At the peak of the Wang Family Mountain, in a secret chamber, three Foundation Establishment cultivators of the family were meditating. The elder at the front slowly put down the book he was holding, stroked his beard, and laughed: — "Hahaha, the heavens bless our Wang Family!"
This elder was none other than Wang Guang'an, the head of the family. He looked carefully at Wang Yanzhao: — "You've raised a good son! It's a pity the family owed you so much in the early years because of that incident!"
Beside him, Wang Longyou commented: — "Great-uncle, I also know Wenhao. Not only is he diligent in cultivation, but he also has great talent for business. Most importantly, he has a good reputation and doesn't seem to hold grudges against the family!"
— "Yes, he's a good young man!" — Wang Guang'an nodded. — "With such a great contribution, I'll make a decision: if he manages to reach the ninth level of Qi Refinement, he'll have priority for the next Foundation Establishment Pill the family obtains!"
Wang Yanzhao was elated and quickly bowed: — "Thank you, Elder!"
— "Stand up and speak," — Wang Guang'an extended his hand to lift him. — "Merit should be rewarded; that's the rule of the Wang Family. Why thank me? In fact, I should be thanking Wenhao. If he hadn't acquired that formula, I'd still be withering away on this peak until I turned into a pile of yellow bones!"
But he seemed to recall something, and his expression darkened a bit: — "It's a pity that the main ingredient for the Yuan Restoration Pill, the Nine-Finger Herb, is so hard to find! Ah, such is fate!"
Wang Longyou said: — "Great-uncle, there's no need to sigh. The Duan Yuan Range is rich in resources. In time, we might find it. Even if the Qingniu Market doesn't have it, there will be a big auction at the Qingyuan Fair in a year and a half. I'll go check it myself!"
Wang Yanzhao disagreed: — "That's not appropriate. Although the Elder is the head of the family, Sixth Uncle has been managing the family's affairs in recent years. A sudden trip would draw attention from others. It's no secret that the Wang Family's spiritual veins are overloaded, and the five great families only maintain a superficial peace to jointly resist demon beasts. But none of them want a single family to become dominant..."
The three fell silent for a moment. Wang Guang'an pondered and said: — "Yanzhao is right; you can't act rashly. Let Yanzhao go! Use the purchase of a second-level alchemy furnace as an excuse!"
— "I also want to take Wenhao. This boy has never left the Qingniu Market. It would be good for him to broaden his horizons and gain experience!"
Wang Guang'an nodded: — "Take him!" Then he chuckled softly: — "Wenhao has quite the luck. If he goes, he might just find the Nine-Finger Herb!"
...
After leaving Yanzhao, Wang Hao began cultivating the Hidden Spirit Technique. This technique was quite sophisticated. In the past, even though starting cultivation with a technique was slow, he never failed to grasp the profound meaning. But this technique was extremely obscure, as if it wasn't written in common language but translated from some foreign script. It took over a month for Wang Hao to simply activate it. A small error would cause everything to fail. Only then did he understand why the young man had let his cultivation fluctuate.
— "Fortunately, I managed to understand. With continuous practice, I certainly won't be easily seen through," — Wang Hao thought. He recited an incantation, and the spiritual power in his body began to withdraw. In an instant, the fluctuation of his energy was limited to the fifth level of Qi Refinement. Reciting again, it dropped to the third level.
Satisfied, he nodded and grabbed the alchemy manual to study. Two months later, Wang Hao had fully grasped everything and prepared to refine the Spirit Nourishment Pill.
With a wave of his palm, a purple alchemy furnace flew out. It grew with the wind and landed solidly on the ground.
He ignited the spiritual charcoal with a hand seal, and the temperature gradually became scorching!
Following the requirements, he added the spiritual herbs. Half a day later, a cauldron of thick, orange medicinal liquid was ready.
Although it was his first time refining the Spirit Nourishment Pill, Wang Hao had memorized every step. Seeing the volume of liquid was sufficient, he boldly divided it into seven portions. He wanted to refine seven pills at once!
He kept the fire low and carefully observed the subtle changes with his spiritual perception. After another hour, the liquid began to evaporate. Wang Hao, sitting in front of the furnace, wore a serious expression. Now that the essence of the liquid had been extracted, it was the crucial moment to condense it into pills.
— "Elder Xing's notes are much better than Old Wang's. My alchemy skills have improved a lot!" — Wang Hao smiled slightly and murmured. He activated the alchemy technique to condense the pills. The furnace trembled, and one of the seven portions of liquid began to vibrate violently. Wang Hao tried to control it but failed, and had to separate that portion, moving it to the side of the furnace and letting it evaporate.
With no time for regrets, he focused on condensing the remaining six portions. Finally, with an intense fragrance, six crystalline pills formed.
— "A 60% success rate. I can already try to become a second-level alchemist!" — Wang Hao nodded with satisfaction. As for the failed portion, it was common in alchemy, nothing special. It was simply insufficient control of spiritual perception. With stronger perception, this wouldn't happen. He might even attempt to condense eight pills!
This wasn't arrogance but a realistic assessment of his alchemy progress.
— "I just need to find the Three-Leaf Concentration Herb. If I can take the Spirit Gathering Pill, it will be much easier to break through!" — Wang Hao murmured. After tidying up, he walked to the Miao Dan Pavilion.
— "Fifth Brother, what brings you here today?" — Wang Wenyan, who had matured greatly with over a year of experience, was becoming more and more elegant and graceful, to the point of being called Fairy Yan in the market.
— "Why can't I come? On the contrary, Fairy Yan, why are you free today?" — Wang Hao looked behind her and teased: — "Why isn't Daoist Zhu here?"
— "Fifth Brother, why are you teasing me as if I were Wenmei!" — Wang Wenyan blushed immediately. With her beauty and pleasant personality, many cultivators were courting her. Wang Hao even sympathized with a cultivator named Zhu. Of course, to marry the beauty, he'd have to join the Wang Family!
— "Seriously, have you heard any news about the Three-Leaf Concentration Herb?" — Wang Hao asked, changing the subject. Wang Wenyan thought for a moment and replied: — "Three teams have already accepted the commission, but there's been no news yet. Ah, a sixth-level Qi cultivator brought a five-year-old Three-Leaf Concentration Herb. The age was far too low, so I gave him ten spirit stones and kept it!"
— "Five years? That's far from enough. The minimum is fifty years!" — Wang Hao remained calm on the outside, but inside he was thrilled: — "First, give me that herb. As for the commission, increase the offer by another five stones!"
Wang Wenyan went to the counter, took out a jade box, and handed it to Wang Hao. He opened it and saw it was indeed a young, blue Three-Leaf Concentration Herb, with only three small, tender leaves! Noting that it still had a small piece of root, Wang Hao smiled with satisfaction.
— "Fairy Yan, continue your work. Fifth Brother will leave for now!"
At Wang Hao's farm, a black-soil area had already been opened, with a time-flow rate of forty times. Now that he had seeds, he only needed to wait a little over a year to start mass-producing the Spirit Gathering Pill!