I became a god by treasure hunting after arriving 500 years early

Time passed day by day.

Three months later, Sky City finally escaped the dangerous volcanic gas zone, but to be safe, the city flew for another month and finally settled down over a lake.

Indeed, humans had returned to the continent, and this journey was truly fraught with twist and turns, meandering without a fixed endpoint in sight.

The losses this time were truly severe: 300,000 livestock died non-natural deaths, and even hundreds of the old, weak, ill, and disabled were poisoned alive. Upon hearing this news, Lu Yuan was nearly overwhelmed—he did carry some responsibility, after all.

People had never expected the volcanic eruption to be on such a massive scale, thinking they were safe hundreds of kilometers away.

The volcanic ash in the sky blocked out the sun, likely affecting a vast area.

The decrease in sunlight and a significant drop in temperature could lead to many years of poor crop yields.

That winter, a major cold disaster occurred, with temperatures dropping to minus fifty degrees Celsius, posing a great difficulty to human production.

Future generations would call these years the Ice Steam Era.

The goose-feather heavy snow, mixed with volcanic ash, turned the whole city white, with Green Mountain, cloaked in silver, appearing exceptionally cold.

"The volcanic ash in the sky might float for several years. The winters will all be like what we have now."

Old Cat came to the Tree of Life and reported the current situation: "The main job now is constructing insulation projects; the weather is really too cold, and the kids in the school can hardly bear it."

"We need to install underfloor heating in the classrooms or create some temperature control engravings."

"Economic development has stopped too; we've now shifted to a state of all-out survival."

"Indeed, it had to be this way." Lu Yuan, transformed into the Tree of Life, looked at the gray sky. "This time, we've really stirred up big trouble. The world really is fragile."

Old Cat glanced at the tree: "Members of the upper council are suggesting we bring you back sooner to avoid you dying out here."

"Most of the volcanoes have probably stopped by now, only a few are still spewing magma, but the risk should be manageable."

Apart from a few confidants, Lu Yuan hadn't told anyone else that he had returned to the city.

Because his resurrection ability was too powerful, powerful enough to be unevenly distributed—who doesn't want to be resurrected?

To avoid unnecessary trouble, it was better to keep this news hidden.

Of course, even without Lu Yuan, Sky City was still running as normal, as long as he occasionally let out the information that "he was still alive," there would be no big problem.

"Wait a few more years, just say I've found some good treasures, no need to worry. Wait until humans' bodies have regrown, and then you can come to fetch me."

Old Cat asked, "How's your stone body doing?"

"Not much progress, my little treasure."

In three months' time, the energy from those "Earth Vein Crystal Stones" had been exhausted, and the Tree of Life's energy had replaced the original heat from the magma.

A large part of the Chaos Essence Stone was still red, bursting with the heat of the sun, and a small part had turned emerald green.

A small vine, just like a watermelon vine, connected and kept injecting continuous energy.

But Lu Yuan still didn't know when he could turn it into a "Life Fruit."

The Chaos Essence Stone was like a bottomless pit, capable of devouring no matter how much was injected.

"Keep nurturing it for now; even if it fails, it can still be converted into a significant amount of materials."
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"Do you have enough Spirit Essence in your hand?"

"The Tree of Life's output really isn't enough, but the Yingyu conch will send me part of the Opium poppy's output, three to four hundred Spirit Essences a year, which is barely passable."

"That means, in the short term, it's impossible to support humans."

Old Cat sighed, with an investment of three to four hundred a year, only someone like Lu Yuan, who had a hefty private stash, could afford it.

"Humans need to survive this disaster first..."

Old Cat hopped a few times in the snow, leaving a trail of plum-blossom-like footprints.

The heavy snow in the sky built up thicker and thicker, with workers busily toiling away, as such severe cold was unprecedented. Many structures had to be quickly repaired if they froze and broke down, and some insulation devices were also urgently being produced.

This harsh weather might be the norm for the Mid-Era, a normal Sky City must possess the ability to withstand severe natural disasters; otherwise, a storm or heavy snow would kill people, and how could one even consider traveling the continent?

From this perspective, humans still had many gaps to fill.

Yet, children were always the most optimistic, dressing like little fat dumplings in the severe cold, building snowmen in the snow, and even starting to play with ice sculptures.

"Optimism is always better than pessimism. This disaster, too, shall pass."

Lu Yuan couldn't actually help much.

His only job was to take care of the birds on the tree.

The native creatures of the Pangu Continent were always better adapted than humans; those that should hibernate did so, those that should flee did so.

Since the city reached the edge of the lake, some birds had flown away, but over a hundred thousand chose to stay in Green Mountain.

Humans naturally wouldn't miss the fortune from heaven; they fed them regularly every day, and with just a small amount of mixed grains, they could harvest a substantial number of mutant bird eggs. In the current环境, this was considered a significant income.