Chapter 18

Jiang Ping'an sorted and placed the supplies.

In addition to weapons and spells, there were two bottles of medicine.

One bottle was labeled "Qi Gathering Pill," and the other was labeled "Spirit Scattering Pill."

He knew the Spirit Scattering Pill was what the old man had given him to make the spiritual energy in his body dissipate.

But what was the Qi Gathering Pill?

Jiang Ping'an, puzzled, opened the bottle and sniffed it.

This was an extremely dangerous action; if it were highly toxic, he might have died.

Jiang Ping'an's luck was good, and the Qi Gathering Pill was not a poison.

When he inhaled the medicinal energy of the Qi Gathering Pill into his body, the spiritual energy inside him suddenly increased and rapidly circulated.

Jiang Ping'an was startled.

"Could this be a drug that accelerates cultivation?"

He had heard of pills before, but they were not sold in Ping Shui County.

Jiang Ping'an poured the medicine into his hand, and there were two pills.

The Qi Gathering Pill was entirely white and emitted a faint fragrance.

Jiang Ping'an tried taking one.

After a moment, the spiritual energy in his body surged, and the speed of its circulation was three times faster than before!

Jiang Ping'an quickly sat down and began to practice the breathing and inhalation technique.

After half an hour, a crisp cracking sound came from inside his body, and the surrounding spiritual energy rapidly surged and gathered, causing the surrounding trees to rustle.

Jiang Ping'an opened his eyes, his face filled with shock.

He had reached the fifth level of Qi Cultivation!

This single Qi Gathering Pill was equivalent to ten spirit stones, and most importantly, it accelerated the circulation of spiritual energy in his body.

Under normal circumstances, he would need to use at least thirty to forty spirit stones to break through to the next level.

But just one Qi Gathering Pill had allowed him to break through!

It saved him three to four days of cultivation!

Jiang Ping'an's worldview was once again enriched: pills are good things.

"There's an energy fluctuation over there! Yuan Bin might be there!"

A loud voice came from not far away.

Two figures moved quickly toward him.

Jiang Ping'an's face changed drastically. The sudden breakthrough had caused the spiritual energy to surge, creating a disturbance that was detected.

He quickly packed up his things and fled.

However, the two men were too fast, and in a moment, they caught up.

"That's the kid the general is looking for!"

"Haha, it's like searching for a needle in a haystack, but we found it without much effort!"

The two squad leaders, seeing it was Jiang Ping'an, showed a look of wild joy.

This kid had killed the general's son, Xu Hao. If they couldn't bring this kid back, the general would definitely be unhappy.

If the general was unhappy, they wouldn't get any benefits in the future.

They didn't expect to find this kid while searching for Yuan Bin! And it seemed this kid had even killed Yuan Bin!

The two soldiers, who had mastered the third level of the Blood Qi Technique, had extremely strong physical abilities. In a short moment, they rushed to Jiang Ping'an's back.

Jiang Ping'an infused his knife with spiritual energy and slashed at the person beside him.

"Such fast speed! No wonder you could kill Xu Hao and Yuan Bin, but it's useless against us!"

The squad leader was shocked by the speed of Jiang Ping'an's slash, but of course, such an attack couldn't hurt them.

He dodged the attack and punched back.

"Bang!"

Jiang Ping'an's protective shield activated, but it was shattered by the punch as soon as it opened.

The energy in the protective charm was not fully replenished, so it couldn't withstand their attack.

Jiang Ping'an was thrown into the trees by the force, breaking three or four large trees in succession.

Jiang Ping'an was filled with shock. This person was too strong, definitely at the third level of the Blood Qi Technique!

Ignoring the pain in his body, he turned and ran.

"Bang!"

Ma Lin kicked Jiang Ping'an in the back, and the sound of bones breaking was clear.

Jiang Ping'an spat out blood and crashed into a rock.

He tried to get up, but the intense pain made it impossible.

One move, just one kick, and he had completely lost his fighting ability.

Seeing the two soldiers with a killing intent approaching, Jiang Ping'an was utterly despairing.

Even if he used all his protective charms, it would only delay them for a few seconds.

In the face of absolute strength, no hidden cards were useful.

He was too weak, completely unable to resist.

But even if he died, he would try to break a few of their teeth!

"Brat, making us stay in this hellhole for so many days, I really want to stomp you to death." Ma Lin growled viciously.

"Don't be impulsive, the general wants him alive." The other soldier reminded him.

"I know, I'll just break another leg."

Just as Ma Lin lifted his foot, the trees and vines suddenly grew rapidly, quickly binding and pulling Jiang Ping'an away.

The two soldiers' faces changed, and they were about to pursue, but a row of thick trees sprang up, blocking their path.

"Who is it!"

They quickly drew their knives and slashed at the trees in front of them.

"The genius that Lingtai Kingdom doesn't want, our Daxia Kingdom wants!" a distant voice echoed.

The two soldiers' faces changed drastically.

It was someone from Daxia Kingdom!

They absolutely couldn't let this genius be rescued by Daxia Kingdom! The consequences would be unimaginable!

They frantically swung their knives, clearing the trees in front of them.

Their knives were very sharp, but the surrounding trees surged wildly, forming a tree cage that trapped them.

By the time they had cut down all the trees, Jiang Ping'an was nowhere to be found.

The two soldiers' faces turned pale.

It was over.

Ma Lin said in a low voice, "The general can't know about this. We'll say we didn't find the kid."

"No need to say it." The other soldier agreed in a low voice.

If the general found out they had let this kid escape and had been taken by Daxia Kingdom, they would be finished.

Damn, why were Daxia Kingdom cultivators here!

Jiang Ping'an was lying on the back of an old man, who was running at full speed.

The old man raised his withered hand and handed Jiang Ping'an a fragrant pill.

"This is a healing pill. Take it and sleep. I won't harm you, or I wouldn't have saved you."

"Thank you."

Jiang Ping'an weakly thanked him, took the pill, and his body, in self-protection mode due to the pain, fell into a deep sleep.

The old man smiled, "Heroes emerge from the young. Those people are shameless, using two squad leaders to capture a child."

A day later, Jiang Ping'an suddenly opened his eyes and quickly prepared for defense.

The long period of death threats had made him highly alert.

He was in an ancient and elegant bedroom, with very luxurious decorations, the best room he had ever seen, far better than his old dilapidated hut.

"Awake?"

A middle-aged man sat at a table, his body straight, his eyes deep, and a scar on his face, giving him a natural air of authority.

The middle-aged man looked up at Jiang Ping'an, "Let me introduce myself, Meng Kuo, the general of Lianshan County."

"Lianshan County."

Jiang Ping'an was slightly stunned.

Lianshan County was not far from Ping Shui County, within the territory of Daxia Kingdom.

Before the war, the two counties were connected, but after the war broke out, contact was severed.

He didn't expect this person to be the general of Lianshan County!

Jiang Ping'an touched the storage bag at his waist; it was still there, untouched.

Meng Kuo saw his small action but didn't say anything.

"The injuries on your body have been treated by Old Li. He's the one who saved you."

"Thank you."

Jiang Ping'an said gratefully.

If not for that person, he would already be dead.

Meng Kuo poured a cup of tea for Jiang Ping'an at the table, "Let's get straight to the point. You have good talent, and I want you to join my army."

"Okay."

"I know you might be unwilling... Hmm?"

Meng Kuo suddenly paused, the words he had prepared suddenly stuck in his throat.

The other party had actually agreed so readily, which left him a bit stunned.

He had expected the other party to hesitate, or refuse because of not wanting to be bound, or to ask for better conditions.

But unexpectedly, the other party had directly agreed.

This caught him off guard.