I Shall Seal the Heavens - Volume 1 - Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Young Lord Ding

Shangguan Xiu, garbed in a black robe, frowned as he walked down the street in Milky Way City . Two Cultivators of the seventh level of Qi Condensation, also wearing black robes, walked behind him . From the looks on their faces, they seemed to admire Shangguan Xiu quite a bit .

Accompanying Shangguan Xiu in his inspection of the city, they walked past the shop Meng Hao had just ducked into .

Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever . Even if it wasn’t, no one would have been able to see anyway, because of the wide bamboo hat that covered his face . His gaze swept around the place he had entered .

It was a pill shop, only one story high and not very large . Racks filled with pill bottles filled the small space . The bottles were obviously empty, although on the surface of each one was written the name of a pill along with a price .

Off in the corner, a young man sat cross-legged . Other than him, Meng Hao was the only person in the shop .

Meng Hao walked along, examining the names of the various medicinal pills . Eventually, he found a bottle upon which was written the characters “Earthly Spirit Pill . ” It instantly caught his eye .

“So it’s worth three hundred Spirit Stones… . ” Meng Hao frowned . The copper mirror required two hundred Spirit Stones to duplicate an Earthly Spirit Pill . Although there was a bit of difference in the two prices, it wasn’t very much .

Seeing Meng Hao muttering to himself, the man sitting cross-legged in the corner opened his eyes and coolly said, “Earthly Spirit Pills are from the Southern Domain . We don’t have many in stock, only five . ”

Meng Hao nodded . Looking around one final time, he made to leave, but then suddenly stopped . “Do you happen to have Foundation Establishment Pills?”

When the man heard this, he smiled, although it contained a barely perceptible air of doubt . “Fellow Daoist, this must be your first time in Milky Way City . Foundation Establishment Pills can easily run over one hundred thousand Spirit Stones . They are truly precious . Unfortunately, we don’t have any in stock at all . I’ve only seen one in my entire life . If you are really interested in purchasing one, you’ll have to go to the Milky Way Workshop . ”

“So expensive!!” said Meng Hao, his voice filled with awe . Hearing his tone of voice, the young man’s doubt seemed to disappear . He could tell that Meng Hao was simply inquiring, and didn’t have the resources to actually make such a purchase .

Hearing Meng Hao mutter to himself enviously about the incredible price of Foundation Establishment Pills, the young man ignored him and close his eyes again .

Meng Hao left the shop and moved along down the streets of Milky Way City, his eyes shining . Moments later, though, he frowned, for two reasons . One reason was that it didn’t seem it would be that simple to sell medicinal pills and magical items . The other reason was Shangguan Xiu .

“He was wearing a black robe, and was accompanied by more black-robed Cultivators . Those robes are the same ones worn by the city guards . It seems that after leaving the Reliance Sect, he didn’t join another Sect, but rather came to this place . ” Meng Hao lowered his head . Instead of leaving, he continued to stroll through the city, checking out shop after shop . As he did, his frown deepened .

It seemed that pills for every level of Qi Condensation were available here . On the one hand, there weren’t a huge amount of pills available, but on the other hand, the prices were not much higher than what he would have to pay to duplicate them . In other words, the profit margin would not be very high .

“Forget about Medicinal Pills . I’ll go check out some magical items . ” Meng Hao turned, heading down a different street . There were many Cultivators coming and going, their Cultivation bases of various levels . Most seemed to be between the third and fifth levels . Meng Hao had only seen three Cultivators who, like him, were at the eighth level of Qi Condensation . Their faces were covered, making it impossible to see their faces clearly .

There were many Treasure Pavilions here . Meng Hao visited them one by one, carefully examining their wares . Soon, evening fell . Meng Hao sighed . Low-level magical items fetched a high price, but nothing close to the hundred thousand Spirit Stones he wanted . To get that much, he would have to sell nearly one thousand flying swords, but such an astonishing event would attract unwanted attention . He simply could not do such a thing .

His other magical items varied in price, but none alone would earn him that many Spirit Stones . And if he sold all of his magical items, it would attract too much attention .

What he wanted to do was handle everything at once, then leave immediately .

Meng Hao currently sat cross-legged in a room in an inn . “If I really want to sell the Foundation Establishment Pill… I have to do it very carefully,” he said to himself quietly . “I can’t act rashly . ”

Milky Way City wasn’t very big . By the evening of the second day, he had explored the entire city . Finally, he ended up standing across from a luxuriously decorated building . Muttering to himself, he walked toward it .

An inscribed board above the main door read, “Milky Way Workshop . ”

It was three stories tall . Meng Hao wandered around the first floor, but was prevented from going up to the second . To gain access to the second floor, one must produce evidence of a large number of Spirit Stones .

Meng Hao didn’t force the issue . He turned and walked around for a bit looking at things, as if he were just an ordinary customer . Finally, he left .

He sat cross-legged back in the inn, frowning to himself . “There’s only one door, guarded by three Cultivators of the eighth level of Qi Condensation, and one of the ninth level… . I can’t go up to the second floor, nor see past the curve of the stairs . Everything on the first level is ordinary items, without any spiritual energy… I need to know what’s on the second level . You can tell by looking at the windows on the outside that there is an abundance of spiritual energy there . But the windows are sealed tight . ” After a long moment, he pulled out the copper mirror .

In his bag of holding, he currently had just a bit over ten thousand Spirit Stones . Gritting his teeth, he took out the Foundation Establishment Pill and placed it onto the copper mirror . It instantly sank into the mirror, disappearing . With a deep breath, Meng Hao began feeding Spirit Stones into the mirror .

When he put the ten-thousandth Spirit Stone into the mirror, a bright light shone out of it, and then a second Foundation Establishment Pill appeared . Meng Hao was prepared; as soon as the fragrant medicinal aroma began to spread out, he put the two pills into his bag of holding, looking around cautiously .

Because of his speed, barely any of the aroma escaped out, and therefore no one noticed .

He sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes filled with thought . After a moment, he slapped his bag of holding, producing a long, white robe . This was some clothing he had obtained from Ding Xin’s bag of holding . He put it on, then hung Ding Xin’s jade identification slip around his neck . He stood and started to pace back and forth in the room, looking even more thoughtful than before .

At dawn, two days later, Meng Hao once again donned the bamboo hat, as well as a long outer garment which concealed the white robe underneath . Lowering his head, he left the inn .

He strode directly toward the Milky Way Workshop, arriving in a very short period of time . A cold-faced middle aged man sat there cross-legged, a Cultivator of the ninth level of Qi Condensation . Meng Hao walked past him, heading directly toward the stairs .

As he approached, a cultivator of the eighth level of Qi Condensation glanced at him .

“Show a minimum of ten thousand Spirit Stones to get access to the second level,” he said . ”

“Beat it!” said Meng Hao, lifting his bamboo hat and glaring at the man threateningly . He filled his voice with as much arrogance as possible . “We’re in a small town in the insignificant State of Zhao, and you dare to block the path of Ding Xin?” All of the Cultivators in the room looked at him .

The eighth-level Cultivator stared at him in shock . In all his years, no one had ever dared to speak to him in such a way . But considering the arrogance and veiled threats contained within Meng Hao’s words, the man hesitated, unsure of how to respond .

The pleasant voice of a woman drifted down from upstairs: “Young Lord Ding, please come up . ”

The eighth-level Cultivator let Meng Hao pass . With a cold snort, Meng Hao climbed the stairs . As he turned the corner, his eyes quickly scanned the entire second floor .

The pleasant voice from just now belonged to a woman wearing a gauzy dress . She smiled at Meng Hao .

The second floor was richly decorated, and looked much more magnificent than the first floor, filled with a dazzling aura . There were no racks of treasures, but rather an enormous incense burner in the middle of the room, so large that three people could place their arms around it . The thick aroma of incense wafted out from it .

The surroundings were luxurious but also refined . Several tables could be seen around the room, as well as ornamental rock displays . It was the type of place that would make one’s eyes shine just upon seeing it .

The woman standing there in front of Meng Hao appeared to be about thirty years of age . She was elegant and poised, and didn’t say anything at first . She simply smiled, making her seem very warm and considerate .

“Young Lord Ding,” she said, looking over him causally, “please have a seat . I am the second floor attendant . Please do not hesitate to tell me how I can help you . ” She took a seat off to the side . When she caught sight of the white robe underneath his long outer garment, a look of surprise flickered in her eyes, and then quickly disappeared .

Meng Hao looked around thoughtfully . There were seven tables spread about in various positions . Without hesitation, Meng Hao chose to sit, not at a table next to the stairs, or a window, but right in the middle of the room .

“Do you have Foundation Establishment Pills here?” he said as he sat down, not beating around the bush . He stared at the woman, his expression somber .

When the woman saw him sit down where he did, her eyes flickered again, as if he had just confirmed something to her . And yet, she still seemed to be uncertain about something .

“There are not many things in the State of Zhao that we don’t have here at the Milky Way Workshop,” she said with a smile . “Of course we have Foundation Establishment Pills . The price is two hundred thousand Spirit Stones per pill . ”

Meng Hao nodded slightly, then slapped his bag of holding . A pill bottle appeared in his hand . He flicked his sleeve, and the bottle shot toward the woman .

Her eyes flickered as she caught the bottle . When she opened it and looked at the contents, her expression changed to one of surprise .

“One Foundation Establishment Pill,” said Meng Hao coolly . “Name your price . ”

“Young Lord Ding, you are quite audacious,” she said calmly, an unusual expression in her eyes . “You dare to casually hand me something so valuable . Don’t you fear that I might take it and flee?”

Meng Hao didn’t say anything . Staring at her coldly, he loosened his outer garment, revealing more of the white robe, as well as the jade medallion hanging around his neck .

It was violet-colored, and emitted a soft, flickering violet glow .

When she caught sight of the jade medallion, the woman’s expression changed .

“If you dare to swallow that pill,” said Meng Hao coldly, “Milky Way City will be reduced to rubble in less than a month . ”

The woman’s expression changed several times as she looked back down at the pill bottle . She glanced back at Meng Hao sitting there . Having taken note of all the various clues regarding his identity, she finally smiled again .

“Young Lord Ding, please don’t take offense . I was simply making conversation . ” She tipped the bottle over, sending the Foundation Establishment pill tumbling into her palm . Then she held it up and examined it closely . When her gaze fell upon the demonic face carved into the surface of the pill, her expression changed dramatically, and she stood up .

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This chapter was sponsored by Krystle Rivas