Upon hearing that they were only Natural Spirits, Chen Shouyi actually felt a bit relieved.

These things were far less intimidating than the "Tree of Sanctity," which the Barbarians had threatened with before dying and made him feel apprehensive.

Moreover, if it were truly that terrifying, the Barbarians wouldn't have survived until now.

It's a simple kind of logic.

"There's nothing to fear. It's sunrise now, so before night falls, we'll be back already," Chen Shouyi comforted the Shell Lady.

The Shell Lady nodded vigorously, whispering nervously, "I'm not scared."

"If you behave well, there will be a reward later."

The Shell Lady nodded again, forcing a slight smile.

It was evident that even her favorite gemstones couldn't ease her anxiety this time.

Without concerning himself further with her, Chen Shouyi checked his equipment one last time before setting out.

He then carefully listened to the surroundings.

But he found that it was quite silent around, except for the sound of waves from the sea; even the usual chirping of insects and birds in the island's forest was scarcely heard.

No, it wasn't scarce; it was nonexistent!

The entire island was so quiet it felt serene, giving off an ominous vibe that made his heart race.

Glancing at the nearby forest, he immediately dismissed the idea of entering it.

Chen Shouyi exhaled lightly, then crouched down along the coast, cautiously moving forward.

However, he wasn't overly fearful, as most land-based plants are afraid of high-salinity environments. The fact that not a single plant grows on this beach shows that this holds true in this world as well.

"As long as I stand on the beach, no matter how powerful the Barbarians' 'Tree of Sanctity' is, it shouldn't be able to harm me. At worst, I can always run towards the sea."

He moved forward cautiously, constantly on alert for any movements around him.

The Shell Lady remained silent throughout, not making a sound.

Chen Shouyi could feel her tension; her body, sitting on his shoulder, was trembling slightly.

Inwardly, he thought: This little one, saying she's not afraid, but she's actually shaking like a leaf.

...

After walking slowly for about ten minutes, a winding stream that flowed from the distant forest into the sea appeared ahead.

The stream was over a meter wide and crystal clear. Given its width, calling it a river wasn't accurate; at most, it was just a creek.

He reached into the water and felt its warm touch.

Clearly, this creek originated from a geothermal spring, so he surveyed the area and memorized its location.

Given the island's size, this was likely the only freshwater source here. Following this creek could very well lead to the Barbarians' location.

He continued forward.

After walking for a few more minutes, he suddenly laid on the ground.

The Shell Lady was so scared she clung tightly to his hair, nearly falling off.

But at that moment, Chen Shouyi couldn't care about that.

He quickly scanned the area with his eyes and noticed a large boulder not far ahead, causing his heart to stir as he stealthily crawled towards it.

After crawling for nearly two minutes, he finally reached the boulder and exhaled.

Then, using the boulder for cover, he crouched down to carefully observe the distance.

A vast construction site lay ahead.

Over a dozen Barbarians were busy working fervently.

This must be a shipbuilding yard for the Barbarians.

Chen Shouyi saw three large logs already cut and laid out in a row on the beach to dry.

One of the logs was already being carved.

Evidently, after losing a large number of canoes, the Barbarians immediately intensified their construction efforts.

In the morning sunlight, these Barbarians were sweating profusely, their skin turning shiny from the sun.

Things were just as Chen Shouyi had suspected before.

This group of Barbarians' productivity level was still in the Stone Age. The tool they used for carving was just a hard stone with its edges ground to a sharp point, which they held in hand to repeatedly hammer at the logs.

He noticed there was a large road extending deep into the forest near the shipyard. It's obvious that these huge logs were rolled along the road to the seaside.

He lowered his gaze and carefully observed the situation there, not missing any details.

There were a total of sixteen Barbarians there.

The only weapons they had for self-defense were Long Spears and carving stones; they didn't carry Short Spears.

He didn't see any particularly strong Barbarians among them. Most were small and weak, even less impressive than the ordinary Barbarians who initially came to the island.

But upon thinking further, in such a primitive tribe, strong Warriors hold a very high status and obviously wouldn't be here carving canoes.

These people were probably just ordinary Barbarians.

Yet Chen Shouyi didn't act rashly.

The Barbarians were over two hundred meters away, far beyond his optimal attack range, and there were no boulders to provide cover in the open area ahead.

Attacking in this kind of terrain was simply impossible; he would have to engage them head-on.

One has to admit, despite their primitive production skills, Barbarians are indeed intelligent beings; apart from their lack of productivity, they are not short on wisdom, and their hunter-gathering lifestyle makes them more sensitive to environmental safety than people living in peace.

The shipyard was built here, evidently considering the safety of the location.

Chen Shouyi pulled out an Arrow from the quiver and toyed lightly with its sharp head, unable to make up his mind.

Facing sixteen Barbarians at once was just too risky.

If only there were fewer of them!

Fortunately, a breakthrough came quickly.

After waiting for about ten minutes, one Barbarian seemed ready to slack off and said something to his companion, then put down the stone he was holding; soon after, three more Barbarians followed him, laughing.

The four of them chatted and laughed as they walked this way.

Chen Shouyi turned and leaned against the rock, his breathing becoming increasingly calm. He slowly nocked an Arrow to the bowstring and glanced at the Shell Lady, finding she had covered her eyes like an ostrich.

Gradually, the Barbarians' voices grew louder.

"The sun is so hot; let's go for a good soak in the water later."

"Sure, I know where there's a fruit tree ripe with fruits. We can pick a few then."

...

As soon as the corners of his eyes caught sight of the Barbarians, Chen Shouyi suddenly stood up and released an Arrow.

The Arrow let out a sharp whistle, immediately piercing through one Barbarian's head.

Taking advantage of the moment before the other Barbarians realized what happened, he quickly shot another Arrow, again taking out a Barbarian with a headshot.

By this point, the remaining two Barbarians finally reacted, grabbing their Long Spears and rushing towards him.

These Barbarians were already walking towards the boulder, so they were very close.

Only about seven or eight meters apart.

Such a distance is almost nothing for either Chen Shouyi or the Barbarians; it could be crossed in the blink of an eye.

There wasn't time to shoot another Arrow. Chen Shouyi simply dropped the War Bow, drew his Long Sword, and in the blink of an eye, slightly shifted his body to easily dodge the blood-stained black spear tip from one Barbarian. At the same time, he stepped forward, the Long Sword flashing like lightning.

A cold light flashed by!

The sharp blade swiftly cut through the Barbarian's neck, and blood spurted out.

Feeling the sensation of the sword slicing through flesh, Chen Shouyi's expression remained calm. After successfully striking with one sword, he didn't pause at all. Using the yet-to-fall corpse as a cover, he moved like a ghost to the last Barbarian's back.

At this moment, that Barbarian was anxious and sweating bullets, searching for his suddenly missing enemy.

The next moment, he felt a chill on his neck, and all his strength rapidly drained away like a punctured balloon.

Chen Shouyi withdrew his Long Sword, giving it a gentle shake to flick off the blood from the blade's tip.

It was only at this moment that the two corpses fell one after the other.

"It's... it's that evil one!"

The large commotion finally caught the attention of the distant Barbarians, and suddenly everyone showed a look of fear; a few cowardly Barbarians even began to flee.

Chen Shouyi picked up the War Bow again, looking at the group of Barbarians, with a shade of coldness quite unmatched by his youthful face.

Successfully fighting two Barbarians hand-to-hand with Short weapons had greatly boosted his confidence.

At the same time, the low morale of the Barbarians greatly eased his original tension.

He moved instantly!

Pressing hard with his toes, he kicked up a cloud of sand behind him, then like an arrow leaving the bowstring, he swiftly charged at the group of Barbarians.

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