Chapter 378: Strengthening the Body
The Foundation Establishment Pills that Yin Ze had obtained through a trade were divided into two parts.
Forty-five pills were handed over to the members of the Inner Valley for exchange, while the remaining five pills were distributed to the people of the Outer Valley.
The Inner Valley had fewer members, but they were extremely loyal to him and would go to great lengths for him in critical moments.
On the other hand, the Outer Valley had a large number of cultivators who were bound together by their interests, but their loyalty was not as assured.
Although he had only allocated five Foundation Establishment Pills to the Outer Valley, it was still a significant improvement compared to many other factions. This gave the Outer Valley cultivators a glimmer of hope.
After trading for dozens of Spiritual Herbs in the Spiritual Herb Valley, Wang Hong tasted success and set off for the Hundred Grass Sect.
The current Hundred Grass Sect, after relocating their sect, was not doing very well. The spiritual energy within the sect was not as abundant as Wang Hong's Mountain Valley.
Upon arriving at the Mountain Gate, Wang Hong explained his purpose, and one of the Foundation Building elders of the Hundred Grass Sect warmly received him.
"Fellow Daoist Yang, I have two Qingxu Sect's five-colored Spirit Jujubes here, and I hope to exchange them for Golden Core-stage Spiritual Herbs from your esteemed sect."
Wang Hong had prepared two five-colored Spirit Jujubes for this trade.Seeing Wang Hong's offer of five-colored Spirit Jujubes, Elder Yang readily agreed to Wang Hong's request for the trade. However, their situation was similar to that of the Spiritual Herb Valley. The mature Spiritual Herbs had already been harvested by the Qingxu Sect, so all they could offer were some immature seedlings.
Wang Hong managed to acquire over twenty types of Golden Core-stage Spiritual Herbs from the Hundred Grass Sect, including two third-tier Spiritual Herbs, though they all appeared somewhat withered.
These twenty-plus types partially overlapped with what he already possessed. At this point, Wang Hong had accumulated a little over thirty types of Golden Core-stage Spiritual Herbs.
This was the result of him parting with four five-colored Spirit Jujubes. It was worth noting that the entire Cultivation World only had one Qingxu Sect's five-colored Spirit Jujube Tree before this.
After completing the trade, Wang Hong politely declined Elder Yang's warm invitation and left the Hundred Grass Sect without lingering.
However, when he had traveled more than a hundred miles away from the Hundred Grass Sect, the previously mentioned Elder Yang suddenly caught up with him from behind.
"Fellow Daoist Wang, please wait for a moment!"
Upon hearing the call from behind, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Wang Hong's mouth. He turned around and waited in his tracks.
"Elder Yang, may I ask what brings you here?"
As Elder Yang rapidly approached, he said, "Fellow Daoist, you dropped a valuable item earlier, and I happened to find it, so I've come to return it to you."
"Oh? I must thank you, Fellow Daoist, as I seemed to have forgotten about it. What is this item?" Wang Hong asked with a polite smile.
"Fellow Daoist, you really are forgetful!" With these words, Elder Yang reached into his Storage Bag, pulling out a white pearl.
He then sent the white pearl flying towards Wang Hong.
Before the white pearl had even reached him, Wang Hong caught a whiff of a pleasant fragrance and hurriedly held his breath.
"What is the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist?" Wang Hong inquired.
"Fellow Daoist, do you only realize it now? Isn't it a bit too late? You have already been afflicted by my Ten Fragrance Powder. For the next six hours, you won't be able to activate any Spiritual Power. Be sensible, hand over your Storage Bag, and I'll give you a quick death. Otherwise, I'll make you beg for life without granting it or beg for death without receiving it."
Elder Yang, at this moment, dropped his previously amiable demeanor and wore a menacing expression on his face.
"I have no grievances or enmities with you, Fellow Daoist. Why are you doing this?" Wang Hong innocently asked.
"Blame can only be placed on you for producing the five-colored Spirit Jujube I needed. By killing you and covering it up, I can keep those two five-colored Spirit Jujubes for myself," Elder Yang stated as he approached Wang Hong.
"You came alone? No reinforcements?" Wang Hong inquired as he backed away.
"Hahaha! I'm a Foundation Building Ninth Layer cultivator, and I'm dealing with a Foundation Building Third Layer junior like you. Do you really think I need reinforcements?" Elder Yang laughed confidently.
Elder Yang had now caught up to Wang Hong and reached out to grab him. He was quite confident in the Ten Fragrance Powder he had prepared. As long as the target was below the Golden Core stage, no one could escape its effects.
"Only one person, huh? That's reassuring!" Wang Hong said with a smile. In an instant, his figure blurred, and Elder Yang felt a sharp pain in his neck. He suddenly found himself flying into the air, and from that high vantage point, he could see a familiar figure below him, blood gushing from his neck.
Wang Hong had long noticed that Elder Yang had placed a tracking mark on him, so he had been cautious all along the way. He had expected some significant move from Elder Yang, but it turned out to be just one person.
He took Elder Yang's Storage Bag, and with a wave of his hand, he burned it to ashes. Then, he summoned Little Peng and headed back to his Mountain Valley.
While on the way, he sat on Little Peng's broad back and examined Elder Yang's belongings. First, there was the white pearl, a Spiritual Weapon specifically used for administering poison. Wang Hong tested it briefly and found it quite effective.
Next, he retrieved the two five-colored Spirit Jujubes he had traded for. These Spirit Jujubes were incredibly precious to other Foundation Building cultivators and often led to fierce battles.
Elder Yang had lost his life over these two Spirit Jujubes.
Inside the Storage Bag, Wang Hong found only fifty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones, not a single medium-grade Spirit Stone. There were a few inexpensive Spiritual Herbs, a flying sword, and not even one piece of defensive Spiritual Weapon.
It seemed that Elder Yang was quite poor, which might have driven him to resort to robbery and murder.
Upon returning to his Mountain Valley, Wang Hong secluded himself and focused on his cultivation. During this period, he successfully mastered the second level of the "Body Strengthening Invincible Golden Body Technique," advancing to the entry-level stage of the third level, focused on strengthening the muscles and tendons.
With this accomplishment, his skin and flesh became extremely resilient, making it nearly impossible for ordinary Spiritual Weapons to harm him. His physical strength had also reached an astonishing fifty thousand jin (catty).
With this level of power, even Demonic Beasts known for their physical prowess couldn't match him.
Furthermore, based on the "Body Strengthening Invincible Golden Body Technique," he could now change his appearance at will by altering his muscles and skin. Changing his appearance was as easy as a thought.
The fifty Foundation Establishment Pills that Yin Ze had traded for brought an additional forty-one Foundation Building cultivators to the Mountain Valley. Among them, nine failed to successfully cultivate into Foundation Building, which was still a relatively high success rate.
Thirty-eight new members joined the Inner Valley, and three joined the Outer Valley.
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