, exchanged for the Sun-Shooting Bow, studied how to obtain it, and then put it away. There was no need for the Sun-Shooting Bow in the current situation.
After making the first simple bow and arrow, Cang Li bent the bow and tried it out. The range was not far, less than ten meters, but it should be enough for the current situation.
The shamans who come to rob the human race are definitely not the great shamans; at most, they are just ordinary shamans with only brute force, and these bows and arrows are enough to deal with them.
Cangli asked those tribesmen who had free time to make bows and arrows with her. Each person was equipped with a bow and more than ten arrows. Arrows are consumables, so they had to prepare more.
Thanks to everyone's efforts, over a thousand bows were made, and the remaining bamboo was whittled into arrows.
Cang Li erected several wooden signs ten meters away, and then asked the patrolmen to contact the archers.
The first generation of humans were indeed intelligent and outstanding. They quickly mastered the use of bows and arrows, hitting the bullseye every time. They were all excellent archers.
Cang Li gradually armed the human race, even making armor out of bamboo strips. After the rough armor was finished, Cang Li couldn't help but sigh.
People are indeed driven by necessity. She's just an ordinary person who's managed to farm, build houses, and now even create weapons and armor. She's really amazing.
Cang Li was a little proud, and then continued to lead those who had free time to run and train, so that they wouldn't be a burden when a fight broke out and could escape quickly.
When Xuandu arrived, he saw his people running in strange circles, led by Cang Li, whom he hadn't seen twice before. Xuandu immediately ignored the human race's running behavior and stopped Cang Li as if he had seen a savior:
"Great Chief! You're finally back!"
Cang Li only broke a sweat after running for a while; cultivators were indeed different. Cang Li broke away from the group, signaling Ji Hejie to continue leading, then wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked to the side to ask:
"What's wrong? You seem so anxious. What happened? Someone said you came here twice looking for me?"
Xuandu nodded: "I'm in a great hurry, Great Chief. Come with me to Kunlun Mountain!"
Cang Li was taken aback. What was she going to Kunlun Mountain for? The human race was facing its first crisis, and she was busy.
"No, no, I'm busy. If you have something to say, just say it. The human race is facing some issues right now, and I can't leave."
Cang Li waved his hand in refusal.
Xuandu was truly at his wit's end, and he didn't want to trouble the Great Leader, but his master, the Sage Taiqing, was really acting strangely.
Last time, he brought Cang Li's message—although he had altered it considerably—but after bringing food and wine to his master, his master returned to normal for a while.
After the wine was finished, his master acted strangely again. This time, even his junior uncle was punished by being confined to seclusion to reflect on his mistakes and was not allowed to wander around outside.
Even the most unruly junior disciples have been behaving themselves for quite some time, not daring to provoke them.
As time went on, even the Second Master Uncle, the Jade Purity Saint, who was in seclusion, was alarmed and came out of seclusion early.
Xuan Du thought about it and felt it wasn't a good idea.
He remembered that after Yuanshi left the pass, he went to find his master.
Taiqing sat at the stone table by the cliff, staring blankly down at the bottom of the cliff, not placing a chess piece in front of him for a long time.
Yuanshi sat opposite Taiqing, his face cold as he asked:
“Brother, Xuandu said you’ve been acting a bit strange lately. Is it because you’ve hit a bottleneck in your cultivation? No, we’ve both become saints, free from karma. How could there be a bottleneck?”
Xuan Du, who was serving nearby, broke out in a cold sweat. Was his second uncle being a little too careless with his words? He had just exposed him like that!
Taiqing glanced at Xuandu and replied calmly, "It's nothing, no need to worry."
Yuanshi's forehead veins bulged as he pointed at the twelve Golden Immortals standing in a row ten meters away:
"You call this nothing?! Brother, look at Guang Chengzi. He's usually very well-behaved. His only hobby is growing spiritual plants. You pulled them all out, and you still say it's nothing!"
"And Huanglong, why don't you just turn his magic weapon into a piece of scrap metal?!"
"I won't even mention Taiyi, he's always causing trouble, so you can punish him as you see fit. But what did Yuding do wrong? Why did you take all his books away?"
Taiyi hesitated, then stopped. What did he mean by "punishing him was just punishment"? He was completely innocent; he was just passing by when he was beaten up by his senior uncle. This was definitely not the senior uncle who was supposed to be compliant with nature!
Taiqing: ...
Was Yuanshi referring to him? He didn't remember. He had been thinking about his own changes these past few days and hadn't noticed what he had done. He only occasionally felt that the noise was interrupting his train of thought, so he extinguished the source of the noise.
Yuanshi let out a breath. Tongtian was one thing—he was a younger brother, after all—but his usually steady older brother had suddenly become a different person, which was truly worrying. Yuanshi felt that his face had aged considerably, and then he took his anger out on the Jie Sect:
"It must be because my third brother doesn't consider character when accepting disciples, leading to chaos in Kunlun Mountain! It's driving my eldest brother crazy. I must teach my third brother a lesson and make him expel all those people from the sect!"
Yuanshi grew increasingly angry as he spoke, saying that those creatures with fur and horns, born from moisture and eggs, should not be associated with him! But Tongtian insisted on teaching without discrimination, that all beings are equal, and that teaching anyone is the same as teaching.
How can these be the same? Some people are just born with bad character, and if they are not restrained by the authorities, they will inevitably cause trouble in the long run.
Yuanshi slammed his fist on the table and stood up, ready to go and talk to Tongtian about this.
Taiqing finally came to his senses, his brows furrowed slightly, and called out to Yuanshi:
"This is my third brother's business, don't interfere. He has his own ideas, why cause discord between brothers?"
Yuan Shi sat down, still feeling a bit annoyed: "Big brother, you just keep indulging your third brother!"
Taiqing withdrew his hand and said calmly, "It's not about condoning it."
Yuanshi suddenly looked Taiqing seriously, and then asked Xuandu, "How long has your master been like this?"
At first, he couldn't really see what was wrong with Taiqing, but after getting closer to observe, he realized that something was indeed wrong.
How could his elder brother not know? He has always been someone who lets everything pass by without getting to the heart of him, cultivating with the attitude that it's fine to have it or not to have it. When has doubt and irritation ever appeared in his eyes?
Xuan Du cautiously looked at Tai Qing, and seeing that Tai Qing did not stop him, he answered in a low voice:
"It's been like this ever since I came back from the human race."
Upon hearing this, not only Yuanshi but also Taiqing were stunned. After returning from the human race?
Yuan Shi frowned: "Brother, didn't you realize it yourself?"
Taiqing remained silent, a hint of confusion on her face.
Yuanshi simply asked Xuandu directly:
"What exactly happened? Did something happen when you returned from the human realm? My third brother and I also went to the human realm, and nothing unusual happened. Tell me in detail."
Xuan Du remained silent for a while. How could he know that there was anything unusual about the human race? Everyone was doing their jobs and living well under the leadership of the Great Chief. Xuan Du could only reply, "Replying to Martial Uncle, there is nothing unusual."
Yuanshi glanced at Taiqing and said directly to Xuandu, "Never mind, go to the human race and check if there have been any unusual occurrences recently."
After much thought, Yuanshi concluded that the three of them became saints because of the human race, and Taiqing was the first to establish the Human Religion. Perhaps there really was something wrong with the human race that his elder brother sensed. In any case, the problem must lie with the human race, and going to the human race to check would prove that there was no problem.
Xuan Du readily agreed, which was the real reason why he went to the human race twice without finding anyone and went a third time. He didn't lie to Cang Li.
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