Stepping out of that cave, darkness had already fallen. Ye Jingyu’s legs were aching; the sheer length of the corridor was enough to prove that. It was only due to Ye Jingyu’s extraordinary physique that he hadn't collapsed; any other person would surely have had their legs worn down to stumps by the walk...

Under the faint starlight, Ye Jingyu could vaguely make out his surroundings. He was in a small clearing. Not far ahead lay a river, perhaps ten yards wide. On the opposite bank was a dense, lush jungle, though the darkness made it impossible to discern what kind of vegetation grew there...

But Ye Jingyu paid little mind to that. Having gone without water all day, he rushed to the riverbank, not caring about the depth, and plunged straight in. He drank greedily, gulping down the river water until his throat, which felt like it was smoking, could take no more...

He kept drinking until his stomach was completely distended, finally stopping. Rising to his feet, he realized the water only reached his waist, yet it was shockingly cold—icy to the bone—which greatly surprised Ye Jingyu...

Considering that Shu Yun Kingdom was situated in the southern part of the Dou Hun Continent, and it was currently late spring approaching early summer, the river water absolutely should not have been this cool...

However, this was not what concerned Ye Jingyu. Having drunk his fill, he had no appetite left to search for food. He simply found a spot by the river, sat down cross-legged, and began cultivating according to the Ba Yuan Jue manual. It had been nearly two months since he started refining his Li Po, yet there was no sign of breaking through to the Qi Po stage, which worried him greatly...

The more experiences he endured, the more he understood the importance of strength, driving him to cultivate with even greater focus...

Faintly, he could see the endless starlight and silvery moonlight cascading down, completely enveloping his body. The light surged toward the steel ring resting on his chest, finally transforming into a gentle energy that flowed into him, constantly pushing toward the energy field where his Po resided...

Subtly, it seemed a flicker of light could be discerned near his throat...

The night passed without any incident or danger. As the first ray of dawn broke, Ye Jingyu slowly opened his eyes...

There was no imagined breakthrough, but he clearly felt much more refreshed. It seemed the speed of his cultivation here was significantly faster than it had been at Bai Yun Manor...

“Grumble…” His stomach finally protested, and Ye Jingyu realized he hadn't eaten anything in a very long time...

Standing up, he first found a spot to relieve himself, a necessity after drinking so much river water the night before. Then, with a sudden burst, he leaped straight across the ten-yard-wide river...

Seeing himself clear a distance of over ten meters without effort, Ye Jingyu inwardly chuckled, wondering if he joined the Olympics now, China’s track and field events would gain a few more gold medals?

Shaking his head, he turned and headed into the jungle. Hunger was calling; he needed to find something to eat, after all.

Along the way, there were all sorts of strange trees, and occasionally some wild beasts dashed past, but not a single fruit tree was in sight. As for hunting, well, our young Master Ye, despite fantasizing about leading a pack of dog-servants on a grand hunt, had absolutely no idea how to hunt—and even if he did, he currently possessed no tools...

The deeper he walked, the stranger the surrounding trees became, and (Full text novel reading, all at .1.(1.m.literature.net) moreover, the temperature was gradually rising. Soon, beads of sweat formed on Ye Jingyu’s forehead, while the protest from his stomach grew louder. Just as he felt he could endure no longer, he finally spotted a small hill slope, dozens of feet high, dotted with numerous trees laden with bright crimson fruit...

The first fruit trees he had ever seen...

His vision already blurred from hunger, Ye Jingyu paid no mind to whether the fruit was poisonous. He charged forward, pushed off hard with his rear foot, and sprang up into one of the trees. He snatched two fist-sized fruits, shaped like tomatoes, and stuffed them into his mouth...

He wolfed down the two fruits, and just as he reached for a third, Ye Jingyu froze completely...

His face contorted into an expression of utter bewilderment, his eyes widened, his mouth slowly fell open, and his complexion began to flush deep red...

“Ah… so spicy…” Suddenly, Ye Jingyu let out a loud cry, a faint spark sputtering from his mouth. He tumbled from the tree and began panting desperately...

The burning sensation in his mouth was more terrifying than eating a chili pepper of the highest heat—it was a spiciness beyond measure. In all his life, Ye Jingyu had never tasted anything so fiery. This was the first time he truly understood the meaning of the word 'spicy'...

It felt as though a ball of flame was scorching his throat, and even the air he exhaled seemed like fire. Tears welled up in his eyes, brought on by the sheer agony of the burn. His tongue felt huge, sticking out, wishing he could just sever it...

His body thrashed about like a startled rabbit, desperately seeking water to douse the inferno in his mouth...

He scrambled up the slope and abruptly discovered a lake, a hundred yards wide, lying ahead. The fire-breathing Ye Jingyu ignored everything else, plunging straight into the water like a meteorite falling from the heavens, sending waves crashing outward...

“Ah… so hot…” With another near-scream, Ye Jingyu shot out of the lake like a rocket, still spewing flame, hopping and jumping wildly. The water in this lake turned out to be a hot spring...

The heat in his mouth and the heat on his body were pushing Ye Jingyu to the brink of collapse. If there had been a refrigerator nearby, he certainly wouldn't have hesitated to hide inside...

Unfortunately, there were no refrigerators here. However, there was an ice pop...

Eh... an ice pop?

This was the southern region of the Dou Hun Continent—where on earth would an ice pop come from?

Ye Jingyu looked up and saw an incredibly enchanting young girl standing before him, holding an ice pop...

She had long, raven-black hair. Her skin wasn't overly fair, but rather a healthy, smooth wheat color—even fine sheep-fat jade wasn't as satiny. Her features were exquisite: a small mouth, a delicate nose, and those captivating brown eyes...

Then Ye Jingyu took in the girl's attire...

Well... she was wearing almost nothing. Only a string