At the entrance of Willow Village, where a black wall rose fifteen meters high, a young man was arriving, dragging a bull with a shallow cut on its back, revealing bloodless red flesh. It was Yu Qing.
Even while carrying all that weight, he didn't feel tired. Nor hungry. Along the way, he had cut a piece of meat to use the blood, but to his surprise, the blood inside was completely dried up.
The strange stone had drunk it all the moment it clung to the bull's sole. Not wanting to waste food, he made a fire and roasted the meat, eating everything.
...
Passing through the wall, which had an iron gate five meters wide horizontally and two meters tall vertically, Yu Qing reached an area filled with wooden houses.
The road ahead was straight and quite organized, with a house on each side separated by ten meters. And further ahead, after a kilometer, the road inclined upward, and at the top sat a majestic red building, its color still visible in the distance through the haze.
Taking the straight path, he headed toward that large building. After a long climb, he finally reached the top of the hill, where the building stood out even more, stretching for two hundred meters, with a gray stone courtyard in front.
And twenty meters ahead stood a crystal jade door, with black characters written above: 'Red Phoenix Commerce Pavilion.'
'Every time I come here, I always wonder… why did these rich people build a headquarters in this tiny village?' He had this thought, but didn't dwell on it. At the moment, he was just a small fish who could be killed by a bull—or used to be. But it didn't matter, nothing changed the fact that he was weak.
Shaking his head, he entered. Inside, it was empty. For a commerce chamber, it was disappointing not to see any customers. 'That's what happens when you price everything so high. It's better to go to the warehouse in the corner than come here.'
He muttered internally, then put on a serious face and approached the counter, where a middle-aged man with a bored expression stood.
"What's the price?" He was direct, throwing the bull into the storage area. The man looked at him, sizing him up, and after a few seconds, placed his hand on the bull's surface, withdrawing it soon after.
"A level 1 Iron Bull is worth 200 gold coins, but since it's bloodless and missing a piece, the price rounds down to 140." The man did the math and then looked at Yu Qing. "How'd you manage this? You don't look like a cultivator."
Yu Qing didn't answer, simply rolled his eyes. "Should you be asking about sales? I thought this place was supposed to be discreet. That's what everyone says."
"And we are. Sorry for the question." The clerk didn't pry further and handed over the coins to Yu Qing, who didn't refuse and stored them all in his animal hide pouch.
Then, he glanced at the man who now showed no trace of curiosity on his face. "How much for a Pulse Opening Pill?"
"One spirit stone, which equals a hundred gold coins."
"That's cheap," Yu Qing remarked.
"Of course it is. Out there in the world, this stuff sells like water. There are places that even hand them out for free to recruit talents." The clerk shrugged.
Upon hearing this revelation, Yu Qing felt a wave of desire but quickly hid it. "Give me one. Here's a hundred gold."
Receiving the money, the man took out a yellow pill from somewhere, inside a porcelain vial.
Taking it, Yu Qing politely saluted the man and left the commerce chamber, heading home.
...
After forty minutes, he reached a three-room wooden house, located at the edge of the village. Yu Qing lived alone, with no family. His parents had died when he was a child, and an old man had taken care of him, but passed away three years ago.
Entering the house, he went straight to his room, opened the door, and headed to the bed placed in the corner against the wall. Sitting cross-legged, he took out the vial he had purchased and removed its stopper, pouring the pill into his hand.
He examined it for a few minutes, then also took out the strange stone. The next moment, he decided to risk it, placing both together. Immediately, the pill vanished into nothing, and the stone turned half yellow.
'I had this hypothesis before, and that man confirmed it… this stone can absorb anything with spiritual energy. That bull was a level one beast that had opened a meridian. That's why it was strong… but still fell to this strange stone. It forcefully suppressed it.'
Yu Qing deduced, and then, taking a deep breath, touched the yellow surface. This time, what he felt was heat — something inside his body, located in the middle of his abdomen, wanted to burst out, to leap free.
It was painful. He immediately clutched his stomach, rolling around on the bed. It lasted minutes that felt like hours. After all that agony, Yu Qing passed out.
...
When he woke again and opened his eyes, he was still in his room — but the atmosphere was different. Yu Qing could smell the scent of old wood more intensely in his nostrils and could hear birds singing outside.
But the main thing was his body. Something new had appeared within him, something resembling blood being injected inside, but tiny — a five-centimeter circular form.
"I'm a cultivator! I finally reached the goal of my life." He revealed a pure smile.
After this brief euphoric state, he tried channeling his spiritual energy from the meridian into his hands. Soon, he felt the thing within his body spin, and then something traveled through his system, quickly reaching his arms. It made him feel stronger in that area, and at the same time, improved his defense.
"Cultivation is so good!" Yu Qing was ecstatic. Then, he stood up and went outside.
Once there, he looked up at the sky, which was now dark, filled with shining stars, and in one corner, a beautiful full moon illuminated the surroundings.
"It's night," he whispered, then returned to his house, lay down, and quickly fell asleep, having one of the best nights of his life.