Phoenix Peak

Li Zhu opened his eyes, having completed his nightly cultivation, and stabilized his cultivation, in preparation for the pills that he would soon take.

Today he would go to Phoenix Peak, and look for a suitable alchemist which could produce the pills he needed with the spirit plants that he and Hua Shu had found in Moon-Death forest.

Li Zhu was not very picky, and the only requirement he had was cheap cost. Although reputation and skill was somewhat important, Li Zhu was not rich enough to care for those yet, and he simply wanted to get the best he could with the money he had, or was going to have, after he and Hua Shu sold the spirit plants that they hadn't kept for themselves.

Heading over to Phoenix Peak, Li Zhu saw once again the bustling grounds of the sect, full of lively disciples trading, sparring, and talking. A few peaks were dedicated to specific fighting paths or even styles, with the Peak of the Undying Sword being the most popular, with more than half of the disciples in the sect visiting it daily, to buy or practice sword techniques, as well as ask for guidance from the Peak's elders.

The sect would not necessarily teach every disciple about cultivation, rather each disciple had to take it upon themselves to seek guidance at the most suitable peak for them. Many elders inhabited the peaks, and one of their responsibilities was to help teach the youth. Although this style of nurturing talents was uncommon, it provided a sense of freedom and competition which aided growth, rather than stunting it.

Li Zhu finally reached Phoenix Peak, where there stood three large buildings, each for a different purpose. One building, which Li Zhu was going to, was dedicated to trade, and allowed any alchemist to sell their crafts, as well as offer services such as custom made pills.

Each peak in the sect was a mountain, some being small and others, such as Phoenix Peak, being very vast. That said, much of Phoenix Peak was off-limits for anyone who did not live there, which only included elders and outstanding disciples. Because of this, where Li Zhu now stood was the most frequented location, and what the peak was most known for.

Li Zhu entered the trade hall without hesitation, walking through the grand wooden doors, which were currently wide open.

Surprisingly, instead of the elegant shops that he had imagined, Li Zhu saw hundreds of people, walking about the vast room, where many alchemists placed flimsy tables, displaying their goods.

The sight in front of him seemed more like a market than a trade hall, yet Li Zhu somewhat enjoyed the light feeling that Flaming Saber Sect had, devoid of excessive regulations.

In any of the academies in Heavenly Dragon Empire this unregulated trade would not be allowed, and only alchemists who had proper shops could sell their crafts, making it impossible for novices to get into the business.

Li Zhu had grown up in this environment, where the weak were forced to suffer, while the strong thrived. This created a vicious cycle, in which talents were suppressed and those who became powerful would treat the weak as inferiors, even though they had been the same at one point in time.

In Flaming Saber Sect, though, it seemed as though the leaders understood that everyone had to be weak before becoming strong, and for them to grow into powerful figures they needed to be let free.

Li Zhu pondered about this change in environment, as he walked around the stalls, where all kinds of products were displayed, with the corresponding cost, which was generally in spirit stones.

"You there, sir, do you want any pills made? I can make pills for you, if you just follow me to my workshop. I ensure that my prices are always below market value, and the quality is superb! What more could you need, come... come." just as Li Zhu was looking around, a young man with a fake smile jumped in front of him, trying to convince Li Zhu into buying his products.

"And who would you be?" asked Li Zhu, who would definitely not be tricked by this young man's honest look. There were scammers everywhere, and Li Zhu was very suspicious of this man, who seemed too young to be a skilled alchemist.

"Well, I am Yu Hui, the alchemist with the fairest prices in all of the sect!" replied the young man, maintaining his wide smile, as he slowly led Li Zhu out of the trade hall.

"Wait a second, where are you bringing me?" asked Li Zhu, who was only curios about what scheme Yu Hui was planning, if that was even his real name.

"I Live in Phoenix peak, and own a workshop here, so I am bringing you there to make pills for you!" this time, it was Yu Hui's turn being suspicious of Li Zhu, since anyone in the sect would know that there was disciple housing in the direction they were headed.

'How can that be, only genius alchemists can live here!' thought Li Zhu, squinting his eyes. He was now very curious about Yu Hui's identity, and he tested this mysterious young man's cultivation.

'Sixth stage Qi gathering realm? No! That can't be... this guy gives me the feeling of someone at the core consolidating realm, yet his cultivation is so low?' Yu Hui was becoming more mysterious by the minute, and Li Zhu was now sure that this young man was a wolf hiding in sheep's clothing.

Anyone who was in the sane realm of cultivation as another cultivator could sense what stage they were at. That said, Li Zhu was once a golden core realm expert, and he had the strange feeling that Yu Hui was in the core consolidating realm.

"Well, pills are just what I need, Yu Hui. I have many spirit plants which I wish to make into cultivation pills, and I hope you can help me with that!" Li Zhu was determined to get to the bottom of what he thought was a very peculiar encounter, and impulsive as usual, decided to assign his work to Yu Hui after all.

Although Yu Hui was a bit strange, to be allowed to live in Phoenix Peak he must be very capable, and Li Zhu wanted to see what tricks Yu Hui would use, since he simply could not figure out the goal that this young man wanted to achieve by hiding his cultivation.

Following their seemingly straightforwards conversation, Yu Hui led Li Zhu to a small wooden house, with a garden on the side. This was actually a disciples house, and by the way Yu hui simply barged in, it would seem it was his.

Li Zhu was not worried about being harmed in the sect, since elders would rush here at the first sign of a fight, and the sign could even be as simple as aggressively releasing heavenly energy, in a non-fighting area.

The sect encouraged fighting, but it was the one thing which was regulated heavily, with only certain areas in the sect allowing sparring, and many rules to follow.

The Flaming Saber Sect did not wish to lose any disciples because of unsafe sparring, so they had set up a number of rules which guaranteed security to every member of the sect.

Although not worried, Li Zhu was still prudent, and entering a stranger's home was unusual.

"What are you waiting for, I'll bring you to my workshop and we can talk business!" insisted Yu Hui, who had now already gone into another room, followed closely by Li Zhu, who had finally given in.

Li Zhu was led into a large room, with a huge furnace standing proudly in the center, as well as hundreds of alchemy ingredients placed on shelves, in an disorderly manner.

'I guess he wasn't lying about the workshop' thought Li Zhu, slightly relaxing.

"Yu Hui, I have these spirit plants, and I wish to have as many cultivation pills as you can make out of them. I will pay you when you give me the pills, and the pay will be determined based on the quality of the product." becoming serious, Li Zhu started to list out his business plan, since regardless of the mystery behind Yu Hui, he still needed cultivation pills done.

"No problem whatsoever, I make superb pills and charge low prices, now I will get to work! Oh and... good trading with you!" with those words, Yu Hui took the spirit plants from Li Zhu's hands, placing them on an empty shelf, before indicating to Li Zhu that he needed to leave.

This was not a problem, and Li Zhu left without further delay, pondering about the strange encounter he just had.

Yu Hui had tried so hard to gain a client, yet he was so fast at kicking him out of his home... there was something going on here.

Although Li Zhu was sure that Yu Hui had something to hide, he also realized that it was very possible that it had nothing to do with him, or his trade, so he stopped thinking about it, choosing to enjoy his walk back to the outer sect housing.

One thought lingered in his mind, though, 'The first time someone in this sect gives me that feeling... the feeling of weakness'. Only Li Zhu knew what that feeling was, though, and all would be discovered soon enough.