Chapter 6 The Wilderness Survival

The moment Zara flew off, Felix opened his eyes. Seeing her riding the white crane far into the distance, he let out a long sigh of relief. "Good thing I played dead—otherwise, I'd be a goner!" He struggled to his feet and looked down at the red footprint on his chest. "Seriously? Same sect, but she didn't hold back at all! And hey... this isn't even my fault! Who comes out here in the middle of the night and just starts stripping without saying anything? I was forced to watch—I'm a victim too! Damn, it hurts like hell!" The sharp, burning pain made him suspect internal injuries. Felix quickly examined himself from the inside and found out that three of his ribs were broken. Luckily, none of the fractures had punctured any organs, so it wasn't life-threatening. But the pain? Absolutely brutal. Moving even a little made it unbearable. With no doctor in sight, Felix had to rely on himself. Gritting his teeth through the agony, he broke off several thin, straight branches. Then he tore his clothes into strips, knotting them together to use as makeshift bandages. Once everything was ready, he bit down on a stick, crossed his legs, and entered an internal focus state. By running his hands over his ribs and using internal sight, he carefully identified the exact spots where the bones were broken. Now came the hardest part: resetting the fractures. Every tiny movement felt like someone was driving red-hot needles into his bones, an excruciating pain that spread through his muscles and nerves, making it nearly impossible to breathe. Somehow, through sheer grit, he managed to endure it—though not without biting through the stick in his mouth and letting out a series of blood-curdling screams that echoed through the woods. When it was finally over, all three ribs were back in place. Felix lay there, pale as a ghost, his face, neck, and forehead drenched in sweat. "Holy... hell... that hurt like a son of a..." After catching his breath, he grabbed the branches he'd collected earlier and used them as splints. He tied them in place with the cloth strips to keep his ribs from shifting again. By the time he finished, exhaustion hit him like a tidal wave. He slowly laid himself flat on the ground, gasping for air as he watched disciples practicing sword flight in the sky, their movements leaving colorful streaks across the heavens. As his body began to settle, the searing pain gradually eased, though it still hurt like crazy. Felix figured he might as well try healing himself with his internal energy. Even though he didn't know the exact techniques, the original owner of this body had reached the third level, the Meridian Unlocking stage, just shy of the Flight Control stage. That meant there was still some spiritual energy stored in his dantian. He closed his eyes, focused on his breathing, and slowly guided the spiritual energy through his meridians and into his fractured ribs. Almost instantly, a cool sensation spread through the injury, and the pain subsided significantly. Felix couldn't help but grin. "I really am a damn genius!" As the saying goes, "It takes a hundred days to heal bones and tendons." But that only applies to ordinary folks. For cultivators, broken bones weren't a big deal. As long as the bones were set correctly and nourished with spiritual energy, the pain would quickly subside, and healing would speed up dramatically. With his injuries, Felix figured he'd be walking around just fine in three or four days, and fully recovered in no more than ten. By the time he opened his eyes again, it was already afternoon. By now, the pain from Felix's broken ribs wasn't as bad, but he had burned through most of his spiritual energy, and hunger gnawed at his stomach. He wanted to find some food, but he was worried it might aggravate his injuries. Staying here didn't feel particularly safe either—there had been a huge tiger prowling around last night. Who knew if it would come back tonight for another stroll? But leaving wasn't a smart move either. In his current state, he wouldn't get far. After some thought, Felix decided it was best to stay put and rest for the night. Thanks to a few hours of channeling his energy for healing, the fractures were already beginning to mend under the nourishment of his spiritual power. If he kept at it overnight, he figured he'd be mostly healed by morning. Man, the perks of being a cultivator! The speed at which injuries healed was just insane. The hunger, though, was unbearable, like his stomach was on fire. As Felix wrestled with the decision of whether to starve for a day or risk worsening his injuries to find food, he suddenly noticed a fish lazily swimming in the stream beside him. Catching fish in the large pool nearby would've been impossible with his current injuries. But this little creek was only about half a meter deep and narrow, making it much easier to trap one. He struggled to his feet and used some smooth river stones to set up a simple fish trap in the water. A short while later, a large white fish swam downstream from the pool, right into the trap. Felix quickly sealed the trap entrance with more stones, trapping the fish between the rocks. With a few jabs from a branch, he pinned the fish. It must've weighed over twenty pounds! Grinning with satisfaction, he muttered, "Bagging a deer with a stick, scooping fish with a ladle—man, this place has so much wildlife!" He smacked the fish's head a few times with a rock, then smashed another stone to find a sharp piece to gut it. After cleaning the fish in the stream, he sighed. "No fire... guess I'll have to eat it raw." That was the only downside he could think of. But the fish was plump, with tender meat and no fishy smell, making it surprisingly tasty even raw. He ate over half of the fish, and when he finally stopped, he let out a contented belch, feeling stuffed and satisfied. By now, the sun had set, and not wanting to encounter any more wild animals, Felix grabbed his stick and moved to a large rock of the waterfall. This was the same spot where Zara had gotten dressed the night before. It was a lot safer than staying by the pool since the rock provided better cover. However, the surface behind the rock was uneven, making it too uncomfortable to lie down. So, he sat cross-legged and resumed channeling the spiritual energy from his dantian to continue healing his ribs. He kept this up for about four hours before opening his eyes again. It wasn't that he was slacking off—it was just that his spiritual energy was almost completely drained. The flow of energy through his meridians was much weaker than the night before. "Seriously? I thought you were some kind of master! And now your energy's all gone this fast?" Felix grumbled in frustration, cursing the original owner of his body. Since he didn't know how to replenish his spiritual energy, he had no choice but to stop. He gazed up at the shimmering lights overhead, feeling more confused than envious this time. He was once again at a crossroads in life. The kick from Zara hadn't been in vain; he'd not only seen a beauty emerging from her bath but had also learned a lot of useful information from her. Before meeting Zara, Felix had only suspected that the original owner of his body might have been murdered, but now he was completely sure of it. Having occupied this body for over two days, his mind was still filled only with his own memories, leaving him completely in the dark about the original owner's past. This made for a very unfavorable start for Felix. Without the original owner's memories, he had no idea who his murderer was. Recklessly returning to the Void Sect would be incredibly dangerous. If the killer had managed to take out the original owner once, they could easily do the same to him. "But if I don't go back, where else can I go?" he sighed.