Wang Hong contemplated inwardly. At the moment, he indeed had no shortage of Foundation Establishment Pills; whether he had a few more or less made little difference to him.
If he could be taken in as a Named Disciple by a Golden Core cultivator, there would be many benefits. At least, in the Qingxu Sect, he would have a strong backing. Before others considered taking action against him, they would think twice, pondering whether they could withstand the wrath of a Golden Core cultivator.
However, he had secrets, and prolonged closeness to others could easily expose subtle traces, leading to undesirable consequences. But, for now, becoming a Named Disciple was the only option. Such disciples might not be summoned by their masters for ten or even twenty years, making intimacy non-existent.
Regarding becoming an official Disciple, his current status was too low, and he had no concrete information about the process. He would have to learn about it gradually in the future.
Moreover, Gu Shizong mentioned that one must possess the right character and temperament to become a formal Disciple. If he didn't want to become one, he could deliberately perform a bit poorly. Trying to impress someone with good behavior would be challenging, but being a little lackluster would be easier.
He even thought about a strategy: teasing married women every three days, bullying fellow disciples every five days. However, he wasn't sure if this would lead to expulsion.
Having figured out these intricacies, Wang Hong respectfully bowed.
"Master, I bow to you!"
"Alright, get up. Taking you as a Named Disciple this time is more of a transaction. Whether you become a formal Disciple depends on your own efforts."
Gu Qingyang extended his hand, and an invisible force lifted Wang Hong to his feet.
Suddenly, Gu Qingyang frowned, reached into the air, and grabbed a small dot that floated out of Wang Hong's body, landing in Gu Qingyang's hand.
"Have you recently offended anyone?"
"Disciple has always been cautious and has not offended anyone. Would killing cultivators from other sects in the secret realm count?"
Wang Hong pondered. He hadn't really offended anyone recently. The feud with the Lin Family had been resolved, and the remnants of the Lin Family posed no threat. In the secret realm, he had killed several cultivators, estimating about eighty to a hundred.
"This is a tracking mark, generally used by higher-tier cultivators to hunt down those of lower tiers."
"Can Master identify who did this?"
"It's impossible to discern, but the person's cultivation level is definitely below Foundation Building."
Gu Qingyang casually crushed the small light ball, and it disappeared.
"I have something else to ask you. Where did you obtain this Spiritual Herb?"
Gu Qingyang took out the Mutated Gold and gestured.
Wang Hong immediately presented a map of the secret realm, marking the location where he had planted seeds.
After a few more instructions and reminders of sect rules, Gu Qingyang dismissed Wang Hong.
After leaving Gu Qingyang, Wang Hong breathed a sigh of relief. Standing next to a Golden Core cultivator still made him nervous, even though the person was now his master.
At this point, the harvests of various sects had already been tallied. Taizong Hao had the most significant gains, ranking first, Beast Spirit Sect was at the bottom, and Qingxu Sect was second to last.
Observing Gu Qingyang's expression, Wang Hong felt that he was satisfied with the results, perhaps even better than previous years.
If a sect consistently ranked at the bottom, the resources it received would diminish, further weakening the sect. In such a cycle, the strong would become stronger, and the weak would find it challenging to overturn their situation.
However, Wang Hong's current position and knowledge were limited, and he could only infer from appearances.
Once the rankings were completed, the Qi Cultivation disciples like them were no longer involved. They returned on the flying giant ship that same day.
Wang Hong sat cross-legged in a corner of the ship. While they had come with over a thousand people, only about four hundred remained on the return journey.
At this moment, everyone was taking stock of their gains in the secret realm, planning their future development. Who would remember those who had died? It was the living who could truly possess everything.
After returning to the sect, Wang Hong fell into a deep sleep for three days. While there was some rest in the secret realm, constant vigilance was required, keeping one's mind in a tense state.
Three days later, Wang Hong finally rose with a refreshed spirit. He noticed several Transmission Talismans floating at his doorstep.
After reading them all, he found that almost everyone he knew had sent him one, congratulating him on becoming a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator.
Gu Qingyang had arranged for the news of Wang Hong's acceptance as a disciple to be released upon his return to the sect. This implied that Wang Hong was now under his protection.
Generally, Golden Core cultivators rarely accepted Qi Cultivation disciples, even if they were only Named Disciples. This was a significant stroke of luck for a Qi Cultivation disciple.
In the following days, a constant stream of cultivators came to visit. They devoured all the Spirit Jujubes on the Spirit Jujube Tree in front of Wang Hong's door.
The visitors had two reasons: Wang Hong was now a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator, and he possessed Foundation Establishment Pills.
Although it would take some time for the sect to refine Foundation Establishment Pills, Wang Hong's contribution points were enough to exchange for nine pills.
Even if Wang Hong was considered talentless, he wouldn't need so many Foundation Establishment Pills. Later, he could either sell or trade them.
Therefore, it was necessary to establish good relationships in advance, especially since Foundation Establishment Pills were always scarce.
Many cultivators who didn't know him before expressed goodwill. Relationships that were merely nods in passing now seemed as if they had decades of history.
Some female cultivators even subtly expressed their willingness to become Dao Companions.
Initially, Wang Hong thought that after a few days, the enthusiasm would die down, but it had been over ten days now. He had to entertain several fellow disciples who came to visit every day, making it impossible to cultivate.
In desperation, he hung a large closed-door sign on his door. Generally, people wouldn't disturb someone in closed-door cultivation, as it was considered a serious offense.
Finally, when things quieted down, he entered the Space to assess his gains from this journey.
The Space now covered forty-two acres, and time passed seventy-one times faster inside than outside. One year outside equated to seventy-one years inside.
Before entering the secret realm, he left twenty acres of open space to transplant Spiritual Herbs and spirit wood from the secret realm.
However, since he had only transplanted one or two of each kind, he had only used three acres.
He needed to plan these areas carefully.
Earlier, he had propagated some branches of the White Crystal Fruit and Green Spirit Peach. Now, they had grown and needed to be transplanted.
The three Spirit Peach orchards had some empty space. Wang Hong planned to use these areas specifically to cultivate Medicinal Herbs needed for Foundation Establishment Pills.
He needed more White Crystal Fruit, at least five acres to grow them. After planting them, the Space would have only nine acres left.
These remaining nine acres would be used to cultivate various Spiritual Herbs obtained from the secret realm. He also wanted to grow more of the mutated Astragalus.
Considering the performance of the two Golden Core cultivators, the mutated Astragalus was undoubtedly extraordinary. More of it would be better.
He also had the Dragon Scale Fruit he obtained. After planting it in the Space, it had taken six to seven years to sprout. Now, it was just beginning to grow. When it branched out in the future, he planned to use the branches to cultivate a large area.
There was also the peculiar Spirit Tea tree he obtained. After several years in the Space, it had only produced a new bud. Waiting for a cup of tea seemed too anxious, so he felt it necessary to plant more.
Calculating it all, the Space area was still not enough.
The Ink Jade Spirit Lotus he planted still looked the same as when he planted it.
Wang Hong sighed. The growth of these high-tier Spiritual Objects was too slow. If placed outside, the lotus seeds of the Ink Jade Spirit Lotus would take five to six hundred years to mature, roughly the lifespan of a Golden Core cultivator.
The growth of these Spiritual Objects was slow, but the small branch he obtained from the Beast Spirit Sect youth's Storage Bag, which he observed with Divine Sense, had only slightly enhanced vitality.
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