Pills, Cultivation Reaches New Heights

He was no longer the newbie who had just transmigrated. He had a preliminary understanding of this world.

This world not only had martial cultivators, but also Taoist, Buddhist, and unorthodox cultivation systems.

Pills were refined by Taoist, Buddhist, or unorthodox cultivators. They could heal injuries, be used for cultivation, or to break through realms.

"Yes, Captain, we have pills!" Tang Yunshan shouted excitedly.

It was no wonder he was excited. Pills were very precious. Their Anning Garrison hadn't received any pills in two or three years.

Furthermore, only those with military merits could obtain the pills that were distributed.

Sheng Huai'an quickly stepped forward and came to Tang Yunshan's side.

Inside the large boxes on the ground were smaller boxes, and inside the small boxes were jade bottles.

Sheng Huai'an picked up a jade bottle and opened it. Inside were pills, emitting a fragrant aroma.

"Quick, put them away first. Take them all with you. Don't leave a single one behind," Sheng Huai'an said.

Other things could be left behind, but these pills had to be taken.

"Hehe, we're rich, we're rich." Tang Yunshan chuckled foolishly.

These two large boxes of pills could fetch at least ten thousand taels of silver if sold.

Sheng Huai'an ordered the soldiers to quickly collect the supplies. Anything useful or necessary had to be taken, as much as they could carry.

Wang Wu and Hai Dahe returned with the cavalry. The escaping herders had all been killed by them.

How could two legs outrun four-legged warhorses?

To prevent the escaping herders from leaking their information, Sheng Huai'an had given a strict order for Wang Wu and the others to kill them all without leaving any survivors.

After collecting the necessary supplies, anything that couldn't be taken would be burned to the ground, leaving nothing for the Xiongnu.

"Take the wounded and the bodies of our fallen brothers. Let's leave here quickly," Sheng Huai'an said.

They loaded the items onto the horses, with each person riding one, and quickly departed.

Two and a half hours later, a hundred-strong cavalry unit arrived at the battlefield.

They looked at the supplies destroyed by fire and the bodies scattered everywhere.

"Damn Wei people, they're like rats, always scurrying around. They managed to ambush a supply convoy, and we're too late," the Xiongnu cavalry captain said, his eyes full of rage.

"Pursue them! Find them and bring back all their heads."

Sheng Huai'an and his men left the battlefield, unaware that a cavalry unit was pursuing them.

With the horses, their marching speed greatly increased. After traveling more than fifty kilometers, they found a hidden spot to rest.

The grasslands of the northern frontier were vast enough. They could run anywhere, as long as they avoided Xiongnu tribes.

Sheng Huai'an and his men did the opposite, heading deep into the grasslands. The Xiongnu would never have imagined they would be so daring.

After stopping, Sheng Huai'an ordered, "Bury our fallen brothers, and give the wounded pills to treat their injuries."

"Yes, Captain!" Tang Yunshan replied.

Tang Yunshan went to tend to the wounded and bury the fallen soldiers.

Hai Dahe was leading the soldiers in setting up tents.

"Brother Huai'an, is it really okay for us to run this deep into the grasslands?" Wang Wu asked, standing beside Sheng Huai'an.

"Brother Wang, do you know the saying 'do the opposite of what is expected'?" Sheng Huai'an replied.

Looking at Sheng Huai'an, Wang Wu felt that the man was too daring.

He had led over seventy men to ambush five hundred, and had achieved victory with ease.

Now, he was leading them deep into the grasslands, which was Xiongnu territory. If they weren't careful, they could all be wiped out on these plains.

After the tents were set up, Hai Dahe busied himself with starting a fire to cook dried meat and prepare dinner.

Tang Yunshan led the soldiers to bury their fallen brothers on the spot, then found healing pills from the batch and gave them to the wounded soldiers.

After that, he began to sort the pills, putting the healing ones aside.

There were more healing pills, as they were sent to the Xiongnu army on the front lines, so there were more healing pills.

The remaining pills were for cultivation, and there were several bottles for breaking through realms.

Dinner was quite lavish, with stewed dried beef and mutton.

After fighting continuously, many soldiers hadn't eaten meat for several days.

After dinner, Tang Yunshan asked Sheng Huai'an about how to handle the pills.

"Captain, how should we handle these pills? Should we use them ourselves or take them back to sell?"

He had counted them. This batch of pills could fetch over a hundred thousand taels of silver in the black market.

Among them, the few bottles that could be used for breaking through realms were particularly valuable.

If they took them back and sold them, they would get a lot of silver.

These were spoils they acquired outside and didn't need to be handed in.

"What kind of pills are there?" Sheng Huai'an inquired.

"There are healing pills, quite a lot of them, some for cultivation, and a few bottles of pills that can help break through," Tang Yunshan replied truthfully.

"Bring me the breakthrough pills to take a look at," Sheng Huai'an said immediately.

Tang Yunshan went to fetch the pills.

Sheng Huai'an poured out a pill the size of a pigeon's egg. The white pill emitted a rich medicinal fragrance.

He directly consumed one, and a massive medicinal power quickly transformed into True Essence within his body.

Unfortunately, he did not break through. His internal True Essence had only grown denser and more solidified, increasing his strength somewhat.

"Why didn't it work?!" Sheng Huai'an exclaimed in confusion.

Wang Wu, Tang Yunshan, Hai Dahe, and four or five platoon leaders looked at Sheng Huai'an as if he were an idiot.

"What's with those looks? Why are you all staring at me like that?" Sheng Huai'an felt bewildered.

"Huai'an, you need to understand that breakthrough pills are also divided into grades. These pills are effective for Martial Disciples and Martial Practitioners, but for the Martial Master realm, they are insufficient. You need higher-grade pills. Also, 'breaking through' means taking the pill when your cultivation has reached the point where you can break through. Otherwise, it just increases your Martial True Essence. It's not that taking a breakthrough pill guarantees a breakthrough; the pills aren't that miraculous, or else the world would be full of powerhouses," Wang Wu said earnestly.

He felt exhausted dealing with this clueless junior brother.

"You should have told me earlier! Why didn't you say anything?" Sheng Huai'an put down the jade bottle containing the pills, looking a bit embarrassed.

"We thought you already knew," Tang Yunshan said leisurely.

That was a breakthrough pill, costing several thousand taels of silver each. Seeing Sheng Huai'an waste it like that made him feel heartbroken. No, it made his kidneys hurt!

"Take a look and see how many brothers in the team have reached the threshold for breaking through. Distribute all these pills to them and let them improve their cultivation," Sheng Huai'an decided immediately.

In his opinion, it would be a waste not to use these pills.

"Yes, I'll go ask right away," Tang Yunshan said happily.

He immediately got up to inquire with the other soldiers. This was a rare opportunity.

"I'm at the peak of the Martial Practitioner Mid Stage now and can break through to the Martial Practitioner Late Stage at any time," Wang Wu said somewhat shyly. With a breakthrough pill, he could save a lot of cultivation time.

"How many do you need?" Sheng Huai'an asked.

"One is enough. I just need to break through to the Martial Practitioner Late Stage," Wang Wu said with a chuckle.

"Here, take it and break through as soon as possible!" Sheng Huai'an directly gave Wang Wu a breakthrough pill.

"Uh, Captain, I've been stuck at the Martial Disciple Great Perfection for a long time," Hai Dahe said, rubbing his hands.

"Everyone will get some. I won't hoard them. These were earned with our lives; everyone gets a share," Sheng Huai'an said.

Upon hearing Sheng Huai'an's words, those platoon leaders also rejoiced. Soldiers feared their superiors hoarding all the spoils, leaving them with nothing. Fortunately, Sheng Huai'an wasn't that kind of person.

After Tang Yunshan tallied the number of people who could break through, he distributed all the breakthrough pills. He kept some of the cultivation pills and distributed the rest to the soldiers for their cultivation. He now hoped this team would grow stronger as quickly as possible. Only by strengthening the soldiers could they have a chance to defeat more enemies.

After receiving the pills, everyone went off to cultivate or attempt breakthroughs. At this time, Sheng Huai'an checked the golden light screen.

Name: Sheng Huai'an Race: Human Realm: Martial Practitioner Mid Stage (+) Cultivation Technique: [Ferocious Ox Strength(Minor Accomplishment)] (+) [Blood Fiend Saber Technique(Minor Accomplishment)] (+) Strength: 3400 jin Talent: Silver Archer (+) Slaughter Value: 163

In the ambush battle during the day, Sheng Huai'an shot and killed two Xiongnu Centurions at the Martial Practitioner Early Stage and killed Wuligou, who was at Martial Practitioner Great Perfection. This provided him with twenty points of Slaughter Value. He now understood that a Martial Practitioner Early Stage was worth five points of Slaughter Value, and Martial Practitioner Great Perfection was worth ten points. Martial Disciple Early Stage was one point, Mid Stage two points, Late Stage three points, and Great Perfection four points.

The ambush battle during the day yielded a total of seventy Slaughter Value.

Seeing that his cultivation could be improved again, Sheng Huai'an did not hesitate and immediately allocated points to raise his cultivation.

Wasn't the reason he fought to the death and killed enemies precisely to obtain Slaughter Value to improve his cultivation?

This time, he directly consumed one hundred and fifty Slaughter Value. A massive surge of power flowed through his entire body, continuously strengthening it.

The True Essence within his body also grew and solidified, making him feel warm all over, as if every cell was cheering and jumping for joy.

His strength was constantly growing.

Throughout the day, the Xiongnu army was still resting and did not continue their assault on Anning Pass.

These two days allowed the Anning Garrison to catch their breath and rest.

At the same time, the commanderies and counties behind them, having received the troop dispatch request from General Who Pacifies the North, Yang Ye, sent their Commandery Soldiers and County Soldiers to Anning Pass.

Anning Pass received a reinforcement of five thousand soldiers, recovering some of its vitality. The number of soldiers capable of defending the city increased to over twenty thousand.

Early on the third day, the Xiongnu army resumed their offensive.

"Today, we must take Anning Pass. I don't want to see another defeat," the Left Virtuous King said to his assembled officers and soldiers.

He had led a hundred thousand troops to attack the pass, and now, having lost fifty thousand soldiers without capturing it, it was a blatant humiliation.

"My King, Anning Pass has high walls and strong defenses, and it is guarded by Great Wei's General Who Pacifies the North, Yang Ye. It will not be easy for us to capture it now, having suffered such losses," the Left Valley Marquis said.

"No matter. The current Anning Garrison should only have ten thousand soldiers left. With our fifty thousand, can we still not take Anning Pass?"

"I will send strong individuals to deal with Yang Ye!" The Left Virtuous King was determined to take Anning Pass.

The Left Valley Marquis wanted to dissuade him, but the Left Virtuous King's attitude was resolute. His arrogance would not allow him to accept failure.

"Wuwuwu..."

"Dong dong..."

The Xiongnu army's attack horns and war drums, silent for two days, sounded once more.

After breaking through, Sheng Huai'an also circulated his cultivation technique and cultivated for the entire night.

Name: Sheng Huai'an

Race: Human

Realm: Martial Practitioner Late Stage

Cultivation Techniques: [Ferocious Ox Strength (Minor Accomplishment)][Blood Fiend Saber Technique (Minor Accomplishment)]

Strength: Four Thousand Jin

Talent: Silver Archer

Slaughter Value: 13

One hundred and fifty Slaughter Value had elevated his cultivation to the Martial Practitioner Late Stage.

His strength also reached four thousand jin, and the Martial True Essence within him was abundant. Now, he was not afraid even when facing someone in the Martial Master Early Stage.

Even against a Martial Master Mid Stage practitioner, he was confident that he could put up a fight, even if he couldn't win.

When dawn broke, they would have to move again to prevent being tracked by the Xiongnu Cavalry.

To avoid being found by the Xiongnu Cavalry, they couldn't stay in one place for too long.