Chapter 71

"Master Dan Devil of the Purple Luck Sect personally refined this pill. This... Young Master Ding, you and Master Dan Devil are...?"

"Name your price." Meng Hao did not speak, but only frowned, a hint of helplessness flashing across his face, giving the impression that he had no choice but to sell this pill.

"The pills personally refined by Master Dan Devil are all auction-worthy. This pill..." The woman hesitated for a moment but then spoke decisively.

"Can be priced at 250,000 spirit stones!"

"Agreed." Meng Hao remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded and stood up.

The woman immediately stood up, raised her right hand, and flicked her finger, sending a gust of wind that struck the alchemy furnace on the second floor, producing a clear sound. After a dozen breaths, a young woman carrying a jade tray descended from the third floor. She quickly approached Meng Hao and presented the tray with both hands.

On the white jade tray lay a storage bag.

Meng Hao picked it up without a glance, turned, and walked towards the stairs, quickly descending. Under the gazes of the cultivators on the first floor, he stepped out of the Tianhe Pavilion and walked away.

Until he disappeared into the crowd, Meng Hao's eyes flickered, and he quickly walked, removing his robe. In a corner, he changed into a different outfit and lowered his head, moving even faster.

At this moment, on the second floor of the Tianhe Pavilion, the woman stood respectfully beside an elderly man in fine robes. The old man stood by the window, gazing into the distance, holding the Foundation Establishment Pill that Meng Hao had sold.

"Are you sure?" After a long pause, the old man spoke calmly.

"I have had someone investigate, and indeed, there has been a disciple surnamed Ding from the Purple Luck Sect who has come to the Zhao Kingdom recently," the woman replied respectfully.

"Are you certain it's him?" the old man asked slowly.

"At first, I was uncertain, as that Ding Xin is a Ninth Qi Condensation cultivator, while this person is at the Eighth Qi Condensation. However, when he was on the first floor, his words and demeanor exuded the pride of a major sect, which is the first point.

"When he came upstairs, he did not choose a seat near the stairs or the window but instead chose the center, indicating that he has confidence and is not concerned about our actions, which an Eighth Qi Condensation cultivator would not have unless he belongs to a powerful sect, which is the second point.

"Furthermore, he wore white clothing and had a Purple Luck Sect jade pendant, which, even if he intentionally displayed it, is understandable given that this is the Zhao Kingdom, and he is somewhat cautious, which is the third point.

"Moreover, he dared to directly hand over such a pill to me, showing no concern that I might keep it for myself. Even when I probed him with words, his reaction was not something a disciple of the Zhao Kingdom's sects could have, which is the fourth point.

"Finally, this Foundation Establishment Pill bears Master Dan Devil's mark, which no one has dared to imitate. I have also learned to identify it, and it is genuine.

"These five points allow me to confirm that this person is indeed Ding Xin of the Purple Luck Sect. Two years ago, it was rumored that Master Dan Devil had taken on a disciple surnamed Ding, and it seems this is that person," the woman smiled, her face showing confidence and a flash of intelligence.

"Unless..." she suddenly hesitated.

"What?" The old man turned and looked at her kindly, his eyes encouraging.

"Unless this person is extremely intelligent and has deliberately created a flawless scenario, and the mark on the Foundation Establishment Pill is fake. However, the likelihood of this is small. Among the disciples of the Zhao Kingdom's sects, none have such ability," the woman smiled, her confidence returning.

"Very good. To be able to deduce all this from these subtle clues shows that your intelligence is indeed remarkable, and you have become much sharper over the years. The pill is genuine, and this person is most likely that Ding Xin," the old man smiled, looking at the woman with affection.

"Thank you, Ancestor, but should we just let him go?" the woman smiled and looked up at the old man.

"The Purple Luck Sect is not to be provoked. Let's pretend this never happened. As for this Foundation Establishment Pill from Master Dan Devil... Mu'er, with your talent, an ordinary Foundation Establishment Pill would suffice. This one, give to your father," the old man pondered for a moment and then spoke slowly.

As he spoke, the woman's eyes flashed.

"He's back?" Her tone turned cold.

"He returned a few days ago. Back then, he insisted on joining the Mountain Support Sect. Now that the Mountain Support Sect has dissolved, he still hasn't reached Foundation Establishment. You... should go see him," the old man frowned, sighed, and looked at the woman.

"Mu'er still has to manage the pavilion. Whichever ancestor gives the pill, it is none of my concern," the woman said coldly after a moment of silence.

"He is your father, and I see that he has been troubled lately, with thoughts of leaving. Think about it carefully," the old man shook his head and turned to leave.

"Father..." Shangguan Mu sat there calmly, looking out the window, her eyes filled with hatred.

As for Meng Hao, after changing his clothes, he quickly left the black city of the Tianhe Pavilion without hesitation. Once outside the city, he immediately took out his treasure fan and transformed into a long rainbow, speeding away.

He traveled for several days, and seeing no one pursuing him, he finally felt at ease. In a desolate mountain not far from the Great Green Mountain, Meng Hao used a flying sword to carve out a cave and entered it to begin his seclusion.

This time, he aimed to reach the Ninth Qi Condensation.

He had enough spirit stones and Heavenly Spirit Pills. All he needed to do was replicate enough Heavenly Spirit Pills to consume, increasing his cultivation to a certain level before attempting to break through to the next realm.

Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, several months had gone by. Meng Hao never left his cave, sitting quietly in meditation, consuming several pills each day and circulating his cultivation. As time passed, his cultivation improved almost daily.

By the fifth month, Meng Hao's cultivation was surging, and his Dan Sea was churning. He had already reached the peak of the Eighth Qi Condensation, just a hair's breadth away from the Ninth Qi Condensation. However, this small gap had held him back for two months.

The expenditure of over 100,000 spirit stones made Meng Hao's heart ache, but what pained him even more was that despite the massive consumption of spirit stones, he still could not break through.

"Senior Xu once said that the Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Qi Condensation levels all have bottlenecks when breaking through to the next level. I broke the Fourth Qi Condensation bottleneck with enough Drought Spirit Pills, and the Sixth Qi Condensation bottleneck with the Northern Sea Dao Proof. But this Eighth Qi Condensation bottleneck... how can I break it!" Meng Hao opened his eyes, bloodshot, with only about 50,000 spirit stones left out of the 200,000 he had started with, the rest having been turned into Heavenly Spirit Pills, which were now running low.

He had long suspected that relying solely on pills to increase cultivation would become less effective as he consumed more, requiring an increasing number of pills, creating a vicious cycle.

"I wonder how others resolve this issue," Meng Hao frowned, unable to find a solution.

Without breaking the bottleneck, no amount of Heavenly Spirit Pills could increase his cultivation or allow him to take that final step.

Another month passed, and Meng Hao had been in seclusion for half a year. His hair was disheveled, and his eyes were bloodshot. In the past month, he had replicated ten Platform Pills for the Ninth Qi Condensation, hoping to use them to break the bottleneck. While they had some effect, they were not enough to completely break through.

"This time, I must reach the Ninth Qi Condensation!" Meng Hao gritted his teeth, looked at the remaining 50,000 spirit stones in his storage bag, and without hesitation, took out the bronze mirror, choosing to replicate Foundation Establishment Pills!

A brilliant light shone, and two Foundation Establishment Pills appeared before Meng Hao. Adding the one he already had, he now had three Foundation Establishment Pills. These pills would shock even the disciples of major sects in the Southern Domain, and in the Zhao Kingdom, they would surely spark a fierce competition among disciples.

But now, Meng Hao was not using them for Foundation Establishment but to break the bottleneck. If others knew, they would go mad; this was too extravagant.

Throughout history, few people would have been so extravagant as to use this method to break through the Qi Condensation bottleneck.

Meng Hao took a deep breath, picked up a Foundation Establishment Pill, and swallowed it. Immediately, his mind exploded, and his body trembled as a vast surge of spiritual energy, far beyond his expectations, erupted within him.

Meng Hao, who had been in seclusion for half a year, was unaware that during this time, some significant events had occurred in the Zhao Kingdom. The first was that someone had exposed the transaction between Meng Hao and the Purple Luck Sect disciple, and Meng Hao's name quickly spread.

Almost every cultivator knew that Meng Hao had severely deceived the Purple Luck Sect disciple.

Subsequently, the Cold Wind Sect and the Curved Water Sect almost went to war. The Core Formation elders of both sects had to intervene to ease the tension, but soon, both sects issued arrest warrants.

They sought the remnants of the Mountain Support Sect, Meng Hao, and offered rewards of spirit stones, magical treasures, and pills for his capture. This was the first time in nearly a century that the two major sects had jointly issued an arrest warrant, causing a sensation in the Zhao Kingdom's cultivation world!

Moreover, some curious individuals had uncovered the bloodbath caused by a silver spear, despite the person responsible being punished, the news had spread, and Meng Hao's name once again became a topic of discussion among Zhao Kingdom cultivators.

At every gathering of cultivators, the topic was Meng Hao.

"I heard that when he was in the Mountain Support Sect, he forcibly took Wang Tengfei, one of the three major families of the Southern Domain, who had joined the Mountain Support Sect, as his inner disciple, which made Wang Tengfei leave in anger."

"That's nothing. I heard from a former disciple of the Mountain Support Sect that Meng Hao even opened a general store in the sect, causing many disciples to complain, but they dared not speak out."

"So, he deceived the Purple Luck Sect, Liu Daoyun, and Sun Hua, indicating that he has always had this character..."

"I've realized that Meng Hao deceives everyone he meets, from the Mountain Support Sect all the way out..."

Such comments sparked widespread discussion in the Zhao Kingdom's cultivation world. If it were just this, the noise would have gradually faded over time. However, soon, for some reason, the three major sects jointly issued another arrest warrant, retracting the previous one.

But this time, the target was still Meng Hao, not for his death but to find his whereabouts. Anyone who provided a clue or captured him alive would receive a reward!

However, the requirement was that he could be injured or disabled but not killed.

This bizarre arrest warrant immediately attracted the attention of many curious individuals. Eventually, a well-informed person uncovered the reason.

"All the Core Formation elders of the three major sects went to the Heavenly Mechanism Kingdom a month ago to meet the Heavenly Mechanism Senior, asking him to determine whether the Mountain Support Ancestor was alive or dead!

"The answer was that the Mountain Support Ancestor was weak and near death, and only inner disciples of the Mountain Support Sect could find and open his cave!

"The Heavenly Mechanism Senior has come to the Zhao Kingdom to explore the Mountain Support Ancestor's cave!"

This news had just spread when it was quickly suppressed by the three major sects. Anyone who spread it was immediately killed, and the city where the news originated was surrounded by the sects' formations, prohibiting anyone from leaving.

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