As Wu Zhe organized his newly attained memories within him, he remembered their life force. Without another second wasted, he sat down to meditate, using it to form his cultivation base.
As he meditated, the same, dark-red Qi spiraled chaotically around him, using the stolen lifeforce as a source to form his cultivation base.
A few minutes later…
"Ha…" Wu Zhe sighed, extending a wave Qi outwards.
Wu Zhe had done it. He had created a cultivation base, although he couldn't quite tell what realm he was in, all he knew was he had become a cultivator again which was quite pleasant.
He felt the faint Qi in the air around him. As the energy brushed against his body, his meridians began to open on their own, drawing the surrounding Qi inward. It seeped into his body, flowing through his newly awakened pathways and settling within his dantian.
He then closed his eyes once more, meditating among the bones of the three, and focused on another technique: "The Harmonized Body."
A technique he had obtained by killing the Harmonious Monk and absorbing his memories. In his previous life, it had been of little use, nearly useless when he first obtained it.
But now, at his current state, it was a technique that would prove quite useful.
The Harmonized Body was a technique that created paths throughout the body, each created paths connected to the meridians, organs, marrow of the bones, dantian, and other internal structures of the body into a single, unified network of paths that intertwined.
With that, the technique greatly improved the user's absorption and refinement of Qi, while the paths allowed Qi to circulate through the body with efficiency. With each path perfectly synchronizing and connecting the flow of Qi within the body, it also strengthened the user's Qi. making every strike and technique far lethal and effective than before.
Although Wu Zhe could not refine Qi, the Harmonized Body was still useful for him for its other benefits, like greatly increasing the amount of Qi he could absorb and ensuring it moved through his body without waste or trouble, along with all the other advantages it provided.
Wu Zhe closed his eyes and took a deep breath, using Harmonized Body create pathways. He could feel the paths being created inside him, weaving through his meridians, organs, marrow, and dantian-like threads of string.
The Qi inside him moved faster than ever, filling him without spilling or faltering. Even the faintest trace of Qi in the air was pulled in, traveling smoothly along each path and converging in his dantian.
Wu Zhe opened his eyes and immediately felt the difference. The Qi that had previously flowed through his body sluggishly and inefficiently now flowed far more smoothly. He felt as though his body and Qi were moving together, no longer clashing or resisting one another, but flowing in perfect harmony.
Wu Zhe stepped out of the wagon, his eyes scanning the surrounding forest before settling on the horse at the front. He tightened his grip on his blade, briefly considering killing it for its lifeforce. Then, suddenly, he calmly set the weapon down.
Dark red Qi began to envelop his arms. With one hand he grasped the horse's mane, and with the other he grabbed its head. Then he pulled with the full force of his body, aiming to tear the head from its neck.
The horse's neck snapped with a sickening crack, blood spraying across his face and clothes.
As always, the horse's memories flooded into him. Endless open fields. The joy of running beneath the sky. Commands shouted. Wooden fences closing in. Long days of toil pulling heavy loads without rest, its will beaten into obedience.
In the end there was only confusion, the smell of blood, and a desperate longing to run freely, unbound by reins or fences.
Wu Zhe felt the horse's desire to run as wild as the wind.
Just like the memories he had obtained, he pushed them aside.
Staring at the horse's dead corpse, he couldn't help but say, "How long will it take to return to my peak…"
Wu Zhe began thinking about what to do next. Since he now knew Huangcheng City was nearby, he could head there, but since he had killed the horses, he would have to go on foot. From the memories he had obtained, it would take at least several days to reach Huangcheng City by walking. Not wanting to waste that much time, he decided it would be best to wait here for a wagon, and potential lifeforce.
He meticulously started formulating multiple plans to ambush the next travelers who might come down the road. But just as he was lost in thought, a foul odor suddenly hit him, emanating from his own body.
"My god, I reek. I need to get these clothes off," he muttered.
He returned to the carriage, poured water from the barrel into a bucket, grabbed a set of clothes and shoes from the chest, and headed into the forest to wash himself.
Just as he was taking off his clothes, he felt something in his pocket. He pulled it out and found a small vial of some kind.
He stared at it intently. Inside were about thirty tablets. It seemed he knew exactly what they were. Carefully, he set the vial on the ground.
After washing himself, he changed into his new clothes and shoes, he then he picked up the vial and stared at the tablets again. A thought pressed at the back of his mind 'I need to conserve them…' as he carefully placed the vial into his robes.
After putting on all his new clothes and shoes, Wu Zhe began thinking again about how he would ambush approaching wagons.
After several minutes of careful consideration, Wu Zhe finally settled on a few strategies. First, he could wait along the tree lines, using the wagon as a natural blockade. If the approaching wagon carried only a handful of people and he knew for a fact that they posed no real threat to him, he would simply kill them without needing to hide.
If they were a threat, he would try to lure them deeper into the forest, where the darkness and trees would become his playground. Or he would simply leave. The same applied if the group was too large. He would give up and run unless, of course, he was certain he could eliminate them all.
It might have seemed like cowardice, but Wu Zhe did not care. He could not die, no matter what. Not until his goal was achieved, not until what he preached was heard. Until that moment, cowardice was not weakness. Every advantage and tactic that brought him closer to his goal was worth taking, and nothing could tell him otherwise. Also were simply far too many variables that could ruin his plans. After all, so many things could go wrong in this cruel game of existence.
As he moved deeper into the forest, he sat down behind a tree and pressed his back against the rough bark. The faint rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs could be heard as he had laid down.
"Haaa… time to wait," Xue Shen whispered to himself.