Grew a Brain

A sense of comfort washed over him.

Zhu Jiusi felt as if he had been immersed in a cool stream on a scorching summer day.

His piggish mind suddenly cleared.

Leveraging the cool sensation, Zhu Jiusi closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.

This time, he fell asleep surprisingly quickly.

For the entire night, he felt as if a pair of cool little hands were massaging his temples.

There were also constant popping sounds in his mind, like a brain growing.

He slept incredibly comfortably that night, and Zhu Jiusi was awakened by the sunlight piercing his nest.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the flashing reminder on the scroll.

Essence +2

Zhu Jiusi was overjoyed, a feeling of refreshment washing over him. His essence had returned, and his intelligent IQ had reclaimed the high ground.

Essence doesn't represent intelligence; it's merely a manifestation of the soul, divine sense, and inner cultivation. High essence doesn't mean smart, but low essence definitely means stupid.

Moreover, Moon Essence Dew isn't a one-time thing; it continuously boosts essence for a period.

Although the first time yields the most.

This bottle might not push his essence past 10, but the next one almost certainly would.

Indeed, Journey Survival was like a snowball effect: one step faster leads to every step faster, the stronger you get, the faster you level up, and the faster you level up, the stronger you become!

Feeling refreshed, Zhu Jiusi leaped out of his nest and let out a long howl towards the depths of the mountain path.

"Eeeeee--" a sharp, piercing sound, like a pig being slaughtered.

After howling to his heart's content, expelling all the stale air and renewing himself, Zhu Jiusi took a deep breath and began today's cultivation.

Cultivation could not be neglected for a single moment.

In Journey Survival, the advancement of vehicles and nests needed to match the cultivator's own cultivation level; they were equally important.

Those three Enforcers had played their little games. They had indeed given him the manuals, but not a single sentence of accompanying explanation.

Realm divisions, precautions, tips for bottlenecks... not a single word.

This was normally included when obtaining secret manuals.

However, Zhu Jiusi didn't need it; he had memorized this stuff by heart in his previous life.

In his last round, he had survived in Journey Survival for three years. He had just entered the third realm when he died in a Secret Realm and restarted.

In Journey Survival cultivation, the first realm was often referred to by cultivators using terms from online novels: Qi Condensation, Body Tempering, Mortal Transformation...

Overall, they were all similar. In this realm, one gradually began to show signs of being different from ordinary mortals.

The first step was to inhale and exhale spiritual energy, transforming it into spiritual power. With sufficiently high cultivation, one could quickly control this spiritual power.

It made attacks sharper, defenses stronger, and could even be channeled into the four hooves for travel.

But this required a strong will.

If one's essence was insufficient, they could only accumulate it steadily, unable to perform micro-manipulations and relying on sheer volume.

As long as the volume was sufficient, with spiritual power permeating the entire body, one could control it as they pleased.

With Essence +2, Zhu Jiusi felt buoyant and attempted to guide spiritual power towards his limbs.

Then he realized he was indeed a pig, a genuine one, and shouldn't entertain such unrealistic thoughts.

He inhaled spiritual energy, consumed roots, and set off.

Today's mileage was no longer 50 li, but 65 li. The scroll's chat area was already filled with wails.

As Zhu Jiusi trotted along, he spotted a shimmering object by the roadside.

A Silver Gourd!

It had been a long time.

After leaving the newbie protection period, one could encounter Silver Gourds, Golden Gourds, and even more advanced gourds.

The combat intensity also increased drastically.

Zhu Jiusi bounced around, confident he could handle it. He plucked the Silver Gourd, stepped on its body with his hoof, and opened his mouth to pull out the stopper.

A mist sprayed out, and Zhu Jiusi quickly retreated, adopting a charging stance.

Then he heard wolf howls.

One, two... three wolves!

Damn it, a pack of wolves?

Zhu Jiusi hadn't experienced anything like this in his three years in the previous round.

He had seen swarms of bees and ants, but what was this, wolves emerging from a gourd, and in a pack?

Furthermore, these three wolves reacted with extreme swiftness, forming a triangular formation the moment they emerged to pounce upon Zhu Jiusi.

It was impossible to trick them into the mist. One might have been manageable, but three working in coordination were simply out of the question.

Zhu Jiusi did not hesitate further; he stomped his four hooves and charged headlong toward one of the wolves.

If this collision landed solidly, that wolf would be dead or at least crippled.

The pack, originally in the midst of a charge, refused to engage him head-on. The situation shifted abruptly as they kicked up a cloud of dust and darted to the side.

But no sooner had they dodged the Wild Boar's charge than they swiftly doubled back, attacking Zhu Jiusi from behind.

Zhu Jiusi's strike missed, his momentum carrying him quite a distance forward. Hearing the stench of blood behind him, he felt his boar rump tighten—this pack surely possessed the bloodline of hunting dogs!

He lowered his tail to shield his soft spots. The wolf, however, was relentless and bit down hard on the base of his tail.

This was the only spot on Zhu Jiusi's entire body not protected by a layer of mud.

With his tail clamped, Zhu Jiusi could not turn around. He let out a howl, reared up on his hind legs, and slammed backward, crushing the entire weight of his boar body onto the wolf.

Crack. He shattered its spine.

Zhu Jiusi kicked wildly with his four legs, rolling over before he had even fully risen, his tusks piercing deep into the neck of another wolf.

An upward thrust, a violent shake!

Snap!

With a crisp sound, the wolf hit the ground, its limbs twitching before it went completely still.

Only one wolf remained, and it had no further desire to fight. It turned and fled back the way it came, disappearing from Zhu Jiusi's sight in the blink of an eye.

A wild boar's eyesight was too poor, especially in the daylight.

He would have to accumulate spiritual energy for a few more days and use it to nourish his eyes first.

Logically, as his life level increased every day, his vision should have improved, right?

Zhu Jiusi shook his head and looked at the two wolves on the ground.

What a pity; he lacked a profession and couldn't dismantle them for useful materials.

After a moment of thought, he clicked on a user's avatar and sent a private message.

"Can you process wolves? Are they edible?"

Zhu Jiusi remembered this person was a chef.

Heals Stomach Not Body: "Boss Cave Master!"

He exclaimed in surprise before hurriedly responding: "Yes, yes, yes! They're much like dogs, but materials in Journey Survival are too scarce. I only brought back some seasonings from the dungeon; I don't have a pot, so I can only roast meat, and wolf meat is quite stringy."

These were minor issues.

Zhu Jiusi waited until the two wolves were completely dead, then initiated a trade to send the carcasses over.

Zhu Jiusi replied: "Keep one as your labor fee, and roast the other one and send it back to me."

Heals Stomach Not Body: "Deal! Don't worry, Boss, I'll get it done perfectly for you."

"Boss, do you want the wolf pelts? I know a friend in the Secret Realm who already has a profession; they can tan leather and make them into mats or small garments."

Zhu Jiusi's eyes lit up: "Yes, please!"

These were things he would have discarded anyway; turning waste into treasure was a guaranteed profit regardless of the yield.

Heals Stomach Not Body: "Deal!"

The two agreed on the size of the furs. Zhu Jiusi only needed enough to line his nest, and the rest would count as payment for the labor.

A win-win!

After dealing with the wolf carcasses, Zhu Jiusi turned his attention to the items that had burst out of the Gourd.

Shaft Orientation Device.

This was used to secure a carriage shaft. Human Path Seekers could install it on their vehicles to ensure they wouldn't veer off the road and into the mist on either side.

Combined with a Speed Governor and a Self-Steering Device, it could even achieve autonomous driving for the vehicle.

Unfortunately, Zhu Jiusi couldn't use it, so he would have to sell it later.

His vehicle was a Beast Nest, and making that capable of autonomous driving was very troublesome.

It would require soul-binding and awakening the Beast Nest, which wouldn't be possible until at least the third realm.

Or perhaps he could learn the way of beast taming and domesticate a monster to carry it?

Zhu Jiusi suspected that Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword already possessed beast-taming methods, as she had captured an owl.

He put away the Gourd and continued forward. He had seen five Gourds that day: one silver, one copper, and three wood-colored. It was a pity the copper Gourd contained nothing but a snake, which Zhu Jiusi swallowed raw like a spicy snack.

Perhaps it really was time to store up his autumn fat, as he had actually caught a whiff of fragrance from that snake.

By two in the afternoon, he had finished his daily mileage.

Zhu Jiusi did not move forward. Through his Crude Telescope, he saw a large river cutting across the path two miles ahead.

His road had been severed by the river!