You Stomped on It—There Went Another Ten Years of Merit

Over the following year, they continued gathering herbs in the mountains, learning to identify medicinal plants, studying medicine every day, and cultivating the Qi Refining Art. Their days were so fulfilling that Chen Xun constantly sighed that being alive was wonderful.

He had once imagined what Longevity would be like: sitting back to watch the Mortal Realm rise and fall in stormy upheaval, history changing hands, countless grave markers behind him, leaving only that lonely figure in the world.

But now, Chen Xun would say, to hell with that brooding nonsense. How could you ordinary mortals possibly understand the joy of a Longevity wild man?

Inside a cave, Chen Xun and Black Bull had moved house again. Relentless rain had poured over the mountain range, washing away several of their earthen dens. Still, Black Bull had stubbornly protected their pots, bowls, and other belongings, so things had turned out fairly well.

"Old Bull, hahaha!"

Soaked from head to toe, Chen Xun laughed heartily, completely unconcerned that their home was gone. He gave Black Bull a hard punch. "That's my bull. I knew from the moment you were little that you had it in you."

"Moo, moo, moo!"

Black Bull happily bounced a few times. Chen Xun had been clearing out the cave entrance at the time, and Black Bull had saved all their possessions by itself.

"Come on, let's try it and see what this Essence of All Things actually is."

Chen Xun grinned and began building a fire. Looking at the torrential rain outside the cave, he felt utterly content. The sound of rain truly was pleasing to the ear.

"Moo!"

Black Bull answered and began helping beside him. Every now and then, it would run outside to get drenched, then shake the rainwater all over Chen Xun.

Chen Xun flew into a rage and summoned strength enough to pull up mountains and spirit enough to cover the world, drenching that damned bull until it looked like a soaked chicken.

One man and one bull huddled beside the fire for warmth. Chen Xun added his Longevity Points to the Essence of All Things. In an instant, his expression changed drastically as green light surged from his body.

"Moo, moo, moo!!"

Terror filled Black Bull's eyes. It sprang up at once, bellowing anxiously as it circled Chen Xun without pause.

"Old Bull, I'm fine."

Chen Xun took a deep breath and hugged Black Bull. "It's the Essence of All Things."

"Mooh..." Black Bull called softly, frightened out of its wits. If something happened to Chen Xun, it would not want to live either.

"Let me try."

Chen Xun's expression turned solemn. He spread out his palm, and green light flickered over his body, brightening and dimming. Gradually, a drop of Green Liquid condensed in his palm, glittering like a gemstone, dazzling and translucent.

His entire body went limp, cold sweat pouring from him as though he had run eight hundred meters. He said in alarm, "This thing isn't draining my essence, is it...?"

"Mooh?"

"Old Bull, you try."

"Moo."

Before long, a drop of Green Liquid condensed atop Black Bull's hoof as well. Man and bull collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Black Bull finally understood what Chen Xun had meant. It seemed to see several Little Heifers giggling coquettishly before its eyes.

"A trap..."

Chen Xun trembled. He, a man with sixteen-pack abs, praised by all the neighbors as the blacksmith with the greatest endurance, was actually about to give out.

"Mooh..."

Black Bull's eyes were vacant, utterly bereft of the will to live. It had thought itself invincible throughout the Bull Clan, only to be defeated in a single round.

It took them a full hour to recover completely. Fear lingered in Chen Xun's eyes. If they had encountered any wild beasts just then, they would have been in real danger.

"Old Bull, don't use this Essence of All Things so casually. At the very least, we need to use it separately."

Chen Xun checked his body and found no feeling of depletion, but he was a doctor. "Tomorrow, I'll brew some medicinal soup to nourish us. We can't be careless."

"Moo, moo~" Black Bull nodded happily. Learning medicine really was useful.

"What's it even good for? It looks like a green gemstone."

Chen Xun frowned at the drop of Green Liquid in his palm. It was indeed peculiar. Unlike a water droplet, it did not vanish after a while.

He picked up the Mountain-Splitting Axe and placed the Green Liquid onto it. Nothing happened.

He placed it onto the pots, bowls, and utensils. Still nothing happened...

He even picked up a stone and placed the Green Liquid on it. Still nothing happened...

Finally, with no other choice, he put it on the Bandit Headscarf. There was still no reaction...

"Moo~!!"

Black Bull cried out in alarm. Chen Xun startled and looked toward it. He immediately dropped to the ground and examined that wild grass, studying its veins and patterns.

"Damn."

Chen Xun said in shock. Looking at Black Bull, he placed the Green Liquid in his hand onto the grass as well. It instantly merged into the wild grass, which clearly began to change.

"Mooh?"

"Old Bull, this is a world-shaking discovery! This Green Liquid can actually speed up growth."

Chen Xun clicked his tongue in amazement, spitting out a mouthful of dirt as he spoke. "But we still need to observe it a little longer. If that's really what it does, we're taking off."

"Moo, moo, moo!"

Black Bull grinned and carefully protected that wild grass.

Chen Xun spread out his palm. Since he had already begun, he might as well see it through. His face twisted as he roared, "I am a pharmacist! So what if you drain me dry!"

Black Bull: "..."

Silence, as deathly still as a graveyard. Only the pattering rain outside the cave could be heard.

Chen Xun froze awkwardly. There was no reaction whatsoever from his palm; he could no longer condense Green Liquid. He gave a light cough. "Old Bull, you try."

"Moo." Black Bull spread out its hoof, looking as though its whole body was straining. There was no reaction from it either.

"It's fine... We'll test it slowly. We have plenty of time."

"Moo, moo~"

Time was an inn, ever driving people onward. Another year passed in a hurry, and terrifying tales of a wild man gradually spread throughout the outskirts of the Ningyun Mountain Range.

This wild man often appeared deep within the ancient forests, with a wild bull beneath him. They specialized in eating human bones, and the dry bones of many commoners had been collected by them.

At night, eerie suona music drifted through the forests, accompanied by strange bell chimes, like soul-snatching envoys. If one encountered this wild man, then if they could not kill him, they might as well find a pit and bury themselves.

Countless commoners broke into cold sweat upon hearing this. They already dared not enter the depths of the Ningyun Mountain Range—now there was a wild man in the outskirts too? Were they supposed to let people live or not?

Nowadays, the commoners who entered the mountains traveled in groups, carrying weapons and guarding against surprise attacks by the wild man. If they killed him, they could even claim a reward from the authorities. Quite a few bounty hunters silently joined their ranks.

At the foot of a mountain peak, Chen Xun led Black Bull around collecting human bones.

"Old Bull, even if we don't know them, our line of work has its rules, doesn't it?"

Chen Xun picked up another human bone from a clump of grass. "Let's build them a mound. It counts as accumulating Merit. In times like these, who has it easy?"

"Moo, moo~!"

Black Bull kept nodding. They had accumulated quite a bit of Merit by now. Just as Elder Sun had said, the heavens would bless them.

"Look, you stomped on it. There went another ten years of Merit."

"Moo, moo, moo!!!"

Black Bull abruptly raised its hoof and cried out. It had accidentally stepped on a bone, and it looked pleadingly at Chen Xun.

"How about this? Today, I'll eat meat, and you drink soup. Buddha will forgive you."

"Moo! Moo~"

Black Bull struggled inwardly, but for the sake of Merit, it still nodded. Missing one meal would not starve it to death.

They found a nearby dirt pit, buried the dry bones, and began performing rites.

Black Bull worked with all its might, ringing the bells with loud clatters. It had accidentally stepped on this person's remains just now and wanted to make up for it.

Over the past year, they had finally figured out the use of the Essence of All Things. However, they could only condense one drop a day. When its points were at 1, it could accelerate a plant's growth by one month.

They had now raised the Essence of All Things to 2. Just as Chen Xun had expected, one drop could accelerate growth by two months.

This made them overjoyed. It meant they could cultivate many precious medicinal herbs.

The Qi Refining Art had finally borne fruit as well. They had both cultivated it to the second layer, their five senses clear and sharp. This stretch of Tiandi had become much clearer in their eyes.

So-called magical power had gradually appeared within Chen Xun's body as well, but it was completely useless. No skills...

"All right, let's go, Old Bull."

Chen Xun smiled. They were not afraid of doing this at all; instead, they felt perfectly at peace. It had become their daily after-meal stroll.

"Moo, moo~" Black Bull rubbed against Chen Xun, hoping to rub some of his Merit onto itself.

"Hahaha..." Chen Xun hugged Black Bull's head as they walked side by side toward their cave.

As they passed through a stretch of forest, Chen Xun's and Black Bull's ears twitched at the same time. They instantly split apart and dodged to the side.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three sharp arrows shot toward them, sinking halfway into the earth. Their power was immense—if they had not dodged, their bodies would have been pierced through.