This was a result Yang Heng had never expected. Only twenty short days had passed since the Marrow Cleansing Pearl's energy had last been depleted, yet it was about to fill up again. It was simply unbelievable.
The first time the Marrow Cleansing Pearl had filled with energy, it had taken nearly two months. The second accumulation had been five times more difficult than before, yet it had filled even faster instead.
This... was truly beyond words.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Heng understood the reason.
One word: money!
Before, as a pharmacy apprentice, he had eaten coarse rice and steamed buns every day. He could go half a month without tasting meat, receiving no nutrition at all—barely enough to fill his stomach. Naturally, the Marrow Cleansing Pearl had been unable to accumulate much energy.
But ever since he had achieved success in martial arts, "borrowed" several hundred taels of silver from the landlords, and begun eating and drinking well every day, with meat at every meal, the Marrow Cleansing Pearl's energy accumulation speed had naturally soared.
With ample funds and nourishing meals at every turn, not only had his cultivation improved at a breathtaking pace, but the Marrow Cleansing Pearl's energy accumulation progress and speed had also advanced by leaps and bounds, changing with each passing day.
In another two days, the Marrow Cleansing Pearl would be full once more.
However, Yang Heng had no intention of immediately undergoing Marrow Cleansing and Bone Scouring to improve his cultivation talent.
He could control when the Marrow Cleansing Pearl released its mysterious energy to alter his body. It could be done whenever he wished.
Yang Heng decided to release that mysterious energy when he broke through to the Blood Strengthening Realm, using it to help him cross that threshold.
Breaking through to the Blood Strengthening Realm carried a certain degree of risk. Failure could leave one's qi and blood depleted, requiring a period of rest before one's qi and blood fully recovered and one could launch another attempt at the Blood Strengthening Realm.
Generally speaking, the first attempt had the highest chance of success, but no one could guarantee with absolute certainty that they would break through to the Blood Strengthening Realm.
If the first breakthrough failed, the chances of succeeding afterward would only grow lower and lower.
Unless one had pills such as a Breaking Mirror Pill to assist them, the hope of breaking through would be exceedingly slim.
Naturally, Yang Heng wanted to charge straight into the Blood Strengthening Realm in one burst. He had tremendous confidence in himself—he was strong and sturdy, young, possessed cultivation talent above that of ordinary martial artists, practiced an Intermediate Martial Art, and had already cultivated it to Minor Accomplishment.
With all those buffs stacked upon him, Yang Heng had a ninety percent chance of breaking through in one go and becoming a Blood Strengthening Realm martial artist.
But with the Marrow Cleansing Pearl's mysterious energy assisting him, he had a hundred percent certainty!
Whether he underwent Marrow Cleansing and Bone Scouring a few days earlier or later made little difference to Yang Heng. There was no need to rush.
Good steel ought to be used on the blade's edge.
Having thought it through, Yang Heng lifted the large stone and resumed training the Levitation Technique.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, night fell.
Seeing that it was getting late, Yang Heng set down the large stone and returned to Qingyang Town.
When Yang Heng was still three hundred meters from Qingyang Town's gate, the sound of cart wheels suddenly drifted over from afar, reaching his ears and drawing his attention.
Yang Heng turned his head and looked toward the source of the sound.
On the main road roughly two hundred meters away, dust billowed as a convoy slowly approached. Thirty-four people traveled with it, and a flag bearing the four words "Hundred Herbs Pharmacy" was planted on one of the ox carts.
Yang Heng possessed exceptional eyesight and could roughly make out objects two hundred meters away.
At a glance, he recognized the convoy as the returning herb-gathering party. Aside from the eight people he had killed, Zhao Er, who had died from Silver Ring Snake venom, and an apprentice who had been expelled from the party by the pharmacy due to severe injuries, everyone else had returned safely.
As for whether they had completed their task, Yang Heng had no way of knowing.
Even if they had not completed it, they would only be whipped and sent back to carry out the task again upon returning to the pharmacy. At present, each of them was lively and vigorous, without the slightest sign of injury.
When they drew nearer, Yang Heng noticed that seven or eight new apprentices wore worried expressions and tightly furrowed brows. They had likely failed to complete their task and were afraid of being whipped.
Yang Heng could not care less about their feelings. Since the pharmacy's people had returned safely, judging by the pharmacy's process for handling medicinal ingredients, processing this freshly gathered batch would take at least half a month to a month.
From this, it could be inferred that the pharmacy would not transport the medicinal ingredients to Qinghe City until at least half a month later.
During this period, he did not need to spend too much time on the pharmacy. Focusing on cultivation and raising his strength was the proper path.
Perhaps by the day the pharmacy transported the medicinal ingredients, he would already have broken through to the Blood Strengthening Realm. Then, he might be able to get a share of the spoils.
When Black Wind Stronghold robbed the medicinal ingredients, he could also take the opportunity to pick up some extra gains.
After all, every batch of medicinal ingredients Hundred Herbs Pharmacy sent to Qinghe City consisted of potent tonics, immensely useful for martial artists' cultivation.
The alchemists of the Medicine King Gang refined these ingredients into pills, selling some outside and rewarding the rest to disciples within the gang.
Even if he obtained only a small portion of this batch of ingredients, the wealth he gained from selling them would be enough to support his Blood Strengthening Realm cultivation for some time, leaving him free from worries over cultivation resources.
Of the four hundred and fifty taels of silver he had "borrowed," Yang Heng had already spent one hundred taels by today.
By the time he broke through to the Blood Strengthening Realm, there would likely be very little left.
His daily silver expenditures flowed away like water, but for the sake of Martial Arts Cultivation and improving his strength, Yang Heng could not cut back.
Since he could not reduce spending, he could only increase income.
He had also considered returning to his old trade and going to a few landlords' homes to "borrow" some silver again.
Who would have thought that after he had visited several landlords' homes last time, news of a formidable man coming to rob them of their money would instantly spread throughout Qingyang Town.
Anyone with even modest assets gradually packed up their valuables and fled, or else spent money to hire martial artists to guard their homes and courtyards.
In just a few days, ninety percent of Qingyang Town's wealthy residents had fled. Of those remaining, some had hired guards, some had martial artists in their households, while others had deep ties to martial artists and were unafraid of powerful men coming to rob them.
Seeing this situation, Yang Heng had no place to begin for the moment.
His plan to "borrow" money from landlords had died before it could be born. If he wanted money, he could only think of another method.
Fortunately, he still had ample funds for now. He did not need to worry that a lack of money would prevent him from purchasing cultivation resources and delay his cultivation progress.
Yang Heng believed that as long as he was powerful enough, money would sooner or later come knocking at his door on its own.
The deeper his cultivation and the greater his strength, the more avenues he would have for making money.
For now, there was no need to worry like the man of Qi fearing the sky would fall over matters that had yet to happen.
Besides, a major deal was waiting for him to act upon soon.
Right now, the most important thing was to improve his cultivation and break through to the Blood Strengthening Realm.
He could not miss this major opportunity involving the pharmacy's medicinal ingredient shipment.
As the saying went, when people met, they split it in half. He would not take too much—one-third would do, as payment for the past half year he had worked himself like an ox and horse for the pharmacy.
Watching the pharmacy convoy enter Qingyang Town and gradually disappear into the distance,
Yang Heng also entered the town. He went to a restaurant and enjoyed a fine meal before returning to his residence.
After washing up briefly, Yang Heng sat cross-legged on his bed as usual, circulated his cultivation method, and began moving his qi and blood. After food had been transformed once by the Marrow Cleansing Pearl, converting it into qi and blood became much easier.
As his cultivation sank deeper, Yang Heng's complexion gradually turned rosy, and his body began to heat up. From the outside, a red current of air could be seen traveling across his body, a rather strange sight.
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