In the Waste Pill Room, Su Shi'er had no idea that while the man in black had failed to notice him, other fellow disciples had set their sights on him first.
A conspiracy against him was quietly unfolding in the shadows.
After driving off the two menial disciples, he continued cultivating bitterly in the Waste Pill Room.
Other than the waste pills delivered each month by disciples from the various peaks, he hardly ever left.
Occasionally, demonic beasts would wander into his territory. Relying on two Mortal Combat Skills and a high-grade magical artifact, he was able to kill them with ease.
Time flowed on; Years Like a Shuttle.
In the blink of an eye, four years had passed.
One morning, atop Yi Huan Mountain, a lean youth of sixteen or seventeen, his skin darkened by the sun and dressed in a Yun Ge Sect Disciple Robe, slowly made his way to the trading plaza at the mountain summit.
The plaza was square and covered more than ten mu of land. Four main streets divided it into nine areas in the shape of the character "well," and each area was further divided in a cross-shaped layout.
Roads crisscrossed like fields, with cultivators setting up stalls all along the way. Whether they were stallholders or shoppers, every one of them wore Disciple Robes.
People streamed back and forth in a bustling crowd. It was truly lively.
The youth mingled among the crowd with a beast-hide Sword Pouch on his back. His face was utterly ordinary, plain and unremarkable. He looked around here and there, but he was in no hurry to buy anything.
This youth was Su Shi'er, who had cultivated bitterly for four years in the Waste Pill Room of Cuihuan Mountain.
After four years of hard cultivation, aided by a large supply of top-grade Qi Gathering Pills, his cultivation had continuously improved.
Just a day earlier, after his unrelenting Qi Refining, the True Yuan within his body had finally grown to the size of a fist, allowing him to successfully step into the threshold of Qi Refining Stage Four.
Such cultivation speed was enough to rival that of an ordinary minor genius.
With less than half a year remaining before the Newcomer Trial, he knew that he could not possibly break through to Qi Refining Stage Five in so short a time. After giving it careful thought, he decided to visit the trading plaza and buy items that could increase his strength for the coming Newcomer Trial.
After making a round of the plaza, Su Shi'er had bought nothing, but he had gained a rough understanding of the place.
The items sold here were a chaotic assortment: medicinal herbs, iron ore, beast hides and bones, pills, talismans, magical artifacts, cultivation methods... there was everything under the sun.
The currency used in trade was not fixed either. Foundation Cultivation Pills were the most common, followed by gold, silver, and treasures. Occasionally, people traded goods directly for goods.
As Su Shi'er walked along, his eyes were opened wide, and he could not help feeling envious.
Among the stalls, he spotted an inconspicuous vendor selling talismans identical to the one the Sword-Bearing Youth had used while fleeing four years ago.
A Level 1 Low-grade Escape Light Talisman cost three high-grade Foundation Cultivation Pills.
Su Shi'er gave it another look but did not make a trade.
As he walked, he suddenly stopped, his gaze landing on a stall not far away.
Five or six cultivators surrounded the stall. Quite a few good items were displayed there, including many talismans, blank talisman paper, and more than ten Talisman Manuals.
What drew everyone's attention was a Sandalwood Box in the center, containing a talisman that emitted a faint earthen-yellow glow.
A line of large characters was written on a small wooden board beside it: Level 1 Top-grade Defense Talisman: three low-grade Qi Gathering Pills.
Below that were several smaller lines: Level 1 Low-grade Spirit Talisman: three high-grade Foundation Cultivation Pills. Level 1 Mid-grade Spirit Talisman: ten high-grade Foundation Cultivation Pills. Talisman Manuals: fifty Foundation Cultivation Pills each.
"Level 1 Top-grade Defense Talisman?"
Su Shi'er's pupils contracted. After browsing for so long, the best talismans he had seen had only been Level 1 Mid-grade Spirit Talismans. This was the first top-grade talisman he had encountered—and it was a Defense Talisman, one of the most precious attack-and-defense talismans.
His eyes shifted as he examined it carefully. He could clearly sense it.
Dense earthen-yellow Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi swirled around the talisman, giving off a feeling of heaviness as immovable as a mountain.
The spiritual power contained within it made his heart tremble. It was simply beyond comparison with ordinary talismans.
Sure enough, if you never leave home, you never know how vast the world is. Once this talisman is activated, let alone me, even someone at the Qi Refining Seventh or Eighth Layer might not be able to shatter it!
Su Shi'er stared at it with burning eyes, secretly shocked as well.
Just then, among the onlookers, a handsome Youth in Silk Scarf who held a sword in both arms spoke up. "I'll offer three hundred high-grade Foundation Cultivation Pills for this Level 1 Top-grade Defense Talisman. Are you selling?"
"No. I only trade this top-grade Defense Talisman for Qi Gathering Pills." The stall owner was a female cultivator in her twenties, dressed in a long yellow gown. She shook her head without hesitation.
"Four hundred high-grade Foundation Cultivation Pills! Senior Sister Chu, a single low-grade Qi Gathering Pill is worth at most one hundred Foundation Cultivation Pills. You'll be making a huge profit at this price."
The female cultivator surnamed Chu raised an orchid finger and rolled her eyes charmingly. "Oh, spare me. Low-grade Qi Gathering Pills are priceless and impossible to find. If you truly want it, bring Qi Gathering Pills to trade."
The Youth in Silk Scarf pursed his lips and turned away in frustration.
Seeing that, the others also shook their heads and dispersed.
Among them, the one with the highest cultivation was the Young man in silk scarf, who was only at Qi Refining Stage Five.
There was no way they could possess Qi Gathering Pills. Even if they did, they would use them for cultivation themselves; no one would readily trade them away.
Very quickly, the area before the stall became empty.
Seeing this, Su Shi'er hesitated for a moment and glanced around. Only after confirming that no one was paying attention did he step forward.
"Boss, this Level 1 Top-grade Defense Talisman..."
Before Su Shi'er could finish, the female cultivator surnamed Chu gave him a glance and said coldly, "Brother, I only trade this Level 1 Top-grade Defense Talisman for Qi Gathering Pills."
"I know. How about this?" Su Shi'er nodded and took a medicine bottle from his robes, handing it to her.
The female cultivator surnamed Chu knitted her brows together, casually opening the bottle. Su Shi'er looked plain and ordinary, nothing like a wealthy man.
The female cultivator surnamed Chu had hardly held out any hope for him.
Yet the instant the bottle opened, she saw a round Qi Gathering Pill lying within, haloed by a faint pill radiance.
Her pupils shrank, and she immediately cried out, "A Mid-grade Qi Gathering Pill?!"
The cry had barely left her mouth before she swallowed it back down.
She scrutinized Su Shi'er, quickly suppressing the heat in her eyes. With a beaming smile, she said, "Brother, your pill is quite good, but one Mid-grade Qi Gathering Pill can only count as two low-grade Qi Gathering Pills at most. How about this? Take out one more, and I'll additionally give you fifteen Level 1 Mid-grade Spirit Talismans. What do you say?"
"I only have one Qi Gathering Pill. You should know that Qi Gathering Pills are priceless and impossible to find. Trading one Mid-grade Qi Gathering Pill for your talisman is not a loss for you." Su Shi'er decisively shook his head.
The corner of his eye swiftly swept over the other items on the stall. Whether the other talismans or the books, all of them tempted him.
But he knew that taking out this one Qi Gathering Pill was already a risk. There was absolutely no way he could take out any more.
"Really, only one?" The female cultivator surnamed Chu sized Su Shi'er up, smiling as she cast him a seductive glance. Her captivating eyes nearly caused Su Shi'er to lose his focus.
"Of course! Are you trading or not? If not, pretend I never said anything." Su Shi'er insisted firmly as he reached out to take back his Qi Gathering Pill.
If possible, he did not want to trade with a Mid-grade Qi Gathering Pill either. It would attract far too much attention.
But he had no choice. That mysterious Pill Furnace was too powerful. Once waste Qi Gathering Pills were placed inside, they would be refined into top-grade Qi Gathering Pills within a few breaths.
He had tried no fewer than twenty times before successfully refining two of them.
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