Chapter 823: Connate Great Dao (1/2)

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.