"Life-threatening danger? What do you mean by that?" Leo's eyes narrowed.

  "You know how vast our Palace of the Heavenly Apex is. We maintain a standing force of tens of thousands of Qi Refining disciples alone. There are always those with wicked intentions who refuse to follow the sect rules. Though many have been executed, a considerable number have been exiled to the various mines. These people have lived in the mines for generations, multiplying. There are plenty of tough characters among them. You might even run into late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. Though they've gone years without pill supplements and had their spirit artifacts confiscated, leaving them with only a mining pick, they can still kill you. I've had several junior brothers enter the mines and never come out."

  "Moreover, the mines are dug deeper and deeper, branching out like a spider's web. Demonic beasts occasionally emerge from underground fissures as well. Three years ago, a fourth-grade demon scorpion appeared and killed hundreds of miners. The sect had to send several Foundation Establishment masters into the cave to exterminate it."

  "Black Water Stockade Mine it is!" Despite Rove's repeated warnings, Leo made his decision quickly. As for the problem of ordinary cultivators being unable to secretly keep spirit stones, it was no issue for him at all—he could send any number of spirit stones into the boundary space. Furthermore, Black Water Stockade was the only mine that contained a mix of several types of spirit stones, which would make it convenient for him to accelerate the growth of various spiritual herbs.

  Once inside the mine, it would be dark and sunless. Even if Mist wanted to send someone to watch him, they'd have a hard time keeping track. According to Rove, the tunnels inside the mine were as dense as a spider's web. Hiding there would be like searching for a needle in the ocean.

  Only by entering the mine could he temporarily free himself from Mist's entanglement. But before heading to the Black Water Stockade Mine, he needed to visit the Scripture Depository Hall first.

  The Scripture Depository Hall was less than ten miles from the main Palace Hall, mainly because it was crucial to the sect's lineage. In case of foreign invasion or an emergency like a fire, the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the main hall could fly to its defense on their swords within moments.

  On the surface, only two Great Perfection Qi Refining cultivators guarded the Scripture Depository Hall, but no one dared cause trouble there. As Leo entered the main hall, he discovered it was quite expansive inside. Cultivators of various cultivation levels constantly came and went in the spacious lobby.

  On the other side of the lobby were several cyan stone passages. Above each passage were inscriptions indicating different categories: Pills, Artifact Forging, Formations, Beast Taming, Planting, Spells, Techniques, Puppetry, and so on. It seemed the Palace's collection was indeed extensive, which was no surprise given its tens of thousands of years of history. Other sects were similar.

  For instance, the Ancient Sword Sect was renowned for artifact forging, Verdant Pill Palace for alchemy, and the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion for beast taming arts. Sects like the Palace of the Heavenly Apex or the Supreme Clarity Sect were relatively balanced, with no exceptional strengths, placing them in the mid-tier.

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  In the span of a few breaths, dozens of cultivators had entered and exited. Leo walked alone into the passage marked "Pills." The passage was about three meters wide. After walking over thirty meters, the space opened up. A stone chamber stood before him. Inside, a hunched old man was fiddling with several palm-sized black scales, muttering incessantly about something.

  Past the stone chamber, Leo's eyes fell upon shelves upon shelves of books. However, they weren't ordinary manuals, but jade slips. These must be copies transcribed using spiritual power, not the originals.

  Leo hesitated, wondering whether he should greet this hunched old man. After all, he was the keeper here, and the occasional aura emanating from him revealed him to be a Foundation Establishment senior.

  But the old man seemed so preoccupied, muttering to himself. Leo feared that interrupting him might anger him. He was already on Mist's radar; offending another Foundation Establishment cultivator might truly leave him with nowhere to stand in the Palace of the Heavenly Apex.

  So Leo simply stood aside and waited. Half an hour passed. Finally, the hunched old man scratched his head in frustration. "This doesn't add up. How puzzling."

  Finally, he noticed Leo standing there like a wooden post. "You there, what are you standing around like a lump of wood for?" he asked irritably.

  "Afraid of disturbing you, senior. This disciple was merely waiting." Leo's mouth twitched. Did he want to stand there like a wooden post?

  "Hmph. At least you're considerate. We have every kind of pill recipe in here. Copying a jade slip of a Qi Refining stage recipe costs five low-grade spirit stones. For Foundation Establishment recipes, it's twenty. Go in and find what you need yourself. When you're done, just call for me directly. Don't stand there like a wooden post again." The hunched old man waved him off, his attention already back on the black scales, signaling Leo to do as he pleased.

  Relieved, Leo wasted no time. He passed the stone chamber and focused his attention on the vast collection of pill recipes.

  "White Dew Pill!"

  "Clear Yang Pill!"

  "Qi Condensation Pill!"

  "Essence Energy Pill!"

  Leo's eyes darted from one recipe to another. Some he had never even heard of. There was even a pill called "Clear Yang Pill," meant for the early Qi Refining stage, with effects similar to Qi Gathering Pills but several times more potent. However, it was more difficult to refine and required more herbs. Comparatively, Qi Gathering Pills were more common and affordable for ordinary cultivators.

  No wonder the disciples and descendants of Foundation Establishment masters always cultivated faster than ordinary disciples. They had access to superior pills from the start.

  "White Dew Pill" for the middle Qi Refining stage.

  "Black Flower Pill" for the late Qi Refining stage.

  Though he already possessed the recipes for Qi Condensation Pills and Essence Energy Pills, according to the descriptions, these other pills could increase cultivation speed by a third. For Leo, time was the most precious commodity. He needed time to collect the spiritual herb seeds for Foundation Establishment Pills. Moreover, he had already missed this sect's minor competition. But by the next one, in seven years, he had to reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining no matter what. If he failed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills himself, he would have to achieve the best possible ranking in that competition to obtain as many Foundation Establishment Pills as he could.

  So he had to prepare for both possibilities simultaneously: gathering the herbs for Foundation Establishment Pills and cultivating without pause. He could not neglect either.

  After selecting the recipes he needed for the Qi Refining stage, Leo moved to the area containing Foundation Establishment stage recipes. Once again, he was captivated by the dazzling array before him.

  "Foundation Establishment Pill!" He had found it. Overjoyed, Leo clutched the jade slip in his hand.

  "Rejuvenation Pill!" A pill that could instantly restore all expended spiritual power. If he encountered an evenly matched opponent, or even one slightly stronger, in a fight, a single Rejuvenation Pill could turn the tide. Even spirit stones couldn't replenish spiritual energy as quickly as it was consumed.

  "Foundation Nourishing Pill" for advancing in the early Foundation Establishment stage. "Maple Frost Pill" for the middle stage.

  There were even "Core Condensation Pills" to aid Foundation Establishment cultivators in forming their Golden Cores.

  Leo's eyes widened. Each jade slip cost only twenty spirit stones. He had paid more than that for the Qi Condensation Pill recipe back in Moonwatch Immortal City. With so many spirit stones still in his boundary space, Leo was tempted to copy dozens of the recipes he had his eye on.

  But he quickly suppressed that crazy impulse. If he copied dozens of recipes at once, spending several hundred spirit stones, it would hardly look like the behavior of a normal mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator. To do such a thing while already under Mist's surveillance would only make things worse.