Chapter 66 - 65: Mountain Resources, Developing a New Cultivation Technique

Chapter 66: Chapter 65: Mountain Resources, Developing a New Cultivation Technique

The Cang Mang Mountain Range actually held many treasures.

Rare mineral veins were one type, but there were also various precious medicinal herbs, and even Celestial and Earthly Treasures.

The old adage of "living off the land" rang especially true here.

To the Insect Swarm, mineral veins provided the materials to breed the swarm. Unless absolutely necessary, Qin Yu wouldn’t extract them. However, it was a different story for precious medicinal herbs.

While talking to his father, Qin Yu pulled out a ginseng root from a sack beside him. It was as thick as an adult’s arm!

"A thousand-year-old ginseng?!" Qin Hu exclaimed. He carefully took the ginseng that Qin Yu had so casually tossed into a sack and examined it closely.

The ginseng was about one and a half feet tall. Instead of growing straight, it curved naturally like a person bowing with cupped hands, forming a posture of "bowing to gather Qi."

Three lateral roots branched out from the top of the main root. The left and right ones were slightly shorter, while the middle one extended diagonally, perfectly forming the outline of "embracing arms."

From afar, it looked like an infant curled up in the dirt, exuding a vivid, almost sentient lifelikeness.

Holding it in his hands, Qin Hu could feel its fine texture. Unlike the roughness of ordinary ginseng, it had a smooth, slightly oily feel, as if a gentle squeeze could wring Spiritual Qi right out of it.

This was a Treasure Medicine worth its weight in gold!

"Such a Treasure Medicine is incredibly beneficial for Cultivation! How could you just stuff it in this crude sack? How do you want to handle it? Should we hire someone to refine it into Elixirs, or take it to Bishui City for auction?"

Qin Hu’s face twisted in heartache. Because of Qin Yu’s careless packing, some of the fine root hairs had already snapped.

Martial Arts Cultivation was founded on Qi and blood.

Tempering the muscles, bones, and internal organs required monumental expenditures of Qi and blood at every breakthrough.

The primary ingredient for treasures like the Dragon and Tiger Pill was precisely such rare medicinal herbs as thousand-year-old ginseng!

The Chen Family, one of the four great families of Cyan Peak County, made their main profit by gathering herbs in the mountains. Yet, even in ten years, they might not find a single stalk of Treasure Medicine like this.

"There’s no need to be so nervous, Father. I have plenty more where that came from."

Qin Yu smiled and shook his head. He pulled out a nearly half-meter-long He Shou Wu from another sack, making Qin Hu’s heart tremble again. This was yet another mountain-born Treasure Medicine!

Centennial He Shou Wu had a critically important function: prolonging life!

When refined into Elixirs, it nourished the liver and kidneys and replenished essence and blood. It helped a Martial Artist fortify their internal essence, thereby promoting the generation of Qi and blood and making it even more abundant.

If a He Shou Wu of this caliber went up for auction, there was no telling how many people would fight over it.

No one would ever complain about having too many treasures of this sort!

Ignoring Qin Yu’s nonchalance, Qin Hu grabbed the root. He then opened the other burlap sacks beside his son, his breath catching in his throat.

Cushion-sized Lingzhi mushrooms, fist-sized Blood Ginseng Fruits, and arm-length Dragon Saliva Grass. A pile of items that could easily be hailed as legendary mountain treasures were haphazardly stuffed inside.

"My Insect Swarm has been hunting deep in the mountains and found quite a few medicinal herbs. These are some of the more precious ones. I still have a lot back there; I was in a rush, so I only brought a batch over for now," Qin Yu explained.

As a Martial Artist himself, Qin Yu naturally knew how precious these things were. But he couldn’t help the sheer volume the swarm had uncovered. They had found over a dozen roots that qualified as thousand-year-old ginseng alone.

As for the slightly smaller ones, there were even more. Hundreds of them!

With Black Thorn Eagles and Red-bellied Eagles in the sky, and a massive number of Worker Insects conducting carpet searches on the ground, they naturally stumbled upon many precious herbs while looking for mineral veins.

Having the swarm devour them would have some effect, but it would be a reckless waste of natural treasures. Therefore, Qin Yu ordered the swarm to collect all the rare herbs they encountered.

Though Worker Insects looked ferocious, they were actually extremely dexterous, even more adept at harvesting than professional Medicine Gatherers. Because of this, he had quickly accumulated a massive stockpile.

"Hundreds of them?" Qin Hu gasped. That was too outrageous.

With these medicinal herbs, why did the Qin Family Manor even need to forge iron anymore? This was practically picking money up off the ground!

"Yeah. The family convoy should be heading to Bishui City to deliver weapons these next few days. I want you to help me handle these herbs along with them, Father.

"For one, it can develop the family’s strength. On the other hand, it can help me gather intelligence and various Martial Arts Secret Techniques."

Qin Yu voiced his thoughts. Cyan Peak County’s remote location allowed it to avoid many dangers, but information was restricted. Relying on the Golden Wind Pavilion to buy intelligence wasn’t secure either. He needed an intelligence network of his own.

Moreover, for the Insect Swarm to deduce Cultivation Techniques, it required a vast number of manuals as "raw materials."

All of this demanded a colossal amount of funds. Fortunately, he held a massive haul of herbs that could be quickly liquidated. No matter how high the quantity, these herbs would never lack buyers! To a Martial Artist, medicinal herbs were an absolute necessity.

"I see! In that case, I’ll make a trip to Bishui City. These precious herbs can be directly auctioned by the Treasure Pavilion to secure our startup funds.

"As for intelligence, the Qin Family already runs a tavern business. We can expand it into Bishui City. Gathering ordinary intelligence is simple, and highly classified information can be obtained through purchase.

"If you need Cultivation Techniques, we can bid for or buy them at the Treasure Pavilion as well. Now that I have broken through to the Qi and Blood Realm and have the Profound Flood Dragon’s assistance, this shouldn’t be difficult."

Qin Hu pondered carefully. For the Qin Family’s strength to grow, they inevitably had to expand outward, and Bishui City was the perfect location for that expansion.

Only a place like Bishui City had the appetite to digest such a massive amount of rare medicinal herbs.

The Qin Family actually already had a foothold in Bishui City, used for trading with the Evil Suppression Bureau Army, though its scale was modest.

"You’re going personally?" Qin Yu frowned.

In normal times, making a trip would be nothing. But based on the intelligence from Inspector Liu, the Blood Demon Sect’s plot to blood-sacrifice Bishui City was no joke.

"It’s not my first time going to Bishui City. This trip is primarily to liquidate these treasures. As for truly putting down roots, we’ll talk about that in two months after the crisis is resolved. I won’t feel at ease letting anyone else handle these treasures. Besides, no one else is capable of handling them."

Qin Hu’s expression was grave, his gaze shifting toward the Profound Flood Dragon in the courtyard.

The Qin Family’s strength was too weak. Aside from Qin Yu, he was the only one in the Qi and Blood Realm. With such staggering resources, an ordinary Qi and Blood Realm Cultivator would be eaten alive by greedy predators.

But with a Profound Flood Dragon whose Qi and blood roared like a true dragon, things were vastly different.

"Alright! Be careful, Father. I’ll have a Black Thorn Eagle provide aerial support. If anything happens, you can evacuate quickly."

Qin Yu thought for a moment. With a Black Thorn Eagle’s speed, a round trip to Bishui City was actually very fast. Half a day would suffice. Evacuating would be convenient as well.

Since his father was just making a quick trip to sell things and buy treasures and techniques, there shouldn’t be a major issue.

Actually, he could have made the trip himself.

However, he had just rejected the Demon Suppression Bureau’s recruitment on the pretext of severe injuries. Strutting into Bishui City so soon would be too much of a slap to their faces.

Furthermore, if the Blood Demon Sect still succeeded despite the authorities getting advance notice, then the Bishui City Demon Suppression Bureau and Evil Suppression Bureau Army were truly too incompetent.

Both the Demon Suppression Bureau and the Evil Suppression Bureau Army had an astonishing ability to call for backup. It wasn’t as if they would just roll over and die.

If things truly looked bad, he would just have the Qin Family evacuate Bishui City before the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

The two then discussed the details carefully. This time, Qin Yu didn’t rush to leave the Qin Family Manor, choosing to stay for the night instead.

The next morning, at the Martial Arts Arena.

Qin Yu gripped the hilt of his Miao Blade in a reverse hold with his right hand. A cold gleam traced a silver arc through the air as he smoothly executed the opening stance of his family’s Wind-Splitting Seven Slashes.

SWISH!

The blade chopped down like a tearing gale. The narrow, elongated edge slashed through the air, carrying a piercing howl. Gravel on the ground was swept up and sent flying by the blade wind, as if swept away by an invisible hand.

The blade spun like a swirling tempest. With a slight flick of his wrist, the Miao Blade rapidly rotated around his body. The blade light enveloped him like silver rings, while the dust beneath his feet was churned into a vortex by the blade wind.

Even the surrounding fallen leaves were swept into orbit around him, as though the wind itself was seized within the grasp of this blade.

Chop, slash, uppercut, thrust—the blade followed the momentum of the wind.

Every strike carried the brute force of a gale. The Miao Blade’s narrow body leveraged the wind to extend its blade aura. Although he only slashed forward by half a foot, a ten-foot arc of frigid light seemed to surge ahead. Even distant tree trunks were battered by the blade wind, sending branches rustling to the ground.

This was the second realm of Martial Arts Cultivation!

Igniting the Qi and Blood Melting Furnace meant the Qi and blood within the body was no longer water without a source. From then on, Qi and blood could leave the body and be coated onto weapons.

The true might of the Qin Family’s Wind-Splitting Seven Slashes could finally be unleashed.

Compared to killing from afar with a bow and arrow, he actually preferred using a blade—the visceral feeling of drawing blood with every strike.

Having practiced with the blade for years, he had hunted fierce mountain beasts and even Demon Fiends more than once. He had also joined his father in slaughtering highway bandits, staining his hands with human blood.

As the sun gradually rose, Qin Yu sheathed his blade and stood tall, feeling immensely invigorated.

As long as he familiarized himself a bit more, he could enter the deep mountains and use those Demon Fiends for combat practice.

Martial Arts, Martial Arts. If there was no life-and-death slaughter, how could it be called the Martial Arts?

He was the core of the Insect Swarm. Only after he broke through could the swarm ascend to higher tiers. The swarm could only reach Tier Three once he broke through to the Qi Sea Realm.

The Qi Sea Realm required comprehending the Unity of Heaven and Man and opening the body’s Qi Veins. The Insect Swarm could assist his Cultivation, but a breakthrough could only rely on himself.

And he had never feared a life-and-death struggle!

Just as he was thinking this, a voice echoed within the Mind Network of the Insect Swarm.

"New Cultivation Technique (Qi and Blood Realm) deduction complete! Using the Gamma-level Middle Grade Body Forging Technique, Poisonous Python Coiling Mountain Skill, as the foundation, and integrating the Holy Scorpion Soul-Sundering Claw, Thousand-legged Poison Line Scripture, and Toad Gu Poison Swallowing Scripture to deduce a Body Refining Technique.

"The new technique integrates the characteristics of the Insect Swarm, focusing primarily on using potent venom to stimulate and enhance the physical body.

"It can drastically enhance physical resilience, fortifying bones, tendons, and muscles, making explosive power much more ferocious, and allowing one to withstand the claws of Demon Fiends of the same tier head-on..."

A brilliant light exploded in Qin Yu’s eyes. It was finally here! The new Cultivation Technique! This was exactly what he had been waiting for!

Immediately, after greeting his parents, Qin Yu vaulted onto the back of a Black Thorn Eagle and flew toward the Snake Valley Base.

He could practice the new technique alone. But the optimal method was naturally with the Insect Nest’s assistance. Not only would the efficiency be incredibly high, but if any accidents occurred, immediate adjustments could be made.

"I have a Body Refining Technique now, but my Sword Skill and Body Technique still need to be deduced," Qin Yu pondered as he soared through the sky. "Among these Five Poison Sect techniques, there is a Body Technique, but no Sword Skill. I can only use the Wind-Splitting Seven Slashes integrated with Claw Techniques and the like for the deduction, but the results probably won’t be ideal. I still have to wait until Father reaches Bishui City to buy some High Tier Sword Skills at the Treasure Pavilion."

As long as one had money, the vast majority of things could actually be bought. Even Alpha-level Techniques were no exception.

It was just that they didn’t require ordinary silver taels, but far more precious resources. Fortuitously, he held exactly such a batch of resources and could naturally go on a massive shopping spree.

Inside Bishui City, it was still safe. After all, it was where the Demon Suppression Bureau was located. Once outside the city, the Insect Swarm would be there to receive him. He genuinely wasn’t afraid of any blind fools trying to make a move!

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, the Black Thorn Eagle began to descend. Qin Yu looked down and saw the first newly birthed Profound Flood Dragon leading a large swarm of Blood Shadow Pythons, diving deep into Golden Scale Lake.

They were swimming at breakneck speed toward a colossal shadow beneath the water.

The aquatic purge was about to begin.

"The Insect Swarm now has High Tier Units in the Qi and Blood Realm for both water and land, but we still lack aerial units," Qin Yu noted inwardly. "It’s time for the Black Thorn Eagles to be upgraded as well. That way, backup will be even faster and safety will be much higher."