Harvest

This way, Wei Henian would take even greater pains to exact his revenge on Li Yunjing, while Fu Chao watched him struggle from the sidelines. It might even drive Wei Henian into a furious frenzy, bringing that Young Master Fu a perverse kind of pleasure!

Li Yunjing had seen through human nature long ago.

At a time like this, he felt none of the unease that came with taking a life. Instead, he was utterly composed, even filled with a sense of exhilarating relief.

After all, he'd been cooped up in the Divine Firmament Dao Sect for a month.

He had no standing in the sect. Wherever he went, he had to greet people with a smile. It had been suffocating.

But now things were different. Just like Big Man Wu, he'd fought a battle to the death, and at last the pent-up gloom in his heart had dissipated. He felt invigorated from head to toe.

While considering how to handle the aftermath, Li Yunjing rummaged through the four Storage Bags.

Senior Brother Han and the others hadn't been particularly wealthy; there were no major surprises.

Li Yunjing found only five mid-grade magical artifacts. Senior Brother Han's shield was the best of them, its defense unmatched.

If Li Yunjing hadn't snatched victory from the jaws of danger, he would have found it difficult to break through Senior Brother Han's defenses in a head-on fight and kill him.

But this battle had also taught Li Yunjing that Qi Refining Realm cultivators, though far stronger than ordinary martial artists, weren't immortal. A fatal wound could still send them to their graves.

That gave him more courage!

There was no need to kill someone in a head-on clash!

Traps, poison, ambushes, ganging up, sneak attacks, even weapons designed to kill in a single blow...

In short, there were all sorts of ways to kill someone in the Qi Refining Realm.

Li Yunjing tried out the five magical artifacts and estimated their value at nearly 200 Spirit Stones.

Then, rummaging through the four Storage Bags, he found another 100 Low-grade Spirit Stones, ten Qi Replenishing Pills, four Detoxification Pills, and three or five pieces each of Refined Copper, Refined Iron, and other materials for crafting artifacts.

As for the sect's talismans, none of them had been used. There were thirty of them in all, various low-grade talismans such as Fire Bird Talismans, Earth Spike Talismans, Vajra Talismans, and Flight Talismans.

Altogether, they were worth 800 Low-grade Spirit Stones.

These were all common goods, so Li Yunjing put them away without a second thought.

The talismans, though, were a little conspicuous. He'd have to use some of them before returning to the sect.

He only needed to make sure he kept five Five Elements Talismans that were "his own."

Seeing the talismans, Li Yunjing thought, Good thing I acted first!

If they'd fought face-to-face, those talismans alone could have blown him to pieces!

Besides these valuable items, Li Yunjing also found two cultivation manuals in Senior Brother Han's Storage Bag.

One was a sword technique called Blood Rain Sword. The other was a Qi Refining Manual called Heavenly Stellar Force.

After looking them over, he could tell both were common techniques with nothing special about them. Still, they could increase his strength.

Li Yunjing quickly committed their contents to memory.

As for the original manuals, he burned them to ashes.

Only after stowing most of the items in his own Storage Bag did Li Yunjing finally smile.

"Robbing and burning your way to riches! The ancients never lied!"

With a soft laugh, Li Yunjing made sure there were no loose ends left in the forest, then hurried off toward Red Sun Valley.

Once he was sure there was no one nearby, Li Yunjing let loose. He sprang into the air and raced along, bounding forward as lightly as a dragonfly skimming the water.

With the Gale Boots' aid, traveling was no effort at all.

His earlier panting had only been an act to fool the others.

According to the map in the Divine Firmament Jade Records, Li Yunjing soared through the air, stepping lightly on branches and covering dozens of zhang with every touch.

When light-footed movement was combined with magical power, its might was beyond estimation.

If his cultivation rose another one or two levels, Li Yunjing could travel a thousand li in a day without worrying about exhausting his magical power.

Of course, this kind of movement technique was nothing in the cultivation world. It was child's play.

Golden Core Realm cultivators could ride clouds and mist, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators could fly on swords, traveling ten thousand li in a day.

For Li Yunjing, that kind of power was still far beyond reach.

For now, he was satisfied. With magical power driving his movement technique, he bounded along like a ghost, his whole body as swift as the wind.

The Thin Man, who had been at the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm, had fled ahead of him, yet Li Yunjing had still caught up. It was clear his speed was already far beyond that of others at his level.

Relying on his movement technique to hurry through the woods, Li Yunjing twisted and turned to avoid the thick foliage.

He moved so fast that afterimages flickered in his wake. Only after covering three hundred li did he finally stop.

This was the very Emerald Forest Ridge where Senior Brother Han and the other three had planned to kill him.

The name suited the place: lush, towering trees grew everywhere.

Emerald Forest Ridge lay among the mountains, a desolate and secluded place seldom visited by anyone.

There weren't even any mountain paths here. When he stepped down, the weeds swallowed his calves.

It really was a perfect place to kill someone and loot the body!

There was no need to bury the dead. Just toss them into the weeds, and the wild beasts would likely devour them before long.

At that moment, Li Yunjing stood with his hands behind his back, strolling unhurriedly. With a light step, he landed on a branch high in a tree.

He needed to rest a while now.

A long journey took its toll, even with a magical artifact to help.

Naturally, Li Yunjing couldn't keep traveling nonstop.

He'd covered half the journey today, so he decided to rest in the tree for the day.

He'd set out again at dawn tomorrow.

At Li Yunjing's speed, he would certainly reach Red Sun Valley on the third day.

It seemed this mission was mainly a perk Wei Henian had given the four Outer Disciples—a chance to make them willing to kill him!

Otherwise, there would have been no need to give them a fifteen-day deadline for the round trip.

Half that time would have been more than enough.

Having someone in the court made everything easier. The same held true in the immortal sects.

Half asleep, half awake.

After resting for a full two hours, with night falling, Li Yunjing flipped gracefully from the treetop and landed lightly on the ground.

After wandering around the area, he discovered a small river. It was full of fish, each weighing three to five catties and looking exceptionally plump.

Li Yunjing smiled faintly, spread his five fingers, and grabbed at the air. With a splash, a powerful force seized a big fish from the water.

The fish thrashed wildly in the enormous hand formed from his magical power, but how could a mere ordinary fish possibly break free?

"Perfect. You'll fill my belly today."

Looking at the big fish in his hand, Li Yunjing smiled faintly. With practiced ease, he killed it and cleaned it, then held it in his hand and gathered scorching flames in his palm to roast it.