Zhao Yu once again employed the Flying Dagger Technique, and the high-grade magic instrument, the Azure Wave Sword, pierced through the chest of a Black Wolf Thief with a faint glow, nailing him to the ground.
"Go!"
Su Bingyun pointed her finger, and the Fire Crow flapped its wings, transforming into a fireball that pounced on another Black Wolf Thief, igniting his head.
Zhao Yu took a step forward using the Phantom Step and once again used the Flying Dagger Technique. A low-grade magical instrument level Willow Leaf Dart flew out and instantaneously pierced through the last Black Wolf Thief's head.
Zhao Yu picked up the storage bags of the five Black Wolf Thieves and handed two to Su Bingyun, who had killed them, "These are yours!"
Su Bingyun said indifferently, "You keep them. I don't need these! All I want now is to reach Foundation Establishment. Once I do, resources will come easily."
Zhao Yu gathered the storage bags of the five Black Wolf Thieves and then tossed their corpses into the nearby jungle, where beasts would naturally devour them come nightfall.
Zhao Yu and his companions sneakily made their way back to the Market.
By that time, many buildings in the Market had been destroyed, and many people had died. There were several empty houses on the outskirts of the area. The trio found an unoccupied, remote house to stay in.
As soon as Su Bingyun settled in the Market, she began her seclusion to prepare for the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Li Xianjiao also secluded himself in the house to practice diligently.
Opening the storage bags of the five Black Wolf Thieves, Zhao Yu obtained a total of seventeen mid-grade Spirit Stones, more than four hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, a large number of precious Spirit Grass, a Secret Manual for Cultivating to the Early Foundation Establishment called "Everlasting Spring Technique", four Secret Manuals for basic Cultivation Techniques that could reach the Great Circle of Qi Refining, twenty-three Golden Light Talismans, fifteen Featherweight Talismans, ten Armor Horse Talismans, fifteen Rocket Talismans, fifty-three evil-warding Talismans, as well as a large number of low-level talismans such as Cleansing Talismans, thirty-six first-order low-grade magical instruments, seven first-order mid-grade magical instruments, and a large assortment of Spirit Pills.
Among those precious Spirit Grasses, there were enough herbs to refine five first-order Lifespan Extension Pills, and nearly half were auxiliary materials for refining Foundation Establishment Pills.
"No wonder so many people love to be highwaymen; killing and looting is indeed a path to quick riches," Zhao Yu thought to himself as he looked at the vast amount of loot in his hands.
In the following days, Zhao Yu stayed at home, drawing Talismans and practicing various Martial Arts.
Before long, a Qi Refinement fifth-stage cultivator named Lei Fan moved in, taking residence in an unoccupied house to the right of Zhao Yu's.
Zhao Yu learned from Lei Fan that the small Black Mountain Market was now controlled by four major gangs: the Fierce Tiger Gang, Thunder Wolf Gang, Dual Sword Sect, and Flying Bear Clan.
The four gangs each occupied a direction of the small Black Mountain Market and continued to struggle endlessly with one another.
Lei Fan had moved to avoid being caught in the struggles of the four gangs.
Half a month later.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Zhao Yu was busy drawing an evil-warding Talisman when a series of intense knocks came from outside the door.
Hisss!
The evil-warding Talisman Zhao Yu was drawing spontaneously combusted into a pile of ashes without any wind.
An impatient voice came from outside, "Open up. I know there's someone in there! If you don't open the door, I'm going to kick it down!"
Zhao Yu went straight to the door and opened it, only to see two Qi Refinement cultivators of about the third stage, one tall and one short, standing outside.
Zhao Yu asked, "Fellow Daoists, might I inquire the purpose of your visit?"
The taller cultivator threatened coldly, "From today on, this place is Thunder Wolf Gang territory! If you wish to stay here, each month you must pay two Spirit Stones. Hand over the two Spirit Stones now! Otherwise, don't blame us, the Thunder Wolf Gang, for being inhospitable!"
Zhao Yu's eyebrows twitched slightly as he slowly let out an aura of the fourth level of Qi Refinement, "Two Spirit Stones a month, isn't that too expensive? Even the Sanguine Sect only collected one Spirit Stone a month! This isn't the core area!"
Another short cultivator smiled and said, "This is the price set by the gang! We can't do anything about it! Fellow Daoist, our Thunder Wolf Gang leader is none other than the Great Circle of Qi Refining, Venerable Thunder Wolf!"
The Market of Little Black Mountain was still in a very chaotic phase, and the ruling of the four major gangs over the market was far less stable than that of the Sanguine Sect. In the Market of Little Black Mountain, almost everyone was a cultivator, and there had been cases where people, out of desperation, resorted to murder and silence. With this in mind, the short cultivator stepped forward to smooth things over.
"It's too much!! How do you expect people to live!?"
While complaining, Zhao Yu took out two Spirit Stones from his arms and handed them over to the two members of the Thunder Wolf Gang.
The two members of the Thunder Wolf Gang took the Spirit Stones and left.
Zhao Yu gave the departing shadows of the Thunder Wolf Gang members a deep look before turning back to his house.
Three months later.
Zhao Yu was in the middle of drawing a Demon-Repelling Talisman when he suddenly felt a powerful aura rising from within the house, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes, "She has successfully advanced!"
Soon after, the aura quickly receded, and Su Bingyun walked out slowly from the Quiet Room.
"Foundation Establishment Stage! She looked even more beautiful than before, her temperament now more ethereal and otherworldly!"
Zhao Yu looked carefully at Su Bingyun and smiled slightly, "Senior Su, congratulations on reaching Foundation Establishment!"
In the Cultivation World, the law of the jungle reigned and the strong were respected. After her advancement to the Foundation Establishment Stage, Su Bingyun's strength, identity, and status all underwent a transformation incomparable to her past. Although she was more than a decade younger than Zhao Yu, he still had to address her as a senior according to the customs of the Cultivation World.
Su Bingyun hesitated for a moment before saying, "You may call me Bing... Fellow Daoist Su! Although I have successfully founded my base, we are still friends!"
Zhao Yu said, "All right, Fellow Daoist Su!"
Three days later, at the headquarters of the Thunder Wolf Gang.
A cultivator with a face covered in horizontal scars, somewhat ugly in appearance, with many wounds on his face, raised his cup and shouted, "We've taken down another street!! Vice-leader Hu Yuecheng of the Flying Bear Faction has been slain! This is all thanks to our leader's merit! Here's to our leader unifying the Little Black Mountain Market and hopefully reaching Foundation Establishment in the future!"
Another cultivator chimed in, "Exactly! The success of our Thunder Wolf Gang today is all due to our leader's merit!!"
".….."
One after another, the cultivators of the Thunder Wolf Gang started to extol their leader.
Sitting in the chief seat, a tall figure with shoulder-length hair, dressed in a white robe, and quite handsome and refined in appearance, was the leader of the Thunder Wolf Gang, Venerable Thunder Wolf. He was sipping Spiritual Wine and smiling with a look of utter satisfaction in his eyes.
"It's a pity we haven't found any Foundation Establishment Pills! It would have been perfect if we had found them!"
Venerable Thunder Wolf downed the rest of the Spiritual Wine, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes. After founding the Thunder Wolf Gang and taking control of the Little Black Mountain Market, he had acquired a huge number of cultivation resources and even found two items that could increase the chances of Foundation Establishment by ten percent. However, the most crucial Foundation Establishment Pill was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly, agonizing screams came from outside, and Su Bingyun, wielding a Magic Sword, stepped into the headquarters of the Thunder Wolf Gang.
Venerable Thunder Wolf's face changed dramatically at the sight of Su Bingyun, fear flashing in his eyes as he exclaimed, "Su Bingyun, weren't you dead?"
"Su Bingyun!! She's still alive! How could this be?"
"Impossible!! All people from Sanguine Sect should be gone!"
".….."
The sight of Su Bingyun caused the faces of the Thunder Wolf Gang members to pale, fear glinting in their eyes. Many of them had taken part in the battle against the Sanguine Sect, with the blood of Sanguine Sect disciples on their hands.