In the Past, People with Depression Often Never Lived to Adulthood
[After breaking up with Wuming, you found a courtyard in the corner of the city with a wooden sign that read "House for Rent".]
[You activate the Formless Myriad-Breath Cloak, suppressing your aura to the Golden Core level.]
The man who opened the door was a burly, powerful man at the Golden Core stage, exuding Sha Qi aura. He looked at you as if you were a fat sheep being sized up for slaughter.
"Rent a residence? One Qi-Gathering Pill per day, no bargaining."
[The burly man's voice was hoarse, tinged with a hint of arrogance.]
[You stayed in A-Class Cave Abode dwelling in Qingyang City, costing one hundred Spirit Stones per day. The market price for Qi-Gathering Pill is one thousand Spirit Stones.]
The price has increased tenfold.
[You remain expressionless and simply toss a Jade Bottle over.]
"Rent for one month first."
The burly man scanned the area with his Divine Sense, and a look of delight appeared on his face.
[A person who can effortlessly toss out thirty Qi-Gathering Pills in one go is certainly not some easy prey.]
The burly man's arrogance vanished instantly; he turned slightly to the side, bowing slightly, and his tone became much more respectful.
"Please come in, senior."
[But the burly man's next move will completely surprise you.]
[Just as the burly man closed the courtyard gate tightly, he reached behind him, uncorked the Jade Bottle, poured out three Qi-Gathering Pills, and swallowed them in one gulp.]
[Then his eyes turned bloodshot, and his joints cracked as he forcibly began refining it right in front of you.]
[You were watching, somewhat stunned.]
[What kind of weird stuff is this?]
[You, a prodigy, would only dare to eat five Qi-Gathering Pills a day at most when you were in the Golden Core Stage. This burly guy, on the other hand, gulped down three in one go!]
[This is not simply a matter of the body's ability to absorb Spiritual Qi.]
[All Pills contain Pill Poison. If you dare to consume Pills like food, it's only because you have the "Heavy Tomato User" Trait as a safety net, and the Hundred-Forged Medicine Body Formula for body tempering.]
How dare he, an ordinary cultivator, do that?
[You didn't make things difficult for him; you waited until the flush on his face subsided before speaking calmly.]
"Pill Poison accumulation is not a long-term solution."
Hearing this, the burly man forcibly suppressed the raging drug effects coursing through his body, a self-deprecating sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"You flatter me, senior."
"We don't even know what will happen today, so how can we talk about a long-term future?"
You paused slightly, startled.
[No wonder his first reaction upon receiving the Pills was to swallow three immediately.]
[If I keep it close at hand, it could become someone else's spoils in the next moment; only by swallowing it and refining it into Spiritual Power can I gain a little more chance to survive the night.]
"We don't even know what will happen today, so how can we talk about a long-term future?"
[After silently repeating this sentence in your heart, your eyes darkened slightly.]
[In the days to come, you lie low.]
[Every day, you activate your Formless Myriad-Breath Cloak, donning a completely new appearance and aura, and stroll through the markets and towns of Doushu City.]
[The most popular form of currency in Doushu City, besides Spirit Stones, is indeed Qi-Gathering Pills.]
[Moreover, most cultivators, after receiving the Qi-Gathering Pill, reacted exactly like that burly landlord—they immediately ate it.]
[As for the Pill Poison, the cultivators here seem to care absolutely nothing about it.]
"We don't even know what will happen today, let alone for a long time." This is the common mindset of almost all the cultivators you encounter.
[And you soon notice that, perhaps precisely because of this barbaric habit of consuming Pills, these cultivators' physical bodies have been honed to an extremely high tolerance for the stagnation of Pill Poison and the chaos of Spiritual Power.]
[In comparison, the cultivators of the Azure Dragon Domain are as delicate as little flowers.]
But upon closer reflection, there's really nothing to envy about it.
[It's not that cultivators from the Domain of Chaos are born with stronger physical bodies.]
[Those who weren't strong enough to withstand the sudden surge of the drug's effects are already dead.]
[It's like you often heard people say in your past life, "Why didn't people in the past ever get depressed?"]
[It's not that depression didn't exist before, but rather that people who were depressed in the past often didn't even live to adulthood.]
[Use the Qi-Gathering Pills you have to exchange for medicinal materials needed to refine Qi-Consolidating Pills and other high-level Pills.]
[You've been wandering around the city for days, and the words you hear most often are "secret realm" and "ruins."]
[Today, Zhang San unearthed a High Antiquity fragment in some ruins outside the city; tomorrow, Li Si found a powerful Law Treasure in the secret realm of the poisonous swamp.]
The cultivators here spend their days teaming up to fight desperately. Those who return alive exchange their resources for Pills and Law Artifacts, then go out to fight again.
Those who died inside became new nourishment for the ruins.
[The Azure Dragon Domain is not without its secret realms.]
[For example, you went to the Yellow Fang Secret Realm early on to obtain Golden-Patterned Yellow Bud Ganoderma. However, even the largest secret realms are almost always controlled by sects.]
[Then the lower-level cultivators are recruited by sects and organizations, destined to be cogs in the machine for life.]
[In the Domain of Chaos, ruins and secret realms seem to be everywhere.]
Although cultivators live in constant fear, as long as they are resilient, there is always a chance to turn their lives around.
[You continue to lie low and gather information about the upcoming large-scale Auction.]
[The true organizer behind this once-in-twelve-years grand auction is none other than the Mystic Nether Pavilion, which controls the inter-domain Teleportation Array.]
[Speaking of which, this Mystic Nether Pavilion is quite interesting.]
[After this period of exploration, you have gained a considerable understanding of the Domain of Chaos. Naturally, the Mystic Nether Pavilion will be a key focus.]
[The Mystic Nether Pavilion has branches in the seven largest cities of the Domain of Chaos, making it a powerful force spanning the entire domain.]
But ironically, Mystic Nether Pavilion only has two main businesses.
[One is teleportation. The other is Spirit Stone exchange.]
[As for the grand auction that's causing such a stir right now, according to the Mystic Nether Pavilion, it's purely a side event, a kind of "benefit" to give back to fellow cultivators.]
[Ten days before the Auction began, you witnessed a spectacle in Doushu City.]
[Mystic Nether Pavilion's monthly "Spirit Stone Exchange Day"].
A long queue had formed outside the Mystic Nether Pavilion.
[You stand at a distance, watching the cultivators hand over piles of Demon Beast materials, rare ores, and ancient relics.]
[The Deacon of the Mystic Nether Pavilion, holding an abacus, clicked away rapidly, tossing out several Low-Grade Spirit Stones.]
[You did a rough calculation, and that exchange rate is outrageously shady.]
[Four materials of equal value can only be exchanged for one Spirit Stone here.]
[But those cultivators, after obtaining the Spirit Stones, treated them as if they had found a treasure, and quickly left using a teleportation technique.]
[It's chilling to watch.]
[You finally understand why that old man at the Hundred Herb Pavilion's eyes lit up like a hungry wolf when he saw you pay with Spirit Stones.]
[You thought you'd made a killing by paying half price. Little did you know, you'd still be the one who got ripped off.]
This isn't doing business, it's a harvester!
[Options pop up.]
[A: Observe discreetly and do not act rashly.]
[B: The Mystic Nether Pavilion is so rich, let's rob their vault tonight.]
[C: A formal complaint has been filed with the Heavenly Certification Alliance Anti-Monopoly Bureau against the Mystic Nether Pavilion for illegal fundraising, foreign exchange speculation, and disrupting market order, demanding the immediate freezing of its accounts and a hefty fine.]