The closer he drew to the dying bandit, the more intense the restless thoughts in Li Qiuchen's heart became.
Not until the branch cane in his hand pierced the bandit’s chest did vigorous life energy flow through the cane and pour into his body, truly alleviating this restless state of mind.
A life on the verge of dissipating was reborn in another form.
Human life energy, even the remnants of a dying person’s life, far surpassed the swimming fish in the river.
After absorbing the life energy of just a few dying bandits, Li Qiuchen felt as if he were soaking in a hot spring—warm from head to toe, his entire body filled with strength.
Even the branch in his hand had grown fresh green shoots at its tip.
If the dying could provide this much, what about a normal, healthy person?
Li Qiuchen walked up to the last bandit, who had fallen unconscious but was uninjured, and turned his head to glance at White Crane.
The stupid bird was still immersed in the fear of killing for the first time, lying in the lake and gulping down water, completely failing to notice his actions.
Li Qiuchen squatted down, raised his hand to press against the bandit’s face, and the image of White Crane shooting out feathers surfaced in his mind.
That move was so cool...
*Pfft—*
A slender, sharp wooden thorn grew from his palm, piercing through the eye socket and directly into the bandit’s brain.
The Li family’s ocular art inherently possessed the divine ability to observe and imitate the techniques of others, and life energy was extremely easy to manipulate. He had merely simulated it in his mind, yet had easily created a technique somewhat similar to it.
Scorching life energy transmitted directly into his body through the wooden thorn, like a bowl of fragrant chicken broth wontons, causing every pore on his body to involuntarily open up. In an instant, a fine layer of sweat covered his forehead.
Li Qiuchen shot to his feet, shook off the blood staining his hands, and retreated several steps.
Too delicious... No, too terrifying.
What difference was this from eating a person directly?
No, you're merely continuing his life.
A voice in his mind whispered softly like a demon.
Bullshit continuation!
Li Qiuchen instantly sobered up, realizing this wasn't his true thought at all, but rather the influence of the Pharmacist's Blessing.
The Pharmacist's Blessing was inherently without good or evil, but this power was obtained too easily. If one wasn't careful, they would become addicted to the vanity brought by expanding power, losing rationality and even humanity.
Would he still be himself if he lost his humanity?
Fearful in his heart, Li Qiuchen slowly retracted the wooden thorn in his palm and began to recall the explanations and treatises on the Pharmacist's Blessing in the *Jingyunzi*.
Then he realized a very serious problem.
The *Jingyunzi* was incomplete.
This was merely a general outline.
The Li family had three hundred volumes in their collection; he only possessed two of them, and the rest had been burned by his eldest cousin sister in a fire.
Eldest cousin, could you be a decent human being for once?!
People needed education! Having power without theoretical knowledge to support it—wasn't that a one-way ticket to the demonic path?
At this moment, Li Qiuchen's desire to study became infinitely intense.
Seeing that White Crane, having its fill of water, was gradually recovering, Li Qiuchen walked over and said softly, "Let's split up. You go after that bandit chief and try to find the location of their stronghold. I'll go to the village to check on the old man’s family and tell him what happened here so he can be mentally prepared."
White Crane nodded, spread its wings, and flew into the sky.
Although night had fallen, with this stupid bird’s abilities, locking onto a person’s whereabouts from the air was no problem.
Night roads were hard to travel. It would be best if that bandit chief accidentally fell to his death.
But the fact that he could break free from that illusion meant he had some skill.
If this person managed to run back, steady his mind, and gather another group of men to kill their way here, Li Qiuchen would have to make other preparations.
But the current him was no longer the person he had been an hour ago.
After absorbing the life energy of several dying men plus one living person, Li Qiuchen felt that all his physical capabilities, whether strength or perception, had improved noticeably.
Although he had never trained in martial arts, he felt that with strength alone, he could now easily take down two grown men.
He had even imitated White Crane’s flying feathers to create an extremely sinister technique, equivalent to suddenly having a sharp dagger in his hand that also had a blood-sucking function. He decided to name it "Palm Thorn."
When the prepared attacked the unprepared, ordinary people simply couldn't dodge this sneak attack.
In the past, descending the mountain had taken half an hour. Now his pace had nearly doubled; he moved through the mountain forest with the speed of flight, reaching the village in no time.
The old man’s home was a miserable sight. The courtyard gate had been kicked to pieces, and the interior was a scene of devastation.
The coffin originally prepared for the old man now held his youngest son. The old sending off the young—it was a scene too tragic to behold.
The old man was guarding the courtyard with his family. Hearing footsteps, he hurriedly rose, and seeing Li Qiuchen walk in, tears began streaming down uncontrollably.
"Young Immortal Master, it's good that you're unharmed. Those bandits didn't find you, did they?"
"I'm fine. Those bandits, on the other hand... not so much."
Li Qiuchen lowered his voice. "They spoke rudely and offended the Lord of the Mountain. They all received their retribution."
"Hah? Retribution?"
Upon hearing this, the old man immediately fell to his knees and kowtowed heavily toward the mountain. "Heaven has eyes! The Lord of the Mountain is mighty! These evil men deserved their retribution!"
Li Qiuchen glanced at the young man lying in the coffin, coughed, and said, "This person can still be saved. Aren't you going to get a physician to look at him?"
"What? He can still be saved?"
The old man scrambled to his feet, eyes wide. "This man is already cold..."
Halfway through his words, he suddenly realized, hurriedly grabbing Li Qiuchen's hand and pleading, "Young Immortal Master, where in our village would we find a physician? If you can save my son's life, my entire family will be eternally grateful for your great kindness!"
After speaking, he tried to kneel again, but Li Qiuchen stopped him with one hand, leaving him unable to move.
"First, carry him out and let me see."
Li Qiuchen didn't make any guarantees.
Normally speaking, this person truly was beyond saving—stabbed in the chest, punctured lung, massive blood loss, and so much time had passed. Saying he was cold was an objective description without exaggeration.
But in Li Qiuchen's eyes, the last bit of life energy in this person's body had not completely dissipated.
Using more professional terminology, he was currently in a state of "suspended animation."
He was just a tiny bit away from true death.
The old man had solid character; even after being put through such torment, he hadn't betrayed Li Qiuchen. Naturally, Li Qiuchen had to repay his kindness.
Besides delivering the news, he had also come to the village to help treat the old man’s whip wounds. He hadn't expected this pleasant surprise.
Overjoyed, the old man immediately shouted loudly, telling his sons and grandsons to carry the man out of the coffin.
Unconsciously, he touched his chest, only to discover that all the pain in his body had vanished, and even his years of chronic leg pain seemed much more limber and light.
Ah, this...
Li Qiuchen waved his hand, signaling him not to make a fuss. He picked up his branch cane and placed it on the "deceased's" chest.
If life energy could be absorbed, it could naturally also be transferred.
In the past, he could only absorb the lives of small animals and had never experimented on a human. After this battle, he discovered it worked on humans as well.
The prerequisite was that the other party couldn't resist.
For example, dying, unconscious, or in a severely wounded state like the present one.
If it were a lively, normal person, that would be hard to say.
Perhaps he'd have the opportunity to conduct some experiments in the future.
As the life energy in his body was transmitted over, the "deceased's" complexion reddened at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even the wound on his chest began to heal.
On Li Qiuchen's side, however, he felt emptiness and exhaustion within his body.
Life energy to him was like money—picking it up on one side while spending it on the other. Yet he had no stable source of income; all his money was cash, and only a small portion could be deposited in the bank.
The cultivation methods recorded in the *Jingyunzi* mainly focused on body tempering and ocular arts; there was no content corresponding to the Pharmacist's Blessing.
Seeing that the chest of the "deceased" lying on the ground had already begun to rise and fall slightly, Li Qiuchen hurriedly removed the cane.
The old man's eyes brimmed with hot tears. He gripped Li Qiuchen, trembling, unable to find words.
"Thank you, Immortal Master, thank you..."
"Alright, I'm not a physician either. This is the most I can do."
"No, no, no. No physician is as amazing as you!"
"Come with me. I have a few questions."
Li Qiuchen pulled the old man aside and asked in a low voice, "You didn't hand that pearl over to them?"
The old man smiled bitterly. "How would I dare not hand it over? Who knew this group completely disregards the rules of the jianghu, especially that big chief..."
"What is the origin of that big chief?"
Mindful of his image, Li Qiuchen didn't say aloud: How could there be such a reckless idiot?
Anyone who farmed knew the principle of pulling up seedlings to help them grow; crops had to wait until they matured before they could be harvested.
Since the village had Profound Pearls, you could just take them. Come back after some time; at least that would leave the village time to recover.
But this group?
Having one, they wanted two. If they couldn't get them out, they killed people, then ran to the lake to fish for pearls themselves...
They were completely out of their minds.
The old man hesitated a moment, then said softly, "We country folk have closed-off news; how would we know the big chief's origins... However, when they came today, I did hear from those bandits that he used to be a jailer in the county town. Who knows what mistake he committed to end up here. The purpose of demanding the Profound Pearls was to bribe his superiors into absolving his crimes."
So that's how it was. That explained everything.
They say leave a line when dealing with people, so you can meet again happily. But there was one exception—jailers in a prison.
Such people never considered the consequences of their actions, because those locked in prison mostly never came out alive.
So it was no wonder this big chief was so ruthless and heartless, draining the pond to catch all the fish.
The value of a single Profound Pearl was indeed incomparably precious to the villagers, but to those high officials and nobles, it probably wasn't that valuable. Unless he prepared plenty, it likely wouldn't even be presentable.
Having figured out the big chief's origins and background—that he wasn't some noble young master or second-generation dandy who had run to the mountain valleys to experience life—Li Qiuchen immediately felt much more secure.