"What would you like?" Right at this moment, a languid young man approached Ji Mo and studied him from head to toe.
"Just browsing through some spiritual medicines," replied Ji Mo.
"Alright then, take your time, and look for me at the front counter when you're ready. Regulars of Tianbao Pavilion will know that we don't do credit or discounts here," the young man informed nonchalantly before walking away. The display counters here were specially handled, hence the owner was not afraid of theft.
Ji Mo was deliberating about his current situation. He would need at least five fourth-grade spiritual medicines if he wanted to break through to the sixth-tier tempered body. Although the amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy in a fourth-grade spiritual medicine was way greater than that in a third-grade spiritual medicine, Ji Mo understood his constitution well. The Celestial Devil Tempered Body was like a grinder that could inhale any amount of spiritual medicine that was thrown its way.
Five of those fourth-grade spiritual medicines might not even be enough.
In the end, Ji Mo succumbed to temptation. With much determination, he gritted his teeth and spent all 10,000 Qi Gathering Pills to purchase five fourth-grade spiritual medicines. These medicines should be enough for his Celestial Devil physique to undergo another transformation.
Although he had promised Old Man Qingzhu that they would share the profit equally, he needed an abundance of spiritual medicines urgently to replenish his body. At worst, he could repay the old man by buying the latter some gifts in the future. Ji Mo hoped that Old Man Qingzhu would be generous enough to forgive him.
All five of those fourth-grade spiritual medicines were rare Purple Ginsengs that contained powerful spiritual energy. They were packed inside an exquisite box and presented to Ji Mo. The man exited Tianbao Pavilion while carrying the box in his arms. However, he failed to notice that in a corner not far away from Tianbao Pavilion, a sleazy-looking man quietly poked his head out, then quickly retreated.
"Fifth Brother, Fifth Brother, we have a target. A young lad just purchased five Purple Ginsengs, the fourth-grade spiritual medicine, and is now heading towards the town entrance," the sleazy teenager rushed to a middle-aged man and announced the news between gasps for air.
"What's his background?" That middle-aged man had gloomy eyes, an eagle-beaked nose, and thin lips that made people feel lifeless by just looking at him.
"Probably just a non-intimidating rogue cultivator," replied the teenager.
"Great!" the middle-aged man sneered, "Five fourth-grade spiritual medicines are enough for me to pound through the Qi Plundering Boundary, hence we mustn't fail. It's been a while since we've had a big case like this. Are you sure that person is by himself?"
"He's alone, I promise," replied the teenager with a nod of confirmation.
"Hmm, this young lad must be a highly respectable disciple if he dares to come purchasing spiritual medicine by himself. It's best if we get help from Brother Cang Yan. He's an expert in the Qi Plundering Boundary, so he should be able to handle that young lad," announced that middle-aged man. Then, he left hustling and bustling with the rest of the gang.
…
Ji Mo finally found Old Man Qingzhu at the entrance of the town. The old man was sitting on the roadside casually while sipping wine. His actions and dirty appearance resembled a beggar. Numerous cultivators that walked past avoided him, their eyes filled with disgust.
"Old Uncle, you've drunk enough," Ji Mo advised.
"How's business?" asked Old Man Qingzhu without lifting his head.
"Um, we sold out," replied Ji Mo with a nod. He was deliberating in his mind to come up with an explanation if Old Man Qingzhu were to demand one. What if the old man wanted him to hand over the Qi Gathering Pills?
Old Man Qingzhu smiled leisurely and spoke, "Alright then, we shall take our leave. For now, take care of my Qi Gathering Pills we've profited from the business. This old man will demand them from you whenever I need them in the future." With that, he rose to his feet shakily. He then headed towards the outside of town with the broken bamboo pole in one hand.
Ji Mo was astonished because of how well the conversation had gone. However, a few seconds later, he quickly understood the meaning behind Old Man Qingzhu's words. Without saying much, he smiled guiltily and quickened his pace to catch up with the old man.
By then, it was almost evening. Ji Mo and Old Man Qingzhu headed towards the same direction side by side.
Just when both of them were about five kilometers away from the small town, Ji Mo suddenly came to a halt. His brows were knitted as he noticed several life forces that had been on their trail ever since they left the small town. This meant danger. Both of them had probably been made targets of some misfortunes.
Since Ji Mo had stopped walking, Old Man Qingzhu chuckled and sat down on a rock on the side of the path. "Solve the problem first. We can carry on later," he said with a grin.
"Okay." Ji Mo nodded in agreement. By now, he noticed that not only were the life forces approaching from behind, but some of them were also on the path ahead too. Two of the stronger life forces were slowly drawing closer.
Ji Mo's Celestial Devil physique was extremely sensitive to external life forces. Even if those people concealed themselves well, they could not escape his senses.
'Who could it be? Is it the young lady in purple that I met in the street today? Hell no! All I did was sell a couple of erotic discs. Why can't she just let it go?' thought Ji Mo in annoyance.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Just when Ji Mo was tangled in his thoughts, about seven or eight people jumped out from the side of the path to block all the exits around him. The leader was a middle-aged man in black. He revealed a conceited smile as he sized Ji Mo up and down.
"Ha, I shouldn't have called for so much aid. It's only a young lad and a dying old beggar." The middle-aged man, who had a sledgehammer on one of his shoulders, revealed a contemptuous smile. "Little boy, I heard that you've stolen our treasures from Tianbao Pavilion. Hand them over right now and I'll let you off this time."
"I stole from you?" Ji Mo was confused.
"That's right!" a sleazy-looking teenager yelled at this moment, "It was a total of five fourth-grade spiritual medicines. We initially purchased them, but you stole them using your dirty tricks. Leave the spiritual medicines behind and get out of here. Otherwise, I'll make you crawl home on your knees."
Ji Mo was not dumb, so he realized what these people were doing instantly. They were amateur blackmailers that committed fraud on purpose to demand compensation later.
"Do you understand the common language? Leave behind the spiritual medicines and scram!" the middle-aged man, who served as the leader, bellowed in a deep voice while a powerful strength erupted from his body simultaneously. His dynamic aura was pressuring and his voice sounded like a tiger's roar.
Ji Mo raised his eyebrows and the middle-aged man's strength immediately appeared in front of his eyes. The latter should be a seventh-tier tempered body cultivator. His capability was impressive and was only a tier inferior to Nan Hao's. However, the Body Tempering Art practiced by this middle-aged man was probably not on an advanced level.
Merely by judging the strength erupted from the middle-aged man's body, Ji Mo figured that the man could only release 1,000 kilograms of power at most. That amount of power at the seventh-tier tempered body explained that the middle-aged man was only cultivating an intermediate-level Body Tempering Art.
Ji Mo concealed his life force and took a quiet step forward. "Do you have any proof to the claim that these spiritual medicines belong to you?"
"Proof? Ha, they belong to us as long as we claim so. Do you want proof? I'll knock all your teeth out soon and we'll see if you still dare to open your mouth to demand proof." The middle-aged man was swollen with arrogance because, in his eyes, Ji Mo was only a frail and feeble boy.
"My teeth are made of iron and copper, so it might not be a simple task to knock them all out," replied Ji Mo with a smirk. He turned around to look at Old Man Qingzhu, but it seemed like the old man did not want to show his moves.