Chapter 49: The Changes of Three Years
Wang Hong swallowed a freshly-made Body Refining Pill and then activated the "Body Refining Decision" technique. The medicinal power of the Body Refining Pill transformed into strands of Spiritual Energy, nourishing his muscles and bones.
The effectiveness of one Body Refining Pill in body refinement surpasses that of taking two Condensing Qi Pills. It seems that the breakthrough in the "Body Refining Decision" is imminent.
Wang Hong summoned Wen Lan and Luo Zhongjie, both practicing the modified "Immortal Transformation" technique based on the "Body Refining Decision." The Body Refining Pill should also be effective for them.
Giving each of them a Body Refining Pill, Wang Hong instructed them to take it on the spot.
Wang Hong carefully observed with his divine sense as the Spiritual Energy from the elixir diffused into their muscles and bones, gradually improving their tissues.
After five days, indicating that they had fully absorbed and refined the medicinal power, it seemed they could refine at most six Body Refining Pills in a month.
In contrast, Wang Hong could refine one pill in just two hours, with a maximum of two pills in a day.
However, the effect of them taking one Body Refining Pill was stronger than taking five Condensing Qi Pills.
Cultivating with Condensing Qi Pills would waste a lot of medicinal power, while the Body Refining Pill's medicinal power, though slow, was fully absorbed.
It seems the overall path for those without Spiritual Roots to cultivate their physical bodies is correct, just a bit slow in refining speed.However, at this early exploration stage, there is much room for improvement. After all, their group is still too low in both cultivation level and insight.
Before they left, Wang Hong informed them that they could exchange this kind of elixir for contribution points in the future, equivalent to the value of two Condensing Qi Pills.
Excited, the two bid their farewells.
Wang Hong obtained a secret technique called "Shifting Positions" from Ding's storage bag last time.
Though he excelled in physical refinement and close combat, most cultivators fought from a distance using Magical Arts, Magical Weapons, Talismans, and the like.
If the enemy didn't give him a chance to get close, despite his strong physical body, he would become a sitting duck, unable to fully utilize his physical advantages.
He vividly remembered Ding's elusive speed.
"Shifting Positions" had three layers. The first layer allowed instant movement of one to ten yards, but the direction and traces of the movement could still be seen, making it easy to interrupt.
Upon reaching the second layer, one could move ten to forty-nine yards instantly. During the movement, only afterimages could be seen, making the trajectory hard to discern, appearing mysterious and unpredictable.
At the third layer, instant movement surpassed fifty yards, but Jade Scroll did not provide detailed information beyond this.
Wang Hong decided to diligently practice this technique. Just mastering the first layer's ability had already made him envious, not to mention the even more miraculous second and third layers.
Spending some time in the Space, he thoroughly comprehended the first layer of the technique.
Standing in the secret room, Wang Hong activated the "Shifting Positions" technique. After a brief moment, his body floated forward, stopping just over five feet away.
By now, Wang Hong's face was pale, and he was sweating profusely. This brief moment had depleted his entire Spiritual Energy.
He hadn't expected this technique to be so challenging to practice. Activating the technique took just a moment, but in a battle, that moment could be enough for others to turn him into minced meat.
Taking out Spirit Wine, he took a large sip, allowing his Spiritual Energy to recover before continuing his practice.
Three days later, the time it took for the technique to activate shortened, and the distance he could move increased slightly.
After three months, he finally regained his cultivation to the fifth layer of Qi Cultivation, and the distance he could move reached one yard. However, the activation still required half a moment.
Six months later, he finally achieved instant activation, drifting one yard. At this point, his "Shifting Positions" first layer could be considered proficient.
Exiting the training room, Wang Hong, again as Wang Kun, visited the Elixir Pavilion to replenish a batch of elixirs.
As he left, he sensed someone following him. Wang Hong casually walked to a secluded place and stopped.
"Fellow Daoist! Isn't it tiring to follow me for so long? If you have something, just say it."
A lean middle-aged man with two small mustaches emerged from the alley behind.
"Fellow Daoist, please forgive me. I have no ill intentions. I wanted to discuss something with Fellow Daoist, hence this approach."
Glancing around, the man added, "This is not the place to talk. I have some light wine prepared in the VIP Pavilion. How about we move there?"
After a brief consideration, Wang Hong agreed. Inside Azure Void City, he wasn't afraid of any tricks.
In a VIP Pavilion private room, the middle-aged man had already set up a table with a variety of dishes.
Green-stir-fried spirit bamboo shoots, phoenix-tailed spirit chicken stewed with hundred-year Ginseng soup, braised iron-armored spirit turtle...
Looking at the spread, worth at least two hundred Spirit Stones, it was clear that effort had been put into it.
"I am Qian Gui. I apologize for my previous intrusion. Please forgive me. I'll take the initiative to apologize with a drink." With that, he raised a cup of Spirit Wine and drank it in one go.
"I am Wang Kun. I wonder what business Friend Qian has in inviting me?" Although he had some guesses, Wang Hong still asked.
"I run a small Elixir shop. Despite having a few acres of spirit fields passed down from my ancestors, supplying a shop is still insufficient, and we often run out of stock. I wonder if Friend has a source of goods?" Qian Gui looked at Wang Hong expectantly.
Since the matter was already clear, Wang Hong didn't beat around the bush. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke, "I do have goods."
Qian Gui's face lit up. He didn't think he could persuade the other party in one go. He didn't expect the other party to be so straightforward.
Taking a sip of Spirit Wine, Wang Hong continued, "However, I cannot make the decision. I need to apply to the trading company."
Upon hearing this, Qian Gui didn't feel disappointed. Whoever could provide so many Elixirs and Spirit Herbs clearly wasn't a small force. It was something a Qi Cultivation cultivator couldn't decide on their own.
"I wonder how I can get a supply from you?"
"I can help you apply for the supply. You can refer to Zhao Ning's Elixir Pavilion for the types of goods."
"Including the Barrier Breaking Pill?" Qian Gui asked cautiously.
"Barrier Breaking Pills are also available, but the quantity won't be too much, probably only one pill per month."
Qian Gui was greatly relieved; having one Barrier Breaking Pill per month was already excellent for his Elixir shop, which had never sold Barrier Breaking Pills before.
"However, the prices for the Spiritual Objects we provide are fixed at a 10% discount, and no negotiation is allowed," Wang Hong added.
After a moment of contemplation, Qian Gui quickly understood. Although slightly more expensive than typical suppliers, the difference was only around half to a full discount.
As long as there was a sufficient supply, he could still make substantial profits.
Receiving one Barrier Breaking Pill per month could earn him over a thousand Spirit Stones more than usual.
Ten days later, Wang Hong provided Qian Gui with a batch of Elixirs and Spirit Herbs worth twenty thousand Spirit Stones. This included the much-anticipated Barrier Breaking Pill.
He promised to provide a long-term supply in the future, leaving Qian Gui excited and his mustache trembling.
Wang Hong realized that, despite his high Alchemy success rate, there was still a bit of a supply shortage.
He handed over materials for a thousand Condensing Qi Pills to Zhang Chunfeng, shocking him as he had never seen anyone practice with such a large quantity of materials.
With only Zhang Chunfeng and Skinny Monkey capable of Alchemy, and Skinny Monkey managing the Spirit Wine Pavilion, responsible for brewing, Wang Hong had no other option. He delegated this task to Zhang Chunfeng, knowing that while Alchemy emphasized talent, with a large accumulation of materials, even someone lacking talent could become a master.
During this period, the Spirit Bee Queen in his Space had successfully hatched. He could now communicate with it telepathically, giving commands through his thoughts.
Now, over ten thousand Spirit Bees had been bred, although the current Space was too small for their needs.
Various Spirit Blossoms transplanted from Hundred Flowers Valley had not yet bloomed, and the planted spirit fruit trees were still saplings, far from bearing fruit.
Currently, only a few Spirit Herbs capable of flowering were available, limiting the supply of Spirit Blossom honey. When the number reached ten thousand, Wang Hong ordered the Bee Queen to stop laying eggs, the maximum the Space could sustain.
During this time, another batch of matured Spirit Herbs in the Space had been refined into Condensing Qi Pills over three months, supplied to the Elixir Pavilion for sale. His success rate in producing Condensing Qi Pills had finally reached the fifth layer.
In these few months, the Space area had increased by over two acres, reaching a total of six acres. Time passed at thirty-five times the speed of the outside world.
Taking some time, he changed his appearance several times, collecting second-tier Spirit Herbs and spirit fruit seeds from various major shops and planting them in the Space.
After completing these tasks, he changed his appearance again, joining a team of mid-level Qi Cultivation individuals entering the Black Dragon Marsh for training.
Although he was only at the fifth layer of Qi Cultivation this time, his overall strength compared to the last entry into Black Dragon Marsh was incomparable.
With well-equipped Magical Weapons for attack and defense, elevated cultivation level in body refinement, and mastery of the first layer of "Shifting Positions," this training session encountered no major troubles. In a little over a month, he familiarized himself with an area, reaping over a hundred Spirit Herbs.
In this way, Wang Hong went to Black Dragon Marsh for training every few months. In three years, except for some extremely dangerous areas, he almost traversed every corner of the Black Dragon Marsh.
He had previously teamed up for training but had been acting alone since breaking through to the seventh layer of Qi Cultivation last year, significantly enhancing his strength in various aspects.
Now, the Space area had reached fifteen acres, and time flowed forty-four times faster than the outside world.
Wang Hong categorized the Spiritual Objects in the Space: a five-acre spirit fruit orchard, containing three acres of second-tier spirit fruit that had been harvested several times. Some were distributed to the soldiers, and the rest were brewed into high-quality Spirit Wine.
Currently, the Spirit Wine Pavilion sold a fixed quantity of one hundred kilograms of high-tier Spirit Wine every month, each bottle weighing one ounce, with a selling price of thirty Spirit Stones. This added an income of thirty thousand Spirit Stones per month.
Two acres of second-tier spirit fruit had a longer growth period and had just begun to bear fruit. It would take several more decades for them to mature fully.
Among them, fifteen white crystal fruit trees, each as tall as a person, bore several small white fruits on each tree.
The previously planted Green Spirit Peach, after so many years, had grown to a height of five feet, with three pink flowers on top. These flowers had bloomed for over a decade in the Space, showing no signs of bearing fruit.
Legend had it that some spirit fruit took hundreds of years to flower, hundreds of years to bear fruit, and hundreds of years to mature. It seemed to be true.
Five acres were occupied by various types of Spiritual Medicine from Black Dragon Marsh, with only three to five plants of each kind. It showed the diverse variety of Spiritual Medicine in Black Dragon Marsh. If not for the fact that any picky Spiritual Medicine could thrive in the Space, such extensive cultivation would not be possible.
Two acres were dedicated to aggregating Spirit Herb, mainly supplied to the Spirit Pill Pavilion. Wang Hong's success rate in refining Condensing Qi Pills had reached eighty percent, producing about ten percent of mid-grade pills.
Currently, Wang Hong only consumed mid-grade Condensing Qi Pills himself. There was also a small supply of mid-grade pills to the Spirit Pill Pavilion.
After continuous Alchemy practice by Zhang Chunfeng in recent years, his success rate had reached forty percent, relieving Wang Hong of a lot of pressure.
An acre of land was dedicated to growing Medicinal Herbs for Body Refining Pills, mainly for Wang Hong's personal use and the soldiers under him. With his increased Spirit Stone income, the soldiers' treatment had also improved.
Each soldier could now exchange for at least two Body Refining Pills per month, and there was also a plentiful supply of Demonic Beast meat. Demonic Beast meat not only contained Spiritual Energy but also had a significant amount of essence blood, beneficial for body refinement.
All soldiers had converted their Inner Strength to Spiritual Energy cultivation level. Some had even reached the second layer of Qi Cultivation.
The conversion to Spiritual Energy was mainly for the convenience of using Talismans, Magical Weapons, and other items. The soldiers primarily focused on body refinement, cultivating the "Immortal Transformation," which was currently the most suitable technique for them.
The remaining two acres were once again filled with various kinds of Spiritual Medicine that had mutated successfully.
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