Ye Ju inspected the bamboo raft, finding its distance from the ground, one meter and a half, somehow lacking. It was only later she remembered the railings, for added safety. Seeing the remaining bamboo wasn't enough, she went directly to chop wood. Wood was much simpler; a single Ice Blade felled a large patch.
After cutting the wood to her desired dimensions, she began construction. Using bamboo nails, she fastened everything together. The purple bamboo's hardness rivaled diamond. She circled the raft's edge, creating a one-meter high railing with gaps of two fists' width. Inside the cabin, she also made a simple wooden bed, secured with bamboo nails and topped with split wooden planks, all fastened with bamboo nails. The bed was about 1.2 meters, with the remaining space serving as an aisle. She then laid down woven rattan mats.
She split another large log to make a paddle. This was attached to the raft's tail with a movable device that allowed for side-to-side motion to propel the boat forward. The rest of the wood was split into firewood and stored in the utility space.
She busied herself with this for three days. Xiaobai had sun-dried a lot of seafood, which was all packed, along with plenty of salt. The fruit trees in front of the house had all their fruit picked. By the end, there was no room to step inside the boat's cabin.
During this time, she called out to Yu Shou several times, but Yu Shou remained dormant in her sea of consciousness, unresponsive.
"Sister, I want to go somewhere," Xiaobai said to Ye Ju hesitantly the day before departure.
Ye Ju guessed Xiaobai wanted to find that fish. Fearing they might fight again, she decided to go with Xiaobai. She also planned to bring spiritual spring water and some stone milk.
Upon reaching the cave, as soon as they entered, the water surface began to splash. Ye Ju extended her spiritual sense and discovered that the eel had doubled in size, its horns also growing and forking. Its mouth could now swallow two of her whole, a terrifying cultivation speed for a fish.
The scene Ye Ju expected, a fight, did not occur. Instead, it was remarkably harmonious. Xiaobai let out a series of "awoooo" sounds towards the eel, seemingly communicating.
After their communication, the large fish turned its head towards Ye Ju, its blue eyes fixated on her. Ye Ju swallowed, assuming it wanted spiritual spring water. She shook the large bamboo bucket, having found a half-meter sized one for this trip and filled it. She poured it directly into the fish's mouth. After drinking, it nodded at Ye Ju, as if in thanks.
Suddenly, the large fish opened its mouth and exhaled a wisp of blue soul light into Ye Ju's brow. Ye Ju felt no ill intent and did not react.
"Master, I am Qi Mo, an ancient electric eel with a drop of dragon bloodline," Qi Mo's voice echoed in Ye Ju's mind.
Ye Ju was a bit bewildered. Had she been contracted again? And without her consent? It felt like being forced into a lottery win! In reality, it was because Ye Ju had shown no resistance; had she displayed even a hint of unwillingness, the contract would have failed.
"Sister, this stinky fish says it wants to go out to sea with us, but it refused when I asked it to guard the island," Xiaobai said indignantly.
Ye Ju was speechless.
"Sister, we can let it pull our boat, that way we'll be much faster," Xiaobai had a sudden inspiration.
Ye Ju looked at Qi Mo. "Your size is so great, won't it scare other people? Pulling the boat will be very tiring!"
"Master, don't worry." With that, its body gradually shrunk, returning to the size she first saw it.
This time, Ye Ju felt confident about setting sail. Setting aside combat ability, the water creature would never get lost. It could at least guide them back to the island.
Ye Ju filled a bamboo bucket with stone milk. Xiaobai and Qi Mo went to the bottom of the pool to get their food—blue scale pearls. Xiaobai had its own spiritual space. If Ye Ju hadn't disliked taking supplies from Xiaobai's mouth, many provisions could have been stored there. Thus, Ye Ju made many more bamboo water flasks, filled them with spiritual spring water, and let them manage their own supplies.
Strangely, only Ye Ju could approach the spiritual spring pool; even Xiaobai couldn't enter it. The last time, it was Yu Shou that knocked it in.
Ye Ju's purpose for sailing this time was to trade for living supplies, vegetable seeds, and staples. Eating seafood every day was torture for the fickle palate of modern humans. Ye Ju grew up in the south; rice was her staple food! Not eating it for a meal made her feel weak! She had been hungry for a long time. It was killing her…
Xiaobai, still not giving up, caught many blue scale fish and dried them all. All the kitchenware and bowls from the bamboo house were moved onto the boat. They set off on a clear and sunny morning. Ye Ju tied a rope to the side of the bamboo raft and pulled with Xiaobai. The purple bamboo hull had doubled in weight, so two people pulling was much faster.
Now, it no longer looked like a bamboo raft, but a proper boat. As soon as it hit the water, the boat floated steadily, drawing half a meter of water. From a distance, it resembled a boat with nine wheels, half of which were submerged. The deck was one meter above the water surface. At this height, unless they encountered a storm, the waves wouldn't splash over.
A moment later, Xiao Mo swam over and fastened itself to the rope at the bow. The boat indeed accelerated, breaking through the water and riding the waves towards the horizon, moving further and further from the island. Ye Ju felt a pang of reluctance; she didn't know when she would return.
Suddenly, Xiao Mo stopped. The island was now just a black dot.
"What's wrong, Xiao Mo?" Ye Ju asked.
"Master, there's a barrier. I can't pass through," Xiao Mo's voice echoed in her mind.
A barrier? Ah, finally the barrier Yu Shou had mentioned. Ye Ju stood on the enlarged Qi Mo, signaling it to swim to the barrier. Ye Ju reached out and touched it, feeling an invisible barrier. Ye Ju concentrated spiritual energy at her fingertips and touched it again. Her fingertip pierced through the barrier. Had the barrier been broken?
As Ye Ju broke through the barrier, Yu Shou in her sea of consciousness stirred. It flew out from Ye Ju's brow and hovered before her.
"Yu Shou, you're out of seclusion! We're about to set sail to see the outside and get some supplies," Ye Ju said, looking at Yu Shou with surprise and joy.
Yu Shou's golden-red staff was wrapped in a layer of green light. It nodded anthropomorphically. Then it flew to the barrier and tapped it once. The boat with its human and beast passengers successfully exited. Yu Shou flew back into Ye Ju's hand. Holding Yu Shou, Ye Ju felt an overwhelming sense of security! After passing through the barrier, Yu Shou's green light flashed, and the island behind them disappeared, replaced by the vast sea. Ye Ju marveled that if she hadn't just come from there, she wouldn't have believed that an isolated island existed in the vast ocean.
After they left, the area was shrouded in fog, with crackling lightning flashing within. No living creature dared to approach.
The boat headed in the direction of the setting sun. The island was precisely to the east. Ye Ju had no specific destination, so she chose this direction. She wasn't in a hurry. Xiao Mo had already enlarged itself, and the boat was like a toy to it as it swam with ease.
Xiaobai, full of novelty, was already sitting on the bow railing, chatting intermittently with Xiao Mo. Ye Ju also excitedly ran from the bow to the stern, occasionally observing the boat's condition, fearing leaks or structural failure during navigation. In reality, the boat was very sturdy, neither swaying nor bumping.
Ye Ju was unaware that this purple bamboo was a treasure in the cultivation world used to craft flying vessels and spirit ships. It did not decay for a thousand years, was impervious to water and fire, and could not be pierced by swords. However, very few artifact refiners could craft with it, and others found purple bamboo difficult to handle. Those with water spiritual roots cultivating water elements could only control water simply; who would bother cutting purple bamboo for fun, especially when it consumed significant spiritual energy? Unless an artifact refiner had the time and means to refine purple bamboo, it remained largely unused. Therefore, flying vessels and spirit ships made from purple bamboo were sold for thousands of top-grade spirit stones. Those who could own such a vessel were definitely either extremely noble or exceedingly wealthy, with powerful backgrounds! No one dared to provoke them.