Meng Hao opened his eyes and immediately saw a young man, agitated by the fatty, rush forward to grab him. The young man was gaunt and sallow, short and small in stature, a stark contrast to the fatty standing beside him.
Meng Hao knew this young man. He was one of those who had been brought into the Reliance Sect with him earlier, and then, along with Wang Youcai, had been sent to another mountain to work as a handyman.
He had originally been a healthy and lively person, but now his face was gloomy and utterly miserable. Yet, there was a hint of ferocity on his features. It was clear that the Reliance Sect had given him some deeply etched memories; otherwise, how could a first-level Qi Condensation cultivator dare to come to this public area?
"Greetings, Senior Brother Meng." The young man's face showed a flicker of excitement upon seeing Meng Hao, but it quickly vanished. He respectfully cupped his fist and bowed to Meng Hao.
"Have you just entered the sect?" Meng Hao looked at the young man before him, and thinking of the scene back then, he sighed softly.
"It's been over a month." The young man lowered his head.
"Where's Wang Youcai?"
"He's dead." The young man's face was expressionless, but as he spoke those two words, his eyes revealed a hint of sorrow.
"Wang Youcai is dead?" Beside them, the fatty was stunned, while Meng Hao remained silent.
"When we were handymen, we were in charge of boiling water. Brother Youcai saw that I was still young, so he always helped me boil it. One time, on the mountain path, a strong wind suddenly rose, and he was blown down the mountainside. I searched for his body for two months but found nothing, only some bone fragments… he must have been eaten by wild beasts." The young man said softly.
The fatty was grief-stricken, and Meng Hao sighed. That year, four of them had ascended the mountain, and in less than a year, one was already dead. His heart felt heavy. Then he thought of Uncle Wang, who only had one son, and his heart grew even heavier.
"Little Hu, from now on, follow us. With Meng Hao here, no one will dare to bully you in this place." The fatty patted the young man's skinny shoulder and said sympathetically.
"No need, I… I'm still doing very well on my own." The young man hesitated for a moment; Meng Hao could see that he was tempted. But the young man quickly shook his head, refusing the fatty's good intentions. He cupped his fist in farewell to Meng Hao and the fatty, then turned and left Flat Peak Mountain.
"What's wrong with him?" The fatty looked bewildered.
"Everyone has secrets they don't want outsiders to know. Perhaps he's encountered some good fortune; otherwise, a mere first-level Qi Condensation cultivator wouldn't dare to come here." Meng Hao seemed to be deep in thought, watching the young man's retreating back, and spoke slowly.
"What kind of secret could he possibly have that we can't know? This Little Hu is too dismissive." The fatty felt bothered. He was originally a straightforward person, without any schemes, and felt that he had been so kind, yet the other party acted this way, so he couldn't help but feel angry.
Winter in the Southern Domain was always very short. In the blink of an eye, winter passed and spring arrived, flowers bloomed, and trees sprouted new buds. It was April again, and Meng Hao had been in the Reliance Sect for a full year.
In the low-level public area, with the fatty's cooperation, Meng Hao had accumulated a good number of spirit stones, and even more elixirs and magic treasures. He also frequently went to the desolate mountains to hunt demonic beasts. Only once, near Black Mountain, did he successfully hunt any; otherwise, he returned empty-handed. Moreover, the roars from Black Mountain grew increasingly fierce, making Meng Hao wary of approaching.
A single demonic core was comparable to a third-level Qi Condensation cultivator. Even though Meng Hao had used the copper mirror to replicate many of them, once he reached the late stage of the fourth level of Qi Condensation, he couldn't advance even a tiny bit further. Consuming more elixirs only served to purify his spiritual energy.
Facing such a bottleneck, breaking through was incredibly difficult. Without reaching the fifth level, Meng Hao could not practice the Windwalk Art he had long yearned for.
In contrast, with Meng Hao's help, the fatty had reached the second level of Qi Condensation and felt incredibly powerful.
In April of this year, all outer sect disciples at the fifth level of Qi Condensation and above were dispatched by the sect, along with Senior Sister Xu and Senior Brother Chen from the inner sect. When they returned, they each brought back two or three youths. Having little talent, these youths all became menial laborers.
Once a year—that was the current rule of the Reliance Sect. Only in this way could the sect sustain itself.
Spring winds swept across the land, chasing away winter's chill, welcoming the summer sun, and ushering in autumn. It was already October, and in recent days, two major events had occurred in the Reliance Sect. The first was a rumor that, besides the sect master who had reached the Core Formation stage, there were two grand elders at the Foundation Establishment stage. One of them had reached the end of his lifespan and passed away at the age of one hundred and fifty. Upon hearing this, Meng Hao investigated and later learned that the deceased was not the Grand Elder Ouyang from back then.
Foundation Establishment cultivators gained an increased lifespan, allowing them to live up to one hundred and fifty years. While this seemed long, to cultivators, it was extremely short. If one could not reach Core Formation, then at the end of their days, they could only watch helplessly as their lifespan dwindled and their vitality declined.
If one reached the Core Formation stage, their lifespan would double, granting them three hundred years.
With the passing of a Foundation Establishment grand elder, the overall strength of the Reliance Sect immediately took a significant hit. Already in a weak position within the State of Zhao, it was now in even greater peril. Precisely at this time, external cultivators frequently came and went around the perimeter of the Reliance Sect, seemingly searching for something.
The Reliance Sect then activated its grand mountain-protecting formation, covering a radius of several hundred li. It felt as if a storm was brewing, like heavy dark clouds pressing down upon the sect.
The outer sect disciples speculated endlessly about these anomalies. There were also quite a few well-informed individuals who, having somehow obtained fragments of information, gradually spread them. It was said that what had drawn the attention of the entire cultivation world of the State of Zhao this time was related to Patriarch Reliance, who had disappeared four hundred years ago.
But as to how exactly they were related, it was difficult for an outer sect disciple to know.
In recent days, Meng Hao's cultivation had remained stuck at the mid-stage of the fourth level of Qi Condensation. All of his methods had proven ineffective, and gradually, he came to realize that he had hit a bottleneck.
“According to Senior Sister Xu, one only encounters a bottleneck when attempting to break through from the peak of the fourth level of Qi Condensation to the fifth. So why is my bottleneck appearing so early? Could it be because I've consumed too many beast cores?”
Meng Hao sat cross-legged in his immortal's cave, frowning in deep thought.
“If this really is a bottleneck, I'll need some specialized medicinal pills to break through, or perhaps the inner core of a high-level demonic beast.”
Meng Hao sighed inwardly. At the moment, he had no shortage of spirit stones; he only lacked the right medicinal pills. If he had some on hand, he would surely be able to break through to the fifth level of Qi Condensation within a few days.
As for the tension gripping the Reliance Sect over the past few days, Meng Hao also felt a keen sense of crisis. Within the sect, many disciples walked around with worried frowns, making the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.
Only the fatty remained as cheerful as ever. He seemed to enjoy running the shop on Flat Peak Mountain even more than Meng Hao did. Usually, even if Meng Hao didn't go, the fatty would still carry his banner and hawk their wares.