Traversing countless worlds from the primordial era

Chapter 2 Dangerous Situation

Lei Ming gathered some humans and dug several caves in the nearby mountains. He held a high position in the tribe, and most of the humans in the tribe were descendants of the humans created by Nuwa. Although Lei Ming did not have great strength, he was still created by the goddess Nuwa, and they still had a sense of awe towards him.

Several makeshift storage rooms were quickly built. Lei Ming inspected them and then hung the meat pieces inside. Through several air vents, the meat pieces were naturally air-dried. After a few days, the moisture content of the meat pieces had greatly decreased.

"That's about right. It might not taste very good, but at least it can fill your stomach."

Li Meng and his men were very efficient, and each outing yielded a considerable harvest. The beasts they encountered were enormous; ten beasts were enough to feed Lei Ming's tribe. The remaining meat was dried and stored by Lei Ming. Seeing the growing amount of dried meat in the warehouse, Lei Ming couldn't help but smile.

Just as the first batch of dried meat entered the warehouse, Lei Ming felt as if something had descended upon him from the sky. At the same time, he was undergoing a transformation, becoming stronger and more energetic.

As a human born after birth, Lei Ming's body was inherently stronger than other humans, but the strength was still limited. An ordinary person might have a strength of 1000 jin, while Lei Ming's maximum strength was approximately 5000 jin.

Now, Lei Ming's body is much stronger, and his strength has doubled, reaching 10,000 jin.

The strength of ten thousand jin is enough to rival that of an ordinary demon beast.

"I now have the confidence to fight against demonic beasts!" Lei Ming was overjoyed. Before this, only Shi Guan and Li Meng in the entire Qingyu Mountain human tribe were able to kill demonic beasts on their own. The other humans who had acquired their powers were also strong, but they could only fight demonic beasts together. Now, Lei Ming relied on the food he stored to gain luck and merit, and his strength has greatly increased. He can be called the third strongest person in the Qingyu Mountain human tribe.

With his strength greatly increased, Lei Ming became even more motivated. He led the younger members of his clan to open up nine warehouses, and the jerky they produced filled all nine warehouses. However, heaven did not bestow any more merits, and Lei Ming's strength did not increase further.

"The method of storing food is extremely important to the human race, and it's impossible that this is all the merit I've gained." Lei Ming pondered in his heart. Although these methods were simple, they were enough to change the lives of the human race. Although the merit was not as great as that of the Three Ancestors, it should be enough to make Lei Ming's strength catch up with that of the Primordial Human Race.

"I haven't gained much luck and merit yet, probably because I haven't spread this method throughout the human race," Lei Ming said, resting his chin on his hand as he pondered a solution. But after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't come up with a better idea.

The Qingyu Mountain human tribe is just one of many ordinary human tribes. Shi Guan is not weak, but he ranks low among the surviving innate humans. Humans haven't established a strict hierarchical system, but strength is a standard. In other words, even if Shi Guan were to promote methods of food storage, it wouldn't yield better results in the short term.

"If one invention isn't enough, I'll invent more things," Lei Ming said, clenching his fist. In mythology, the newly born human race faced many disasters, and only those with great strength could survive.

Lei Ming was still pondering what to invent when Li Meng and the others returned ahead of schedule. However, this time, Li Meng's hunting party was in dire straits. Lei Ming saw that most of them were injured, and Li Meng, the leader, seemed to have broken his arm.

The hunting party went to Ku Yuan, a tribal priest and one of the acquired humans. He could treat some simple injuries with certain plants, but his medical knowledge was only superficial, accumulated through experience, and had not yet formed complete knowledge.

Lei Ming, from a later generation, knew that only during the time of Shennong, the Earth Sovereign, did humanity acquire a complete medical system.

"What happened?" Lei Ming asked Li Meng while Ku Yuan was treating the others' injuries. Li Meng shook his head, looking dejected.

"We were unlucky this time and ran into a demon general. I thought that even if my strength was not as good as itss, the difference wouldn't be that big. But I didn't expect it to be a peak demon general. In just a dozen breaths, it devoured dozens of us. If it hadn't eaten its fill and returned, we probably wouldn't have made it back today," Li Meng said.

Demonic beasts are the primary threat facing humanity. Based on their strength, they can be categorized into ferocious beasts, demonic beasts, demon generals, and demon commanders. Ordinary ferocious beasts, after gaining intelligence, can absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cultivate themselves and evolve into demonic beasts. Demonic generals are more powerful than demonic beasts, and demon commanders are even stronger. Above demon commanders are great demons, who are qualified to enter the Heavenly Court.

Lei Ming patted Li Meng on the shoulder without saying anything. This kind of situation has happened countless times in the past 100 years.

"That demon general won't leave on its own anytime soon. Now that our leader is injured, our tribe is no match for it. The days ahead may be tough," Li Meng said.

"For safety's sake, the hunting team should refrain from action for now. As for the food, I'll figure something out." Lei Ming already had an idea.

Lei Ming found some women, and he also had Li Meng and the others collect some very tough vines. He peeled off the bark of these vines, soaked them in water, and then dried them in the sun, eventually obtaining dried fibers that were more than ten meters long.

"Twist them into ropes like this." Lei Ming demonstrated to the women. The action wasn't difficult, and they quickly learned it.

In half a day, Lei Ming obtained hundreds of ropes, each about the thickness of a little finger. These ropes were very rough, but still quite sturdy.

The people had long known how to tie grass into ropes, but this was the first time Li Meng and the others had ever seen ropes made like Lei Ming.

"This rope is really strong." Li Meng tested it and couldn't help but say, "Lei Ming, what are you going to do with these ropes?"

"I'm going to weave a net," Lei Ming said, braiding some ropes together to form a grid pattern. As more and more ropes were connected, a large net slowly took shape.

"Although it's very simple, it's usable." Lei Ming tested the strength of the net and nodded in satisfaction.

"Follow my example and weave these ropes into a net like this," Lei Ming said to the younger generation. He personally demonstrated the method, and soon these human juniors mastered the way to weave the net.

"Is this the net? It looks pretty strange." Li Meng was still completely confused; he didn't know what Lei Ming was using these things for. The other humans who had reached the Acquired Realm also came over when they saw the commotion. Ku Yuan picked up the net and frowned in thought.

They wove more than a dozen large nets before the ropes were used up. These nets, when connected, were forty or fifty meters long. Lei Ming estimated that it should be enough.

"Lei Ming, are you planning to use these nets for hunting?" Ku Yuan pondered for a while and guessed Lei Ming's intention.

"You could say that," Lei Ming nodded.

"That's impossible." Li Meng shook his head repeatedly. "These nets are too fragile. Even ordinary wild beasts could destroy them." As Li Meng spoke, he exerted a little force, and a part of the net tore open.

Lei Ming quickly stopped him.

"I'm not going to hunt in the forest; these nets are mainly for catching fish in the river," Lei Ming explained.

"Fish?" Li Meng shook his head dismissively. "Fish are too hard to catch, and they taste weird and not tasty."

"Although fish don't taste as good as wild beasts, their nutritional value is quite high, and fishing is much less risky than hunting. There are countless schools of fish in the nearby Qingyu River, which can help us get through this winter." Lei Ming had been observing the Qingyu River for a long time and knew that there were no powerful monsters in the river, but there were many large fish.

After Lei Ming explained, the others were still not quite convinced. So he said no more and led the group to the Qingyu River. The Qingyu River is a small river that is a hundred meters wide and has a gentle current. The human tribes of Qingyu Mountain built their settlements along the river.

Lei Ming ordered his men to set the net in the shallow water.

"He Qing, can you drive the fish over there?" Lei Ming asked a thin young man named He Qing, one of the acquired humans and the best swimmer in the tribe. He Qing was naturally close to water, and he was even more agile in the water than on land.

"No problem. Catching fish is difficult, but herding them is easy."

He Qing and several young men jumped into the water. They spread out and splashed the water around the school of fish, startling them and causing them to swim towards the designated area. Lei Ming, seeing that it was about time, immediately ordered his men to pull in the net. The fish on the surface didn't notice at first, but by the time they did, it was too late.

The four corners of the large net emerged from the water, encircling the fish.

"A pretty good catch," Lei Ming said with a smile. This net didn't require much skill, but it caught hundreds of big fish.

Everyone else stared in disbelief at the large fish leaping in the net, especially He Qing, who had just come ashore. Normally, when he led his fishing team, catching a dozen or so fish a day was already exhausting, while Lei Ming had easily caught hundreds of large fish—the difference was enormous.

"Ingenious!" Ku Yuan exclaimed repeatedly. "This net may seem simple, but it's incredibly useful. Water flows through the holes in the net, but big fish can't escape. If it's strong enough, even powerful demonic beasts will be bound and unable to break free."

Upon hearing this, Lei Ming couldn't help but glance at Ku Yuan a few more times. This human, who was the same age as him but looked old enough to be his grandfather, possessed extraordinary wisdom.

He Qing and his men pulled up the net, beaming with joy: "So many fish! Enough to feed us for a long time. Lei Ming, can I have this net?"

"That won't do!" Lei Ming refused decisively.

(End of this chapter)