Wang Hao smiled with satisfaction before turning his attention to the other items. There were only three magical instruments of note: two Tier 1 Mid-Grade sabers and the Tier 1 Top-Grade long whip that belonged to the dark-faced burly man. Since Wang Hao didn’t practice whip techniques, it was useless to him—he could only sell it. Even at a rock-bottom price, it should fetch nearly two hundred Spirit Stones!

The remaining miscellaneous items were even fewer. Just a few pills and some low-grade talismans. The cultivation techniques practiced by the three men were also common goods. He would simply hand them over to the clan in exchange for contribution points.

The biggest harvest was two secret arts.

The first was a body refinement technique called the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art. Unfortunately, it was incomplete, containing only six layers that reached up to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Once mastered, it could greatly increase physical strength and boost the chance of Foundation Establishment by twenty percent. The logic was simple: increased physical strength enhanced resistance to spiritual energy impacts, naturally reducing the risk during Foundation Establishment.

Wang Hao was very satisfied with this. Since he had always relied on medicinal pills for cultivation, his body and meridians inevitably suffered some wear and tear. If his physical strength increased, the efficiency and quantity of medicinal pills he could consume would increase, indirectly speeding up his cultivation pace.

Additionally, it had another effect: it made the practitioner’s skin fairer and more tender. However, since he was already handsome enough, this effect wasn’t particularly significant to him.

The Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art included several medicinal formulas. For the Qi Refining stage, it mainly involved medicinal baths. For the Foundation Establishment stage, one could refine pills to assist cultivation. He briefly glanced at the required spiritual herbs. For the Qi Refining stage, all the herbs were available, but the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Pill needed for the Foundation Establishment stage required several rare herbs he hadn’t obtained yet.

This was also the reason why body refiners were relatively few—it was simply too resource-intensive. One batch of early-stage medicinal bath ingredients cost thirty Spirit Stones; mid-stage cost fifty; and late-stage went up to eighty Spirit Stones. One batch lasted maybe three to five days before losing efficacy. Bathing for a whole year would require three or four thousand Spirit Stones! Where would a Qi Refining cultivator get such financial resources?

Of course, only someone like Wang Hao, who treated pills like candy, would think this way. Most body refinement cultivators only used medicinal baths at critical moments and usually relied on practicing fist and foot forms to increase body strength.

The other art was called the Perspective Technique. As the name implied, it was a reconnaissance technique usable in combat to observe an opponent’s weaknesses.

These two secret arts weren’t exactly rare, but they weren’t common either. Regardless, they were useful enough. This trip to the Duan Yuan Mountain Range, though thrilling, had been safe enough to expose a problem: Wang Hao’s single combat method lacked variety. If his body refinement succeeded, the dual cultivation of body and magic would allow him to handle battles more effortlessly.

Wang Hao copied both secret arts, then tossed the originals to his Eighth Uncle. “Eighth Uncle, these two secret arts are pretty good. Help me hand them over to the clan to exchange for contribution points!”

The clan also had channels to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills. Earning more contribution points to prepare just in case would avoid the awkward situation of wanting to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill later but lacking the points.

Eighth Uncle took them and examined them, then looked at him meaningfully. “You plan to cultivate this? Are you planning to return to your old profession of chasing skirts and seducing women?”

“Eighth Uncle, is that the impression you have of me?” Wang Hao was extremely speechless. “I value the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art for increasing the chance of Foundation Establishment. You know I have Five Spiritual Roots. Even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, I only have a sixty percent chance. That’s too low!”

“Is that so…” Eighth Uncle fell into deep thought for a long moment before saying, “Maybe I should cultivate it too?”

“I think you are the one wanting to seduce women!” Wang Hao muttered quietly. Anyway, he handed them over to the clan; whoever wanted to cultivate them could, as long as they could bear the cost.

“Forget it. Usually, just eating a couple of spiritual pills makes my heart ache. Adding these medicinal baths… I’ll never save up my marriage funds!” Eighth Uncle shook his head rather regretfully.

Wang Hao couldn’t help saying, “Eighth Uncle, you should think of it this way: if you cultivate the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art, maybe you’ll catch the eye of some Foundation Establishment senior female and marry into wealth?”

“You kid… are you suggesting our clan members become live-in sons-in-law?” Though he protested, he was indeed somewhat tempted. He was already over thirty; it was time to marry and start a family. Cultivating the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art might really make him more attractive…

The two stayed underground for the entire night. The next day, Wang Hao noticed one skull icon flickered and disappeared.

This made him ponder. “One died?”

Demonic beasts within the map’s range would definitely display. Suddenly vanishing… besides death, there was no other explanation.

However, the remaining two skull icons were still there, so he dared not go investigate.

Another day passed. He noticed the remaining two skull icons slowly moving in opposite directions. Their speeds weren’t fast, suggesting they were injured. Finally, unable to restrain himself, he called Eighth Uncle and prepared to investigate the situation.

“Hmm, seems there’s no movement…” Eighth Uncle carefully sensed for a while and nodded in agreement.

The two cautiously headed towards the location of the demonic beast battle. They dared not make the slightest sound. Half a shichen later, they arrived.

They saw an area with a five-li radius in a complete mess—trees twisted, the ground full of pits and potholes, and bright red bloodstains everywhere.

Eighth Uncle’s expression was grave. “The Tier 2 demonic beasts have left, but the blood aura here is heavy. It’s bound to attract other beasts. We must act fast!”

Wang Hao nodded in agreement. The two split up and quickly collected valuable dropped items.

They found a slain bear demon corpse, though only half was left; the rest had either been eaten or scattered elsewhere. But having half a Tier 2 demonic beast corpse was relatively significant. The upper half was already quite satisfying—though there was less meat, the skin, claws, and head were all present. Selling it for fifteen hundred Spirit Stones shouldn’t be a problem.

Wang Hao pointed at the bloodstains on the ground. “Eighth Uncle, looking at the traces, the other two demonic beasts are also seriously injured. Should we choose one to follow?”

“Maybe we should stop. We’ve already earned plenty; let’s not invite trouble!” Eighth Uncle sought stability and only wanted to bring the obtained materials out safely.

Tempted, Wang Hao said, “Eighth Uncle, I’m not boasting. Earlier, I could contend briefly and escape successfully against that low-Tier 2 white tiger. Now it has fought for two days and is injured. Besides, the white tiger is leaving in a direction exactly towards the market. We need to pass that way anyway, right? What harm is there in checking the situation? If we obtain a complete Tier 2 demonic beast corpse, I can soon cultivate the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art!”

Hearing this, Eighth Uncle fell silent. It wasn’t just a matter of Spirit Stones; it related to his path to finding a partner. Indeed, his heart itched.

“Alright, let’s go see. But if it’s impossible, we mustn’t act rashly!”

“Am I a person reckless with my life?”

The two quickly dismembered the bear demon corpse and stored it in their storage bags. They followed the tiger demon’s traces and quietly pursued. Their speed was slow, covering a mere hundred li a day. They were still two thousand li distance from the edge of the Duan Yuan Mountain Range, so it was still dangerous.

Along the way, there were continuous bloodstains. Clearly, the white tiger was seriously injured; otherwise, it wouldn’t still be bleeding after so long. This made Eighth Uncle somewhat excited. The map also showed the white tiger’s speed slowing until it stopped atop a certain mountain peak.

The two followed the traces and climbed halfway up the mountain, discovering the white tiger’s lair.

It was a large hollow nestled between mountain bodies forming a den.

“Eighth Uncle?” Wang Hao looked towards him, seeking a decision.

“It seems the white tiger is indeed seriously injured; otherwise, at this close distance, it would have detected us long ago!” Wang Yanfeng analyzed. “Be extra careful. Let’s enter together!”

The two took out magical instruments and spirit talismans to guard against a sudden attack. They entered the cave mouth, a narrow passage ten zhang long. Inside, it suddenly opened into a spacious underground cavern covering an area of several dozen mu.

The cavern ceiling was partially open, about twenty zhang high, letting light illuminate the interior. The ground was uneven, with several large boulders surrounding many growing Tier 1 spiritual herbs. Though none were precious varieties, several rare types were still present.

As soon as they appeared at the cave entrance, the white tiger emitted an earth-shattering, mountain-splitting roar. They felt their souls tremble and become unstable.

The two were terrified out of their wits and immediately fled, releasing several talismans and activating their Light Body Technique to escape.

But after they fled the cave entrance, the white tiger didn’t pursue. They immediately realized the white tiger was incapacitated. They exchanged glances and re-entered the cave!

Indeed, as they guessed, the white tiger was seriously injured. After emitting that roar, it had no other means to deal with the two. It just bared its teeth and growled, breathing heavily, trying to scare them off.