The third-tier Spiritual Herb covered an area of ten mu. Since it was difficult to move the pond where the Ink Jade Spirit Lotus was planted, Wang Hong decided to transplant the other third-tier Spiritual Objects around the pond.
The third-tier classification included Spiritual Herbs that had reached a certain age and growth, even if they were currently only at the first or second tier. For example, the Scarlet Blood Ginseng could reach the third tier if it grew for more than a thousand years, making it suitable for Golden Core cultivators.
So far, Wang Hong's Space hadn't produced any thousand-year Spiritual Herbs, but it was getting close. The earliest batch he planted had already been growing for over nine hundred years.
Apart from the Scarlet Blood Ginseng, there was also the mutated Astragalus, which was approaching a thousand years in age and could also be classified as a third-tier herb.
Unfortunately, there were only two mutated Jade Marrow Mushroom plants, and both had been used up. Now there were only some seedlings left.
There were also a few Fo-Ti Roots that were nearing a thousand years, but they hadn't mutated and could only be considered ordinary Medicinal Herbs.
Back in the day, there was a secular legend that claimed a thousand-year-old Fo-Ti Root could grant immortality. It had been over nine hundred years now, but there were no signs of it turning into a human form.
It wouldn't suddenly transform into a human when it reached a thousand years, right? It was probably just a way to fulfill the worldly people's desire for immortality.
Since it didn't take up much space, Wang Hong didn't remove it and left it in the Space.
Speaking of which, the Spirit Grain and Spirit Wheat he planted in his Space were also approaching a thousand years. After two mutations, they were slightly better than ordinary second-tier herbs but hadn't reached the third tier.
In the third-tier area, there were also the Golden Ironwood trees that had been exchanged before, but they were still only at the second tier.
The Green Spirit Peach trees had also been moved to the third-tier area. Wang Hong hadn't seen mature Green Spirit Peaches yet, so he didn't know their growth limit.
The first batch of three peaches that grew on the tree had one eaten by him. The remaining two had grown larger and were probably already at the second tier. However, they hadn't matured yet, and he estimated that they would reach the third tier when they did.
Now, dozens of small Green Spirit Peaches had grown on the tree, only the size of a finger and covered in fuzz.
The Azure Spirit Peach Tree saplings he bred earlier were already over three feet tall and occupied three mu of land.
Once these Azure Spirit Peach Trees grew, he wouldn't have to worry about cultivating his subordinates anymore. They could directly improve their small Realms, which was quite remarkable.
The small green branch he planted in the Space had been there for over two hundred years. Finally, it sprouted some tiny roots and had a tender green bud on top.
Although it clearly looked like more than a third-tier plant, Wang Hong still transplanted it to the third-tier area.
It took Wang Hong over two months to organize everything in his Space, and now it looked neat and comfortable.
A few days later, Wang Hong's Elder Brother and Zhang Chunfeng, the newly promoted Foundation Building Disciples, left the sect and began their own cultivation journeys.
Wang Hong continued his cultivation, adding dozens of drops of Spiritual Power to his dantian sea every day. Thanks to the pills and various Spirit Meals he consumed, his accumulation of Spiritual Power was not slow and even faster than most cultivators at the same tier.
However, due to the larger size of his dantian sea, his Realm advancement was not fast.
In addition to his daily cultivation, he continued to study Runes and talisman making. Although he couldn't refine second-tier talismans in the short term, it would be worthwhile in the long run.
Occasionally, Wang Hong would take some time to refine a furnace of pills. He was now able to refine thirty portions of materials simultaneously, with a pill success rate of 80%. Each furnace could produce over two hundred pills.
He didn't know if the Ma Brothers had mastered the method of refining multiple portions of materials in one furnace.
Now that Zhang Chunfeng was gone, he had lost someone who used to help him with alchemy. He needed to refine more pills to ensure the sales of the Immortal Path Trading Alliance.
He had harvested all the mature materials for the five-acre Nourishing Essence Pill, and after properly preparing the main and auxiliary ingredients, he had about five hundred portions of materials. He replanted them in the original land.
With this batch of spiritual herbs as a foundation, he temporarily didn't lack spiritual herbs for the Nourishing Essence Pill. He still remembered that last time he went to the pharmacy to buy spiritual herbs for the Nourishing Essence Pill, he had to wait in line for several months, and there was also a quantity limit.
Wang Hong was not proficient in refining the Nourishing Essence Pill, and he only had five hundred portions of spiritual herbs. It would take several more years for the next batch to mature. Therefore, when refining the Nourishing Essence Pill, he could only refine one portion per furnace.
After a year, he had only refined a hundred furnaces of Nourishing Essence Pills, producing over three hundred pills, which was still not enough for his own use.
During this year, the strength of the Poisonous Bees he cultivated had improved a lot, with nearly half of them reaching the middle-grade of the first tier.
Under his intensive cultivation, the Bee Queen of the Poisonous Bees had already reached the upper-grade of the first tier.
After the improvement in strength, their reproductive capacity had decreased significantly. They used to lay three thousand eggs a day, but now they could only lay a thousand eggs.
This was a common problem among all species. The stronger the strength, the more difficult it was to reproduce offspring.
However, a thousand eggs were more than enough. He now controlled the population of the Poisonous Bees at around ten thousand.
After the improvement in strength, each Poisonous Bee consumed more venom nectar. The scale of the venomous flowers could only support this number.
Among these ten thousand Poisonous Bees, three thousand were worker bees responsible for collecting nectar and performing various miscellaneous tasks, while the remaining seven thousand were true combat drones.
Now, even if Wang Hong faced the siege of several cultivators of the same tier, he was confident that he would not be at a disadvantage with seven thousand Poisonous Bees.
After a year, it was time to contact Azure Void City again. This time, without Zhang Chunfeng's help, he had to go there himself.
Even if Zhang Chunfeng was here, he couldn't rely on him for everything. There were some things that he had to do himself.
For example, he had never met the new subordinates recruited by Liu Changsheng. Although Liu Changsheng was constrained by a Blood Contract and couldn't betray him, what about these new people? They had never seen each other before. Suddenly appearing, who knew if they could be trusted.
Even as the mastermind behind the force, it was necessary to occasionally show up and increase the loyalty of his subordinates, brushing up his presence.
Moreover, these new recruits were young, and their thoughts and awareness had not yet fully formed. They were still easily swayed.
Of course, he had no intention of harming these young boys and girls. He just hoped that the people he cultivated could be loyal to him in the future and would not easily betray him.
However, human hearts were often the most complex and unpredictable. Many people didn't even know how they would be in the future, so who could completely control them?
As for the assassination attempts by Shadow Kill, since he couldn't escape from it, he might as well face it head-on. He would consider it as a whetstone in his growth process.
However, it was still essential to make necessary preparations. He couldn't let the blade become dull from sharpening. He had to be fully prepared.
This time, he planned to bring Little Peng along. It had gained some strength now, but it had no combat experience, as seen from its previous encounter with Elder Brother.
He needed to let it gain some practical experience so that it could become his assistance in the future.
[Read at /shanefreak, and heartfelt thankyou for your support!]