Harvest Beyond Measure

Harvest Beyond Measure

"You're tougher than you look. You're still alive." Seeing Sun Shaochuan's weakened state, Zhang He breathed a sigh of relief. Sun Shaochuan had completely lost his ability to fight and was no longer a threat.

"I'm an inner disciple of the True Martial Academy, and a member of the royal family of the Northern Border Kingdom. If you save me, I can give you endless riches and honor! I can also grant you three wishes." Sun Shaochuan had been struck by the Soul-Bewildering Guide and left completely powerless. But after Wu Xuan slashed him, he lost a great deal of blood, which flushed some of the Soul-Bewildering Guide out of his system. He had been strong to begin with, and that was why he'd managed to wake up.

"The True Martial Academy?" Zhang He frowned at the name. He'd known the Medicine King Valley was a force to be reckoned with, but he hadn't expected these two to be from the True Martial Academy as well. The academy was renowned throughout the land as the largest in the Northwest Empire. It was home to countless elite disciples, and those who graduated from it all went on to become powerful ministers or great generals of the empire!

The Western Chu Kingdom, where Zhang He lived, was only a second-rate country and a vassal state of the Northwest Empire. Across the entire empire, the True Martial Academy was a sacred place that all the young talents yearned to enter. Once you were accepted, it meant you were destined to rise to prominence!

Sun Shaochuan was sure the other man would be tempted by his offer.

"Three wishes? You certainly have a big mouth. I'd expect nothing less from someone at the True Martial Academy. Unfortunately, I'm just an ordinary person. I can't afford to offend anyone from the True Martial Academy. Leaving you alive would be a liability!" A cool light flashed in Zhang He's eyes. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and stabbed Sun Shaochuan once more.

Sun Shaochuan died with his eyes wide open. After hearing who he was and what he'd promised, his opponent hadn't been tempted at all. He'd simply struck to kill.

Only after making sure all three were well and truly dead did Zhang He breathe a sigh of relief.

"Two of them were from the True Martial Academy, and the other was a disciple of the Medicine King Valley. I can't afford to offend any of them. Who would've thought I'd run into this mess while gathering herbs today?" Looking at the three corpses, Zhang He knew he had to dispose of them properly and leave no trace behind.

"These three must have plenty of good stuff on them." Remembering what they'd been fighting over earlier, Zhang He's thoughts stirred. He searched all three of them from head to toe.

"This bag is strange." Zhang He examined the bag in his hand. He'd taken it from Sun Shaochuan, but it had originally belonged to Wang Jian. About the size of his palm, it was black and heavy, and it radiated a chill. It looked as if it had been woven from metal threads, and a dim sheen gleamed across its surface.

"So this is what they were fighting over." Zhang He studied it for a moment, then opened the bag and tipped out everything inside. He wanted to see what was in there.

Clatter.

The things inside spilled onto the ground, piling up into a small hill. A piercing chill rushed at Zhang He, making him shiver. He stared at the mound in front of him, his mouth falling open. "The legendary Universe Bag!"

The things inside a palm-sized bag had piled up to the height of a man! Zhang He immediately recalled some things he'd heard at the Martial Child Academy, including stories about the Universe Bag. Though it looked small, it could hold a great many things.

This bag was a treasure!

Zhang He gripped the Universe Bag tightly and looked at the pile before him. There was a huge piece of hide, bound with several black sinews, and four sharp claws. A bloody stench immediately filled the air. Most alarming of all was the chill emanating from the pile, which made Zhang He's heart tremble. He'd already guessed what these things were.

"These must be the remains of the Cold Flood Dragon. They're all incredibly rare materials!" Looking at the pile, Zhang He immediately recognized the uses of several items. The hide could be made into protective armor, the black sinews could be used to make bows or long-whip weapons, and the claws—with their sharp talons—could be fashioned into gauntlets.

"I've struck gold! These came from a fourth-level demon beast!" Suddenly, Zhang He felt the Rejuvenation True Qi in his body stirring. His thoughts stirred in turn. That meant there was something highly poisonous nearby. Then he spotted two blood-red beads, each about the size of a quail egg, tucked beneath the hide.

Zhang He leaned closer, and the Rejuvenation True Qi in his body reacted strongly. A chill emanated from the beads. These two blood-red orbs were highly poisonous!

"Could these be the Cold Flood Dragon's poison cores?" Zhang He was delighted. He wasn't afraid of poison. He circulated his Rejuvenation True Qi to shield his hand, then picked up the two poison cores. They were icy to the touch, and his Rejuvenation True Qi stirred eagerly.

"Now these are real treasures!" Zhang He was thrilled. The two poison cores were unimaginably toxic. If he could refine the poison inside them, his cultivation would make rapid progress. He immediately put them away. Then he looked at the mound of materials and tried to put everything back, but there was no way such a huge pile would fit inside.

"I heard you had to drip blood on a Universe Bag to bind it to yourself. Its owner is dead now, so it belongs to me." Zhang He slapped his forehead, remembering that detail. Gritting his teeth, he pricked his finger and let a few drops of blood fall onto the Universe Bag. Before his eyes, the droplets were absorbed into the bag.

Zhang He immediately felt something strange stir in his heart. He had formed a connection with the Universe Bag in his hand and could control it now.

"It really works. So the things people brag about aren't just hot air after all." Zhang He was delighted. He opened the Universe Bag and focused on the pile. With a thought, the entire mound disappeared. He could clearly sense that the bag was now packed full.

"This Universe Bag can only hold three or four cubic units at most. Phew. Now that it's in my hands, I must remember that wealth should never be flaunted. What's more, this thing belonged to someone else, so I'll have to be careful!" Zhang He tucked the Universe Bag close to his body. He then searched Sun Shaochuan again and found several medicine pouches and an identity jade token, but nothing else.

Zhang He searched Wu Xuan as well, and to his surprise, found another Universe Bag. This one had a character embroidered on it: "Medicine." Zhang He opened the bag and tipped out its contents.

Wu Xuan's Universe Bag was a complete jumble. It held a few bottles and jars, several pieces of animal hide wrapped up together, and even some medicinal herbs. Zhang He's gaze swept across the pile, then his eyes suddenly widened.

"Blood-Draining Vine!" Among the herbs, Zhang He spotted a flash of red. He took a closer look and was overjoyed. He'd searched high and low, only for it to fall into his lap! Only then did he pay attention to the rest of the herbs, and he couldn't help but feel stunned. This kid was into poisons too!

Every one of those herbs was poisonous!

"That's right. Wu Xuan was a disciple of the Medicine King Valley. Maybe he specialized in poison..." Zhang He's gaze landed on another pile of items: a set of alchemy tools. "It's good to be rich. With a Universe Bag, you can carry your alchemy tools around and refine medicine whenever you want. How convenient."

Zhang He didn't hesitate. He claimed all of the items for himself. They would all be very useful to him.

"Corpse-Dissolving Powder?" Zhang He suddenly spotted several tightly wrapped bottles among Wu Xuan's belongings. He opened one and saw the words written on it.

"Corpse-Dissolving Powder. Could it be for..." Zhang He's thoughts stirred. He opened the bottle and dripped a few drops onto the corpses of Wang Jian and Sun Shaochuan in the pit. A pungent smell immediately rose from below. Before his eyes, the bodies rapidly dissolved. Zhang He watched, his heart pounding with fear.

"This stuff is the ultimate tool for destroying evidence! Wu Xuan carried it around with him, so he must've done his fair share of killing and looting!" Zhang He immediately tossed Wu Xuan's body into the pit as well. A few drops of Corpse-Dissolving Powder later, all three corpses had melted into a pool of blood.

Once he was done, Zhang He filled the pit back in and tidied up the area, making it look as natural as possible.

"It rains a lot in summer. Once it rains tonight, there won't be a trace left. As long as I keep my mouth shut, no one will ever know what happened here today." After cleaning everything up and making sure there were no problems, Zhang He picked up his herb basket and left. He now had the two main ingredients he needed, the Blood-Draining Vine and Ghost Thunder Needle Grass. The remaining supplementary herbs would be easy to find.

Two days later, at the Wang Family Pharmacy.

"You finally showed up! Our Detoxification and Beauty Pills have been a huge hit. They're flying off the shelves, and people come to the pharmacy every day with questions. It's not just those who've been bitten by Corpse Poison Beetles. Once the wealthy women who care about their looks heard how well the pills worked, they came rushing in to buy them! We're almost out of stock!" Wang Pengyu saw Zhang He and was overjoyed, though he couldn't help complaining too.

Zhang He had been gone for many days, and the pharmacy's supply had run into trouble.

Zhang He smiled and immediately took four large jars from his basket. They were filled with the Five Poison Beads he'd refined on the mountain, with at least five thousand in each. "I went to gather herbs these past few days. It took a lot of effort, but I managed to refine these. Now that we have plenty in stock, you can sell them without worrying."

Wang Pengyu was both shocked and delighted to see so many pills. He immediately arranged for people to spread the word.

"Our Wang Family Pharmacy has made a huge splash in Mengyin City. Almost everyone knows about us now. It's all thanks to you." Wang Pengyu grinned from ear to ear. He'd made a name for himself here, and the higher-ups in the family had taken notice. He'd heard through the grapevine that he would receive a generous reward at the annual gathering.

As he spoke, Wang Pengyu suddenly remembered something. He hurried to fetch a sealed case and handed it to Zhang He. "Master Lu brought this. He wanted to give it to you in person, but you weren't here, so I kept it for you. Oh, I heard you ran into some trouble at the Martial Child Academy. Do you need me to help? Ha, actually, if you just show them your Iron-Rank Pharmacist identity, the head of the Martial Child Academy will surely come running to welcome you. He wouldn't dare slight you in the least."