Another month passed.

Although the village chief and Ah Bao didn’t return during this time, no one in the village found their absence noteworthy, and life continued as normal.

In the meantime, Lu Yun identified dozens of herbs, very few of which were of any use to him. Qingqiu Mountain possessed more poisonous plants than useful herbs; he was almost fatally poisoned a few times by the sheer multitude of poisonous vegetation. Thankfully, the breathing method he cultivated had enhanced the function of his organs to an unprecedented level.

Moreover, things that countered each other were often found together. Where poisonous plants were, their antidotes were always found less than a kilometer away. Therefore, Lu Yun changed tack from harvesting herbs and testing them back in the village. Instead, he tried them on the spot to discern their properties.

Throughout this process, he found a few poisons that were very helpful to the village. Poison that could cause cardiac paralysis, for example, could be applied to blades or arrows. Once the weapons penetrated a beast’s skin, the poison would make quick work of the beast. Better yet, the poison didn’t last long despite its potency. It remained in the blood for at most an hour.

He also told the young men of the village which herbs could be used to treat injuries. Skeptical at first, a few trials resulted in delighted surprise that the “weeds” the village newcomer collected were actually effective.

He made a record out of the herbs and poisons he’d identified, putting their appearances and characteristics down as drawings.

The human race of this era had a written language, and everyone in the Ning Village was literate. It posed no trouble for Lu Yun to learn their language and writing system, so he was easily able to make a detailed record of his findings.

Another fifteen days passed. Autumn announced its arrival with gentle breezes and the yellowing of trees as well as other vegetation.

During this time, Lu Yun found more herbs that were useful to him and deduced a number of prescriptions. Consuming the resulting medicines further strengthened his constitution, making him overall much stronger than he’d been before.

Although he still couldn’t rival Ah Zhuang’s ridiculous physique, he was far stronger than regular mortals. It was at this time that the elderly village chief and Ah Bao finally returned from their expedition.

“Brother Lieshan, this is some blood essence that grandpa extracted from the giant bird. You’ll recover fully once you take it!” Ah Bao bounced up to Lu Yun and handed him a clear, ruby-like crystal the size of an infant’s fist which radiated a bit of burning heat.

The little fox had been fast asleep, but woke up with a vigorous swivel of her ears. She almost salivated on the spot at the sight of the Bi Fang blood essence.

Lu Yun turned seriously to the merry village chief and shook his head. “This is too valuable, I can’t accept it.”

“You should, Shan’er. No one in the village has any use of it other than you.” The village chief smiled at him. “I know what you’ve done for us lately. Giving you a bit of blood essence that we have no use for is nothing in comparison.

“If not for you, we wouldn’t know that these seemingly useless weeds can be used to treat illness and help with hunting!”

Lu Yun smiled wryly. He wasn’t actually trying to help anyone but himself; he simply wanted to speed up his recovery so that he could return to the path of cultivation sooner rather than later.

“Then I shall accept the blood essence!” He accepted the gift with solemn gratitude, and Ah Bao’s big eyes creased into two crescents again.

With that, the little fox leapt up from the ground and grabbed the blood crystal from Lu Yun, hugging it tightly to her and refusing to let go.

The strength contained in Bi Fang blood was too wild, so neither Lu Yun nor the little fox could swallow it directly. Instead, they had to slowly absorb its power through the breathing method. Since the little fox couldn’t cultivate here either, she’d learned Lu Yun’s breathing, nascent spirit, and body tempering methods for lack of any other skill.

Lu Yun didn’t dare pass down the cultivation methods he’d invented in the future to those of this time, lest that action lead to unperceived consequences. He could only take it slow and observe the heavenly dao in the process, trying to figure out where and when he’d been taken.

He was now certain that he’d been transported to the past, to an era much before Zhaoqing’s time.

……

It was another pleasant autumn day, and Lu Yun was training with his breathing method as usual. A fragrant flow of warmth steadily emerged from his embrace to enter his mouth and nose.

The energy within the Bi Fang blood entered his system and strengthened his constitution in tandem with the rises and falls of his chest.

He suddenly felt a stifling sensation in his chest—something was lodged there. Guided by instinct, he straightened his back and howled piercingly. A ball of tainted air ejected from his mouth and it felt like a weight had suddenly been lifted from him. A refreshing current of air circulated through his body via his meridians.

The Method of Life and Death!

He’d finally overcome that bottleneck and joined the ranks of being a cultivator again!

“As I expected… there’s no immortal dao here. It’s not the immortal methods that I’m practicing...” Lu Yun fell silent after a long while.

There had been an immortal dao before Emperors Fall. The three founders had read its cadence in the Immortal Myriadtree, the second greatest connate spirit root, and created their immortal dao accordingly. There had also been immortals and cultivators then; they’d just been in the minority.

Now, however, Lu Yun saw no immortal dao lingering between heaven and earth, despite becoming a cultivator again. It would appear that this was an era before even the three founders, when even the immortal dao hadn’t been born yet.

If one were to give a name to this era, it would be the “Prehistoric Era”. It likely predated the era of human dao.

Such is the most primal great dao between heaven and earth. The living is blind to the way of cultivation… The great dao of this world has been created by the divine spirits. The so-called altar spirits are the ancient divine spirits. Lu Yun exhaled deeply.

If I can come here, then there must be a way back! Yuchi Tianhuang went back in time to an era a hundred and fifty thousand years ago, but still came back safely. I’ll be able to find my way back once I’m powerful enough! His determination to return to his proper time and place was further cemented.

Although the Tome of Life and Death hadn’t returned to him, his Method of Life and Death had begun circulating again. The treasure must be hidden somewhere in his body. He would be able to activate it again once he gained enough power.

……

“Hahaha! From youth arise heroes!” a hearty voice suddenly rang out. “When I hurried to Ning Village this morning, I didn’t expect to witness little brother here breaking the postnatal shackles and ascending to the great connate dao! Felicitations are in order!”

His reverie broken, Lu Yun looked up to see a noble-looking young man dressed in luxurious furs. The young man was watching him with an infectious smile.