The middle-aged scholar intended to refine a new "Dustless Pill" for Bu Luo. Whether Bu Luo succeeded in Core Formation or not, the scholar would not help him further. Once the matter of alchemy was concluded, he would travel the world alone.
Many of the ingredients required for the new "Dustless Pill" had been changed. With his connections and the influence of a Grandmaster Alchemist, he had managed to collect all but one medicinal herb after several years of searching.
He knew he could eventually purchase this final herb if he continued searching the outside world, but the scholar was aware that it could also be found within the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. Thus, he had a last-minute change of plans, deciding to let Bu Luo find it himself. It was time for Bu Luo to take the first step on his cultivation path relying on his own abilities.
Bu Luo did have some experience with combat. The scholar had taken him out to train before, so Bu Luo had experienced both killing and being hunted.
Before they came, the scholar had made it clear that he would not intervene this time. Everything depended on Bu Luo himself. If Bu Luo couldn't find the ingredient, the scholar would have to reconsider whether he would truly help him refine the new "Dustless Pill".
The scholar himself needed to go to the third level of the pagoda. He was only here now to give some final instructions.
Hearing the scholar's words, Bu Luo was first taken aback, because the young master had never told him he would only receive a single pill.
"Only... only one?" Bu Luo clutched the straps of his wicker basket, leaning forward. He looked up and met the middle-aged scholar's gaze, only to find that his master's usual smile was gone. Bu Luo could only mutter in a low voice.
"Yes, and you might not even get one. It all depends on whether you can find that medicinal herb this time. If you find it, I will help you refine the pill. When the time comes, you must keep it safe and cultivate diligently to the Pseudo-Core Realm. There is one more thing I should tell you. The day the pill is formed will also be the day I leave the family. Once I am gone, if fate allows, we will naturally meet again. For all these years, you have been carefree under my protection, but in the future, your life and death will depend entirely on yourself. Do you understand? You can remain in the family if you wish, but I suggest you leave and travel the world. Cultivate through trials and tribulations. Otherwise, even with this pill in hand, your chances of forming a core in the future will remain slim."
The middle-aged scholar spoke in the same faint tone, but his words grew stern at the end. He was a man of gentle character, and despite his own high cultivation, he was not a good teacher. Otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed Bu Luo to turn out this way. By the time he realized it, it was already too late. It wasn't until his own cultivation hit a bottleneck that he had no choice but to use this opportunity to sever these worldly bonds.
Bu Luo, who had seemed somewhat nonchalant, suddenly changed his expression. He spoke with some urgency, "Young Master, are you abandoning me? If you are leaving the family, of course I will follow..."
"Bu Luo, enough of this nonsense. My trip to the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda is not entirely for your sake; it is also in preparation for my next journey. On this trip, let alone taking you with me, I fear my own chances of survival are slim. I have remained at the Golden Core stage for too long. If I fail to achieve Nascent Soul Formation this time, I will perish. Your future is in your own hands. I hope you will cultivate diligently and raise your realm as quickly as possible. Otherwise, after I am gone, you will no longer enjoy your former status in the family. The family is filled with people vying for cultivation resources. It would be a wonder if you weren't secretly plotted against. Therefore, while I am still in the family, you must raise your realm as quickly as possible. Besides, how you overcome your current trial is what will truly decide your future path."
Bu Luo's eyes reddened. He wasn't worried for himself, but at the thought that his days with his young master might be numbered, and he might never see him again in this life. Although he was lazy in his cultivation, he was extremely intelligent. He knew very well what his status was in the family with the young master around. Once the young master left, trying to stay in the family would undoubtedly be suicide.
However, he still had some confidence in his own ability to wander the world and cultivate. Especially since the middle-aged scholar had given him no shortage of magical treasures over the years. Given the scholar's status, while top-tier magical treasures were not easy to come by, as long as he said he needed something, countless people would scramble to present it to him with both hands.
"I will be leaving shortly. This will prevent anyone from daring to say a word when you step up to compete for an entry spot. If I were here, you would only attract more enmity and disdain after entering, which would only bring you trouble. Remember, do not underestimate anyone. What's more, there is another person who is about to arrive. You have one more competitor. Sigh, the first time I saw this person, I sensed that his spirit power was immense, scarcely inferior to someone at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment. You are likely not his match. Do not try to be a hero. If it really comes to it, just enter the day after tomorrow."
The middle-aged scholar didn't want to dwell on the topic of parting, as there were still some days left. He directly changed the subject. In truth, the scholar's words had already implicitly told Bu Luo that if he perished in the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda this time, there would be no future.
Moreover, he had already put this into practice after entering the pagoda. From the first level to the second, he had remained hidden, allowing Bu Luo to handle everything himself. It was only today, before his planned departure, that he revealed himself because he needed to clarify things with Bu Luo. Otherwise, with his cultivation, no matter where he was teleported on the first level, he could have reached this place in less than half a day.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Bu Luo first sent out his divine sense, then looked in a certain direction, a corner of his mouth curling up. "Young Master, are you perhaps talking about that black-robed young man? He's only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. Does he really have the strength to fight someone at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment?"
With a sweep of his divine sense, Bu Luo quickly discovered Li Yan. At this late hour, Li Yan was the only one walking towards them.
"That's because he has dropped his concealment. He must know that I've discovered him, so he simply retracted his concealment art. Otherwise, even if he crept to within a few dozen feet, it's unlikely anyone here would have noticed him," the middle-aged scholar said faintly.
During this exchange between master and servant, Li Yan came whistling through the air. Knowing that someone had already noticed his approach, Li Yan realized his plan to observe the situation before making a decision had fallen through. He might as well stop hiding his aura. He flew directly towards the center of the Red Maple Pool. A distance of a hundred li was a matter of a dozen or so breaths for the current Li Yan, and that was without even fully utilizing the Cloud-Piercing Willow.
Li Yan's arrival attracted the attention of quite a few people, but it was merely attention. Cultivators came and went here every day. When they saw Li Yan's cultivation level and that he was alone, most of them curled their lips in a sneer.
There were only two initial-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators here, but they had come as part of a team. A mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator like Li Yan coming alone was a rare sight.
As Li Yan landed, he once again observed the cultivators gathered here. Besides the somewhat intimidating middle-aged scholar, there were seventeen other people. He hadn't sensed the scholar's aura with his divine sense before, so there should have been eighteen people in total.
Excluding the scholar and his servant, the remaining sixteen people were divided into six groups. The weakest group was a five-person team led by two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, with the other three being two at mid-stage and one at initial-stage Foundation Establishment.
Of course, there were others like Li Yan who had come alone. From the way they stood, Li Yan could tell that two of the cultivators were solitary. They didn't speak to anyone. One was staring at the pool, lost in thought, while the other sat cross-legged far away, meditating with his eyes closed. Both of these men had already reached the Pseudo-Core Realm.
Li Yan's gaze swept over the others. The smallest group was a two-person team. Most were led by cultivators at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.
At a glance, a dozen or so people gathered here didn't seem like a lot. But Li Yan sighed in his heart. 'This space is so vast, and there are surely many places to hunt for treasure and train. Yet, nearly twenty people have gathered here at once. There are still several hours until the Hour of the Rabbit. Who knows how many more people will be here by then.'
The place Li Yan wanted to go was a hidden palace beneath this very pool. The palace gate opened twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Each time, it remained open for only a short quarter of an hour. The morning opening was at the Hour of the Rabbit, and the evening one was at the Hour of the Rooster.
When the palace gate opened in the morning, only twelve people were allowed to enter each time. It was entry only; no one could exit. Once the time was up or the quota was filled, entry was impossible. One would have to wait until the Hour of the Rabbit the next day.
When the palace gate opened in the evening, it was for exiting only; no one could enter. There was no limit to the number of people who could come out, as long as they did so within the quarter-hour.
Only upon exiting, within a hundred-zhang radius of the exit, a restriction would activate, preventing cultivators from attacking each other. Not even Golden Core cultivators could break it. As for whether a Nascent Soul cultivator could destroy the restriction to kill someone, no one knew.
If someone was chasing an enemy inside the palace and wanted to ambush them at the exit, it wouldn't be easy. Although there was only one entrance and exit to the palace here, there were many passageway exits inside, all of which ultimately converged at this point.
The order in which cultivators came out was also random. Even if someone came out first and tried to set up an ambush, it would be in vain. Ambushes were impossible within a hundred zhang of the exit, and everyone was ejected out, with no way of knowing how far they would be thrown.
Therefore, even if someone wanted to kill for treasure here, it was almost impossible. Otherwise, the shores of Red Maple Pool would be occupied by cultivators all day long. Why risk entering when you could just ambush the cultivators coming out?
Li Yan had just arrived here on a random day, and there were already so many cultivators. One could only imagine how many were inside the palace under the pool.
On this point, Li Yan's guess was not entirely correct. There were certainly many cultivators in the palace, but it was rare for so many to gather at Red Maple Pool in a single day. Li Yan had just happened upon such a time. Usually, there were at most a few people here.
It was precisely because of the crowd today that the middle-aged scholar was not worried about whether Bu Luo could enter the palace. As long as he didn't try to be a hero, if he couldn't get in today, he could just withdraw from the competition for a spot. A gathering of more than twelve cultivators was, after all, a rare occurrence. What he was worried about was Bu Luo's situation inside the palace.
Li Yan's arrival didn't cause much of a stir. Of course, incidents of deliberately starting trouble to kill and rob for treasure happened here from time to time. But today, every cultivator here was on their best behavior. It was for no other reason than the middle-aged scholar leaning right there.
Li Yan found a spot by the lake far from others and landed. The lake was over three hundred zhang wide, so with nearly twenty people spread out, it seemed quite sparse. It was only thanks to the excellent eyesight and powerful divine sense of cultivators that seeing each other from several hundred zhang away in the dead of night was not too difficult.
The moment Li Yan landed, he felt a gaze lock onto him. This made Li Yan frown. He looked up and saw the book-boy with the bamboo basket not far away, sizing him up and down with a questioning look.
When Li Yan looked back, the book-boy finally withdrew his gaze. At that moment, the middle-aged scholar who had been leaning against the tree gave Li Yan a slight smile and a nod, then said a few words to the book-boy.
Although Li Yan was uncomfortable being stared at, he dared not provoke the middle-aged scholar, so he automatically ignored the book-boy.