Chapter 417: Rest and Recovery
Chapter 417: Rest and Recovery
Wang Hong rode on Little Peng's back, leading six Flying Boats filled to capacity with Qi Cultivation practitioners. Alongside the Flying Boats, hundreds of Foundation Building cultivators controlled their flying vessels.
Earlier, he had bid farewell to Zhou Shiqi. Zhou Shiqi, being a Qingxu Sect Disciple and now holding the position of Qingxu Sect's leader, initially refused. However, after a friendly negotiation, Zhou Shiqi eventually relented under the condition that Wang Hong provided resources in return.
These resources included tier-one and tier-two Spirit Wine and some healing Pills, which were currently considered scarce strategic resources throughout East Zhou. With the assistance of these supplies, many of the injured members in their group could receive proper treatment. The replenishment of Spirit Wine during battles could double their combat effectiveness.
Though Zhou Shiqi didn't want to let them go, considering their current situation, he couldn't dare to stop Wang Hong if he insisted on leaving. Since effective opposition was not an option and Wang Hong willingly offered strategic resources, Zhou Shiqi chose to part amicably, hoping for potential future encounters.
Before departing, Wang Hong paid a visit to Master Mei of the Pill Hall. Wang Hong's Master had already perished, and his senior sister was missing. Among the few elders he was close to, only Master Mei remained.
While Master Mei wasn't skilled in combat, she had bravely fought on the front lines during previous battles, resulting in severe injuries. She had taken Qingxu Sect's specially crafted healing Pills, but the effects were not very pronounced. During their meeting, Wang Hong discreetly handed her a Jade Box containing a Jade Marrow Pill.
Among the fellow Qingxu Sect cultivators of the same generation, Wang Hong didn't have many friends. However, within this team, he recognized Senior Brother Luo Yuxuan, Junior Brother Gu Wei, and Elder Brother Wu Tingchang of Kaiyang Peak.
The main reason Wang Hong chose not to leave with Qingxu Sect was that he had a brother still here whom he couldn't abandon. He intended to personally visit Taihao Sect to check on Wang Yi's well-being.
Additionally, he noticed that there were no Qi Cultivation practitioners in this group. He had brought his subordinates, who were in the Foundation Building stage, with him. In times of danger, his subordinates might become expendable if he joined Qingxu Sect's team.
Furthermore, if he joined Qingxu Sect's team, he would need to consider how to handle his subordinates. Directly incorporating them all into Qingxu Sect wouldn't be suitable. He had invested significant resources and effort in cultivating these subordinates and building his own influence, and he wasn't willing to give it all up.More than ten thousand cultivators had come to participate in this battle, and some had died while others were injured. The three leading Golden Core cultivators had either perished or been injured. Most of the remaining individuals had chosen to depart East Zhou with Qingxu Sect. Despite Qingxu Sect's current predicament, it still seemed more reliable than Wang Hong's small Mountain Valley.
Gu Wei had forsaken the journey to the Southern Region to follow Wang Hong, and Zhang Chunfeng had also taken this opportunity to return to Wang Hong's side.
What surprised him, however, was that Jia Liang, whom he had once saved, chose to follow Wang Hong back to the small Mountain Valley despite being recruited by Qingxu Sect. He remembered that this person had Lightning Spiritual Roots, a rare type of Spiritual Roots, just slightly less prestigious than Heavenly Spirit Roots.
As for Liu Changsheng and his group, they had no affiliations with Qingxu Sect. When Wang Hong's group left, they naturally followed suit. Among this group, except for Liu Changsheng, the others were still unaware that Wang Hong was their highly revered East Master.
Dealing with Wang Hong's subordinates now was an icy affair. They kept their distance and remained as distant as glaciers.
When they had arrived, there were more than ten thousand of them, but now, only two thousand remained. However, most of these were Wang Hong's original subordinates, and even the newcomers who had willingly followed him back to the Mountain Valley were mostly trustworthy.
It took them several days to bypass most of the Demonic Beasts, and they finally returned to the Mountain Valley.
Their first order of business upon returning to the Mountain Valley was rest, as there were still many injured from the recent battle.
Liu Changsheng's group, in particular, had suffered the most injuries since they had entered the battle early and weren't particularly skilled in direct confrontations. Little Peng had also sustained significant injuries, but thanks to the Jade Marrow Pill, which had proven effective even against Demonic Beasts, he had made a substantial recovery over the past few days.
Additionally, Wang Hong had forgotten to hand over Sloppy, who had been left to recuperate on the Flying Boat, to Zhou Shiqi when they left. After all, Sloppy was a member of Qingxu Sect. Sloppy's injuries were severe, as his Golden Core had shattered due to the use of some mysterious technique, depleting his core completely. Normally, this condition would have been fatal, but with the help of a Jade Marrow Pill, Sloppy could survive, though he had become a cripple. Unless he was willing to start over from the Qi Cultivation stage, there was no hope for his recovery.
After more than a month, most of them had recovered from their injuries. Liu Changsheng and his group, consisting of over two hundred people, left after their injuries had healed, returning to their previous camp.
However, their previous location wasn't well-hidden, so Wang Hong suggested they find a nearby Peak and hollow out its interior. This way, they could both hide and maintain a lookout. After they had set up their new base, Wang Hong would assist them in setting up formations.
"Yin Ze, since we sold all the Spiritual Herbs and resources in the valley some time ago, and now that we've returned, we'll definitely hide here for a while. Arrange for some people to replant all the spirit fields in the Mountain Valley," Wang Hong instructed.
While Wang Hong had access to his personal space, he still found it wasteful to see the spirit fields in the Mountain Valley abandoned. He wanted to cultivate something to make good use of the land.
"East Master! What type of Spiritual Objects should we plant?" Yin Ze inquired.
After some thought, Wang Hong replied, "We can't be sure how long we'll stay here, so let's plant Spirit Grain. It has a faster harvest rate. Continue planting tier-two Spirit Grain where it was originally grown, and use regular Spirit Grain in other areas."
"Understood! I'll take care of it!" Yin Ze acknowledged before departing. Wang Hong then entered his Cultivation Room.
Inside the Cultivation Room, Wang Hong held a ripe Green Spirit Peach in his hand, first taking a moment to savor its fragrant aroma. Then, he took a large bite of the peach, and as he finished it, he felt a surge of Spiritual Power within him. He quickly began to execute his Cultivation Techniques.
His dantian's spiritual sea appeared as a downpour of Spiritual Power gathered there. At this moment, the water level in his dantian's spiritual sea gradually descended, a result of his dantian expanding once more.
Concerned that his Spiritual Power might not be enough, Wang Hong promptly took out another Green Spirit Peach and began eating it.
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