Chapter 19: The Wind Stirs Again (1/2)

Chapter 19: The Wind Stirs Again

Meng Hao opened his eyes and saw Fatty excitedly dragging over a young man. Short, sallow and emaciated, he made quite the contrast to pale, plump Fatty.

Meng Hao recognized him. He was one of the members of the group who had been brought to the Reliance Sect that day and taken along with Wang Youcai to a Servants’ Quarters on a different Mountain.

At that time, he had looked strong and good-natured, but now he seemed gloomy and in poor circumstances. However, there was a certain hardness in his eyes that spoke of some unforgettable experiences in the Outer Reliance Sect.

Furthermore, he dared to enter the Public zone at only the first level of Qi Condensation.

“Greetings, Elder Brother Meng,” said the young man, looking a bit excited. But then it disappeared and he made an extremely respectful salute to Meng Hao with hands clasped.

“Did you just enter the Sect?” Meng Hao asked him, thinking back with a sigh to his own first days.

“It’s been about a month,” he said, lowering his head.

“What about Wang Youcai?”

“He died,” said the young man, a numb expression on his face. After the words left his mouth, a look of grief appeared in his eyes.

“Wang Youcai died?” said Fatty in shock. Meng Hao maintained his silence.

“In the Servants’ Quarter, we were responsible for drawing water,” he explained. “Big Bro Youcai thought I was too young, so he helped me a lot. Once on a mountain road, a powerful gust of wind hit us and knocked him off a cliff. I looked for his body for two months, but could only find some broken bones… he must have been eaten by wild animals.”

A look of sorrow appeared on Fatty’s face and Meng Hao let out a sigh. The four of them arrived at the same time, but in less than a year, one was already dead. Meng Hao felt bad, and even worse when he remembered that Uncle Wang the carpenter only had one son.

“Little Tiger, you stick with us. With Meng Hao around, no one will dare bully you.” Fatty clapped the young man emotionally on the shoulder.

“No, that’s okay, I’m… I’m fine.” The young man seemed to hesitate, and Meng Hao could tell that he was thinking about something. In the end, he shook his head and refused Fatty’s offer. He saluted them with clasped hands, then made his way away from the plateau.

“What’s the deal with him?” asked Fatty, still in shock.

“Everyone has secrets,” said Meng Hao slowly. “Perhaps he made some lucky break that he doesn’t want to talk about. Otherwise, why would he come here at only the first level of Qi Condensation?” Meng Hao seemed to be lost in thought as he watched the young man disappear into the distance.

“Even if Little Tiger has some secret, we could still find it out on our own if we wanted to. He’s looking down on us.” Fatty brooded. He had an open and straightforward personality, and didn't think in scheming ways. To offer someone something in good faith and be turned down this way obviously raised his indignation.

In the lower regions of the lands of South Heaven, winter was short and passed almost in an instant. The warmth of Spring arrived, and the flowers bloomed. It was once again April. A year had passed since Meng Hao had arrived at the Reliance Sect.

With Fatty’s help, he had accumulated quite a bit of Spirit Stones from the Low-Level Public Zone, and even more medicinal pills and magical items. He would often go into the wild mountains to hunt for demonic beasts. He even roamed close to the black mountain in his search, but always came up empty-handed. The roars which emanated from the black mountain region grew more and more intense, so Meng Hao didn’t dare to enter.

He had one third-level Demonic Core which he duplicated multiple times with the copper mirror. Eventually, his Cultivation base reached the middle of the fourth level. But then, his progress virtually ceased. No matter how many medicinal pills he consumed, the only thing it did was make his spiritual energy a bit more pure.

He had reached a bottle neck and could not break through to the fifth level and his much desired Wind Walking technique.

With Meng Hao’s help, Fatty reached the second level of Qi Condensation, which left him feeling quite awe-inspiring.

That April, all Outer Sect disciples higher than the fifth level, as well as Elder Sister Xu and Elder Brother Chen, were dispatched out of the sect. They each returned with two or three youths who possessed latent talent, who then became servants.

Once per year. That was the Sect rule. This was the only way to ensure the continuation of the Sect’s existence.

The spring wind blew across the land, taking the cold along with it. Heat returned. Soon, autumn arrived, and then it was October. During this period of time, two important things happened in the Reliance Sect. The first was related to one of the Sect’s Grand Elders. Other than the Sect leader, who everyone said had already reached the Core Formation stage, there were two other Grand Elders who had reached Foundation Establishment. One of them, who had reached the end of his longevity, passed away while meditating, at around one-hundred and fifty years of age. When Meng Hao caught wind of this, he asked around and confirmed that it had not been Grand Elder Ouyang.

When Cultivators reach Foundation Establishment, it expands their longevity to one hundred and fifty years. That seems like a long time, but it is actually a very intense period. If the Cultivator cannot reach Core Formation, then in later years, they can only sit in meditation, shrivelling up, their Qi and blood slowly dissipating.

However, after reaching Core Formation, longevity is then doubled to three hundred years.