The breakthrough in the Five Elements Fist caused Wang Sheng’s five internal organs to begin nurturing the Five Spirits, but this matter was similar to the refining stage.
It was just one word, endure!
Whether it’s refining great medicines or cultivating the Five Internal Gods, both require a long time of practice to truly succeed.
During the practice, Wang Sheng also slowly increased the time he devoted to his Planting Skill because he was very aware that the consumption of the Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pills would grow larger and larger.
Relying on quantity for victory was never a long-term solution; he had to think about future development.
In cultivating immortality and martial arts, what one cultivates is time, and what one trains is consumption.
Time passed in such days.
It seemed that no sooner had the leaves turned yellow than they began to fall gradually, and the weather also became colder.
However, the Spirit Rice in the paddy fields wasn’t much affected, growing well and looking lush and dripping green.
The village chief had already had the seedlings uprooted and replanted, occupying several acres of the fields.
As a result, the village placed even more importance on it, and every day, martial artists stood guard to prevent any accidents. If nothing unexpected happened, this would be the main sustenance for the martial artists in the village thereafter.
At the same time, many wild fruits in the forest were ripe, allowing for a change in diet within the village.
Looking at the various wild fruits sent by the village chief, Wang Sheng turned to look at his two trees.
A jujube tree and a peach tree.
These two trees had been in his possession for over a year now and had grown well, clearly looking like fully mature trees, yet they had not produced a single fruit.
The leaves were always green, but they never flowered, like an evergreen tree.
But he was certain that the seedlings he brought back were fruit trees.
“Could it be that they, like ordinary fruits, do not bear fruit in the first few years? Or is it going to surprise me greatly?”
Wang Sheng could not judge for himself.
However, he was certain that these trees were no longer ordinary trees.
His “Divine Thought” had not only become powerful during the refining stage but would also grow stronger as the Five Internal Organs Containing God started to be nurtured.
The Heart Contains God, the five internal organs grow stronger, naturally, his own “Divine Thought” also becomes more powerful.
So as long as he wishes, he can clearly sense the outside world with his divine sense.
This is what is called Divine Thought, a manifestation of the “Divine” growing so strong that it becomes something that can be utilized.
It was because of Divine Thought’s existence that Wang Sheng had a clearer understanding of things outside, perceiving both the jujube and peach trees as essentially the same as those spiritual medicines under his Divine Thought.
Unfortunately, Divine Thought had only shown a trace of presence and could not sense anything specific with clarity yet.
To have a clearer sense, he must either further progress in the refining stage or successfully cultivate the Five Internal Gods.
Wang Sheng was not in a hurry. If they didn’t bear fruit, then they didn’t bear fruit. He wasn’t currently lacking any cultivation resources, and as long as he could still advance on his path, everything else was the icing on the cake.
He cultivated as usual, took baths.
But the village was far from calm.
Because the village had unexpected visitors.
They called themselves Medicine Gatherers, searching for spiritual medicines in the dense mountains and forests to use as resources for their own cultivation or to sell to major powers.
The existence of Qingshan Village was no secret to the people nearby, and they had already asked the locals before entering the mountains, knowing there was such a place to rest their feet. They just hadn’t expected it to be inhabited.
“Do you gentlemen wish to stay for the night? We have plenty of empty rooms here!”
The Medicine Gatherers were three in total, and each was a martial artist.
The village chief remained calm, not flustered by the presence of martial artists, mainly because he was quite confident.
“Prepare good meat and good wine for us, rest assured, we won’t shortchange you.”
One of them directly took out a large Silver Tael, which the village chief estimated to be at least around five taels.
“Prepare something for these strong men!”
If there was money involved, things were easy to discuss.
Qingshan Village hadn’t completely cut off contacts with the outside world, and the silver was still somewhat useful.
Soon, someone brought some meat and a jug of turbid wine.
“I apologize gentlemen, our small village doesn’t have much to offer, only these.”
All the meat was hunted by the villages martial artists, merely costing human labor.
The wine wasn’t anything special, just the most common kind.
Of course, there was also good wine, but the people in the village rarely ventured out, so they would rather keep the good stuff for themselves.
As for the three Medicine Gatherers resting in Qingshan Village, this was all they got.
One couldn’t blame them for being calculating.
Whether it was meat or wine, getting it required human effort, so hiking up the prices was quite normal!
The Medicine Gatherers didn’t know the details of the village. Although they were rather arrogant, they weren’t excessive. Once the food was served, they just ate their own meals.
To be able to eat a hot meal in the mountains was already quite good.
At this time, Wang Sheng, who had been notified by the village chief, had also arrived and saw the three medicine gatherers.
“Three First Grade Martial Artists, just find a Second Grade Martial Artist to watch over them, and let it go once they leave.”
Being able to go into the mountains to gather medicine, one could tell they were among those who didn’t fare well, so it wasn’t particularly surprising to assess their strength.
As long as they didn’t do anything excessive, they paid the money, and Qingshan Village provided services, and that was that once they left.
Three First Grade Martial Artists, aside from those few who had just become Martial Artists, any Martial Artist in the village could easily crush them, so there was no fear of any serious trouble arising.
Wang Sheng looked and then wanted to leave, it was only because the village chief was worried and unable to judge their strength that he came to take a look.
However, just as he planned to leave, he suddenly heard one of the medicine gatherers say something.
“Hey, the three counties finally recovered some tranquility, but then a Ninth Grade Martial Artist came, demanding taxes and contributions of cultivation resources, it’s such a hassle.”
Wang Sheng stopped in his tracks.
“It’s just using the tiger’s might to bully others, how did the tranquility of the three counties come to be, wasn’t it because of that mysterious Grandmaster? Now, this person directly took over the place, does he not have a brain? Isn’t he afraid of being held accountable?”
“Who knows? That person hasn’t shown up for over a year now; maybe they think there’s nothing to fear or maybe they have a powerful background?”
“Now with the government too busy with its own troubles, once these powerful Martial Artists arrive somewhere, they become the local Emperor. Haven’t you noticed that Martial Artist becoming increasingly overbearing? At first, it was just food being demanded, but later on, they wanted each county to hand over Spiritual Medicine…”
“Ah, we finally found a peaceful place, but it didn’t take long for it to become just like everywhere else.”
“The people of the three counties are truly unlucky; they thought good days were ahead but ended up halfway into a disaster, surrendering more grain than ever before.”
“Let it be, it’s none of our business, at worst we’ll just move somewhere else, though it might be riskier, but as long as we keep a low profile, there shouldn’t be big problems…”
After hearing these words, Wang Sheng fell silent for a while, then said a few words to the village chief.
Soon, the village chief called for Li Xingpeng, now a Second Grade Martial Artist approaching Third Grade, eloquent and clever.
He directly took a flask of wine and then went forward to inquire about the news.
Soon, he had gathered the information.
The situation was rather simple.
A clever person from the three counties had, relying on the intimidation left by Wang Sheng’s feat of slaying the Evil Flood Dragon, deterred people from outside the counties from causing trouble.
Even if they acted, it had to be low-key.
But it’s been over a year since the event of defeating the Evil Flood Dragon, and during this year, the three counties and even neighboring ones had not suffered from outside disturbances, allowing them to recuperate and recover quite well.
And due to the collapse of the government’s power, no taxes were collected, and one could even say they flourished in wealth.
However, as more than a year passed, the awe from his slaying the Evil Flood Dragon gradually faded, and the three counties, having rested and fattened, had become too tempting for some to resist.
A Ninth Grade Martial Artist came and took over the three counties, initially only requiring the handover of food, but it hadn’t been a month before he demanded more, and now, each county had to surrender Spiritual Medicine.
Otherwise, there would be deaths.
“Starting with probing, once realizing no one would intervene, it escalated to more brazen actions, eventually becoming a ruler of a county; what a well-thought-out strategy!”
Wang Sheng finished speaking and then went to find Yue.
“Yue, calculate this for me, has a Great Grandmaster been involved in this matter? This should be possible, right?”
He remembered Yue was unable to foresee events concerning Great Grandmasters, which is why he asked.
“It’s possible, I cannot forecast secrets about Great Grandmasters themselves, but I can look into this kind of matter; I’ll get it calculated for you right away.”
Quickly, Yue had a result.
“Master Wang Sheng, there was no Great Grandmaster involved, just a small Grandmaster, and one who has just entered the rank of Grandmaster, seeking an opportunity to rise.”
Wang Sheng sneered, “A Grandmaster has such ambitions? Isn’t he afraid of dying without a place for his grave!”
This world was clearly one where only a Great Grandmaster had the opportunity to enter the fray.
“The world never lacks opportunists; he might not necessarily aim for the highest position. Just managing to mix into an area of control, then siding with the eventual winner, can still bring about huge benefits.”
Not everyone wanted to vie for that supremely high position.
But countless people are willing to gamble for the sake of profit, and clearly, that Grandmaster was one of them.
“Can we calculate where that Grandmaster is?”
“He is now a Ninth Grade Martial Artist!” Yue replied.
“Ninth Grade Martial Artist… this is really interesting! Yue, your Stargazing Skill can see into the future, right? Take a look, what would become of the three counties if events were to unfold naturally?”
“Master Wang Sheng, Stargazing Skill can only see a corner of the future, and the corner I see shows the dead scattered everywhere, countless homes broken…”
After hearing this, Wang Sheng said nothing and left immediately, with Yue respectfully escorting him out.
Returning to his own house afterward.
Wang Sheng picked up his Black Dragon Spear.
“As a Martial Artist, when faced with matters before my eyes, the fervor is hard to cool down!”
He could not save the world, nor did he intend to do so, since no matter what the world is like, it could never be perfect, some matters would occur even in the absence of individual might.
But when faced with the matters right before him, he found it difficult to act as if he had seen nothing.
Now, he was a Martial Artist with fervor that couldn’t be cooled.
Cultivating immortality was also about cultivating the self.
He did not wish to lose his humanity on the lengthy path of cultivation…