Chapter 672
Chapter 672 - 652: The Active Treasure
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8 min read
Fate never favors a single specific object. While Lu Ping’an’s group found a new point of profit, others were also busy with their own affairs.
After the initial confusion and bewilderment, most people soon found their own working directions.
From the enthusiasm of some people and the joy on their faces, it could be seen that other people also achieved considerable returns.
However, if you actively ask them, they suddenly become tight-lipped and evade your questions.....
This is actually normal. Everyone is here for the sake of profits. This is the true life of an explorer and professional. It’s just that this time, the situation is slightly different.
This exploration actually has organizers. The Four Cities Alliance and the Saphire people from the desert, they aim for long-term benefits and infrastructure development... they are in it for the long haul, and they are willing to operate at a loss in the early stages.
For the wild men...most of the explorers are reluctant to do anything that would put them at a disadvantage, they would rather stick to short-term, one-off actions.
The interests of both parties don’t clash, in fact, they often intersect. For example, without the "hunting bounty" issued by the official side, the safety of the surrounding area would be highly uncertain. The pressure of maintaining the safety of their own camps would fall entirely on the officials.
These hunting teams are also creating a range of influence and safe zones belonging to the human race, effectively deterring other competing races... From the point of view of the local authorities, this little investment in bounties is very worthwhile.
In the current situation, most of the combat personnel are still idle, the "explorers" bring many along mechanism, ensures that civilians are always the main combat power in the short term... Therefore, incentivizing with profits and mutual benefits is the only choice.
In fact, the safety of the camps in the rear, as well as the help provided by various local logistics professions, also rid the explorers of any rear concerns.
The most important thing in any war or adventure is always logistics, how far you can go largely depends on whether you can be well-fed, whether you can get medical assistance when sick, and whether you can quickly replenish your number when someone dies.
The safer the rear area, the more explorers it can gather, especially when surrounded by external enemies... Already there are human explorers from other parts of the world coming here, the earthlings in this world are not just from the Four Cities of the Eastern Country.
Interest and relevance are mutual, the exploration and adventures of these "freelancers" are constantly opening up new maps, bringing more valuable new intelligence.
Most directly, just the information about those "divine beasts", were all accidentally encountered by these people.
"...Before, they thought they were ordinary giant beasts, because this planet is full of giant beasts and giant trees..."
In the end, those mythical giant beasts are the most eye-catching. Some of them have been confirmed to possess the primordial rules of this world... they may even embody the primordial "World Rules".
Rules and principles are not exclusive to "pollution", even without its invasion, there would still be wind, rain, and lightning on Earth, and there would still be its own World Rules.
𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
The operation mechanism of each world is different, some "rules" will manifest in the real world, but once it gets to the era where intelligent life is as common as dogs, the original rules are often impossible to directly touch... either they already have a master or they have sunk into the deep mechanisms of the world.
And "pollution", or change, often means that "rules" and "principles" can be seized, and this is the crux of the problem.
Rule artifacts, or divine utensils embodying the World Rules, have been the treasures sought after by the outsiders from the very beginning, they usually exist on primitive planets in the form of natural crystals.
But this all depends on good luck, when these creatures carrying the original rules are on the run, the nature of the matter completely changes...
"Can the news be confirmed? Tsk, this world might become super hot."
"An undiluted World Rule? Even though we can’t possibly possess it, just imagining it is quite terrifying."
"Heh, no matter how hot it gets, it’s at least two months away... Even if we can’t touch the divine beasts of Rule-level, we can still try our luck with the lower level magical beasts, who knows, we might strike it rich overnight."
Of the four mythical beasts that have been observed so far, one commands thunder and storm, one controls heavenly fire and earthfire, and others spread and exhale the breath of ice. Their abilities are very distinctive, which is the reason why they have been discovered as "different". On the other hand, it’s also the distinctive feature of primordial gods.
Primitive deities may have existed even before the birth of intelligent species. Therefore, they can’t possibly encompass concepts or rules such as "civilization", "language", "war", "trade".
Their existence often directly corresponds to certain phenomena or rules of nature. They could even be seen as physical incarnations of these rules and natural entities.
Alternatively, they could be innate divine beasts or innate spiritual treasures. Nonetheless, the world is in the process of completing its own evolution, filtering out its own races and rules.
They compete with each other, possibly not just for individual strength but also for the direction of the world’s evolution...
Just like the ancient myths of some worlds, under the protection of the great god, intelligent races fight each other, through survival of the fittest or coalescence through marriage. The ultimate victors and the deities they believe in gradually become the protagonists of the continent and the world.
These divine beasts eventually turn into heroes and gods in myths, becoming beliefs in tribal totems. Their power, following their demise, will return to the world.
This is a "process" that many worlds have undergone, a mechanism for the evolution and perfection of the world, and a form in which "protagonist-like intelligent races" are born. And when the newborn races grow up forming societies and inheritances, the primitive gods should have withdrawn from the stage of history and become part of mythology.
Of course, such matters are high-end and lengthy. If you let them play on their own, by the time they’ve just begun the first act, Lu Ping’an might have died of old age.
But judging from there being "family clans" for many of these primitive gods, these "divine beasts", in some sense, have already embarked on the great path of primitive totemic gods.
"This might be the fundamental reason why the Grey Edge Tribe is so aggressive..."
If this world was worthless or not highly valued, the Grey Edge Tribe would not be so proactive, trying to eliminate other competitors at all costs.
Obviously, these beasts are the most valuable treasures in this world...
"... it’s just that, we probably can’t quite handle them."
The highest level of primitive gods indeed are not manageable; those fights can cause devastation, a mortal could easily get obliterated if caught in between.
But as for lower-level existence, those weak, newly-born, injured low-level divine beasts, isn’t there still hope?
Most importantly...
"Whether it’s us or the Grey Edge Tribe, we all just recently discovered their existence... It could be our arrival that awakened this world and the sleeping creatures."
This could be seen from the attitude of these divine beasts toward outsiders. While they combat and struggle with each other, they usually maintain a safe distance. However, to outsiders, they go on the offensive with unyielding eradication attempts.
After all, in some respects, outsiders are a sort of "pollution" from the stars, activating the world’s immune system. Waking the slumbering divine beasts is just a matter of course.
However, if this deduction holds, the naïve new world probably wouldn’t think that the existence of these primordial divine beasts would cause such troub... .
"Compared to the hunters that come after, we actually have the advantage of time. The earliest they could arrive is in a month or two."
Interstellar travel takes time. Even if someone boarded a ship and returned with news during our arrival, and people over there confirmed the news and came over, it would still take at least a month and a half back and forth.
The Grey Edge Tribe should be the same, at least from what I’ve seen on my journey, there haven’t been particularly high-level or troublesome tribes.
Thus, after ensuring relative safety, Lu Ping’an and his team naturally determined their own target.
"Before the real big shots arrive, find the right prey, and make a big catch!"
— End of Chapter 672 —