Chapter 123 - 84: I’ve Come Uninvited, Surely You Village Heroes Won’t Mind?

Chapter 123: Chapter 84: I’ve Come Uninvited, Surely You Village Heroes Won’t Mind?

"Good."

Zheng Jun nodded and continued, "The Tongzhou Association of Black Mountain County is still short of a Protector to charge the enemy lines. If you don’t mind, Brother Yuan, you can join the Tongzhou Association. We can weather the storms together and save the people."

"That is exactly what I wish!"

Yuan Yaoyang cupped his fists in agreement.

Seeing this, Zheng Jun issued another order. "In that case, I will leave the Liu family of the North Village to Protector Yuan. The rest of you, follow Crew Leader Xu and launch a fierce attack on the Huo family of Huping Village. Wipe out their entire family!"

"Yes, sir!"

That night, in Black Mountain County.

There was naturally nothing much to be said about the Liu and Huo families. Their entire clans only had a few Blood Refining Martial Artists, making them no different from the Yan family of Nansha Town. With a large force bearing down on them, the Huo family was easily annihilated.

The Liu family of the North Village was also no match for a Qi Storage Martial Artist like Yuan Yaoyang. Armed with a single sword, he slaughtered the entire Liu family all by himself.

Besides that, the third crew mobilized and completely wiped out the Qiao family of Nangang Town... No, wait.

They rushed to Nangang Town only to find they were a step too late. The Qiao family had already been slaughtered clean by those detestable Black Mountain Thieves. Therefore, they could only handle the aftermath for the Qiao family, following Master Qiao’s "last wish" to donate all their land and silver to Captain Zheng.

And Captain Zheng, being extremely magnanimous, redistributed the land to the common people of Nangang Town. It was truly a model example of a benevolent official and a Village Hero getting along perfectly.

Meanwhile, Zheng Jun also took some time out to tally his wealth. He hadn’t realized it before, but the final count gave him a start.

"Do I actually have over thirteen thousand taels of silver now?"

Zheng Jun’s expression turned peculiar as he experienced the joy of a sudden windfall. For him, this was undoubtedly an unexpected fortune, a pleasant surprise dropped right into his lap.

Of course, the combined assets of these Gentry members totaled a solid fifty to sixty thousand taels, equivalent to nearly two years of tax revenue for Black Mountain County. Naturally, Black Mountain County’s tax revenue did not consist solely of silver; it also included things like grain, so they couldn’t be directly equated.

However, with such a massive sum of money, it was naturally impossible for Zheng Jun to take it all. Therefore, a portion went to the County Government Office, a portion to the Commandery, and another portion was distributed among the soldiers under his command.

Whatever was left belonged to Zheng Jun. This was the origin of these twelve thousand taels. So much money.

"Although it looks like a lot, to put it plainly, it can only be exchanged for twelve to thirteen hundred Blood Nourishing Pills, or one hundred and thirty Qi Storage Pills."

Zheng Jun exhaled, feeling the majestic True Qi within his body as his eyes flickered in thought. "The True Qi flowing throughout my body has already reached a flourishing Perfection, and I am about to begin Refining Gang. I’ve taken too many Qi Storage Pills; their effects are already starting to wane... And Condensing Gang Powder costs three thousand taels a dose, which means this is only enough to buy four doses.

"Four doses probably won’t be enough to support my breakthrough to the Outer Gang Realm."

Zheng Jun sighed deeply, feeling that his cultivation was still short of silver. What did thirteen thousand taels amount to anyway?

Although the purpose of the Condensing Gang Powder was for Qi Storage Martial Artists who had achieved Perfection in Refining Gang to break through to Outer Gang, if taken during the Refining Gang stage itself, it could also greatly accelerate the progress.

"But perhaps, it would be better to use this silver to buy other Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects," Zheng Jun pondered inwardly. "Gang Qi forms naturally between heaven and earth. If I spend some silver to purchase some Earth Evil Qi nurtured by heaven and earth, I can also speed up my Refining Gang process."

The so-called Earth Evil Qi was a special kind of Evil Qi born between heaven and earth. It possessed various incredible special effects and could be divided into different elemental categories. Absorbing Earth Evil Qi of different elements could naturally accelerate the process of turning True Qi into Gang Qi, allowing for a faster breakthrough.

True Qi had no element; it solely depended on the Cultivator’s Inner Power Heart Method. For example, when Zheng Jun utilized the Broken Jade Skill, his True Qi would stimulate the emerald-green True Qi inherent to the Broken Jade Skill. If he utilized the Eagle-Hawk Force, his True Qi would stimulate the gray True Qi inherent to the Eagle-Hawk Force.

Gang Qi was simply a further purification and augmentation of True Qi. And this Earth Evil Qi was meant to allow one’s True Qi to adapt in advance and increase its effectiveness during the Refining Gang process.

Some types of Earth Evil Qi leaned towards a robust and vigorous nature, granting stronger defensive capabilities than ordinary people. Some Earth Evil Qi found in deep, ancient forests, lingering alongside poisonous creatures, would imbue Gang Qi with extreme corrosiveness and toxicity.

Of course, just a few wisps of this Earth Evil Qi would be useless. To achieve such special effects, one needed a large amount at the very least. Zheng Jun’s twelve thousand taels of silver were completely insufficient. However, Zheng Jun didn’t expect to attain this kind of special Gang Qi anyway.

Special Gang Qi sounded formidable, but in reality, it was only slightly stronger than ordinary Gang Qi, not offering a decisive advantage. It was far inferior to the changes brought about by cultivating Inner Power. For instance, the effect of highly toxic Earth Evil Qi from deep forests was actually far less potent than cultivating a poison-based Inner Power, which would unleash far fiercer effects when stimulated.

But having it was always better than nothing. For example, if Zheng Jun acquired this highly toxic Earth Evil Qi, when he executed the Broken Jade Skill, his True Qi would not only possess formidable destructive power—capable of wreaking havoc inside the target’s body—but it would also carry a trace of toxicity.

Therefore, the position of this special Gang Qi was rather awkward. It could increase combat power, but only by about ten percent. Yet, the cost was astronomical. Aside from direct disciples of major sects or scions of prominent clans, ordinary Martial Artists would never choose to pursue this kind of Earth Evil Qi.

A single bottle of ordinary Earth Evil Qi cost around five thousand taels. But if it had special properties, such as a leaning towards intense fire or poison, a bottle of Earth Evil Qi would cost over ten thousand taels, or even over a hundred thousand taels.