After Wang Hong had finished sorting through the spoils of war, he searched the mountain cave once more. Besides the Spirit Spring, there were also some Spiritual Herbs growing nearby. However, these herbs had not matured yet, most likely devoured by the Yao Apes. He had some of these Spiritual Herbs in his Space, so he decided to leave them for future adventurers.
He then proceeded to explore several stone chambers in the cave. These chambers showed clear signs of human activity, indicating that someone had once lived here for cultivation. Judging by the marks, it seemed like a long time had passed since anyone had been here.
One of the chambers he entered appeared to be the long-term dwelling place of the Yao Apes. It emitted a foul odor, with various random items scattered inside. The most common item among them was a type of stone, hard and heavy, likely made from the same material as the stone clubs the Yao Apes used.
The stone club wielded by the Yao Apes was roughly carved from raw stone but could easily withstand his middle-grade Spiritual Weapon. There were only a few cracks on the club's surface. Wang Hong was unfamiliar with this material and decided to collect these stones to have them identified by a refining tool master later.
After gathering the stones, he noticed some miscellaneous ores on the ground, which he also collected. Additionally, there were a dozen or so pieces of Spirit Stone ore, which could potentially be split into over a thousand lower-grade Spirit Stones. It was unclear where the Yao Apes had obtained these. These wild and disorganized Demonic Beasts didn't trade with others and probably picked them up because of the rich Spirit Qi.
Wang Hong explored a few more stone chambers, but there was nothing else of value. One chamber contained scattered human bones and a few deteriorated and worthless Spiritual Weapons.
Now, the exit was blocked by a formation set up by Zhu Yan. To leave, Wang Hong had to break it with brute force. He once again summoned the Golden Seal and struck it towards the formation. The formation emitted a bright light but easily withstood the Golden Seal's attack.
It seemed he would have to gradually deplete the Spiritual Energy within the formation. Once the energy was exhausted, the formation would collapse. Wang Hong released five thousand Poisonous Bees to slowly wear it down. Since the Poisonous Bees numbered in the thousands and possessed tremendous strength, they were more effective than Wang Hong himself.
Stuck again by the formation, he realized that after returning to the sect, he should consider studying formation techniques. Fortunately, he had his Space, which would allow him to have over a hundred times more time for learning.
The Poisonous Bees relentlessly hammered the formation while Wang Hong rested and recovered on the side. Despite having a top-grade Spiritual Weapon armor for protection during his battle with the Yao Apes, his injuries were still quite significant. The Yao Apes, being second-tier top-grade Demonic Beasts, were equally powerful, and the strikes from their stone clubs had been painful.
After an hour of relentless effort from the Poisonous Bees, they finally depleted the Spiritual Energy within the formation. As the formation dissipated, Wang Hong noticed three array plates arranged in the shape of the character "" on the ground. There were Rune inscriptions etched on the ground, and Wang Hong could only understand a few of them.
Wang Hong collected the three array plates and left the mountain cave. After exiting the small cave, he looked around outside and picked a few mature second-tier Spiritual Herbs before leaving this peculiar little space.
Upon returning to Boundary City and his own residence, Wang Hong was visited by Ling Shuai. His daughter, who had congenital deficiencies, had shown significant improvement after nearly a year of care. Though still far from a normal infant's condition, at least her life was no longer in immediate danger of premature death.
"Hello!" Ling Shuai greeted Wang Hong while holding his little daughter, who was now starting to speak but accidentally called him "h h" instead of uncle.
The little girl was in the stage of babbling, and due to her frail health, she was much quieter than other children her age. Her complexion was pale.
"Xiao Ling Xue, come here, 'h h' will hold you!" Wang Hong extended his arms toward the little girl, signaling that he wanted to hold her.
Since Xiao Ling Xue had visited Wang Hong with Ling Shuai several times before, she was already somewhat familiar with him. She reached out her tiny arms to Wang Hong without hesitation.
Wang Hong gently picked up the little girl and gave her a soft, juicy spirit fruit. Even with her baby teeth, she could manage to bite into it.
"Thank you, 'h h'!" The little girl expressed her gratitude and then used both hands to feed herself the spirit fruit.
Having two Spiritual Roots, and regularly consuming the Spirit Meals prepared by Wang Hong, she had managed to naturally reach the first level of Qi Cultivation despite her weak constitution at such a young age. This was an exceptional talent.
Behind this achievement was Ling Shuai's relentless effort to nurture her health.
After playing with Xiao Ling Xue for a while, Wang Hong handed her back to Ling Shuai and said, "You can play here for a while. 'h h' will prepare something delicious for you."
Wang Hong had been away for a few days and hadn't prepared her food in advance, so they would have to wait for a while.
In the kitchen, Wang Hong began to work. With Ling Shuai's improving health, he had adjusted the Spirit Meal recipe multiple times. Initially, he had provided her with very mild Spirit Meals due to her fragile condition, but now that her constitution had improved, he could use more potent Spirit Meals to accelerate her recovery.
After over an hour of busy cooking, Wang Hong returned with a porcelain jar in hand.
"Here you go, this should last for ten days." Wang Hong handed the jar to Ling Shuai.
Ling Shuai accepted it and then gave Wang Hong a Storage Bag containing his payment. To support Xiao Ling Xue's treatment, Ling Shuai had to search for various Spiritual Objects and provide compensation to Wang Hong. This year had taken a toll on his finances, and he had even sold his own cultivation resources.
While Wang Hong had offered him a discount, charging only for the cost of materials, it had still been a considerable expense over time.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Wang!" Ling Shuai expressed his gratitude. Without Wang Hong's help, he wouldn't have been able to continue.
He was truly thankful for Wang Hong's assistance, but his financial situation was dire, and he couldn't repay Wang Hong properly at the moment. He could only keep this favor in mind and hope to repay it in the future.
"No need to be so polite, Fellow Daoist Ling. It was just a small effort." Wang Hong waved it off.
After bidding farewell to Ling Shuai and his daughter, Wang Hong left his home. He intended to consult a refining tool master about the materials he had found among the stones and whether they could be used for refining tools.
He made his way to the Thousand Crafts Pavilion, finding it effortlessly. Once you became familiar with a place, it became your first choice for similar matters, even if it had its shortcomings.
He located the middle-aged Cultivator he had approached last time, and the Cultivator was more than willing to assist Wang Hong with his inquiries.
[Read at /shanefreak, and heartfelt thankyou for your support!]