Elder Ragur's eyes were locked onto the pile of spirit crystals on the ground in front of him. Although his wealth was a similar value as the pile before him, he had never expected John to have such a sum of money.
"John...how did you get this?" Elder Ragur couldn't help but ask.
He knew John was from a small power on the coast. Over there, they mostly dealt with silver and gold as currency, and spirit crystals were reserved to be used in formations. There was no way his clan had given him this kind of money, and so Elder Ragur had no idea how John could have this kind of money.
Even stealing was not an option, as John was not strong enough to steal this amount of money from anyone who would have these amounts.
A small smirk broke out on John's face as he remembered the events that had happened just hours ago.
"Let's just say that I had an item that someone wanted very badly, and was able to get a good deal from it," John replied.
Elder Ragur's surprised expression turned into one of confusion, and John could tell the Elder was wondering what item he could have had to receive this amount of money, and from who.
"You'll find out the truth soon enough," John replied once more, giving Elder Ragur a taste of his own medicine. The Elder liked keeping John in the dark on many subjects, and so John decided to follow his teachings.
Elder Ragur noticed John's cheeky reply, but said nothing in response. After a moment of silence, Elder Ragur spoke up.
"John, while this would help immensely, I cannot accept such a sum of money from you. You should save this for your own cultivation."
Elder Ragur had already received some good benefits for bringing John to the sect, and so he felt guilty about accepting money directly from him. Besides, John would need this money for his own cultivation, as cultivating was an expensive profession.
John once again waved his hand, and an even larger pile of spirit crystals appeared on the ground, revealing about six hundred thousand and fifty spirit crystals in total.
Elder Ragur's conflicted expression once again turned to pure shock as he looked at the pile.
"As you can see, I'm doing pretty well for myself, so don't feel guilty about accepting the spirit crystals. Besides, you've done so much for me already in bringing me to this sect and also getting help for my clan, it's the least I can do to repay you," John replied.
Elder Ragur once again wanted to ask John about how he had obtained this kind of money, but he knew John would not answer directly. After a moment of hesitation, Elder Ragur sighed and waved his hand.
Two hundred thousand spirit crystals suddenly disappeared from the pile. John smiled after seeing the Elder take his portion, and the remaining four hundred thousand and fifty crystals went back into his own storage ring.
"This will help immensely, I can't thank you enough," Elder Ragur said to John. This was the first time John had seen the Elder become slightly emotional.
"There's no need for that. Also, in regards to getting the pill made, don't worry about that either. In a very short amount of time, you'll be in the Heaven Tribulation Realm," John replied with a smile.
"You're helping with the pill as well? Such a pill can only be made by Pill Emperors, and they are all stingy and stuck up. The waiting period to have a pill made by one is months if not years," Elder Ragur replied.
"Like I said, don't worry about it," John responded with a sly smile, enjoying his turn to keep the Elder in the dark.
Elder Ragur shook his head at John's cheeky response but said nothing.
"I don't know when exactly, but it should be soon that we can have this pill made. I'll come find you at your Enforcement Hall when it's time," John said to the Elder.
He knew Thunderpill was currently making his most important pill, and was not to be disturbed. John was fine with waiting a few days for the pill to be made.
John and Elder Ragur said a few more words to each other, before the Elder left. John watched Elder Ragur fly off before he turned around and walked into his house.
After greeting Reya and Francel, he walked directly into the basement and to the meditation chamber. With a thought, Kirii suddenly appeared in the room beside him. With their souls connected, John could let Kirii into or out of his soul space with just a thought.
"Kirii, you can run around and play down here if you want, just don't be too loud" John said to Kirii, who tilted its head to the side, trying to understand his words.
After a moment of trying to figure out what John wanted to say, Kirii somewhat understood his intentions through their soul bond and let out a little yelp of happiness. Kirii then began to run all about the large basement in glee, truly stretching its legs for the first time in its life.
"How fast!" John couldn't help but mutter as he watched Kirii dash about. Kirii's speed was even faster than his own, despite only being born recently. Kirii almost appeared like a blur to John he was moving so fast.
After watching Kirii continue to run about, John turned and entered the meditation chamber. He sat down, and a pill bottle suddenly appeared in his hands.
"The Thundergrass Essence Pill. It's the sects most expensive Qi Condensation Pill, so I hope for great things from it," John mumbled out loud.
When cultivators broke through realms too quickly, they would weaken their foundations, and would need to spend quite a bit of time stabilizing and solidifying them to make sure there were no future flaws. Even the slightest flaw could affect a cultivators future potential, but thankfully John did not have to worry about that at the moment.
Although he had broken through recently, John had an incredibly firm cultivation foundation. There were no instabilities or flaws, as he had endured many tribulations, as well as eaten the Undying Vitality Fruit.
The many battles he had experienced, alongside the fruit, made his foundation as solid as possible, which gave him a chance of another quick breakthrough. However, he would need to spend some time stabilizing his cultivation afterward before attempting to ascend to the Core Formation realm.
"The description said the pills lose their effect on a cultivator after the third one, so I need to break through by the third pill...hopefully."
After inspecting the pill in his hands for a brief moment, John popped the pill into his mouth and swallowed. As soon as the pill hit his stomach, a powerful force of lightning Qi exploded out, rampaging through his body. However, the medicinal half of the pill quickly took action, calming the effects of the lightning and quickly healing any parts it had damaged.
John focused his mind, and began to guide the rampaging Qi towards his essence dantian. The Qi began to be absorbed, and John could slowly but surely feel his cultivation rise. After nearly an hour, all the potent Qi from the pill had been absorbed, and John once more opened his eyes.
Another pill appeared in his hands, and he quickly swallowed it. After another hour, the third pill appeared in his hands.
"I hope this last one is enough to push me through to the next realm," John grumbled before he swallowed the pill.
His eyes closed once more as he focused all his energy on absorbing the pill's Qi.
…
In the endless expanse of space, a lone planet floated in the void. The planet was so large as to be unfathomable, and a close inspection revealed the planet to be completely barren of any life. Incredible formation runes covered the entire planet, and the energy flowing through the runes was enough to exterminate any who got close. The planet glowed beautifully, as the runes were easily visible from space.
Qi from both the planet and the surrounding void of space was continuously drawn in, making the planet seem like it was in a perpetual Qi storm. The terrifying runes continuously absorbed Qi from the surrounding space. Deep within the Qi storm, the formation runes all led to a single massive structure which stood in the storm defiantly.
The structure's shape was similar to a pyramid, and its highest point pierced high into the storm. Continuous pulses of energy thrummed off the pyramid and out into the void of space.
A single opening at the base of the pyramid led to the interior, which revealed the structure to be mostly hollow. Within the structure, all the fantastic formation lines, glowing vibrantly with power, led to a central point, in which a lone person sat.
The man had a middle aged appearance, with a clean shaven face and bald head. He wore monk robes, and was seated in a meditative position with his eyes closed. He was so motionless as to almost seem dead. However, the terrifying power passively emanating from the man revealed him to be alive.
His face was calm but contemplative, as if he was continuously searching for something. This man had sat here motionless for countless millennia, until…
The man's eyes slowly opened and he peered into a certain direction, staring through the pyramid walls and out into the vast expanse of space. The power emanating from his eyes seemed as if it could pierce all the way to the end of the void.
A frown appeared on the man's face, and his body suddenly vanished from the interior of the pyramid.
…
Several years later, in the endless void where no other stars, planets, or anything existed for untold distances, the Monk suddenly appeared, with another person alongside him.
The monk floated in the void of space with a serious expression on his face. Directly in front of the monk, a small point in the void glowed slightly. It was so small as to be almost imperceivable, but close inspection revealed it to be thrumming with ever growing energy.
After close inspection, the monk sighed and shook his head slightly in pity. The man beside him inspected the point in space as well, and a grave expression appeared on his face.
"I was hoping this day would never come again, but it seems like that will no longer be the case," the man sighed out loud.
The monk turned to the man beside him, who wore similar robes.
"Return and inform the Abbot about this development. I will remain here"
"It will be done," the man replied, and his figure suddenly vanished without a trace.
The monk watched the man leave before his eyes once turned to the glowing point in space.
"So, the events of the past will happen once again."