I became a god by treasure hunting after arriving 500 years early

The crowd around them let out a heavy sigh.

"This guy is pretty impressive!" Lu Yuan praised in his heart.

The other person's muscles were still tense, which meant he hadn't passed out.

"Iron Finger Mark," "Huge Power," "Hardening" these three Shape Skills were well balanced in offense and defense, quite formidable.

If it weren't for the fact that Lu Yuan's Attribute was twice that of his opponent, in a simple physical fight with the same Attributes, he might not have been a match.

Of course, before a Divine Skill, they were all ants.

Attack power could be substituted with Technology Weapons, and defense could be managed by armor.

But Divine Skill, that couldn't be replaced, and just by the "Eternal Spark's" ability to damage souls, these warriors would have a hard time resisting.

A few seconds later, Sha Kan'er got up from the ground and patted his buttocks.

His calf was throbbing with pain. He hadn't expected to lose in just a few moves, it was clear that the other party had intentionally gone easy on him.

The difference between them was likely several Levels.

He didn't dwell on the fight and, with proper manners, showed his respect.

Then he slowly retreated, smiling wryly and complained, "Elder, I simply can't beat him. Was that red light an Extraordinary Spark? It felt even more formidable than the Empire's instructors... He didn't even use his full strength."

The Elder had seen all of this and consoled him, "It's normal... Only such strength could cross the desert and tame a Chicken Snake!"

He planned to invite this one to settle in their village, even if it was just to exchange some knowledge or trade some goods.

"This place is too dangerous, really not a good living environment."

But then he thought about how the other could tame a monster-like mother chicken and live here, it didn't seem so bad, which left him feeling somewhat embarrassed.

In the end, he slapped his forehead and boldly invited, "Brave sir, would you like to visit our village?"

"Our village is poor and in trouble, but we still have a place for guests to rest and be entertained."

Lu Yuan couldn't have asked for more. He wanted to learn what this race's "Martial Art" was all about, and also wanted information related to Sky City.

Still, he pretended to think for about a dozen seconds.

Waiting until the Sha Li People started to hesitate and feel bewildered, he slowly nodded, "Since I'm free anyway, it wouldn't hurt to take a look."

Old Cat couldn't stand watching anymore and began scratching its head with a "crik crik" sound, "This fellow really knows how to put on an act. Conch, you better not learn from him."

The Conch translated, "Free of engagements, viewing it may be suitable, no need for elaborate courtesy."

Old Cat was shocked; the fellow was even using archaic language, truly elegant. It suddenly remembered that Cat Mama also had the title "Tiger's Elegance," and thinking about her current neurotic behavior, shudders went through its body.

...

And so, bidding farewell to the mother chicken brooding under the tree, Lu Yuan watered his vegetables a little bit more, and under the mother chicken's resentful gaze, followed the Sha Li Clan to their settlement.

This small village was about 40 kilometers away from Sky City.

About a day's walk.

The sky was still filled with yellow sand, but the ground had evidently become much firmer.

On the cracked earth, a few crooked tamarisk trees struggled to grow.

Even these plants, which were most resistant to drought, had lost their leaves and no longer displayed the miracle they once were.

Near a dried up Well, a shaded pavilion stood, its wooden pillars already faded.

A gray-blue stone road was covered with a thin layer of yellow sand.

It seemed that a "God" had moved a complete piece of the Otherworld's crust into the desert, which was why these infrastructures still existed.

There were people patrolling inside the pavilion, and seeing the large troop returning, the few patrolling soldiers showed an excited and joyful expression, they ran into the village shouting.

"They're back!"

"They brought back water! Water!!"

It seemed life was very tough, as even though the Exploration Team had not managed to fill their water supplies, having only about a third, it still alleviated the immediate crisis.

The entire village rejoiced at the appearance of this water, with women and the elderly all running out.

Lu Yuan sighed softly and checked the Well.

Not a single drop of water remained.

The soil could barely be described as moist and was filled with some cactus-like drought-resistant plants.

The Sha Li Clan had relied on these cacti as food to stubbornly survive up to now...

Some barefooted children came running over, curiously surrounding the tricycle and chattered amongst themselves.

Especially when they saw the giant turtle tied up, their eyes filled with wonder and they spoke some native slang, "Ai xi lian xi ma!"

The Conch translated, "They say that the turtle must taste very delicious and would be quite challenging."

"They actually know about turtles..."

"If we keep chopping off this turtle's limbs to let it regenerate, couldn't we feed everyone?" Lu Yuan suddenly had a twisted idea.

"Ah? You're such a scumbag, actually thinking of cooking your own brother!"

Lu Yuan couldn't help but tease her, "How am I a scumbag? This is called sacrificing one to save millions. Don't you understand this is the spirit of fearless dedication?"

"My good brother is delirious now; even if we chop off its head, it won't feel pain."

The highly moral and upright Conch was stunned; such an innocent person was obviously no match for the sly ones, and she left with the words: "I always feel something is wrong, but due to limited knowledge, I can't refute it for now."

A day passed, and the turtle's wounds had long since healed as before, but it was still delirious, loudly threatening the children with a "wah gaga!"

Several children were scared into crying, stepping back a few steps and falling over like dominoes.

A few women dressed in camel wool quickly ran over to comfort the children.

"Lu Yuan, your wish to find a mate is about to come true," Old Cat said very seriously, "These humanoid creatures should fit your aesthetic, right?"

Lu Yuan rolled his eyes. Although they were humanoid creatures, their skin was brown... okay, that's not too important. No matter what color the race, there are always beautiful ones.

The real deal breaker is that whether it's men or children or women, due to long periods without bathing, they all smell like they've fermented...

I, Old Lu, have to block out my sense of smell, do you know how much pain I'm in?!

Due to the arrival of guests, the village slaughtered an old camel... actually, Lu Yuan felt it was unnecessary, but it was hard to refuse their hospitality.

The method of cooking the camel resembled fried salted chicken. They bled and skinned it first, then threw it into a sand filled with mineral salts, followed by roasting it with a black clay.

Seeing the black smoke and smelling that odor, Lu Yuan began to question life: That's freaking... isn't that petroleum?

Soon, the roasted whole camel was ready, its skin golden and crispy, tasting a bit like dried beef? Quite chewy.

The camel weighed nearly five hundred pounds, and everyone in the village got a piece of the meat.

Children are always carefree; with just a bite to eat, they were overjoyed, faces greasy from eating. They tumbled on the ground, playing with stones.

The adults conversed about the sights they had seen in Sky City, and lamented: "Someone from the neighboring village had a dream and went mad rushing into it again..."

This might indeed be the original sin of a weaker race. Even though the Safe Zone was lifted long ago and they had more time to develop, what of it?

Just these natural and man-made disasters are enough to cause their chronic extinction.

If it doesn't rain soon, this extinction will occur within these few years.

In a few decades, the village will be swallowed up by the desert, and no one will know that a weak civilization once existed here.

Actually, Lu Yuan also didn't have any particularly good solutions, considering the village's size wasn't small—thousands of people lived there.

Ten villages combined, nearly 50,000 people.

Where does he get the ability to take care of the daily lives of tens of thousands of people?

Moreover, driven mad by the temptation of Sky City, such a situation was something Lu Yuan couldn't help with... his good brother, the Undying Giant Turtle, still hasn't regained consciousness.

Thinking of this, Lu Yuan stood up, ran over to the tricycle, and beat up the turtle that was making "gaga" noises.

He then sneakily took out some fruit and handed it to the children.

These kids, of course, were overjoyed, their big eyes watching Lu Yuan with his purple skin, chuckling with "hee hee hee."

Unexpectedly, this strange person was actually a good Samaritan.

"Cough cough!" Lu Yuan didn't feel embarrassed; the color pigment sprayed from the flower bud was sinking into his cells, but it wasn't toxic, and he should return to normal after a while.

After eating, a group of men gathered to chat casually.

"How much do you know about that city?" Lu Yuan pointed at the distance, "What kind of monsters are there?"

"It's been five years. So many villages here have sent exploration teams, and the outer area has been roughly explored," Elder Sha Sanli said, frowning as he recalled: "There's an extremely huge Mother Worm, hidden in the sewers, occupying the water source of the sewers. It's about... the size of a two-story building."

"Not only does this insect reproduce, but it has also contaminated part of the water source in the sewer, causing the water to acquire a subtle toxicity that kills crops."

Lu Yuan nodded slightly, wondering just how strong this Mother Worm really was.

"Have you never thought of killing it?"

"Those who saw it are already dead," Sha Sanli said with a bitter smile, "That was a story from three years ago..."

The Sha Li Clan did not lack heroes; three years ago, warriors organized an expedition to fight these powerful beings and wrest control of the water source.

But intelligent life always has its shortcomings. On one hand, fighting in the dark and cramped sewers was terrifying, and numbers didn't matter much; losing one's life could happen in an instant.

On the other hand, before they even got the water source, twenty villages had already started fighting over the distribution issue.

Who gets more water? Who will be in charge of distribution? Who can suppress everyone else?

These were distribution issues, but also political issues.

So in the end, this proposal faded away as well.

To this day, with the dwindling population and the decreasing number of warriors, organizing such a fight is all the more impossible.

"Really, it's like three monks with no water to drink..." Lu Yuan murmured in resignation.