Demon Cultivator in Abyssal Era

The fresh air tinged with a faint smell of blood filled Chu Xiu’s nostrils. He opened his eyes and saw a dense, lush forest in front of him.

The difference from the forests on Blue Star was that the tips of the leaves here had a barely noticeable crimson hue, and the branches and leaves grew wildly and illogically, forming a dense mass. Standing under the shade, not a single ray of sunlight could penetrate.

"It’s only been half a month, and the blood hue in the Corpse Demon World is getting thicker."

Chu Xiu glanced around and sighed inwardly.

At this moment, he suddenly heard whispers from afar.

Something stirred in Chu Xiu’s heart, and a pair of golden wings appeared on his back. With a gentle flap, he soared thousands of meters into the sky.

Looking down, he quickly locked onto his target.

About five kilometers from his location, there was a mountain valley surrounded by mountains on all sides. A stream cut through the valley from west to east, and on both sides of the stream, the trees had been cleared away, and neat rows of wooden huts were built.

Chu Xiu’s gaze fell on the outskirts of the valley, instantly locking onto a burly man with thick eyebrows and big eyes—it was Liang Zhan!

Seeing him give a light shout, a sharp Sword Qi swept across, chopping down dozens of big trees in front of him. The Buddhist Elders behind him then gave a slight gesture, and with a swirl of golden light, those chopped trees were uprooted.

At this time, another figure stepped forward. Chu Xiu found him somewhat familiar, seemingly one of the support professions from the previous camp of the Awakened.

He held a staff resembling an old tree trunk and chanted a few spells. In the next moment, numerous green light spots emanated from his body.

These green light spots appeared to be tiny sprite-like creatures, adeptly using mana to peel and cut the wood, finally piecing it together into a square wooden house using a mortise-and-tenon structure.

Chu Xiu remembered that this was the Fierce Tier support Awakened, specially recruited by the government, whose profession was [Wood Spirit (A)], very suitable for pioneering in the new world. The camp for the Awakened back then was built by him and a dozen other support professions.

This scene left Chu Xiu with a thoughtful expression. With a slight flicker, he appeared in front of Liang Zhan.

The people, who were originally turning to handle the miscellaneous woods, were startled by the sudden appearance of Chu Xiu. But immediately, Liang Zhan and the Buddhist Elder knelt on one knee, respectfully saying, "Lord, you’ve returned."

The remaining Awakened, while not kneeling, still offered a respectful salute.

Chu Xiu didn’t care for these formalities, simply gesturing, "Liang Zhan, tell me about the current situation."

"Yes."

Next, Liang Zhan thoroughly told Chu Xiu about everything that had happened during his half-month absence.

It turned out that shortly after he left, Qin Xiang had found everyone and chosen a suitable settlement nearby for these twenty thousand people.

And on the second day, he brought a dozen Awakened here. Among them, some were responsible for building houses, others for clearing fields, and some for planting food. There was even someone responsible for ideological education.

For twenty thousand people, just feeding them was a huge problem. Soon, the first batch of food ran out, but almost every day, Awakened with storage spaces filled with food would return, each of them generally serving different functions.

Nowadays, people have barely adapted to life in the new world.

"At the beginning, we could only eat that strange nutritional paste. However, everyone could understand the food scarcity. Now, with the help of a few lords, the first batch of fruits and vegetables is about to mature. My soldiers and I often manage to catch wild game nearby, so overall, everything is improving, and everyone is full of hope for their new life," Liang Zhan said.

Chu Xiu nodded. He glanced at the civilization panel; the civilization development index had rapidly increased from 0.13 to 0.15.

The development of civilization indeed cannot do without the government’s assistance. If he had to start from scratch alone, at least half of these twenty thousand people would starve to death.

"The government people have much more management experience than I do, so let them take care of the development for now."

With this in mind, Chu Xiu asked another question: "Have you become an Awakened yet?"

"Yes," Liang Zhan nodded respectfully. "Shortly after arriving in the Abyss, I obtained the Awakened panel. I am now Fierce Tier Level 9, thanks to introductions from fellow Daoists. I have now basically understood matters related to the Awakened."

"Hmm." Chu Xiu acknowledged this in an understanding tone, finding nothing unusual about it.

Liang Zhan could exhibit General Tier power due to his extreme Martial Dao cultivation. In terms of the essence of life, he was indeed Fierce Tier, but those Buddhist Elders could potentially reach General Tier.

However, this also indicated Liang Zhan’s vast potential.

For Awakened, age doesn’t matter. Although Liang Zhan was almost fifty, in a dataized state, compared to the young, he just needed slightly more experience to level up, but his Talent was enough to compensate. Once he reached the General Tier, fifty, or even a hundred years, would mean nothing.

The Awakened have an inherent upgrading mechanism that allows them to gain great power in very few years.

Liang Zhan, as a once-in-a-century genius from the Peach Blossom Spring, with an S-Class Talent and tempered by battlefields, was superior in both disposition and combat skills compared to ordinary Awakened, so Chu Xiu had high hopes for him.

"Participate in the General Tier trial as soon as possible. If you pass, I have something for you," Chu Xiu said.