Divine Tang Era

So Xu Dan crouched down, ready to jump up and cut the stalactite tip to see if any stalagmites would flow out.

Just as I was about to jump up, I thought about how the stalactites might fall and hit the water cave. Would the water inside still be drinkable then?

After thinking for a moment, he took his short sword, which could cut through iron like mud, and walked to the side, intending to cut some stalactite blocks and build a high platform by the water cave to cut the tips of the stalactites. If no stalagmite flowed out, he would cut off the stalactite pillar to see where the stalagmite actually came from.

With his short sword in hand, Xu Dan quickly cut a pile of stalactite slabs, each about half a meter long and thirty centimeters wide.

Since drinking the earth's milk, his strength has increased, and he can move stone slabs with ease.

They moved the stone slabs to the edge of the water cave and, like building blocks, stacked them layer by layer in a four-horizontal-four-vertical pattern, quickly creating a simple platform.

Xu Dan stood on the high platform, grabbed the tip of the stalactite that had condensed into earth milk, and cut it down with his sword.

The stalactite tip fell easily, and drops of stalagmite quickly gushed out from the cut section. Before long, some stalagmite was stored in the water cave below.

Xu Dan looked at the stalactite tip in his hand and noticed a small, thread-like crack in the center, from which the stalactite must have flowed out.

In other words, as long as the stalactite column is cut, a large amount of stalactite will fall off.

Xu Dan looked towards the dome where the stalactites were located, but ultimately did not carry out his idea, fearing that he would waste the stalactites.

Although he couldn't cut off the stalactite pillars, he could increase the amount of milk flowing out. So, he picked up his short sword again and cut at the tip of the stalactite. This time, the milk flowed out noticeably faster than before, and he believed it would soon fill the water cave.

While busy cutting and slicing, Xu Dan's stomach was already growling with hunger.

Seeing that there was already some earth milk in the water cave, he lay down on it and drank it in big gulps.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much left. Drinking it all would only barely stifle my hunger; it was still a long way from filling my stomach. But there was nothing I could do; the earth's milk was still condensing, so I could only wait a little longer.

With nothing else to do, I picked up a large branch that had turned into petrified wood and placed it to the side.

The large tree branch was the largest one among the branches we had picked up from the beach. It was fairly straight in the middle, and once the side branches were trimmed off, it would make a decent spear.

Xu Dan brandished the short sword and began slicing at the branch.

He chopped, hacked, and polished it a little, and a short spear was finished. The spear was slightly taller than him, and because it was made of ebony, it had a considerable weight in his hand, just right for his use.

Xu Dan picked up the dark wooden spear, brandished it a few times with a "whoosh" sound, then put it aside. He then picked up the animal bone, which was as thick as an adult's thigh, that he had found earlier and started cutting it up.

He wanted to make a scabbard for his short sword so that he wouldn't hurt himself.

Making the scabbard isn't difficult. Animal bones are cylindrical, so you just need to cut off a section long enough for the blade, split it in half, put it back together, and use a twig of ebony to make a clasp to hold it in place. However, you need to process the animal bones first.

The outer part of the animal bone had decayed, so Xu Dan used his sword to peel off the outer skin, revealing the jade-like core.

The beast bone jade core is very hard, but the short sword is no less formidable.

In no time, the animal bone was shaved. Xu Dan inserted the short sword into it and tested it; it was good.

Then, he cut the animal bone in half. Next, he needed to make two clasps to hold the scabbard in place. The clasps were difficult to make; first, he had to find two curved branches, flatten them, and use them to secure the top and bottom of the scabbard. Then, he drilled a small hole in each branch and inserted a large wooden nail, one end wider than the other, to connect the two branches. Finally, he inserted a pin into the end with the hole, and the scabbard was complete.

Xu Dan inserted the short sword back into the finished scabbard, looked at it, and felt it was acceptable.

No, it's not allowed.

With these conditions, we can only make do for now. We'll find someone to make a nicer one after we get out, but who knows when that will be.

Xu Dan didn't intend to throw away the remaining ebony branches and animal bones. He planned to make a bracelet and recite scriptures with them occasionally. Otherwise, staying in this empty, dark cave for too long would drive even a normal person crazy.

To make a bracelet, you first need beads. Beads are easy to make; first, cut tree branches and animal bones into squares, and then slowly carve them into round shapes.

Although the beads produced are not as perfectly round as those made by industrial machinery, they are still usable.

Making the beads required drilling holes, which proved difficult. A short sword was definitely out of the question, but he had no other tools. After thinking for a moment, Xu Dan picked up the remaining ebony and animal bone and began cutting. In no time, two small drill bits were ready. He tried using the drill bits made of ebony and animal bone to drill holes in the beads, and surprisingly, it worked.

There was no sun or moon in the cave, and no one knew how much time had passed.

Xu Dan only knows to drink earth milk when he's hungry, sleep when he's full, and then get up and drill beads when he's full.

Finally, one day, the beads were finished. Looking at the beads scattered on the ground, a silent sense of accomplishment welled up in my heart.

After making the beads, he needed to string them together. That was easy. When he was growing, his hair grew too long, and he cut it off with a short sword because he thought it was too long. He originally wanted to throw it away, but then he thought he could braid it into something to fish with, so he kept it. He never expected it to come in handy today.

A single hair cannot be strung into beads, and even if you did, it wouldn't make a difference.

Xu Dan first twisted three strands together like he was twisting a rope, and then twisted them together again, one strand at a time.

After twisting the three strands together, I twisted them into one, finally making a rope that could be used to string beads. Once the rope was finished, I strung the beads together and quickly made a pile.

Looking at the beads made of black ebony and jade-white animal bones, Xu Dan was somewhat dissatisfied. The black and white combination didn't look good! He glanced around, picked up his short sword, and walked towards the stalactites in the distance.

A short while later, the camera switched back to a collection of stalactite cores of various colors.

He planned to turn these stalactite cores into beads and mix them into the bracelet, so he got busy again, repeating the previous steps of making beads.

There was no time in the cave; after an unknown amount of time, the beads were finished.

Looking at the strung 108 one-centimeter beads, Xu Dan nodded in satisfaction. He had originally wanted to make them eight millimeters in diameter, but his skills weren't up to par, so he had to settle for second best. These beads were made from the heartwood of submerged wood, the core of jade-like animal bone, and the core of stalactite, with various colors intermingling and reflecting each other, making them quite beautiful.

I admired it for a moment, then gently twirled it. The Heart Sutra flowed through my body, and my heart inexplicably calmed down.

There was still some ebony and animal bone left. After Xu Dan finished chanting the sutra, he found a few relatively long pieces and made two pairs of chopsticks and a small kitchen knife. He also planned to use a short sword to find stalactites to carve a soup spoon, a bowl, and a pot.

Now we have chopsticks, spoons, bowls, knives, and pots; we're just waiting for the food.

The underground river inside the cave was very deep. Even with Xu Dan straining his eyes, he couldn't discern its depth, its end, or its origin; all he could see was a hazy mist.

During his rest days, he went to the river to take a look. Although there were fish in it, they were very small and hidden in the center of the underground river, making them difficult to catch.

He originally planned to use the hair he cut off to make a fishing line and carve a fishhook out of dark wood to fish in the river.

Unfortunately, there was no bait, so I could only fish for a hammer.

To be honest, Xu Dan really dislikes underground caves. In these dark and sunless caves, there's always a chilling aura that seems to come from nowhere, constantly creeping into his butt and crotch. It's so cold and uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, these are the conditions; you can't help but get used to them.