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Wang Hong carefully compared the situations of various major sects. Although the tasks required by each sect were somewhat different, the other regulations were almost the same.
With the Spiritual Medicine resources he had on hand, he could directly join the Qingxu Sect and Putuo Temple.
Both of these sects required only Spiritual Medicine, with no other demands, and Wang Hong happened to have all these items.
Originally, he planned to join the Taihao Sect. After all, his younger brother was still there. It had been so many years without any news; he wondered how the kid was doing. How was his life?
Now he knew that his younger brother's aptitude was extraordinary, and he believed that he must be doing well in the Taihao Sect.
However, his desire to join the Taihao Sect was not solely to seek refuge in the genius of the sect. He only wanted to reunite with his brother and be content with that.
Now, he hesitated a bit. He already had the Spiritual Medicine needed for the Taihao Sect's mission, which meant he had completed half of it. Hunting ten Tier-One high-grade Demonic Beasts alone should also be achievable.
His main concern was that the Taihao Sect was too far from Azure Void City. With his current strength, it would take half a year to get there, and a round trip would consume a year.
His assets were in Azure Void City, which he had spent several years building. It was the foundation for his future development, something he couldn't simply abandon.
His aptitude was too poor; today's cultivation level relied entirely on Space. Maintaining Space required a considerable amount of Spirit Stone, and relying on the sect's allocation of Spirit Stone would limit him to Qi Cultivation for the rest of his life.
Moreover, the crucial point was that the Taihao Sect was a sword cultivation sect, emphasizing having no attachments and using only a sword. Wang Hong felt that this philosophy did not align with his own.
His belief was that as long as one could defeat the enemy, even using one's teeth was acceptable.
In his view, humans were the spirits of heaven and earth, and all things could be used for him. Humans were the masters of all things, and everything could be used for him. How could he be confined to just one sword?
After careful consideration, Wang Hong ultimately decided not to go to the Taihao Sect.
At the moment, he was just a small ant in the Cultivation World, a character that others could easily crush with a casual gesture. Strengthening his power should be his primary goal for now.
Anyway, with strength in the future, there would be plenty of opportunities to meet.
Once Foundation Building was successful, it wouldn't take much time to run to the Taihao Sect using the Flying Sword.
He could directly join two sects: the Qingxu Sect and Putuo Temple.
The Qingxu Sect was closest to Azure Void City, in the same mountain range. With the speed of Qi Cultivation, it would take only seven days to reach. Going once or twice a year wouldn't take much time.
Moreover, the Qingxu Sect excelled in Alchemy, and his current Alchemy skills were enough to establish himself there.
As for Putuo Temple, it was on the eastern side of Dongzhou, quite far away. Also, Wang Hong had little interest in becoming a Buddhist cultivator.
The best choice for now was the Qingxu Sect.
Since he decided to go to the Qingxu Sect, he didn't linger. He had many things to do.
Firstly, he returned to his residence and summoned Zhang Chunfeng.
"I will join the Qingxu Sect. Are you willing to join me in joining the Qingxu Sect, or do you want to stay in Azure Void City? I want to hear your thoughts."
Among his forty-plus subordinates, only Zhang Chunfeng had the strength to join a sect.
Although He Yuan had sufficient cultivation level, the formal disciples of major sects could not exceed fifty years old.
He was already beyond that age, so at most, he could become a registered disciple. Due to his age, he would never have the opportunity to become a formal disciple.
For He Yuan, who was dedicated to the Dao, staying in Azure Void City to help Wang Hong manage his industries, having more time for cultivation, was a more profitable choice.
After some thought, Zhang Chunfeng said, "I am willing to follow the general and be a errand boy by your side."
Wang Hong thought for a moment and felt that having an assistant by his side wouldn't be bad.
"Good, but in the sect, we should address each other as senior and junior. Don't disclose our situation in Azure Void City to outsiders."
Wang Hong took out a list of required Spiritual Medicine for entry into the Qingxu Sect from his Space and handed it to Zhang Chunfeng, asking him to wait for the right time to submit the task.
According to past experience, it takes at least seven days for someone to return after completing the mission.
At this moment, a large group of cultivators should have just arrived at the Black Dragon Marsh, preparing to wreak havoc.
If he rashly goes to submit the mission now, it will raise suspicions.
Furthermore, with so many Spiritual Medicines needed for these tasks in his hands, he naturally wants to take the opportunity to make a big profit.
But it's still too early to make a move. He needs to wait until people start returning and then release the Spiritual Medicines.
At that time, many cultivators will offer extra Spiritual Medicines, exchanging or buying the ones they lack. Wang Hong's Spiritual Medicines can blend in, and no one will notice anything unusual.
Wang Hong found Luo Zhongjie and instructed him to take over from Zhang Chunfeng. He would now be responsible for the daily training of soldiers and commanding during wartime.
Luo Zhongjie, who had been following Wang Hong for many years, was a more reliable choice.
Since there were still several days left, Wang Hong decided to immerse himself in Alchemy in his quiet room.
After a few days, Wang Hong emerged from the quiet room with hundreds more Elixirs in his Storage Bag.
He handed dozens of Spiritual Medicines to Luo Zhongjie, instructing him to distribute them to the soldiers, selling a few to various places, with each person only offering one or two.
Wang Hong changed his appearance and went to various places, offering the Spiritual Medicines needed for the tasks.
However, Wang Hong didn't recklessly sell Spiritual Medicines. Apart from the Qingxu Sect, he sold only two sets to each sect, earning more than three hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
He didn't sell the Spiritual Medicines needed for Qingxu Sect's mission because he had only planted two or three of each type at that time. He and Zhang Chunfeng used two sets, and he decided to keep the remaining set, perhaps for future use.
With a substantial amount of Spirit Stones, he could finally buy a house.
He had set his eyes on a courtyard earlier, but the asking price was 600,000 Spirit Stones, and he hadn't been quite well off.
Now, with these three hundred thousand, along with the Spirit Stones he had saved before, he already had 550,000 Spirit Stones, only lacking 50,000.
After some thought, Wang Hong decided to complete the sect mission first. Just in case he missed the timing and lost out on a larger opportunity.
Zhang Chunfeng had already submitted the mission a day ago, and by then, ten people had already completed the Qingxu Sect's task.
When Wang Hong returned to the main square in front of the city lord's mansion, tables were already set up under each large Light Screen, each with two sect cultivators guarding them.
Each Light Screen displayed the number of people who had completed the task. Under the Qingxu Sect's Light Screen, it showed that thirty-five people had completed the task, and they had already recruited ninety registered disciples.
Wang Hong walked directly to the Qingxu Sect's Light Screen, behind which sat a middle-aged cultivator with fair skin, slightly squinted eyes, dressed in a purple Daoist robe with the Qingxu Sect emblem embroidered in gold on the cuffs and collar, depicting a cauldron and cloud patterns.
Behind the middle-aged cultivator stood a young man in black Daoist robe, with red-thread embroidered cauldron and cloud patterns on the cuffs and collar.
"Elder, I've come to submit the task items," Wang Hong said, taking out fifty-eight Jade Boxes from his Storage Bag and placing them on the table one by one.
As Qingxu Sect primarily focused on the art of Alchemy, the Entry-level Mission listed eighty types of Spiritual Medicine. As long as one could submit fifty-eight of them, they could join the sect.
Qingxu Sect also had special treatment for Alchemists. If the success rate of concocting a Tier-One Elixir reached fifty percent, one could directly become a formal disciple.
Wang Hong planned to gradually showcase his Alchemy skills after entering the sect, so he chose to submit Spiritual Medicines for now.
The middle-aged cultivator in the purple robe glanced at the Spiritual Medicines on the table and nodded.
The young cultivator in black immediately stepped forward.
"Congratulations, junior brother, on becoming a Qingxu Sect cultivator. Please test your Spiritual Roots first."
The young man pointed to a Spiritual Testing Disk on the table, indicating for Wang Hong to place his hand on it.
"Hmm, four Spiritual Roots!"
The young man was a bit surprised. It wasn't uncommon for cultivators with four Spiritual Roots to complete tasks and enter the sect, but someone so young was the first.
The young man took out a booklet, asked Wang Hong for his name and other information, and recorded everything.
He gave Wang Hong a Wooden Plaque as a token and instructed him to leave for now. Half a month later, he should return to the same place with the token.
Wang Hong took the Wooden Plaque and left.
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