"Taoist companion Tang Yu, the rules of heaven and earth in this fragmented space are already failing. Have you also lost your internal spiritual energy?"
Noticing something was wrong, Ning Qingyan immediately looked at Tang Yu and asked.
"Just call me Tang Yu. The 'Taoist companion' thing sounds so distant. It's not like we're that close on the cultivation path."
Tang Yu let out a chuckle while rubbing his hands and said.
"I'm the same, I don't have a single drop left."
Hearing that Tang Yu said he had no energy left,
Ning Qingyan's face showed a trace of worry as she said, "In that case, we're in the most troublesome situation now."
For a cultivator,
Losing all internal spiritual energy means they can't use techniques or spells, and they can't even activate magical treasures or storage rings.
That's not much different from being an ordinary person.
More importantly, with the disappearance of spiritual energy, she even began to feel the coldness of the environment.
"I'll take a look around first."
Tang Yu observed the surrounding mountains and deep forests and then found the tallest tree to start climbing.
Once he reached the top,
Tang Yu looked into the distance and couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh, no!" before quickly descending from the tree.
"Did you see something?"
Seeing Tang Yu coming down, Ning Qingyan hastily asked.
"It seems we're on a floating island. I saw that at the end, it was all sky."
Tang Yu's answer made Ning Qingyan's face change slightly.
When one enters a fragmented space, they can usually find an exit.
But without spiritual energy,
They're both trapped in the air, which means they won't be able to look for that exit.
After a moment of panic, Ning Qingyan stopped thinking about such distant problems.
The cold wind around her was already unbearable, and looking at Tang Yu, she whispered:
"Let's find a place to shelter from the cold. We won't last like this. Did you see any place like that from the tree?"
"Yes, follow me."
Tang Yu nodded and began moving through the mountain and forest with Ning Qingyan.
Due to the heavy snowfall, there weren't many beasts or wild animals in the forest, so they moved forward without trouble.
Until they reached the entrance of a cave.
A faint unpleasant smell came from inside the cave.
And deep inside the cave,
A black bear was curled up, hibernating.
Ning Qingyan didn't even have time to speak when she saw Tang Yu, from nowhere, pull out a knife and rush inside.
With a flash of the blade,
The black bear, still not awake from its hibernation, was sent to the other world immediately.
After easily killing the bear,
Tang Yu dragged the carcass out of the cave.
Ning Qingyan looked at him with a stunned expression and said, "Didn't you lose your spiritual energy?"
"Yes, but what does that have to do with knowing martial arts?"
Tang Yu let out a chuckle. Although he had lost his spiritual energy, he was still a former martial artist at the [Celestial] level.
Among mortals, he was still one of the strongest, alright?
Ning Qingyan was completely convinced. Entering the cave, she felt how the coldness in her body began to dissipate significantly.
"You handle the cleaning inside, I'll take care of the bear."
After assigning Ning Qingyan the task of cleaning the inside,
Tang Yu dragged the bear's carcass outside.
The knife in his hand was also a magical treasure, which he had previously carried on his belt to easily take it out and stab others in the kidneys. Now, he had finally found a good use for it.
After dealing with the bear's body and returning,
Tang Yu carried the bear's skin in his left hand, and in his right, the meat still dripping with blood.
Ning Qingyan had already cleaned the inside of the cave.
Seeing Tang Yu return, she was crouching on the floor with a dazed expression, clearly still unsure of what to do next.
Tang Yu said nothing, placed the things on the ground, and ran back outside.
"Where are you going?"
Seeing Tang Yu leave, Ning Qingyan shouted hurriedly.
"I'm going to bring some things. You stay still and don't move."
Tang Yu replied before rushing out of the cave.
About half an hour later, Ning Qingyan began to get impatient.
Seeing that Tang Yu hadn't returned, she couldn't help but get up and leave the cave to see what was going on.
And just as she exited the cave, she saw Tang Yu coming back with a large pile of wood.
"Why did you bring so much wood?"
Having no knowledge of ordinary life, Ning Qingyan couldn't help but ask.
"To make us a shelter, otherwise, are we going to sleep on the ground tonight? Come on, come help."
After dragging the wood back, Tang Yu took the knife he had in his hand and used it like an axe, cutting and shaping the wood.
That magical treasure-grade knife had cost him one hundred and twenty high-grade spiritual stones, and it was a perfect weapon for ambushes.
Although he couldn't channel spiritual energy into it now, its sharpness far surpassed that of any common divine weapon in the hands of mortals.
Cutting wood was as easy as cutting tofu, and after watching for a while, Ning Qingyan couldn't help but say:
"Do you want me to help you cut?"
"You just need to follow these shapes."
Tang Yu handed her the knife.
Ning Qingyan imitated his example and cut the wood into similar shapes, just as he instructed.
Tang Yu, for his part, began assembling the wooden pieces.
While assembling, he first built a large bed.
This left Tang Yu very satisfied.
Now, both of them had no spiritual energy in their bodies, they were no different from ordinary people.
Eating, drinking, going to the bathroom, and sleeping naturally became priorities.
Then, he used the rest of the materials to make a table, chairs, and other furniture, also making a door.
With Tang Yu's skill,
This natural cave was transformed into a kind of temporary outdoor shelter.
Afterwards, he used the leftover wood to start a fire.
Ning Qingyan, crouching by the fire, exhaled deeply, stretched her hands to warm them, and showed an expression of happiness.
Since she began cultivating, she had spent hundreds of years without feeling cold or hot; it had been a long time since she experienced something like this.
A person who doesn't feel hunger can naturally not appreciate the pleasure of eating when their stomach is empty.
Tang Yu took some sharp bamboo sticks, skewered bear meat,
and brought them close to the fire to roast slowly.
"Tang Yu, it seems you know how to cook?"
Seeing his skillful movements, Ning Qingyan asked curiously.
"Yes."
Tang Yu nodded, then couldn't help but laugh.
"Speaking of that, has no cultivator from your sect ever wanted to find a dual partner?"
Ning Qingyan hesitated for a moment before responding in a low voice: "Actually, there are quite a few."
Among cultivators, some only seek enlightenment, ignoring love affairs.
But there are also many who yearn for a life like the immortal couples.
"Then, when you return, you should tell your senior and junior sisters in the sect."
Tang Yu looked at her with a very mysterious expression.
"Hmm?"
Ning Qingyan showed interest.
"If they ever have the bad luck of getting into trouble in the forest and meet a handsome young man who knows everything and is especially good at roasting chicken — golden, juicy, and with an irresistible aroma — they should stay away from that man. And they should not eat that roasted chicken, because after eating it, a woman will fall in love with him."
Tang Yu smiled.
"Does that really happen?"
It was the first time Ning Qingyan had heard something like this.
"Believe me, it's better this way."
Tang Yu turned the skewer of meat over the fire.
The meat sizzled, releasing fat, mixing with the crackling wood, creating an inexplicable sense of calm.
Ning Qingyan sat by the fire, her beautiful face, with an air of an ethereal fairy, still dazzling in the light of the flames.
Her gaze inevitably landed on Tang Yu.
Noticing that she was looking at him, Tang Yu smiled and said:
"What's up? Do you already want to look for a dual partner? It's still not too late to change your mind, for the sake of our two sects, I can sacrifice myself."
"Who wants to look for a dual partner?"
Ning Qingyan looked at him in annoyance.
"I'm just curious. In a situation like this, you seem not to worry at all. I heard you reached the top, are all absolute geniuses like this? Doesn't the collapse of the heavens faze you?"
Tang Yu seemed like he wanted to say something but held back. He didn't have the courage to confess that he still had the space of the Divine Tree.
If something difficult came up in this fragmented space, he would simply hide inside.
"That's right, it's my nature."
Thinking it over, Tang Yu decided to shamelessly lie and admit that he was the type of person who didn't get flustered by difficulties.
"No wonder… that must be having a strong will. Seeing you like this, it gives the impression that getting trapped here isn't that bad."
Ning Qingyan showed a softer smile, brushed a few stray locks of hair behind her ear with her hand, and sighed softly.
"Tang Yu, you give off a sense of security. No wonder things have changed in the Hehuan Sect since you arrived."
"Bah! The truth is that I have money, that's what's true."
"..."
Ning Qingyan let out a smile. She found dealing with Tang Yu very interesting, at least listening to him speak was entertaining.
When the bear meat was ready, Tang Yu took a skewer, blew on it a bit, and then took a bite.
After two bites, he frowned and swallowed it with difficulty.
"Doesn't it taste good?"
"It's just… it doesn't have shrimp oil."
After complaining, Tang Yu handed the skewer to Ning Qingyan and said, "Don't waste it, you eat it."
"..."