Chapter 37

Time flew by, and before he knew it, half a month had passed. During this period, Meng Hao spent most of his time sitting cross-legged in the sect’s Dharma Pavilion, reading through the various texts. This allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of the State of Zhao and the Southern Domain.

He even found a hand-drawn map, which depicted the vast Southern Continent, marking the Eastern Land of Tang, the Northern Desert of Qiang, the Western Barbarians, and the Southern Domain where he was located.

The entire world was thus clearly imprinted in Meng Hao’s mind from this map. The vast Southern Domain was just a part of the Southern Continent, and the State of Zhao was merely a peripheral corner of the Southern Domain.

"The entire Southern Domain is as large as thousands of States of Zhao..." Meng Hao looked up at the blue sky outside the Dharma Pavilion, his eyes filled with longing.

"Turns out, going to the Eastern Land of Tang is not a simple matter; one must cross the Heavenly River Sea..." After a while, Meng Hao lowered his head and looked at the map in front of him, seeing the four regions of the Southern Continent: East, South, West, and North. The Eastern Land and the Northern Desert were connected like a continent, separated by a vast sea, while the Western Barbarians and the Southern Domain were connected on the other side.

As the sun set and twilight approached, Meng Hao rubbed his eyes and put the map back, then walked out of the Dharma Pavilion. He gazed eastward for a long time before turning and walking toward his inner sect cave abode.

The cave abode had a night pearl on the ceiling that emitted a gentle light, with green rock walls and five stone chambers. A spiritual spring gushed, making the spiritual energy inside the cave abode extremely dense.

This was a privilege enjoyed only by inner sect disciples. Upon entering the cave abode, Meng Hao sat cross-legged on a piece of white jade. Although it was not a spirit stone, sitting on it made his mind clear, making it a rare treasure.

Only inner sect disciples could possess such an item.

"Only inner sect disciples can truly be considered to have entered the sect." Meng Hao’s expression was calm as he looked around at the green stones, which were carved with various birds and beasts, each seemingly containing profound meanings, giving one a sense of nobility.

"The obvious difference in treatment between inner and outer sect disciples is to highlight the superiority and uniqueness of inner sect disciples. Just like in the mortal world, identities are divided into levels. If you strive, you can surpass outer sect disciples, and if you want to become a person above others in the future, you must become stronger!" Deep in Meng Hao’s eyes, he thought of the Wang family of the Southern Domain, and his pupils showed a deeper, hidden difference.

Not long after, as twilight had not yet passed, a respectful voice came from outside Meng Hao’s cave abode.

"Senior Brother Meng, Li Fugui from the mountain foot requests an audience." It was a child, originally a servant, but because Meng Hao had become an inner sect disciple, the sect had selected him to serve Meng Hao, responsible for all his daily needs.

This was also a privilege of inner sect disciples. At first, Meng Hao was not used to being served, as he had never experienced such treatment in his life. However, seeing that Senior Brother Chen also had such a servant, he accepted it, and his resolve to become strong became even more firm.

Only the strong can control others' lives and ensure their own lives are not controlled by others. This cultivation world and the rules of the Mountain Rely Sect were unreasonable and unfair, but they existed.

Existence is reason; there is no inherent reasonableness or true fairness in this world.

"Let him come up." Meng Hao said calmly. The servant outside the cave abode immediately agreed, his expression extremely respectful. His life, from the moment he was chosen as a servant, belonged to Meng Hao.

Soon, the little fatty, Li Fugui, came up the mountain, stomping his feet and strutting with pride. This was not his first visit; he had come three times in the past half month. Each time he came, he was extremely excited, as this was not a place where any outer sect disciple could enter without permission.

With the servant’s respectful escort, the little fatty entered the cave abode, his eyes immediately shining. He touched this and that, even licking his lips as he touched the white jade where Meng Hao was sitting in meditation.

"It’s not the first time you’ve come." Meng Hao looked at the little fatty and smiled.

"Meng Hao, your place is too good. Every time I come, I can’t help but get excited. This is the cave abode of an inner sect disciple, a legendary place. You don’t know how many disciples surrounded me when I went down the mountain last time, asking all sorts of questions. I felt so powerful." The little fatty’s body trembled, and it took him a while to recover from the excitement of the memory, sitting down in front of Meng Hao.

"If you like, I can get Wang Tengfei’s cave abode for you."

"This... wouldn’t that be a bit too much?" The little fatty was immediately excited but pretended to be shy.

"Zhao Hai." Meng Hao said calmly, waving his right hand. The cave abode’s door immediately opened, and the servant, Zhao Hai, hurried in, bowing deeply to Meng Hao.

This servant looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, around the same age as the little fatty. He had a clear and handsome face and had only recently come up the mountain. He was from the same county as Xiao Hu, and his family was also wealthy.

"Hold my spirit token and go to the cave abode pavilion to retrieve the jade slip of Wang Tengfei’s previous cave abode." Meng Hao waved his hand, and a white jade pendant flew up and landed in the servant’s hand.

The servant immediately agreed, his expression respectful, and then left.

"When are you going down the mountain again? I promised the outer sect disciples that I would invite you to go down and see them. Don’t go back on your word; I’ve already promised them." The little fatty looked at Meng Hao with eager eyes and spoke quickly.

"Grand Elder Ouyang said that the next pill distribution will be overseen by me. It should be the day after tomorrow." Meng Hao looked at the little fatty, a smile on his face. The two had entered the sect together and had been close companions for three years, forming a deep friendship.

"Great, then it’s the day after tomorrow. By the way, our general store’s business has been much better these past half month. Here are the spirit stones from these days. According to our agreement, you get eight parts, and I get two. I’ve brought your share." The little fatty quickly took out a storage bag and handed it to Meng Hao, feeling quite pleased. He thought he had finally understood the true meaning of the Mountain Rely Sect, with Meng Hao as his backing, no one in the outer sect would dare to say no to him.

Especially when he thought of a beautiful female disciple in the outer sect who had been flattering him, making him feel elated, the little fatty became even more excited.

"Has Shangguan Xiu been causing you trouble recently?" Meng Hao suddenly asked, a cold look flashing in his eyes.

"I haven’t seen that old turtle recently. I’ve planted a disciple to gather information, and he says that Shangguan Xiu is in seclusion, meditating all day." The little fatty’s expression became serious at the mention of Shangguan Xiu.

"Be careful. If anything goes wrong, immediately crush the token I gave you." Meng Hao warned.

Not long after, the servant Zhao Hai returned with the jade slip of Wang Tengfei’s previous cave abode. Meng Hao handed it to the little fatty. The two chatted and laughed, and it was already late at night, but the little fatty showed no signs of leaving, his expression becoming increasingly expectant.

Seeing the little fatty’s behavior, Meng Hao was taken aback but quickly remembered the date, and he couldn’t help but smile.

"Today is the day the inner sect distributes the pill fruits." Meng Hao said.

The little fatty licked his lips and nodded eagerly, envying the inner sect disciples’ privilege of receiving pill fruits every month. These pill fruits were specially made spiritual fruits containing medicinal pills, making the fruit flesh fragrant and more effective than ordinary pills.

Only inner sect disciples received them once a month.

After a while, the servant Zhao Hai returned, looking at the little fatty with disdain in his heart but not showing it on his face. He brought back the pill fruits wrapped in large green leaves.

The fragrance wafted through the air, and Zhao Hai swallowed his saliva, then left after placing them down.

Unwrapping the green leaves, the pill fragrance immediately filled the air. Inside the leaves were two translucent, light red fruits that seemed delicate and fragile, with a medicinal pill visible inside.

The little fatty’s eyes widened. He had never eaten such pill fruits before, but he had heard about them from the outer sect disciples and had found out the distribution date. He eagerly grabbed one, bit into it, and swallowed it, savoring the indescribable deliciousness that filled his mouth and mind, quickly spreading warmth throughout his body.

"Totally worth it. I must be the first outer sect disciple to eat a pill fruit. When I go out, I’ll tell everyone, and that little lady will surely be envious, as will everyone else, of my good fortune." The little fatty muttered, then closed his mouth to prevent the fragrance from escaping, gesturing to Meng Hao that he was leaving and quickly ran out.

"This is evidence! I need to find those female disciples and let them smell it." The little fatty became more excited the more he thought about it and ran down the mountain quickly.

Meng Hao smiled, seeing through the little fatty’s thoughts. He then picked up the pill fruit and slowly ate it, finding the taste indeed excellent, with a strong medicinal effect.

"This is the life of an inner sect disciple..." Meng Hao ate the pill fruit, his expression filled with reflection. This kind of life was something the outer sect could not offer. If Meng Hao wanted, he could just express a thought, and the attractive female disciples of the outer sect would immediately offer themselves.

Time flew by, and two days passed. On this morning, Meng Hao walked out of his cave abode, followed by the servant Zhao Hai, who carried a purple storage bag. This was the sect’s dedicated bag for distributing pills to the outer sect, filled with Spirit Condensation Pills.

Bathed in the morning mountain breeze, Meng Hao went down the mountain, and every outer sect disciple who saw him immediately stopped and bowed deeply to him.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Meng."

"Senior Brother Meng, you look as handsome as ever. I’ve missed you so much."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Meng. Your talent is extraordinary, and your cultivation is impressive. You will surely be a pillar of the sect in the future."

Amidst the flattery, Meng Hao walked to the square. When the disciples there saw him, they all bowed and praised him, their voices rising from all directions.

Meng Hao nodded slightly, then leaped up, carrying Zhao Hai to the stone platform on the square. This was not his first time standing here, but it was his first time distributing pills.

His gaze swept over the crowd below, seeing their envious and respectful looks. Meng Hao felt a bit dazed, remembering the first time he stood on the square, the arrogant humiliation by Wang Tengfei, and many other memories.

"Ring the bell." After a while, Meng Hao took a deep breath and said calmly.