Chapter 277: The storm brewing

Li Meng didn't want to make the matter regarding the inheritance public. A Qi monarch's inheritance was not only extremely precious, it was also a chance for cultivators who have halted in their progress to raise their level. An inheritance like this would force even old monsters in the Qi Monarch realm to fly out of their dens.

Hell-Fire monarch seemed to be a very accomplished cultivator. The very fact that one requires to have the cultivation of Qi Emperor to even attempt his test showed how high his requirements were. The quality of the test indirectly gave Li Meng an idea regarding what sort of character the Hell-fire monarch was.

"You need to consider the situation at hand. I suggest that you lay some formations in here."

"Although I have broken through the Qi King level, the level of my formation is still at the peak of grade 3. You couldn't possibly be suggesting me to lay a grade three formation to ward off Qi King level cultivators right."

"This is the exact reason that I sometimes feel your mindset to be incredibly conceited. You often act like a frog at the bottom of a well." Li Meng was ashamed by the sudden reprimand of the Keeper. 

"I am sorry for speaking out so fast. The situation has tensed me up. A Qi Monarch's complete inheritance is no small joke. Although I could be considered as the inheritor of the Pill-Sword saint and the Mad-Thunder king, they didn't leave anything except techniques for me. I could at most be considered as a pseudo-inheritor."

"This remains on the other hand gives me the feeling that Hell-fire monarch left all his possession for a future inheritor. Hence I couldn't help but be enticed by the allure." Li Meng was not speaking out of flattery. He was truly attracted to the treasure within the Qi Monarch's inheritance.

The Keeper didn't object to Li Meng's point of view. The Crimson lord artefact also wanted to find the monarch's inheritance to gain some resources which could help mend its damage. A monarch would certainly possess a yellow grade weapon with himself, which if devoured by the artefact, could help promote it to yellow-grade.

To speak the truth even the Keeper was feeling agitated after knowing that a Qi Monarch's remains were located in this cave. If Li Meng is truly able to achieve the treasures here, he would get a huge boost in his martial path. Increasing Li Meng's strength was the Keeper's main objective anyway. 

"I am not asking you to rashly make up some formation. Your soul power has already stepped into the soul grandmaster level and hence you are capable of earning both grade 4 and 5 formations." Li Meng was surprised to hear the Keeper's words. His soul power was only that of a soul grandmaster, which was analogous to Qi King in terms of Qi cultivation. How could he learn level 5 formations?

"I could guess that you are thinking about the analogy between martial and soul cultivation. You shouldn't press your mind too much. Qi and soul cultivation don't follow the same type of path. While Qi cultivation has many levels, soul cultivation is much alike to body cultivation."

"You will be able to understand the topic by the fact that with your current body cultivation you could contend with mid-level Qi Kings using your body alone. Yet the only thing you have opened is acupoints. The reason behind this is the tangled analogy between the three systems."

"While it is true that body and soul cultivation are extremely difficult when compared to Qi cultivation, the benefits each breakthrough brings about is much larger when compared to Qi cultivation. You will feel the effect once you start tempering your Qi channels. You will manage to understand why this disparity occurs."

"Pondering on this fact at the moment is not going to layout any distinctive fruits. You should just understand that the soul grandmaster level corresponds to both Qi King and Qi Emperor level. The next stage of soul cultivation is called soul king. It corresponds to the cultivation of Qi Monarch."

"Above it lies the Soul Emperor level which corresponds to soul Qi Dominator. Above it is Saint-soul, which corresponds to the half-saint(ancestor) and saint level. The final stage is called God soul." Li Meng was left pondering about how long the path of martial arts is.

"Rather than wasting time pondering over how long your future path is going to be, why not hurry up to learn level 4 formation techniques."

"Where would I find level 4 and 5 formation techniques? I still haven't joined any sect which excelled in formation."

"Boy, did you forget the actual reason behind joining the various powers? It was so that you could collect resources in a much faster way. What makes you think that their arts are what you would require. The Crimson Lord artefact already opened up the fourth and fifth level formation techniques for you when you stepped into the soul grandmaster level."

Li Meng instantly smiled at hearing this fact. "I would still require some time to comprehend the techniques."

"Don't forget that you have a top-grade Emperor artefact in your possession. Although we will not help you deliberately, you could always escape with the help of the artefact. If I were you., I would have concentrated on learning the formations."

Li Meng no longer wasted his breath.

............

In the cave-

"I will be asking you a simple question and you have ten breaths top consider your options." He raised his sword and held it against the Bandit leader's neck. "Either you become a subordinate of mine and enjoy the tribulation of life together of me, or else you die. Choose."

"I accept." There was no hesitation in the Bandit leader's eyes. The choice was extremely easy to make because of the stakes.

"Very well. I assure you that I will not treat any of my friends in a lowly manner. You can cultivate in this room together with me. I will also help you improve your cultivation." Li Meng took out a small pouch and threw it towards the bandit leader. When he opened up, he was shocked to find the contents of the pouch to be Fire and water elemental stones.

He looked at Li Meng with a strange expression. The contents of this pouch were too valuable. They were enough for him to reach the peak of QI King level. He didn't know why Li Meng would be so charitable towards him. "I will also let you try the test of Hell-Fire monarch should you break-through to the Qi Emperor faster than me.

The bandit leader was surprised to hear Li Meng. He didn't know how to respond to the fact.

"My subordinates helped your troops to exterminate the exploring teams. You need to take care of them, while I am in secluded cultivation." The bandit leader was surprised by hearing that Li Meng was entering closed-door cultivation. He even had his subordinates help the bandits in exterminating the city troops.

"I will try my best to help you and your group to become the hegemons of this mountain range. Not only is this a great cultivation ground, but this cave should also provide the perfect hide-out. Hence, I wish for you to rule the whole range. We will start eliminating the competition in the mountain range and the outer area as we increase our strength."

He once again took out a lot of cultivation resources. "Use this to improve the cultivation of your group. The next time I exit the cultivation room, we will begin our expedition."

Li Meng loosened the shackles which held the Bandit leader and released him. "I hope we can cooperate and benefit each other."

........................….

In the city-

The news that the whole exploration squad was eliminated soon spread to each force present within the city. This was too humiliating for the independent cultivation alliance and they requested a meeting with the various powers within the city. The aim of the meeting was simple. They wanted to eliminate the bandits.

A letter was sent to every power within the city by the leader of the independent cultivator alliance. The contents of the letter were fairly the same.

"We request all the power to meet together and pool in our resources to eliminate the bandits within the mountain. Although we couldn't scale the whole mountain, by working together, we could surely eliminate the groups which lie in the border areas."

Although friction within the various powers often prevented them from acting together, the allure this time was too great. If they manage to eliminate the groups in the border areas, the treasures gained would be quite large. Everyone was enticed by the opportunity to get a piece of the action.

Soon enough the powers sent their reply back and an official talk began to start within them.

A huge storm was brewing within the city limits and Long Tao was completely unaware of the situation.