Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

The courtyard fell silent.

The herb leaves were still falling, landing on Lin Ye's shoulders and head, but he didn't bother to pat them off.

His chest heaved, his fist was still frozen in mid-air, and half of his arm was sore from tension.

The Crescent Moon Blade had stopped.

The back of the knife was pressed against his neck, without cutting the skin, but the chill seeped into his flesh.

Lin Ye's Adam's apple bobbed.

He first looked at the knife, then at his own fist that he hadn't yet retracted, and finally at Ning Che's right arm hanging by his side.

That arm was never raised from beginning to end.

After a long pause, he finally managed to utter a sentence.

"...I have fully activated all eight channels of blood energy."

His voice was a little hoarse.

"You dismantled it with just three cuts?"

He paused, and his face twitched.

"The key issue is that you're missing an arm."

Ning Che sheathed his sword, wiped the blade with a cloth, and did so slowly and deliberately.

"Um."

Just this one word.

Lin Ye was immediately stuck.

The courtyard fell silent for a moment.

The herb leaves fell into the medicine basket with a soft thud.

Lin Ye finally couldn't hold back his composure any longer.

At first, I was stunned.

Even if you hold it in.

Finally, the fire suddenly shot up.

"Ning Che!"

He abruptly pulled back his fist, took half a step back, and shook his numb wrist, completely exploding with rage.

"You were just fooling me when you practiced with me, weren't you?"

Ning Che folded the cloth neatly and remained silent.

Lin Ye got even more excited, pointing at the Crescent Moon Blade at his waist and raising his voice.

"Eight streams of blood energy! I even used my trump card! And you only managed three moves? Three moves!"

He became increasingly frustrated as he spoke, and kicked away a clump of herbs at his feet.

"So all those times I beat you before were because you were giving me face?"

Ning Che then raised his chin.

"You're overthinking it. I just practice faster."

Lin Ye froze, and in the next instant, he almost jumped up.

"Listen to this! Is this something a human being would say?"

Ning Che didn't respond. Soon, Lin Ye changed the subject and asked, "How did you do that? How did you take your first step?"

I dodged by shifting half an inch to the side. How did you calculate that distance? And those three strikes, how did you know where the weaknesses in my moves were? Did you see them or calculate them?"

He gestured as he spoke.

Ning Che glanced at him: "When a person raises their hand, their shoulder moves."

"what?"

Lin Ye opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He recalled the process of throwing the punch, and it seemed that such a movement really did occur.

"...How did you know?"

Ning Che did not answer, but hung the Crescent Moon Blade back on his waist and turned to walk towards the medicine warehouse.

Lin Ye took two steps after him, then shouted, "Don't get me wrong! I'm not admitting defeat! I just—I'm going to beat you next time we compete!"

Ning Che didn't even turn his head.

"I'll make you call me 'Captain' sooner or later!"

Ning Che leaped onto the roof in two steps and began practicing the Moon Rabbit Breathing Technique. The cool energy within his body flowed from his chest and abdomen into his left arm, then around his shoulder. However, it dissipated on its own when it touched his withered right arm.

He knew all along that this was not an injury he could heal on his own, but he always wanted to try.

He wasn't too disappointed at this point. He activated the Calamity Bright Frost Flower Technique and sat on the rooftop until late at night.

The moonlight fell on the tiles and also on his withered right arm.

Before dawn, Zhao He came out of the medicine warehouse carrying a book, his hands still covered in dust: "Brother Xing, Old Qian said your right arm can't be left unattended any longer. We need to find a vital elixir to keep it in place, otherwise even if there's a way later, it will be difficult to reattach it."

"What kinds of medicines are available?" Ning Che asked, revealing his lack of knowledge.

Zhao He, also troubled by a lack of knowledge, shared Ning Che's plight and was therefore particularly adept at putting himself in Ning Che's shoes. He was already prepared and handed him the book.

Ning Che jumped down, took the book, and flipped through it; it turned out to be a picture book.

Although it is only a black and white illustration, it is still the only one of its kind in the world to date.

The first page contains information about a medicinal herb called "Emperor's Flowing Essence".

Imperial nectar!

Ning Che's expression shifted, and he began to read the introduction carefully.

"The so-called Imperial Dew is the condensation of the essence of the Taiyin (Great Yin). It is a spiritual material for opening the path and a sacred medicine for replenishing the body."

Ning Che looked westward and suddenly said, "I'll go find the medicine."

Zhao He asked, puzzled, "You knew exactly where to look right away?"

"Going back to my hometown, there are some things."

Zhao He immediately said, "I'll go too."

"Need not."

"You've lost an arm, and things aren't peaceful outside..."

"Then I am also an eighth-rank cultivator with superb swordsmanship."

Ning Che convinced Zhao He with a single sentence. He went inside to retrieve the Crescent Moon Blade and his wallet, then prepared to set off.

Before leaving, Mr. Qian sat by the doorstep, draped in his coat, coughed lightly twice while covering his mouth, and then asked, "Any leads?"

"It just so happens, there was a bit of luck involved," Ning Che replied.

As he listened to his own words, he suddenly realized something and frowned.

Another coincidence.

It was as if some enormous shadow was looming over him, but he couldn't even see it.

Old Qian tossed a small porcelain bottle to Ning Che.

"then."

Ning Che caught it with his left hand.

Old Qian said, "This is for testing medicine. Just put in a tiny amount, about the size of a millet grain, and there will be a reaction. If the liquid turns blue, it indicates vitality; if it turns black, it indicates poison. Life and death are inseparable. Since you don't understand pharmacology, you need to use this to distinguish clearly."

Ning Che carefully put away the porcelain bottle: "Thank you."

He did not take a car.

From Feihu City to Shizhu Village, the official road is more stable for vehicles, while the mountain path is faster for pedestrians.

He used the "Cicada-Chasing Step" to traverse the mountains and forests. His missing arm affected his balance, but only to a limited extent. He walked steadily, and half a day later, the outline of Shizhu Village came into view.

The village was quieter than I remembered.

Although the drought has passed, the land has not yet recovered. Smoke rises from the houses, but not much. The shadow of the old locust tree at the village entrance falls obliquely beside the well, but no one is there.

Ning Che went home first.

The door lock is still there.

He pushed the door open and went in.

There was ash in the room.

The table, chairs, bed, and stove are all in their original places. The cloth on the windowsill is also there.

But the white clay on the cloth has cracked.

really.

Ning Che approached and subconsciously held his breath.

A white bud emerged from the bluish-purple seed coat, only half a finger tall, its leaves not yet unfolded, its whole body gleaming with a soft light.

A drop of dew clung to the tip of the tender bud.

The drop of dew was small, yet it did not fall. The moonlight had not yet risen, and the room was dark, but it glowed on its own. In the light, there were faint, extremely fine lines flowing, as if some living thing was moving within them.

Ning Che took out the porcelain bottle given to him by Elder Qian and poured out a drop of medicine.

The medicine fell into the small dish.

He used a wooden needle to pick up a little dew and put it into the water.

The liquid first solidified, and then turned white.

It's pure white.

Immediately afterwards, a wisp of silver thread rose from the dish and circled his right arm.

Ning Che suddenly felt a heat in his right shoulder.

The withered arm twitched.

He didn't do it.

It was the dead arm that twitched on its own.

Ning Che's eyes darkened.

The Emperor's Dew.

Shi Xiujuan's insane words were exactly the same.

The moon rabbit has run away, the seeds are about to sprout, water them with the moonlight, and the emperor's nectar flows.

He did not swallow it immediately.

He first took half a step back, closed the window, and then bolted the door shut.

Then he sat down at the table, used the Crescent Moon Blade to cut open the tip of his left finger, squeezed out a little blood, and dripped it next to the dew.

As soon as the blood droplet approached, the dewdrop trembled slightly.

The tender bud bent down.

Like smelling.

The next moment, a drop of dew fell into the blood.

Ning Che's vision went black.

It's not a coma.

Instead, it felt like falling into the moon, just like before.

He saw a stretch of white sand.

I saw the broken mountain.

I saw ruined palaces.

It opened its eyes upon seeing the six-eared white rabbit relief on the wall.

The rabbit crouched under the moon, all six of its ears perked up, as if listening to some kind of sound in the world.