Slowly opening his eyes, Su Mu felt an indescribable sense of comfort all over his body.
He quickly checked his panel:
[Host: Su Mu]
[Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Stage Five]
[Mastered Divine Techniques: Water Control, Swimming]
[Water Beast Tamer: None]
[River Guardian: None]
[River Favor Points: None]
Seeing his cultivation level had jumped straight to the fifth stage of Qi Cultivation, Su Mu was dumbfounded.
Isn't it said that cultivation is difficult?
I just ate a fish, and my cultivation skyrocketed like a rocket??
That fish must be a treasure!
After the cultivation increase, Su Mu walked to the riverbank, gathered the spiritual power within him, and concentrated it in his palm, then aimed at the river ahead.
But as the spiritual power attack landed on the river surface, it vanished instantly, like a mud cow entering the sea, without causing even the slightest ripple.
Seeing this, Su Mu was dumbfounded.
No way???
So weak?
I just want to catch a fish, is it that hard?
As a Qi Refining Realm Cultivator, I just want to catch a few fish, what's wrong with that??
After several unsuccessful attempts, Su Mu gave up.
But fortunately, with the cultivation level increase, he no longer felt hungry, reaching the legendary half-fasting state, meaning he didn't have to worry about starving to death for now.
The next second, Su Mu used the "Water Control" divine technique and found he could only control a single drop of water!
This made Su Mu somewhat doubt his life.
....
Su Mu plunged into the cold river, searching for prey, but no matter how he searched, he couldn't find a single fish, not even a whisker!
The golden carp just now must be a treasure; Su Mu prepared to find another one.
But... he couldn't find even a tiny bit, the river water was freezing cold, and after less than three hours of swimming, he was shivering with cold, so he climbed back to the shore.
At this time, Su Mu sincerely prayed to the great River God: "Oh great River God, I owe you another beautiful girl, please descend another divine fish!"
After speaking, there was no response.
He prayed again, still no response.
Su Mu scratched his head in frustration, wondering how he ended up trapped in this godforsaken place!
...
A month later.
A sallow-faced young man hobbled along the riverbank with a withered cane, hungry to the point of protruding cheekbones and dark eyes.
He ignored one important factor, which is that Qi Refining Realm Cultivators can indeed half-fast, but they also need to absorb Heaven and Earth spiritual power!
"What a godforsaken place, a godforsaken place!"
Su Mu felt he was truly unlucky, crossing over to this ghostly place, unable to sense any trace of spiritual power in the air, and even the oxygen was scarce.
He had been hungry for a month, almost to the point of hallucinating.
At this moment, in a daze, he saw a small boat appear ahead, with a person standing on it.
He dropped the cane and ran towards the small boat, shouting loudly: "Hey, hey, hey! Help!"
But no matter how he shouted, the other person couldn't hear, and it seemed they couldn't even see him.
Su Mu no longer cared, jumping directly into the river, swimming towards the small boat.
...
On the small boat stood a young man in casual attire, a shirt with "boy" on it, shoes from Ah Di, and trousers from Guiren Bird.
The youth looked bewildered, letting the boat drift automatically.
At this moment, he saw someone swimming toward him on the river, and was startled.
When Su Mu got close to the boat, the young man cupped his fists and bowed: "No offense, no offense."
Hearing this, Su Mu's eyebrows furrowed. Upon seeing the youth's clothing, his pupils shrank, and his whole spirit brightened up.
This outfit, could it be that he, like me, is from Blue Star?!
Good guy, I encountered a protagonist who crossed over from Blue Star to the otherworld??
Su Mu jumped onto the small boat, looked at the youth bowing to him, and asked, "Who are you?"
The next second.
The youth raised his head, looking at the bare-chested man in just blue shorts, and replied, "Little brother Han Xiaopao, may I ask where this place is?"
"You don't know what this place is?" Su Mu asked.
"I don't know."
Han Xiaopao couldn't possibly say he had crossed over. As a person of the other world, he couldn't reveal his identity to a native.
"I was going to ask you where this place is."
Han Xiaopao looked at Su Mu with hope.
Su Mu shook his head. Looking down, he found two large characters written on the deck of the small boat—"Celestial South."
"You can't see the words written on it?"
Su Mu pointed to the two large characters on the deck and asked.
"I can't see them."
"Are there any words?"
Han Xiaopao looked in the direction pointed by Su Mu, found nothing there, and shook his head.
At this moment, the small boat continued to move forward automatically.
Su Mu rubbed his chin, murmuring in his heart:
Could it be that the small boat was heading to a place called "Celestial South"?
Just in time!
I can take this strange boat and leave this small, broken river together.
.....
"Is it convenient to go together?"
"I am the River Guardian here, my boat is broken, and it's too far from the town, so taking a boat is faster."
Su Mu asked.
"Alright."
Han Xiaopao didn't refuse, expressing agreement.
Just like that, the two sat on the boat, heading forward with the flow of the river.
Suddenly, the small boat abruptly came to a halt.
The two exchanged glances.
Su Mu turned to Han Xiaopao and asked, "Brother Han, does your boat have a problem?"
Upon hearing this, Han Xiaopao's heart skipped a beat; in fact, this boat wasn't his. After crossing over, he opened his eyes and found himself on it, and he couldn't jump off; he was confined to it.
He was actually quite shocked at how the youth in front of him managed to get on the boat.
At this moment, the system's voice echoed in Su Mu's mind: [Please disembark, Host; you cannot leave this river yet. Please refine this river before attempting to leave again.]
Hearing this, Su Mu was very upset.
Good heavens, are you forcing me to be a River Guardian??
At this point, Su Mu had a bright idea and said to Han Xiaopao, "Brother Han, I know a little about repairs. Your boat doesn't seem as bad as my completely ruined one. Yours should have a minor issue."
"However, if I help you repair the boat, you have to pay me a repair fee and a crossing fee."
"You know, as a River Guardian here, every passing boat has to pay a crossing fee."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiaopao was dumbfounded.
What???
Now crossing over requires a toll fee??
Han Xiaopao patted himself down and finally pulled out a Snickers bar, handing it to Su Mu, saying, "This is all I have."
Upon hearing this, Su Mu realized it made sense.
This Han Xiaopao had just crossed over and didn't have anything valuable.
Forget it; this kid just started his journey, and he didn't even have a golden finger or a toll fee.
However, Su Mu certainly wasn't going to let him pass so easily.
"Do you have any paper on you?"
"What paper? Toilet paper? Why? Do you need to take a dump?"
"No, paper to write on."
Han Xiaopao pulled out a stack of brand new A4 paper from the briefcase at his waist.
Su Mu grabbed it all and took one sheet out from the pile.
"Do you have a pen?"
"No."
Su Mu looked at the ink-black river, extended his index finger, dipped it in the river water, and began writing something on the A4 paper.
"Let me give you a designated plan."