– Why is he still here, that menace, truly terrifying!
The cultivator, filled with both hatred and fear, sighed. He was about to leave when suddenly his eyes lit up, for he saw a burly man approaching the public area at the foot of the mountain.
“It’s Cao Yang... This guy is at the peak of Qi Condensation Stage Two, just half a step away from entering Stage Three. His cousin, Lu Hong, is the top dog in this public area, which allows Cao Yang to run rampant and act atrociously here. Even though he always likes to play dirty tricks, taking action when others are injured from fighting, it makes his opponents angry yet afraid to speak up. If it were anyone else, they would have been ganged up on long ago. He didn't come yesterday, so others were somewhat restrained, but today there's probably a good show to watch.”
The cultivator quickly moved closer, even thinking it would be best if Cao Yang came to deal with that brat from the Pill Cultivation Pavilion's branch shop. He disliked both of them, so he stood there, hoping for others to meet with misfortune.
Seeing Cao Yang enter the public area, several people who were fighting in front of him all changed their expressions and immediately moved far away, afraid of provoking this arrogant and unruly burly man.
Cao Yang snorted coldly. He looked tall and burly, with a tiger's back and bear's shoulders, his eyes, like bronze bells, gleaming with light. He clearly regarded this low-level public area as his own backyard. Apart from two or three people he didn't want to provoke, he basically looked down on everyone else. At this moment, he frowned, even thinking about where his good friend Zhao Wugang had disappeared to recently. He was in a bad mood. After stepping inside, he glanced around, preparing to find some ordinary fellow to extort some pills for cultivation.
But as he was looking, he suddenly saw Meng Hao's spot, his attention drawn by the large flag fluttering in front of Meng Hao.
His gaze initially held no particular feeling, but in the eyes of the schadenfreude-filled cultivator not far away, it immediately transformed into intense excitement and anticipation.
“Go on, go on, hurry up and go!”
The cultivator clenched his fist, suddenly realizing that watching a good show here was even more exciting than killing people and seizing treasures in the past.
Perhaps guided by his silent urging, Cao Yang looked for a moment, but then truly walked straight towards Meng Hao's spot. Along the way, people around him hurriedly dodged out of his path.
Meng Hao, sitting on that large rock, was originally focusing on his target, preparing to start his sales pitch. But the burly Cao Yang's approach made Meng Hao's chosen target stop fighting, which made Meng Hao feel regretful. He looked up and saw the burly Cao Yang walking towards him.
Meng Hao was no stranger to this person; it was the burly man who had assaulted someone that day. Meng Hao still maintained his weak, scholar-like appearance, and asked with a mix of shyness and anticipation.
“Esteemed brother, today is the second day my humble shop is open for business. All the pills you might need are here, all prepared for fighting. Esteemed brother, would you like to buy some?”
Cao Yang glared, sizing up Meng Hao, but couldn't determine his cultivation level. After all, below Qi Condensation Stage Seven, unless one deliberately released their spiritual pressure, it was difficult for those in the Qi Condensation realm to discern the depth of another's cultivation. Only upon reaching Qi Condensation Stage Seven would it become apparent, allowing others to recognize it.
Therefore, Meng Hao's cultivation level was not easily discernible to others.
“This old man has never paid for anything he's bought. Quickly hand over your pills and spirit stones. If you're slow, this old man will twist your neck off.”
Cao Yang thought this was a low-level public area, and thinking of his cousin Lu Hong, he immediately looked down on Meng Hao. On Mount Pingding, with his tall physique and the reverent gazes of everyone around him, he immediately appeared incredibly imposing and powerful.
Meanwhile, Meng Hao's first customer, who was not far away, saw this scene and became incredibly excited.
"Beat him to death, beat him to death!"
This cultivator muttered, though it was unclear who he wanted to be beaten to death.
"Brother, the sages once said that snatching things isn't good. Can we negotiate? I'm just a small-time vendor, how could I have spirit stones? I haven't even opened for business today."
Meng Hao, with his scholarly, fragile appearance, tried to reason with the big man.
"Sages? On this Mount Pingding, *this old man* is the sage! If *this old man* wants to beat you, who dares to stop him? Even if I butcher you, who would dare to speak up?"
Hearing Meng Hao say this, the big man immediately felt at ease, knowing that the person in front of him was afraid. He laughed heartily, took a step forward, getting even closer to Meng Hao, his face revealing a reckless expression.
"Brother, I haven't done anything to you! Besides, I'm not in the public area. Look, I'm outside!"
Meng Hao's brow furrowed, his face troubled. He stood up, indicating that he was standing on this rock, trying to reason with the big man.
"You talk too much! If I say you're inside, then you're inside!"
The big man, Cao Yang, showed impatience. He stepped past the flag pole, intending to seize Meng Hao.
"You're going too far!"
Seeing the big man Cao Yang's right hand about to descend, a grim and ruthless expression flashed across Meng Hao's face. His entire demeanor changed in an instant, as if he had transformed. The moment the big man Cao Yang approached, Meng Hao took half a step forward, raised his right hand, and delivered a slap.
*Wham!* A miserable cry erupted from the big man Cao Yang's mouth. He spat out fresh blood, his whole body flying backward, falling to the ground not far away, his face filled with terror and disbelief.
His cultivation was quite a bit higher than that of the unlucky cultivators from yesterday, so he wasn't unconscious this time. But his entire body was injured, and as he struggled to get up, Meng Hao stepped forward, his face filled with murderous intent, and fiercely stomped on the big man.
"The sages said, buying things without paying means you're asking for a beating!"
"I told you I'm just a small-time vendor! I haven't even opened for business today, I don't have spirit stones!"
As Meng Hao spoke, he relentlessly stomped down with his foot. The big man screamed miserably. Almost every time Meng Hao spoke a sentence, the big man's cries grew a few shades more desolate. He clutched his head and rolled around on the ground, his green daoist robe covered in footprints.
"I told you I'm outside the public area, not inside!"
Meng Hao's face was filled with anger. The big man was already injured, and now his cries of pain had grown considerably weaker, as if he could only breathe in, but not out. The other cultivators who witnessed this scene all let out gasps of terror. Everyone who looked at Meng Hao was filled with dread. There were also a few people here who had collapsed from exhaustion yesterday; at this moment, they suddenly felt incredibly lucky about yesterday.
The person who understood Meng Hao best was still the cultivator who had bought medicine first yesterday. He looked at the big man who was howling, then looked at Meng Hao's brutal expression and shivered. Cold sweat poured down him, his terror boundless. The more he felt Meng Hao was terrifying, the more he looked, the more he found Meng Hao truly terrifying.
On the verge of being kicked unconscious by Meng Hao, Cao Yang felt death approaching. His vision blurred, and he didn't know why, but he tremblingly raised his intact left hand high. In his hand appeared a pile of spirit stones.
"I... I'll buy medicine!" Cao Yang shouted with all his might, as if afraid Meng Hao wouldn't hear him.
Meng Hao, who was about to bring his foot down, froze. A moment later, his cruel expression vanished, and he once again became the harmless, frail scholar he appeared to be. He smiled thinly and quickly snatched the spirit stones.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Meng Hao stepped forward and helped Cao Yang up, brushing off the footprints on his body. He hastily took out a Pine Bone Pill and said sheepishly.
The big man trembled all over, looking at Meng Hao in terror. Especially this demeanor of Meng Hao's made Cao Yang's heart quiver even more violently. He wished he could leave immediately, to get far away from this primeval beast in human skin.
At this moment, he shared the same feeling as the cultivator from yesterday.
"My friend," Meng Hao said, putting an arm around Cao Yang's shoulder, seemingly very concerned for him. "I see that your injuries are such that one pill would likely be difficult to heal in a short time, and you, my friend, have quite a few enemies. Perhaps you should buy a little more."