But what was worth mentioning here was that ever since Meng Hao took over this place, the number of deaths had clearly decreased significantly. He often brought this up; it had become his catchphrase when peddling his elixirs.
As usual, Meng Hao was looking for targets, secretly pondering that this wasn't a good long-term strategy. He recalled how shops in Yun Jie County would hire people to boost their business during openings, and an idea sparked. As he was refining this idea, he suddenly frowned, because he noticed not far away, a man over thirty, with a rather arrogant expression, had ascended the mountain and was now unfurling a banner, planting it upright. On this banner, clearly made of better fabric than Meng Hao's own, were written words strikingly similar to Meng Hao's.
"Second Branch of the Elixir Nourishment Pavilion."
This person was Lu Hong, the top disciple among the lower-tier disciples, whose cultivation was comparable to Meng Hao's, just a hair's breadth away from reaching the peak of the third layer. Meng Hao glanced at it a few times, then dismissed it. Imitation was common in business. It was just the name on the opponent's banner that made Meng Hao somewhat displeased.
The cultivators on Ping Ding Mountain all witnessed this scene, exchanging glances. But as more people gathered and the sounds of battle erupted, half an hour later, Meng Hao, eyes gleaming, swiftly carried his banner towards two cultivators locked in combat. Almost as soon as he planted his banner, Lu Hong, not far away, also quickly stepped forward and planted his banner beside it.
With the two banners standing upright like that, the two cultivators fighting broke out in cold sweat. To them, both Meng Hao and Lu Hong were powerful experts. Usually, only one would appear, but today, both had shown up. Being stared at by both made the two fighters instantly uneasy and apprehensive.
"Brother, why not buy one of my peace-preserving elixirs? One spirit stone for one elixir, no deception involved."
Meng Hao quickly spoke first.
"Buy Lu's elixirs, also for peace and safety."
Lu Hong shot Meng Hao a glance, a flash of killing intent in his eyes, and spoke indifferently from his side.
The two fighters were utterly terrified, not daring to continue their battle. They hastily took out spirit stones to buy elixirs, then quickly fled. Meng Hao frowned. This kind of forced transaction was clearly not sustainable. In the long run, no one would come to this open area anymore. That was not his original intention.
This continued until noon, and Meng Hao's business was clearly much worse than before. Apart from one elixir sold in the morning, almost no one made a purchase. On the contrary, Lu Hong, regardless of right or wrong, simply stood there, forcing people to buy. If anyone refused, he would immediately take action, causing Ping Ding Mountain to be almost deserted before noon.
Lu Hong looked at the more than ten spirit stones he had just collected. Although his expression was indifferent, his heart was burning with excitement.
"This business is truly easy. If I had thought of this earlier, I wouldn't have been mocked by some senior brothers for robbing lower-tier disciples. It's just that this Meng fellow being here is annoying."
He hadn't come here originally because of Cao Yang's matter, but to imitate Meng Hao. Now that he saw the profits, he grew even more eager. He intended to monopolize the business. As he looked at Meng Hao, killing intent flashed in his eyes.
"After I learn a few more days, I'll kill him immediately."
The next day, because Lu Hong was the foremost among the low-level disciples, having accumulated prestige for a long time, even though the public area had far fewer people than before, those who remained and didn't know about yesterday's events all wore pained expressions, not daring to refuse to buy his medicinal pills. Meng Hao, however, refused to do the same, so no one bought anything from him all day.
Especially Lu Hong, who looked at Meng Hao with increasingly intense killing intent. By the third day's dusk, Meng Hao was silent; as he was about to leave, he heard Lu Hong's arrogant voice from behind him, echoing throughout Mount Pingding, heard by quite a few people.
"Tomorrow, if I still see that tattered flag of yours, I will cripple your entire cultivation!"
Meng Hao froze, not saying a word, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes. He then strode back to his immortal's cave.
*He originally imitated me, stealing my path to wealth, and after the cuckoo usurped the magpie's nest, he still wants to cripple my cultivation!*
Meng Hao's eyes flashed with sharpness. Recalling the killing intent that had constantly flickered in the other party's eyes these past few days, he stood up and opened the door to the second stone chamber in his immortal's cave. A rich source of spiritual energy immediately surged forth. Meng Hao didn't hesitate, sitting cross-legged to cultivate.
The spiritual spring energy accumulated over several months was released in this instant, and Meng Hao absorbed it all. As dawn broke, Meng Hao opened his eyes, which sparkled with starlight. His cultivation had broken through; he was no longer just a sliver away from the peak. Instead, he had directly reached the peak of the third layer, just one step away from entering the fourth layer.
But this step was not easy to take. The further one progressed in cultivation, the more difficult it became, especially layers five and seven, which had bottlenecks, making it even harder. Meng Hao frowned, gritted his teeth, and resolutely opened his storage bag. Enduring the pain, he took out all the Condensing Spirit Pills he had traded for these past few days. Not begrudging the spiritual stones, he immediately used the mysterious power of the copper mirror to multiply these Condensing Spirit Pills several times over.
Although Condensing Spirit Pills had very minor effects, if taken in large quantities, they would naturally have an effect. However, this couldn't be done repeatedly, unless one consumed a large amount at once until they completely lost their efficacy.
*If I don't cripple him first, tomorrow this person will move to destroy me!*
Meng Hao didn't hesitate, taking out the Condensing Spirit Pills and putting them into his mouth.
The spiritual energy in his body was originally only lacking a sliver. Now, a large quantity of Condensing Spirit Pills dissolved, causing Meng Hao's entire body to tremble. He felt a surging torrent of cultivation erupt within him like a flood. His mind boomed, and his consciousness immediately blurred. When he regained clarity, starlight flashed in his eyes as they opened and closed, but he was still a sliver away from the fourth layer of Qi Condensation. Meng Hao gritted his teeth, at this moment disregarding everything. He replicated even more Condensing Spirit Pills and swallowed them without hesitation.
Once, twice, until the third time, the booming in Meng Hao's head grew even more intense, as if massive waves and strong winds were rushing in. With the final boom, Meng Hao's vision blurred.
Streaks of impurities continuously seeped out from his pores. Each time they seeped out, Meng Hao regained a bit of clarity, and his body became much more unburdened. Half an hour later, Meng Hao narrowed his eyes, the starlight within them growing denser. When he was fully clear-headed, a brilliant light shone in his eyes.
"Qi Condensation, Fourth Layer!"
Meng Hao felt the cultivation in his body surge like a mighty river, flowing along its course. There were even rumbling sounds of thunder, and an astonishing aura.
Meng Hao, with a calm expression, lowered his head and took fifteen flying swords from his storage bag. He had acquired all of these flying swords through transactions over the past half-month. They were identical in style, and though they originated from the Treasure Pavilion, they were of a standardized make.
He also had various other magical treasures, all obtained through transactions. Meng Hao took a deep breath, closed his eyes to rest his spirit, and silently waited for dawn.
"Entering the sect, stepping onto the path of cultivation, one is no longer master of one's own destiny... With this cultivation level, I could go and plunder, but I don't want to harm too many people, which is why I thought of doing business. But today, someone hijacked my business, and even threatened to cripple my cultivation... What utter contempt!"
At dawn, Meng Hao opened his eyes, walked out of his cave abode, washed away the grime from his body, and then walked straight towards Pingding Mountain.