When she was drinking water, she accidentally fell into a lake and was carried into a cave by the waterfall above. The water in the cave only reached her calf. The waterfall covered the opening of the cave like a curtain and blocked most of the sunlight, making the inside dark, but not scary.
That is because the cave was covered with a layer of light.
On its walls, there were ores full of rubies, sapphires and diamonds. Light also shone from the water as light refracted from gemstones polished by moving water.
In front of Ling Qingyu's eyes was a ruby bigger than the head of a child. It was crystal clear with the color of blood, making Ling Qingyu feel dizzy.
Ling Qingyu's basket was already half full. And this was after she had pushed everything together to compress them.
Ling Qingyu thought a moment, then found an area without water in the cave. She took out some things from her basket, then dug out the ruby and put it inside.
There were also more beautiful gems in the cave, but Ling Qingyu didn't want to touch them. It must have taken millions of years for them to form. Ling Qingyu's instinct told her that they were this island's essence. If they were moved, there may be consequences.
Ling Qingyu continued to feel and pick out the medium grade gems from the water. Like this, the platform next to her filled with a pile after a short while. There were not only rubies and sapphires, but also cat eyes and diamonds.
Ling Qingyu looked at the file of gems in front of her and felt worried. How can I move all of these down the mountain. Also, even though she and the others had survived many dangers, they would still be greedy in front of such a large pile of treasures. She didn't want to lose their hearts because of these things. Clenching her teeth, she only put in less than half of what she gathered into her basket and covered them with medicines and spices.
The basket was heavy on her shoulders, but her mood was extremely good. The goods on her back were worth more than thousands of gold, enough to buy a few cities. Thinking of herself carrying a few cities, there was nothing to feel bitter about.
Leaving the cave, Ling Qingyu crossed the lake under the pressure of the waterfall. On the trees at the side of the lake, she casually picked a few purple fruits to eat. According to her experiences in the last few days, this type of purple fruit may be small, but were quite tasty. They were just hard to find. There were only a few near the waterfall. Not only was this fruit delicious, it also filled her body with energy and lifted her mood. She couldn't help but want to sing. Of course, the first time she ate it, she had started singing. But, Xiao Bai protested and countless birds were disturbed on the nearby trees, so Ling Qingyu stopped herself to be kind to others.
Carrying a few cities, Ling Qingyu's steps became faster. The road up the mountain were not as hard as when she started.
The higher she went, there more taller trees there were. Some of them were probably a hundred meters high. There were also many vines and colorful flowers, and many fruits she had never seen before.
The road on the ground became harder to walk on as the bushes became so thick that not even an needle could penetrate. The layer of leaves was so thick, that an entire person may sink in if not careful.
Ling Qingyu touched the sweat on her forehand and remembered the movement skills of Lu Yao and Yan San. Maybe when I go down, I should learn a bit from them?
"Wu, wu, wu, wu." Xiao Bai's dissatisfied voice came from above her. Ling Qingyu looked up and saw Xiao Bai swinging on a vine, then onto a tree.
You want me to be like you? I'm not Tarzan! Ling Qingyu's face darkened. These last few days, she finally experienced Xiao Bai's abilities. Even though it had only been a few days since he was born, his ability to chase and kill prey was an instinct. Of course, it also had to do with his prey shivering the moment they heard his call. In these few days, his weight had increased tremendously. The little kitten had become the size of a large dog. Remembering the size of his mother being more than five meters long, Ling Qingyu felt worried about her chest.
Grabbing a vine, Ling Qingyu decided to try it. Otherwise, she would be putting her foot in a pit with each step. She wondered if she would ever reach the mountain peak.
The vines swayed. Ling Qingyu found happily that not only could they bear her weight, but her movements became more flexible as well. She could catch the branches in front of her around half of the times she swayed.
After stumbling for a while, Ling Qingyu finally saw the mountain peak. She was still around a thousand meters away, but there were no other trees except a big one with a treetop resembling a crown that covered the entirety of the peak.
The Tree of Life!
Ling Qingyu subconsciously kneeled and prostrated herself with both of her hands facing upward on the ground and her head on top of them.
This was a feeling from the heart. The moment she saw the large tree, Ling Qingyu's heart was incomparably calm like the clear sky, without any distracting thought. Even though she had never seen this kind of tree before, Ling Qingyu automatically knew that this was the tree of life; a tree that controlled life and inheritance.
The tree of life seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist. After Ling Qingyu knocked her head three times against the ground, the mist dissipated a bit. Ling Qingyu stood up as if being pulled and walked into the mist.
There was a layer of crystal green grass on the ground, releasing a jade-like glow. There were also open flowers, some with crystal clear fruits.
Ling Qingyu carefully avoided the grass that seemed to be alive and walked slowly toward the tree.
The grass seemed to be smiling as waves traveled through them.
Under the tree, Ling Qingyu found that the trunk was so big, a dozen people would not be able to link their arms around it. The drooping branches also had small fruits of white, yellow, red, and purple.
Xiao Bai jumped out from Ling Qingyu's basket and on top of the tree. He started calling to it and the tree's branches swayed as if responding.
This… Ling Qingyu's face darkened. Could it be that I traveled into a Xianxia world? Not only is there people like Yan San, but also heavenly creatures like Xiao Bai and the Tree of Life?
While she was in a daze, Xiao Bao pulled out a red fruit that collided against her head. Then he started calling to her.
Ling Qingyu translated his calls as: this fruit is good for your body. The fruit and stems of those crystal grass are also treasures. The purple fruit can increase a person's inner strength. But, it was useless for someone like her. The tree said that since you saved me, you are allowed to take ten fruits and one grass stem. Remember, the red fruit can increase your lifespan, the purple fruit can increase inner strength, and the Bi grass can bring back one's life.
Ling Qingyu ate the fruit that Xiao Bai had thrown down, then picked five red fruits, five purple fruits, and carefully pulled out a strand of Bi grass that had for a fruit.
Then, a wind pushed her out of the mist. Ling Qingyu turned her head, but could only see the glowing mountain top and nothing else.
Ling Qingyu turned to look down the mountain. She was probably around two or three thousand meters above sea level. Looking down from her position, she could see the north side with steep mountain walls that go directly into the water. There were many beaches and bays. She also saw the beach where they landed and the dense forest that she had walked through to reach the peak. On the other side of the mountain, there was a large area with a several huge, conical volcanoes that were releasing volcanic clouds. The valleys cut into the hillside and were covered by dense, primordial forests. In between the valleys were small grasslands with hot volcanic lakes amongst them.
The waters around the island were calm. But, after crossing a circular area around the island, waves and huge whirlpools appeared.
Ling Qingyu felt a little scared. At the time, she was fortunately hiding in an escape vessel and didn't have to see such a scene. She would have probably been scared to death without any strength to fight if she did. But in order to return to the Zhou Empire, they must push through. Ling Qingyu started to calculate a path in her mind. It was summer time. If it became winter, then the currents and wind would help them return. That means, they had around four to six months of time. The Aeolus should be built by then.
Ling Qingyu pondered for a long time. The sun slowly descended from the mountains and the glowing light gathered once more to travel up to the mountain peak.
Ling Qingyu once again witnessed this beautiful scene. She felt heartache as she guessed that Xiao Bai must remain here. She patted the dust off herself and prepared to go down the mountain.
Without Xiao Bai's company, Ling Qingyu felt depressed. But, she was able to go down the mountain quickly. The snakes stayed away, but there were also lizards, wild boars, tigers, tapirs, red-fur gorillas and ferocious beasts that may attack. She could only run the entire way. Climbing the mountain took five days, but going down only took one.
Even though she rushed into the camp full of exhaustion, Ling Qingyu still received a warm welcome. Even Gu Sui stored his snake gall back and gave her a big hug. They were gathered and ready to go up the mountain to find her.
Ling Qingyu thanked everyone and put her basket down in her room to take a bath. Afterwards, she slept as if there were no day or night. Running for one's life was very exhausting.