Exploring the Island

Su Miao, dressed in a Warm Orange Little Bellyband and snowy-white Little Shorts, wobbled as she straightened her tiny body.

First, she cautiously tested a few steps in place, like a little penguin that had only just learned to walk.

She was still somewhat unsteady at first. After all, this bodily form was unfamiliar, and her sense of balance needed to be rebuilt.

But very quickly, the coordination and strength hidden within a Mystic Immortal Realm body—far beyond anything mortal—gradually revealed themselves.

She discovered that every time she set her little feet down, they landed exceptionally steadily, and the jade stone ground beneath them felt incomparably solid.

Mm, the ground must be really hard. It's definitely not because my feet are amazing!

That was what she thought.

Every so often, she would accidentally kick a piece of Dark Gold Ore half-buried in the lustrous immortal soil, its sharp edges exposed, producing a dull thunk.

She instinctively pulled back her little foot, thinking it would hurt badly enough to make her howl. But when she lowered her head, she saw that the seemingly incomparably hard ore had been kicked out of place, while her fair little toes...

Were completely unhurt—not even a red mark on them.

"Eh?"

Su Miao curiously squatted down and stretched out her chubby little hand to pry at the stone. With the slightest force from her fingertips, the Dark Gold Ore gave a crack—and she actually snapped off a small piece!

She pinched the little chunk of ore. It felt slightly cool and heavy, and seemed to contain an incomparably sharp aura.

A fragment of Inherited Memories automatically surfaced:

[Innate Geng Metal Essence, a supreme material for Artifact Refining. Incomparably sharp, it can break through ten thousand arts...]

"Oh, Geng Metal... it sounds really powerful."

Su Miao blinked, then casually tossed this innate treasure material—something that would make Great Experts outside crack their heads open fighting over it—into the grass beside her as though it were an ordinary pebble. She even patted her hands in distaste.

"This one isn't pretty. I hate it!"

Getting up, she continued her great expedition of exploration.

Fangzhang Immortal Island truly deserved its grand reputation as an immortal mountain overseas.

Looking into the distance, palace halls and towering pavilions lay hidden amid misty immortal Rosy Clouds. Though their details could not be seen clearly, an air of majesty and grandeur, of glittering gold and jade, still seeped through the clouds.

Nearby, rare flowers and exotic grasses blanketed the ground. Many were innate spiritual species that had long vanished from the outside world after the Prehistoric World shattered.

One immortal herb was as green as jade, its leaves naturally marked with profound golden patterns, and it radiated a tranquil Dao aura.

[Calming Dao Pattern Grass. Its scent can calm the heart and settle the qi, aiding Dao comprehension.]

As Su Miao passed it, she thought the leaves looked rather symmetrical, so she reached out and touched them. Then she... walked away.

She did not pick it, because it was not shiny enough.

There was a cluster of little bushes glowing purple, their fruits glittering like miniature stars.

[Star Fruit. Consuming it can slightly strengthen Spiritual Sense and draw upon Star Power to temper the body.]

She squatted down for a look, thought they resembled little light bulbs, and plucked one to squeeze and play with in her hand. But she used a little too much force, and with a splat, crushed it. Juice stuck all over her hand, thick and sticky.

She pursed her lips, wiped her hand on her bellyband, and decided she did not want it anymore.

A huge boulder, warm and smooth as the finest mutton-fat jade, seemed to contain milky-white spiritual liquid slowly flowing within it.

[Ten Thousand Year Warm Jade Marrow. A supreme material for refining Dharma Treasures of nourishment and preservation. It can also assist cultivation, calm the heart, and focus the mind.]

She tried climbing onto it, but its surface was too slippery, and with a whoosh, she slid right back down. After trying several times, she angrily kicked the boulder with her little foot and decided she would not play with it anymore.

She acted entirely upon a child's purest curiosity and preferences.

Toward those Spiritual Treasures and Roots that shone with soaring treasure light and possessed astonishing Dao auras, she instead kept her distance. Either she thought their light was too dazzling, their aura too oppressive, or simply that they were ugly.

It was those little things that were glittering, round, and brightly colored that drew her gaze instead.

For example, she discovered several crystal-clear fruits scattered by a stream, as transparent as rubies.

[Cinnabar Fruit. Strengthens qi and blood.]

Delighted, she picked them up and stuffed them into the Chaos Bead's space.

There, they kept company with another pretty, round piece of Innate Geng Metal Essence she had picked up along the way.

For another example, she saw a bush bearing Blue Fluorescent Berries.

[Blue Dream Berry. Hallucinogenic.]

Thinking they looked like beautiful blue glass beads, she plucked a large handful, intending to save them to play with later.

She also became interested in a naturally formed Defensive Formation. As the Spiritual Vein flowed through it, seven-colored Rosy Clouds occasionally rippled across its surface.

Watching from afar, Su Miao's big eyes brimmed with wonder.

"Wow... neon lights! The Prehistoric World has neon lights too!"

She had no idea those were the Rosy Clouds emitted by the formation—enough to easily shred a True Immortal.

In the shadows, the Heavenly Dao Will silently watched it all.

Watching this Little Ancestor kick aside Innate Geng Metal Essence as though it were a stumbling stone, touch Calming Dao Pattern Grass like ordinary weeds, knead Star Fruit like modeling clay, and use Ten Thousand Year Warm Jade Marrow as a slide...

It felt as though its Rules core were twitching slightly.

But seeing how happily she played, her little face bright with pure delight, without the slightest dissatisfaction at these treasures gathering dust—because she simply did not recognize them—

The Heavenly Dao's faint speechlessness turned into a certain helpless indulgence.

[Forget it, forget it. As long as she's happy... these worldly things were merely decorations to begin with.]

As it thought this, it silently manipulated the Rules, quietly moving a Winged Tiger Beast that had originally dwelled nearby—one with a rather ferocious aura—along with several Sinister Black Qi Poison Grasses near its nest, to the other end of the island, ensuring that this little explorer's range of activity was absolutely safe.

Su Miao knew nothing of this. She was wholly immersed in the joy of "treasure hunting."

Inside the Chaos Bead space, she had already stored away quite a few scattered "spoils of war":

Sparkling stones, brightly colored fruits, several especially beautiful feathers that might have fallen from some kind of immortal bird, and even a smooth red stone that gave off heat on its own...

On her short little legs, she huffed and puffed her way up a small hill. Standing at its peak, she looked around at this boundless island wreathed in Immortal Light and strewn with rare treasures, and a surge of heroic pride rose in her heart. This is all my realm!

—Though she might not finish walking across this "realm" even in ten thousand years.

But just then, an extraordinarily enticing, indescribably strange fruity fragrance drifted over on the breeze and slipped into her nose.

The scent was not particularly strong, yet it carried a seductive power that reached straight into the depths of her soul, as though it could stir the most primal yearning within any living creature.

Su Miao's little nose instinctively took a deep sniff. The sensation she had temporarily forgotten while "exploring her realm" was instantly awakened and magnified by that fragrance.

She patted her round little belly.

Mm, her body was not hungry at all. In fact, she felt brimming with energy.

But... her mouth was craving something.

The tempting fruity scent seemed to possess a spirit of its own. It lingered around the tip of her nose, pointing her in a clear direction. Su Miao swallowed, her large eyes glittering as she looked toward where the fragrance came from.

It was the entrance to a small valley shrouded in dense Spirit Mist. The scene within could not be seen clearly; she could only vaguely make out the outline of a peculiar plant, from which several oddly shaped fruits seemed to hang, their precious light concealed within.

The fragrance was coming from there.

Without the slightest hesitation, Su Miao, lured by her cravings, immediately set off on her short little legs and happily ran toward the small valley, completely unaware that the Spirit Mist around it seemed denser than elsewhere on the island, its currents faintly conforming to some profound Formation.

Just as she eagerly ran toward the valley entrance, her foot caught on something unknown. With an "Aiya!" she pitched forward.