Zhao Ning and Luo Zhongjie, after a period of repeated practice of the "Body Refining Decision," made a crucial discovery. They found that, due to the lack of Spiritual Roots, practicing directly for two months yielded no progress. Subsequently, they tried the approach of using elixirs or other Spiritual Objects, similar to what Wang Hong did. While this method had some effect, the absorption of Spiritual Energy was highly inefficient, slow, and led to significant wastage.
It seemed that Spiritual Roots not only served as a bridge for absorbing Spirit Qi from the external environment but also played a role when ingesting Spiritual Objects, affecting the process.
The specific reasons were beyond Wang Hong's limited understanding at the moment, leaving room for future exploration.
Despite the low absorption efficiency, it was still a significant improvement compared to making no progress at all. At least, they saw a glimmer of further hope.
The efficiency of absorbing Spiritual Medicine when practicing "Henglian Liuhe Gong" was much better. However, this ordinary martial art couldn't reach the level of immortal cultivation techniques. Even if one cultivated "Henglian Liuhe Gong" to the highest level, it wouldn't withstand a blow from a Magical Weapon.
Wang Hong pondered on how to combine the advantages of both approaches. All cultivation techniques could be broadly categorized into two types: Dynamic Cultivation and Static Cultivation.
Dynamic Cultivation involved continuous movement during practice, either with physical and mental movement or a combination of stillness and movement, like "Henglian Liuhe Gong."
Static Cultivation, on the other hand, required the body to be stationary during practice. This could be with mental movement and physical stillness or the reverse, like "Body Refining Decision."
Wang Hong's experiment involved using the practice method of "Body Refining Decision" along with the techniques of "Henglian Liuhe Gong" to strike the entire body, aiming to enhance the absorption efficiency of Spiritual Energy.
He remembered the last battle with Hu Qing, where the forceful blows from Hu Qing helped absorb the residual medicinal power in his body.
After several months of repeated experiments and numerous modifications, they finally had a preliminary form of a cultivation technique. Wang Hong named it "Immortal Transformation," consisting of nine layers, intended to be the main cultivation technique for the soldiers under his command.
Although the technique had many shortcomings and appeared rough in many aspects, given their current level, it was the best they could achieve. They would have to wait for their strength and understanding to improve before making further modifications. In any case, they had taken the first step.
In a swampy area shrouded in black mist, poisonous creatures occasionally emerged. A group of five people, four men and one woman, cautiously moved through, heading towards the depths of the Black Dragon Marsh.
The elderly man named Ge at the front cautioned, "Everyone, be mindful of suppressing your aura. There's a tentacle monster lurking in this swamp, highly venomous and attacks based on aura detection. If you suppress your aura, you can stand in front of it without being noticed."
A young cultivator in black robes, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, asked from within the group, "What tier of Demonic Beast is this tentacle monster?"
Another cultivator in the group, named Lei, replied, "Friend Wang must not have been to this area before. This tentacle monster is a mid-tier Demonic Beast. Due to its highly poisonous nature, even cultivators in the later stages of Qi Cultivation are reluctant to provoke it."
The black-robed cultivator referred to as Friend Wang was, in fact, Wang Hong in disguise. With this new appearance, even acquaintances wouldn't recognize him.
During this time, while he was busy with alchemy, running a store to earn Spirit Stones, he didn't neglect his cultivation. He had progressed to the second layer of "Body Refining Decision." His physical strength had reached twenty thousand catties, and his flesh was as tough as iron, resistant to most Low-Quality Magical Weapons.
Using the alias Wang Kun, he had infiltrated this temporary exploration team to familiarize himself with the terrain of the Black Dragon Marsh.
In this swamp, there wasn't only one type of creature, the tentacle monster. Countless buzzing poisonous mosquitoes danced around the group, searching for places to bite.
The group constantly waved their hands to drive away the approaching mosquitoes. Normally, releasing a Spiritual Energy shield would be enough to prevent mosquito bites. However, in the current situation of suppressing their aura, they couldn't use Magical Arts; otherwise, it might attract the tentacle monster.
Helplessly, they could only drive away these intrusive mosquitoes.
While Wang Hong was swatting away mosquitoes, he suddenly realized that he might not need to do so. These mosquitoes' attacking power was probably far inferior to a Low-Quality Magical Weapon. With his current body-refining cultivation level, they shouldn't be able to penetrate his defenses.
He tried letting a mosquito come close, simultaneously activating his divine sense to observe carefully. The mosquito landed on his leg, extended a slender needle, and silently pierced through his pants.
Then, it released a venom that coated the needle, viciously stabbing toward the skin. The moment it touched the skin, the needle broke into several pieces. The mosquito shook its head, still not understanding what happened, before Wang Hong casually crushed it.
Next, Wang Hong continued to drive away mosquitoes while observing the surroundings.
This time, in addition to familiarizing himself with the Black Dragon Marsh environment, he had another plan. He intended to transplant as many Spiritual Medicines produced in the Black Dragon Marsh into his Space as possible.
Although he didn't know what Spirit Herb the Entry-level Mission would require, if he collected all Spirit Herbs in advance and planted them in his Space, there would be no need to search for Spiritual Medicine later.
Of course, only Wang Hong could pull off such a move.
Firstly, the required Spirit Herb for the Entry-level Mission must be freshly harvested. While Jade Boxes and formations could preserve them, there was still a significant difference compared to freshly harvested Spirit Herbs.
Secondly, each Spirit Herb required a different growing environment. To cultivate them artificially, one needed to be well-versed in the habits of various Spirit Herbs. It also required spiritual fields for different environments to accommodate the growth of Spirit Herbs. With thousands of types of Spiritual Medicine in the Black Dragon Marsh, even major cultivation sects couldn't achieve this.
This swamp was a vital passage into the Black Dragon Marsh, and any rare Spirit Herbs would have been collected by previous explorers. Wang Hong casually dug up a small gray grass with its roots, storing it in his Storage Bag.
"Wang Dao-you, why are you collecting these Spirit Herb seedlings along the way? Some of these Spirit Herbs take decades, even centuries, to mature for medicinal use. We, loose cultivators, can at most cultivate one or two types of Spiritual Medicine, and it's challenging to succeed with more." The only female cultivator in the group blinked her lively eyes and asked curiously.
"Sister Shi, you might not know. I've recently been studying the growing habits of various Spirit Herbs and need a large variety for reference. If you have Spirit Herbs, I'm willing to exchange them for Elixirs or Spirit Stones." Wang Hong replied calmly.
"I happen to have some unused Spirit Herbs. What Elixir do you plan to use for the exchange?" Miss Shi asked, blinking her eyes.
"It depends on the value of the Spirit Herb. I have Condensing Qi Pill, Revitalizing Pill, Poison Resistance Pill, and Spirit Wine for restoring Spiritual Energy." Wang Hong replied.
"Is Wang Dao-you also proficient in Alchemy?" Miss Shi asked, and the others also looked over.
Wang Hong chuckled, "I'm not skilled in Alchemy at all. I was fortunate to meet an Alchemist in Azure Void City. Currently, I'm running errands for this Alchemist."
The others showed a disappointed yet envious expression. Befriending an Alchemist was a significant advantage. Alchemists were rare resources, and everyone hoped to have the chance to seek their assistance.
Seeing this, everyone took out a few Spirit Herbs and exchanged them for Elixirs with Wang Hong, who accepted all of them. With everyone getting what they needed, their spirits lifted, and they hastened their journey.
The five of them safely traversed the swamp, encountered no dangers, passed through a grassy area, and finally arrived at their first destination of the journey, the "Hundred Flowers Valley."
Hundred Flowers Valley, with a radius of three to four miles, had various Spirit Blossoms blooming throughout the year. However, only a few were suitable for medicinal use. Nevertheless, these Spirit Blossoms were excellent choices for brewing Hundred Flowers Spirit Wine.
Hundred Flowers Spirit Wine was brewed with various Spirit Blossoms, and the more varieties and higher tier of Spirit Blossoms, the stronger the effect. The group's purpose for coming here was to pick flowers for brewing.
At this moment, Hundred Flowers Valley was filled with colorful flowers and a fragrant aroma. Various Spirit Bees and Spirit Butterflies fluttered around. However, the group had no intention of appreciating the beauty; they were busy picking Spirit Blossoms, engaging in the task at hand.
Some Spirit Blossoms would bloom continuously as long as the Spirit Herb was mature, while others would only flower once every ten or even several decades. Everyone picked only the flowers, but Wang Hong still transplanted one or two seedlings of each Spirit Blossom into his Space. The group had already become accustomed to such eccentricities from cultivators in the immortal cultivation world.
Suddenly, a cultivator named Yu in the group pointed at a two-zhang tall small tree and exclaimed, "Everyone, look! There's an Azure-tailed Spirit Bee Nest here."
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