The Jade Moon Market, with its faint scent of blooming night-lotus and the low hum of cultivator chatter, felt a world away from the blood-soaked ravine they had left behind. The thirty-eight lustrous, top-grade Qi Refining Pellets nestled securely in Wang Jian's newly acquired storage pouch pulsed with a promise of swift advancement.
"First things first, Lingshan," Wang Jian murmured as they navigated the market's relatively clean, lantern-lit streets that evening. "We need a secure, quiet place to cultivate. Consuming these pellets requires uninterrupted meditation. An inn room is too… public, too easily disturbed."
Princess Yue Lingshan nodded, her veiled face turned towards him. "A cave dwelling? I heard some of the older disciples at Mystic Peak speak of renting them when they needed seclusion for breakthroughs."
