Stage-Breaking Pill

Tang Zhan and Wang Hu soon sent their replies.

Their circumstances differed, and so did the ways they had broken through to the late stage.

Wang Hu was only an ordinary Rogue Cultivator, so he had prepared no special method.

His aptitude was fairly good, and after years of hard work, his foundation was quite solid.

After failing twice, he had reached Late Qi Refining as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

According to him, though, the whole process had taken a full three years, and even that was considered extremely fast among Rogue Cultivators.

Tang Zhan's case was entirely different. He had still been in the Azure Wood Palace at the time, and he was considerably younger than Wang Hu.

Once he had accumulated enough Spiritual Power for Late Qi Refining, he had used the contribution points he had saved over the years to exchange for a Stage-Breaking Pill.

The pill had a small chance of overcoming the bottleneck. He had only meant to give it a try, but unexpectedly succeeded in breaking through in one attempt.

Qin Fei pondered the matter.

Tang Zhan had the best aptitude among them; otherwise, he would not have become an inner disciple of the Azure Wood Palace in just a few years.

Even Tang Zhan called his breakthrough a stroke of luck, so one Stage-Breaking Pill would likely be nowhere near enough for Qin Fei.

He still needed some time to fill his Spiritual Power, so he could only try to obtain a few more pills in the meantime.

He sent another message to both men, asking Tang Zhan to inquire among the Azure Wood Palace disciples whether anyone was willing to sell Stage-Breaking Pills. Price was no issue.

He asked Wang Hu to look around the black market in Shangyu Market and see whether any Stage-Breaking Pills were for sale.

Wang Hu had been around Shangyu Market for years and knew its black market inside out.

Back when he was part of a hunting team, he had often gone there to sell rare Demon Beast materials, making him the best choice to make inquiries.

Both men knew how much was at stake and agreed without hesitation.

Qin Fei did not remain idle either. He worked hard at cultivation, striving to fill his Spiritual Power as soon as possible, while practicing the high-level Technique Methods he had just obtained to improve his strength.

It was worth mentioning that over the past few days, he had been sorting through the puppets brought back from the secret realm.

He had recorded the mysterious patterns on them in a Jade Slip.

Though he did not recognize them, he always felt there was more to them than simple numbering.

He had gone through nearly every scrapped puppet. By the end, unfamiliar patterns had become increasingly scarce, and the Jade Slip had turned into a dictionary of patterns.

Seeing that there was nothing more to gain, he finally stopped and devoted himself to cultivation.

The fighting in Shangyu Market had never ceased; instead, it showed signs of growing more intense.

Meanwhile, as Rogue Cultivators continued to pour into the secret realm, its exploration progressed faster and faster.

Almost every day, large numbers of cultivators from elsewhere arrived at Shangyu Market.

There were even quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators among them.

On this day, a Foundation Establishment cultivator suddenly attacked the young master of the Lu Household.

Had several of the Lu Household's Ancestors not intervened in time, Lu Tianchou would likely have died a miserable death on the spot.

The Lu Household's council hall.

Three Foundation Establishment Ancestors sat at the head of the hall, while Lu Tianchou stood in the center, his expression gloomy.

"Tianchou, Yama Hall's influence extends throughout Great Qi. Why did you go and provoke them when you had no reason to?"

"Second brother is right. Yama Hall isn't something we can deal with. Now that they've failed to retrieve the Yama Pendant, they'll surely look for another chance to strike. If there's no other way, let Tianchou hide in the mortal world for a while."

After speaking, both men turned to the head of the Lu Household.

The household head did not answer. Instead, he stared at Lu Tianchou and asked, enunciating every word:

"You unfilial son, do you know what you did wrong?"

A fearsome pressure bore down on Lu Tianchou, as though it would crush him.

"Tianchou, quickly, kneel and admit your mistake to your father. Then we can let this matter rest."

"Yes, Tianchou. If your mother were still here, she wouldn't want to see you like this either."

Lu Tianchou acted as though he had not heard them. Instead, at the mention of his mother, his gaze grew several degrees colder.

His bones crackled under the pressure, yet a trace of madness appeared on his face.

"You old bastard, I did nothing wrong. You're the ones who were wrong! Don't use your cultivation realm to press down on me. You should know that if I wanted to, I could reach Foundation Establishment at any time."

The Lu Household Ancestor's eyes flashed with malice. He wanted nothing more than to slap the rebellious son before him to death.

In the end, however, reason prevailed, and he did not strike.

"Get out. I don't want to see you again."

He withdrew his pressure and waved a hand, ordering him out.

Lu Tianchou gave him a defiant look, then turned and left.

"Elder brother, calm down. Tianchou is the only one in our Household with a Heavenly Spirit Root, and his future is boundless. If the Lu Household wants to rise, relying on us old fellows alone won't work."

"That's right, elder brother. Besides, we were in the wrong about what happened back then. Don't hold it against Tianchou."

The Lu Household Ancestor let out a long sigh, revealing a weariness outsiders had never seen.

"Sigh... If not for his mother's sake, how could I let him behave so outrageously? Forget it, let's not speak of it. I heard we lost several inner Attendants a while ago. What happened?"

"It was that bunch from the Caiyi Merchant Association."

The Lu Household Ancestor narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly.

"Hmph, Fairy Caiyi. Once that person arrives, we'll see how much longer she can keep hopping around."

As for Qin Fei, there had been some progress with the Stage-Breaking Pills.

Through a good friend in the Azure Wood Palace, Tang Zhan had obtained two at a friend's price of four hundred Spirit Stones apiece.

Wang Hu, meanwhile, had discovered that the pills were indeed being sold on the black market.

Their price was much higher, however, reaching five hundred Spirit Stones each, and the seller had only one.

Even if Qin Fei bought them all, he would have only three, far short of what he needed.

According to Wang Hu, however, the seller was an Alchemist. If they could get him to fire up his furnace and refine pills, they might yet obtain a few more.

After some thought, Qin Fei decided the idea was feasible and immediately went with Wang Hu to the black market to negotiate with the man.

To be safe, though, Qin Fei made a second set of preparations.

He took out the Yama Pendant, sent his Divine Sense into it, and posted a task.

[Objective: purchase Stage-Breaking Pills]

[Payment: 500 Spirit Stones per pill]

[Time limit: within one month]

After all this time, Qin Fei had come to understand Yama Hall better and better.

Transactions through the organization almost never ran into problems.

Even if a dispute arose afterward, an Impermanence would follow up and handle it, making it extremely reassuring to use.

Moreover, because Yama Pendants could neither be discarded nor destroyed, Yama Hall had more and more members.

Quite a few people even wore Yama Hall masks openly in the market to conceal their original identities.

At this moment, Qin Fei and Wang Hu each wore a fierce ghost mask as they appeared in a secluded corner of the East Market.

It was a pawnshop, its entrance dilapidated and its premises rather deserted.

An old man sat inside. When he saw customers arrive, he did not get up, but his voice carried over to them.

"The shop is closed. Please come back tomorrow."

Wang Hu ignored him, took a pitch-black token from his robe, and placed it on the counter.

The old man's eyes lit up. He then rubbed his fingers together, occasionally tapping twice on the table.

Only when a few cool stones had been placed in his hand did he grin, baring a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Black market purchases are at your own risk. This way, gentlemen."

A ring of ripples suddenly spread behind the counter, and a small door just wide enough for one person to pass through appeared before them.

"Let's go."

Wang Hu, who was used to this, called out and stepped inside first.

Immediately afterward, Qin Fei's figure vanished as well.