Su Jinse stood beside the long-dried well.
She slowly closed her eyes.
Her Wood-Element Ability, which had only just recovered, sank cautiously into the earth beneath her feet like invisible tendrils.
Yes.
That’s right.
Deep underground, a faint yet incredibly pure water vein was slowly flowing.
That life-filled aura was like a lighthouse in the dark to her ability.
But it was too deep.
At least a hundred zhang below.
With her current meager strength, she simply could not reach it.
Hope was right before her eyes, yet still beyond her grasp.
Su Jinse opened her eyes and turned her gaze toward the abandoned vegetable field behind the main hall, surrounded by a low wall.
The soil was surprisingly fertile.
This was her only hope.
She had no tools.
Her strength was extremely limited.
Under such desperate circumstances, normal farming would only lead to death.
Gritting her teeth, she carefully took out a seed from the rosewood box she had kept warm against her body.
This seed was different from the others.
Pitch black, yet faint streaks of light flickered across its surface under the moonlight.
Nine-Layer Tower.
In the apocalypse, it was famous for its most domineering growth speed and absorption ability among mutated plants.
She walked to the center of the vegetable field, dug a shallow hole with her fingers, and gently placed the precious seed inside.
Then she pressed both palms against the ground.
Every bit of her newly recovered Wood-Element Ability was poured into the seed without holding back.
Boom!
A surge of dense green light burst forth from the seed.
The ground seemed to come alive, the soil trembling slightly as if groaning under unbearable pressure.
Su Jinse’s face turned deathly pale at a visible speed.
All the strength in her body seemed to be sucked away instantly by an invisible black hole.
Her meridians burned with sharp pain like needles and fire.
Her vision went dark.
Unable to hold on any longer, her body collapsed softly beside the vegetable field, completely losing consciousness.
No one knew how much time had passed.
A fragrance she had never smelled before—sweet and rich—gently awakened Su Jinse from her deep unconsciousness like the softest hand in the world.
She struggled to open her eyes.
The once barren vegetable field was now completely covered in vibrant green vines.
Those vines were as thick as a child’s arm, strong and powerful, glowing with a healthy sheen under the moonlight.
Hanging from the vines were strange fruits the size of fists, each one jade-green and flawless.
Every fruit emitted a faint glow.
The incredibly tempting fragrance came precisely from them.
A miracle.
This was truly a miracle.
An intense wave of hunger and thirst surged over her.
Struggling with all her strength, she crawled over and plucked one of the jade-green “jade melons” from the vine.
The skin was as thin as a cicada’s wing.
With just a gentle squeeze, the peel split open, revealing crystal-clear flesh inside that looked like jelly.
Su Jinse took a large bite without hesitation.
Sweet and refreshing juice exploded in her mouth, flowing down her throat and into her stomach, instantly extinguishing the burning hunger and thirst.
More importantly, an incomparably pure life energy flowed with the juice into every part of her body.
Her dried and exhausted meridians were like land suffering a long drought, greedily absorbing the sudden rainfall.
Her strength returned.
Su Jinse could clearly feel that not only had her Wood-Element Ability been completely replenished—
It had even grown stronger than before.
She finished the entire jade melon in just a few bites, feeling as if her body was filled with endless energy.
After recovering her strength, she walked to the well, a flash of light appearing in her eyes.
With a single thought—
Behind her, in the vegetable field, the thickest vine suddenly burst out of the soil like a living giant python.
It precisely plunged into the bottomless well, rapidly extending toward the water source a hundred zhang below.
Moments later—
The tip of the vine reappeared at the mouth of the well, carrying moist traces of water vapor.
One drop.
Two drops.
Clear spring water dripped down along the green vine.
Su Jinse had already placed a broken clay jar beneath it that she had found among the ruins.
Drip.
Drip.
The crisp sound of water falling became the most beautiful melody of life on this silent mountaintop.
The water problem had been completely solved in an unimaginable way.
Food and water were both secured.
Upon this ruin, she had already gained an unbeatable foothold.
Holding the clay jar that had collected half a pot of water, Su Jinse drank the sweet well water.
Her whole body felt refreshed.
Now that she had eaten and drunk her fill, Su Jinse began to think about what to do next.
At the foot of the mountain, Huamei was still there.
She could not truly leave her there to die.
Not out of kindness.
If Huamei died, the Marquis Residence might investigate, and that would become trouble.
She needed to go down the mountain once.