The next day, the markets of Moonwatch Immortal City were enjoying their final burst of frenzied activity. Walking through the streets, Leo looked at the bustling figures around him with a mix of emotions. These loose cultivators struggled on the path to joining the major immortal sects, like a thousand armies trying to cross a single-log bridge. Only a tiny fraction would eventually make it across. Those who didn't would have but a hundred years of lifespan—a fleeting moment for a cultivator.

  And even more tragic were those loose cultivators who had already become nothing but bones in the Moonwatch Mountain Range.

  Soon, Leo shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. Foundation Establishment Pills were precious beyond measure. Even after entering a sect, there were thousands of Qi Refining disciples. Obtaining one was far from guaranteed. He had no business worrying about others.

  "Selling second-grade demon beast Black-Spotted Snake skin! Prime material for crafting leather armor!" A familiar voice called out from the crowd.

  "How many spirit stones for the Black-Spotted Snake skin?" Leo smiled as he watched Morana, squatting by the roadside, busy with her stall. A fine sheen of sweat dotted her forehead. A few strands of her hair were slightly out of place. It seemed she had arrived early today and had been working for a while. Leo felt a trace of fondness for this young woman who struggled in the cultivation world yet managed to keep her heart pure.

  "Twenty-two spirit stones. If you really want it... Huh? Brother Leo!" Morana, who had been habitually responding while tending to the items on her stall, thought the voice sounded familiar. Looking up, she was surprised to see Leo. "Brother Leo, what are you doing here teasing me?"

  Leo said, "I have nothing to do now. I'm on my way to report to the sect and happened to run into you."

  Morana's face lit up with surprise. "Brother Leo, you finished your sect task so quickly! Which major immortal sect are you going to?"

  "Yes, the Palace of the Heavenly Apex." Leo nodded.

  "Brother Leo, you're amazing! My brother, Brother Soren, Brother Pax, and the others have been working for years and only collected a part of what they need. I can't believe you managed it in just a few months. From now on, you'll be a sect disciple, Brother Leo. When you occasionally come to Moonwatch Immortal City, don't forget us—my brother and me, and Brother Soren and the others." Morana's face was full of admiration.

  "Entering a sect is no less competitive than being here in Moonwatch Immortal City. It might even be more treacherous. Of course I won't forget you." Leo shook his head with a smile. He reached down, untied a storage pouch from his waist, and handed it to Morana. "I'm leaving. The pills inside are for you. There are also a few spiritual herbs you all might find useful. Oh, and don't mention the pills to anyone."

  "Mm, Brother Leo, be careful in the Palace of the Heavenly Apex and take care of yourself. Goodbye." Morana waved obediently, watching Leo until he disappeared into the flow of the crowd before reluctantly looking away.

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  Opening the storage pouch Leo had given her, Morana's small mouth formed a perfect 'O', unable to close for a long time.

  "Black Infant Fruit, Cup Immortal Grass..." Over a dozen spiritual herbs in total, each one an item required for the four of them to complete their sect tasks. Moreover, they were among the most difficult to obtain. With these, they could save a tremendous amount of time and perhaps even avoid some unnecessary, life-threatening events.

  But these were merely surprising. When she opened the small pill bottle, an intensely rich fragrance made her spiritual sense tremble, nearly causing her to lose focus.

  "A top-grade Qi Gathering Pill!"

  Legend had it that mid-grade pills had two pill lines, and high-grade pills had six. Top-grade pills had nine, representing the utmost pinnacle, the supreme. Most ordinary loose cultivators could only afford low-grade pills. Mid-grade were rarely seen, high-grade were almost impossible to come by. As for top-grade pills, in all her time in Moonwatch Immortal City, Morana had never even heard of one.

  With her aptitude, breaking through from the third layer to the fourth layer of Qi Refining would still take at least another year. Moreover, every level within the Qi Refining stage was a barrier, and breaking through was no easy feat. Even for family cultivators, using a mid-grade pill to break through a bottleneck was a rare luxury. High-grade pills were also extremely rare; probably only the direct descendants of a family patriarch could obtain them.

  Her aptitude was considered above average among cultivators. Taking this pill, the transition from early to middle stage Qi Refining would be virtually effortless, and it would also lay a solid foundation for the middle stage. Such was the preciousness of a top-grade pill.

  "I never imagined Brother Leo's alchemy skills had reached such a height. No wonder he told me not to tell anyone. Maybe this counts as a little secret between him and me." Morana murmured softly.

  "Damn, what's that smell? It smells like a Qi Gathering Pill, but not quite—how does it smell so good!" A loose cultivator nearby, who had been haggling with a stall owner, sniffed the air a few times, turned around, and started searching.

  "Hmm, that's not right. At least a mid-grade Qi Gathering Pill. No, I've taken mid-grade pills before. This should be high-grade. Excellent for gifting or collecting." The young master of the Gus family, strolling through the lively market with two lackeys in tow, perked up at the strange fragrance. Although he was already at the late stage of Qi Refining, such a fine pill would make a valuable gift for a future sweetheart or a prestigious present for the young masters of other families.

  "Ah!" Morana yelped softly and quickly capped the pill bottle, stuffing it into her storage pouch. She lowered her head, pretending to tend to her stall. If anyone discovered she had a top-grade pill, some families would surely use various means to force her to hand it over.

  The people around glanced around curiously for a while but found nothing and had to leave frustrated. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was watching, Morana quietly packed up her stall and slipped away from the crowd of vendors.

  "Sister, what are you doing? Why aren't you at your stall? Why are you sneaking around over here?" Sasha, along with Soren and Pax, approached her just as she kept nervously glancing back, worried someone might be following.

  "Sister Morana, is someone giving you trouble?" Soren asked, his face taking on a fierce expression.

  "No, no. Brother Leo gave me some things before he left. It's not convenient to talk about in the street. Let's go back to the courtyard first." Morana quickly shook her head.

  "He saved me several times before, and now we owe him another huge debt. It seems we'll never be able to repay him." Back in the small courtyard, Soren looked at the spiritual herbs in the storage pouch and sighed deeply.

  "Indeed. Brother Leo has given us so many herbs. Let's work even harder. If we can't join a sect this year, we'll aim for next year, or the year after. There will come a day when we can repay Brother Leo." Sasha's voice was filled with emotion as he clutched the herbs.

  At that moment, Leo was only a few hundred meters from the recruitment point for the Palace of the Heavenly Apex. He didn't expect anything in return. He simply felt that Sasha and the others were different from the vicious, ruthless loose cultivators he had encountered, and he genuinely wanted to help them. If he had put in a little more effort, gathered some more seeds, and used spirit stones to accelerate their growth in the boundary space, he might have enabled one or two of them to directly complete a sect's task. However, such premature assistance might not have been truly beneficial. The competition within a sect would be even more cruel. They truly needed further trials and tempering to strengthen their own abilities. For those lacking sufficient strength, entering a sect too early might not be a good thing.