Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 329 - 329 0255 Finding a Favorable Opportunity for

Chapter 329: Chapter 0255 Finding a Favorable Opportunity for Him_2 Chapter 329: Chapter 0255 Finding a Favorable Opportunity for Him_2 Qi Tian spoke casually, “I’m waiting for your attempt to make me regret.”

Seeing Qi Tian’s non-compliance, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators pointed at him and left. They would have plenty of opportunity to deal with Qi Tian in the future, there was no need to rush at this moment.

Qi Tian pulled back the curtain of the silver-roofed tent to peek inside. The bearded man noticed this and came out, asking unhappily, “Who allowed you to lift the curtain? Couldn’t you have called out from outside?”

Qi Tian responded with a smile, “I still don’t know how to address you, sir.”

The bearded man arrogantly said, “Given your status and position, you aren’t entitled to know my name. But for your convenience in addressing me, you can call me Brother Xu. Looking at you, you are considerably younger than me, so calling me ‘Brother Xu’ wouldn’t be taking advantage of you, would it?”

There was a great problem with the bearded man’s words. Cultivators gauge seniority by their cultivation levels and strength, not age. But the bearded man insisted on considering age which was, to put it bluntly, an insult to Qi Tian.

Qi Tian’s expression didn’t reveal any great displeasure. He simply clenched his fists and said, “Brother Xu, I want to ask, after completing my procurement tasks every day, can I rest inside the tent? Meditation and cultivation, that sort of thing?”

The bearded man, upon hearing this, flatly refused, “Don’t even think about it. Remember, this tent is the traveling palace of the Ape King. Without his permission, no one can enter, including you. If you want to rest, meditate and cultivate, find your own spot. Anyway, don’t entertain the thought of entering the tent.”

Qi Tian asked again, “How long are we expected to stay here?”

The bearded man replied, “Who knows? Maybe two or three days, or it could be two or three years. Kid, if I were you, I’d think of ways to earn more spirit stones first. Otherwise, you may not be able to purchase enough logistical supplies later and then I suppose you’d learn the hard way.”

“Then…..”

Just as Qi Tian wanted to continue asking, the bearded man impatiently waved his hand, shooing Qi Tian as if he were a fly, “Why so many questions? Get out of here. Keep asking and bothering me, and I swear, I’ll assign you more tasks.”

Left with no choice, Qi Tian could only excuse himself and leave.

Qi Tian had always known that in the world of cultivators, power was king and strength was the ultimate truth. However, he had been staying in the Imperial Master Mansion all this while. Even though he had been sent out to gain experiences, whether he acknowledged it or not, the Imperial Master Mansion had shielded him from a lot of unfavorable circumstances. He had never experienced such a situation where power was the law and there was no cover up. Power was blatantly revealed to him. Qi Tian deeply felt the principle of “Power is King.” He longed for emerging stronger as fast as possible. But in a basin where thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered, it wasn’t easy to find a suitable place for cultivation.

Originally, Qi Tian did not have any expectations to cultivate inside the silver-roofed tent. Being refused by the bearded man came as no surprise. Excluding the tent, other areas were occupied by Foundation Establishment cultivators. All of them were up to no good. Therefore, Qi Tian could not trust them and practice cultivation amidst their curiosity. Of course, there were some who didn’t care about others and practiced openly. At least dozens of them sat down cross-legged and cultivated unbothered.

But Qi Tian couldn’t do what they did. Such a way of cultivation was too inefficient. This was not a place filled with dense Spirit Qi. Thousands of cultivators gathered here. Expecting Spirit Qi to reach him before it was absorbed by others was unrealistic. In such external conditions, the only way to enhance cultivation efficiency was using spirit stones. But at this moment, if Qi Tian took out spirit stones, it would be like inviting the greedy bearded man to take advantage of him. He deliberately chose to mix spirit stones and elixirs for procurement. Besides, there were too many unfriendly cultivators here. If cultivators at the late Foundation Establishment stage or even the Foundation Establishment Peak or Half-step Gold Core stage demanded spirit stones from Qi Tian, he would be walking into a trap.

Qi Tian hoped to find an open and above-board method of using spirit stones for cultivation. Particularly since he was to be responsible for procurement of logistical supplies every day, he needed to figure out a way to earn spirit stones. Always footing the bill on his own was definitely not a viable option.

Qi Tian once again began to wander around the basin. Soon, he noticed that some people were watching him. It was the two late Foundation Establishment stage individuals he had encountered while procuring the demonic beast meat. They followed him, possibly because they had seized an opportunity or because they knew Qi Tian could do them no harm.

Qi Tian inwardly felt a chill. Just because he managed to scare the duo off once with the non-existent protection of Ape King Sun Xiaotian did not mean he could scare them off a second time. Besides, Sun Xiaotian may not be able to instill fear in everyone. In any case, he must think of a proper solution. Otherwise, if these two persistently tailed him, they could find out some clues and would seize the opportunity to make their move. By then, Qi Tian may not even have a chance to dodge.

Facing the late Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, Qi Tian wasn’t entirely helpless. He had two options – using the Explosive Thunder Talisman or pushing the Heavenly Dao Engine to its limit. The former required a surprise attack and control over the attack range so as not to harm other Foundation Establishment cultivators, while the latter was a desperate move. It was not suitable for him to be desperate in this situation, and increasing his strength so dramatically with the Heavenly Dao Engine might draw unwanted attention.

However, given the current situation, Qi Tian did not intend to attack the two late Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. As long as they didn’t attack him, he planned to remain hidden. There were too many skilled individuals here. Whatever he did, he needed to be certain of success. Either he had to stay unnoticed or scare off others. At this point, he could not achieve either. Therefore, he chose to lay low and look for an opportunity.

Qi Tian figured that nobody would dare to move against him in the first few days. Anyone who had thoughts of attacking him would first investigate where he stood in Sun Xiaotian’s eyes. They would confirm that Sun Xiaotian would not extend his protection to him before making a move. Confirming this fact would take a few days and that was pretty normal. Without confirmation, Qi Tian should be temporarily safe.

Qi Tian decided to utilize this time to enhance his survival odds. He began to stroll around in the basin, convinced that in a gathering of so many cultivators, careful searching would surely yield some opportunity in his favor.

This basin was just over a thousand acres in size. Considering Qi Tian’s homeland in his previous life, the city park there only occupied around 300 acres. This basin was equivalent to roughly three such parks. Thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators spread over this area was not scarce but also not dense. However, this place was flat with no obstruction to vision. Everything was in plain sight. It was difficult to keep secrets.

Qi Tian returned to the commercial street in the basin. He remembered that he was good at certain things. If it came to worst, he could craft and sell talismans here. Anyway, he needed to conjure a believable source of his spirit stones.

However, upon arriving at the commercial street, he found that even though he had been away for only a while, significant changes had already happened.