Upon hearing that the two individuals had gone missing, Wang Hong was not too surprised because he had long speculated about it.
During the trial in the secret realm, Yue Hao and Zhang Zhuo, along with Elder Brother, were rescued by him and Wang Yi. They then joined forces to counter-attack a large group of Beast Spirit Sect cultivators. Among them, the leader possessed numerous treasures, indicating an extraordinary background.
"Do you have any clues about when they disappeared?"
"There are currently no clues. Yue Hao took on a sect mission to hunt down a Demonic Beast two months ago and hasn't returned since. Zhang Zhuo requested a seven-day leave half a month ago and hasn't returned after leaving the sect."
Most Qi Cultivation disciples in the sect didn't leave behind items like life lamps, so when someone went missing, it was uncertain whether they were alive or dead.
In the Cultivation World, unexpected events were abundant, and the sect couldn't constantly search for Qi Cultivation disciples. They only dispatched people to investigate after half a year of absence.
If someone close wanted to search within the first half year, they were free to do so without sect interference.
Elder Brother pondered for a moment and added, "After returning from the secret realm, my family elders discovered a tracking mark on me. I suspect it's retaliation from the Beast Spirit Sect. I've come to ask you to investigate this matter together. If there's evidence proving Beast Spirit Sect's involvement, we'll let the sect elders handle it. Retaliation after leaving the secret realm goes against the rules set by the Cultivation World. Moreover, this matter concerns our lives and fortunes, and resolving it early would eliminate hidden dangers."
"I think there's no need to investigate. This matter is probably unrelated to the Beast Spirit Sect."
Wang Hong took out a token and handed it to Elder Brother, saying, "I've encountered an assassination attempt before, barely surviving. This token is from them."
"Elder Brother knows about the Shadow Kill Organization?"
"Yes, I've heard about it from my family elders."
Elder Brother then shared what he knew about the Shadow Kill, which matched Wang Hong's knowledge closely.
This was troublesome. Shadow Kill was a secretive organization with a tightly guarded internal structure. Their assassins were trained from a young age, and even capturing one or two wouldn't yield useful information.
The organization had no visible base, hiding entirely in the shadows. They likely knew they had made too many enemies to reveal themselves.
Only a few high-tier cultivators could find their contact person and issue assassination tasks.
"Junior Brother Wang, if not necessary, it's best not to leave the sect. If you must, invite others to accompany you."
Elder Brother couldn't think of a better solution and could only advise Wang Hong to stay indoors as much as possible.
"Junior Brother Wang, the major competition is in a little over a month. Are you prepared?"
"I won't participate. I already have enough Foundation Establishment Pills. How about you?"
"Hahaha! Great minds think alike. I have enough too. I won't compete with them. It's getting late; I'll take my leave."
As he left, he handed Elder Brother a bottle of Spirit Wine. Everyone familiar with him in Azure Void City knew he owned a brewing workshop and employed dozens of people to produce Spirit Wine.
This was his concept of hiding in plain sight, placing the true secrets beneath conspicuous things, making them appear openly visible and easily overlooked by others.
In contrast, anything shrouded in mystery, hinting at a big secret but not revealing it, tended to pique people's curiosity.
Upon careful investigation, traces would eventually be discovered sooner or later. He remembered a lesson from his military strategy studies: the best defense is not withstanding fierce attacks but preventing enemies from striking or reaching him.
After a day of rest, it was time for him to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill. He submitted some Spiritual Herbs upon returning from the secret realm and retained five sets of Foundation Establishment Pill Medicinal Herbs.
With only five chances, he had to handle every detail carefully. He repeatedly deduced the details of alchemy, simulating it countless times in his mind. He also experimented with each type of Spiritual Herb, deducing their medicinal properties.
Feeling well-versed in every aspect, he officially started the alchemy process. However, despite his preparations, the first furnace failed. Many things needed real practice for understanding, and the previous simulations were merely imagination.
However, the prior preparations proved helpful, and he succeeded in refining one Foundation Establishment Pill in the second furnace. In the third furnace, two pills were formed. The fourth and fifth furnaces produced two and three pills, respectively.
From five sets of materials, he obtained a total of eight Foundation Establishment Pills. The Pill Success Rate was low, but since he had already cultivated enough for his Foundation Building, he wasn't concerned. Besides, he had planted several acres of Foundation Establishment Pill Medicinal Herbs for the future.
Now, he needed to prepare for Foundation Building. He hadn't known much about it before, but fortunately, the Sect's Scripture Tower contained the experiences of many predecessors. Although he had casually browsed through them before, he planned to delve deeper in the coming days.
Of course, after successfully building his foundation, he could contribute his experiences to the Sect, earning some contribution points. However, he didn't have that intention at the moment. When he became powerful enough without jeopardizing himself, he might consider giving back to the Sect.
This time in the Scripture Tower, Wang Hong spent a day selecting dozens of Jade Scrolls related to Foundation Building. When he went to copy them, the purple-robed Daoist wasn't too surprised. The distribution of the Sect's Foundation Establishment Pills was imminent, and many people came to copy scrolls related to Foundation Building these days.
However, this Qi Cultivation Disciple, now at the Ninth Layer, was somewhat rare. Many cultivators reached the Ninth Layer and then faced a bottleneck, stopping their progress. This was evident from the fact that Qingxu Sect had hundreds of thousands of Qi Cultivation Disciples but only a few thousand Foundation Building cultivators.
With a stack of Jade Scrolls in hand, Wang Hong returned to his small courtyard. A "Closed-door Cultivation" sign hung at the entrance, and he activated the Five Elements Formation before entering with Little Peng.
After a brief inspection of Space, he took Little Peng to a place far from the poisonous creatures before starting to read the Jade Scrolls.
Time passed quietly. In the eighty-fold time acceleration of Space, he spent over twenty days inside, equivalent to just one day outside. Every twenty days, he would come out to eat something and have a cup of Spirit Tea.
In this manner, he completed reading and comprehending all the Jade Scrolls in a little over three years, while only half a month passed in the outside world.
Having spent three years in Space, Little Peng had grown significantly. Its originally yellow fur had turned into a dull gray plumage, losing the adorable charm it once had.
Wang Hong couldn't help but wonder why his Spirit Pet was getting uglier despite the common belief that Spirit Pets become more majestic as they grow. Nevertheless, despite its appearance, Little Peng had grown rapidly due to regularly consuming Wang Hong's refined elixirs. Even though not yet an adult, it already possessed the strength of a middle-tier Spirit Beast.
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