In the courtyard, Jiang Hao observed the surroundings.
At this moment, the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower had grown a bit taller. Its leaves were still three in number, showing no signs of change.
The Immortal Peach Tree, on the other hand, was different; it had already reached knee height.
In just two months, it might bloom and bear fruit by next year.
Surprisingly fast.
"Thankfully, the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower didn’t grow that quickly."
The Immortal Peach Tree was something he planted, so its speed didn't matter much.
But once the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower matured, it would be a matter of life and death for him.
That woman would come for the flower, Elder Bai Zhi would also show up, and Liu Xingchen, among other spies, would take further action.
However, so far, no third spy had approached him.
He had appraised everyone in the Spirit Herb Garden at his leisure, finding no spies or traitors.
They were all ordinary people living cautiously.
A moment later, Jiang Hao arrived at the market.
He hadn't visited for over a month, trying to avoid the Hundred Bone Forest.
Now, he couldn’t avoid it any longer.
The first thing he did was buy a bright golden collar, which the Rabbit had requested for its conspicuousness.
Jiang Hao fulfilled its wish.
Next time, he planned to buy a silver-white one that matched its fur, making it look more discreet.
After much effort, he spent nine hundred sixty-five spirit stones.
He also inquired about the costs for the later stage of foundation establishment, needing around fifteen hundred, and perfecting it would require two thousand.
As for the Golden Core...
He didn’t dare to ask.
Having a unique Spirit Pet was too expensive to maintain.
"Next time, I should just save up directly for the Golden Core," Jiang Hao thought to himself.
That way, he could save three thousand five.
If the Rabbit didn’t damage it, he could sell it, not incurring much loss.
Afterward, he also bought five grams of better tea leaves.
It was still Red Sleeve Fragrance, but this time it cost one hundred fifty per gram.
He spent seven hundred fifty.
All he had left was three hundred spirit stones.
He realized that no matter how much he earned, it wasn't enough for his Spirit Pet or the female bandit.
And that was considering their demands only arose every few months. If it happened monthly, how many spirit stones would it cost?
"When she drinks tea next, could she want some snacks to go along with it?"
Thinking about this, Jiang Hao felt he was going to be penniless again.
He then set up a stall to sell some Spirit Talismans, though his stock was running low. He only managed to sell four hundred spirit stones' worth.
Using these stones, he bought materials for making talismans in ten bundles.
And also a talisman pen and beast blood.
He spent five hundred spirit stones.
After a round of shopping, he had only two hundred spirit stones left.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. He didn’t encounter anyone from the Heavenly Joy Pavilion or the Hundred Bone Forest.
It seemed they didn’t want to engage in petty bullying; they were waiting for the right opportunity.
Only some disgruntled ordinary inner disciples would come looking for trouble.
There would be no such people from the Hundred Bone Forest, as normal disciples wouldn’t believe he killed Ming Zuoqian.
Some even looked down on him.
And for what reason? Simply because he managed to secure a top ten merit spot with a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation.
Some people would even say from a distance, "Look, that's the one, Jiang Hao from Broken Hearts Cliff, made it to the sect's top ten in merit. How did he achieve it? Wasn’t he just pushed out by Senior Brother Barbarian Dragon to divert blame?"
"I heard too. How could he, as a mid-stage Foundation Establishment, have such capability to stop a genius like Xuanyuan Tai, it's tantamount to seeking death."
"Just wait for him to embarrass himself. I hear the folks from Profound Heaven Sect are coming soon. It’s just convenient for them to use this mid-stage Foundation Establishment merit top ten as a scapegoat, great satisfaction all around."
Jiang Hao had heard such remarks often, but he didn't mind others thinking this way.
What he worried about was the Profound Heaven Sect causing trouble. If the sect really put him, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, out there...
The consequences would be unimaginable.
But thinking of the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower, he felt he still had some value.
Even so, it was disposable value. He still needed to become stronger on his own.
"I should go plant something more or find somewhere that has ore."
Returning to the Spirit Herb Garden, Jiang Hao saw the eagerly waiting Rabbit.
Without hesitation, he tossed the collar over.
The Rabbit leaped up and caught the new collar, waved it a few times, and with a self-assuming handsome move, put the collar on.
"Master, do I look like a big demon?" the Rabbit asked, jumping in front of Jiang Hao.
Giving it a glance, Jiang Hao replied “No” and walked straight toward the inner pavilion.
Today's bubbles hadn't been collected.
[Vital Qi Pill +1]
[Strength +1]
[Strength +1]
[Strength +1]
...
After absorbing the bubbles, Jiang Hao began tidying up.
During the process, some complex handling of spirit herbs gave him a sense of annoyance.
This surprised him; it had never been this way before.
Recently, with the rise in his cultivation level, his mind seemed to have become inexplicably restless.
"Does my virtue not match my position?"
Reflecting on this period, Jiang Hao found that in less than two years, he had suddenly leaped from the ninth level of Qi Refining to the later stage of the Golden Core.
Two years covering what others took a hundred years.
The swelling is inevitable; now it was just some restlessness, which was quite good.
Of course, the calm he currently maintained was largely due to the Heaven Extinction Gu Poison.
Once without this poison, he dreaded to think how he might swell with pride.
Although he would try to suppress it, his words would surely reveal a smugness.
Jiang Hao let out a long breath and silently said to himself, “I need to calm my heart, using the Heaven Extinction Gu Poison to temper my mind.”
To get used to this power and recognize himself.
Recognize himself...
Jiang Hao thought about the future, where now, in two years, he reached the later stage of the Golden Core, in another two, he might achieve the Nascent Soul, another ten, Soul Formation, and another thirty, Return to Void.
A hundred years, invincible?
Considering it carefully, a little self-congratulation seemed somewhat justifiable?
Wild thoughts began to invade his mind.
Jiang Hao shook his head, lightly laughed, and put them all behind.
Unable to control his heart, future disaster was inevitable.
The swelling should wait until truly invincible.
After that, he began organizing the spirit herbs, calming himself down.
Back home, in the first half of the night, he started crafting talismans.
This time, unlike before, he drew only one, slowly, as slow as possible, to experience the rashness, to eliminate rashness.
Unsurprisingly, he failed.
Then he began stabilizing his later stage cultivation.
Day and night cycled, the sun and moon exchanged places.
During this time, Jiang Hao didn't leave Broken Hearts Cliff again, nor did he worry about his poverty.
Instead, he focused on yesterday's tasks.
Tending to the spirit herbs, carefully observing and handling them.
Then sketching talismans, failing, and then cultivating.
Day after day.
The autumn wind passed, and the cold winter arrived.
Snowflakes fell, the white snow faded, and green appeared on the grass.
Finally, spring rains nourished the earth.
Winter passed, spring came.
Half a year flowed by like past clouds.
During this time, the Immortal Peach Tree kept growing taller and reached over two meters. The Rabbit even played tree-climbing games.
Throughout the period, Jiang Hao experienced frustration, attempted to become dejected, and considered procrastinating.
Subsequently, the frustration gradually disappeared, despondency slowly faded away, and he no longer thought about other things.
On this day, a light appeared on Jiang Hao's desk.
He managed to draw an ordinary Purity Talisman.
It took him half a night, only because his heart was no longer restless.
"Finally succeeded."
"Though I relied on Heaven Extinction Gu Poison, there should be no mental disturbances now."
A full six months thankfully passed without anyone causing him trouble.
Otherwise, it would have been easy for this peace to be broken.
Yet, the Hundred Bone Forest had done nothing to date, which was unexpected.
Liu Xingchen hadn't been seen in months.
He didn't know what was going on.
The next day.
Jiang Hao took a deep breath; in half a year, he had consolidated his cultivation and stabilized his state of mind.
Talisman-making materials consumed entirely, not even earning spirit stones.
Now it was time to consider livelihood.
Just as he stepped out, he saw Liu Xingchen approaching.
His aura felt somewhat unusual.