Two hours later, the two set off again. This time they were very lucky. After crossing over a mountain peak, they saw a village.

At the foot of the mountain, cooking smoke curled up, showing a kind of tranquility isolated from the world.

60,000 years ago, the continent was still quite different after all.

At that time, the population was not so dense, and even the sky seemed particularly vast.

"Let's spend the night there first. Humans haven't been involved in this war, so the pursuers shouldn't search human villages," Fei Lan suggested.

Zhou Yin had no objections either way, naturally agreeing.

The scale of the village was similar to Zhou Village, with about a hundred households. Deep at the foot of this mountain, it was dozens of miles from the nearest slightly lively small county town.

The villagers helped each other day to day, content with themselves. Outsiders rarely set foot here, so they showed great curiosity and enthusiasm for the arrival of Zhou Yin and Fei Lan.

Fei Lan was seriously injured and originally didn't want to talk much. But Zhou Yin was even more reticent than him, only answering one out of ten questions others asked.

So Fei Lan had no choice but to personally take the lead, explaining to the villagers that they were travelers on the road, and he had accidentally fallen down the mountain and was injured. Arriving here, they hoped to stay one night.

Under the oppression of the three races of immortals, demons, and demon beasts, humans lived in trepidation. Compared to other races born with the ability to use spiritual power and command the elements, humans seemed extremely fragile. It was precisely because of this that the difficult circumstances made them even more united.

Unlike the world Zhou Yin was in 60,000 years later, at that time the demon beast race had already declined, while the immortals and demons each occupied one side, not interfering with each other. On the primordial continent, between countries and cultivators, they schemed against each other and fought battles to the death for power, fame, magic treasures and cultivation.

Zhou Yin and the others were welcomed into the village chief's house. The other villagers, hearing that visitors had arrived, all stopped their work at hand and brought over their own food to greet the guests.

This kind of enthusiasm was sincere, without hypocritical calculations, and even less evasive probing. Everyone's faces were filled with smiles, welcoming them from the bottom of their hearts.

The village chief brought them to the big meeting hall in the village, laid out food, and more than half the villagers sat around, chatting about this and that. The village chief was very curious about the outside and kept asking about the situation out there from time to time. Zhou Yin couldn't be counted on, so Fei Lan had no choice but to muster his full energy to chat with them.

Zhou Chen couldn't walk away when he saw food. The chubby furball lay on the wooden table gnawing on a hawthorn fruit, squealing and chirping from the sourness on one hand, but couldn't help continuing to eat on the other, looking adorably silly. This made the little girls beside him very fond of it, and they couldn't help reaching out to pet it.

The furball was in a good mood today. Usually only Zhou Yin could touch it, but now the little girls were stroking its fur and it just lay there not moving, seeming to quite enjoy it, squinting its little eyes like a pampered master.

The village chief was in high spirits chatting, and only let everyone disperse when Fei Lan couldn't help showing his fatigue. He then led them to his own room to let the guests rest.

The room finally quieted down. Fei Lan sighed with emotion: "If I could choose, I'd rather still be an ordinary common human. If I hadn't become a cultivator disciple back then, I wouldn't have later ascended to the immortal realm, and wouldn't have had to get involved in these matters. Then I'm afraid I'd just be a recluse in the mountains, carefree and content."

Zhou Yin said, "If you didn't have cultivation, you would have died long ago, let alone live so long to moan about imaginary illnesses here."

After so many days, even though Fei Lan had gotten used to his way of speaking, sometimes he still couldn't help twitching the corners of his mouth at his sharp tongue. "...I'm a celestial immortal from the upper realm after all, can't you show a bit of reverence?"

Zhou Yin said, "The pursuit of power and longevity is itself an obsession. Whether immortals, demons or demon beasts, all follow the principle that the strong are respected. If you don't even have the ability to protect yourself, what carefree life is there to speak of?"

Although his status and cultivation were inferior to Fei Lan's, when he sat there and spoke, he had a bearing that could not be ignored.

Although Fei Lan was an immortal, he was not good at debating and could only stammer, "What you say is too utilitarian. You should know that after all, such people are still a minority. Look at the villagers here, they don't have the strength to truss a chicken, let alone turn stone to gold or summon the wind and rain, but aren't they living quite freely?"

Zhou Yin sneered. As long as it was life, it would naturally worship the strong and revere power. The primordial continent 60,000 years later was a living portrayal of this.

Once you've tasted that feeling, you absolutely can't give it up. So cultivators tirelessly pursue higher realms or ascension to immortality, all in order to gain greater power and more honored status. Even those immortals who seemed aloof from the mortal world, now it seems were no different.

If it was already like this 60,000 years ago, how could it be any better 60,000 years later?

Fei Lan felt uncomfortable all over being looked at by his mocking eyes, and had no choice but to change the subject to the furball.

It was precisely because Zhou Yin carried Zhou Chen with him and raised it to be fat and plump that Fei Lan, an upper realm person sympathetic to the demon beast race, felt an additional closeness and classified him as a "good person".

Although after a few days together, he had realized that this low-level cultivator was completely incompatible with the words "good person"...

Fei Lan asked, "Have you thought about helping it find its parents and kin?"

Zhou Yin said, "When it grows up, if it's willing, it can go find them itself." If it was to look, it wouldn't be looking 60,000 years ago.

Fei Lan frowned, wanting to say more but stopping himself. "I see it has quite a bit of spiritual nature. Although it doesn't show its origins yet, it doesn't seem like an ordinary low-level demon beast. Forgive my bluntness, but your cultivation is not enough to protect it."

Zhou Yin said, "Only by learning to protect itself can one become strong."

Fei Lan shook his head in disagreement. "It's still not grown up yet, it should be properly cared for as is reasonable. Among the demon beast race, any high-level young beast will be closely protected as soon as it's born until it grows up and takes human form."

Zhou Yin glanced at him, his phoenix eyes long and rippling, not coquettish but with a kind of chilling, heart-stirring mockery. As he grew older, Zhou Bao'er's body was gradually shedding its immaturity, increasingly revealing the original impression Zhou Yin gave others.

"So isn't that why the demon beast race has declined? A race supported by ancient deities like Nüwa and Fuxi has now actually become a homeless dog chased and killed everywhere."

Fei Lan was once again left speechless by the retort, in a sorry defeat.

"A fledgling bird must learn to spread its wings on a cliff in order to soar high. Otherwise, it can only break its wings and die young."

As Zhou Yin spoke, he picked up the soft flesh behind Zhou Chen's neck, lifted the dazed little thing above his head, and then let go.

Fei Lan was shocked and aghast.

The wings, not even half the size of a palm, flapped and fluttered with all their might, supporting the plump body to land safely.

Zhou Chen blinked, not reacting at first, only calling out in a childish manner. After a moment, he gradually became excited, expressing that this game was very fun, pecking at Zhou Yin's sleeve to indicate that he wanted to do it again.

What an odd pair, a person and a bird. Fei Lan facepalmed, speechless.

The sunset approached the horizon, and the new moon entered the brow of the sky.

Although the small village was simple, it had a rare tranquility.

Inside the house, Zhou Yin sat cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed, cultivating his spirit, while Fei Lan stood by the window, looking at the distant village scenery.

Suddenly, his expression changed.

"Outsiders are coming!" As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately set up a barrier, isolating this place from the outside world. He then took out the Heaven Opening Mirror, placed it on the table, and waved his palm over it. The water rippled, and the figures in the mirror swayed, gradually becoming clearer.

Zhou Yin opened his eyes. "Pursuers?"

Fei Lan shook his head, concentrating and listening intently, frowning, "It seems to be... the Demon Clan."

The Demon Clan is different from demonic cultivators.

Demons, implying a murderous heart, are formed by gathering the coldest and most negative energy between heaven and earth. Pangu opened up the world, Nüwa created humans, these were all great meritorious deeds in accordance with the Heavenly Dao. But where there is light, there must be darkness. At the other extreme, demons also emerged to balance the Heavenly Dao.

Initially, none of the ancient gods took a small mass of demonic energy seriously. But as the gods fell and disputes arose frequently, regardless of who it was, as long as they had selfish desires, the sinister energy generated from it would spread between heaven and earth and could also transform into demons, even possessing their own consciousness and wisdom. As time passed, with this waning and that waxing, the Demon Clan gradually rose.

Later on, a Demon Lord emerged in the Demon Clan, integrating the fragmented Demon Clan, gradually expanding it into a force that even immortals and demons could not ignore.

The Demon Clan itself does not have a substantial form. They can transform into anything they see, be it humans, plants, or strange beasts. In the later division of power, they occupied another realm alone and rarely walked on the mainland. Occasionally there were legends of low-level demons absorbing the essence of some family's children.

The mortals of the world do not understand this origin and often list the once revered Demon Beast Clan together with the Demon Clan, calling them demon beasts and demons, which is really a huge misunderstanding.

As for demonic cultivators, they are actually just cultivators who have taken a completely different path of cultivation from others, following their hearts' desires and using bizarre and absurd cultivation methods, so they are often regarded as misfits and given the name demonic cultivators.

Fei Lan obviously didn't think much of the Demon Clan either, with a hint of disdain on his face, but his expression was not relaxed.

The man and woman in the mirror were beautiful and enchanting, but as they walked through the village, no one noticed them, indicating that they had used invisibility spells.

Whether in his previous life or this life, Zhou Yin had never seen the Demon Clan, so he was a bit curious, "What is their cultivation level?"

Fei Lan replied, "If I were uninjured, they would naturally not be my match. But now, if the two join forces, it would be hard to say. I have no chance of winning."

The doubt was quickly answered. The perspective of the water mirror closely followed their movements. The two entered one of the houses on their own, where a little girl was playing with a fox inside.

The fox was snow-white all over, small and cute, affectionately biting the girl's little finger, making the girl giggle.

And that girl was the one who had been cuddling next to the village chief and teasing Zhou Chen during the day.

As soon as the man and woman entered the house, they revealed their forms and immobilized the little girl, making her unable to speak or move.

Seeing this, Fei Lan stamped his foot and said, "Not good, they are here to capture that fox!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the fox's body gradually grew larger, its fluffy tail behind it swaying, gradually growing into nine tails.

The woman giggled, "How mighty you were back then, and now you've been reduced to relying on a little child for protection!"