Chapter 316: Meng Hao’s Virtue

　　“Uh… Fellow Daoist….” Huang Daxian could not stop the pounding of his heart. His face was pale white, and as he trembled, he pasted a benevolent smile onto his face. Without even thinking about it, he began to edge away.

　　“Haha, greetings…. What a lucky coincidence that we meet each other. Fellow Daoist, if you want to live here, well, no problem… no problem.” Body quivering, Huang Daxian immediately made to leave.

　　However, as he did, Meng Hao’s calm eyes swept over him, coming to rest on his feet. A tremor ran through Huang Daxian’s body. He didn’t dare to move even an inch. Beads of cold sweat began to bead up on his forehead and then drip down his pale face. It seemed almost like as soon as Meng Hao’s gaze landed on his feet, they suddenly didn’t belong to him any more.

　　Eventually, Meng Hao’s gaze rose up and he looked Huang Daxian in the eyes. Huang Daxian’s brain felt like it was convulsing, as if his soul had fled his body. An intense feeling of dread completely submerged him.

　　“Foundation Establishment…. This is definitely Foundation Establishment….” The most powerful person Huang Daxian had ever faced in his entire life was of the Foundation Establishment stage. The terror he felt because of Meng Hao was nearly unfathomable; this in turn caused him to think of the most powerful person he had ever seen.

　　Before Meng Hao even said a single word, a flopping sound could be heard as Huang Daxian dropped to his knees, his face devoid of blood.

　　“Senior, please spare my life. Sir, I spoke rashly just now, I was mistaken. Senior, you are a great man, and truly magnanimous. Please spare my life….” Huang Daxian’s appearance was that of the ultimate supplication. The back of his garment was already soaked with cold sweat.

　　Meng Hao hesitated for a moment. There was no need to cause trouble for this tiny Qi Condensation Cultivator. Furthermore, if the Immortal’s cave did indeed belong to the man, then it meant he truly had stolen it.

　　As soon as Huang Daxian saw his hesitation, it immediately filled him with even more terror.

　　“He wants to kill me!!” he thought. “I’m finished. Finished! I’ve heard of these Foundation Establishment Cultivators. They kill people all the time, and I’ve even heard that some of them have the habit of eating raw human flesh….” As he thought of this, Huang Daxian’s vision suddenly began to grow dim. His heart filled with grief and indignation. He suddenly realized he would rather stay stuck in the place he had just escaped from than be here. At least there his life hadn’t been in danger. But now….

　　Suddenly, Huang Daxian gave a start. He didn’t want to die and therefore, several ideas suddenly sprang to being in his mind. Just as it seemed Meng Hao was about to say something, Huang Daxian let out a shout and said, “Eee? Is this actually my Immortal’s cave? How strange, it seems the spiritual energy here is much too dense! Furthermore, everything is so glittering and translucent; it really feels like the dwelling place of an Immortal!

　　“Senior, you truly are an amazing person! See, this Immortal’s cave used to be so ordinary, but once you started living in it, your presence lent it a graceful glitter. It’s like some sort of Celestial wonderland!” Hearing Huang Daxian’s words caused Meng Hao to gape.

　　His gaping caused Huang Daxian’s spirit to be roused. It seemed he had managed to grasp hold of a chance at survival. Therefore, he went at it with even more gusto.

　　“After seeing this Immortal’s cave, I don’t think I could possibly ever calm down!” He looked around at the extremely ordinary Immortal’s cave as if he had seen some type of miracle. His eyes filled with passion and reverence. “Now I suddenly understand what I have been missing, which is nothing other than your stubborn persistence in cultivation, sir, as well as your transcendent temperament which gives birth to such impressive dignity.

　　“Sir, you truly have the air of a transcendent being. I really can’t help but bow to you in my heart. With each bow, my excitement rages out of control, and even my Cultivation base leaps with joy!” The more he spoke, the more excited Huang Daxian became, until spittle flew from his mouth. He seemed to be sparing nothing in his efforts to ingratiate himself to Meng Hao.

　　Meng Hao stared, dumbstruck, and once again hesitated for a moment. Finally, his face began to grow red.

　　“I was thinking,” gushed Huang Daxian, “perhaps this is the will of Heaven. The will of Heaven has caused senior to appear here. Sir, I have no other request than to simply be able to stand in front of you and be touched by your Immortal Qi. Senior, I beg that you allow me this one request.” Glistening teardrops poured down his cheeks as he stared earnestly at Meng Hao, looking feverishly hopeful.

　　All of his words had caused Meng Hao’s scalp to grow numb. He had always thought he had learned quite a bit about flattery back in the Reliance Sect, and was more than equal to the task. However, he suddenly came to the realization that there were many more capable people in the world than him.

　　One such person existed here in the Black Lands…. Unfortunately, such words were useless on Meng Hao. He looked at the Cultivator standing in front of him, his expression solemn.

　　The solemnity immediately caused Huang Daxian’s heart to tremble once more. Bracing himself, he spoke once again.

　　“Senior, you have another virtue, your greatest, and that is, when the moment of truth arrives, you are not swayed by flattery. All fawning words are like a slight breeze hitting a mountain. If you wish to get angry, you get angry. You are efficient and decisive. You are truly a great hero, a towering figure.”

　　At this point, Meng Hao couldn’t take it any more. He laughed, and the laugh loosened some of the pressure that had been weighing down upon him because of all of the events back at the Rebirth Cave.

　　Interrupting any further ass kissing on the part of Huang Daxian, Meng Hao said, “Very well. I’m accustomed to quiet. Since this Immortal’s cave belongs to you, I won’t occupy it for free. Whatever you require, I will provide to you as rent.”

　　Huang Daxian’s head was soaked with sweat, but finally he felt somewhat relaxed inside. In order to save his own little life, he had used all the mental power he could muster; hearing Meng Hao’s words just now, how could he possibly speak out any sort of requirement?

　　“Senior, since you’ve taken a liking to this Immortal’s cave, how could I possibly ask for anything? Sir, there’s no need, really. Please live here without any hesitation whatsoever.”

　　Meng Hao looked at Huang Daxian for a moment, muttering to himself for a moment. What he lacked most now was Spirit Stones. He slapped his bag of holding to produce a Qi Condensation Pill that was not marked with a pill cauldron.

　　This was a Qi Condensation Pill that he had concocted a very long time ago, and was of ordinary medicinal strength. It was one of the types he had concocted before becoming famous, and he actually didn’t have many left in his bag of holding.

　　As he pulled the pill out, Meng Hao got the feeling that it wasn’t very much to offer. He was about to put it back and pull out something else, when suddenly he heard ragged panting.

　　Huang Daxian’s eyes went wide, and he was breathing heavily. He stared fixedly at the medicinal pill in Meng Hao’s hand, his eyes filled with intense anticipation. His body trembled, not from fear, but from excitement.

　　To him, the medicinal pill appeared to be shining and beautiful, plump to the extreme. Its appearance instantly filled the entire Immortal’s cave with thick spiritual energy.

　　The spiritual energy enveloped the Immortal’s cave, immediately causing all of the pores on his body to open up; his Cultivation base immediately seemed to grow, causing Huang Daxian’s mind to spin.

　　“Medicinal… that’s a medicinal pill!!” His mouth and tongue were dry, and he seemed to have lost his faculties, as if at any moment he might lunge forward and try to snatch the pill away from Meng Hao.

　　In his entire life, he had only been fortunate enough to consume one medicinal pill. That was long ago when he was with his Master. Upon receiving a serious injury, he and his Master had fled. On his death bed, his Master had bequeathed him with a dark, bumpy medicinal pill.

　　That medicinal pill had been highly valued by his Master. It was also the first medicinal pill Huang Daxian had ever eaten, and, in fact, the only one.

　　However, that pill had absolutely no way to compare to the one he was looking at right now. One was the Earth, the other was the Heavens!

　　The Black Lands were barren and the Cultivators there lived arduous lives. Medicinal plants were not easy to grow, and there were virtually no alchemists, therefore, medicinal pills were extremely hard to come by. Of even more relevance was the polarization of the Black Lands. One half of it was part of the Southern Domain, the other half was of the Western Desert. Cultivators here either never saw medicinal pills, or, like Huang Daxian, caught sight of one once or twice in their lives.

　　Generally speaking, Cultivators here relied on medicinal elixirs, which were created by repeatedly breaking down medicinal pills until they formed a liquid. Such medicinal elixirs were not incredibly effective, but they were something that Black Lands Cultivators couldn’t live without.

　　“Senior, are you… are you going to give me that medicinal pill?” asked Huang Daxian, his voice quavering. He stared at the pill, panting.

　　Meng Hao’s eyes glittered. He had been in the Black Lands for several months, but hadn’t had much dealings with the outside world. He had seen much while traveling, and had come to understand quite a bit; however his thinking regarding the value of objects was still based on his time in the Southern Domain.

　　Now, he understood everything. He waved his hand, sending the medicinal pill flying into Huang Daxian’s hands.

　　“One medicinal pill to rent your Immortal’s cave for a period of time,” said Meng Hao coolly.

　　Huang Daxian clutched at the medicinal pill as if it were some sort of treasure. He looked at Meng Hao, his face filled with intense veneration. He bowed deeply, then remembering how Meng Hao had said he valued quiet, suddenly was worried that Meng Hao might change his mind. He quickly took his leave, hurrying out of the Immortal’s cave. When he was away from the short mountain, he took a deep breath, and his eyes gleamed with the excitement he had been holding back just now.

　　“I’ve struck the jackpot!” he thought. “This medicinal pill… it’s a miracle!” He hurried away, preparing, not to consume the pill, but to break it down into medicinal elixir, which could be used for quite some time.

　　Meng Hao sat cross-legged in the Immortal’s cave, his eyes filled with thoughtfulness. His experience with the Qi Condensation Cultivator had helped him to realize how scarce resources really were for the impoverished Black Lands Cultivators.

　　“I still have quite a few medicinal pills in my bag of holding,” Meng Hao thought. “Most are marked with a pill cauldron, but I can erase that. Considering my lack of Spirit Stones, though, I need to be careful. There are no alchemists in the Black Lands, so a sudden influx in medicinal pills would definitely arouse suspicion.” He continued to think about the matter for a while. He had left a bit of Spiritual Sense on the Qi Condensation Cultivator; if the man tried to plot against him, he could immediately activate the Spiritual Sense and kill him.

　　Eventually, Meng Hao closed his eyes and focused once again on treating his injuries. As far as the damage to his longevity, Meng Hao wasn’t too worried about it. That problem would be easy to solve, either with the Outlander Pill or the Primordial Heavenly Replenishing Pill, one of the three great pills of the ancient Dao of alchemy. 1

　　Time passed, and eventually, Meng Hao’s wounds were fully healed. He opened his eyes, which glittered as he retrieved the copper mirror from within his bag of holding.

　　“Upon reaching Core Formation, the spirit within this copper mirror should awaken.” He looked at the mirror, which he had acquired all those years ago in the Reliance Sect; it had been with him all the way until this day.

　　Now, it was time for the spirit within to awaken!

　　1. The Outlander Pill was one of the gifts given him by Grandmaster Pill Demon in chapter 294. According to Pill Demon, it can suppress the Resurrection Lily one hundred years, increase longevity by one hundred years, and facilitate Cultivation base progress. The Primordial Heavenly Replenishing Pill was the pill introduced by Chen Jiaxi in the alchemy battle in chapter 253, and then analyzed by Meng Hao in chapter 265. It can significantly extend longevity