Traversing countless worlds from the primordial era

Chapter 3 Merit

As the large net hauled in the first catch of fish, Lei Ming once again felt the arrival of merit. To his surprise, this time the merit was even greater than before, and he could feel his body's power increasing once more.

Not only that, Lei Ming also sensed his connection to the large net. A thought struck Lei Ming, and the net flew into his hand.

"A treasure of merit." This feeling arose in Lei Ming's heart.

"I can't give you this net, but I can teach you how to weave it," Lei Ming said.

He Qing didn't care, and he was very happy to hear Lei Ming say that.

Everyone else was very happy to see this, as fishing from the river was much safer than hunting. Only Ku Yuan looked at the large net and was secretly surprised, but he didn't say anything.

A dozen days later, in a cave in Qingyu Mountain, Lei Ming sat cross-legged on a stone bed, with a large, golden net beside him.

"The power has stopped growing. It seems the merit of the invention network has been exhausted." Lei Ming sighed softly, still somewhat unwilling, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Perhaps the internet was not yet ready to be invented, but I invented it ahead of time."

Lei Ming shook his head. He estimated that his strength was already 2 jin. In the technological world, he would be a true superman. But in the prehistoric world, this strength was not even enough to protect himself.

"The merit of inventing tools is greater than that of technology, and the tools I invented have also found work, becoming treasures of merit. Unfortunately, I do not know the methods of cultivation, and can only operate them in a simple way."

Lei Ming had a natural connection with this net, and he also knew its function. After being imbued with merit, this simple net had become a treasure of merit, possessing extremely strong binding power. Even ordinary demon generals could not break free.

"From now on, I'll call you the Demon-Binding Net," Lei Ming said, thinking of humanity's greatest enemy, and named the net accordingly.

On Shouyang Mountain, an old man with white hair and beard sat in front of an alchemy furnace. His eyes were slightly closed, and he gently waved a fan in his hand. The flames burning in the furnace reflected on his face.

This old man was none other than Hongjun Daozu's eldest disciple, the head of the Three Pure Ones, the leader of the Human Sect, and the Primordial Saint Taiqing Laozi.

"The fate of the human race has changed." Laozi suddenly opened his eyes. He silently calculated for a moment and was somewhat surprised. After a brief calculation, his gaze quickly fell on Qingyu Mountain.

The sage's vision penetrates heaven and earth, reaching the thirty-three heavens above and the nine netherworlds below. The sage's heart illuminates the long river of time and space, seeing through the past and the future.

Lao Tzu saw through Lei Ming's true nature with just one glance.

"So they were the first humans. They were quite intelligent." Laozi saw the tools Lei Ming had invented: nets, saws, rulers, stone axes... With these tools, the human race could develop faster, and their fortune also increased.

More importantly, Lei Ming accumulated a great deal of merit through this, ranking second only to the Three Ancestors among the human race.

"Of all the human race born of Heaven, apart from the Three Ancestors, no great sages should appear in the world," Lao Tzu said softly. A clear voice echoed from the void: "Agreed."

Lao Tzu thought for a moment, then waved his hand, and a jade talisman fell from the heavens, covering the area of ​​Qingyu Mountain for tens of thousands of miles.

What Lao Tzu laid out was the Yin-Yang Dust Grand Array. The Yin-Yang Dust transformed into a world, and a single jade talisman isolated the entire Qingyu Mountain.

After setting up the grand formation, Laozi flicked his sleeve, and a million miles away, a newborn wolf was swept up by an unknown force and fell into the Yin-Yang Dust Grand Formation.

After doing all this, Lao Tzu closed his eyes again and continued practicing his elixir.

Lei Ming invented the saw, the ruler, and the stone axe in one go. He gained the most merit from the saw, followed by the ruler, and then the stone axe. This merit increased his strength several times over. Lei Ming's strength now surpassed that of Li Meng, reaching 100,000 jin.

"It's a pity that I have power but don't know how to cultivate, let alone fly. Otherwise, if I spread these inventions throughout the human race, the merit I would gain would definitely be much more than this." Lei Ming sighed softly.

At the summit of Qingyu Mountain, Lei Ming greeted the rising sun. He stood with his feet apart, his hands moving freely as if guided by the wind, his movements as smooth as flowing water.

"Lei Ming, what are you doing?" Li Meng asked, puzzled.

"Cultivation!" After a long pause, Lei Ming stopped moving and replied, "This is called Tai Chi Chuan, which allows one to comprehend the great principles of heaven and earth."

Li Meng burst into laughter upon hearing this, then asked him, "What have you realized?"

Lei Ming was speechless. He was desperate and had no choice but to pick up Tai Chi, which he had used to train his body in his previous life. Lei Ming still had some hope. There were many legends about Tai Chi, and maybe he could really figure out how to cultivate it on his own.

However, legends are just legends. Lei Ming practiced for more than two months but still didn't feel anything.

"This soft, weak movement isn't a punch! A punch should be like this!" Li Meng clenched his fist and smashed a rock more than a meter tall next to him.

"See that?" Li Meng asked smugly.

The Qingyu Mountain tribe revered its chief, Shi Guan, and below him was Li Meng. However, recently, Lei Ming had led his people in accomplishing many extraordinary feats and inventing useful tools, thus gaining more prestige within the tribe than Li Meng. Li Meng did not hold a grudge against Lei Ming for this, but he was somewhat resentful.

"Stones are ultimately inanimate; what's the use of breaking them?" Lei Ming thought to himself. "Our opponents are far stronger than stones."

Li Meng's injuries have healed, and although the tribe is not short of food, he still decided to lead the hunting team out.

"Lei Ming, do you want to come with us?" Li Meng asked.

"Forget it, the hunting team won't miss me if I'm here or not. I'll just continue practicing my Tai Chi." After Lei Ming finished speaking, he slowly practiced Tai Chi from the beginning again, even though Tai Chi hadn't been of much use to him yet.

"Alright." Li Meng didn't force him and went down the mountain alone.

Lei Ming practiced for the entire morning before returning to his cave to rest. Although the cave was simple, he arranged it in a neat and orderly manner. Seeing this, the other humans in the tribe also imitated Lei Ming's arrangement, which gave the entire tribe a touch of civilization.

"I practiced Tai Chi over and over again, and although it didn't seem to have any practical effect, my understanding of it deepened." After practicing Tai Chi, Lei Ming felt completely refreshed, which is why he didn't give up.

In the afternoon, Lei Ming sat cross-legged on a boulder by the stream, meditating as he watched the sunset. Such a life seemed dull and boring, but Lei Ming found joy in it.

In the evening, Kuyuan arrived. He was leaning on a cane, his body was somewhat hunched, but his steps were not slow.

"This is fish I cooked for you." Ku Yuan carried a stone box. These stone bowls are very popular in the tribe now, and of course, they were created by Lei Ming.

"Thank you, Kuyuan." Lei Ming took the stone box and began to eat.

Ku Yuan sat to the side, watching him quietly. Lei Ming quickly finished eating and put the stone box aside.

"You've changed so much," Ku Yuan suddenly said. "If you had stayed in the ancestral land, you wouldn't have become a figure like the Three Ancestors."

"How dare I compare myself to the Three Ancestors?" Lei Ming shook his head.

Ku Yuan glanced at the net around Lei Ming's waist, as well as the saw and ruler beside it, and said, "When Suirenshi invented fire by drilling wood, I seemed to see boundless golden light pouring down from the sky. After that, Suirenshi possessed great power and could even control fire. When you invented the net, saw, and ruler, golden light also fell, but in much smaller quantities. I think that golden light was a reward from heaven and earth for those who made contributions."

Lei Ming looked at Ku Yuan in surprise: "You can see golden light?"

"I only saw it vaguely." Ku Yuan's expression was very calm. "I discovered a long time ago that both innate and acquired humans possess a special ability, an ability that is unique. I think that is my ability."

Lei Ming was increasingly surprised. Ku Yuan was usually very low-key, but he was also trusted by everyone. Now that he thought about it, Ku Yuan was clearly more intelligent than the other humans.

"Ku Yuan's ability is wisdom, but what is mine?" Lei Ming couldn't help but wonder.

"You received the golden light as a reward, so your strength should have increased a lot, right?" Ku Yuan asked again.

Lei Ming nodded: "In terms of strength alone, it has increased by a full 20 times."

Ku Yuan smiled slightly and said, "It seems my guess was correct. Your current strength has surpassed Li Meng's. The chief is still recovering from his injuries, and no one from the ancestral land has come. The tribe is in great danger. I suggested to the chief that you lead the tribe from now on, and the chief has agreed."

To Ku Yuan's surprise, Lei Ming was not interested in becoming the tribe's leader.

"If anything happens to the tribe, I will naturally take responsibility, but let Li Meng handle the management of the tribe."

Ku Yuan listened and thought for a while.

"That's fine too."

Lei Ming breathed a sigh of relief and began to talk with Ku Yuan. Ku Yuan indeed possessed extraordinary wisdom, and from him, Lei Ming learned many secrets of the human race.

As night approached, the two were having a pleasant conversation when a long roar suddenly came from afar, accompanied by a fierce howl.

(End of this chapter)