Venturing into the woods, the intention was to fetch water first and then continue gathering firewood. However, before getting close, an object darted out from the small pool of water, moving swiftly before disappearing into the grass. Was that small creature bathing in the natural bathtub just now? Ye Ju felt annoyed. The spiritual spring water was in the open, ownerless, anyone could come. Hmph, she'd build a house here someday and claim this entire area as her own. Ye Ju seethed with indignation, how dare it fight with her for the bathtub, it was utterly unreasonable! Didn't it know this was very private?
But what was that just now? She hadn't seen clearly. Luckily, she hadn't bathed in the larger pool, or they would have become enemies, hmph! That was for drinking.
Unbeknownst to Ye Ju, it was precisely because she dug a pool and created a stream that the nearby animals gained sentience, and the plants were also deeply nourished. Previously, the spiritual spring had only one source, with a barrier around it, preventing the water from flowing out. Only the occasional scattered spiritual energy nourished the plants on the west side, leaving the eastern plants malnourished. Fatefully, Ye Ju casually picked up a burning stick, and this burning stick was actually from an immortal tree, one of the Ten Great Divine Woods. Even with its spiritual power almost dissipated, breaking a small barrier was a trivial matter. With a few taps and knocks, she broke the barrier, and then dug a pool, creating a stream! This meant that small animals would drink the spiritual spring water and even learn to bathe in it. Oh wow, she had created spirit beasts with her own hands! Much later, Ye Ju, sitting in the divine temple, would recall how she always kept the burning stick with her from the beginning and finally understood the cause and effect. The burning stick had also touched the spiritual spring and absorbed spiritual energy, which was why it could slowly recover.
Ye Ju used the burning stick to dig another small pool on the side and diverted the water. It was much smaller than her own, the message clear: the big one was hers!
After cleaning the burning stick, she took water back to the small wooden house by the sea. She made several trips to gather enough firewood and then went to the shallow coral reef area to find seafood. For the past two meals, she had eaten wild fruits and was now craving meat.
She went back to the old spot to look for crabs, but wasn't as lucky this time. Continuing to rummage through the rocks, she exclaimed, "Wow, a sea bass was foolishly lying in a crevice." Coupled with a few shellfish, dinner was secured for tonight. She scraped the scales off the fish with a rock, gutted it, and discarded all the internal organs before cleaning it and taking it back to the small wooden house. She washed it again with the spiritual spring water to remove any fishy smell. She impaled it on a wooden stick, preparing it for grilling. She found a sour and sweet fruit, crushed it, and smeared the juice onto the fish. Without salt, that's how it had to be. She ignited the fire with her fingertip's spiritual flame, and it caught quickly.
After eating her fill, it was completely dark. She thought of the purple bamboo, picturing its plump stalk. If she had tools, she could saw it open and directly polish it into bamboo pots, bowls, and chopsticks. If only she had a knife. Ye Ju suddenly had a whim, thinking of using her spiritual power to imagine a knife or saw and see if it could materialize. No one had taught her; she could only explore it herself. She sat down cross-legged, adjusted her breathing, mobilized the qi in her dantian, and ran it through her meridians to her hand. She imagined holding a knife in her hand, and with a *swish*, a ball of fire appeared. Wrong, it was still fire. After several attempts, Ye Ju felt short of breath and weak. She drank a large bowl of spiritual water to replenish her spiritual power. Nothing could be achieved overnight. She put it aside for now. She still needed to meditate and cultivate quickly.
After adding a few thick pieces of wood to ensure the bonfire didn't go out, Ye Ju sat cross-legged under the eaves of the house. She had built a small hut, which was relatively safe, and she didn't worry about being attacked by wild beasts at night. Although there was no door, the bonfire was right next to the stone wall where the fire was built. She had used stones to create a firebreak, so she wouldn't worry about setting the house on fire.
Sitting cross-legged in meditation, adjusting her breathing, she formed a hand seal with her fingertips pointing upwards. Closing her eyes, she meditated, a patch of purple mist forming between her brows. The purple mist dispersed, and she saw an orange glow. Within the glow, there seemed to be half a human face, its outline hidden in the mist. Only a pair of blue eyes, devoid of joy or sorrow, gazed at her. The outline hid in the mist, and as she tried to see clearly, it dispersed again. After a while, the surroundings turned red, then orange, and then white. This time, she felt energy surge from the top of her head through her meridians, converging in her dantian. The qi mass in her dantian grew larger.
A *crack* sound from outside startled her awake. Holding the burning stick, it wasn't dawn yet. She grabbed a still-burning piece of firewood and went outside to investigate. Now that she had the ability to protect herself, she was no longer timid. As soon as she stepped out of the door, she saw a black shadow dart away. She then noticed two fruits placed beside where she had put the firewood. They looked a bit like plums, and a bit like crabapples, neatly placed on a large leaf. Could it be from that animal?
Ye Ju found it incredible. Since when were animals so friendly? They could even bring fruits. She hadn't seen these fruits before when looking for wild fruits; where did they come from? She hadn't seen what animal it was clearly, but it felt very intelligent. Could it be the one she met at the spiritual spring? Perhaps it knew she had dug the small pool for it and was repaying her? She felt she had figured it out! Her meditation was interrupted, and she no longer wanted to continue. She decided to sleep for a while. Lying on the bed covered with many leaves, she hadn't had time to build a proper bed when constructing the hut, so she made do for now.
She thought about her plans for tomorrow. She would go to the forest again to get some materials to build a small bed. It was still better to suspend the bed off the ground when sleeping to avoid dampness. She didn't know if this island had winters. For now, it looked like summer. If the weather turned cold, sleeping on the ground would surely be uncomfortable.
This island had absolutely no trace of human life. She couldn't find any human garbage, fishing nets, or empty bottles. When she traveled to familiar resort islands, she always saw some trash and floating debris. Therefore, this island was completely unseen. She didn't know if this island had distinct seasons, or if it would experience rainy seasons or storms. Humans were so insignificant in the face of nature. Her thoughts drifted. Only now did she realize that she would face these problems in the future. Her mind gradually cleared, and thinking of these things, she lost the desire to sleep. When she first arrived on the island, she was still immersed in the betrayal of her scumbag boyfriend, feeling that nothing mattered, as if she had seen through life and death, apathetic and ignorant!
But she still felt fortunate that she had inexplicably come here, finding the spiritual spring like a lucky koi, and could even cultivate by simply meditating. Seeing some strange plants, she was already quite sure that this was a world full of spiritual energy where one could cultivate. She just didn't know if there were other continents outside this island, or other cultivators!
She dozed off again in a daze and woke up to daylight. Beginning her day on the island, she rinsed her mouth with spiritual spring water and then ate the fruits brought by the animal for breakfast. They melted in her mouth. After eating the two fruits, a burning sensation suddenly arose in her abdomen, causing unbearable pain, followed by an intense chill throughout her body. She felt like her exhaled breath would freeze. Ha! Had she been poisoned? She quickly drank a large bowl of spiritual spring water. Only then did she feel the icy breath transform into a warm current that flowed through her limbs and joints. Something felt like it was about to erupt, and without restraint, she waved her hand, and an ice blade shot out, cutting through a tree as thick as a bowl on the opposite side. Ye Ju's eyes widened, startled by herself! Would she dare to eat things carelessly again...