Harvest and Plans

"It's over!"

When the one-eyed big man, an Entry Realm Warrior, was beheaded by Yang Qingyun in a single slash, everything had already been decided!

Already badly battered in the earlier clash, the Black Wind Bandits could no longer possibly withstand Yang Qingyun's attack after the one-eyed big man's death.

They could not even escape before Yang Qingyun cut them down one by one.

He spared no one.

Leaving aside the grudges of his Previous Life and the enmity of having his path cut off in the future—

Even now, these Black Wind Bandits were veteran bandits who had committed every evil imaginable. They had pillaged villages, slaughtered the old and young alike, and stained their hands with countless lives. They deserved death a thousand times over!

Yang Qingyun had not forgotten that, in his Previous Life, the Black Wind Bandits had raided far more than just Wang Family Village.

To gather enough young and able-bodied people, they had wiped out several other nearby villages, such as Cuihua Village!

Their hands were drenched in blood!

Because of that,

Yang Qingyun felt no burden whatsoever in wiping out these Black Wind Bandits.

If he had the strength,

he would not have minded charging up Black Wind Mountain and exterminating every remaining Black Wind Bandit entrenched there.

To avenge his Previous Life.

"Still, I heard that Wang Family Village and the dozens of villages around Black Wind Mountain all fell within the Black Wind Bandits' territory, and they had to pay a fixed yearly tribute in silver. What is going on with these Black Wind Bandits? Why did they attack the territory under their own rule?"

Yang Qingyun gripped a bloodstained long saber as he searched the corpses on the ground for silver and other spoils.

Then a flash of insight suddenly crossed his mind.

What the Black Wind Bandits were doing was little different from killing the hen for its eggs!

Either they had gone mad,

or the Black Wind Bandits no longer intended to remain around Black Wind Mountain as petty kings and overlords. They were preparing to leave, so naturally they no longer cared if floods surged behind them.

Yang Qingyun was not making wild guesses.

After he had achieved something in the Martial Path in his Previous Life, he had once returned to search for traces of the Black Wind Bandits.

But by then,

their old nest on Black Wind Mountain had long since been reduced to ashes and vanished without a trace.

No matter how Yang Qingyun searched, he could not find even the slightest clue!

"Are they planning one last haul before they leave?"

Yang Qingyun's gaze flickered.

If that was really the case, then would the Wealth accumulated by the Black Wind Bandits over the years be gathered together now, ready to be moved?

For a moment,

a certain thought arose within Yang Qingyun's heart.

As the saying went, the poor studied while the rich practiced martial arts. To cultivate the Martial Path to profound heights, resources were absolutely indispensable.

Large amounts of food essence and nourishment from Medicinal Herbs were essential resources for rapidly increasing Qi and Blood!

Without sufficient nourishment from food and medicine, forcing oneself to practice martial arts would only damage the body!

And all of that

required money!

"There are still nearly twenty years until the great age of Spiritual Qi Resurgence arrives. There are not many demonic beasts in the wilderness, nor are the mountains and forests covered in Medicinal Herbs and Spiritual Herbs. Perhaps the deep mountains hold Old Mountain Ginseng that is a hundred years old and other herbs useful for refining Qi and Blood, but searching alone is far too inefficient."

"Money! I need a great deal of money!"

"With money, I can buy enough Medicinal Herbs. With the skills and knowledge I accumulated over thirty years in my Previous Life, I can purchase enough ingredients to brew nourishing medicines such as Qi Strengthening Pills, Great Strength Paste, and Blood Essence Powder, which will speed up the refinement of Qi and Blood!"

Yang Qingyun's gaze was deep.

In his Previous Life, as Spiritual Qi Resurgence arrived and other worlds invaded, the old era suffered an enormous upheaval.

Nourishing medicines and pills such as Qi Strengthening Pills, which in the old era could speed up a martial artist's cultivation and were secret formulas passed down only by great powers, were no longer secrets. They gradually spread and became commonplace among the lower ranks.

After absorbing the alchemical theories and techniques of the invading Xuantian Realm's cultivation Methods, they were even further improved, enhancing the effects of these low-grade medicinal pastes and pills!

Having once again fallen among the lower ranks for ten years in the new age of Spiritual Qi Resurgence, Yang Qingyun had naturally collected many related Prescriptions and pill formulas in order to resolve the hidden problems in his body. He had also refined quite a few pills.

Long illness made the patient a good doctor. He had more or less mastered some medicinal principles, as well as the techniques for brewing low-grade medicinal pastes and pills.

Although much of this knowledge could not yet be used, since Spiritual Qi had not begun to resurge and many pills lacked the corresponding Spiritual Herbs needed for refinement,

he could still refine low-grade medicinal pastes and pills such as Blood Essence Powder and Great Strength Paste using ordinary Medicinal Herbs.

And with those,

Yang Qingyun would undoubtedly be able to build a stronger foundation and accelerate the speed at which he reclaimed the power of his Previous Life!

But all of this

depended on having sufficient resources!

And those resources themselves

depended on having enough money!

"The Black Wind Bandits have risen and occupied this region for more than ten years. The Wealth they have accumulated over those years must be extremely substantial!"

"If I can obtain their Wealth, then for a short time at least, I will not lack resources from the Entry Realm to the Body Tempering Realm!"

However,

although Yang Qingyun possessed memories of the next thirty years,

the future held little information about the Black Wind Bandits, who had long since vanished without a trace.

According to what those Black Wind Bandit lackeys had said earlier, the one-eyed big man he had killed, whose Martial Path Realm had reached the mid-Entry Realm, was the Third Boss of the Black Wind Bandits.

Then what about the First Boss and Second Boss above him?

What level had their Martial Path Realm reached?

He had yet to refine Qi and Blood or embark upon the Martial Path. He was not even considered an unranked Entry Realm Warrior. Could he truly handle the Black Wind Bandits?

"Forget it. I'll observe the situation first. If the Black Wind Bandits are too powerful, I'll give up for now. Once my strength rises another level and I have enough confidence, I can return to avenge this grudge."

After hesitating for a moment,

Yang Qingyun felt that he lacked absolute certainty,

so he could only put the matter aside for the time being.

If he wanted to plot against the Black Wind Bandits on Black Wind Mountain, he had to at least wait until he had entered the Entry Realm!

Wealth was good, but having the life to enjoy it was more important.

While pondering,

Yang Qingyun searched the bodies strewn across the ground and found forty to fifty taels of silver.

If the various spoils—such as the sabers, weapons, and horses in the Black Wind Bandits' hands—were added in, all told they would probably fetch more than two hundred taels of silver.

If he could sell all the spoils, buy some nourishing medicines in the city like Old Mountain Ginseng and Fo-ti, then brew some Blood Qi Pills,

then afterward,

he would have enough resources to lay his foundation and begin entering the Martial Arts Entry Realm!

"No matter what, I should first cultivate the Martial Path until I reach the Entry Realm!"

"Only strength is the foundation of everything!"

Yang Qingyun silently told himself.

With the Cultivation Technique from his Previous Life,

he could have simply sat down right then and refined Qi and Blood to break through.

But without sufficient food, medicine, and essence to replenish himself, forcibly refining Qi and Blood like that would damage the origin of his body.

The outcome of his Previous Life served as a warning: the physical body was the cornerstone of reaching greater heights, and damaging one's bodily origin was no small matter.

Having lived again and received another chance,

Yang Qingyun would not walk the old road of his Previous Life.

Meanwhile,

while Yang Qingyun collected the spoils and calculated his next course of action,

Wang Family Village was deathly silent.

Within the devastated village, corpses lay everywhere, and blood flowed like a river.

The elderly, the weak, women, and children had already returned to their homes in terror, bolting their doors tightly. They covered their children's eyes, refusing to let them see the bloody scenes outside, and huddled trembling in corners.

Even those whose loved ones had died could only sob quietly through their grief, not daring to make too much noise.

Sorrow, fear, and panic shrouded the entire Wang Family Village.

Not far away,

the remaining young and able-bodied villagers gathered shakily to one side, staring fearfully at the bloody scene before them, not daring to leave.