That One Step Cost You Another Ten Years of Merit

Over the next year, they continued gathering herbs in the mountains, learning to distinguish medicinal plants, studying medical skills every day, and cultivating the Qi Refining Art. Their days were so full that Chen Xun kept sighing that being alive was truly wonderful.

He had once imagined what immortality would be like—sitting by and watching the human world churn with wind and clouds, history rise and fall, countless gravestones behind him, leaving only that solitary figure in the world.

But now, Chen Xun would say, to hell with that brooding nonsense. The joys of an immortal wild man were beyond the understanding of you mortals.

Inside a Mountain Cave, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox had moved again. Torrential rain had poured through the mountain range for days, washing away several of their earthen dens. Fortunately, Big Black Ox had fiercely protected their pots, bowls, and other belongings, so things had gone fairly smoothly.

"Old Ox, hahaha."

Chen Xun was drenched from head to toe, laughing heartily without caring in the slightest that their home was gone. He gave Big Black Ox a hard thump. "That's my ox. I knew you had it in you from the time you were little."

"Moo moo moo!"

Big Black Ox happily bounced a few times. Chen Xun had been clearing the cave entrance at the time, and Big Black Ox had saved all their family fortune by itself.

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

Chen Xun grinned and began building a fire. Looking at the pounding rain outside the cave, he felt completely at ease. The sound of rain truly was pleasant.

"Moo!"

Big Black Ox answered and started helping nearby. Every now and then, it ran outside to get drenched, then shook 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 ox until it looked like a drowned rat.

One man and one ox leaned against the fire to warm themselves. Chen Xun added a Longevity Point to Essence of All Things. In an instant, his expression changed drastically, and a burst of green light rose from his body.

"Moo moo moo!!"

Terror filled Big Black Ox's eyes. It sprang to its feet, crying out anxiously as it circled Chen Xun without stopping.

"Old Ox, I'm fine."

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

"Moo..." Big Black Ox called softly, scared out of its wits. If anything happened to Chen Xun, it would not want to live either.

"Let me try."

Chen Xun's expression turned solemn. He spread open his palm as green light flickered across his body, bright one moment and dim the next. Gradually, a drop of green liquid condensed in his palm, radiant and crystalline like a gemstone.

His entire body went limp, cold sweat bursting out all over him as if he had run an eight-hundred-meter race. He exclaimed, "This thing isn't draining my essence, is it...?"

"Moo?"

"Old Ox, you try it."

"Moo."

Before long, a drop of green liquid condensed on the ox's hoof as well. Man and ox collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

Big Black Ox finally understood what Chen Xun meant. It seemed to see several Little She-Oxes giggling coyly.

"What a trap."

Chen Xun trembled. He, a man with eight-pack abs, praised by the neighbors as the man with the greatest endurance at the forge, was already about to give out.

"Moo..."

Big Black Ox's eyes went vacant, utterly devoid of the will to live. It had thought itself Invincible Under Heaven among the Ox Clan, yet it had been defeated in just one round.

Only after an hour did they fully recover. Fear flashed through Chen Xun's eyes. If they had encountered some wild beast just now, they would have been in real danger.

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

Chen Xun checked his body and did not feel any sense of depletion, but he was a doctor. "Tomorrow, I'll brew some medicinal soup to nourish us. We can't be careless."

"Moo moo~" Big Black Ox nodded happily. Learning medical skills really was useful.

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

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

He picked up the Mountain-Splitting Axe and placed the green liquid on it. There was no reaction.

He put it on the pots, bowls, and utensils. No reaction...

He took out a stone and placed the green liquid on it. No reaction...

Finally, with no other choice, he put it on the Bandit Mask. Still no reaction...

"Moo~!!"

Big Black Ox cried out in alarm. Chen Xun jumped, turning toward it. He immediately dropped to the ground and stared at that wild grass, examining its veins.

"Holy shit."

Chen Xun said in shock. Looking toward Big Black Ox, he placed the green liquid in his hand onto the grass as well. It instantly fused with the wild grass, which visibly changed.

"Moo?"

"Old Ox, 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 the case, we're going to take off."

"Moo moo moo!"

Big Black Ox grinned, carefully protecting that wild grass.

Chen Xun spread open his palm. In for a penny, in for a pound, his features twisted as he shouted, "I am a medicine master! So what if you drain me dry?!"

Big Black Ox: "..."

Silence, silence as dead as the grave. Only the pattering downpour outside the Mountain Cave could be heard.

Chen Xun froze awkwardly. There was no reaction from his palm, and he could no longer condense green liquid. He gave a Light Cough. "Old Ox, you try."

"Moo." Big Black Ox spread open its hoof, looking as though its entire body was straining. There was no reaction either.

"It's fine... We'll test it slowly. We have no shortage of time."

"Moo moo~"

Time was like an inn against the journey, ever pushing people onward. Another year hurried past, and a terrifying legend of a wild man gradually spread through the outskirts of the Ningyun Mountain Range.

This wild man often appeared in the deep forests of the mountains, with a wild ox beneath him. They ate human bones, and many commoners' remains had been gathered away by them.

At night, eerie suona music drifted through the forest, accompanied by strange bell chimes, like soul-snaring messengers. If you encountered this wild man and could not kill him, then find a pit and bury yourself.

Countless commoners broke into cold sweats upon hearing this. They already did not dare enter the depths of the Ningyun Mountain Range, and now a wild man had appeared even in the outskirts. Were they supposed to just stop living?

Nowadays, the commoners entering the mountains traveled in groups, weapons in hand as they guarded against a wild man's ambush from every direction. If they killed him, they could even claim a reward from the authorities, and quite a few bounty hunters quietly joined them.

At the foot of a mountain peak, Chen Xun led Big Black Ox as they gathered human bones.

"Old Ox, even though we didn't know them, our line of work has rules too, doesn't it?"

Chen Xun picked up another human bone from a patch of grass. "Let's raise a grave for them. It counts as accumulating merit. In times like these, who has it easy?"

"Moo moo~!"

Big Black Ox nodded repeatedly. They had accumulated quite a bit of merit by now. Just as Sun Lao had said, heaven would bless them.

"Look, with that one step, you've lost another ten years of merit."

"Moo moo moo!!!"

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

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

"Moo! Moo~"

Big Black Ox 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 scattered bones, and began performing funeral rites.

Big Black Ox worked with all its strength, bells clanging loudly. 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 Essence of All Things. However, they could only condense one drop per 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, a single drop could accelerate growth by two months.

This delighted them beyond measure. It meant they could cultivate many precious medicinal herbs.

The Qi Refining Art had finally borne fruit as well. They had both reached the second level, their Five Senses clear and sharp, and this world had become much clearer in their eyes.

So-called spiritual power had gradually appeared within Chen Xun's body too, but it was completely useless. He had no skills...

"Alright, Let's Go, Old Ox."

Chen Xun smiled. They were not afraid of doing this at all. Instead, it gave them immense peace of mind. It had become their daily after-meal stroll.

"Moo moo~" Big Black Ox rubbed against Chen Xun, wanting to rub a little of his merit onto itself.

"Hahaha..." Chen Xun held Big Black Ox's head as they walked side by side toward their Mountain Cave.

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

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three sharp arrows shot toward them, sinking halfway into the ground. Their power was tremendous—had they failed to dodge, their bodies would have been pierced through.