The three of them searched the area and its surroundings for the better part of an hour, but they could find no trace of Luna or her father. After getting lost in the unfamiliar roads of Catch Pole City, they had no choice but to give up. Most likely the two ran off while they were fighting the members of the Catch Pole Sect, hopefully towards safety.
Though how they managed to do that without them noticing, Harry wasn't quite sure.
"Those two... there's more to them than meets the eye," Harry confided in his companions.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I got the feeling Luna and her father were both really dangerous. Though I don't know why I felt that way."
Daniel and Sullivan let out simultaneous snorts.
"James, what's wrong with you? You said that about that red-haired beggar only at the 1st level of the Qi Absorption Realm, and now you're saying that about people who don't have cultivation at all."
"Yeah, and you even beat up that Elder in the Core Formation Realm! What could be dangerous about those two lunatics?"
"I don't know how to explain it," Harry sighed, frustrated. "It's just a feeling I got. Like a subconscious instinct, you know?"
Judging from their looks, Daniel and Sullivan didn't know.
"Ok, nevermind. What do we do now?"
"Not much we can do. They must know this city better than we do, so if they ran away, we won't find them. Let's just forget about them."
"Sure. We were going to go shopping, right?"
"Yeah!" Sullivan brightened up. "Let's go!"
The first place they went was an Alchemy shop that sold pills. Inside, the shelves were lined with vials of precious pills and other medicine. The moment Harry laid his eyes on the goods, a flood of information appeared in his mind.
Bone Regrowth Pill – this pill can set broken bones and grow new ones. Useful for treating injuries. Requires the bones of a Magic Beast at the Body Tempering Realm, along with Chomping Cabbage and Fanged Geranium. Refine the essence of Chomping Cabbage over an Ordinary Grade flame, add in crushed bones...
Blood Replenishing Pill – this pill stimulates the body's production of blood. Useful to treat injuries and severe blood loss. Requires the flesh and blood of a Magic Beast at the Body Tempering Realm, along with Dittany, Boom Berry, and Moondew Leaf. Slowly refine essence of Dittany over an Ordinary Grade flame, extract the medicinal property, add in Moondew Leaf and stir, add in equal portions blood and flesh...
Bane Berry Pill – this pill is a highly toxic poison able to cripple those at the low-level of the Body Tempering Realm, and middle or high-level if taken in large quantities. Requires Bane Berry, Desert Rose, and Hellebore. Crush the Bane Berry...
...
There were hundreds of Ordinary Grade pills in this store with all sorts of functions. Harry got all their names, effects, and even recipes as he swept his eyes across the room. If he wanted to, and if he collected all the ingredients, then he could try refining them too.
But these were just Ordinary Grade pills, only useful for those in the Body Tempering Realm, and with limited effects for anyone above. Harry didn't find any that were interesting to him. It took some time until Harry finally found a shelf of Earth Grade pills, but they weren't many, not even 100. And of them, over half were Qi Gathering Pills. The Qi Gathering Pill was something he had seen before, back in the Swan Sea Sect. He had even taken one of them, and for a brief moment, experienced what it was like to be in the Qi Absorption Realm. They were the standard pill for cultivating at the Qi Absorption Realm, one commonly used by all cultivators. However, it wasn't useful for Harry, who had the Ring of Elements, something better than any pill.
Then finally, Harry saw a single Heaven Grade pill on sale, the only one in the shop.
Core Condensation Pill – this pill can improve the chance a cultivator will successfully form a Qi Core. To be taken once the user is at the peak of the Qi Absorption Realm. Requires the Beast Core of a Heaven Grade Magic Beast as the base. The higher the quality of the core, the higher the chance of success the cultivator will have when condensing the core. This pill was created from a Beast Core at the 1st level of the Core Formation Realm, and can only improve the change of success by 10%. To refine, …
As a Tier 2 city, Catch Pole City didn't have very many Core Formation Realm cultivators, nor were there many Alchemists who could refine Heaven Grade pills. So it made sense that the Heaven Grade pills for sale here were limited to just this one, and according to the information in his head, it wasn't even that effective.
Harry was hoping he'd find something useful to him here, but he simply didn't.
Then Harry took a closer look, at the price tags on the pills, and he felt his eyes threatening to pop out their sockets. The pills for use in the Body Tempering Realm had prices in the thousands of Qi Crystals, which Harry supposed was reasonable. But for the Earth Grade and higher...
Qi Gathering Pill, low quality – 10,000 Qi Crystals
Qi Gathering Pill, middle quality – 100,000 Qi Crystals
Qi Gathering Pill, high quality – 1,000,000 Qi Crystals
Core Condensation Pill – 2,500,000 Qi Crystals
Especially those last ones, Harry never imagined he'd see something that had a price into the millions. A million Qi Crystals – just where was he supposed to get an amount like that?
But as for Sullivan and Daniel, they didn't seemed fazed by the prices at all. Sullivan walked up to the counter, and asked for a pill that would help protect them from heat. It was for going into the Smoking Gorge, he explained, and the shopkeeper didn't even bat an eye before pointing to a vial of Earth Grade pills. Apparently, it was common for people to go into the Smoking Gorge, and the shop had those pills for this very purpose.
Snowy Coat Pill – Summons a layer of Ice Qi to keep the user's body cold, and can make them impervious to Ordinary Grade flames. Requires Moonlight Ice Root, Cotton Grass, Snowy Pearl Wort, and a source of Ice Qi, either a Beast Core or Natural Essence. Refine the Cotton Grass and Moonlight Ice Root...
By coincidence, Harry already knew this pill and its formula from his journey in the Winter Fold Forest. However, this was his first time seeing such a pill in person.
The price was 10,000 Qi Crystals for each pill. In other words, ten Earth Grade Qi Crystals. The ingredients of the pills were at the Earth Grade, so Harry supposed it made sense that the price was so high. But still, ten Earth Grade Qi Crystals was ten more than he had.
Without even blinking, Sullivan bought all 10 of them, then handed over 100 Earth Grade Qi Crystals. As he pulled Qi Crystal after Qi Crystal out of his Space Ring, Harry tried very hard to not be jealous.
"You said it was common for people to venture into the Smoking Gorge. Why is that, if it's so dangerous?" Daniel asked the shopkeeper as Sullivan counted out Qi Crystals. He didn't seem fazed about the amount of money being passed over either.
"There are two reasons," the shopkeeper responded.
"One is to collect fire, mainly for Alchemy. Alchemists have great use for Earth Grade and Heaven Grade flames. The Smoking Gorge is one of the few places in the empire with a reliable source of flames. Alchemists will pay lots for the right flame – even low-level Heaven Grade flames can go for many Heaven Grade Qi Crystals. So there are always people who want to try capturing the Natural Flames in the Smoking Gorge."
"The second is for the Fire Crabs that live in the gorge. You three know what the Fire Crabs are?"
The three of them shook their heads.
"Well, Fire Crabs... we call them crabs, but they're more like turtles. The difference is, they have six legs, along with an additional set of limbs, like pincers of a crab. And they can shoot flames out their body when they're attacked. That's why we call them Fire Crabs."
"Most people hunt Magic Beasts for their Beast Cores, but it's different for Fire Crabs. They're hunted for their shells, which are studded with jewels and gemstones. They can also fetch huge prices if you sell them to an Alchemist. After some preparation, the shells can be used as cauldrons for Alchemy, since they're very good at holding in heat. Earth Grade shells go for hundreds of Earth Grade Qi Crystals. And a Heaven Grade Fire Crab Shell – well, not that you three could get one – but if you could, it'd sell for an astronomical amount of money."
"So in summary, people go into the Smoking Gorge in hopes of earning money. It's very risky, but there's chances for huge rewards. Personally, I think they should steer clear of the gorge. Recently, there's been increased sightings of goblins – nasty creatures, the whole lot of them. But hey, it brings money to my shop. What can I say?"
"I see, thanks for the information," Daniel nodded. As usual, it was for wealth. Humans risked their lives in the hopes of striking it rich.
Once Sullivan got the pills, the three of them headed out.
"Er, Sullivan..." Harry started, not sure how to say this next part.
"What is it?" Sullivan looked back at Harry.
"About the Qi Crystals... um... do you want me to pay you back some day? I mean, I insisted on coming to the Smoking Gorge. And it was 100 Earth Grade Qi Crystals. To me, that's a lot of money."
"Oh, don't worry about it! James, you saved my life in the Room of Requirement. So, all my Qi Crystals all yours!" Sullivan said without hesitation.
"You don't have to do that," Harry said quickly, but Sullivan wouldn't budge.
"Just go with it," Daniel muttered. "When he decides on something, there's no changing his mind."
"Well in that case, are you sure just 10 pills is enough? I don't need any pills, since I'm not affected by fire or heat. But that's just five each for you and Daniel."
"Oh, these are just for me! Daniel can use his cultivation technique to keep himself cool," Sullivan exclaimed, then stuck his tongue out at Daniel. Daniel let out a humph then looked away.
"Actually, I just remembered. I have those Heaven Grade Beast Cores," Harry suddenly recalled.
Those Beast Cores contained a shocking amount of Ice Qi, and could lower the temperature of their surroundings. Maybe he could use them to keep cool.
"That's true. But the pills are also helpful since the effects will integrate with my body. Besides, it was just 100 Qi Crystals. No big deal," Sullivan shrugged. At this point, Harry had to remind himself that he and Sullivan saw money very differently.
"Speaking of these Beast Cores, should I sell these?"
"Yeah, but I wouldn't sell them in this city."
"Why not?"
"Because, only a 3-star Alchemist could use those Beast Cores. Actually, those are middle-level and high-level Beast Cores, right? In that case, even some 3-star Alchemists would have difficulty refining pills successfully. Best to save them for a 4-star Alchemist."
A 4-star Alchemist – in other words – someone who could concoct Spirit Grade pills. Those pills were made of Spirit Grade ingredients, like Magic Plants that had reached the Spirit Grade, or parts of Magic Beasts that had reached the Spirit Fusion Realm. And to actually concoct the pill would require the use of a Spirit Grade flame.
"There can't be a lot of 4-star Alchemists though, can there?"
"Nope! There are only a dozen or so in the whole empire, and all of them are famous existences. They're either members of the five Sacred Clans that specialize in Alchemy, or they work for another Sacred Clan. There's no way one of them would be in a Tier 2 city like this one."
"And you want me to sell the cores to one of them?"
"Not exactly. The best place to sell the Beast Cores would be at an auction. Especially for valuable items like these, they can fetch many times their normal price at an auction. We'll get the most money this way."
'An auction,' Harry thought to himself. Daniel's suggestion did have merits.
"Then is there an auction place here?"
"There might be – but again, we don't want to sell it here. We'll want to sell it at an auction in one of the Tier 1 cities, or even the capital. Though that would be tricky, since we can't exactly go to any of those places," Daniel sighed.
"Well, we'll figure it out later. Maybe we'll have to sell it here in the end."
"What price do you think we can get for them?"
"Normally, a middle-level Heaven Grade Beast Core would fetch a price from 10 to 50 Heaven Grade Qi Crystals. But cores with an ice attribute are rare, so these would definitely go on the high side. And if we are at an auction, the price could vary a lot. Like if there's someone who happens to be concocting a pill that needs a strong source of Ice Qi, they'd be willing to pay more. Even better if there are multiple people who need it, and then they bid against each other. So even something like 100 or 150 Heaven Grade Qi Crystals are possible. But only if we're really lucky."
This time, Harry's mouth really did drop open. 100 to 150 Heaven Grade Qi Crystals... sure, that was if things went well for him, and they never did, but still, that was an obscene amount of money! And he actually had five of these cores with him!
'I'll be rich... if I can actually survive that long,' Harry thought to himself.
After that, they went to a clothing store, where Sullivan bought a long robe with a built-in cooling formation. The shopkeeper assured them that it would hold up even in the Smoking Gorge, and would make the wearer feel like they were standing in normal temperatures. In fact, it might even feel like a cool spring day. The cloth was made of some fancy material that was fire-resistant, and the entire thing cost 80 Earth Qi Crystals. Sullivan bought it without even bothering to haggle the price down.
'This guy… he spends money like how I drink water,' Harry stood behind Sullivan, wondering just what kind of thoughts went on in his head.
After that, the three of them left that store and wandered around the city for final provisions.
"Ok, let's go stock up on a couple weeks of food. Anything else we need James?"
"I don't think so. We should find a restaurant or store –"
Harry stopped talking, and the three of them stopped in their tracks. They had been walking on a rather narrow road, clearly a small alleyway far away from the main city, but all of a sudden, they walked right into a large, crowded square that could have been the center of the city. Catch Pole City was confusing like that.
In the middle of the square was a large group of orange-robed disciples, at least 100. All of them were Inner Disciples, except the one in the middle who was a Core Disciple. Harry knew because he couldn't sense any strength from that man.
Then gathered around all the Inner Disciples were hundreds or other cultivators. Some were Outer Disciples, other appeared to just be ordinary citizens living in Catch Pole City. They were all facing the Core Disciple, as if in awe.
As for the Core Disciple, he was extremely handsome. If the cultivation world had models, he could definitely become one. Not just that, he had a natural air of charisma around him. Even if he were discreetly standing in the middle of a crowd, one's eyes would naturally fall onto him. Maybe it was the way he conducted himself, or perhaps the way everyone looked to him for orders. It was clear he was the leader.
By his side were two Inner Disciples – the same two disciples from before that got away from Daniel and Sullivan. They were loudly yelling something to the gathered crowd.
"There are three of them! One of them wears really crappy robes, and he's really chubby. But watch out – he can set himself on fire! And the other two are men, dressed in really nice robes, but they kind of look like women. If you see them, just run to Cedric! The three of them are vicious cultivators and enemies of the Catch Pole Sect! They're –"
One of them suddenly spotted Harry, and his eyes went wide.
"They're right there!" he screamed, pointing straight at the trio. As one, the hundreds of gathered people turned to look in their direction.
"Ah, crap," Harry muttered. How had they stumbled upon such a large group of cultivators? Even if most of these people posed no threat, it was still an extremely uneven fight. Fighting against so many opponents would be difficult.
In a flash, they were surrounded. The disciples formed a wall in front of them, eyeing them with hostile looks. The citizens stood behind, looking at them in curiosity, and then the Core Disciple made his way to the front, and stood before Harry.
"Are you sure it's them?"
"I'm sure! It's them!"
"These are the three cultivators that attacked you and your friends?"
"Yes!"
"You mean that Elder Jacob was defeated by this person, only at the 3rd level of the Qi Absorption Realm? And your whole group was defeated by two people at the 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm?"
"...yes! It's true! I swear it!" the disciple nodded, though with less conviction this time.
At those words, the crowd gasped and looked at three of them with new light. Everyone could tell that Harry was just at the 3rd level of the Qi Absorption Realm, while his two companions were at the 7th. So how could he defeat so many Inner Disciples, and even an Elder? In the Catch Pole Sect, Elders were all in the Core Formation Realm!
But the Core Disciple just calmly looked towards Harry, Daniel, and Sullivan. He didn't seem upset or angry at all, rather, he appeared to be curious.
"Well? What do you three have to say for yourselves?"
"Was that really one of your Elders?" Harry snorted. "He was the weakest Core Formation cultivator I've ever seen."
"You! How dare you –"
"Enough."
The disciple from earlier started, but then was interrupted by the leader. Strangely, the Core Disciple still wasn't angry. He actually seemed... amused.
"Haha, to be honest, I have the same thoughts. Elder Jacob rarely focuses on his cultivation, and frequently turns a blind eye to the wrongdoings of his disciples. Back when I was an Inner Disciple, I found his actions intolerable too. Out of respect for his position, I have never confronted him – though I am glad you did. I hope he learned a valuable lesson and will devote himself to cultivating his strength."
'What the... this guy's not mad?' Harry thought blankly. Could it be, this Core Disciple had some kind of grudge against the Elder?
The other disciples stared at their leader blankly too, like they couldn't believe the words coming out his mouth. Shouldn't he be defending their sect, not joining this hooligan in besmirching the sect's name?
"So, you aren't here for revenge?"
"Revenge?" the lead disciple looked shocked, as if that thought never crossed his mind.
"Oh no, I'm not the kind of person who likes to take revenge. Forgive and forget, I say. I believe in turning swords into plowshares – from an exchange of blows, friendship grows!"
The man said those words with complete sincerity, like he fully believed what he was saying. There was even a wide smile on his face when he said that. It was Harry's first time seeing such a person.
"However, I am here on business. The sect has ordered an investigation, so I suppose I must question you. May I ask, why did you feel the need to attack our disciples and Elder?"
"Why did I feel the need?" Harry echoed.
"I did what any righteous person would have done!"
"Can you explain?"
"Fine. We were wandering around the city, honestly, we were kind of lost, when we stumbled upon a dozen or so of your Inner Disciples kicking and bullying a girl. They were taking turns attacking and insulting her. The girl didn't have any cultivation, and couldn't defend herself. We could see the girl was injured badly, so we felt the need to intervene. We knocked the disciples out and treated the girl's injuries. And also her father. Your disciples were kicking her father too, so we saved him too."
"After we treated them, we ran into another group of people from your sect. There was the Elder, and around another dozen idiots, including him –" Harry pointed at the fuming disciple "– and they tried to capture us. They didn't listen to any reason at all, so we fought. But who would have thought, the disciples and the Elder were laughably weak? We beat most of them, but that guy managed to run away."
Harry finished his story amidst silence. The whole crowd, initially glaring at Harry, Daniel, and Sullivan, was now glaring at the two disciples of the Catch Pole Sect.
"I see," the Core Disciple nodded. "So you were actually defending a girl and her father who don't practice cultivation."
The Core Disciple turned to the first disciple, who lost all his previous anger. When he first reported this matter to the Core Disciple, he left out the circumstances surrounding the event. He just said he and his friends were attacked for no reason. But having his actions exposed like this, not in the safety of the sect but rather in the populated city square, was incredibly humiliating. When he saw all the glares and stink eyes shot his way, he just wanted to run off. And especially when he saw the belittling looks, coming from those who still couldn't believe just three people beat up an entire dozen disciples and a sect Elder, he wanted to shrivel up and hide.
"Is what he said true?"
"Well, yes, but –"
Pow!
Like a blur, the Core Disciple's hand flashed through the air. The disciple was slapped across the head, and landed on the floor, howling and clutching his temples in pain.
'What the –'
"I told you all many times, focus on your cultivation, and do not bully the weak. To think a dozen disciples actually ganged up on a girl, and then another dozen of you attacked someone just at the 3rd level of the Qi Absorption Realm – your actions are a disgrace to Catch Pole Sect! Make no mistake, I shall be personally reporting this to the Law Enforcement Hall."
When the disciple heard that, his face went white with terror. Law Enforcement Hall... Law Enforcement Hall... not the Law Enforcement Hall...
Harry was already incredibly shocked at this disciple's words and actions, but what happened next shocked him even further. The disciple turned to him – and bowed!
He bowed deeply, from the waist, until his head was at the level of his knees, then got back up with a sincere smile on his face.
"For defending the citizens of the Catch Pole City, I have to thank you. That should be the responsibility of my sect, but obviously we failed. Thank goodness you three were there to make up for it."
"Allow me to apologize on behalf of my sect. Some of my fellow disciples have uncouth manners, and embarrass themselves everywhere they go. I hope you won't think negatively of my Catch Pole Sect after this. Please rest at ease – I'll make sure those miscreants are punished when I take them back."
With those words, the matter was pretty much over. The Core Disciple thanked them again, then the crowd of disciples filed into an orderly line and left. A couple of them grabbed the two disciples from earlier, and marched them off, presumably to the Law Enforcement Hall.
The reaction was immediate. Once the Core Disciple handled the matter, the crowd broke into excited chatter and cheers. All kinds of praise could be heard for the Core Disciple, along with the Catch Pole Sect. All across the city square, Harry saw nothing but adoration in the eyes of the crowd.
"Wow..." Sullivan breathed. He stared at the Core Disciple's back in awe, a blush still on his cheeks. He looked just like a starstruck little girl.
'He's definitely gay,' Harry thought to himself.
"So, who was that?" Harry asked a person standing nearby.
"You haven't heard of Cedric Diggory?" a nearby man asked in surprise.
"No, this is the first time we've been to the city," Harry explained.
"Ah, I see. Well, that was Cedric Diggory, one of the Core Disciples of the Catch Pole Sect. He has great cultivation talent – he's only 28 years old, but he's already at the 4th level of the Core Formation Realm! But more than that, he's known for his upstanding character and willingness to help those weaker than him. Many say he'll become the Sect Master of the Catch Pole Sect one day!"
'28, at the 4th level of the Core Formation Realm?' Harry thought in surprise. Indeed, Cedric Diggory was far better than the Core Disciples of the Swan Sea Sect.
"That is impressive. Even some people from the Sacred Clans don't cultivate that quickly – it's surprising he was able to achieve that in a Tier 2 city," Daniel remarked.
"I totally agree!" Sullivan gushed. "And he has great character too!"
"He does have good character. Very righteous," Daniel commented. "Don't you agree, James?"
Righteous?
Everybody here sure thought so, as the air was filled with excited praise for Cedric Diggory. Though the other disciples dragged the reputation of their sect through the mud, Cedric Diggory was able to clean it up with just a few words and actions. All around, Harry could hear people lauding Cedric for his kindness and sense of justice. But for some reason, Harry thought differently.
When Cedric bowed towards him, in that moment, Harry felt an intense sense of discomfort, though he couldn't explain why. Yet as soon as Cedric got back up, the feeling went away. And while Cedric was speaking, there was a strange feeling in the air, like a buzzing in Harry's ears. While Cedric's mouth moved, Harry's mind felt slightly sluggish, confused even, and he felt himself nodding along with Cedric's words, accepting whatever he said. It was only until after Cedric's little speech when Harry returned back to normal. It was almost like Cedric's words had some kind of thrall over him.
Judging by the other's reactions, they hadn't noticed. Harry had no explanation as to why he felt that way.
Perhaps, it was a problem with himself. Harry had always trusted his instincts, as they saved him many times before in his life. But as soon as he entered Catch Pole City, it was like his instincts abandoned him, or at best, were sending him confusing messages.
Why did he feel the harmless red-headed beggar and the pair of lunatics were dangerous, while the obviously genial and righteous Cedric Diggory was evil? If he told anybody about his suspicions, they would surely laugh at him.
'Maybe I'm wrong,' Harry thought, and put his mind off of it.
"Well, at least not all the disciples of this sect are bad. We shouldn't be in any more trouble, at least."
"Right, thank goodness Cedric was there," Sullivan still had a look of infatuation on his face.
"So, should we go stock up on food now?" Daniel asked.
"Yeah, let's get some provisions. Then we can head into the gorge."
"Did someone say food?" a familiar-sounding voice exclaimed from behind.
The three of them turned around, only to see the red-haired beggar again, the man who was better known simply as Bottomless Stomach.
"It's you three!" the man's face lit up in recognition. The next moment, he plopped to his knees and banged his head against the ground again. Where his forehead met the pavement, the ground slightly cracked.
"Please, can you spare another Qi Crystal?"
