Chapter 202: The Savior

Xu Chen followed the Elder into the nearest stone chamber.

Lying inside was a middle-aged man who was also very robust, but his aura was weaker, his blood poison seemed more severe, and even his muscles showed obvious signs of atrophy; he appeared to have been in hibernation for much longer than Feng Yi.

After watching the Elder and a middle-aged man feed this person a mouthful of Wangchuan Flower medicinal juice, Xu Chen repeated his previous technique, using his Qi to wrap around the person, then striking like lightning to tap thirty-six active acupoints on his body; in an instant, all the apertures blocked and closed by the blood poison were cleared, and from the time he landed to the time the middle-aged man slowly opened his eyes, no more than ten breaths had passed.

In the time that followed, Xu Chen went from room to room as if he were rushing to appointments, following the Elder into every opened stone chamber to perform his routine operation, and soon, one after another, the Feng tribesmen who had been in deep hibernation for a long time began to wake up one by one.

Because these people had been in hibernation for different lengths of time and their physical conditions varied, some woke up on the spot, while others, though not yet awake, saw their life force begin to strengthen continuously once their Qi and blood were flowing smoothly.

Qi breaking through the apertures could only help restore the circulation of Qi and blood, but only the juice of the Wangchuan Flower could truly suppress the blood poison, so the Clan Leader personally ran back and forth with a middle-aged man to prepare the medicinal juice, eventually bringing over several bowls, and ultimately, with Xu Chen's help, the treatment of thirteen people was completed.

By this time, the news had spread throughout the cavern, which resembled a vast Di Gong, where the Feng tribe resided.

A large number of Feng tribesmen arrived in groups upon hearing the news.

By the time Xu Chen finished saving the last person and emerged from the final stone chamber, the narrow passageway had already been completely blocked by Feng tribesmen.

At this moment, two or three people who had not been in hibernation for very long had already walked out of the stone chambers with the help of their clansmen.

Everyone looked at Xu Chen with faces full of gratitude and even awe.

This human, who appeared frail and had a mysterious background, actually possessed such miraculous means.

The Feng tribe had always had a large number of people in hibernation throughout the generations, but for several generations, not a single one had successfully awakened.

Firstly, they could not obtain the miraculous medicinal herb known as the Wangchuan Flower, and secondly, the treatment method of tapping was very unreliable.

In the past, even when they had the Wangchuan Flower, many tribesmen still could not be saved, and instead, the blood poison would erupt prematurely during the treatment process, leading to their deaths.

But today, Xu Chen, relying on his own strength, saved thirteen tribesmen in one go.

These tribesmen with severe blood poison were, in fact, the most powerful warriors within the Feng tribe.

Because they had consumed the most Divine Blood Paste, their bodies were the strongest and their Soul Power was the highest; many of them could directly contend with the most powerful Nether Beasts in the vicinity.

And as these most powerful warriors were forced into hibernation due to the worsening of their blood poison, the overall strength of the Feng tribe was also continuously weakened, until they were now on the verge of being wiped out, trapped and only able to move within a radius of several thousand miles in the canyon.

The fewer the resources, the more difficult life became, and the weaker their strength grew.

As one waned and the other waxed, the number of Nether Beasts nearby increased, and their strength grew ever greater.

Just like the Nether Beast nest that Feng Feiyi and the others had previously gone to raid for Ghost Soul Water, the Feng tribe could barely contend with it in the past, but ever since Feng Yi also went into hibernation, the Feng tribe's supply of Ghost Soul Water was gradually cut off, and this time, when they went to fight desperately for it, they even paid the price of two lives.

Furthermore, one of the beasts in that Nether Beast nest had advanced, and the Feng tribe's living territory would soon be compressed even further.

However, with the awakening of this batch of the Feng tribe's most powerful warriors, the strength of the Feng tribe would be greatly enhanced; once they rested and recovered, they might be able to completely exterminate that group of Nether Beasts, occupy that Ghost Soul Spring, and from then on, the entire Feng tribe would never have to worry about blood poison eruptions again.

It might even be possible to seek out and cultivate more Wangchuan Flowers and Other Shore Flowers, recreating the glory of the human forces from long ago and carving out a vast territory for the human race within Minghuang.

Of course, these were all just beautiful aspirations.

But hope was already visible before them.

Therefore, seeing Xu Chen come out, many men swarmed forward, lifted Xu Chen high, and began to cheer enthusiastically.

The elderly, women, and children all stood behind, their faces streaming with tears.

The Clan Leader and the Elder were the same; at this moment, they were squeezed to the back by the tribesmen in their excitement, their eyes filled with hot tears they could not control.

The entire tribe had not been this lively for a very, very long time.

After the cheering lasted for a full stick of incense, the Clan Leader released a powerful aura to suppress the crowd, and the group of men reluctantly put Xu Chen down.

Xu Chen's face was a bit pale; these people were too savage. If he hadn't had his Qi to protect his body, he would have been tossed up and bumped his head full of lumps against the ceiling.

"Xu Chen, thank you for saving our Feng tribe!"

The Elder and the Clan Leader parted the crowd, walked in front of Xu Chen, and knelt on one knee together, pressing their heads to the ground to express their most devout gratitude.

The other Feng tribesmen also knelt down in groups on one knee, touching their heads to the ground; among them were even children who had just started learning to walk, being pressed to the ground by the women.

Everyone knew clearly that even with the Wangchuan Flower, the majority of these thirteen people would absolutely not have been saved; if not for Xu Chen's miraculous and strange abilities, many of them would not have been within the scope of being saved at all.

It was precisely because they saw that Xu Chen cleared the blood vessels as easily and quickly as drinking water that the Elder and the Clan Leader gritted their teeth and simply opened more stone chambers, hoping to treat a dead horse as if it were a living one and try it out with Xu Chen's ability.

But Xu Chen did not let them down; everyone was successfully revived, and not a single person died.

Even though most of them would not wake up immediately due to having been in hibernation for too long, as long as they continued to consume some Ghost Soul Water, they would certainly recover slowly, and then, with the help of the cold mist of the Wangchuan Flower to recuperate for a period of time, they would be able to return to their most powerful state.

It could be said that Xu Chen's sudden appearance had completely saved the entire tribe, which was on the verge of collapse.

Xu Chen was also very moved at this moment.

Not long ago, when he first arrived, the Feng tribesmen were still full of hostility toward him and even intended to seize his Shell boat.

But in the blink of an eye, they were treating him with the respect and worship due a savior.

This change of face was so fast that it even caught him off guard.

However, this was also good; having gained the goodwill of the Feng tribesmen, it would be more helpful for him to find a way out.

"Everyone, please rise. Although we met by chance and there were some unpleasantries before, I also admire your actions in guarding Minghuang for the Mortal World. If I can return alive, I will naturally spread your righteous deeds far and wide in the Mortal World, so that the world will forever remember your contributions and those of the deceased human predecessors. Therefore, before I leave here, I hope to live in harmony with all of you. Of course, I also hope to obtain the help of the Feng tribe to help me find the path to leave Minghuang."

With Xu Chen's few simple words, all the Feng tribesmen were moved to tears.

How much time had passed? They had been struggling bitterly in this dark, sunless place, fighting life-and-death battles with Nether Beasts. Although their ancestors' dying wishes had turned into a meaningless will to survive, and no one thought about how great they were, being affirmed by someone from the Mortal World still made everyone so excited that they lost control of their emotions, activating the hot blood and courage that had been dormant and buried for countless generations.

"Xu Chen, rest assured, our Feng tribe will definitely do our utmost to help you find the path back to the Mortal World. Today, I represent all the tribesmen in taking an oath here: whether we succeed or not, we will forever remember your kindness!" The Elder stood up with hot tears rolling down his face, his voice transmitted by his Soul resounding in the minds of every Feng tribesman.

"Then I shall thank the Elder, the Clan Leader, and everyone here in advance!" Xu Chen bowed to everyone with a serious face.

After everyone had risen one after another, Xu Chen released his Divine Sense Transmission and said: "My time is limited, and I am afraid I cannot stay in the Feng tribe for long. I hope some of you can take me to see the nearby tribes."

Immediately, a large group of men swarmed forward, all of them vying to express their willingness to be his guide.

Feng Feiyi was even more excited as he squeezed in front of Xu Chen, grabbed his arm tightly, and said: "I promised to help you, but you had better wait for a while, wait until my brother has fully recovered before going, because on the road to those tribes, there are many powerful Nether Beasts, and perhaps only my brother can deal with them."

Feng Yi, whose aura was not yet very stable, also stepped forward with the help of two tribesmen, his face full of gratitude as he learned from Xu Chen's manner, cupping his hands and transmitting his voice: "You saved my life, and I will help you, but I still need time to recover."

The Elder also nodded and said: "That is true. There are many very powerful Nether Beasts outside, and now the warriors of various tribes have mostly entered hibernation, so the situation is very complicated. It is best if you stay for a longer period of time, but rest assured, we will arrange for people to go out and scout the situation as soon as possible, trying our best to ensure we avoid danger."

Xu Chen thought for a moment and nodded: "Since that is the case, I will listen to the Elder's arrangements!"

And so, a group of people surrounded Xu Chen and returned to the artificial hall.

To express their most heartfelt gratitude, the Elder and the Clan Leader arranged for people to bring Xu Chen a lot of food unique to Minghuang; additionally, hearing that Xu Chen could also drink Divine Blood Paste, they specifically had someone fetch a large pot of Divine Blood Paste and poured a full bowl for Xu Chen in a pottery bowl.

Looking at the various strange and peculiar foods on the stone table, Xu Chen was left between laughter and tears.

These foods were not only strange in color but also strange in texture; they did not resemble the grains or fruits of the Mortal World. Some looked like stones, some like bones, and others like dried fruit, but in reality, they were indescribable, like dirt or even excrement, and their aura was filled with the unique, chilling cold of Minghuang, making the Soul feel extremely uncomfortable.

The only thing slightly more normal was the Divine Blood Paste, though its blood-red color was also somewhat terrifying.

If Xu Chen had not tasted it himself and known that this stuff was a good thing, he probably would not have drunk a single drop even if it killed him.

(End of this chapter)