With money to be made, Old Dong and Big Stone were not stingy this time. Though they could not afford the height of luxury, they treated their former Chief and his self-appointed second-in-command to genuinely fine food and wine.
As they reminisced about those glorious years, someone raised his wine and wept, swallowing his snot along with it...
There was no end to the glittering lights, and they could not tell whether those they encountered along the way were humans, demons, or monsters. Having eaten from daylight until dark, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang returned slightly tipsy. Once seated in their room, neither dared bend forward even a little. Their bellies were far too stuffed.
"We got careless, careless. If someone ambushed us now, we'd be done for."
Reclining in his chair, Shi Chun held his bulging belly and sighed.
"Urp. Pretty good." Wu Jinliang belched, releasing a thick gust of wine fumes.
It was not their first time drinking. Wangbo Tower in the Land of Exile sold wine too, and they had spent money to sample the cheap stuff. But this was their first time drinking so freely, and fine wine at that.
Both were so full they scarcely wanted to speak, afraid the contents sloshing at their throats would come back up.
Only after silently circulating their energy and regulating their breathing for a good while did the two gradually recover.
Opening his eyes again, Shi Chun untied a bulging money pouch from his waist. As soon as he opened it, purple Flame Aura rose from within.
Besides some sandalwood gold, it contained several small bottles and jars. He took out a bottle about the size of two thumbs, opened it, and tipped out a jade-green pill the size of a soybean. It was called a Long Transformation Pill, a spirit pill commonly used in the cultivation world to help improve cultivation.
Whether it was expensive or cheap depended on whom you asked. The usual market price was ten pieces of sandalwood gold per pill. Shi Chun had bought twenty at once-two small bottles-and given one bottle to Wu Jinliang. The two hundred pieces of sandalwood gold had been paid by Old Dong and the others.
Naturally, he had bought them to try their effects on his cultivation.
Noticing the Flame Aura glowing in the room, Wu Jinliang opened his eyes to look and chuckled again. "Oh, right. Let's try out those spirit pills."
He immediately took the bulging money pouch off his own waist. No purple Flame Aura appeared when he opened it, because he had no money. It was bulging because he had stocked up on common medicines for injuries, just in case. Old Dong and the others had eagerly paid for everything anyway.
He swallowed a pill in one gulp, then immediately went to sit cross-legged on his own bed, keeping his saber within reach.
After sniffing the pill's delicate fragrance, Shi Chun did the same, experiencing cultivation through refining a medicinal pill for the first time in his life...
In the pavilion on Wangbo Tower's highest floor, a group responsible for local affairs was holding its routine discussion. Miao Yilan was among them. After someone came in and whispered a few words in her ear, she turned and temporarily excused herself.
At a corner of the covered walkway outside, Che Si, who had spent the day keeping watch, was waiting.
Miao Yilan approached him and listened to his account of the day's surveillance, then asked with some surprise, "Cao Puqing's nephew, Cen Futong, went to see him, and they had a private conversation?"
Che Si said, "It should have been private. Those who came with Cen Futong were sent out. When they passed me, I heard them grumbling about how secretive it all was and how they had no idea what was going on."
Miao Yilan asked, "He wasn't there to teach Shi Chun and the others a lesson for making Lü Taizhen lose face?"
Che Si said, "It didn't look like it."
After considering this for a while, Miao Yilan nodded. "All right, I understand. Keep watching them."
As the night deepened, the singing and dancing in Liyun Tower remained lively. The madam, Feng Chi, deftly circulated among the various honored guests.
Meanwhile, in a pavilion beside the cliff outside the Carefree Inn, a figure stood in a black cloak. The face beneath the hood was exactly the same as that of Feng Chi, the madam.
A little later, another furtive figure emerged from the shadows. With a graceful figure, it was none other than Xiang Lan'er. Her loose hair veiled her face, making her look like a female ghost in the night.
Once they drew close, Feng Chi said quietly, "The Prison of Life is a special case. It's difficult to confirm their identities on such short notice. I've already sent word to our superiors, and they've arranged for someone to enter the Prison of Life, but it will take time. Even at the earliest, I'd estimate tomorrow morning."
A breeze stirred the hair hanging before her face. Xiang Lan'er said, "One thing is certain: this Shi Chun is far from simple. He's absolutely not helping out of kindness alone."
"Oh?" Feng Chi said. "How so?"
Xiang Lan'er said, "He's eager to bring about Bian Weikang's return to Mount Wukang. His target is probably Mount Wukang too."
Feng Chi immediately grew suspicious. "Who could he be? Could he have been sent by one of the other two branches?"
Xiang Lan'er said, "Whoever he is, I won't allow anyone to interfere with what I'm doing. We leave tomorrow morning. Once we're out of the city, I'll find a chance to draw Bian Weikang away. Arrange for someone to eliminate those two unknown factors."
Feng Chi said, "Is it wise to act so rashly when we don't know their identities?"
Xiang Lan'er said, "They offended Lü Taizhen. Wouldn't it be perfectly normal for them to disappear?"
Feng Chi said, "All right. I'll also press our superiors again and see whether they can verify their identities any faster."
Without another word, Xiang Lan'er turned and left.
Feng Chi called softly after her, "When that indenture was registered with the Heavenly Court authorities, we couldn't falsify it. All the identifying marks were taken from your real person. Remember to destroy it, lest something unexpected happen."
Still walking away, Xiang Lan'er replied indifferently, "Already destroyed."
The night flew by, and faint signs of dawn appeared on the horizon.
Shi Chun opened his eyes from his cross-legged meditation. He picked up the little pill bottle beside him, uncapped it, and sniffed the refreshing medicinal fragrance within again, his eyes heavy with doubt.
Cultivation within a given realm was generally divided into three grades-lower, middle, and upper-commonly called the minor completion realm, upper completion realm, and grand completion realm.
He had reached grand completion in initial martial cultivation two or three years ago. Strangely, some time after entering the grand completion realm of initial martial cultivation, he had stopped making any progress whatsoever, no matter how diligently he practiced. He had thought getting out and gaining access to cultivation resources would solve the problem. Yet a night had passed, and he was still treading water, without the slightest sign of improvement.
If one Long Transformation Pill did nothing, perhaps the medicinal potency was insufficient, so he had taken two more. Yet even after popping three in one night, there was still no effect. Had he bought fake medicine?
If so, that would be outrageously brazen.
On reflection, though, he felt it was unlikely. He had brought someone from Wangbo Tower along when buying them.
He rose, opened the window, and looked outside. Dawn had yet to break. He had intended to wait until daylight, but after clutching the bottle and sniffing it over and over, his anxiety finally became unbearable. Unable to restrain himself, he went over to Wu Jinliang and called, "Jinliang, Jinliang, Jinliang..."
He took out a piece of sandalwood gold at random to light the room.
Wu Jinliang slowly stopped circulating his energy and opened his eyes. Seeing him, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Shi Chun asked, "How did the Long Transformation Pill work for you?"
His question made Wu Jinliang realize something. "No way. Don't tell me even the pills had no effect on you?"
Shi Chun had asked him about similar matters back in the Eastern Nine Plains, and they had discussed them more than once.
Shi Chun asked doubtfully, "It worked for you?"
Wu Jinliang nodded. "Yes, pretty well. It's at least three times faster than just absorbing and converting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. You didn't get any effect at all?"
Shi Chun shook his head. "Three Long Transformation Pills, and nothing. Right, how many did you take?"
Wu Jinliang's eyes widened. "Even three didn't work? I only took one, and I'm still refining it now. The shopkeeper wasn't lying. But, Chuntian, what exactly is going on with you? Could there be a problem with your cultivation method?"
Shi Chun turned and sat on his bed, shaking his head wearily. "I don't know what's wrong. When we were little, people said Eighth Uncle was the best fighter. Didn't all of us kids pester him to teach us his cultivation method? Later, I was the only one who succeeded. The rest of you switched to other methods. Eighth Uncle never mentioned any problems back then. Then something happened to him, and he was gone. Now I couldn't ask him even if I wanted to."
Rubbing his chin, Wu Jinliang muttered, "That's not right. Logically, it shouldn't be the cultivation method. Even if there were something wrong with it, that shouldn't affect your absorption of spiritual energy. And if it could, why weren't you affected before? Say, could you have eaten something you shouldn't have? Think carefully. Did you ever sneak off and eat something good behind our backs?"
"Get lost." Shi Chun waved him away as though telling him to go as far away as possible. Already upset, he found the whole business far too distressing to be in the mood for jokes.
He put away the piece of sandalwood gold, plunging the room back into darkness, then returned to his own bed and lay down with his hands behind his head and one leg crossed over the other, his heart full of worry.
He could not help it. There was no way not to worry. What he had feared most had happened. Clearly, the problem was not a lack of cultivation resources; something had gone wrong with his cultivation, and he had no idea what. The problem had lingered for two or three years without a solution. What was he to do?
Surely he could not abandon this cultivation method and start over with another? He felt his method was quite formidable in a fight, and fighting with it was exhilarating. The fiercer his opponent and the stronger their killing intent, the more excited he became in the thick of battle, until it felt as though every pore was breathing freely.
He felt that each time he fought an opponent surging with killing intent, his body's ability to withstand blows grew a little stronger.
At least in the Eastern Nine Plains, no one had a body that could take more punishment than his, nor could anyone match his ability to heal from injuries. If his opponents fought with fists and feet rather than weapons, he dared charge alone into a whole crowd and fight them to the death.
Although his cultivation had stopped progressing, his body had continued growing stronger, little by little, through combat.
He felt this cultivation method was quite good. That was also why he had not switched to another over the past two or three years. He truly could not bear to give it up.
Should I find a suitable expert to analyze my cultivation method when I get the chance?
In the darkness, Wu Jinliang watched his dim silhouette. He knew Shi Chun had encountered an enormous hurdle, but had no idea what to say. He had no solution either and truly could not help. Seeing that dawn had not yet broken, he could not be bothered to let his thoughts run wild. He closed his eyes again and continued refining the spirit pill's medicinal power, enjoying the bliss of having cultivation resources.
Lying there, however, Shi Chun could not stop his thoughts from running wild. There was no point wasting more spirit pills. Before he knew it, daylight had come.