In Tianhe Square, Shangguan Tu, dressed in black, frowned as he walked straight ahead. Behind him were two Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, also dressed in black, whose expressions showed great deference towards Shangguan Tu.
It was as if they were accompanying Shangguan Tu on an inspection of Tianhe Square. A moment later, Meng Hao walked out of a shop.
Meng Hao's expression remained unchanged. He wore a bamboo hat that completely obscured his face, making him unrecognizable to others. His gaze swept across the shop.
This was a pill shop, small and single-storied. All around were shelves displaying empty medicine bottles, each with the name of a pill and its price written on it.
Not far away, a person sat cross-legged. Besides him, Meng Hao was the only other person in the shop.
Meng Hao walked past each shelf, looking at the names and prices of the pills, until his eyes suddenly stopped at a bottle labeled "Earth Spirit Pill."
"The price is three hundred spirit stones."
Meng Hao frowned. It cost him two hundred spirit stones to replicate an Earth Spirit Pill using his bronze mirror. He had originally intended to profit from the price difference, but now that he saw the price, the difference wasn't that significant.
"Earth Spirit Pills originate from the Southern Domain. Our humble shop doesn't have many, only five pills."
As Meng Hao pondered, the young man who had been meditating with his eyes closed opened them and spoke indifferently.
Meng Hao nodded, looked around again, and was about to turn and leave when he suddenly paused and asked, "Do you have Foundation Establishment Pills here?"
Hearing this question, the young man smiled, but a hint of unidentifiable suspicion flashed in his eyes.
"Fellow Daoist must be visiting Tianhe Square for the first time. A Foundation Establishment Pill requires over a hundred thousand spirit stones, and even more rare treasures. Not only does our humble shop not have it, but I have never seen one in my life. If Fellow Daoist truly wishes to purchase one, you might try looking in Tianhe City."
"That expensive?!" Meng Hao's voice, filled with disbelief, reached the young man's ears, instantly dispelling the earlier doubt he felt. He realized the other party was merely asking out of curiosity, not because he had the means to buy one.
Meng Hao muttered a few words in a low voice, mostly expressing disbelief and admiration for the price of the Foundation Establishment Pill. The young man, hearing this, no longer paid him any attention and closed his eyes once more.
Meng Hao walked out of the shop and arrived at the end of Tianhe Square. At this moment, his eyes suddenly lit up, but then he abruptly frowned. This was partly because his idea of selling some ordinary pills and magical artifacts seemed somewhat difficult, and partly because he saw Shangguan Tu.
Shangguan Tu was dressed in black, identical to the city guard's uniform. Perhaps after leaving the Reliance Sect, he had joined some other sect, or rather, he had joined this place.
Meng Hao lowered his head and did not immediately decide to leave. Instead, he continued to wander around, occasionally stepping into various shops, his frown deepening with each visit.
The pills here were quite abundant; almost all Foundation Establishment Stage pills were available. However, on one hand, the quantity wasn't very large, and on the other hand, the prices were much higher than what Meng Hao could replicate. Considering such prices, even if he were to purchase them, the profit wouldn't be very high.
"Pills can wait. Let's go look at magical artifacts."
Meng Hao turned and walked down another street. There were many cultivators here, coming and going, with varying cultivation levels. However, most appeared to be at the third or fifth level of the Foundation Establishment Stage. Meng Hao, who was at the eighth level of the Foundation Establishment Stage, only saw three such individuals on the street, most of whom had their faces covered, making their appearances unclear.
There were quite a few treasure pavilions here. After Meng Hao entered, he observed carefully until dusk, then sighed inwardly. Low-grade magical treasures were not cheap, but Meng Hao needed over one hundred thousand spirit stones. He would have to sell a thousand ordinary flying swords, which was truly terrifying, and Meng Hao simply couldn't choose that option.
As for other magical treasures, their prices were similar, but none were worth more than one hundred thousand spirit stones. Meng Hao considered selling all his magical treasures, but that would be extremely dangerous for him, which was very clear.
He thought that he would only make one transaction here and then quickly leave.
"Could it be that I have to sell the Foundation Establishment Pills... This must be done with extreme caution, without haste."
Meng Hao found an inn, sat cross-legged in his room, and pondered.
Tianhe Fang was not large. By dusk the next day, Meng Hao had explored the entire area. At this moment, he stood outside a very luxurious pavilion, contemplating before stepping inside.
The signboard of this grand and luxurious pavilion bore the same name as the city: Tianhe Fang.
It had three floors. Meng Hao looked around the first floor, then was stopped when he tried to go up to the second floor. One needed to present enough spirit stones to enter here.
Meng Hao did not insist. He turned around, glanced at the first floor, and moved around like an ordinary guest for a moment before leaving.
"There's only one entrance. Each floor has three eighth-level Qi Condensation cultivators, and there's a ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivator near the entrance. The staircase also has a turn, and there's no spiritual energy moving on it, so it must be made of mundane materials. However, I can't see what's beyond the stairs, so I need to observe more. From the outside, there are spiritual energy fluctuations at the second-floor windows, which are also sealed."
Meng Hao frowned, sat cross-legged in the inn, and after a while, took out the bronze mirror.
In his storage bag, he now had over ten thousand spiritual items. After a long time, Meng Hao gritted his teeth and placed a Foundation Establishment Pill on the bronze mirror. The pill immediately merged into it and disappeared. Meng Hao took a deep breath and began to feed spirit stones into the bronze mirror, one by one.
Only when ten thousand spirit stones had merged into the bronze mirror did the mirror flash with light, and two identical Foundation Establishment Pills appeared. As soon as the medicinal scent was about to spread, Meng Hao, who had prepared in advance, quickly collected them all into his storage bag without hesitation, carefully looking around.
Fortunately, he was fast, so the scent only dispersed a little, not attracting attention from outside.
Meng Hao sat cross-legged on the bed, a thoughtful look in his eyes. After a long while, he slapped his storage bag, and immediately a white robe appeared from it. These were the clothes from Ding Xin's storage bag. After Meng Hao put them on, he took out Ding Xin's identity jade slip and placed it on his back. He paced back and forth in the inn, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
Early the next morning, Meng Hao put on his bamboo hat again, wearing a thick outer coat. After hiding the white robe, he checked himself, then bowed his head and left the inn.
He did not stop on the way, heading straight for Tianhe Fang, arriving very quickly. After passing a middle-aged ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivator with an indifferent expression who was sitting cross-legged, Meng Hao stepped towards the stairs.
It seemed that as soon as he approached, an eighth-level Qi Condensation cultivator guarding the door opened his eyes and looked coldly at Meng Hao.
"Present ten thousand spirit stones to enter the second floor."
"Get lost! You're just a small city of the Zhao State, yet you dare to block me, Ding?"
Meng Hao, wearing a bamboo hat, slightly raised his head, his eyes revealing a cold glint. His voice had changed slightly, carrying an air of arrogance. Almost immediately after he spoke, all the cultivators on that floor turned their gazes towards him.
The eighth-level Qi Condensation cultivator was stunned. He had been here for many years and had never seen anyone dare to speak like that. But the other person seemed very arrogant, and the implied meaning in his words instinctively made him pause, unsure of what to say.
"Young Master Ding, please come up." Just then, a voice came from the second floor. A young woman in a silk dress on the upper floor nodded and smiled at Meng Hao.
The eighth-level Qi Condensation cultivator quickly opened the door. Meng Hao let out a cold snort and stepped forward, but as he passed the corner, his eyes quickly swept over that undetectable position until he reached the second floor.
The second floor, with its carved railings and jade steps, was more luxurious than the first. Treasure light enveloped all sides, but there were no display stands. In the center, there was an incense burner guarded by three people, from which wafted waves of fragrant smoke.
Although the surroundings were luxurious, they remained elegant, with several miniature rockeries and a few low tables, making anyone who entered feel utterly overwhelmed.
Especially the person in front of Meng Hao, a young woman who looked to be over thirty, yet possessed a graceful and noble demeanor. She didn't speak but merely smiled, giving others a feeling of warmth and intimacy.
"Young Master Ding, please be seated. I am the steward of this second floor."
The young woman smiled and sat to one side, her eyes casually glancing at Meng Hao. But from Meng Hao's robe, a flash of white clothing was revealed, and her gaze focused, then quickly moved away.
Meng Hao's eyes did not hesitate. There were seven chairs here, in different positions. Meng Hao unhesitatingly chose to sit in a chair near the stairs, not close to the window, but almost in the center.
"Foundation Establishment Pills, do you have them?" Meng Hao didn't say much after sitting down, directly opening his mouth, a gloomy look in his eyes.
The young woman, seeing Meng Hao choose that chair, quietly speculated, gradually confirming a few things, but many doubts still remained.
"In Zhao State, our Tianhe Pavilion has everything. Of course, we have Foundation Establishment Pills. One pill costs two hundred thousand spirit stones," the young woman said with a gentle smile.
Meng Hao slightly raised his head, his right hand suddenly slapped his storage bag, and without hesitation, he flung out a bottle of medicine that flew directly towards the young woman.
The young woman's eyes suddenly lit up. She caught it with one hand, slightly dazed, and opened it. After looking at it, her expression suddenly changed, and she looked towards Meng Hao.
"One Foundation Establishment Pill, you name your price," Meng Hao said calmly.
"Young Master Ding is truly decisive, throwing such a treasure directly at me. Aren't you afraid I'll just take it?"
Surprise appeared in the young woman's eyes as she slowly spoke.
Meng Hao said nothing, looking coldly at the young woman. From the right sleeve of his robe, the waist of his white clothing was revealed, showing a jade pendant.
The jade pendant was purple, emitting a soft purple glow, and it flashed brightly.
As soon as the jade pendant was revealed, the young woman's eyes looked at it, and her expression changed.
"If you dare to use it alone, within a month, Tianhe Pavilion will become ruins," Meng Hao said calmly.
The young woman held the medicine bottle, her expression constantly changing. From time to time, she would glance at Meng Hao's seat. All of Meng Hao's actions, from the first floor to his current location, flashed through her mind, and a smile gradually appeared on her face.
"Young Master Ding, please forgive me, I was just joking!" She finished speaking, then bent down and poured out the Foundation Establishment Pill from the bottle. She carefully examined it with both hands, immediately noticing the demonic face on the Foundation Establishment Pill. As she watched, the demonic face suddenly blinked, and her expression changed drastically. She immediately stood up.
"This is a medicinal pill personally refined by Grandmaster Dan Gui of the Purple Cloud Sect! Young Master Ding, you and Grandmaster Dan Gui are..."
"Name your price." Meng Hao didn't answer, only frowned, his face full of helplessness, but then it quickly disappeared, giving people the impression that he had no other choice but to sell this pill.
"A pill personally refined by Grandmaster Dan Gui can indeed be auctioned, but this pill..." The woman hesitated for a moment, but quickly spoke with determination.