Xu Shijie was quite famous in the Reliance Sect; one could say everyone knew her. This was because, in truth, the Reliance Sect currently only had two inner disciples. Besides Xu Shijie, the other was the man next to Shangguan Tu.
Thus, Xu Shijie lending her cave abode created a deterrent effect, allowing Meng Hao to safely carry the spirit stones and Spirit Condensing Pills out of the square under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
It wasn't until he had gone quite far that Meng Hao's back was soaked with cold sweat. Though he couldn't see the gazes behind him, he could distinctly feel as if unseen blades gradually dissipated as he quickly put distance between himself and the square.
Three incense sticks later, Meng Hao walked continuously without stopping, not even returning to the outer sect's living quarters. Instead, he followed the directions on Xu Shijie's jade slip at his fastest pace, heading towards the southern mountain of the Reliance Sect. At the foot of this mountain, he found Xu Shijie's cave abode.
About two *zhang* outside the cave abode, a stone clearing was flanked by rocks. At its end stood an upright stone door, wrapped in vines. At first glance, it looked far from ordinary, much superior to Meng Hao's previous two residences. The place was quiet, surrounded by lush greenery, and not far away, a babbling brook flowed. The mountain breeze dispelled the heat, leaving one feeling light and refreshed.
Meng Hao stood at the entrance of the cave abode for a long time before a look of satisfaction finally appeared on his face. He was utterly pleased with this cave abode. Only now did he truly understand that a cave abode was, in fact, far more precious than ordinary living quarters. No wonder the outer sect disciples had shown such envy and admiration when they heard Xu Shijie was lending him hers.
"This is truly a dwelling fit for an Immortal."
Meng Hao waved his hand, and the white jade slip immediately flew straight towards the stone door of the cave abode. With a *thud*, it embedded itself into the door's surface. Instantly, a humming sound arose, and the cave abode's door slowly opened.
The cave abode wasn't large, with only two stone chambers. One was for rest and cultivation, while the other was sealed by a stone door. As Meng Hao stepped inside, the stone door slowly closed, until he heard a *thud* as it fully sealed. The white jade slip flew back, falling into Meng Hao's hand, and at the same time, the rock walls on the ceiling of the cave abode emitted a soft, gentle light.
Glancing around the cave abode, Meng Hao grew even more satisfied. Finally, his gaze settled on the sealed stone chamber. After a moment's thought, Meng Hao pressed the jade slip in his hand against it. The sealed stone door slowly opened, and in that instant, a dense wave of spiritual energy washed over his face. Meng Hao stared at the contents of the stone chamber, his eyes wide and jaw agape.
"This cave abode of Xu Shijie's... this return gift... it's too grand."
After a long while, Meng Hao recovered, gazing in astonishment at the center of the stone chamber. There, something like a spiritual spring, from which streams of spiritual energy surged forth, a truly beautiful sight. It was unclear how long they had accumulated in this stone chamber, but the moment the chamber door opened, they immediately gushed out, filling his nostrils with a sweet fragrance that refreshed his spirit.
"I can't believe it's a spiritual spring..."
Meng Hao murmured. Although he had never seen such a thing before, he had read its description in the Spirit Condensation Scroll. In the heavens and earth, there existed spiritual springs. These were not water springs, but natural points where spiritual energy erupted. There were not many of them in this world; most were occupied by cultivators, and their value was determined by the amount of spiritual energy flowing out from them.
The spirit spring here was very small, already showing signs of drying up. The spiritual energy emanating from it was only slightly denser than outside, and wouldn't be very useful for those at the third or fourth layers of Qi Condensation. After all, cultivating past the third layer required a vast amount of spiritual energy, so its effect would be minimal.
But even so, Meng Hao knew that for him, this place was unimaginably precious, certainly far more valuable than a single Han Ling Dan. Realizing this, Meng Hao was overjoyed.
Without a moment's hesitation, Meng Hao immediately sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to circulate spiritual energy. After several hours, more than half of the accumulated spiritual energy in the area dissipated. Meng Hao opened his eyes, his gaze bright.
"Just a few hours of meditation here is equivalent to about a month of regular cultivation! Although this place had accumulated spiritual energy for a long time, and it won't be like this again in the future, for me, the cultivation speed here will definitely be much faster than outside."
Meng Hao took a deep breath. He turned to look at the four walls, gradually noticing some markings around him that he couldn't understand.
"The spiritual energy here must have accumulated without dissipating because of these markings. Perhaps Senior Sister Xu used this method to accumulate spiritual energy, making it convenient for a single session of cultivation."
Meng Hao pondered his speculation, his face elated. He then resumed his meditation and cultivation.
A night quickly passed. The next morning, when Meng Hao opened his eyes, the spiritual energy in the stone chamber had thinned out. But with the spirit spring, the spiritual energy here would become dense again in about another day.
Meng Hao sensed his cultivation; it was already nearly equivalent to two months of cultivation.
"If I can cultivate like this a few more times, I'll break through the first layer of Qi Condensation and enter the second layer!"
Meng Hao took a deep breath, his heart filled with excitement. He yearned to break through to the second layer of Qi Condensation, because only upon reaching the second layer could he unleash the first immortal technique from the Qi Condensation Scroll.
Thinking of immortal techniques, Meng Hao left the stone chamber, closing the stone door behind him as if safeguarding a treasure. He would wait for the spiritual energy inside to accumulate. He decided to use the method Senior Sister Xu had once used: not constantly guarding this spirit spring, but rather waiting for it to gather little by little was enough.
Sitting in his cave abode, Meng Hao rubbed his stomach. He thought about not seeing the fatty for several days; he hadn't eaten anything substantial for over half a month, only a few wild fruits. He secretly mused that ever since he became an outer sect disciple, he hadn't even eaten as well as the miscellaneous laborers. Unless he had enough spirit stones to go to the Pill Cultivation Hall to exchange for some spirit medicine, like the rumored Grain Abstinence Pill or Food Sustaining Pill, which could keep one from hunger for days after eating just one, he had to figure out how to fill his stomach himself.
After thinking for a moment, Meng Hao decisively left his cave abode. The mountain wind blew as he stepped into the mountains. As he walked, Meng Hao habitually took out the bronze mirror from his storage bag.
By now, he had confirmed that the Senior Brother at the Treasure Pavilion had swindled him. This mirror was utterly useless. He had studied it for over half a month, yet found nothing unusual about it.
As he examined it in his hand now, he still couldn't find anything miraculous about it.
"What a waste of that half a spirit stone in my storage bag. If I want to go to the Treasure Pavilion to exchange for another treasure, I'll probably have to bribe them a little."
Meng Hao reached into his storage bag. A light flashed as he took out half a spirit stone, feeling a pang of heartache.
As he was walking, Meng Hao suddenly stopped. He quickly looked up at the mountains and forest not far away, where a flash of color had just darted past, moving not very fast. Meng Hao's eyes lit up. With his months of experience catching wild chickens, he was certain it was a wild chicken.