Chapter 0008: Consuming Blood Ginseng

Blood ginseng!

Unlike ordinary ginseng, this was an extremely rare medicinal material. Its body was crystalline and crimson, giving off a strong ginseng odor. Whoever caught a whiff would be overcome with the desire to claim the root.

With the ability to boost one’s vitality and longevity, blood ginseng’s medicinal properties were more powerful than average ginseng. The material could also strengthen a cultivator’s bone and muscle. Of course, any sacred tonic made with it would be expensive.

Once, a long time ago, Yang Wu had seen a few of these roots in the Yang’s treasure vault. His father had promised to gift him one once he reached the Warrior Realm.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Sooty to walk in with a blood ginseng root clenched between its teeth. Furthermore, half of the root was gone, leaving only a small amount of ginseng. His heart clenched at the sight.

The black pup walked up to him, tail wagging as if proud of what it had found.

He stooped down and carefully took the blood ginseng root, lamenting, “Sooty, oh, Sooty. You’ve wasted a treasure!”

Though the root was small, Yang Wu considered it exceptionally valuable due to its rarity.

Sooty’s tongue lulled, and when the little dog noticed the sealing pearl in Yang Wu’s other hand, a spark flashed in its eyes. Woof, woof! It barked softly.

It was about to snatch the bead from the young man’s hand, but Yang Wu reacted quickly, pulling the hand back. “Don’t mess around, Sooty. You can’t eat this,” he scolded the pup nervously.

Barking, the little dog jumped twice, attempting to snatch the bead away, but each attempt was easily dodged. “I can give you anything but this. This bead may play a role in my plans; you can’t eat it.”

The dog rolled its eyes and finally retreated to a corner, no longer interested. Circling its spot and stretching lazily, it went to sleep.

Yang Wu dismissed the pup as he returned to his careful examination of the sealing pearl in his right hand. With a glance at the small blood ginseng root in his left, a gratified smile spread across his face. “Heaven has certainly lent me a hand. With these two items, I won’t need to be concerned with how soon I’ll reach my previous cultivation status.”

Without further ado, Yang Wu stored the sealing pearl and took a small bite out of the blood ginseng. He did not dare bite off too large a chunk, knowing it might be too potent for his body. If he could not metabolize the ginseng properly, he would waste this chance and potentially harm himself in the process.

The taste was bittersweet as he chewed, and as wisps of medicinal energy began to flow through his system, he felt his temperature rise. His dantian clenched with what felt like hunger pangs. Responding quickly, he circulated the Supreme Nine Profound Art to aid his digestion.

Relying on the profound art, Yang Wu directed the blood ginseng’s medicinal energy toward his dantian, which felt as if it hadn’t received any kind of sustenance for several days and greedily consumed the new energy. The results were instantaneous, and a pure energy manifested within his dantian.

The pure energy rushed through his twelve major meridians like a gushing river, roaring as its waves surged. The sound of crashing water was music to his ears.

This was the sign he had been waiting for, the sign that he had become a Medial Grade Foot Soldier.

This new, pure energy also improved Yang Wu’s blood circulation, considerably boosting his vitality. In the process, it reinforced his meridians, organs, and bones.

Of course, the young man could not see any of this happening within him. He only felt a soothing comfort as if he had submerged himself in a hot spring.

Not long later, he heard another melodious ringing reverberate from within. The sound came as fast and as furious as water through rapids as Profound Energy rotated between his dantian and his meridians, rippling through his system. This Profound Energy was largely different from the energy most cultivators experienced; it was denser and more pristine. Yang Wu’s unusual peach pit dantian might be behind this fortuitous oddity; average Medial Grade Foot Soldiers hardly had such a solid foundation to work with.

This time, the melody within Yang Wu sang three times, indicating that he had gained another three stones of strength, reaching seven in total. Now, he was only three stones away from the Superior Grade.

This all happened within the same hour, and by the time it was over, he had refined all of the energy from the small nibble of blood ginseng he had consumed.

The blood ginseng had provided more than enough medicinal energy for a Warrior. The fact that Yang Wu had absorbed it so quickly was more proof that the Supreme Nine Profound Art was exceptional. Other Profound Arts might fail to absorb the medicinal energy as quickly.

When Yang Wu opened his eyes, the exhausted dark circles under them were gone. He looked alert and vibrant.

He realized his hearing had grown much sharper, as well. He could only attribute the improvement to the blood ginseng and his most recent achievement of breaking through to the next cultivation grade.

He stretched for a moment, sighing, “So comfortable!”

The young man had so much excess energy that he did not think twice before emerging from his den. He wanted to spend some of his free time practicing his combat techniques.

As he straightened outside, he realized his manhood was particularly robust. The sight made him blush, and he muttered under his breath, “This viscount is quite spirited tonight!”

Sadly, there were few women in this forsaken place, and even if there were, he wouldn’t relieve his tensions with them. A man had to maintain his virginity for sixteen years before he could present his body to the woman he loved, and Yang Wu was a man of principles.

The most promiscuous he had been before his prison sentence had been harmless flirting with his pretty maids. Other than stroking their petite hands, patting perky bums, and occasionally stealing a sly glimpse of their voluptuous bosoms, he did not violate propriety.

The young man took a moment to survey his surroundings; the other prisoners had already crawled into their hovels to rest, and the guards had finished their rounds. Under the moonless, pitch-dark sky, he could not even see his hand in front of his face. He knew no one would discover him if he trained in the dark shadows. Hence, he slid into the horse stance and wielded his crowbar as he practiced the Rainstorm Spear Art.

The Rainstorm Spear Art was a Superior Grade Warrior Realm combat technique, which consisted of five moves.

Before Yang Wu’s imprisonment, he had trained with the five moves until he had reached the Proficient stage.

A cultivator’s skill with combat techniques fell into one of four stages: Established, Proficient, Accomplished, and Perfection.

In the Established stage, cultivators were familiar with the combat technique’s various moves and may perform them gracefully, yet they were far from unleashing the moves’ true might. Cultivators who were Proficient, however, were considered to have a solid understanding of the moves, able to exhibit a fraction of their might. Cultivators at the Accomplished stage had a thorough grasp of the moves and could use them flexibly, chaining multiple moves together. The final stage, Perfection, could only be reached when cultivators could use the combat technique’s moves without inhibition, massively increasing their prowess in battle.

Most cultivators easily reached the Initial and Proficient stages, and those who became Accomplished with a technique were usually quick learners and motivated to practice longer and harder. Only practitioners with extraordinary comprehension and the ability to derive elusive information could reach the Perfection stage. A combat technique’s moves would vary in strength depending on how much of the move a cultivator understood.

Yang Wu had practiced the Rainstorm Spear Art for several years, yet he had only become Proficient. The fact that he was now Accomplished with the first two moves was incredible.

Using the crowbar as he would a spear, Yang Wu brandished his weapon.

Dark Clouds Covering the Sky.

Arrows of Savage Rain.

Rolling Thunder Shifting Winds.

Torrential Downpour.

Promised Rainbow.

——