Chapter 514

Er walked over with sleepy eyes, and Pei Ye gave him instructions to take good care of the mount.

After entering the door, the moonlight was immediately blocked out. Pei Ye stood for a while before adapting to the gloom in the hall. Fortunately, there was still a candle flame at work—the dull-looking woman walked in holding the candle, first revealing a man leaning against a pillar on a long bench.

He was in his thirties, slightly shorter than the woman who opened the door, and covered in the dust of travel. Pei Ye hadn't heard him speak just now; at this moment, seeing Pei Ye's gaze, he took the initiative to nod to the young man.

Pei Ye returned the smile.

And as the candlelight moved, another pair of feet was illuminated in the deeper darkness.

This person was lying on the long bench, his legs completely hidden from above, and a crutch leaned against the wall by his feet—not a short staff for walking, but a length that could be leaned upon.

The cluster of candlelight moved one step deeper, and then stopped beside a table.

With this flicker into the deeper part, Pei Ye roughly identified this person's figure—it was an old man of advanced age.

There were only these three people in the main hall, and luggage was piled on the ground.

Seeing this scene, Pei Ye turned his head and asked Er: "Are there no guest rooms left?"

"Rushing for the Golden Autumn Wu Bi."

The man looked up at me with slight surprise, and the woman smiled: "This is truly a coincidence."

"......"

Xu Gu nodded with a smile—hmm, it seems this is also wanting to secure the top four and fight for the top seven.

The Ascension Pill is barely considered a divine pill, but it is definitely worthy of being called a precious pill.

This mountain often has lawless people gathering; after killing one batch, another grows. In order to fight against them, the Prefecture Office has poured a large amount of martial arts resources into Pei Ye.

Hu Junqing gave a muffled hum, noncommittal.

"How much for an upper room?"

"Me? Haha, eighteen is enough," Zhang Junxue laughed.

Then he heard the man beside him laugh harmoniously: "I have long heard of the name of the 'Waist-Slashing Saber' of the Zhang family in Hu Jun County; how could it not be good?"

And Shaoxian is only slightly better than Fenghuai; it is also a remote place. Hu Jun, Fenghuai, Can County, and Shaoxian are actually the four northern counties of Bowang Prefecture.

Zhang Junxue was stunned for a moment, actually not knowing what to say.

"Hmm, them, coming later."

Zhang Junxue shifted his body, his gaze glued to that small porcelain bottle.

"Is that so? Why not have a match and try."

Hu Jun cupped his hands: "My name is Xu Gu, may I ask the names of you two."

Xu Gu understood—it seems this "Longmen Class" is not a treatment Pei Ye prepared for every successful candidate, but a price paid by this Chengjiang Hong himself.

"Inside this bottle is an Ascension Pill," the old man smiled, his words shocking, "Let's take it as the stake for this match."

But he heard a rustling sound from the old man's side, and he threw something the size of a thumb toward the table under the candlelight. It landed on the tabletop, spun around twice, and stopped steadily; it was a small porcelain bottle.

After a few breaths, the woman laughed, raised her hand, and pointed at herself, the man, and Xu Gu respectively: "The three of us are all."

It is similar to the meal pills taken by the true disciples of the holy land sects; they are all aggregations of energy, only the process of taking effect is somewhat different. The essence of a meal pill is food that goes a step further, still entering the muscles and bones through the stomach. But the Ascension Pill's effect involves the "Dantian Bridge" component; it is a true cultivation pill, directly targeting the meridian tree.

"Sister Zhang was originally a top-tier Second Life, and now she has signed up for the Longmen Class; it seems she is aiming for the top five this time."

This is before even entering the prefecture city; just after coming out of the mountains, he ran into two strong opponents.

Firstly, being kicked off after going up is too shameful; secondly, in this kind of competition where everyone is giving their all, the weak are always more unsafe.

Zhang Junxue was stunned for a moment and laughed: "Old man, I dare not say I will definitely win against Sister Zhang."

The woman then turned her head and said to Xu Gu: "Little brother is also rushing through the night? Where are you from?"

Xu Gu nodded, and questions rose in his heart again.

Hu Jun, Xu Gu remembered what Master Huang said about "Zheng Shou and Pei Ye, two strong counties." This county is half mountain and half plain; it can also be considered half-buried on the edge of the Xincang Mountain Range, but the mountain terrain there has already eased, and there is a trade route connecting to Lin Prefecture.

"Yes, guest, there are still two upper rooms!"

As soon as these words came out, the hall went quiet for a moment.

Xu Gu looked at this woman; the white eyes under the bangs were still looking at the ground. She didn't seem like the kind of person who was free and easy; she was just accustomed to avoiding these social interactions.

Because although theoretically, regardless of how "short" the overall level is, one can always pick out a few relatively tall ones, in fact, every family has an unspoken line—unless the root bone is truly very extraordinary, otherwise, landlubbers and lifelong cultivators will not take the qualification.

"Total of fourteen coins, thank you," the waiter yawned.

"Old, old... senior, please don't joke."

"My name is Zhang Junxue."

The woman was stunned for a moment before laughing: "That is quite rare. What is little brother going to do on this trip?"

Such a pill will be worth over a hundred taels in the period before the martial competition.

"I know what you want to buy," the old man said, "Three days later, there will be an 'Ascension Pill' refined by the Quanzhen Sect arriving in the prefecture city, which has the effect of urging the meridian tree to divide and grow. You want to rely on it to break through to the Second Life Realm, right?"

Xu Gu realized he was answering the woman's previous sentence.

"Get up early tomorrow; we can't disturb the guests' dining."

The old man did not sit up; he laughed twice while lying down and said hoarsely: "You are more capable than me."

"There is still leftover stir-fried cabbage, two steamed buns, both cold."

Its way of urging the meridian tree to divide and grow is not miraculous; it still follows the meridian tree's own law of "growing when full," and it is also just pouring energy into it. Its essence is no different from a martial artist's normal cultivation.

Xu Gu thought of this point and leaned forward to ask the two of them.

Xu Gu greeted them separately and asked: "Which side are you two from?"

"Three hundred coins a night, guest." Perhaps seeing the handsome horse, Er was quite expectant of the young man's spending power.

Suddenly, an old man's chuckling sound rang out. The voice was even gentle, but suddenly it seemed somewhat eerie in the darkness, and Xu Gu's breathing couldn't help but stop for a moment.

This was Xu Gu's turn to be surprised. Now there are still some days until the martial competition, and he is rushing to the martial arts hall's training class; why did these two come so early?

Xu Gu took the conversation and said: "What about Brother Cheng? What is your goal this time?"

Since they know they are opponents, who would reveal their bottom line at this time?

"Captain."

Xu Gu had already turned his head to look at the woman: "I am also going to the 'Longmen Class' at the Changdao Martial Arts Hall."

"Want it. Ten coins."

"Captain."

"I am alone," Zhang Junxue laughed, "But Sister Zhang should not be."

"Okay, whatever food there is, just give me some to pad my stomach."

Hu Jun counted out the copper coins for him, sat down at the table, stretched, and exhaled deeply.

"I am from Fenghuai," Xu Gu cupped his hands.

The hall was quiet for a while.

The man touched his head somewhat freely, as if he didn't know what to say, his gaze only gathering on the floor.

"Sister Zhang is from Pei Ye County, and I am from Shaoxian."

"My name is Chengjiang Hong."

Fenghuai's martial arts talent has been failing to meet expectations in recent years, and now it has encountered changes, so although there are three spots, Chang Zhiyuan looked at the whole county and only found Hu Jun as a suitable person.

Facing Xu Gu's doubtful gaze, the man said: "This sister is going to the 'Longmen Class' at the Changdao Martial Arts Hall, and I want to rush to the prefecture city to buy something. Little brother, what about you?"

"...... Yes," Zhang Junxue smiled helplessly, "The old man's eyes are like torches; this time I have gathered all my family's wealth, wanting to try to fight for the top spot."

"No joke, making friends through martial arts, we are all people of the same generation," the old man said slowly, "Counting this young man, if the three of you are willing to have a match, this pill will be gifted to the winner."

"...... No need, I will sleep here just like them. Do I need to pay for this place?"

Shaoxian is also remote; if only one person came, it is possible, but for a strong county like Pei Ye, could it be that only one person came?

In addition, the nature of meal pills is gentle and can be taken as food for a long time, but the Ascension Pill is different. It is medicine, not food; its nature is more violent, its energy is richer, and its effect is more prominent. It is best for a martial artist to take one during the Life Vein stage, and two at most.