Chapter 9

"Indeed, there's always a way out when one is in dire straits, hahaha..." Upon reaching the lightning-struck land, Mu Canyang laughed heartily, his body shaking with joy.

Lightning struck a giant tree.

Although it had rained heavily all night, the power of the lightning was too strong, and it still shattered and ignited the giant tree.

While he was fighting the giant snake, the burning flames overcame the weakening rain, and now they were blazing fiercely.

He had fire!

The warmth of the fire illuminated his body, warming his organs. The fatigue from the night's struggle and the intense battle gradually disappeared without him even noticing.

This was the power of fire, the natural force that humans had relied on for millions of years.

Not only that, on the way to this lightning-struck land, he had passed through a bamboo grove.

Soaked by the heavy rain, the bamboo grove was filled with the sound of bamboo shoots cracking and growing. Where there was a bamboo grove, there were bamboo shoots. It was spring, the best time of the year for bamboo shoots.

Now he had fire, and with bamboo shoots and snake meat, he had food, both meat and vegetables...

Mu Canyang's heart soared, as if he had flown into the clouds, feeling as if he were in a dream.

After dancing and jumping around for a while, he suddenly came to his senses: "This celebration posture is a bit ugly, no, it's simply too ugly, like a primitive tribe dancing around a fire."

However... After a brief pause, he continued to dance and jump, tears streaming down his face as he sang, "After the storm, there will be sunshine; above the dark clouds, there is a clear sky; cherish all the emotions..."

Life is so good!

Having emotions... is also so good!

Otherwise, he might never have experienced such a mix of joy and sorrow, laughing and crying, feeling like he was in heaven one moment and hell the next.

When you don't have it, you don't realize it, but once you have it and look back, your previous life, though filled with life and death struggles and wielding great power, was like a pot of plain water, bland and tasteless.

Without experiencing the storm, how can you see the rainbow? Without falling into the valley, how can you know how high the mountain is?

After crying, laughing, and singing, Mu Canyang calmed down and got to work.

He carried the fire back to the cave in the dark, and the long-prepared fire pit finally came into use, truly useful.

As for the firewood stuck in the python's mouth, he did not remove it.

Snakes are known for their tenacity; who knows if it might wake up again? Let it stay there for now.

After lighting the fire in the cave, Mu Canyang returned to the lightning-struck land and dragged some larger, still movable burning ancient wood to the bamboo grove, under a cluster of bamboo.

Bamboo is a good thing; bamboo shoots can be eaten, intact bamboo sections can be used as containers, and after roasting and hardening, they can be made into bamboo knives.

Although the hardness is average, for someone like Mu Canyang, who had nothing... what more could he ask for?

After finishing all this, Mu Canyang returned to the mountain path and fell asleep again.

This time, he slept soundly and sweetly!

==========

When he opened his eyes again, it was almost noon. The sun hung high in the sky, but it was not bright, like the moon.

The heavy rain from the previous day filled the mountain forest with moisture. Under the sun's rays, the steam rose, creating a dense fog.

Yawning, he got up, went outside the cave, and assessed the situation. Mu Canyang picked up his staff and found an open area to plant it, marking the shadow at the top of the staff.

As the sun moved, the shadow would shift. After some time, he made a second mark. The line connecting the two marks would indicate the east-west direction.

To leave the forest, one must find a river and have a sense of direction.

The fire pit was still burning, but the firewood was running low.

Mu Canyang walked around the cave, gathered some more firewood, and rekindled the fire.

He had to stay here for another day. The mountain paths were muddy after the rain, and the dense fog made it a bad day for traveling. Besides, he had many things to do...

First, he needed to dry some snake meat to solve his food problem for the next few days.

He also needed to process the snake skin. Walking in the forest, being scratched by branches was common, which could lead to external injuries and infections. The blood from the wounds could also attract carnivores.

He had no needles, thread, or scissors, so making a piece of clothing from the snake skin was impossible. However, he could strip off some pieces to wrap around his arms and legs to reduce the risk of injury.

He also needed to make a few bamboo knives for daily use and some bamboo tubes and wooden plugs to carry water.

There was one more important thing to do.

But before doing all that... he walked out of the cave and headed towards the bamboo grove he had found last night.

When he arrived, everything went better than expected!

His efforts from last night were not in vain!

The lightning-struck wood he had brought over burned thoroughly, drying and hardening the roots of the bamboo cluster, even carbonizing them. Mu Canyang easily broke them off one by one.

Perhaps it was really a turn for the better? Mu Canyang thought. He randomly chose a bamboo tube as thick as his arm, using the hardened part as a shovel to dig in the bamboo grove.

The ground was soft after the rain, and the bamboo shoots had just sprouted. He easily collected about seven or eight.

In just a few minutes, he returned to the cave, carrying fresh bamboo shoots and a bundle of bamboo poles, feeling very pleased.

==========

Bamboo is a natural material for making knives. The outer layer is hard, and it can be cut to the right width with a stone knife and then roasted over a fire at the right distance.

After drying and hardening, the softer inner part can be ground away, and a bamboo knife is ready.

Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds, but it's not as difficult or technical as making fire by friction.

With plenty of materials, Mu Canyang made six or seven knives in one go. Some were wide and hard, of varying lengths, suitable for peeling, self-defense, and clearing obstacles. Others were thin and sharp, intended for cutting meat and vegetables.

After making the knives, he applied new wet mud to the thick bamboo sections on the fire to ensure that the parts he didn't need would burn away, while the hollow parts remained intact. He then picked a large bamboo knife and went to the python's corpse.

The following bloody scene will not be described in detail, but in the end, the bamboo leaves wrapped in meat and steamed bamboo shoots tasted great, even without any seasoning.

Mu Canyang's empty stomach was greatly satisfied.

However, he did not eat too much, only until he was half full.

After eating and drinking, he filled several bamboo tubes with water and began to exercise.

Running, jumping, kicking walls, and colliding with trees... he exercised without a care, frantically, until he was out of breath and his body ached from the impact, but he did not stop, continuing to exert himself and beat himself up.

When he could no longer bear it, he took a short break and quickly got up again.

Before long, he was drenched in sweat.

But he gritted his teeth and continued.

When the exercise was over, he could hardly stand, lying on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

It had been almost two hours.

The sun was setting, and another night was about to fall...

Trembling, he added more firewood, skewered the new bamboo leaves wrapped in meat and steamed bamboo shoots, and slowly crawled to the side of the python's corpse. With great effort, he pulled out a fist-sized, plump, dark green spiritual object from the open wound.