When he came to, Sage looked around and saw Tao Ba sitting at a table drinking tea. Looking around, he realized they were sitting in his house. Once he passed out, Tao Ba had just dragged him inside and helped himself to food and drink. The little boy even waved at the empty and crumb covered plates, “What a host you are, this mess has been sitting here for hours.”

Isn’t that because you made it?

Sage blinked those strange eyes of his a few times and then nodded to Tao Ba. Half walking, half slithering his way over and then picking up the dirty dishes. Heading into the kitchen and bringing out a few more plates. These new plates were filled with more snacks for the boy to eat. While Sage wanted to curse at him, this little guy was filled with knowledge and his power was unfathomable. All he had to do was treat him like a VIP, it wasn’t too high a price for such help.

After some time sucking up to and serving Tao Ba, Sage finally checked on his own internal condition and realized that those five heavenly treasures were within his dantian once again and a very basic version of the Life Nebula had formed inside him once again. Tao Ba noticed him checking and he immediately interjected.

“It worked. Those heavenly treasures will grow in power all on their own now. In fact, if you try to practice cultivation it will probably speed up your cultivation to an unstable level. Just having those inside you will accelerate your cultivation to the maximum your body can handle. So, not only should you refrain from cultivating, you need to train hard to compress and refine your energy.”

Sage had heard of such things mentioned for geniuses to worry about, but had never actually had to pay attention himself. Tao Ba quickly created a training program for him and over the next couple months he felt like he was at a labor camp. Firstly, he had to expend all of his Qi as quickly and forcefully as possible. This would widen and strengthen his meridians as they were pushed to the limits over and over again. Once his energy was expended, Tao Ba forced him to train physically, laboring for hours until his Qi had recovered. Then, now that he was exhausted and tired Sage had to control his Qi to perform very fine and detailed tasks to build his control and manipulation skills. That would go on until his energy was exhausted once more, when he’d get to sleep and start all over again the next day.

Given the limited number of techniques he knew, the day started with him using the Root Lance technique to create a huge maze of wooden poles. Once his Qi ran out, then he had to work on his agility, training the Falling Leaf Steps, walking on top of the wooden poles and dodging rocks thrown at him by Tao Ba. After that he had to smash down the whole maze of poles using his fists and flesh. Finally, he’d finish out the day maintaining the Timeless Eyes technique while also training his Divine Breath and inscribing array symbols onto the broken wooden poles. It was a very primal way to improve his skills with both Formations and Blacksmithing. As a bonus, Tao Ba taught him Array Symbols. Just like the ones he’d used for Song Lu Tian’s sword, these ‘new’ symbols were much more powerful, and complicated, then the ones he’d learned in the Holy Flame Sect. They were called Ancient Array Symbols, and it seemed the widely spread array symbols were a simplified version, meant for the masses, as the ancient ones were far more difficult to use.

At the edge of a seemingly endless sea of mountains, a thick black worm poked its head out of the ground. Beside the worm a person suddenly appeared. That man looked quite younger than he had in the past, somewhere in his mid-twenties or thirties. His hair was once again long and tied back by a length of while silk. He was wearing a white training suit. Simple, baggy pants and a loose shirt that were wrapped tightly at the forearms and shins by dark armor plates. Over the loose shirt was a sort of short sleeveless robe, somewhat like a vest that overlapped in the front and was secured by a belt. Two small pouches hung on the belt and a silver ring glittered on one of his fingers.

The man stood atop a hill and admired the sea of towering rock for a few minutes before he lowered his gaze to the city that sat at the base of the mountains. Treasure Pass. A glorious name, this was the biggest trade hub in the Holy Flame Province. It sat in front of the only clear pass that traveled through the sea like mountain range, protecting the only easy access route to Heaven Stone Valley where the Holy Flame Sect was located. The pass wasn’t open to the public, only allowing Sect members, or very select merchants entrance. Due to this restriction, Treasure Pass was the place where most trade was conducted with the Sect. If it was just buying the goods that were produced by the Sect it wouldn’t be called ‘Treasure’. What really tipped the scales was that this was the place where the members of the Holy Flame Sect could be hired.

Certainly, custom weapons, armor, and tools could be ordered, but that was not the main draw. Nor was it the talisman, pills, or enchanting clothing. Of course they were found here nearly direct from the source and the prices were much better than after they’d been transported across the world and changed hands multiple times. The real treasure was all the other professions that were for hire. Most Sects had only a few of their own professionals, the number of them roaming the world for hire were always limited. In Treasure City not only could you hire a Hunter to track down a troublesome Demonic Beast in your territory, you could even hire a whole team of them to cull whole populations of them.

Why hire one roaming Formation Master at an exorbitant price, all the while catering to his ego and arrogance, when you could instead hire a whole team of extremely professional Formation Masters from the Holy Flame Sect. Instead of having to just settle for whatever formation that roaming Master knew how to lay down, you could order anything you like from the Holy Flame Sect. The same went for skilled Chefs, Astrologers, Prospectors, Farmers, Doctors, and even Minstrels. If you wanted to hire a large number of reliable professionals or gain the service of a master of their craft, you go to Treasure Pass.

The worm had disappeared from the man’s side and he walked towards town. Of course, that man was Lang Sheng back to his human form and astoundingly having recovered his cultivation in the Formation Building stage. He’d even advanced to level 45 on his way back. Along the way he’d learned just how long he’d been away, the date had surprised him and so he was now entering the city in a tentative fashion, wanting to learn what had happened while he was gone.

While walking around town he saw a business that made him stop in place and start to laugh. Gathering himself he walked in side and smiled at a gorgeous woman behind a countertop. She smiled at him and gave her pitch.

“Welcome to the Palace of Prosperity! How can we serve you today?”

Taking a look around the room, Sage smiled at the tasteful decor. Very elegant with only a few hints of the modern earth styling he’d initially crammed the first location full of so long ago. Seeing nothing advertising their services, Sage asked the woman and she started into an almost sensual description of the many features of the place. Since he’d spent most of his time cooped up with Tao Ba and suffering through training, such pampering seemed like the perfect remedy.

Once inside, he found that Wan Ling had continued the plan. It seemed to have already become a full luxury resort. Before he left, he wasn’t sure how exactly to handle the business, which is why he left it in Wan Ling’s capable hands. At the same time, he also left her lots of ideas. Mainly taking inspiration from earth, he described to her the many things that expensive restaurants, nightclubs, theme parks, and vacation resorts used. He wasn’t sure what would be popular or profitable, so he let her decide.