Wang Hong initially thought that having a Foundation Building cultivator serve for twenty years would be sufficient. Given He Yuan's aptitude, two Foundation Establishment Pills should be enough.
Since He Yuan volunteered to serve for thirty years, then so be it.
Thirty years later, if He Yuan's performance was satisfactory, Wang Hong could offer other items in exchange.
"Alright, I can help you achieve Foundation Building, and in return, you'll serve me for another thirty years."
"Thank you, East Master! I am willing to go through fire and water for East Master, not hesitating to die ten thousand deaths!"
He Yuan bowed deeply, a gesture he hadn't shown Wang Hong before.
"That's enough, no need for excessive courtesy! Here are two Foundation Establishment Pills; take them first. If the two pills are unsuccessful, I will provide you with more later."
Wang Hong took out a jade vial from his Storage Bag and handed it to He Yuan.
At the same time, he inscribed a Jade Scroll, detailing his understanding and experiences with Foundation Building. Wang Hong believed his Foundation Building experience might be considered a bit of a failure, but any guidance for He Yuan would be better than none.
"Alright, you may leave. Also, bring the Ma Brothers here."
He Yuan bowed again before leaving.
After a moment, the Ma Brothers entered from outside.
"Ma Zhong, Ma Yi pays respects to East Master!"
"Congratulations to East Master for greatly advancing your strength and successfully plotting against formidable enemies."
They had heard about Wang Hong using a poison pit to kill a Foundation Building cultivator and wanted to praise him.
"Look at you two, your flattery skills have regressed. You're patting the horse's leg instead of its back. Have some self-awareness," Wang Hong scolded with a laugh.
Not many cultivators liked to publicize using poison pits, and some even hoped to use the technique again in the future. By boasting about it, it might be misconstrued as a subtle mockery.
"How is your Alchemy proficiency now?"
"East Master, our Pill Success Rate in Alchemy has reached eighty percent. Additionally, we are researching the technique of refining multiple materials in a single furnace."
With ample materials for refinement in their daily lives, their Alchemy skills had progressed rapidly. Having an eighty percent Pill Success Rate in a tier-one Alchemist was already considered top-notch.
"Not bad. How about your grasp of the method to refine multiple materials in a furnace?"
"We've started experimenting with it, but unfortunately, all attempts have failed," the two replied somewhat disheartened.
"It's okay to fail. Everyone in Alchemy wastes some materials at the beginning. If you master this skill, I can reward you with Foundation Establishment Pills."
Among Wang Hong's subordinates, aside from He Yuan and Zhang Chunfeng, the Ma Brothers had the highest cultivation levels. Wang Hong believed that with Foundation Establishment Pills, he could cultivate more Foundation Building cultivators. Having just given away two pills, Zhang Chunfeng still had three, and he could exchange his Sect contribution points for three more.
Apart from the Ma Brothers, the one with a higher cultivation level was Skinny Monkey, but he was still at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation, a step away from Foundation Building.
Upon hearing the chance to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills, the Ma Brothers were overjoyed.
"Thank you for your kindness, East Master. We will surely grasp it soon and make sure to satisfy you."
After guiding them in some Alchemy techniques, Wang Hong let them leave.
Later, Wang Hong met separately with Wen Lan, Luo Zhongjie, Xu Lun, and others.
Despite their current lower cultivation levels, they were efficient in their respective responsibilities. Having been with Wang Hong for many years, their loyalty was irreplaceable, something Wang Hong valued greatly. When conditions were right, he planned to allocate more resources to cultivate them to Foundation Building, granting them two hundred years of lifespan as a reward for their loyalty.
With an abundance of Spiritual Herbs in his Space, Wang Hong couldn't imagine how many Foundation Establishment Pills he could refine when the time came. Instead of hoarding them in the Space, he intended to use them on his subordinates, easily cultivating dozens of Foundation Building cultivators.
During this period, they discreetly purchased many Demonic Beast corpses in Azure Void City, all of which were now handed over to Wang Hong.
With these Demonic Beast corpses, the demon-hunting tree could produce numerous seeds. Wang Hong could then refine a large quantity of Essence Core Pills. Consuming one Essence Core Pill could increase strength by a hundred pounds, a treasure for body cultivators. Taking one daily would result in an increase of over thirty thousand pounds of strength in a year.
Wang Hong stayed in the residence for three days, engaging in conversations with each of his subordinates and joining them for meals and drinks daily.
Three days later, Wang Hong sought out Liu Changsheng again.
"Keep an eye out for these materials in your daily observations. If you find them, buy them for me regardless of cost."
Wang Hong handed Liu Changsheng a Jade Scroll containing a list of Spiritual Herbs and refining tool materials needed for his cultivation techniques and Foundation Pill refinement. These were relatively rare, and even after searching many stores, he couldn't find them. Fortunately, he had collected some in a secret realm, enough to complete most of the requirements.
The refining tool materials were for a heavier Spiritual Weapon he intended to refine for melee combat. With his current strength of a hundred thousand pounds, wielding a few-thousand-pound Magical Weapon felt like holding straw.
Liu Changsheng examined the list and said, "East Master, the items you need are rare and hard to find in ordinary shops. You may only encounter them at trading conferences for Foundation Building cultivators or auctions specifically for high-tier cultivators."
Being over a hundred years old, Liu Changsheng was well-versed in these matters, which was why Wang Hong sought him out.
"Just keep an eye out in the future. If you find them, buy them at any cost. If not, there's no rush," Wang Hong said, understanding the difficulty of finding these items.
He also left a list for his subordinates in the residence, but with mostly Qi Cultivation disciples, he didn't expect them to have many opportunities to access high-tier items.
"East Master, I heard about a small Foundation Building cultivators' trading conference happening tomorrow. If you're interested, you can personally go and take a look."
Liu Changsheng suddenly remembered the event and suggested it to Wang Hong.
"Oh, a Foundation Building trading conference! When and where is it tomorrow?" Wang Hong was intrigued; he had never witnessed such an event before. He planned to change his appearance, wear the Misty Illusion Mask, and reveal his Foundation Building cultivation level, making it impossible for anyone to guess that he was just a Qi Cultivation cultivator.
[Read at /shanefreak, and heartfelt thankyou for your support!]