Old Taoist, with a few casual moves just now, flowed effortlessly, displaying a graceful and leisurely posture. The key was that Wang Hong felt like he got the short end of the stick, being deceived by this dry and stoic Old Daoist.
He had been thinking of coaxing Old Daoist into becoming his bodyguard, but reality made him realize that if the sly fox didn't sell him out, he should be thankful.
"This kind of child's play, do you think it's complicated? The Five Elements include generation, restraint, surplus, insulate, and various changes. Your little formation only utilizes the generation principle, barely tapping into the restraint principle. I helped you improve on that aspect."
"What about its power now?" Wang Hong was somewhat convinced. After all, a Golden Core expert's intervention was bound to be extraordinary.
"You can try it yourself."
"But my original formation could still trap me."
"Then find a Foundation Building Disciple to help you test it."
"Forget it, where do I find one? Can this even stop a Golden Core cultivator?"
"Get lost! With your broken thing, you think you can stop a Golden Core cultivator? Do you think their centuries of cultivation are wasted on a dog like you?" Old Taoist nearly kicked him out.
"Calm down. Although this formation is shabby, it has been modified by a master like you. It should have some miraculous effects."
Old Taoist seemed in a better mood, pulling at his oil-stained robe, making himself appear more like a venerable Golden Core expert.
"It can't exactly block, but if a Golden Core cultivator wants to sneak in silently, it's impossible."
At this point, Old Taoist seemed to suddenly think of something, giving Wang Hong a meaningful look.
Wang Hong felt a bit awkward. After all, he had asked someone to help set up a formation specifically to hinder others. It seemed a bit unfair.
However, despite the twists and turns, the final result was satisfactory.
To express his apology, Wang Hong gave Old Taoist a 200-year-old mutated Astragalus to make soup.
He claimed to have picked it in the secret realm and kept a few small ones for himself.
After Old Taoist left, he could finally focus on enhancing his strength without worries.
His cultivation had two directions: Qi Cultivation and Body Refining.
In previous battles in the secret realm, he mainly relied on agile movements, swiftly closing in for close combat.
Typically, once a cultivator of the same tier was approached by a body cultivator, their frail bodies couldn't withstand a single blow.
Thus, facing a group of enemies in the secret realm, he would charge directly into their midst, and his Long Spear made short work of them.
However, lately, his progress in body cultivation seemed to have hit a bottleneck.
He had previously consumed a seed from the demon-hunting tree, feeling its excellent effects. Unfortunately, the demon-hunting tree he planted had yet to bear fruit.
Remembering he had the formula for a Golden Body Pill, he hadn't switched because the effects of the Body Refining Pill were still decent.
The main herb for the Golden Body Pill is the nine-leaf golden thread grass, and Wang Hong has planted many in his spatial storage. The refinement of the Golden Body Pill requires the herb to be at least 150 years old, and many of the ones he planted have already reached 400 years.
The Golden Body Pill is positioned between the first and second tier elixirs, making it more challenging than the previous first-tier elixir he refined.
Entering the spatial storage, Wang Hong harvested some 150-year-old nine-leaf golden thread grass and other supplementary spiritual herbs. Since it's just practice, there's no need to use too high-quality spiritual herbs and waste them.
Wang Hong settled Little Peng in the courtyard to play, confident that the formation would keep it safe. Sitting beside his massive alchemy furnace, Wang Hong arranged the processed spiritual herbs skillfully, warming the furnace, and adding the herbs...
After a while, black smoke emerged from the alchemy room, accompanied by a burnt smell. The first furnace of elixir was indeed a failure.
The second furnace, also a failure.
The third furnace produced two Golden Body Pills, shiny white with golden patterns on them.
Taking advantage of his practiced hands, he continued refining ten more Golden Body Pills. Only two furnaces were complete failures, while the rest yielded one to three pills. In total, he obtained twelve Golden Body Pills, with a comprehensive pill success rate of ten percent.
After feeding Little Peng, he immersed himself in the cultivation room, eager to test the effects of the Golden Body Pill.
Cross-legged, he ingested a Golden Body Pill. Instead of instantly dissolving in his mouth, it remained intact. Stretching his neck, he swallowed it whole, and it slid into his stomach.
Luckily, the elixir was only the size of a thumb. If it were any bigger, it could have choked him.
The Golden Body Pill, enveloped by spiritual energy, slowly broke down into a unique, faintly golden spiritual energy. This energy, as his cultivation technique operated, gradually infused into his limbs, imparting a subtle golden hue. As the golden spiritual energy depleted, the color gradually faded.
After refining one Golden Body Pill, he stood up and felt an increase of around thirty kilograms in strength. His body's durability should have also improved.
Comparing it to the Body Refining Pill, the Golden Body Pill was much more effective. He used to consume three Body Refining Pills a day, and their combined effects were not as good as a single Golden Body Pill.
Wang Hong took two more Golden Body Pills in succession, feeling that he had reached the limit of the number he could ingest. In total, his strength increased by about one hundred kilograms.
At this rate, as long as he persisted in taking three Golden Body Pills daily, he could gain over thirty thousand kilograms of strength in a year. In just a year, he should have around one hundred thousand kilograms of strength.
Any magical or spiritual weapon had a limit of endurance. With enough strength, any defense could be broken. Moreover, body refining was not as conspicuous as spiritual energy cultivation; others couldn't easily discern your strength.
Thinking about this, Wang Hong couldn't help but burst into silly laughter in the cultivation room.
Exiting the room, he fed Little Peng and himself, body cultivators being particularly hearty eaters. The more strength he gained, the more he ate, as this strength wasn't generated out of thin air.
In the following days, he refined several furnaces of Golden Body Pills each day. Although he couldn't consume them all, it helped improve his alchemy skills.
With continuous practice, his overall pill success rate for refining Golden Body Pills reached thirty percent. Simultaneously, his storage bag was now filled with numerous Golden Body Pills. Since it wasn't easy to sell them, he decided to keep them for his subordinates to enhance their strength.
A powerful organization required a strong overall strength, and as the biggest beneficiary of this organization, Wang Hong naturally needed to take more care.
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