Death

Death

"Wonderful!"

"Big Brother, you're the best!"

Seeing that her eldest brother was not joking, Lu Qingyu excitedly planted a kiss on Lu Qingfeng's cheek, then bounced up and down on the spot, clearly overjoyed.

Perhaps her thoughts were not so complicated at that moment.

She only thought that she could cultivate just like her eldest and second brothers. None of the other girls in Blackwood Village could cultivate, and after cultivating, she could even go to Yellow Ganoderma Mountain to rescue her second brother—

That alone was enough to keep Lu Qingyu too excited to sleep for days and nights!

"Big Brother!"

"I want to learn to read tonight!"

Lu Qingyu looked at Lu Qingfeng, waiting for her eldest brother's affirmative answer.

"No problem, as long as you don't start complaining."

"I won't! I'm not Second Brother!"

Lu Qingyu beamed.

Seeing this, Lu Qingfeng said helplessly, "Qingyu, help Big Brother up first."

"Huh?"

"Oh!"

Seeing that her eldest brother truly had not gotten up after all this time, Lu Qingyu hurried over to support him.

Lu Qingfeng struggled to his feet, leaning on Lu Qingyu as he staggered about, moving his numb legs.

Gurgle, gurgle!

Then his uncooperative stomach growled, and a fierce wave of hunger struck him.

"Big Brother, it's not time to eat yet."

Lu Qingyu looked up at the sky. Seeing that it had not yet grown dark, she pointed at Lu Qingfeng's stomach as she spoke.

"Big Brother knows."

Lu Qingfeng was helpless.

Cultivation in the Houtian Stage was the process of Refining Essence into Qi. Before reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, one could not absorb the free spiritual qi between heaven and earth or perform Qi Induction. One could only replenish the expenditure of cultivation through food.

After all, Inner Breath did not appear from nothing; it was forged from the essence and qi within one's body.

Lu Qingfeng had always been frail, and his daily meals barely kept his bodily functions running. Now that he had begun cultivating, even though he had yet to comprehend Qi Sense or produce Inner Breath, his physical strength was being consumed at an enormous rate.

This was where the saying "Poor Scholars, Rich Warriors" showed itself.

"One coarse grain cake a day can't support my cultivation of the Blazing Sun Scripture!"

Lu Qingfeng was so hungry that his vision swam.

With no other choice, he hurriedly took half a coarse grain cake from his bosom and swallowed it in two or three bites. It had been his ration for the evening, but he could only spend it in advance now.

"Do you want to eat yours now?"

After finishing, Lu Qingfeng held the remaining half of the coarse grain cake and asked Lu Qingyu.

"I don't. If I eat it now, I'll be hungry tonight." Lu Qingyu shook her head.

"All right, I'll keep it for you first." Lu Qingfeng tucked the half cake into his bosom.

Lu Qingyu swallowed, then suddenly remembered. "Oh no, we didn't gather wild vegetables this afternoon!"

There had never been meat in their home. Wild vegetables were their only dish.

Normally, they worked the five mu of dry fields every morning and gathered wild vegetables in the afternoon. But this afternoon was nearly over. At the thought that there would be no wild vegetables for dinner, Lu Qingyu became somewhat dejected.

"We won't eat wild vegetables today. We'll eat something else."

Seeing Qingyu's eyes light up at once, Lu Qingfeng could not help smiling.

"The grain at home, even if carefully rationed, won't last until the autumn harvest. Once Qingshan joins the Returning Truth Sect, his appetite will surely grow greatly."

The grain Lu Qingfeng had stored was already barely enough to feed even one great eater like Lu Qingshan. Now there was one more person. It probably would not even last a month.

When that time came, let alone cultivation, whether they could survive at all would be another question.

So, he thought of medicinal herbs!

The Alchemy Primer recorded forty-six basic medicinal ingredients. Some could stave off hunger, while others could nurture vitality and replenish qi. These rustic villagers of Blackwood Village might know three or five herbs for treating colds and fevers based on life experience.

But they absolutely did not know them in the meticulous detail recorded in the Alchemy Primer.

Lu Qingfeng had already mastered the Alchemy Primer. Though he had not yet put it into practice, the information on all forty-six medicinal ingredients was firmly imprinted in his mind.

The Alchemy Primer contained not only methods for processing these herbs, but also detailed information on every kind. To process medicinal ingredients, one first had to understand their basic properties.

Based on that information, it would not be difficult for Lu Qingfeng to find these wild medicinal herbs in reality.

"Among the forty-six medicinal ingredients, Atractylodes Macrocephala, licorice root, goji berry, Polygonatum, and the like are all extremely common herbs that nurture vitality and replenish qi. They are necessary materials for refining Yellow Dragon Pills. Taking them separately certainly won't be as effective as Yellow Dragon Pills, but at this stage, they can put out the fire at my eyebrows!"

Licorice root was sweet in flavor. Once processed, it could be eaten directly. Consuming a small amount was not only beneficial to the body, but also made for a fine sweet treat. Lu Qingyu would surely like it.

"Let's go!"

"Big Brother will take you to gather herbs!"

Lu Qingfeng rose to his feet, gripping a firewood knife in his left hand and a Blackwood Hoe in his right as he headed toward the back side of the terraced fields.

"Gather herbs?"

Lu Qingyu did not understand, but she followed behind Lu Qingfeng with a puzzled expression.

To the west of the terraced fields lay broad stretches of uncultivated hills.

Atractylodes Macrocephala and licorice root were both common, while those in Blackwood Village who understood herbal medicine were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. They should not be too difficult to find.

Sure enough.

Before they even entered deep into the woods, Lu Qingfeng found three clumps of Atractylodes Macrocephala and two licorice plants along the outskirts.

"That's enough."

Seeing that it was getting late, Lu Qingfeng prepared to head back.

According to the methods in the Alchemy Primer, he only needed to pick out the impurities from the licorice root, wash it clean, soak it in water until it was eighty percent penetrated, remove it, moisten it thoroughly and slice it, then dry it.

He could slice the Atractylodes Macrocephala, stir-fry it with fine Burnt Yellow Earth powder until its surface took on the color of earth, then sift away the excess soil.

The two medicinal ingredients would then be properly processed.

This way,

tomorrow, they could use the processed licorice root and Atractylodes Macrocephala to replenish the expenditure of cultivation.

"Can these be eaten?"

After watching Lu Qingfeng busy himself for so long, Lu Qingyu could not help asking.

"Of course they can. This one is sweet." Lu Qingfeng raised the two licorice plants in his hand.

"Sweet!"

Lu Qingyu's eyes lit up again.

"These next few days, I can prepare more licorice root and Atractylodes Macrocephala. When we go to Yellow Ganoderma Mountain the day after tomorrow, we can bring some to Qingshan."

Lu Qingfeng returned to the Blackwood House with Lu Qingyu, who was eagerly awaiting a taste of licorice root, and quietly pondered.

For now, he did not have the ability to contend with the Returning Truth Sect or take Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingyu away from Blackwood Village. He could only use this method to ensure that before his cultivation bore fruit, Lu Qingshan would not suffer some unspeakable tragedy due to bodily depletion.

After processing the Atractylodes Macrocephala and licorice root,

Lu Qingfeng and Lu Qingyu each ate one licorice plant.

"It really is sweet."

Lu Qingyu broke half off her half coarse grain cake from dinner and handed it to Lu Qingfeng. "Big Brother, eat a little more, or you'll be too hungry to sleep tonight."

"No need, you eat it yourself."

Before Lu Qingfeng could finish speaking, Lu Qingyu used the same trick again and directly stuffed the coarse grain cake into his mouth.

"I'm still little. It's fine if I eat less."

Lu Qingyu took a sip of water, tidied the table, then sat up straight and proper. "Big Brother, hurry and teach me to read!"

"Little ones need to eat more."

Lu Qingfeng shook his head, fetched a charcoal pen and tree bark, and taught Qingyu to read.

Night fell.

Lu Qingfeng lay on the bed and logged into the Primordial Wilderness.

The player has not eaten for an extended period and has now died. Please choose Resurrection/Reincarnation.

Lu Qingfeng floated blankly in the Chaos Space where there was neither sky nor earth, facing the system prompt flashing in scarlet letters.

That was right.

He had died.

Starved to death.

"From when I logged out of the game last night until I logged back in now, at most eight shichen have passed. Yet three months and one day have passed in the Primordial Wilderness?!"

"The Time Difference is more than a hundredfold!"

"No."

"If there is a Time Difference between the game and reality, then when I spent several shichen in the game last night, not much time actually passed in reality. That means I logged out around eleven shichen ago."

"In other words, a Hundredfold Time Difference."

Lu Qingfeng pulled up the death record and discovered that three months had already passed in the Primordial Wilderness.

And because his Physical Body had remained within the Blue Stone Talisman without food for so long, it had starved to death more than two months ago. The Fetal Respiration Realm First Layer was still flesh and blood. Without food or Fasting Pills, it naturally could not endure for three whole months.

What Lu Qingfeng faced now was the choice between Resurrection and Reincarnation.

"No wonder I felt that time passed especially slowly last night."

Lu Qingfeng finally understood where that strange feeling had come from, and why he had felt so refreshed upon waking this morning.

With enough sleep, one naturally had abundant Essence, Qi, and Spirit!

"Based on all the information about the Primordial Wilderness, other players have synchronized reality and game time. I'm an exception, likely because of the different worlds or because I crossed over."

That was also why Lu Qingfeng had logged out directly last night without considering the flow of time.

For ordinary players, the ratio between reality and the game was one to one.

But for Lu Qingfeng, it was one to one hundred.

This was likely due to the difference between the worlds he inhabited, just as he could not choose True Body Login.

"Hundredfold Time Difference!"

"If I could log in with my true body..."

At that thought, Lu Qingfeng shook his head. One could not be insatiably greedy.

Even if it was only on the Soul Consciousness Level, a one-to-one-hundred Time Difference already brought Lu Qingfeng benefits too numerous to count.

Though for now, a small accident had occurred.

"Resurrection takes effect immediately. I'm only Level 1 right now, so losing levels would be negligible. But my foundation would be damaged, and my Cultivation Aptitude would decrease, affecting future development."

"If I reincarnate, sixteen years in the game will be only two months in reality for me."

After thinking it over, Lu Qingfeng chose Resurrection.

Two months was enough time for far too many things to happen. He could not afford to gamble.

As for his foundation in the game, once he resolved the crisis in reality, he could simply spare two months to reincarnate and make up for it.

The player is currently Level 0. Resurrection requires the expenditure of 1 Low-Grade Spirit Stone. Do you choose Resurrection?

"..."

"I choose reincarnation and rebirth!"

Please choose: Reincarnate to Current Map/Random Map

"Current Map."

Lu Qingfeng was more familiar with Black Sand Town, so naturally he wanted to remain there.

The player has chosen to reincarnate to the Current Map. Please wait—

Reincarnation successful. Growth Progress: 1/16.

Just like his first login, he had to live to sixteen before he could continue playing. Ordinary players would have to wait sixteen years in reality. Lu Qingfeng, with his Hundredfold Time Difference, only needed a short two months.

Name: Lu Qingfeng

Title: None

Cultivation: None

Level: Level 0 (0/1)

Lifespan: 1/68

Root Bone: 1

Merit: Unknown

Karma: Unknown

Cultivation Method: Yellow Court Scripture First Layer (Not Yet Initiated) Trait: Deriving Methods (First Layer); Govern All Arts (First Layer); Karma Elimination (First Layer); Blazing Sun Scripture First Layer (Initiated) Deriving;

Spells: None

Divine Abilities: None

Equipment: None

Alchemy: "Alchemy Primer" (Not Yet Initiated) Deriving

This time, he had truly returned to before liberation overnight. Fortunately, the Yellow Court Scripture remained, and he had not lost his proficiency in the Blazing Sun Scripture or the Alchemy Primer.

His level and Cultivation had not been high to begin with, so there was nothing much to regret.

The only price Lu Qingfeng had to pay was two months of real time.

"These two months, I must be cautious and careful."

Any resemblance between the otherworldly licorice root and real licorice root is purely coincidental.