Two months passed.
One day, Meng Hao was meditating cross-legged in his cave dwelling when a sudden roar echoed all around. Wild beasts in the mountains scattered in fright, a large boulder crumbled, and debris flew everywhere. Meng Hao then stepped out of his cave dwelling. He wore a scholar's long robe, his long hair billowed, and his eyes gleamed like lightning. An indescribable aura emanated from his body, subtly accompanied by a faint fragrance. His face was joyful, and he stood at the cave entrance, laughing loudly for a long time. His laughter reverberated, causing the wild beasts to flee even further. For over two months, he had been in seclusion here, oblivious to time. The spirit stones he had used amounted to tens of thousands, and he had consumed many elixirs. He wanted to become stronger, to reduce the number of people who could threaten him.
"I just want to become a powerful cultivator, that's all!" Meng Hao took a deep breath, his eyes firm as he murmured to himself. He came from a scholarly background, having studied Confucianism, but as time passed, his state of mind had changed, no longer entirely the same as before. Enduring many hardships since failing his exams, joining the Reliance Sect, and confronting Wang Tengfei, he had remained steadfast. Now, he had expectations for his future.
"Everything must rely on oneself, on one's own continuous effort, unwilling to bow down."
Meng Hao looked up. He remembered the Reliance Sect, he remembered the powerful cultivators of the Zhao Kingdom, those who could casually wave a hand and kill him. He also remembered Wang Tengfei, and the gaze of the middle-aged man standing beside him.
"My parents disappeared when I was young; if I hadn't persevered, I wouldn't have survived until now. In the Reliance Sect, if I hadn't worked hard, I wouldn't have become an inner disciple. Perseverance is the path to my future."
Meng Hao sighed, raising his right hand to lift his sleeve. From it, a black light flew out, transforming into a nail. As soon as the nail appeared, it shone brightly, shooting straight towards the distant mountain range. *Boom!* Rocks and earth from the mountain range crashed down, bringing with them a chilling frost that covered the ground with cold energy. Meng Hao felt satisfied. With a slight wave of his right hand, the black nail flew back into his palm. Five-colored light swirled around the nail. Then, he flicked his hand, and a fan made of sixteen feathers flew out, then dispersed. Sixteen streaks of light flew back and forth like flying swords, carrying sharp sword intent. Following Meng Hao's hand movements, these sixteen feathers flew around his body at an extremely fast speed, leaving no gaps. A moment later, these sixteen feathers transformed back into a fan and fell into Meng Hao's hand.
"It's a pity I don't have enough spirit stones! That bronze mirror fragment consumed too much. To replicate one Earth Spirit Pill cost one hundred spirit stones, and to replicate one Heaven Spirit Pill requires five hundred spirit stones. Such a quantity is truly immense!" Meng Hao felt a sense of dread just thinking about it, frowning. He didn't have many spirit stones left. In the past two months, to break through from the seventh to the eighth layer of Qi Condensation, he had consumed over eighty Earth Spirit Pills, almost swallowing one or two every day.
"In the future, cultivation will require even more spiritual energy," Meng Hao murmured, glancing at the storage bag at his waist. Currently, there were five Heaven Spirit Pills left inside. He had tried swallowing one before. He estimated that to enter the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, he would need at least one hundred and fifty pills.
"Aside from needing more spiritual power, it seems my body is gradually rejecting elixirs?"
Meng Hao pondered, but couldn't confirm.
According to his calculations, without the Heavenly Spirit Elixir, other elixirs, no matter how numerous, would be useless.
"One hundred and fifty Heavenly Spirit Elixirs, equivalent to over seventy thousand spirit stones! If I don't use elixirs, with my mediocre aptitude, I'm afraid it would take an unknown amount of time."
Meng Hao sighed.