Immortal Path Space

Chapter 294: Arrangements

Wang Hong left the grand hall, with Gu Wei still seeing him off from the cave mansion.

Wang Hong's mood was somewhat heavy, but Gu Wei seemed carefree as ever, even showing signs of excitement.

After returning to his own cave mansion, Wang Hong locked himself in a secret chamber, brewed a pot of Qiu Long Tea, and quietly contemplated for a day.

The current situation in the Cultivation World had made him feel a sense of urgency. Even with his current strength and the assistance of his subordinates, it would be challenging to stand firm amid the Beast Tide.

While the sect had its means of self-preservation, who could guarantee they wouldn't be abandoned when the crucial moment arrived? Relying on others was not the best strategy.

Afterward, Wang Hong went to the Pill Hall and took on a large number of Alchemy tasks, directly using multiple sets of materials for Refinement.

After receiving rigorous training from Master Mei, his Alchemy skills had improved significantly, and his Pill Success Rate for second-tier pills had reached ninety percent.

Moreover, there were high-grade pills and middle-grade pills, and all the pills he consumed now were high-grade.

In just a few days, he refined the pills for these tasks.

He stored the refined pills and then left the sect again, heading for Azure Void City.

In Azure Void City, Wang Hong transferred his remaining dozen or so Qi Cultivation stage subordinates to a base in the mountain valley outside the city.

Then, he provided them with abundant resources and promoted all of them to the Foundation Building stage.

These subordinates had followed him for decades, risking their lives. Each of them had earned the opportunity to reach the Foundation Building stage through their contributions.

Initially, he had deliberately slowed down their Foundation Building progress to avoid drawing too much attention. They had been advancing one by one each year.

In reality, their main focus had been on body refining, and over the years, their physical cultivation had reached the Foundation Building level, making their close combat abilities no less than those of Foundation Building cultivators.

However, without achieving Foundation Building, they couldn't control flying artifacts and would be at a severe disadvantage in battles against Foundation Building cultivators.

As a result, they had been treated as Qi Cultivation cultivators all this time, even though their cultivation was far beyond that stage.

Once these dozen or so individuals successfully reached the Foundation Building stage, they concealed themselves in the mountain valley base. Here, they could also assist in training the new recruits.

Yang Tiezhu had been practicing in the mountain valley base all along. Each of the Foundation Building stage subordinates had been her teacher, and she, with her three Spiritual Roots talent, was considered average.

Over the past decade, with Wang Hong's generous resource investment, she had advanced to the late Qi Cultivation stage.

Since Wang Hong's first-generation subordinates were all body cultivators, Yang Tiezhu had learned their combat style by following their lead.

Now, Yang Tiezhu's fighting style was extremely fierce, akin to a ferocious tiger.

She had even begun to dual-cultivate her body and techniques, and her body refining cultivation had already reached a profound level.

Wang Hong couldn't help but wonder if this girl would transform into a muscular, fearsome warrior in the future.

Among the items he provided to his subordinates, there was also the Resplendent Visage Elixir. As long as their contribution points were sufficient, anyone could exchange for it.

He hoped that one day Yang Tiezhu would remember to exchange for one. The Resplendent Visage Elixir not only preserved facial youth but also had similar effects on the body.

Otherwise, a Golden Core cultivator in their hundreds with a youthful face but a wrinkled and sagging neck below would be quite unbearable to look at.

The newly added dozen or so individuals didn't have a standardized Spiritual Weapon to use yet. Wang Hong provided each of them with two ordinary Spiritual Weapons.

Fortunately, they had previously made a trip with a trading caravan and had acquired a considerable number of Spiritual Weapons, which could now be put to use.

After Wang Hong arranged matters for his Foundation Building subordinates, Azure Void City began recruiting manpower and resources once again to construct a new city in the Boundary Mountain Range. After completion, it would require a long-term garrison.

The East Zhou Cultivation Realm had been at war with the Demon Clan for over a decade, resulting in significant losses for the Cultivation World. After multiple rounds of conscription, many cultivators in the rear were already overwhelmed.

Over these years of peace in the Human Cultivation World, most cultivators had become extremely self-centered. Few were willing to contribute to the greater cause, and everyone hoped to push others to the frontlines while they enjoyed the benefits from behind.

Although this battle was a matter of life and death for the entire East Zhou Cultivation Realm, when the crisis wasn't imminent, cultivators in the rear adopted a detached attitude.

As a result, there were widespread complaints within the East Zhou Cultivation Realm. Many cultivators had fled the city and secluded themselves to cultivate.

In recent years, the number of cultivators in Azure Void City had decreased by at least ten percent. Some had been conscripted to fight against Demonic Beasts, while others had simply fled the city.

The cultivators who had escaped the city became targets for treasure hunters, and some even turned to treasure hunting themselves.

For this round of conscription, Wang Hong's several shops once again contributed a large quantity of resources.

The principle of this conscription was "people contribute people, wealth contributes wealth."

Businesses with significant resources often chose to contribute goods and materials. In contrast, some less affluent organizations could only send their own members.

Accompanying the conscription team this time were many trading caravans as well.

Wang Hong had also quickly organized a batch of resources through Xu Lun, most of which were Spiritual Herbs purchased from the Immortal Way Trading Company.

For this trading caravan, Luo Zhongjie led ten Foundation Building cultivators and twenty Qi Cultivation stage subordinates, setting out with minimal fanfare.

Since they were traveling with the second batch of reinforcements and alongside other trading caravans, their safety was well assured. This group of people should suffice for the task.

In addition to the trade goods, Wang Hong had Luo Zhongjie bring a substantial amount of cultivation resources for Wen Lan and the others.

After arranging matters on this end, Wang Hong made some arrangements with Liu Changsheng and urged them to quickly find a spiritual land outside the city to establish a base, which would be more conducive to the development of their faction.

Just as Luo Zhongjie was leading the trading caravan on its departure, the ten managers of the Ten Store Alliance gathered together.

"A few days ago, an empty Jade Scroll suddenly appeared in our trading caravan's item box, and we couldn't figure out who did it. Isn't that strange?"

"Ah? You've also had an empty Jade Scroll appear? We've experienced something similar."

"Our trading caravan had one too!"

"So did ours..."

At that moment, several merchant families found themselves in similar situations, and this couldn't be explained away as mere coincidence.

The few remaining families hadn't encountered this issue because their trading caravans hadn't left the city recently.

If a Jade Scroll could appear mysteriously in their trading caravans, it could also make their goods disappear without a trace.

"Since the other party left only a Jade Scroll, it suggests they're not eager for direct conflict. It's more of a warning."

"We haven't provoked any factions recently!"

"..."

Finally, the manager of the Myriad Treasures Tower spoke up, "I suggest we don't investigate the East Zhou Trading House any further. I suspect there's a hidden force behind them. The enemy is in the dark while we're in the light. Until we've thoroughly understood their background, we shouldn't act recklessly."

Though Myriad Treasures Tower was large, they were ultimately merchants and not suited for constant fighting.

If they won, it would be fine and they could gain some benefits. But if they lost and it affected Myriad Treasures Tower's business, he would also face punishment.

[Read at /shanefreak, and heartfelt thankyou for your support!]