After weighing the tea bricks ten at a time, eight hundred bricks were finally placed into two boxes. Since they only contained eight hundred bricks, the two boxes were not particularly large. They didn't even require specially made iron racks; they were simply hung on either side of the Crimson Fire Horse.

The Crimson Fire Horse was of the same caliber as the Striped-Pattern Horse of the Gui Yuan Sect.

When the Black Armored Army was on the march, the Striped-Pattern Horse, burdened with its heavy armor, alongside the soldier in his own heavy armor, weighed several hundred jin in total, yet the Striped-Pattern Horse would still gallop swiftly.

The Crimson Fire Horse, valued at nearly a thousand taels of silver apiece, carried these two boxes with surprising ease.

"Master Zhou, no need to see me off."

Teng Qingshan smiled, cupped his hands in salute, and mounted the Crimson Fire Horse. The horse trotted away from the Qing Yang Tea House, its four hooves kicking up dust.

...

The next morning, at the west gate of Huacheng, the winter morning wind was bone-chilling, yet all the merchants and guards had gathered there.

"Everyone's here! Move out!" a loud shout echoed, and the contingent of several hundred merchants continued their journey.

Teng Qingshan mingled with Old Zhang, Blackzi, and a few others, forming their own small group.

"Qin Wei, you haven't brought many tea bricks," Old Zhang remarked, sizing up Teng Qingshan's two boxes, which weren't very large. "What grade is the shipment? Third grade, second grade? Or... first grade?"

"Second grade," Teng Qingshan did not conceal the truth.

"Second grade goods?" Blackzi, standing nearby, gasped softly. "Brother Qin, you're ruthless! With just these two boxes, it must weigh close to a thousand jin. That's nearly ten thousand taels of silver worth of goods. If we can transport it safely to Yanzhou, it could fetch at least a hundred thousand taels. Tsk tsk... One trip like this is worth twenty trips for me. Once you clear this venture, Brother Qin, you'll likely be able to live comfortably from now on."

These merchants had sharp eyes; they could estimate the approximate weight just by looking at the boxes.

Teng Qingshan rode his Crimson Fire Horse, which ambled along.

The pace of the merchant caravan put absolutely no strain on the horse.

"If I stick with the caravan all the way there and back, it's slightly safer. But every time, I have to hand over a significant sum of silver. For the round trip, I'd have to front at least twenty thousand taels, plus the goods, making it thirty thousand taels. Spending a whole year running back and forth—it's not worth it!" Teng Qingshan shook his head.

That bald fellow, Jia, also chuckled, "If you want to make money, you have to take risks."

"If these tea bricks could be sold in the Great Prairie, the profits would be immense," Old Zhang sighed. "But that prairie is too chaotic. And if we run into horse bandits there, we won't even have a chance to flee."

Teng Qingshan merely smiled.

Along the way, they only chatted occasionally. Most of the time, everyone conserved their energy and focused on nurturing their spirits. Long-distance travel was exhausting.

"Hm?" Teng Qingshan's ears twitched as he looked into the distance ahead. "Is that... an ambush by bandits up there?" However, Teng Qingshan felt no sense of urgency, because... this wasn't the first or second time they had encountered bandits on this route. These veteran merchants had long since developed experience in dealing with such situations.

A moment later—

"Hahahaha..." Accompanied by hearty laughter, a large number of horse bandits, armed with strong bows and long knives, revealed themselves. Many more carrying long spears charged onto the official road, forming neat ranks and completely blocking the path.

The merchant contingent immediately halted.

"Quite a few of them, easily a thousand men," Teng Qingshan judged with a swift glance.

"Damn it, horse bandits again!" Blackzi cursed under his breath. "If it weren't for the bandits, I'd earn so much more on every run."

Just then, the organizer of the merchant caravan called out loudly, "Second Leader Lan! We are just trying to make a living here. Please allow us passage. Consider this stack of banknotes as tea money for your men." As he spoke, a guard beside him immediately ran toward the bandit leader carrying a thick stack of bank notes.

The bandit leader, a burly man with an iron ring embedded in his nose, took the banknotes and flipped through them.

"Old Man Wu," the bandit leader sneered, "Times are tough for everyone! Half a month ago, I lost quite a few brothers. Taking care of their wives and children requires silver... So, the toll has gone up! These five thousand taels in notes... Hmm, bring another three thousand taels. Then I’ll let you pass!"

A murmur of discontent swept through the merchant group.

The silver handed over was pooled from all the merchants. It was already hard enough to conduct business when one had to hire so many guards and pay off various major bandit groups along the route.

"Second Leader Lan!" the organizer shouted loudly, "This is a steady stream of income for you. If you squeeze too hard, we won't make any profit in our trade. Soon, people will be afraid to take this road, and they'll likely detour. How about this... Second Leader Lan, we'll offer another thousand taels. We each step back a bit, alright? We've done business before, haven't we?"

Immediately, the caravan guards became tense and alert.

The bandit leader narrowed his eyes.

Then he let out a cold laugh: "Fine, I'll give you face!"

The caravan promptly handed over another thousand taels in notes. The bandit leader gave a command, and all the horse bandits cleared the road. Only then did the caravan resume its march.

"Going up, going up, damn it!" That bald fellow Jia muttered low. "If they keep raising the price, it forces us to raise our selling prices too. For small operators like us, life is getting harder and harder!"

"We’ll have to discuss raising prices when we get back. If we don't raise them, we won't be able to make a living anymore," Old Zhang agreed.

Merchants, too, had their tiers.

Large merchant houses, like the salt merchants of Yangzhou, once they entered that circle, could minimize the dangers of their trade. They were protected by numerous elite guards, and most bandit gangs dared not provoke them.

But the group Teng Qingshan was with belonged to the category of independent, casual traders. The cost of transporting goods this way was high, and the profit margins were slim.

...

The sky was clear and blue.

Teng Qingshan rode his Crimson Fire Horse, advancing with the caravan.

"My most urgent task right now is to first reach the 'True Self Realm' in my cultivation, and then advance to the 'Return to Simplicity' level. As long as my cultivation realm can match that of a Xiantian Golden Core expert, with my physical strength, I will not fear them," Teng Qingshan reflected. This journey to the distant North Sea would take a long time on horseback.

Therefore, apart from practicing the Three Stances in his dark room at night, Teng Qingshan’s primary cultivation was done while riding.

"Cultivation level advancement is essentially the advancement of the 'Spirit'!" Teng Qingshan remembered Yu Huang’s words. "Because the 'Spirit' improves, one can naturally reach the 'True Self' realm, and finally, the 'Return to Simplicity' realm. The methods mentioned in secret manuals—such as calligraphy and painting—are all ways to nourish the 'Spirit' and strengthen it."

At only seventeen years old, his 'Spirit' had already reached the peak of 'Subtlety.'

Even his master, Zhuge Yuanhong, only reached that level at the age of thirty. That generation's genius, Xiang Fanchen, only achieved Xiantian status at sixteen.

In fact...

In terms of the strength of his 'Spirit,' sixteen-year-old him absolutely surpassed Xiang Fanchen at the same age.

However, because his inner strength had not reached its limit, he hadn't broken through yet. Once he reached the Xiantian Void Core stage, the Subtlety realm would reach its peak. Just one step away lay the 'True Self Realm.'

Achieving Xiantian status, the hardest part was the elevation of the 'Spirit.'

From birth until now, Teng Qingshan’s speed in raising his 'Spirit' was indeed terrifyingly fast. Teng Qingshan did not believe that his 'Spirit' from his previous life could be transferred to this one. In this life, he merely possessed the memories of his past existence.

"The reason my 'Spirit' improves so quickly should be related to Xing Yi Quan," Teng Qingshan judged internally. "Whether it's painting, calligraphy, or other methods, they all temper the mind, allowing the soul to merge with and harmonize with heaven and earth. This way... the 'Spirit' can slowly grow. But in ordinary life, the Spirit not only fails to grow but is constantly depleted."

"And when I practice the 'Three Stances,' every time I immerse myself in that feeling of Yin and Yang complementing each other, of being one whole entity..."

"Clearly, achieving the realm of an internal martial arts grandmaster and comprehending the 'Three Stances' is immensely beneficial for enhancing the 'Spirit.'"

Because he realized this, Teng Qingshan practiced the Three Stances every night, requiring only two or three hours of seated rest.

"Painting, calligraphy, wandering through mountains and rivers—the reason these strengthen the 'Spirit' is that when painting or writing reach a profound level, one can be completely absorbed. The mind merges with heaven and earth. And traveling afar, observing high mountains and great rivers, can also stir the heart's emotions, allowing the spirit to integrate with the world..."

"To be precise, regardless of painting, calligraphy, playing the zither, or singing—if they reach a profound level, they should all allow one to harmonize with heaven and earth, making the 'Spirit' stronger and stronger."

"Then, riding a horse, if achieved at a high level, can also make the 'Spirit' powerful!"

In Teng Qingshan's view, all paths lead to the same destination!

Strengthening the 'Spirit' wasn't about the specific method; it was about whether the method was suitable. Take the 'Three Stances,' for example. Even if you told Zhuge Yuanhong or Gu Yong, these Xiantian Golden Core experts—since they knew nothing of internal martial arts—they couldn't grasp the artistic conception contained within the seemingly simple Three Stances.

And painting... Zhuge Yuanhong could use it to strengthen his 'Spirit.' For him, it was a good method.

But for Teng Qingshan, 'painting' was utterly useless.

Therefore, regarding the strengthening of the 'Spirit,' there was no single best method, only the most suitable one.

The 'Three Stances' was perfectly suited for Teng Qingshan.

And now, Teng Qingshan was striving to study cultivation while riding! Ever since joining this caravan, Teng Qingshan had been pondering this continuously... For half a month now, he had been deeply immersed in thought.

"Riding a horse also requires the mind to merge with heaven and earth..."

Teng Qingshan sat on his horse, practically achieving 'Man and Horse as One.' His entire body's musculature perfectly synchronized with the horse's movement, appearing utterly flawless. But even so, Teng Qingshan could only occasionally grasp that artistic conception.

Tap! Tap!

The Crimson Fire Horse trotted gently. Teng Qingshan sat atop it, man and beast moving as a single entity.

"Corpses!"

"So many corpses!"

"Quite a few people died."

The entire caravan suddenly erupted into commotion.

"Brother Qin, quick! Let's go see what happened?" Blackzi shouted.

Teng Qingshan, who was in the state of 'Man and Horse as One,' responded with an absentminded "Oh," and reflexively, a tremor ran through his leg muscles, causing the Crimson Fire Horse to immediately accelerate.

"What did I just do!" Teng Qingshan suddenly snapped awake.

"Yes, this feeling! This is it!" A look of surprise and joy washed over Teng Qingshan's face. After nearly half a month of effort, with his control as an internal martial arts grandmaster over his body, by maintaining Man and Horse as One for a prolonged period, he had finally touched the very edge of cultivating while riding.