Meng Randao

Wang Ba smelled something amiss.

But he knew far too little. He only sensed that something was wrong, without being able to arrive at any answers.

All he could do was improve and strengthen himself as much as possible.

Yet after turning it over in his mind, the only thing he possessed that could offer him even a little protection was the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture.

Although it had no offensive capabilities, it could deceive others at a critical moment.

It was also the only thing that worked against sect disciples.

What left him helpless, however, was that he still had no idea how to reach the Second Layer of the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture.

The option to expend lifespan on the Second Layer had never appeared on his panel.

So he could only speed up his consumption of Spirit Chickens and work hard to condense Yin Spirit Power within his Yin Spirit Mansion.

Soon, perhaps because his improvement in the Body-Strengthening Scripture had enhanced his ability to retain Spiritual Qi.

After eating six Spirit Chickens.

He quickly succeeded in condensing a fourth drop of Yin Spirit Power.

And as his Yin Spirit Power grew stronger, he felt his perception of the world becoming clearer.

His five senses grew increasingly keen.

Every day, he would often detect movement before Niu Yong and Old Hou below the Mountain Manor even made a sound.

One day, Steward Li suddenly came calling.

His arrival was so unexpected that Wang Ba only heard him when he knocked on the Mountain Manor's main gate.

Although caught off guard, he steadied himself. At his command, Jia Five led quite a few Spirit Chickens racing into Old Sun's room to hide.

He activated his Yin Spirit Power to conceal the others.

He left only a dozen or so Spirit Chickens wandering around the Mountain Manor.

Only then did he open the gate.

"I was busy just now. I never expected it would be you, Steward Li!"

Seeing that it was Steward Li, Wang Ba hurriedly bowed in greeting.

Perhaps because the area he was concealing was too large and there were too many Spirit Chickens, the instant he opened the gate, the consumption of Yin Spirit Power within his Yin Spirit Mansion abruptly accelerated.

The peanut-sized mass of Yin Spirit Power actually shrank by a considerable margin in an instant!

It was being consumed even faster than on the night he encountered that sect disciple!

Wang Ba swept a somewhat startled, uncertain glance over Steward Li.

For an instant, something seemed to occur to him, but he let nothing show on his face.

Whether it was because Wang Ba had bred Spirit Chickens or not, Steward Li showed no anger whatsoever over being kept waiting at the gate for so long. Instead, his face was wreathed in smiles, even somewhat ingratiating:

"Not at all, not at all. Your work for the sect comes first, Brother Wang."

"Please come in, Steward Li."

With no time to savor the satisfaction brought by the other man's shift from deference to arrogance, Wang Ba felt his Yin Spirit Power draining rapidly. Although he wished the man would get lost immediately, he still forced a smile and stepped aside to invite him in.

To Wang Ba's teeth-grinding frustration, Steward Li did not decline. Still, instead of strutting inside with his belly thrust out as before, he drew in his waist and stomach, his deportment impeccably proper:

"Then pardon the intrusion."

Then, seemingly casually, he said, "By the way, Brother Wang, may I ask how your progress with the Body-Strengthening Scripture is coming along?"

Thoughts raced through Wang Ba's mind.

He did not quite understand why the other man had brought up the Body-Strengthening Scripture.

After a brief hesitation, he quickly said, "To be honest, Steward Li, I've cultivated the Body-Strengthening Scripture for nearly ten months, and I've barely reached the Fourth Layer."

Wang Ba had deliberately looked into this before. Supposedly, someone of exceptional aptitude had once charged all the way to the Eighth Layer in a year, shocking the sect!

Wang Ba had wanted to pass himself off as a genius too, but recalling that trace of unease he had felt earlier, he chose to conceal the truth almost despite himself.

In any case, unless someone had developed a Spiritual Root, it was difficult to determine their precise layer in the Body-Strengthening Scripture from their appearance alone.

By comparison, although reaching the Fourth Layer was somewhat fast, it was not all that astonishing.

"Oh? So quickly! You're extraordinarily gifted, Brother Wang!"

Steward Li seemed somewhat surprised.

Wang Ba looked embarrassed. "You must be joking, Steward. How am I extraordinarily gifted? I merely used some extra Meridian-Passing Grass Seeds!"

"Oh, Meridian-Passing Grass Seeds..."

Steward Li seemed to understand.

He seemed about to say something else, but then he spotted the dozen or so Spirit Chickens leisurely wandering around a corner of the Mountain Manor!

Despite his best efforts to conceal it, a trace of shock and greed still appeared in his eyes.

But he quickly hid those expressions.

Looking astonished, he pointed at the Spirit Chickens:

"Brother Wang, these... you bred all of them?!"

Wang Ba knew this was no time for modesty and nodded with a smile.

He said modestly, "Just luck, just luck. The two I handed over to you before were bred in the same batch as these Spirit Chickens. Those two simply broke through faster, while these were a little later."

"How could something like this possibly be luck!"

Steward Li could not help shaking his head, his gaze toward Wang Ba filled with heartfelt admiration.

"I've been in the sect for thirty years, and apart from Meng Randao, who is now among the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples, there has never been an outstanding talent like you among the Servant Disciples, Brother Wang!"

"Meng Randao?"

Hearing that name, Wang Ba's thoughts stirred.

There seemed to be a grain shop in South Lake Market named "Randao." At the time, its shopkeeper had seen his shabby clothes and tried to fleece him.

Could that shop belong to this Meng Randao?

But that was not the important part. What mattered was that, judging by Steward Li's words, this Meng Randao seemed to have risen from the ranks of Servant Disciples too.

Shopkeeper Lu of the Lu Family Grain Shop also seemed to have mentioned before that someone among the Outer Sect disciples had started out as a Servant Disciple.

Putting it all together, the person Shopkeeper Lu had mentioned was most likely this man!

At this thought, Wang Ba could not help asking curiously, "Steward Li, did this Immortal Meng also rise from being a Servant Disciple?"

"That's right!"

Steward Li nodded affirmatively.

He even revealed a secret that sent a tremendous shock through Wang Ba's heart. "Meng Randao and I entered the sect together back then. But in less than two and a half years, he mastered the Tenth Layer of the Body-Strengthening Scripture, condensed a Spiritual Root, and was accepted into the sect as an Outer Sect disciple!"

"As for me, I've cultivated bitterly for thirty years and exhausted every means, yet I'm still stuck at the Ninth Layer, unable to advance an inch... ah!"

Speaking of this painful matter, Steward Li looked utterly despondent.

But what shocked Wang Ba was that someone really had developed a Spiritual Root in just three years!

By comparison, even Steward Li reaching the Ninth Layer at his age seemed insignificant.

What Old Hou said-no, what the Immortal Ascension Society said-was actually true! Could this Meng Randao have a cheat too?

Wang Ba could not help wondering.

Yet he felt it was unlikely.

He recalled that Steward Li had mentioned the Ninth Layer before as well. There seemed to be an extremely difficult hurdle between the Ninth Layer and the Tenth Layer.

At last, he could not resist asking:

"The Ninth Layer... may I ask, Steward Li, what exactly makes the Ninth Layer so difficult?"

Hearing Wang Ba's question, Steward Li seemed to have some reservations. He hesitated, but still spoke:

"I dare not say much about this, but you and I are close friends, so I'll venture to tell you one thing I know. If you don't succeed with this Body-Strengthening Scripture within three years, you'll have almost no chance of succeeding in your entire life!"

"Three years?"

Thoughts churned through Wang Ba's mind.

This claim was exactly the same as the Immortal Ascension Society's!

He was naturally confident that he could develop a Spiritual Root within three years.

In fact, if he had enough Precious Chickens, he might already have developed one.

But the crucial thing was that ordinary people had no cheat!

Was there really such extraordinary talent that could accomplish in three years what took others a thousand years of bitter effort?

Wang Ba could scarcely believe it.

After hesitating, he took a jagged eight-tenths Spirit Stone from his sleeve and pressed it into Steward Li's hand.

Feeling the Spirit Stone in his hand, Steward Li's eyes revealed surprise. He hesitated repeatedly, but in the end could not resist its temptation. Gritting his teeth, he said:

"Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know!"

"Rest assured, Steward Li!"

Wang Ba patted his chest.

"All right! I'm only doing this because we're close friends!"

Steward Li looked left and right, up and down, before carefully lowering his voice:

"Meng Randao once told me that it wasn't the Body-Strengthening Scripture that let him develop a Spiritual Root, but rather..."

"He had a Spiritual Root to begin with!"