“Why must you be so modest, brother?” Chu He stared at Wang Hao’s collar, making Wang Hao feel a bit creeped out, wondering if he had some peculiar preference.

“Brother, this skin of yours is not something an ordinary person should possess! I have some discernment; such skin must be the result of some body refinement technique!” Chu He said with a smile. “But at the same time, brother can also refine pills. This is puzzling. As everyone knows, body refiners cannot refine pills. So, there’s only one possibility: brother cultivates both body and magic!”

Damn, you think you’re a detective or something! Wang Hao was speechless. Was it really necessary to stare at someone’s collar like that?

Chen Qing also offered a compliment. “Generally, body refiners are stronger than cultivators of the same rank by a few degrees. And with Brother Wang cultivating both body and magic, his strength is likely far beyond the seventh layer of Qi Refining! That venomous python lives in the swamp. Brother Wang’s identity as an alchemist will also help in detoxifying and avoiding miasma. As for choosing other fellow disciples from within the sect…” She continued with a bitter smile, “Few would be willing to help based solely on sect ties alone. Moreover, many among them are competitors for the Foundation Establishment Pills. The slightest carelessness could leak the news! I don’t need to elaborate on the consequences; I’m sure Brother Wang can guess.”

Wang Hao looked at them and said, “But I am ultimately only at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. Even with minor success in body refinement, I still can’t compare to a ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator! Your unwavering confidence in me is truly unsettling! Didn’t you say there were four people in total? Where is the other fellow Daoist?”

Chu He let out a bitter laugh. “Brother is so cautious. Actually, you know the other fellow Daoist as well. It was she who strongly recommended you. Fairy Li, please show yourself!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened and a figure in red walked out.

“Li Derong? How is it you?”

“Why can’t it be me?” Li Derong exchanged greetings with the other two before saying calmly, “Two members of my Li family joined the Qingyuan Sect last year, all thanks to Brother Chu and Fairy Chen’s care. So I came to help. Is there a problem?”

Her impression of Wang Hao was quite poor. The information she gathered after that day’s competition made it hard for her to appreciate him. However, she still acknowledged his strength. A few days ago, Chu He approached the Li family, hoping they could provide two people to help. In return, after Chu He achieved Foundation Establishment, he would take the two Li family members who joined Qingyuan Sect as his disciples! So she came. Upon learning that Chu He had been in contact with Wang Hao, she recommended Wang Hao as well!

Her purpose in recommending Wang Hao was twofold: first, Wang Hao was stronger; second, the Li family didn’t want to provide two people to avoid potential losses.

Chu He added, “Brother Wang, if you help me this once, besides the reward, I will owe you a personal favor. I am currently at the ninth layer of Qi Refining; my favor isn’t worth much now. But once I achieve Foundation Establishment…”

The favor of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, especially one from Qingyuan Sect, was indeed valuable. At least Wang Hao couldn’t refuse such a temptation at present. “Alright! Since both of you think so highly of me, I accept!”

“Then I thank you in advance, brother! We depart in five days. You can make more preparations during this time!” Chu He expressed his great joy and gratitude, then cautioned, “I hope brother will not inform anyone else about this matter to avoid leaking information.”

Wang Hao nodded. “I naturally understand that!”

“Then I am reassured!” The two then cupped their hands and bid farewell.

Walking on the road, Wang Hao pondered. Back when he was stationed at the shop in Qingniu Market, people had invited him to search for spirit herbs or explore secret caves together. He had refused them all because he believed cultivation level was fundamental back then; he needed to set everything aside and wholeheartedly improve his cultivation.

But now he had reached the late stage of Qi Refining, yet there was still no news of the Condensing Essence Fruit. Sitting at home wouldn’t get him the fruit; he had to venture out and take risks. Only by involving himself more in those unknown places could he possibly obtain rich rewards. This was a law of cultivation: caution was a principle, but adventure was life—they didn’t conflict.

Since he was going out on an adventure, preparations had to be proper. Using spirit herbs exceeding their value as payment, Wang Hao directly cleared out all the Tier 1 talisman paper from the shop and embarked on another major talisman-making endeavor.

Five days later, Wang Hao looked at over two hundred spirit talismans on the table and nodded with satisfaction. He stretched his limbs, producing cracking sounds. After tidying up, he summoned Yaya and Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai had successfully advanced to Tier 1 High-Grade—reaching adult height—with a body length over ten zhang. And he was still slowly growing. Judging by her aura, Yaya was still far from advancing. After feeding them separately, he put them away again.

Next, Wang Hao observed the Illusion Moon Butterfly eggs and found that one egg had completely lost its vitality for some reason. The vitality of two others had also diminished compared to before. In contrast, the last two eggs had their vitality significantly strengthened—increased by over half. Wang Hao wondered if perhaps the other three eggs had their life essence absorbed by these two?

But since it was already like this, there was nothing Wang Hao could do. After changing the medicinal liquid again, he sealed them in a cabinet and left a message talisman on the table informing of his whereabouts before heading out!

Wang Hao met up with the other three people. The four gathered first to discuss.

Chu He glanced at everyone and spoke. “Actually, there were three mission options this time. But since I cultivate earth-attribute techniques and Junior Sister Chen cultivates water-attribute techniques, we chose the water-attribute Yin Venom Python.”

Wang Hao thought to himself that his fire-wood techniques were somewhat countered, but obviously, he couldn’t ask Chu He to change missions now; with four people having different techniques, someone would inevitably be countered.

“We head straight north this time; there’s a swamp in the Duan Yuan Mountain Range where that Yin Venom Python’s nest is located,” Chu He explained further. He warned about dangers like miasma spreading throughout the swamp area, along with many poisonous insects and snakes numbering over tens of thousands, requiring utmost caution from all members involved here today!

Wang Hao asked, “Do we know the habits of the Yin Venom Python?”

“This type prefers swamps where poisonous creatures abound everywhere and dislikes sunlight. It usually hides inside its nest around noon when it’s relatively weaker, making daytime the best for us to act, whereas night turns us into prey instead!” Chen Qing explained slowly.

Li Derong nodded in agreement before asking a question herself regarding the possibility of multiple snakes gathering together sometimes. “Are you sure only one python is present here?”

“Well…” Chu He hesitated slightly upon hearing the question but continued anyway. “Based on the sect mission description, although I can’t guarantee the absence of a second one, I assure everyone that a successful deployment of the Four Symbols Maze Formation would trap even additional Tier 1 pythons, allowing us to focus solely on dealing with the Tier 2 target alone!”

Seeing their thoughtful expressions causing morale to dip somewhat, he tried boosting their spirits by mentioning the ancient cultivator cave located near the swamp side, promising the rewards agreed upon earlier. “Plus, I have prepared several Tier 2 spirit talismans, ensuring escape is possible even if the situation turns unfavorable!”

Li Derong raised a hand, stopping his speech. “Since everyone came, we wouldn’t back out now. I was merely clarifying the situation to be better prepared. Your words make it sound like we came solely for benefits, which isn’t entirely accurate either!”