“What an expensive tax. If I didn’t absolutely have to come here, I wouldn’t pay it.” He walked quickly through the city, looking around. Dusk was falling, but the city still bustled, with people walking to and fro everywhere. The streets were filled with shops, most of which emitted brightly glowing lights. A single look confirmed that this was no ordinary place.
Everyone was a Cultivator. As he walked through the city, he didn’t see a single mortal. However, all of these Cultivators were of the Qi Condensation stage. Scanning the crowds, Meng Hao only saw about three people who, like him, were at the seventh level. Most were at the sixth, or lower.
Meng Hao walked down the broad streets, looking for shops that sold medicinal pills. He didn’t buy any, but rather asked questions. Three days passed, during which time Meng Hao traversed the entire city, visiting over thirty medicinal pill shops.
Even still, he only could find out information about seven or eight of the dozens of types of medicinal pills in his bag of holding. And yet, Meng Hao was excited. Of the pills he had learned about, each and every one was considerably expensive. One of them was a Spirit Establishment Pill, worth fifty Spirit Stones, only useful at the seventh level of Qi Condensation.
In his bag of holding, he had eight of them altogether.
“Too bad there are so many pills that I still don’t know anything about.” On the third day, Meng Hao hesitated, then finally walked into an extremely luxurious building in the western district of the city.
It was three stories tall and emitted a glowing light. Even from a long distance, one could see its shine. Before, Meng Hao noticed that almost everyone who entered was of the sixth level of Qi condensation. There were even some of the eighth or ninth levels, and it seemed this was the only building they were willing to enter.
When he saw the name on the building, he was even more resolved to enter.
Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
The inside was filled with carved balustrades and marble steps. Everything seemed to be made of jade, and as soon as he stepped inside, Meng Hao instantly felt a dense spiritual force brush against his face. A dazzling assortment of displayed items met his eyes; medicinal pill bottles, flying swords, pearls, banners and other items could be seen everywhere.
There weren’t a lot of Cultivators present, so it was relatively quiet. They walked around separately in groups of four or five, each one accompanied by a young woman wearing a long, pink dress. The girls’ voices were light and airy, and they humbly answered all queries about the various items.
None of that was of very much interest to Meng Hao, though. What really captured his attention was some distance away on the second floor. Next to the stair case was an enormous Pill furnace. Wisps of smoke curled around it, and sitting next to it was a middle-aged man in a long black robe. He sat there cross-legged, back straight, expressionless, doing breathing exercises with his eyes closed.
He emanated a trace amount of power, but it was difficult to sense, as if he were keeping most of it hidden. If he didn’t, the entire pavilion would probably begin to collapse.
“A Foundation Establishment Cultivator…” Meng Hao’s pupils constricted. This middle-aged man emitted the same type of aura as Grand Elder Ouyang, making it immediately obvious to Meng Hao that his Cultivation base was at the Foundation Establishment stage, far above everyone else’s.
“I wonder if the day will ever come in which I have a chance to be a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.” After all the things he had experienced in the Reliance Sect, his heart was filled with the desire to become powerful. Right now, his head was lowered, but his eyes were filled with determination and stubbornness. His resolve was even stronger than ever.
“By using the Cultivation method of the Sublime Spirit Scripture, when reach Foundation Establishment, it will be a Flawless Foundation, much more powerful than Cracked or Fragmented. I will be strong even among Foundation Establishment stage Cultivators.” He took in a deep breath and raised his head. A young woman in a pink dress approached him. She was beautiful, and wore a relaxed smiled on her face. She greeted Meng Hao with a slight bow. As she did, the front of her dress dropped, revealing an abundance of milky tenderness.
“Daoist Brother, do you need any assistance?” she asked.
Meng Hao’s face immediately turned scarlet, and he murmured to himself that he shouldn’t look at inappropriate things. Despite his determination, he couldn’t help but glance down, and his heart began to race. Even though he had been in the Reliance Sect for three years, he hadn’t spent time with any female disciples other than Elder Sister Xu. As for what he was looking at now he hadn’t seen anything like it in his entire life. His face was a bit dark, but at the moment you couldn’t tell at all