The campfire emitted a fiery red glow in the darkness, dispelling the cold and loneliness in this small area.
In truth, when Shen Hanyu first arrived in this world, due to the lack of the internet and his phone, his days were quite difficult at the beginning.
No one could understand what it would be like for a semi-veteran netizen to suddenly be cut off from the internet.
It wasn't until Shen Hanyu first came into contact with cultivation at the age of six and comprehended the joy and meaning within it that his condition gradually improved.
One of the reasons he set out to adventure was precisely this.
Gazing at the warmth brought by the blazing flames, a trace of sorrow and nostalgia flashed in Shen Hanyu's eyes—that was his regret for everything from his previous life, as well as his reflections on this second chance in his current one.
A few of them had discussed it before sleeping: Shen Hanyu would keep watch for the first half of the night, while Shui Bing'er and Shen Liuyu would take turns for the latter half. As for Shui Yue'er, whose soul power was the lowest, they let her rest properly to conserve her energy; otherwise, with her delicate little body, something unexpected might happen.
Shen Hanyu sat on a fallen tree trunk, occasionally tossing a few dry branches into the fire pile. His gaze was somewhat vacant, clearly lost in thought.
In the middle of the night, the wind gradually picked up, accompanied by light snowfall. Though it had no real impact, it added a peculiar atmosphere nonetheless.
With a soft rustle, Shui Bing'er slowly lifted the thick curtain of the tent and stepped out, sitting on the log opposite Shen Hanyu. She spoke softly:
"Go rest. I'll take over the watch."
Shen Hanyu snapped back to reality and replied indifferently:
"The spirit beasts here are no pushovers. I wouldn't feel at ease with you all keeping watch. Go back and rest, conserve your energy. We might need to absorb spirit rings tomorrow."
Shui Bing'er wanted to argue, but upon thinking it over, she realized Shen Hanyu was absolutely right, so she let it go.
This area already had ten-thousand-year spirit beasts appearing, not to mention that with her strength as a quasi-Spirit Grandmaster and Shen Liuyu as a quasi-Spirit Elder, they might not even be able to handle a slightly stronger thousand-year spirit beast—let alone the even stronger ones lurking in the shadows.
Shen Hanyu glanced at Shui Bing'er and paid no more attention to whether she actually went back to rest. He simply closed his eyes and began meditating on his own.
Shui Bing'er poked at the fire several times, wanting to speak, but each time her lips parted, no words came out.
She truly wanted to chat with Shen Hanyu for a bit, but when it came to actually saying something, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Shen Liuyu also quietly emerged from the tent and sat beside Shui Bing'er, letting out a sleepy yawn.
Only then did Shen Hanyu open his eyes, a hint of helplessness flashing in them as he said:
"Both of you, go back to sleep! Be good. My mental strength is very strong; I can go two or three days without rest and be completely fine."
After a pause, he added:
"Besides, whether you're here or not doesn't make any difference."
Shen Liuyu rolled her eyes, stuck her tongue out at Shen Hanyu, and said:
"We'll keep watch if we want to. Don't mind us, stinky big brother. Right, Bing'er?"
Shui Bing'er nodded. She truly felt uneasy leaving Shen Hanyu to keep watch alone.
Shen Hanyu couldn't be bothered to say more. It wouldn't affect anything anyway. He was just saying polite words out of habit, a rather bad habit, at that.
As Shen Hanyu closed his eyes again, Shui Bing'er and Shen Liuyu began chatting softly, with occasional remarks here and there.
Girls always have endless topics to discuss; this point aroused Shen Hanyu's curiosity. In his previous life, he and his two best friends had been WeChat friends for five or six years, yet their total messages didn't even reach five or six hundred. He was very interested in this phenomenon of never running out of things to say.
Time passed minute by minute like this. As dawn approached, Shen Hanyu suddenly opened his eyes.
This time of day was undoubtedly one when humans were most prone to drowsiness. Shen Liuyu and Shui Bing'er were leaning against each other, clearly struggling to stay awake and extremely sleepy.
"What a clever beast. I didn't notice it last night."
Shen Hanyu muttered to himself.
He then quickly left the camp and headed into the forest on the side.
With a loud boom, Shen Liuyu and Shui Bing'er were jolted awake, only to discover that Shen Hanyu had long since left the camp and was nowhere to be seen.
Shui Bing'er and Shen Liuyu exchanged glances, both seeing confusion and uncertainty in each other's eyes.
But in the next moment, a massive shelled spirit beast was thrown directly onto the bushes beside the camp, crushing a large patch of them.
The shelled spirit beast was just over three meters in length, covered in ice-blue coloring, with a pair of sharp mouthparts and hidden wings on its back. Its scales were as translucent as crystal, looking just like genuine crystal.
Shen Hanyu slowly walked out from the side, pointed at the still-struggling Ice Marrow Insect, and said to Shen Liuyu:
"A-Yu, this is an Ice Marrow Insect, a peculiar spirit beast born from Mysterious Ice Marrow veins. It lives by absorbing Mysterious Ice Marrow. Once it depletes the vein it's in, its targets become any living or non-living thing that can provide a large amount of energy. Its scales have a certain ability to reflect mental power, which is why I didn't detect it carefully last night and let it slip by. Yet instead of hiding properly in its burrow, it set its sights on us. I suppose it's fate..."
Shen Hanyu gave a brief introduction and continued:
"This spirit beast's body is almost entirely pure energy, and their combat power is extremely formidable. They can even break through Mysterious Ice Marrow veins with pure physical strength, and their defense is top-tier. This one is around three thousand two hundred years old, perfectly qualified to be your ideal third spirit ring."
Shen Liuyu stepped forward and hugged Shen Hanyu, saying with some emotion:
"Brother, you're the best..."
Shen Hanyu curled his lip, speechless, and said:
"I just happened to discover it's quite suitable for you. Otherwise, it wouldn't be this intact right now."
The touched expression on Shen Liuyu's face instantly froze. She then pounded Shen Hanyu's chest, let out a humph, and quickly went to end the Ice Marrow Insect's life before beginning to absorb the spirit ring.
This process would likely take quite a while. Shen Hanyu looked at Shui Bing'er and said helplessly:
"Sorry about this. We might have to wait a bit longer before getting a spirit ring for you."
Shui Bing'er nodded understandingly and said:
"No rush. Let's wait for Liuyu to finish absorbing her spirit ring first. We've already come this far; it won't matter to wait a little longer."
Shen Hanyu nodded, then suddenly realized something and said:
"Where's Yue'er? With such a loud noise just now, how come we don't see her?"
Shui Bing'er was also taken aback and looked toward the tent, saying:
"Maybe... she hasn't woken up yet?..."
Shen Hanyu paused for a moment, then sincerely exclaimed:
"I'm genuinely a bit envious of that kind of sleep quality."