Fish Enters the Sea, Dragon Ascends to Heaven

Suddenly, a "dada-da" sound of footsteps came from the darkness ahead, rhythmic and carrying a special charm, like a soul-stirring divine melody entering everyone's ears and seeping into the hearts of the apprentices.

They felt a chill crawl up their spines, their pupils instantly dilated, and they stared fearfully at the figure emerging from the darkness.

The newcomer was covered in red and white liquid, half his face stained with blood, his eyes indifferent. Under the boundless night sky, he looked exactly like a ferocious ghost from hell, chilling to the bone.

Using the dim moonlight, they recognized him: Yang Heng!

"Yang... Yang... Heng, are you... human... or... ghost?"

Their lips turned pale with fright, and they asked tremblingly.

"Hehehehe, do you think I'm human or ghost?"

Yang Heng flicked the blood from his face with a sinister, savage grin.

The makeup on his face was intentional, designed to scare everyone, make them timid, and strip them of their fighting spirit.

This way, he could easily deal with them without expending much effort.

After all, they had knives, they outnumbered him, and he wasn't invincible. A single careless injury would be troublesome.

If there was an easy way to win, why not use it?

As expected, the apprentices were terrified by Yang Heng's ghastly appearance. Their will to fight vanished, they immediately dropped their woodcutting knives, their faces contorted in fear, and they scrambled down the mountain in a panic.

But the mountain path was narrow, and it was pitch dark. They pushed and shoved each other, falling down the slope like dumplings being tossed into a pot.

Instantly, the scene descended into chaos.

Yang Heng wasted no more words. He picked up a woodcutting knife from the ground and leisurely weaved through the crowd.

Cold light flashed eight times.

Squelch!

Squelch!

In a moment, a red line appeared on everyone's necks. Blood spurted out like a spring, with great force, shooting very far.

Suddenly, a light red rain began to fall from the sky, pattering onto the ground, dyeing it a deep red, like a scene from a slaughterhouse.

Bloody!

Terrifying!

Chilling!

Just then, a gentle breeze blew, and the scent of blood wafted like a thin veil into the depths of the forest.

After a while, countless pairs of green "copper bells" appeared in the dark, silent woods, accompanied by howls and rumbling roars, surging towards them.

Yang Heng smiled upon seeing this.

This saved him some trouble. He wouldn't have to go to the beast dens deep in the mountains to catch them one by one. Beasts had keen senses; they would come on their own, drawn by the smell.

Wolves!

More than a dozen wolves attacked like a tide, their momentum immense. Dust billowed along their path, and countless dry branches and fallen leaves were crushed into pieces.

As soon as they caught the scent of blood, their eyes instantly turned from green to red, revealing a bloodthirsty gleam.

Soon, the wolf pack arrived by the bodies. Without slowing down, their bodies leaped into the air, their fangs glinting coldly, and they viciously pounced on the corpses on the ground.

Meanwhile, Yang Heng had already used his movement technique, leaping up and landing on a tree trunk, thirty feet above the ground, quietly watching the wolves' feast.

Time passed, and by now, not a single intact body could be seen on the ground. There were only pieces of flesh, blood-stained bones, blood-splattered fur, and tattered clothes covered in blood.

Yang Heng stood on the tree, watching the gruesome scene unfold with a blank expression, his heart unmoved.

This was all their own doing.

If they hadn't ambushed him, this wouldn't have happened.

Once a person makes a mistake, they inevitably have to pay the price for it; this is the law of the world.

Of course, the price could be very heavy, sometimes even costing one's life.

However, this is reality. Once you take a wrong step, you might face a situation of eternal damnation.

After transmigrating to this world, Yang Heng had set a principle for himself.

If others do not offend me, I will not offend them.

If others offend me, I will surely kill them!

No matter their intentions, as long as they made a move against him, Yang Heng would unhesitatingly chop off their heads.

A quarter of an hour later, the wolf pack left, their bellies full. Their speed was no longer as agile as before. Their round bellies protruded, and blood dripped from the corners of their mouths like leaky faucets, leaving a trail of blood into the forest as they disappeared into the darkness.

At this moment, the ground was a mess. Not a single shred of meat could be seen, only a patch of dark red earth, a crushed medicine basket, and tattered blood-soaked rags torn into pieces, testifying to the fierce bloodshed that had occurred here.

No one could tell how many people had died here, nor whether Yang Heng was alive or dead.

Seeing that his objective was achieved, Yang Heng scanned his surroundings. Finding no omissions, he spread his hands, leaped down from the tree, and landed on the ground like a flying swallow. With another leap, he lightly touched the tips of the grass like a dragonfly skimming water, using the momentum to head into the depths of the mountains.

With a few bounds, Yang Heng's figure completely vanished into the night.

Soon, Yang Heng arrived at the place where he hid his herbs. He loaded all the medicinal materials into his medicine basket, slung it over his back, took a shortcut down the mountain, found a river to wash himself, and then rushed towards Qingyang Town without stopping.

The heavens are high and birds are free to fly, the sea is vast and fish can leap at will.

Yang Heng's departure was like a dragon ascending to the heavens, a fish entering the vast ocean, shedding the shackles on his body and returning to nature.

Yang Heng ran along the great road leading to Qingyang Town, letting out a long cry to the sky, expressing the joy in his heart.

He ran faster and faster, his feet kicking up smoke, his body seeming to merge with the wind, feeling no weight at all. He leaped three zhang, then four zhang, until... five zhang!

Unknowingly, Yang Heng's movement technique had already broken through to Minor Accomplishment!

The ability to cross over five zhang in an instant was the description of the Minor Accomplishment realm recorded in the secret manual.

With the Minor Accomplishment of the movement technique, one would occasionally fail to perceive the weight of items on their body, feeling as light as a swallow, moving with the wind, roaming between heaven and earth, possessing a sense of unrestrained freedom.

And upon reaching the Major Accomplishment realm of the movement technique, one would not feel even the slightest weight even when carrying a hundred jin of heavy objects, with no impact on their speed whatsoever.

Yang Heng continued to sprint on the great road like a thousand-mile steed, tireless, traveling day and night.

In the blink of an eye, the sky gradually brightened. After a night of running, Yang Heng finally arrived at Qingyang Town.

However, he did not enter the town, but turned towards his usual training grounds.

One night passed, and nine apprentices had not returned, yet the Apothecary Shop masters did not seem to care at all.

This situation had often occurred in previous years when they went up the mountain to gather herbs.

As the deadline for the task approached, some apprentices, fearing they would not complete it and be whipped, would find a resting spot in the mountains to recuperate. They would then continue gathering herbs the next morning, saving the time spent on traveling back and forth.

This allowed them to spend more time searching for medicinal herbs.

However, Yang Heng's absence this time was beyond the expectations of the Apothecary Shop masters.

Yang Heng was the apprentice with the best performance among those gathering herbs on the mountain for the first time, and completing the task should not have been a problem. They wondered why he had not returned to the camp.

The masters couldn't figure it out and were unsure what had happened.

Not long after the apprentices went up the mountain, a scream suddenly echoed from the mountain, shattering the peace of the camp.

"This is bad, this is bad! There's blood everywhere on the mountain, a river of blood!"

An apprentice ran down the mountain in a panic, shouting loudly as he returned to the camp, his voice so loud it instantly spread throughout the entire camp.