Zhen Shaoke quickly explained, "Other than that, I have another thing to request of you. I’m not sure if Pill Master Mo has heard of the Five Elements Desolate Domain’s Pill Competition? I hold your pill refining abilities in high regard, so I would like to invite Pill Master Mo to formally represent the Nine Moons Pill House in the Five Elements Desolate Domain’s Pill Competition."
Happiness overwhelmed Mo Wuji’s mind. After he lost the chance to go the the Five Elements Desolate Domain with the Formless Blade Sect, he was prepared to use all means possible to get to there first before making any further plans. Who knew that he would encounter a ray of light in the dark at Fringe City, with someone inviting him to join the Five Elements Desolate Domain Pill Competition.
Mo Wuji soon calmed down, and respectfully replied Zhen Shaoke, "I am indeed interested in joining the Five Elements Desolate Domain Pill Competition. However, I’ve previously been a guest pill refiner at the Formless Blade Sect for a period of time, and offended their second elder not long ago. It is precisely because that second elder is after my head that I'm fleeing to Fringe City. If Mister Zhen is able to shield me from the Second Elder, I’ll be willing to represent the Nine Moons Pill House in the competition. Otherwise, I’ll have to leave Fringe City immediately"
There was no beating around the bush from Mo Wuji, as he admitted to his precarious situation upfront. He did not want to only inform Zhen Shaoke at the last moment, which would be a lose-lose scenario if Zhen Shaoke was not prepared by then.
Even after hearing all this, Zhen Shaoke did not mind a single bit, and answered Mo Wuji with a smile on his face, "I could already guess that something like that was going on. Wuji, if I’m not wrong, these few people that you brought with you, are likely your family and helpers.If you did not offend anyone, you would not have to move your whole family so frantically to Fringe City."
Deep in Mo Wuji’s mind, he was shocked at how detailed Zhen Shaoke’s observation skills were, to the level that he could infer one’s situation just from the people by one’s side. Moreover, during the conversation, he gradually changed how he addressed Mo Wuji to make it seem as though they were closer.
"Wuji, you’re really quite an honest chap to tell me all this upfront. While my Nine Moons Pill House may not be top tier, but at least we don’t fear the elders of an average Earth Sect." Zhen Shaoke confidently responded. Only with this sort of calm and confident words, in absence of any boasting or arrogance, would others truly feel that he did not care about the Second Elder of the Formless Blade Sect at all.
In reality, he did not even inquire about what caused the enmity between Mo Wuji and the Second Elder.
"Ok, since this is the case, I’ll be Nine Moons Pill House’s guest pill refiner from today onwards, until the Five Elements Desolate Domain Pill Competition ends." Mo Wuji took up Zhen Shaoke’s offer without hesitation this time, finally convinced by his charisma.
"Young House Master, Formless Blade Sect’s Elder Xu requests an audience." At that moment, an assistant from the pill house came to the door, and reported softly.
Mo Wuji was secretly shocked. This Xu fella came rather fast. He had just arrived at Fringe City, and even before he had the chance to leave, this fella had arrived. No wonder this guy was not afraid of him running away. He must have known that Mo Wuji would not be able to escape that easily. What if the Young House Master of the Nine Moons Pill House did not intervene? A shudder ran down Mo Wuji’s spine, and he dared not continue down this line of thought.
As expected, it was not a good move to put his life in other people’s hands. He had done two things wrongly. The first was to bet his life on Yan QIanyin. The second was underestimating Elder Xu’s speed. Just as his front leg entered Fringe City, Elder Xu’s back leg had also arrived.
What he should have done was to disappear as soon as the Meng Boyu incident happened. However if he did that, then he would neither have been able to advance to Channel Opening Stage Level 7 so quickly, nor become a Tier 3 Mortal Pill Refiner. It was hard to sum up these gains and losses to reach a final conclusion.
Fundamentally, the only thing that mattered was to strengthen himself consistently.
Zhen Shaoke stood up with a grin, "Wuji will you come with me?" Mo Wuji nodded his head. This whole fiasco had originated from him, so how could he not show his face if Zhen Shaoke was helping him? After all, Zhen Shaoke’s willingness to help arose from his desire to borrow Mo Wuji’s pill refining skill, and not because they had good relations.
"Young House Master’s demeanor has become even better than before since our last meeting a long time ago." The grey robed Xu Feibo greeted Zhen Shaoke respectfully as Mo Wuji and him walked into the shophouse. But Elder Xu did not pay any attention to Mo Wuji, who was positioned behind Zhen Shaoke.
This gesture was reciprocated, and Mo Wuji did not bother with the Second Elder too. This guy was going to kill him, so there was no need to be courteous with him. In spite of that, he still smiled at Qin Chen, who was standing behind the second elder. But a cold and sullen face was what he got in response, and Qin Chen had no intention of giving him a proper reply.
Mo Wuji did not care about any of this. Although it seemed like Qin Xiangyu was the one that helped him join the sect, in reality, it was still reliant on Qin Chen. Now that Qin Chen always stuck to the Second Elder’s side, his position in the sect should be quite high, and Qin Xiangyu would not have to worry about going through tough times with such a high ranking brother in place.
Zhen Shaoke chuckled and replied respectfully, "So it’s Elder Xu. Elder Xu’s dao techniques also become better everyday, and in reality, I’m just following your example."
The Second Elder’s gaze fell upon Mo Wuji, and the smile on his face immediately disappeared, "Pill Master Mo, I’ll have to invite you to return to the sect with us." To this, Mo Wuji coldly answered, "Who are you to make me leave with you?"
The Second Elder’s expression became livid, "Mo Wuji, so you no longer recognise that you’re a guest pill refiner of the Formless Blade Sect?" Immediately, Mo Wuji burst out in laughter, "So you know that I’m a guest pill refiner? Do you not understand the meaning of "guest pill refiner"? It means that I can leave whenever I want to, without any restrictions. So, I’m now not a guest pill refiner of the Formless Blade Sect anymore. You don’t have any authority over me either."
Xu Feibo was raging mad, to the point that he almost went physical, but he knew that what Mo Wuji said was not wrong. Firstly, Mo Wuji was a guest pill refiner, and he had no authority to order Mo Wuji around anymore. What’s a guest? A guest is someone that you treat with respect and courtesy. Secondly, because Mo Wuji was a guest pill refiner, he could leave anytime.
"Young House Master, Mo Wuji committed some offences at the Formless Blade Sect, so could I request for your permission to take him away with me? I, Elder Xu, would be very thankful for this." Xu Feibo was indeed the Second Elder of the Formless Blade Sect, but he still dared not capture men of the Nine Moons Pill House at his own whim and fancy.
Zhen Shaoke softly replied, "I must let you know, Pill Master Mo has already become a guest pill refiner of the Nine Moons Pill House."
Upon hearing this, Xu Feibo was disappointed. While Zhen Shaoke did not forbid him from bringing Mo Wuji away, but it could be inferred from his words. Even if he tried to take Mo Wuji away by force, he would not manage to take a single step out of the Nine Moons Pill House.
Although the Nine Moons Pill House was not famous within Fringe City, it was a true Earth Sect, with a position even higher than the Formless Blade Sect.
"Since this is the outcome, I will take my leave." Xu Feibo snorted coldly, bowing respectfully one last time. He then left the premises.
One Xu Feibo was a distance away, Zhen Shaoke solemnly looked towards Mo Wuji, "Wuji, Xu Feibo has already reached True Lake Stage Level 7, you'd better watch out since you’ve offended him."
"Thank you Mister Zhen for helped me out." Mo Wuji gratefully bowed. He knew that out of the three stages of the Earth Realm, the first was the Yan Dan Stage, the second was the True Lake Stage and the third was the Nihility God Stage. All three stages had another nine levels within.
As someone in the True Lake Stage Level 7, Xu Feibo was in the advanced levels of the second stage in the Earth Realm. To face an advanced True Lake Stage cultivator with Channel Opening Level 7, would be like an ant fighting against a human.
Zhen Shaoke soon broke into a smile, "It’s fine, the pill refiners of my Nine Moons Pill House have already headed towards the competition venue of the Five Elements Desolate Domain Pill Competition. If I did not wait for you for another few days, I would have left town already. So my luck has been pretty good, being able to bump into Pill Master Mo just before I left." However, Mo Wuji still felt rather afraid deep inside, it was not that Zhen Shaoke’s luck was good, but his luck was even better. Zhen Shaoke was obviously waiting for him here. Thankfully he had reached Fringe City in time.
In the end, his initial desperate need for spirit stones, which led to him exchanging most of his pills for them in a rush, did not cause him to lose out by much. He unexpectedly received the favour of the Nine Moons Pill House. Could this have been a blessing in disguise?
"Mister Zhen, how long exactly will we take to reach the Five Elements Desolate Domain?" Mo Wuji suddenly recalled, so he asked.
"Around half a month's time." Zhen Shaoke answered.
"There’s pill furnaces on the carriage?" Mo Wuji guessed that he would be taking a Flying Beast Carriage, otherwise, the trip would not be so short.
"Of course there’s pill furnaces. How could we leave that out if we’re going to take part in the Five Elements Desolate Domain Pill Competition? There’s not only pill furnaces, but also an extraordinary type of earth fire."
Mo Wuji then bowed respectfully to Zhen Shaoke, "Mister Zhen, I’ve another request that might sound absurd. I would like to borrow some Tier 4 spiritual herbs from you."
Once Mo Wuji completed his sentence, Zhen Shaoke could understand his intention, hence following up with the question, "Wuji, could it be that you intend to attempt to breakthrough to become a Tier 4 Earth Pill Refiner?"
Without hiding anything, Mo Wuji replied, "Yes, I have the pill formula for a Tier 4 spiritual pill, and on top of that, I’ve been a Tier 3 Mortal Pill Refiner for a very long time. So I would like to give it a shot. In the off chance that I am able to advance to the level of a Tier 4 Earth Pill Refiner, it would be a win-win situation for both the Nine Moons Pill House and me."
In reality, it was barely a month since Mo Wuji joined the ranks of Tier 3 pill refiners. The only reason that he was confident enough to try breaking through to become a Tier 4 Earth Pill Refiner, was because of his pill techniques.
Since he had concocted the Spirit Strengthening Pill, he could cultivate his spiritual will, and brandishing pill techniques was no longer a problem. If he had Tier 4 spiritual herbs to experiment with, who knew if he could really rely on these pill techniques to concoct a Tier 4 Earth Spiritual Pill. Without the power of spiritual will, Mo Wuji would definitely have not made such an attempt.
Zhen Shaoke paused for a moment, before chuckling, "Wuji, you’ve come to the right guy. I don’t have much of anything else, but I do have spiritual herbs in abundance. I can even help you get a few stalks of Tier 5 spiritual herbs, what more Tier 4 ones? Just experiment as much as you want. Whether you succeed or fail doesn’t matter."
With the additional assurance from Zhen Shaoke, Mo Wuji finally stopped worrying. Although there was a slight moment of hesitation when Zhen Shaoke replied, but he did not reject the proposition.