After two days of travel, the two finally reached their destination. Only a few demonic beast corpses remained on the ground, along with some Seven-star Mushrooms that were not yet mature.
Wang Hong dug up two young seedlings of Seven-star Mushroom and stored them away, intending to cultivate them on his own.
"Brother, when we leave the secret realm, we'll undergo inspection. Picking young seedlings in violation of the rules could lead to severe penalties, even the possible revocation of cultivation levels. Shall I help you carry them out?" Wang Yi suggested.
Wang Hong glanced at him with suspicion, "Do you have a way to deceive the Divine Sense inspection of a Golden Core cultivator? That doesn't sound like you."
These past few days, aside from his sword technique, Wang Yi hadn't demonstrated any other extraordinary skills. His sword was merely a high-grade Magical Weapon, and as a talented disciple of Taihao Sect, he didn't even have a single Spiritual Weapon.
Wang Yi had planned to equip Wang Hong with a complete set of Spiritual Weapons, preferably from head to toe, along with a Spiritual Weapon-grade Flying Sword. The strategy involved bombarding enemies with a heap of Talismans and, if necessary, throwing more.
Wang Yi admitted somewhat embarrassedly, "I don't have any means, but my cultivation progresses rapidly. Even if my cultivation level were severely damaged, I could recover in a few years."
"Smack!" Wang Hong slapped him on the back of his head.
"Is this how you use your Heavenly Spirit Root? Heavenly Spirit Root is heaven's favored child, destined to reach the pinnacle of this world. Can you afford to be reckless and jeopardize your future ?"
"Why are you hitting me again?" Wang Yi rubbed the back of his head. These days, Wang Hong always found excuses to spar with him, showcasing his power to break through myriad techniques with a single sword.
Each time, Wang Hong defeated him using various tactics, claiming it was to expose him to the diverse methods of the Cultivation World. Wang Yi felt frustrated because many of his sword moves were lethal, and he couldn't use them during these bouts. So, even though he consistently lost, he never truly accepted defeat.
"I haven't asked you yet. As a Heavenly Spirit Root, you don't even need Foundation Establishment Pills. Why did you come here? Do you know how dangerous it is?" Wang Hong was irritated at the thought of what could have happened if he hadn't arrived in time.
"I just came in to broaden my horizons." Seeing Wang Hong raising his hand again, Wang Yi fled in fear and took cover on the side.
After another round of scolding, Wang Hong picked up the demonic beast corpses and stored them in his spatial storage, ready to feed the demon-hunting tree.
Feeding the pig demon tree with flesh and blood in the spatial dimension had accelerated its growth, but it hadn't started bearing fruit yet.
After dealing with the demonic beast corpses, the two found a large rock to sit on casually.
"I saved something good for you, guaranteeing you've never tasted it before."
Saying this, Wang Hong brought out two sections of lotus roots, as white as jade, emitting an enticing fragrance. These were the Lotus Roots of the Ink Jade Spirit Lotus. He had kept them, waiting to eat them together with Wang Yi.
Sitting on a rock, each holding a section, they munched on the exceptionally crisp lotus roots. The moment it entered their stomachs, it transformed into pure Spiritual Energy, flowing into their meridians and dantian, causing a slight tingling sensation.
While Wang Hong ate and circulated his cultivation technique, he realized halfway that he was about to break through his cultivation realm again.
Hastily finishing the remaining half, he focused on circulating his technique. The lotus root inside him transformed into a majestic Spiritual Energy, swirling rapidly in his dantian. The Spiritual Energy from the lotus root merged gradually, making his dantian expand.
After three hours, he finally absorbed all the Spiritual Energy. His cultivation level had risen by another layer, reaching the ninth level of Qi Cultivation.
Opening his eyes slowly, Wang Hong noticed Wang Yi sitting nearby, looking somewhat uneasy and resembling someone struggling with constipation.
"What's wrong? Upset stomach? Constipated?" he asked.
"Brother! What kind of lotus root is this? The Spiritual Energy is so massive. I only ate a few bites, and I feel like I'm about to complete Foundation Building." Wang Yi said nervously. Inside the secret realm, the ancient formations could detect attacks once the strength reached Foundation Building, explaining why there were no high-tier demonic beasts despite the rich Spiritual Qi.
Wang Hong, scanning with Divine Sense, confirmed the surging Spiritual Energy within Wang Yi. He hadn't anticipated making such a big mistake. An idea struck him suddenly.
He took out a white crystal fruit and handed it to Wang Yi. He remembered that the first time he ate it, his cultivation level dropped by a layer.
Accepting the white crystal fruit with skepticism, Wang Yi had little choice but to give it a try.
When Wang Yi swallowed the white crystal fruit, with each revolution of his Spiritual Energy, it condensed and purified, appearing as if it had been concentrated.
After a few rounds, the effects of the white crystal fruit gradually diminished until it disappeared. Wang Yi felt slightly relieved.
"It works, but I only have one. We can endure for another two or three days at most."
Once a Heavenly Spirit Root cultivator entered the Qi Cultivation stage, a Spiritual Energy vortex formed in their dantian. Even without active cultivation, their body autonomously absorbed the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, leading to automatic growth in cultivation level.
This was the advantage of innate talent. Someone like Wang Hong, with four Spiritual Roots, couldn't match the independent absorption of Spiritual Qi by a Heavenly Spirit Root. Moreover, the cultivation process for those with four Spiritual Roots often encountered various bottlenecks.
Typically, a cultivator with four Spiritual Roots, without special opportunities, would, at most, reach the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation in their lifetime.
Hearing Wang Yi's confirmation, Wang Hong felt completely reassured. He had many white crystal fruits in his spatial storage.
Directly taking out several dozen, he handed them over. Wang Yi, probing with Divine Sense, revealed a pleasantly surprised expression.
He had been worried about Wang Hong's well-being, considering his lack of background and aptitude, making survival in the Cultivation World exceedingly difficult. However, this encounter completely changed his perspective. He discovered that his brother possessed formidable strength, having witnessed him effortlessly slay four cultivators. Furthermore, Wang Hong's wealth surpassed that of an ordinary cultivator by far.
Although Wang Yi was accepted as a disciple by a Golden Core cultivator, his master had multiple disciples, and there were direct blood relatives as well. Therefore, his resources were limited, and he had no other means of earning Spirit Stones.
"Brother, do you often kill people and loot treasures? Are all treasure-hunting cultivators so wealthy?" Wang Yi asked.
"Nonsense! Your brother is righteous, morally upright, always ready to help others, a role model for the Cultivation World. How could I possibly engage in such killing and looting?" Wang Hong replied with a serious expression.
"Younger Brother, in the Cultivation World, have you ever heard this saying?" Wang Hong asked mysteriously.
"Ten in tribulation is not as good as one selling Elixir."
Wang Yi pretended to suddenly comprehend and said, "Brother, are you working in someone's Elixir shop, profiting secretly? If they catch you, you might get your legs broken."
"Smack!" Wang Hong knocked on his head again.
"Can't you think of something positive? Your brother is now an Alchemist, you know? Do you understand how lucrative Elixirs are? It's incomparable to mere tribulation cultivators."
The two brothers bantered , revealing their true selves only in front of family.
Suddenly, thirty or so cultivators appeared ahead, eyeing them menacingly.
While Wang Yi contemplated whether to fight, Wang Hong grabbed him and ran.
Seeing them flee, the pursuing cultivators from behind gave chase.
Without looking back, Wang Hong directly threw a handful of Talismans behind. Although they were low-tier Talismans, the sheer quantity was overwhelming!
The two cultivators at the forefront were instantly engulfed in the radiant light of the Talismans. When the smoke cleared, the two cultivators were already dead, their bodies in pieces.
"How about that? Isn't it satisfying to kill enemies ?" Wang Hong continued to instill some of his beliefs in Wang Yi.
Seeing the gruesome fate of the pursuers, those from the rear no longer dared to step forward. Gradually, they distanced themselves from Wang Hong and Wang Yi until they disappeared.
It had been two months since they entered the secret realm. During this time, many cultivators stopped searching for Spiritual Herbs and formed groups of dozens to specifically hunt down other cultivators.
Because by now, finding Spiritual Herbs was no longer as easy as at the beginning. Relatively speaking, the profits from killing and looting were much greater.
In the following days, Wang Yi consumed dozens of white crystal fruits in succession. His internal Spiritual Energy became much purer. Although his cultivation realm, which had nearly dropped to the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation, was stabilized, his combat strength increased by at least two layers.
Not only did he control his cultivation realm, but with Wang Yi's aptitude, he would need at least half a year of further cultivation to reach the state where he could attempt Foundation Building again.
In the days that followed, they planned to join a large group, as it was too dangerous to continue on their own.
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