"What a good guy, Meng Hao! You've been gone for so long, yet you still come back every day to secretly help me chop firewood. It's been almost two months, and you've done this every single day. You, Meng Hao, are my, Li Fugui's, best friend for life!"
Fatty sighed with deep emotion.
Standing not far away, Meng Hao was stunned to hear this. He gave Fatty an odd look, coughed twice to clear his throat, and stepped out from hiding.
As soon as he appeared, Fatty noticed him. Turning around and seeing Meng Hao, Fatty became incredibly excited.
"Meng Hao, you've finally shown your face! For the past two months, every time I woke up, I called out for you, but you refused to show yourself... Huh?!"
Mid-sentence, Fatty's eyes locked onto the wild chickens in Meng Hao's hands. His eyes lit up, and he immediately lunged forward.
A short while later, a crackling fire was roasting the two wild chickens, sending waves of mouth-watering aroma into the air. Meng Hao and Fatty sat together, devouring the food like starving wolves, just as they used to do back in the servants' quarters.
"I haven't eaten this kind of wild game in two months! Meng Hao, why did you only show up today? If you've been helping me chop wood every day, why didn't you bring wild chicken before?"
Fatty's mouth was stuffed with chicken, making his voice a bit muffled, but his expression was filled with joy. Seeing Meng Hao made him incredibly happy. It could be said that within the Reliance Sect, Fatty had come to regard Meng Hao almost as family.
Meng Hao gave a mysterious smile but didn't explain. He just sat there eating his chicken. Looking at Fatty again, he suddenly noticed that Fatty's teeth seemed to have grown a bit longer.
"How has your cultivation been going lately? Have you been able to sense spiritual energy?"
Meng Hao asked.
"Don't even get me started," Fatty grumbled. "I've been practicing every day for the past few months. Strangely enough, I can't sense any spiritual energy at all, but I've noticed my teeth have grown quite a bit. It's gotten so bad that I'm afraid of biting my own tongue when I sleep!"
Fatty sighed in frustration.
"Open your mouth and let me see!"
Meng Hao was startled and leaned in to inspect Fatty's teeth.
Fatty quickly swallowed the meat in his mouth, then opened wide to show his teeth. As the sunlight hit them, they gleamed with a brilliant luster. Upon closer inspection, Meng Hao's expression grew even stranger, eventually turning into utter disbelief. He could actually sense fluctuations of spiritual energy coming from Fatty's teeth.
"How on earth is this guy cultivating? The spiritual energy is actually gathering in his teeth! These aren't normal teeth anymore; they're clearly a set of spiritual teeth. I wonder if they'll turn into a magic treasure if he keeps practicing long enough..."
Meng Hao scratched his head, finding the whole thing rather mind-boggling.
Time slipped by, and in the blink of an eye, the day was drawing to a close. Meng Hao and Fatty caught up, chatting about many things. Meng Hao shared what he knew about the Outer Sect, though he naturally kept quiet about the copper mirror.
Hearing this, Fatty's eyes filled with longing, and he wished he could instantly reach the first level of Qi Condensation to be promoted to the Outer Sect.
Before leaving, Meng Hao gave Fatty a Spirit Condensation Pill. Only after watching him swallow it did Meng Hao stand up to depart. Fatty watched Meng Hao's figure disappear into the mountain forests, feeling a touch of melancholy, and silently resolved to practice even harder.
Leaving East Peak, Meng Hao chose to return via West Peak. This was his first time taking a full loop around the Reliance Sect. As the last light of dusk faded, Meng Hao stood at the foot of West Peak, staring at a large stone tablet.
The stone tablet was a blood-red color, carved with several large characters that exuded a chilling aura.
"Low-Level Public Zone!"
Beside them was a row of smaller characters, explaining that cultivators at the fourth level of Qi Condensation and above were forbidden from entering, as this was a public zone designated only for those at the first to third levels of Qi Condensation.
Looking up, Meng Hao stared at the flat peak of the mountain. At this moment, quite a few people were moving back and forth on it. Spells and techniques clashed continuously in deadly combat, and fresh blood splattered everywhere. Among them, some screamed as they fell, their arms brutally severed by others to snatch their holding bags.
As he watched, a person suddenly rushed down the mountain in a panic, pursued by a brawny man grinning savagely behind him.
"Help!"
"Before this Cao, no one can save you!"
Not far away, Meng Hao watched with his own eyes as the person crying for help, before even managing to escape Mount Pingding, was pierced straight through the neck by a flying sword wielded by the large man behind him. A stream of fresh blood sprayed out. After twitching a few times, the victim breathed his last and died. His holding bag was snatched by the large man, who then turned around and stepped back into the public zone.
This bloody scene shocked Meng Hao. Looking closely at the flat mountain peak, the sounds of slaughter drifted down, and the wind carried the thick, metallic stench of blood into his nose.
"Although this place can make someone rich overnight, it is also extremely perilous. To lose one's life for cultivation, medicinal pills, and spirit stones... it's not worth it."
Meng Hao frowned. Although his cultivation base was only a step away from the peak of the third level of Qi Condensation, the current chaos meant that a single lapse in caution could easily lead to injury. Furthermore, plundering was not a sustainable long-term plan.
Yet, when Meng Hao thought about how empty his pockets were of spirit stones, and how waiting for the sect's distribution each time would take who knew how many years, he began to ponder. Seeing the cultivators on the mountain peak fighting and killing one another, with almost everyone sustaining injuries, a sudden thought flashed through Meng Hao's mind.
This thought grew clearer and clearer. A moment later, Meng Hao's eyes brightened, and he quickly turned to leave. Instead of returning to his cave dwelling on the South Peak, he went straight down the mountain toward the Outer Sect gate. Bypassing the Outer Sect square, he soon appeared outside a pavilion.
This pavilion looked ancient, with wafts of medicinal fragrance lingering around it. Several large characters were carved onto the plaque, reading: Pill Cultivation Workshop.
This was not Meng Hao's first time here. In fact, during his first half-month as an Outer Sect disciple, he had visited once and seen that they sold quite a few low-grade, miscellaneous medicinal pills. Even Inedia Pills, which could keep one from feeling hungry for several days, could be purchased here.
However, this place only accepted spirit stones and Spirit Condensation Pills, refusing all other items. Furthermore, the exchange rate was highly unfavorable; a single Spirit Condensation Pill could only be traded for ten Inedia Pills. Consequently, very few people were willing to come here, leaving the place deserted year-round.
Arriving at the workshop, Meng Hao stepped inside without the slightest hesitation. The interior was not large. A sickly-looking middle-aged man sat cross-legged there, surrounded by wooden pigeonholes, each labeled with the names of different medicinal pills.
There were Blood-Stanching Pills for treating external wounds, Bone-Relaxing Pills to relieve fatigue and tension, and Spirit-Refreshing Pills that could temporarily boost one's mental focus. Common items like Inedia Pills and Ward-Off-Hunger Pills were everywhere, and there were even Marrow-Nurturing Pills specifically for treating fractured bones.
Although there was a wide variety of pills, they were all expensive. Most required one Spirit Condensation Pill in exchange for three to ten of them. For Outer Sect disciples, Spirit Condensation Pills were valuable enough to fight and kill for, so they were naturally unwilling to lower themselves to come here and trade them for these items.
Meng Hao strolled around the Pill Cultivation Quarter, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. After a moment of thought, he suppressed his heartache and directly produced five Spirit Condensation Pills to trade for a large quantity of miscellaneous pills.
The sickly-looking middle-aged man had probably not encountered a big customer like Meng Hao in a long time. He immediately perked up and generously threw in several pill gourds for Meng Hao.
Putting the pill gourds into his bag of holding, Meng Hao left the Pill Cultivation Quarter. Along the way, he carefully circled around the forested mountains several times, only returning to his cave dwelling late at night.
Sitting cross-legged in his cave dwelling, Meng Hao took out the four pill gourds to examine them.
"The sages once said that without making a sacrifice, it is difficult to reap any rewards. Since I invested so much this time, I must definitely get even more in return."
Meng Hao comforted himself. Then, as if remembering something, he hurriedly went outside. When he returned, he was holding a leafy tree branch as thick as an arm.