Immediately after, a woman stepped inside with the moonlight at her back. She possessed an exquisitely beautiful face, though unfortunately, it was completely devoid of expression. Exuding an aura of coldness, she wore a silver robe that made her look as though she were draped in the moonlight itself.
This was Senior Sister Xu, an Inner Sect disciple of the Reliance Sect.
As Senior Sister Xu entered the cave residence, her gaze naturally fell upon the spirit stones and medicinal pills before Meng Hao. A flicker of surprise actually appeared on her cold face.
"Greetings, Senior Sister Xu."
Meng Hao hurriedly stood up, waving his right hand to sweep the spirit stones and pills away. He stood to the side, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
Senior Sister Xu said nothing. She merely looked at Meng Hao, nodded, and then prepared to turn and leave.
Meng Hao was taken aback and quickly followed her.
"Senior Sister Xu, it's rare for you to visit. Why not stay and sit for a while?"
"No need. I am entering secluded meditation tomorrow, so I just stopped by on my way to see how you were doing."
Senior Sister Xu spoke aloofly, giving Meng Hao a brief look before walking out of the cave residence.
Meng Hao felt embarrassed again, secretly regretting that he had been sitting there counting his spirit stones. Otherwise, if he had put on a display of hardship and suffering, he might have been able to get some benefits from Senior Sister Xu.
At the same time, however, Meng Hao felt a warmth in his heart. This Senior Sister Xu might look cold, but her coming here to check on him showed she still remembered him. At this thought, an idea struck Meng Hao. He slapped his storage bag, and a pale pink medicinal pill appeared in his hand.
"Junior Brother has wanted to thank Senior Sister for a long time, so I've been saving up my Spirit Condensation Pills. It took a lot of effort to finally exchange them for this Beauty Pill. Senior Sister, you must accept it, because in my eyes, only you are worthy of taking this pill. Ever since I entered the sect, my dream has been for Senior Sister Xu to retain her youth forever and remain eternally beautiful."
Without even blinking, Meng Hao presented the pill with a face full of reverence.
Senior Sister Xu stopped in her tracks. She turned her head to look at Meng Hao, then at the pill in his hand. After a brief silence, she accepted it.
"Although Spirit Condensation Pills are common sect pills, they are effective all the way up to the fifth level of Qi Condensation. For cultivators like us, entering the cultivation world is akin to stepping between life and death. Do not do this again in the future. Though you possess some cleverness, you should focus more on diligent cultivation."
This was the first time Meng Hao had ever heard Senior Sister Xu speak so much. He immediately nodded repeatedly.
"Junior Brother believes that as long as Senior Sister likes it, I must obtain it, no matter what."
Meng Hao lowered his head, his eyes blinking, speaking without a second thought.
"This pill... I will accept it. Do not exchange for one again next time."
Senior Sister Xu took the Beauty Pill. After a moment's hesitation, she pulled out a pale pink jade pendant and handed it to Meng Hao.
"This is a magic treasure, primarily for defense."
Having said this, Senior Sister Xu began to walk down the mountain.
"Thank you, Senior Sister Xu! Please let me walk with you. We haven't met in many days, and I have some cultivation questions I'd like to ask you to explain."
Meng Hao thought to himself that this was his backer, so he had to get closer to her. If he could stroll around the Outer Sect with her, not many people in the sect would dare to provoke him in the future.
Senior Sister Xu hesitated. She was aloof by nature, cold and taciturn on normal days, and had never had a male disciple from the same sect accompany her. Having Meng Hao stand beside her like this made her somewhat uncomfortable. She was about to refuse when she heard the second half of his sentence. Thinking back to his embarrassed look when he gave her the Beauty Pill, she silently nodded.
Accompanied by the moonlight, which spilled onto the ground and over Meng Hao and Senior Sister Xu, the two of them gradually walked into the distance.
At this moment, atop the North Peak, a tall old man in a gray robe happened to witness this scene, an expression of appreciation appearing on his face.
"Not bad. This kid named Meng Hao is really not bad. He has truly grasped the true essence of our Reliance Sect—knowing how to find a backer, and knowing to constantly maintain relations with that backer. Only in this way can a backer remain rock-solid."
This tall old man was the very same person who had taken a particular liking to Meng Hao when he gifted the Dry Spirit Pill. At this moment, the more he looked at Meng Hao, the more fond of him he became.
Senior Sister Xu was like a massive tiger skin. Draping this tiger skin over himself and taking a stroll around the Outer Sect immediately drew the attention of many. When these Outer Sect disciples clearly saw Meng Hao beside Senior Sister Xu, their expressions turned bizarre. Especially those who had seen Meng Hao selling medicine on Pingding Mountain during the day; though they hated him to the core, they had no choice but to swallow their anger.
As for those with slightly higher cultivation bases, even if they hadn't witnessed the events on Pingding Mountain during the day, Meng Hao's image had become much clearer in their minds. They silently warned themselves that it would be best not to provoke this fellow needlessly.
Meng Hao didn't even realize that within the Reliance Sect, he had actually become quite famous over the past two months.
According to Meng Hao's ideal scenario, it would have been best if they could walk together for an entire day. Unfortunately, it was already late at night, and not many Outer Sect disciples were out, so those who witnessed this scene made up less than half of the disciples here.
Thinking that this was a rare opportunity that shouldn't be easily wasted, Meng Hao, maintaining his shy scholar persona, led the quiet and taciturn Senior Sister Xu to the Pill Cultivation Workshop. Amidst the nervousness and envy of the middle-aged man in the workshop, Meng Hao bought up a large variety of low-grade miscellaneous pills, including Blood-Congealing Pills. It would take several months before another batch of these miscellaneous pills could be produced.
He even dragged Senior Sister Xu to the Treasure Pavilion. Right in front of her, he glared at the shrewd senior brother, scaring him so much that his face turned pale. The senior brother stealthily handed Meng Hao a spirit stone, indicating that Meng Hao could come back anytime to exchange the mirror for other treasures. Meng Hao let out a cold, disdainful snort, telling him that the worthless mirror was useless anyway and had long been thrown away.
The Treasure Pavilion senior brother smiled bitterly and apologized repeatedly, but he didn't think too much of it. In truth, that mirror had been lost several times before, but within two or three years, someone would always pick it up and return it.
It wasn't until they reached the foot of the East Peak that Meng Hao watched Senior Sister Xu walk away into the moonlight. For the first time, he felt that this Senior Sister Xu was truly beautiful, possessing the ethereal aura of a fairy.
"Too bad her personality is so cold. Otherwise, I might have considered marrying her as my wife."
Meng Hao fantasized for a moment before quickly shaking the thought from his head. With a light cough, he returned to his cave dwelling.
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, as soon as dawn broke, a spirited Meng Hao left his cave dwelling and headed straight for Pingding Mountain.
"I'm just a sliver away from reaching the peak of the third level of Qi Condensation, but unfortunately, I don't have any suitable medicinal pills. Demonic cores aren't easy to get either, unless I enter the Black Mountain, but that place is quite dangerous."
Meng Hao thought to himself as he walked.
"Right now, the priority is to accumulate spirit stones. Once I have enough spirit stones and can get my hands on a decent demonic core, I can soar to the heavens in a single bound. If I can reach the fifth level of Qi Condensation..."
Meng Hao's heart raced, his eyes shining with intense anticipation.
"In the Outer Sect, the fifth level is already a local overlord. Most importantly, once you reach the fifth level, you can cast the Wind Walking Art."
Remembering how Senior Brother Wang Tengfei hovered seven inches off the ground when he walked, Meng Hao grew even more excited.
Before long, Mount Pingding appeared before him. Meng Hao hurried up, looking exactly like a weak, harmless scholar as he sat cross-legged on the same large boulder from yesterday.
After a while, more and more cultivators gathered on Mount Pingding, including a few unfamiliar faces who hadn't been there yesterday. Sounds of fighting and screaming soon rang out, tragic and chaotic. Meng Hao scanned the crowd, considering where to make his move to sell today's first medicinal pill, completely unaware that from another direction of the public zone, someone was cautiously approaching.
This person looked around warily as he walked. The moment his eyes fell upon Meng Hao, his entire body shuddered, and he froze in his tracks.
He had been Meng Hao's very first customer yesterday. Having personally witnessed Meng Hao's bashful look while knocking his opponent down, he had assumed the guy wouldn't show up today. Who could have guessed he would sneak back here again?