System Upgrade

Picking up the sword and looking through the belongings of the corpses, Luo Shi didn't stay for too long and quickly exited the dark cave.

Running for some distance, he looked around, searching for a safe location to restore his Qi.

Suddenly, he spotted a 100-meter high tree and a thought popped up in his mind.

With his cultivation at the Foundation Building realm, climbing the tree was very easy.

Reaching the top of the tree and inspecting his surroundings, something caught Luo Shi's attention.

A two story golden pagoda was standing on the horizon, making it seem extremely out of place in a land filled with trees and plants.

Although his intuition as a thief warned him of danger, he knew from experience that riches were accompanied by dangers and dangers were hiding riches.

Making up his mind, he didn't decide to immediately explore the pagoda, but chose to restore his state.

Half an hour later, Luo Shi's Qi and mental exhaustion had recovered and he jumped down the tree.

Most cultivators would choose to fly while travelling because of the convenience, but that would also cause them to be easily spotted.

Luo Shi knew better and chose to walk on foot.

As he approached the pagoda, a huge sign that was at the top of the building became clear in his eyes.

Although he couldn't understand the language, the meaning of the sign was conveyed directly to his mind.

"Heaven's Secret Pavilion."

"Guiding people on escaping their fate."

This pagoda was Li Yuan's little wooden hut.

When he advanced to the Qi Condensing realm, the hut also upgraded, turning into this golden pagoda.

The pagoda had two floors, with a sign at the top of it and a huge entrance at its front.

If the previous hut made him look like a beggar leaving in the woods, the current pagoda would make Li Yuan seem like a middle sized store owner.

The sign didn't scare Luo Shi away, but rather piqued his interest.

Turning his attention to the entrance, a young looking man caught his eye.

The man was calmly sipping his tea, as he leaned back on his chair.

This sight, coupled with the sign made the pagoda look like an ordinary store and lowered Luo Shi's guard.

Deciding to give it a try, he walked in front of Li Yuan, bowed, cupped his hands and asked.

"Senior, are you the owner of this Pavilion?"

Hearing his question, Li Yuan turned his eyes away from his tea and sized him at him.

In fact, Li Yuan had noticed him entering the pagoda's range long ago.

It's just that as the Pavilion Owner, he couldn't possibly greet every single guest.

As for why he was always drinking tea?

Well, that's one of the rations that the system gave him daily.

Moreover, drinking tea reinforced his image as a hidden expert.

Looking at Luo Shi, he used the indentification technique.

[Name: Luo Shi]

[Cultivation Realm: Foundation Building Peak stage]

[Current Situation: The only remaining disciple of the Shadow >> Sect. He came to the forest trying to find opportunities to break through the Core Formation realm. He happened to come to the Pavilion by chance...]

[Unique Power: He can turn himself into a shadow.]

[Click to read more...]

Looking at the information, he saw that a new column had appeared, detailing the power that the cultivator had awakened.

"You guessed right."

"It's fate that let us meet.", Li Yuan said and pointed his finger to Luo Shi's head.

Before Luo Shi could react, information about what types of deals the Heaven's Secret Pavilion conducted appeared on his mind.

Mulling over this information, his first thought was this young man was a cheat.

No matter how he looked at it, this was a speech that a scammer would give.

Before he could decline however, the bag in his hand disappeared and appeared in the young man's hands.

This bad didn't only contain his previous loot, but his entire belongings.

"There is no reason to feel shy, here, I'll do it for you.", Li Yuan didn't care about his angry expression and held the bag tightly in his hands.

'System, deduce an opportunity for him to break through the Core Formation realm.'

[There are 206 such chances.]

[Origin Energy. Requires 1.000.000.000.000.000 HS.]

..

[Demon Core. Requires 5.000 HS.]

Looking at the demon core option, Li Yuan was reminded of Gu Ling'er.

Since they made a deal, she had yet to appear, making him worry about her well-being.

Proceeding with the trade, information about the demon core appeared in front of him.

Li Yuan didn't bother reading it, but materialized a map and threw it to Luo Shi.

"This is the opportunity you have been looking for."

"I'll be safe keeping your items until you come back."

"You will be thanking me later.", these were the last words that Luo Shi heard, before he was teleported away.

It wasn't that Li Yuan didn't want to make a fair deal, but he didn't believe that there was anyone stupid enough to believe his sale speech.

Looking at the spot where Luo Shi stood and the bag in his hands, Li Yuan shook his head.

He could do nothing other than wait for rumors about the Heaven's Secret Pavilion to circulate in the Sun Empire.

By now, Su Qinyue had returned to the Snow Heaven Sect and was currently reporting what she experienced.

A kind looking old man was sitting opposite to her, with long white hair and a beard.

As she was narrating her story to her master, Cui Jingyi, his expression continued changing.

From anger to doubt, from doubt to excitement and then finally to worry.

Seeing her master's expression, Su Qinyue understood that the news she brought were more important than she originally thought.

"You're still too young and inexperienced to understand."

"The peace has been maintained for so long, only because there is a balance between the imperial family and the sect."

"Now that there is an unstable factor, Emperor Wu will try to either eliminate it, or get its help and tilt the balance to his favor."

"If the senior is as strong as you said, he might bring disaster to the empire by doing so.", Cui Jingyi saw Su Qinyue's doubts and advised her while stroking her on her head.

Outsiders would be surprised by their interaction, but Su Qinyue was brought up by Cui Jingyi since she was a little kid.

This made their relationship closer to father-daughter than master-disciple.

Apart from her own cultivation, this relationship was also one of the reasons that she managed to become the acting Sect Leader.

Looking at the horizon, Cui Jingyi sighed with bitterness on his face and sat up.

"I'll personally go and visit the senior."

'No matter what, I can't let the Snow Heaven Sect be destroyed in my hands.', he thought but didn't say these words out loud.