Chapter 131: Abnormal Is Normal

It wasn't that Feng Xue was being finicky; rather, the quality of devotional energy was inextricably linked to the residents' perceptions.

Generally speaking, the more modernized a region, the more complex its devotional energy environment, because people know more, think more, and thus desire more.

In poor, backward, remote areas, devotional energy becomes extremely pure, for the people there have no capacity beyond survival to think of anything else.

Take Little Xiao Lingdang's place, for example—population under a thousand, living standards equivalent to ancient fishermen; they've never seen modern entertainment, and even money as a medium of exchange doesn't exist; their days consist solely of going out to fish or tilling the land, with no concept of entertainment whatsoever. Their desires are limited to good health and enough to eat, perhaps also healthy children—thus the devotional energy is pure.

But people in affluent regions desire many things: money, power, to be pursued by beautiful wealthy women, to catch the eye of a handsome tyrant CEO, to buy a graphics card without price hikes…

All such desires naturally make devotional energy chaotic.

Yet these natives before him, in their attire and appearance, clearly indicated they were still at a tribal civilization level—making the island's devotional energy environment profoundly anomalous—

Could it really be a group of people who possess high-tech but insist on playing primitives, like Wakanda?

As Feng Xue recalled the tribe that wielded alien tech yet chose their chief through brawls, he activated 【Observing Heavenly Lifespan】 and scanned the dozens gathered on shore—each had residual lifespan between one hundred and two hundred years, except one elderly man with barely a decade left.

They stood there, warm and welcoming. Feng Xue hesitated, then ordered the boat to dock.

"Bulabaguluwa…"

The old man, whose residual lifespan was barely a decade, wore a feathered crown and a necklace of teeth, leaning on a wooden staff as he chattered in unintelligible speech.

Before Feng Xue could ask, Sara spoke through the nanofilm on his body—

"This is the native language of the Cradle Island group, slightly mutated, but the database contains records. He means roughly: 'I am Lao Kuna, chief of Kuna Village, welcome to our distant guest.'"

Feng Xue raised an eyebrow and turned to ask:

"Will you stay to guard the boat, or come with us? Don't worry about translation—your database has it, and Little Xiao Lingdang should handle it too."

"We…"

"We're going ashore!" Feina spoke up, sounding somewhat better. Sara, being merely an AI, could only follow when her master spoke.

Feng Xue suspected this woman might be thinking, "If no one watches the boat, it'll get stolen," but he gave her no chance to argue, turning directly to Little Xiao Lingdang:

"Switch to remote mode. Cruise ten kilometers from the island. Immediately transmit intelligence if attacked."

"Received! This command will execute after disembarkation." Little Xiao Lingdang raised her hand, looking obediently like a cabin boy obeying the captain's orders. Feng Xue then leapt onto the shore and, with Little Xiao Lingdang's simultaneous translation, said:

"Thank you all for your warmth. I've brought some local specialties—we can trade them with you later."

Upon hearing this, the gathered natives immediately erupted, chattering about wanting "boxes that spit fire," "bow arrows the size of a palm," and similar things—this actually reassured Feng Xue.

"Perhaps due to its geography, ships from Aynan Island frequently dock here, so the natives' exposure exceeds their productivity? That explains it!"

Feng Xue thought to himself, yet maintained his over-the-shoulder view, following the self-styled Lao Kuna as he led them, along with Sara and Feina, down a narrow dirt path to a small village.

The village had a rustic, "use what's at hand" style: branches, dead leaves, and wooden planks loosely tied together into crude huts. Whether sturdy or not, they clearly offered no warmth.

But considering Terra Superhuman physiology, perhaps it didn't matter.

"I've already sent word to nearby villages. We've often traded with passing guests, so everyone knows what travelers want…"

The old man directed villagers setting up the "trade fair" as he explained their hospitality, while subtly hinting that the village wanted those "boxes that spit fire."

Feng Xue found it amusing but remained cautious, pulling out several small items bought on Aynan Island and indicating he had goods to trade, then asking casually:

"Lao Kuna, I noticed many of your villagers wear crescent-shaped ornaments—is that your faith?"

As Little Xiao Lingdang translated, the bustling village fell abruptly silent. Feng Xue, thinking he'd said something wrong, had already reached for his belt when the chief finally spoke:

"That is our faith—the symbol of the Great Moon Goddess Ma'u. She is the spouse of the Sun, the embodiment of wisdom. But the Moon Goddess manifests only at night; by day she stands beside the Sun, and must not be disturbed."

As the old chief spoke, Feng Xue watched in shock as his lifespan suddenly dropped by ten days. His expression grew solemn—he now understood why this guide's lifespan differed so sharply from other elders.

Yet…

"Asking one question just cost him ten days of life… feels like I owe him something."

Feng Xue muttered to himself, then pulled out a waterproof matchbox and handed it to Lao Kuna:

"This is my thanks for your hospitality. Please don't refuse."

Lao Kuna clearly recognized the Aynan-made matches—he beamed, slipped them into his leather pouch at his waist, then led Feng Xue to a similarly crude but noticeably larger hut:

"This is our guest house, kept clean every day. Guests may rest here. Our island has about a hundred villages; the farthest representatives may not arrive until tomorrow. If you're not in a hurry, stay the night. Our village has several marriageable Misses—if you're willing to leave your seed, that would be best of all…"

"That's entirely unnecessary!" Feng Xue cut him off sharply. Though he knew tribal customs often allowed passing travelers to stay for genetic diversity, he personally found the practice unacceptable.

Lao Kuna didn't mind the refusal, told Feng Xue to ask for him if he needed anything, then turned to prepare the trade fair.

"The local customs seem quite pure. By the way, have they never encountered pirates? Or do they have sufficient strength?"

Feng Xue wandered around the hut, then stepped outside. Sara approached his feet:

"Pure? I doubt it."

(End of Chapter)