His spatial realm now covered seventy-five acres, with time inside flowing at a rate of one hundred and four times that of the outside world.
The spiritual herbs produced within his spatial realm were more than enough to sustain himself, and the surplus supplied over forty of his subordinates. Especially the lower-tier spiritual herbs matured in two to three decades, yielding multiple harvests each year.
The spatial realm continued to expand, ensuring an increasing abundance of spiritual herbs. Similar to his second-tier spiritual wine, which piled up within the spatial realm, he couldn't consume all of it himself, and selling it proved challenging.
Leaving the land in the spatial realm barren was not an option, and he currently lacked the strength to expand the Immortal Way Trading Company's supply scale.
Even at the present scale, combined with his shop's income, he amassed over a million annually after deducting expenses. Yet, all the surplus found its way into his spatial realm.
However, the Spirit Stones earned this time were invested in Liu Changsheng. Establishing influence wasn't easy; substantial upfront investments were necessary, with no immediate returns, requiring continuous reinvestment.
After spending several days handling various affairs in Azure Void City, Wang Hong's elder brother and his group had returned to the sect two days ago. Now, Wang Hong was on his way back alone.
Wang Hong piloted a flying magical weapon, steadily heading towards the sect. When he reached the top of a mountain, a black light suddenly shot from below, aiming directly at his forehead.
In the urgency of the moment, without much thought, he summoned a middle-grade spiritual weapon, the Golden Light Bowl.
Before the Golden Light Bowl could transform, it collided head-on with the black light.
With a resounding "bang," the black light shattered and dispersed. The Golden Light Bowl tumbled a few times but remained undamaged.
"Hehe! Unexpected for a mere Qi Cultivation cultivator to possess a middle-grade defensive spiritual weapon."
A cultivator in a black robe emerged from the mountain below, wielding a black bow. If Wang Hong's elder brother were present, he would recognize him as the Foundation Building third-level cultivator who had previously ambushed them.
When they destroyed the Shadow Kill hideout, a dozen or so individuals outside were fortunate enough to escape. This assassin was one of those lucky ones, having hidden himself after the hideout was destroyed.
His luck continued as he noticed Wang Hong leaving the city alone. Having previously undertaken the assassination mission from Number 107, he had failed and faced punishment from Xing Steward. With Xing Steward now killed, he had managed to survive.
Having taken on Number 107's mission, he knew some details about the target, Number 106. Seeing Wang Hong leave the city, he silently followed, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Although the hideout had been destroyed, and everyone had gone into hiding, it wouldn't be long before the headquarters sent more people. Seizing this chance to earn some merit, he could make a name for himself in front of the newly appointed overseer.
Despite having a higher cultivation level than Wang Hong, adhering to the assassin's professional habits, he chose to ambush.
Wang Hong waved, holding the Golden Light Bowl in his hand, coldly staring at the black-clothed individual.
He hadn't expected someone to attempt an assassination so soon, especially a Foundation Building third-level cultivator.
Turning his flying magical weapon, he retreated. Though he possessed the strength to fight, fleeing suited his identity as a Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer cultivator.
Despite being two small realms above him, his dantian's sea was broader. In a real fight, it should be an evenly matched battle. If he could incapacitate his opponent and seize victory when they least expected it, it would be even better.
"Hahaha! You think you can escape?" With these words, he held the black bow and slowly drew it, gathering Spiritual Power on the bow, forming a black arrow.
Then, the black arrow shot from the bow, heading towards Wang Hong from behind.
Wang Hong held the Golden Light Bowl, infused it with a bit of Spiritual Power, causing it to enlarge slightly. It appeared as if the Spiritual Energy was insufficient, unable to activate.
When the black light arrow was about to reach him from behind, he held the Golden Light Bowl, directly blocking the attack.
The collision between the black arrow and the Golden Light Bowl created a powerful shock, but for Wang Hong, a body-refining cultivator, it was nothing.
Nevertheless, he feigned a struggle, almost letting the Golden Light Bowl slip from his hand, appearing unstable.
"Hahaha! Take another arrow!" He shot another arrow, and Wang Hong barely managed to catch it with the Golden Light Bowl.
The opponent continued to shoot several arrows in succession. Although Wang Hong seemed to struggle, he still managed to intercept every arrow.
Infuriated, the black-clothed assassin put away the black bow, summoned a flying sword, and slashed towards Wang Hong.
Wang Hong maneuvered his flying magical weapon, dodging left and right, occasionally using the Golden Light Bowl to barely block the incoming flying sword.
Unnoticed, the distance between them closed to about six yards.
Suddenly, Wang Hong flashed, and in an instant, he and his flying magical weapon appeared in front of the black-clothed assassin.
This was his Dragon Serpent Escape technique, cultivated based on shifting positions. In the air, it allowed him to move quickly within a range of about seven yards.
Once close, without giving the opponent a chance to retreat, Wang Hong directly used the Golden Light Bowl as a weapon, smashing it towards the black-clothed cultivator.
In close combat, a body-refining cultivator was invincible among peers.
The Golden Light Bowl carried Wang Hong's immense strength, slamming down on the black-clothed cultivator. Upon contact, the black-clothed cultivator's arm shattered from the tremendous force.
With a "snap," the black-clothed cultivator was slapped to the ground by the colossal force from the air.
Upon landing, the black-clothed cultivator lost his human shape, turning into a messy lump of flesh.
Wang Hong surveyed the surroundings, finding no other individuals or traps. He descended to the ground.
Picking up the black-clothed cultivator's fallen Flying Sword, a low-tier Spiritual Weapon, Wang Hong didn't want to dirty his hands. He found a nearby branch and used it to separate the messy pile of flesh.
After rummaging for a while, he picked up a Storage Bag.
Shaking off the flesh on the Storage Bag, he cleaned it several times with some cleansing techniques.
Only then did he open the Storage Bag, using his Divine Sense to inspect its contents, revealing a satisfied expression.
Wang Hong released the Spirit Fire obtained from his cultivation of the "Wood-Fire Incineration Technique." After some time of nurturing, the tiny flame had grown to be five times its initial size, now as large as five embroidery needles combined.
The small flame stood in Wang Hong's palm, continuously flickering.
Then he pointed towards the messy pile of flesh on the ground, and the flame leaped onto it.
With a "puff," the messy flesh instantly ignited into a raging fire.
The fire was fierce, and in just a moment, the pile of flesh turned into flying ashes.
This was the first time he had released the tiny flame, and it seemed to have formidable power.
After the fire subsided, a small, inconspicuous flame hovered above the remains.
Wang Hong retracted the flame and once again piloted his flying magical weapon, leaving the scene.
[Read at /shanefreak, and heartfelt thankyou for your support!]