"Stand in the commoner's line. This entrance is only for the merchants and VIPs", a haughty voice could be heard attracting the attention of all people around.
"But I can pay the amount needed to use this entrance", frowning a handsome boy asked. Even though his looks attracted attention, his ragged clothes made him look like a beggar.
"Do you think we care? A commoner should know their place." the burly man who appeared to be a guard growled to the boy and was ready to strike at any moment.
The commoners all around sighed in pity. They had seen many cases like this and could already imagine what was awaiting the boy. That was why they did not dare to stand in the VIP gateway even though some of them could effort the necessary money.
The seemingly ordinary boy who seemed to have no cultivation at all was none other than Ren.
It had been seven months since Ren had left his village. With his current strength, he should be here within two weeks. But on the way, Ren had encountered something he did not think he would so soon.
According to the system, Darkness Qi was fundamentally different from other Qis. Not only it was very low in the mortal realm but cultivating it was thought to be a taboo.
But on the way here, Ren took forest route to kill demonic beasts and accidentally found herbs in a cave related to Death Qi with the help of the system.
It was called 'Black Baccara Rose'.
The herbs were small and each carried 9-10 black petals. The aura released from these herbs was sadistic enough to make one hallucinate and kill themselves willingly. All the skeletal in the cave only suggested this further.
[These flowers have a bit of consciousness. It releases a sweet fragrance with aphrodisiac characteristics to attract humans and beasts alike and after killing them using illusion, it absorbs their vitality to grow]
If not for the system, Ren would also have been trapped. After storing these herbs in the system space, Ren began to absorb them.
It took him six months to reach the 9th stage for the Darkness attribute. And he still had enough to use in the future.
He could feel he reached a bottleneck. With only one push and he would reach the next realm. But he decided against it. He did not want to attract too much attention right now.
~~~
Ren was getting impatient. He wanted to stay low profile for his plan to infiltrate the Mayor's mansion.
But it seemed he could not pretend anymore. Ever since he started cultivating, Ren was slowly becoming arrogant.
But before he did anything, a carriage could be seen coming in his direction. As soon as the guards saw it their expression became rigid. The guards along with the commoners bowed seeing the incoming carriage.
Even though Ren was standing in the middle of the road, the carriage did not stop. Instead, it sped up.
However, before it could touch Ren, he vanished baffling the carriage driver.
"Where did he go?", a disdainful voice of a young male could be heard from the carriage.
"I do-don't know. H-he was here a moment ago but suddenly vanished." the poor driver stuttered hearing the tone of the voice. He did not want to anger the man seating inside.
The guards were also baffled. They did not feel anything from Ren because he was hiding his cultivation.
After cultivating "The Heavenly Scripture of the Six Elements", Ren could hide his strength to the point that not even a cultivator two realms above him could not sense his power.
The guards became terrified to assume that they had accidentally angered any VIP. But the next question asked by the person from the carriage somewhat reassured them.
"If you find that beggar, inform me directly", saying this the carriage again took off toward its destination. He did not even bother to think rationally about Ren's high agility.
But unlike him, a person from the shadows could not be more happier seeing the situation. 'He is the perfect candidate to use for Princess's goal. I need to give this information as quickly as possible'. The unknown person also disappeared.
~~~
Oblivious to the situation Ren had put himself into, he left a clothing shop leisurely.
When the carriage was about to hit Ren, he wanted to destroy the carriage and kill the person inside. But he did not after sensing a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. He was not sure if that was a hidden guard or not.
Although Ren was certain that person could not detect his realm, but after revealing his speed he was convinced, his strength had been discovered.
"There are many strong people out there. I can't relax. If that person comes after me, I can only run. I need to unlock the shop as quickly as possible", sighing Ren decided to visit the market area.
The Ironforge Town was one of the main towns under the rule of Emberfall Kingdom. It was located near a mountain where iron mines were present. This town was governed by Feng Juechen, a peak Foundation Establishment realm cultivator.
The town was filled with tall buildings that were mostly made out of metallic materials, giving the town an iron-like smell.
It was already evening, and Ren was heading toward an inn to rest after selling beast carcasses and the weapons he got from the bandits.
However, on the way he found something intriguing.
~~~
A middle age man was laying on the ground while a voluptuous woman who seemed to be related to the man was standing in front of four men sobbing. The man was unconscious and injured.
With pleading eyes the woman requested holding the injured man, "Please give us 1 more week. We will pay all our debt".
"Well, you can certainly pay using your body!" one of the men said with a lewd smile.
Ren was watching everything from the shadows without alerting them. His shaft could not help but twitch seeing the woman who seemed to be around the age of early 40s.
Wearing a one-piece purple dress, the middle-aged woman with teary eyes was giving Ren an excitement he could no longer ignore.
Before the four men would do anything, Ren appeared in between, startling them. He turned toward the woman who seemed to be even more tempting up in close.
"How much do they owe?"
"2 Gold coins" the stunned woman could only answer not understanding what was going on.
Paying them Ren carried the injured man on his back and started leaving without caring about others while holding the woman's hand.
Although the four men wanted to say something, they did not dare after witnessing Ren's display of strength.
"I did not help you voluntarily. I heard that you guys have an inn. Give me the best room and after taking care of your husband, come to my room."
On the way to their inn, he grabbed the woman's ample ass intensely hearing a painful moan while declaring his purpose for helping them.
The woman could only nod unwillingly letting this man do whatever in the open. Although there were still many people around, Ren was manipulating Darkness Qi to conceal what he was doing.
"The night is a blank canvas, waiting for my desires to be painted inside of you."