Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Ding Juncai Awakens

The next day, just as dawn broke, many carriages and horses were parked outside the Ding family's gate.

As more and more young people awakened under Ding Hao's guidance, the reputation of the Mu family on South Garden Rear Street in Wuzhou City grew. Many people knew that there was a guide here who could help people enter the intermediate state of tranquility. Those with children who hadn't awakened sent their children here, and even the wealthy families in the city reserved a bodhi cushion, coming every day!

Ding Hao guided a batch of young people into the state of tranquility and noticed that Boss Shang was standing outside.

"Boss Shang, I don't need any more elixirs for now."

Boss Shang smiled, "Come to your room."

Boss Shang was one of the few people who could enter Ding Hao's room. After entering the Heavenly Will Cover, he took out a small red wooden box from his sleeve and placed it on the table with a smile.

"What is this?" Ding Hao picked up the red wooden box in confusion, opened it, and saw that it was filled with brocade, on which a yellow paper talisman was stuck. Ding Hao lifted the yellow paper talisman and found a small, fingernail-sized, emerald-green gel underneath, along with a strong medicinal fragrance!

"Prohibited medicine, the Green Jade Pill!" Boss Shang mysteriously took back the small box and stuck the yellow paper talisman back on the pill, saying, "This is a prohibited medicine and cannot be exposed to the Heavenly Will for a long time, or it will trigger an alarm!"

"What is this medicine for?"

Boss Shang said, "The Green Jade Pill, when taken, can significantly enhance one's mental power for an hour! It is used before awakening, and after taking it and then awakening, one can open a more excellent immortal root. This thing is very valuable and hard to obtain. I originally wanted to give it to my son Xiaohai, but he unexpectedly opened an immortal root, so it's useless to me. I'm giving it to you, Master Ding, to help you make further progress!"

"Enhance mental power..." Ding Hao thought his mental power was already at its peak and couldn't be improved. He shook his head, pushed the small box back to Boss Shang, and said, "Since it's a prohibited medicine, I assume it has some negative effects. My current talent is sufficient, so I don't need it."

Boss Shang said, "You misunderstand. Prohibited medicines are not necessarily toxic or have side effects; they are banned because their main ingredients are all rare treasures from the Immortal Refinement World, so they are prohibited by the Heavenly Will. If the City Lord's Office finds prohibited medicines, they will be confiscated! If the quantity is small, it's fine, but if the quantity is large or if they are sold for profit, severe punishment will be imposed!"

Ding Hao asked curiously, "Why are medicines made from materials from the Immortal Refinement World prohibited?"

Boss Shang said, "To maintain the balance between the upper and lower realms, the Nine Provinces World is primarily focused on orthodox cultivation, emphasizing gradual progress. If a large number of items from the Immortal Refinement World are used, it will eventually turn into another Immortal Refinement World. Everyone will seek rapid breakthroughs at all costs, leading to chaos and the rampant spread of evil immortal masters! The nine holy ancestors have told us that a cultivator should be honest and diligent, taking one step at a time."

"That makes sense," Ding Hao nodded and asked, "Where does this prohibited medicine come from?"

"There are always people who don't follow the rules in this world! As long as there is profit, they will do anything!" Boss Shang said, "Master Ding, you may not know, but there are places in the Nine Provinces World that the Heavenly Will cannot reach. That's the outer domain, where there are native cities. My family has a branch in the native city, so I can obtain this pill! If others buy it, the price would be three times higher!"

"So scarce!" Ding Hao frowned and asked, "What is a native city?"

Boss Shang said, "A native city, also called a native town, is a place the Heavenly Will cannot reach! There, many powerful prohibited medicines exist, and the Heavenly Will has no control over them! However, because there is no Heavenly Will, there are no laws or basic protections, and even evil immortal masters exist, killing and robbing at will. It is very dangerous for people like us!"

Ding Hao suddenly understood, "So it's a lawless place, a black market!"

"Exactly!" Boss Shang said, "There are also smugglers who specialize in transporting prohibited medicines from native towns to sell. They risk their lives and the risk of being caught and punished by the City Lord's Office, but the profit margin is very high."

Ding Hao pointed to the small box and asked, "How much does one of these cost?"

Boss Shang said, "Fifteen thousand taels! If others buy it, it would cost at least forty to fifty thousand taels!"

"So expensive!" Ding Hao was taken aback; one pill cost tens of thousands of taels?

"Don't worry about the price; the key is that it works!" Boss Shang added, "Moreover, the outer domain native cities are not protected by the Heavenly Will, and banknotes are not used; only essence stones are used for payment. One thousand taels of silver can be exchanged for one essence stone, and this ratio is constantly changing."

Ding Hao thought for a moment and finally said, "Boss Shang, thank you for your kindness, but I don't want to use these cheating methods. I want to see what kind of immortal root I can open with my true abilities."

Boss Shang wanted to say more, but Ding Hao said, "Don't try to persuade me; my mind is made up."

Boss Shang had no choice but to put away the Green Jade Pill and said with a bitter smile, "Master Ding, you are truly upright!"

In fact, Ding Hao wasn't being upright; his mental power was already at its peak, so why use these? Sometimes, adding unnecessary things can be counterproductive.

Boss Shang put away the pill but didn't leave, sitting there and drinking water.

Ding Hao noticed that Boss Shang seemed to have something to say and asked, "Boss Shang, we have known each other for a long time. If you have something to say, just say it."

The Green Jade Pill was something Boss Shang had long possessed, and he only brought it out today, clearly with a request in mind.

Boss Shang, seeing that he was asked, spoke directly, "Master Ding, it's like this. My family is a large clan with a considerable chain of businesses in the Nine Provinces World. Unfortunately, my cultivation has always been stuck at the third stage of the innate realm, unable to break through, so I can only run a small bookstore. Recently, I heard that there is a vacancy in a larger general store in Wuzhou City, but unfortunately, my cultivation is still too weak..."

Ding Hao had a rough idea of what was coming and asked, "What do you need me to do?"

Boss Shang smiled, "Since you can help people enter the intermediate state of tranquility, if you could put in a bit more effort and guide me into the advanced state of tranquility, my mental power would improve, and I might break through the bottleneck and enter the middle stage of the innate realm!"

The first three stages are called the early stage, the fourth to sixth stages are the middle stage, and the seventh to ninth stages are the late stage, with the tenth stage being the perfect stage.

Each stage has its bottleneck, and it's not easy to break through. Advanced tranquility is only effective for innate cultivation, so Boss Shang came to ask for Ding Hao's help.

"Enter the advanced state of tranquility..." Ding Hao pondered for a moment.

He had already anticipated Boss Shang's request but couldn't agree immediately. If he did, Boss Shang might suspect that his abilities were too great and wonder if he could help people enter the perfect state of tranquility.

Entering the perfect state of tranquility would be incredible!

"I can only try, no guarantees," Ding Hao hesitated but finally nodded.

Ding Hao had already prepared to offer advanced tranquility services.

He was about to awaken his immortal root, and after awakening, he could practice martial techniques and have self-defense skills, allowing him to be more daring. Moreover, after awakening, he would need more resources and more silver, so earning money from advanced tranquility was inevitable. Therefore, it was better to agree to Boss Shang's request and do a good deed.

Boss Shang, hearing his agreement, was overjoyed and said, "Advanced tranquility costs one thousand taels each time, and I can pay. Also, my son Xiaohai has now entered the innate realm. Can you help him enter the advanced state of tranquility to improve his cultivation? That way, he might have a chance to enter the Nine Provinces Academy during the imperial examination."

Boss Shang first mentioned himself and then added his son. Ding Hao was annoyed, feeling that the man was pushing his luck. However, he thought that the man and his son were decent, and if Xiaohai could enter the Nine Provinces Academy, it wouldn't be bad for him, so he nodded and said, "Sure! But don't let a fourth person know about this!"

Boss Shang was delighted, "Rest assured, absolutely!"

The two walked out of the Heavenly Will Cover.

As soon as they stepped out, they heard someone shouting, "Awakening, awakening!"

At Ding Hao's place, someone would almost always awaken every few days, so it wasn't surprising. However, today was different; the one awakening was not a client but someone from the back courtyard, Ding Lao Si's room.

"Trouble! Ding Juncai is awakening!"

Ding Juncai awakening was not good news for Ding Hao. Ding Juncai had been examined by a senior expert in his youth, who said he had above-average talent. If he opened a third-grade or higher immortal root, he could forcibly take Ding Hao's immortal seed status!

"Let's go see."

Ding Hao and Boss Shang went to the back courtyard, where many people were already gathered. Ding Hao thought for a moment and looked up at the sky, seeing a faint spiritual energy break through the roof and rise five meters high!

Previously, the young man who opened the copper cauldron had his spiritual energy rise three meters, not even reaching the roof. Boss Shang's son Xiaohai's spiritual energy rose four meters, opening a fourth-grade immortal root.

But Ding Juncai's spiritual energy reached five meters and was so clear and solid, which was truly shocking!

Ding Hao frowned and turned back.

Boss Shang also felt the situation was troublesome and followed, saying, "Master Ding, this guy might open a third-grade or higher immortal root, making him a third-grade genius. If he uses his priority rights, he could forcibly take your immortal seed status, putting you in a very difficult position."

Sure enough, the answer came half an hour later.

"It's Sinking Ice, a third-grade elemental immortal root!"

"Genius, truly a genius! Elemental immortal roots are standard, but an ice immortal root has strong combat power! The Sinking Ice immortal root can even cultivate mental power freezing techniques, making it almost a second-grade root!"

Since Ding Hao started helping people enter tranquility, he had seen many awaken, but Ding Juncai was the highest.

Boss Shang, worried, said, "Master Ding, this is bad. The steward's son has excellent talent and opened a third-grade Sinking Ice! He's a genius! According to the City Lord's Office, those above first-grade can ask the Heavenly Will once, first-grade can ride horses throughout the city, second-grade can walk in a parade, and third-grade can hang flowers at their door. Besides, geniuses have priority rights, immunity, and preferential treatment, so he will definitely be a threat to you!"

While Boss Shang was still worried, Ding Lao Si's family was already overjoyed.

Second update of the day, please support by collecting, recommending, and donating! A new book is like a seedling or a little girl, needing everyone's care and attention. Thank you! Kisses!

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends