"""
Sleeping overnight in the forest was evidently riskier than in the cave.
Although returning to the cave required additional walking, the benefits far outweighed the effort, and Zi Di also approved of this suggestion.
Thus, at dusk on the day of departure, the boy and girl returned to the cave once more.
The cave was quite warm, and they still didn't make a fire.
They drank a little water and ate a large amount of meat floss.
The water supply was running increasingly low, and since water is essential for survival, both the boy and the girl tried to conserve it as much as possible. However, there was plenty of meat floss, so they didn't need to worry too much about it.
Both of them tried to avoid being in a state of hunger.
Hunger carried risks; if one stayed hungry for a long time, it would lead to a lack of physical strength. Lack of physical strength would put one in a deadly predicament on this perilous island.
The two remained silent in the cave, quietly eating.
Gazing at the familiar cave walls, Zhenjin smiled bitterly to himself.
After his recent conversation with Zi Di, he had come to understand his situation more clearly, realizing that he had even more tasks to accomplish.
Initially, he thought it would suffice just to escape this strange island alive.
Later, he realized that merely escaping, or even escaping with Zi Di, would still mean failure. He needed to compete for the position of White Sand City Lord, revitalize his family, and cooperate with Zi Di to maintain the remnants of the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce.
Therefore, he needed to gather as many remaining people as possible on this island and save them for his own use. Among them, there was a crucial person – Jia Sha.
If Jia Sha still survived, he should lend a helping hand to deepen goodwill.
In short, he needed subordinates.
Without subordinates to help, relying on just himself and Zi Di would make them isolated loners, and they wouldn't stand a chance of controlling a city like White Sand City.
So, in the morning, the boy harbored many grand plans and long-term schemes in his heart.
He hadn't expected the day's exploration to end like this.
There was no noteworthy progress, and they returned to the starting point in defeat.
Reality was always harsh.
After finishing their supper, they began to organize their equipment.
The war spear had been used multiple times and required considerable repairs. This crude equipment needed timely maintenance; otherwise, its power would be greatly reduced.
In fact, even swords and knives needed frequent sharpening and maintenance.
Of course, wooden war spears required even more frequent repair than blades, and their usage period was also shorter.
Zhenjin first used the potions handed over by Zi Di to soften the war spear to a certain extent, then used the only dagger to sharpen the spearhead.
He multitasked, repairing the war spear while reflecting on his experiences during the day.
"My strength has improved," Zhenjin thought about the times he had killed Iron Feather Birds.
At that time, he felt very adept, and looking back now, he realized he was even more skillful.
These performances would have been unthinkable in the past, yet now he had actually achieved them.
"Is it because I've recovered my memory and mastered the Hundred Needle Wind combat skill?"
After recovering his memory, Zhenjin found he had a penchant for stabbing techniques, and they were very convenient and handy to use.
This was different from the time he fought the Fire Poison Bee Swarm when his memory had just resurfaced, and he purely acted on instinct.
Over the past few days, he had practiced the Hundred Needle Wind combat skill many times in the cave and had become very proficient in its use. Not only had his speed increased, but more importantly, every stab was stable.
Of course, equipment was also crucial.
The first time he used a longsword, although the blade was sharp, it was awkward and even painful to wield.
In contrast, the war spear allowed him to better utilize the Hundred Needle Wind combat skill.
The war spear was lighter than the longsword, and its sharp tip closely resembled a stabbing sword.
"But to fully unleash the power of the Hundred Needle Wind combat skill, I still need to use fighting energy," Zhenjin faced an old problem upon reaching this thought.
"When will I be able to use fighting energy?"
Zhenjin was unsure about the answer to this question.
Fighting energy.
Fighting energy!
This was critical.
Without fighting energy, relying solely on flesh and blood, Zhenjin didn't have a shell, claws, or sharp teeth, making it hard to contend with a Black Iron Level Magic Beast. And if there were many Bronze Level Magic Beasts, he could only run.
The use of fighting energy would greatly enhance Zhenjin's combat abilities, allowing him to easily surpass Black Iron Level Magic Beasts. The improvements to defense, jumping, and other abilities brought by fighting energy would significantly aid in facing survival challenges, substantially increasing their chances of survival on this island.
However, Zhenjin's current situation was a bit awkward.
He had memory issues, and it seemed that only by waiting for the memories related to fighting energy to resurface could he utilize the fighting energy stored within himself.
Previously, he hoped he could instinctively trigger fighting energy in life-or-death situations.
But the battle with the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear made him realize this was a vain hope.
Zhenjin didn't even know whether his true cultivation level was silver or gold.
Furthermore, even if related memories surfaced, the unique environment he was in was a significant factor.
This island banned low-level extraordinary powers.
Zi Di's Black Iron level magic couldn't be used, and low-level Magic Tools were also ineffective. Even the effects of high-level Magic Tools were significantly reduced.
From the guards, Zi Di also learned that Bronze Level and Black Iron Level fighting energy were similarly restricted by the environment.
Even if Zhenjin could recall his fighting energy, would silver (or perhaps gold) level fighting energy work in such an environment?
That was definitely a problem.
Zhenjin couldn't help but shake his head slightly, as if trying to shake off his worries about this matter.
"Thinking too much is pointless and will only add to my frustrations."
"At least now, even without fighting energy, I can still barely win against the Fire Poison Bee Swarm."
After carefully evaluating both sides' strengths, Zhenjin came to this conclusion, feeling somewhat comforted.
In fact, back then, he was very close to successfully fending off the Fire Poison Bee Swarm by the bonfire, only to be chased by the last remaining small group of Fire Poison Bees.
Now, Zhenjin's strength had indeed increased, and the chances of defeating the original Fire Poison Bee Swarm were much higher.
However, the current situation was far more complex than dealing with the Fire Poison Bee Swarm back then.
This island was too bizarre, with the prohibition of fighting energy and magic leaving the boy and girl constrained. The constantly changing landscape added to the mystery.
If possible, Zhenjin would rather face the Fire Poison Bee Swarm than the vast, natural environment he faced now.
It left him with no starting point.
Thud, thud, thud.
Zi Di continued to pound the bottom of a hemispherical pit with a rod-shaped stone.
In the pit she had dug, there were materials she had collected during the day. Most of them were leaves, with a few roots. They had been shredded as finely as possible, then mashed by the stone into a mushy paste.
Next, the girl took out a bottle of medicine powder from a small pouch at her waist.
She carefully poured out just a little bit of the medicine powder.
Just a small amount of the powder, when it touched the mush at the bottom of the pit, caused the latter to quickly dissolve into a sticky, dark red liquid.
The girl immediately used a branch to stir it continuously.
After stirring for a while, she stopped and quietly observed. When the upper layer of the liquid began to solidify, she peeled off the hard crust with the branch, revealing the liquid underneath, and continued to stir.
Each time she peeled off the crust, the revealed lower layer of liquid would be brighter in color and clearer. She would switch to a clean branch each time she stirred.
After peeling off layer after layer of the hardened crust, the final liquid was no longer dark red but had turned into a translucent pink.
Reaching this stage, Zi Di seemed relieved and no longer peeled off the gradually hardening surface, letting the entire liquid solidify instead.
By the next day, the bright pink liquid in the pit had completely dried up.
Zi Di thoroughly crushed this pink solid into fine pink powder.
She used large leaves to separate the powder, then wrapped it into delicate little medicine pouches.
She handed some of these little pouches to Zhenjin and explained, "This powder can leave marks; the bright pink will be very noticeable in the forest. Whether sprinkled on tree trunks or stones, it will stay for a long time. Even heavy rain won't wash it away for several days."
Undoubtedly, this was a good thing.
Although magic was prohibited here, these potions utilized purely physical properties.
Zi Di's potion-making skills had not yet reached a master level, but the ingenuity of these potions garnered Zhenjin's admiration.
After breakfast, they set off again.
They had gotten plenty of rest overnight, and their physical strength and spirits were fully restored.
They now had dry powder to make marking easier.
The war spear had also been replenished. While the total number hadn't increased, the balance had been adjusted.
There were more long spears, and fewer short spears.
Initially, the boy and girl thought that walking in the rainforest would make long spears cumbersome. But after the terrain had changed, the forest was relatively open, with tall, straight trees and branches that didn't interfere as much as expected.
During their exploration, long spears proved more useful.
For instance, Zhenjin used a long spear to scare away snakes; its length allowed him more reaction time, even if a startled venomous snake retaliated.
Additionally, they had discussed the marks on the beast skin map in the middle of the night.
On their second departure, they changed their previous strategy, no longer searching around the cave but heading in one specific direction.
They chose the direction that seemed like the way they came. This was their best guess based on the stars at night.
They weren't sure, but to them, this direction seemed the most likely.
"""