I'm involved in poverty alleviation in a primitive tribe.

This time, having finally found the right spot, Yingcao Wu called on everyone to start digging.

It's already late autumn, so we need to dig out the spirit crystals before winter so that everyone can use them to improve their strength during the winter.

If we delay any longer, and the lake freezes over, we'll have to wait until the ice and snow melt in the spring to start digging, wasting an entire winter.

The lake bottom, which had just been cleared, instantly became murky again due to the digging by the crowd.

The soil and rocks were turned up and mixed with the lake water, creating a chaotic mess.

No one cared whether their view was obstructed by the murky lake water; they just wanted to dig hard in this spot.

The strange plants and ferocious beasts exerted tremendous power, using their powerful bodies to lift boulders and their sharp claws to dig through the soil, each movement causing considerable tremors at the bottom of the lake.

Although the other warriors were not as strong as these strange plants and ferocious beasts, they did not sit idly by. They stepped forward one after another to help move the boulders that the strange plants and ferocious beasts had dug out to the side.

The Rock King has been sleeping here for a long time, and the lake bottom, which should be soft, has been pressed down by it. Moreover, there seem to be a lot of rocks here serving as a "foundation" to support the Rock King's enormous weight.

As time went by, people would occasionally stop digging and surface to breathe.

Seeing that the spirit crystal mine could not be found anytime soon, the shamans gave up waiting underwater and went ashore to handle the tribe's affairs.

Only Yingcao Wu remained in the water, wanting to personally find the legendary spirit crystal mine to comfort the dead members of the Zhong tribe.

Jiang Ning also went ashore. With nothing else to do, she began to try making dumplings.

I took a head of cabbage, peeled off the outer, older leaves, leaving only the tender inner leaves, chopped them up, added salt, and set aside to draw out the water.

I took the dried fruit powder from the Yingcao tribe, ground it carefully, added water and kneaded it into flour. Once the dough was kneaded, I set it aside.

Jiang Ning picked up the cutting board and started chopping scallion leaves. The washed scallion leaves still had water droplets on them, and the bright green scallion leaves were chopped into small pieces.

The strong smell permeated the air, and if a clumsy child were to accidentally wander in, they would surely be so agitated that they would burst into tears.

Jiang Ning thought to herself with a wry smile, thankfully her body had already undergone multiple upgrades and wouldn't be affected by these scallion leaves.

Finely mince the porcupine meat into a paste, add chopped scallion leaves, and place it in a bowl with squeezed cabbage. Then, take a firefly egg and put it in the bowl, along with minced ginger, minced garlic, salt, and five-spice powder, and knead it into a ball. Set it aside for later use.

Pinch off several small pieces of dough and roll them out flat with a rolling pin. In her previous life, when Jiang Ning couldn't buy dumpling wrappers, she would roll them out herself. Back then, she would also use a round container to press the dough into the shape of dumpling wrappers.

However, Jiang Ning was only focused on eating quickly, so she didn't care about anything else. Whatever the shape, as long as it was edible, that was fine.

She was used to doing things and was quick and efficient; soon, plump dumplings appeared on the cutting board.

Seeing that she had almost finished cooking, she didn't rush to put it in the pot. Instead, she heated oil in a pan and fried a bowl of fragrant chili oil.

No need to wash the oil pan; just add water and bring it to a boil. Put the plump white dumplings into the pan, and once they float to the surface, you can scoop them out and start eating.

Jiang Ning could easily eat a whole pot with her current appetite, and fortunately, she had a clear understanding of herself, so she cooked a full pot.

The only unexpected thing was that Baiya returned at this time. Given that it wasn't interested in noodles last time and wasn't usually in the tribe at this time, Jiang Ning didn't prepare any for it.

Who would have thought that it would change its nature this time? Many of Jiang Ning's dumplings broke during cooking, and the aroma wafted far and wide. Of course, the people of Jiang's tribe couldn't smell it from across the lake, but Bai Ya, who was separated from Jiang Ning by only a wall, could smell it very clearly.

Seeing Bai Ya appear in the kitchen, Jiang Ning had no choice but to give up her plan to eat alone, find Bai Ya's rice bowl, and share half of it.

Perhaps it was because Jiang Ning put in more meat filling this time, and the dumplings were thin-skinned and generously filled, that Bai Ya found them so delicious and flavorful that they left a lingering fragrance on her lips and teeth after one bite. Surprisingly, she really liked them.

With its big mouth, it could have swallowed the dumplings whole in one gulp, but it imitated Jiang Ning, eating them one by one carefully.

Seeing that Jiang Ning's basin contained some things that weren't in its own basin, it nudged Jiang Ning with its head, indicating that it wanted some too.

Jiang Ning added seasoning to Bai Ya's food with a speechless expression. This guy not only eats hot food with her, but now he can also add seasoning.

In the end, both the human and the wolf were only half full, and both were still somewhat unsatisfied. Jiang Ning was truly half full, while Bai Ya had already hunted outside.

Bai Ya went out to hunt some game to share with his master, and Jiang Ning, in perfect harmony, began to use the leftover porcupine meat from making dumplings to prepare roast meat.

Yingcao Wu was still desperately searching for traces of the spirit crystal underwater. Everyone had been digging for several days, and the Rock King's lair had been ravaged beyond recognition.

They dug out quite a few stones, but there wasn't a trace of spirit crystals.

Yingcao Wu also tried to break open many stones, but unfortunately, they were just ordinary stones, nothing special.

Her skin was already fair, and after soaking in the water for so many days, and with the light at the bottom of the lake dim, the soldiers were frequently startled by the succulent Yingcao Wu.

The Rock King, having eaten and drunk its fill, leisurely strolled back. It wasn't angry to see that the group had dug up its lair in a mess, as Jiang Ning had already told it about it beforehand.

Seeing how slow these people were, and who knew when they would finish digging, Rock King was too lazy to wait any longer.

It stepped forward, glanced at the leading Yingcao witch, and told her to step aside.

Looking into those large eyes filled with dangerous patterns, Yingcao Wu inexplicably understood their meaning.

She led everyone away from there. Sensing the return of the Rock King, Jiang Ning also entered the water and watched the Rock King's actions with Yingcao Wu.

Rock King was extremely agile in the water. It stretched out its giant claw and easily swung it towards its lair, instantly creating huge waves in the lake. Jiang Ning and the others were swept up by these waves and immediately lost control of their bodies.

As everyone tumbled in the lake with the giant waves, Jiang Ning struggled to control her body; the Rock King's strength was terrifyingly powerful.

She was already a level four warrior, yet she couldn't even withstand the water waves created by the Rock King's casual slap. Just how terrifying must the Heavenly Witch's strength be?

Jiang Ning had never seen the Rock King truly make a move. In her mind, the Rock King was always lazy and indifferent to everything.

Despite being a ferocious beast with king-like bones, it allows its body to become a paradise for plankton parasites, with small fish and shrimp making their home on it, and it remains unmoved.

Each tribe reported the unusual situation at the rock lake to their respective shamans, who quickly rushed to the lakeside.

"This... is the aura of the Mysterious Water Rock Turtle King!"