What are you looking at

On the third day, at the crack of dawn.

Beneath the half-destroyed wooden hut, cracks began to spread across a patch of dirt.

With a thud, the dirt was broken open, and Zhong Yi’s head emerged from the ground, looking disheveled.

"It’s daylight! Come out and clear the mobs!"

Zhong Yi called out, and instantly, three more dirt blocks vanished from the ground.

Following the same routine as the day before, they gained some experience and successfully leveled up to 2.

There wasn’t any noticeable increase in physical strength—the only visible change was the growth of the blue bar labeled [Spiritual Energy] below.

When Lu Ze designed the cultivation system, to avoid power imbalance and prevent players from becoming overly fixated on leveling and cultivation, he made the leveling system a more auxiliary feature.

Leveling up only affected the growth of the blue bar, [Spiritual Energy].

The [Spiritual Energy] value was tied to later functions like skills and formations.

However, when advancing in cultivation realms—such as from Early Qi Refining to Mid Qi Refining—there would be a slight increase in attributes.

In this modpack, the highest attainable realm was [Golden Core].

After all, this was a setting where spiritual energy was dwindling.

Players couldn’t rely solely on stats to wreak havoc.

The focus was on encouraging exploration.

"Spiritual Energy? Feels like there’s still a lot for us to figure out…"

Zhong Yi muttered to himself, stroking his chin.

After three days of playing, Minecraft had given him an unprecedented sense of novelty.

Even though there were no clear objectives, he felt like everything was waiting to be explored.

"Today’s tasks are the same as yesterday’s…"

As soon as he said this, all three of them turned to look at Zhou Yue.

"W-why are you looking at me?"

Zhou Yue’s face flushed red.

Why were the tasks the same as yesterday?

Well… it kinda was his fault…

"But let’s switch things up a bit."

Zhong Yi cleared his throat.

"Zhou Qiaoling and I will handle mining. Junior Brother Mu and Old Zhou can chop wood and build the house. How’s that?"

"But when I chop trees, they catch fire…"

"Just take out your Fire Spirit Root and put it in your backpack."

After some discussion, they settled on the plan.

The day before, Mu Yawen had found a mineshaft where they dug up several chunks of crude iron.

According to the crafting recipes Zhong Yi had researched, these could be smelted into iron ingots to make weapons and armor—exactly what they needed right now.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the monsters at night.

Mu Yawen also mentioned seeing green and blue ores in the mineshaft—new and intriguing stuff.

Considering Mu Yawen’s lack of adaptability and Zhou Yue’s unreliable luck, Zhong Yi decided he and Zhou Qiaoling should be the ones to mine. They might make some interesting discoveries.

As for chopping wood and building, anyone could do that.

It was actually a good fit for Zhou Yue and Mu Yawen.

The four of them quickly agreed and got to work.

……

……

Whether mining or chopping wood, it was tedious work.

Fortunately, they kept chatting in voice chat, and since they were still new to this world, everything felt fresh and exciting. Their motivation was high.

"AHHH!!!"

A sudden scream from Zhou Qiaoling echoed through the voice channel.

"What’s wrong, sis?"

Zhou Yue asked.

"I forgot the way back…"

Staring at the branching tunnels of the mineshaft, Zhou Qiaoling was completely lost.

She had been so engrossed in mining, digging left and right, that she’d completely lost track of the path.

"Easy fix. We’ll send you our coordinates—just follow them to find us."

With that, Zhou Yue checked his coordinates and sent them over.

But before long, another mishap struck Zhou Qiaoling.

"OH NO!!! I forgot to place torches—the mineshaft is full of zombies now!"

Tearfully, she blocked off the tunnel.

Now she was even more lost.

Though Zhong Yi had explained how to read coordinates, the concept was still a bit too modern for someone from ancient times.

Zhou Qiaoling wandered further and further away from the group…

"Ugh, my hunger bar’s empty… AND MY PICKAXE JUST BROKE!!!"

Zhou Qiaoling was on the verge of tears.

"Just respawn if you have to."

Zhong Yi suggested.

"No way!!! I dug up so much crude iron, plus diamonds and spirit stones!!"

Zhou Qiaoling immediately refused.

"Diamonds" were what they called the original game’s diamond ore.

After some experimentation in the mineshaft, Zhong Yi had deduced that certain ores required higher-tier pickaxes—stone for crude iron, iron for tougher ores.

So, with their limited iron, they’d crafted two iron pickaxes.

Zhou Qiaoling, wielding one, had struck quite a haul.

"Wow, Zhou Qiaoling, you’ve been hoarding all this?"

Zhou Yue’s eyes widened.

They’d been chatting all day, and Zhou Qiaoling had barely said a word.

Turns out his money-grubbing sister had been quietly raking in the riches!

"No way, I’m not dying… Ugh, I’m losing health from hunger now!!"

Zhou Qiaoling hastily pulled out the last carrot from her backpack and stuffed it into her mouth.

Her hunger bar inched up slightly, but it wouldn’t last.

She quickly crafted a crafting table with some planks, then made a stone pickaxe.

At this point, she didn’t care about the right direction—she just dug forward, desperate to get out and find food.

"Fine, send me your coordinates. I’ll bring you some food."

Zhou Yue sighed, grabbing some cooked chicken before heading out.

……

……

This was the group’s third night in Minecraft.

Zhong Yi and Mu Yawen finally had a proper house to live in.

They secretly credited this to Zhou Yue moving out on his own.

Zhong Yi was impressed—Mu Yawen had a knack for architecture, and the house he built was quite elegant.

Still too scared to fight zombies at night, they decided not to waste time and started mining underground instead.

Zhou Yue, on his way to find Zhou Qiaoling, resorted to the "dig three, fill one" method to wait out the night.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qiaoling kept digging forward, searching for an exit.

……

Soon, the fourth day arrived.

"Old Zhou, where are you? Why’d you go quiet?"

Zhong Yi asked curiously.

"Shh…"

Zhou Yue whispered.

"I found a weird creature. Hiding from it…"

Zhong Yi sighed. "Dude, why whisper? The mobs can’t hear you…"

"Uh… got too immersed."

Zhou Yue scratched his head, embarrassed.

"Strange… this thing’s dressed in black, looks human, and isn’t afraid of sunlight? Doesn’t seem like a monster at all…"

Zhou Yue cautiously peeked out, but when the figure started turning, he immediately ducked back behind the tree.

After suffering so much in Lu Ze’s illusionary realm, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

Meanwhile.

Elsewhere.

Zhou Qiaoling broke through the last dirt block, and blinding sunlight poured in.

"HAHAHA!!! I MADE IT OUT ALIVE!!!"

She burst into laughter, leaping out of the tunnel.

Lush green trees, dappled sunlight.

Without realizing it, she had traveled from the hills to the plains.

"Food, food... I'm starving to death..."

Zhou Qiaoling muttered as she walked, her eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of small animals like chickens or pigs.

Just as she turned her head, she suddenly spotted what looked like a village in the distance.

"Huh? People?"