With the help of Kyle Lee’s squad, Ian managed to harvest nearly a thousand Spirit Medicines—not counting Beauty Flowers—including a fifth-grade herb for refining Foundation Establishment Pills. Ian Song seemed completely oblivious to their dirty intentions, walking forward without a hint of caution.
For cultivators, Foundation Establishment is a critical bottleneck—cross it and your power skyrockets; fail, and your path ends forever. One step.
That’s why Foundation Establishment Pills are incredibly precious to every sect and low-realm cultivator—and so are the herbs needed to refine them. Two steps.
Besides his herbal haul, Ian’s Merit Points soared to 110,000 after slaughtering vast numbers of Demonic Beasts. Three steps.
Mostly, he teamed up with Oscar Liao’s squad to kill dozens of A-class Beasts and countless B-class ones. As Ian continued forward, Kyle “Madman” Lee felt his own excitement building. Ever since this kid broke his leg, he’d been thinking about how to get revenge every waking moment.
It’s also worth noting that Zhao Elaine broke through to Innate Seventh Layer the day before. "Should I just kill him outright? Or break his arms and legs first, then finish him off? No, that’s still too easy for him. I should cut out his tongue and gouge out his eyes!" The more Kyle fantasized, the more excited he got—completely missing the sly, almost imperceptible smirk at the corner of Ian's mouth.
Of course, every gain came with a price. Only three meters away now.
One squad, while hunting B-class Beasts, was ambushed by two A-class Beasts and nearly wiped out—luckily, Ian and Oscar Liao’s squads were nearby. "Go!"
Even with their help, that squad suffered four deaths and two serious injuries. Kyle Lee let out a thunderous shout, and instantly, four Lee Family experts shot forward.
In addition, two other squads also lost members. All of them were Innate Sixth Layer qi-armor users. In a flash, they landed at four points around Ian, unleashing a joint strike—energy surging, true qi roaring.
So by today, a total of seven War God Squad members had died. The four Lee Family experts were supremely confident in their combined attack—if even an Innate Seventh Layer fell into their formation, he’d be doomed.
But everyone who survived made tremendous progress. Besides Oscar Liao and Zhao Jian, who took Vermilion Spirit Fruits, twelve others advanced from Innate Sixth to Seventh Layer. "Spatial Stasis!"
As Logan Long put it, this world is saturated with death—and opportunity. At that moment, Ian quietly uttered four words.
With the return to Aqua-Blue Star looming, Ian couldn’t help but wonder what this world was truly like. Instantly, a frozen micro-world appeared, trapping Kyle Lee, Kurt Wang, and the four Lee experts—every member of their squad was caught in the stasis.
If he reached Innate Ninth Layer, he was determined to leave the forest and see the wider world. "Whoosh!"
Finally, the time to return arrived. Ian moved, darting through them like a phantom.
Seeing the Space-Time Tunnel open, everyone felt a surge of emotion. With knife-hand chops to the neck, Ian knocked each of them out. In just three seconds, all eight collapsed to the ground.
Take care, deputy commanders—we’re off! Ian waved to the three and jumped into the Space-Time Tunnel. Should he kill them all?
But on that trip, he encountered an S-class Beast—unbelievably strong. Even using every trick he had, Ian nearly died. Looking at the eight unconscious figures, Ian hesitated.
After that, Ian no longer dared to act recklessly and limited himself to a three-hundred-li radius around the base. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He pointed at Kyle Lee, sending a wisp of black light into Kyle’s brow. With Kyle unconscious and unable to resist, Ian instantly sensed he had enslaved him with Puppet Mastery Divine Art.
"Meow-Meow, how many Fame Points does it take to upgrade Puppet Mastery Divine Art to a fourth-grade divine ability?" Ian asked.
"Not much—just four hundred million!" Meow-Meow replied offhandedly.
"Four hundred million is 'not much'?" Ian gritted his teeth again. Why did he always feel like Meow-Meow deserved a beating?
"After it’s upgraded, how many times can I use it per day?" He resisted the urge to curse and pulled up the system interface, seeing he still had about 420 million Fame Points left.
"Ten times a day!"
"Upgrade it!"
As soon as he spoke, his Fame Points dropped from 420 million to just 20 million in a flash.
It hurt—badly!
Just then, a stabbing pain hit his mind, but this time it only lasted ten seconds before fading.
Then his gaze fell on the seven figures lying on the ground.
After enslaving all seven, Ian woke them up.
"Kyle Lee, your servant, greets Master!"
"Kurt Wang and your servant, greets Master!"
"Zhong Xuefei, your servant, greets Master!"
"Ma Yuqun, your servant, greets Master!"
...
Seeing eight people kneel in a row, Ian felt a surge of accomplishment. Aside from Kyle Lee, the rest were all Innate Sixth Layer experts.
Counting carefully, with the three Nangong Family elites, the Mystic Maiden Sect leader, and Lee Longyang from the Lee Family, Ian now had thirteen puppets in total.
In terms of pure high-level fighters, his strength already surpassed that of most second-tier families.
"Stand up, all of you!" Ian waved his hand.
"Yes, Master!"
"By the way, did any of you find Treasure Herbs today?" Ian asked, looking at the eight of them.
"Master, here are the Treasure Herbs we found!"
Kurt Wang took off his backpack and handed it over with both hands.
Ian opened the pack and was surprised to see more than twenty stalks of Spirit Medicine inside.
However, there were only two types.
The first was second-grade Purple Vine Ginseng—thirteen stalks in total. This herb is a prime material for refining Longevity Pills.
A single Longevity Pill can extend a mortal’s life by ten years, or a cultivator’s life by five years if they’re at Foundation Establishment or above.
So even though Longevity Pills are only second-grade, they’re still highly sought after.
The second herb was Dragonblood Orchid—a third-grade Spirit Medicine used for refining meridian-strengthening pills. There were twelve stalks.
After storing the herbs in his Galaxy God Ring, Ian told them, "From now on, any Treasure Herbs you find must be handed over to me. Understood?"
"Yes, Master!"
After sending those eight off to search for more Spirit Medicines, Ian set out on his own again.
That night, when Ian returned to the base, Oscar Liao and the others rushed over to greet him.
"Brother Ian, seeing you safe puts my mind at ease!" Oscar Liao said emotionally.
...
In the blink of an eye, the War God Squad had been in this world for twenty-nine days. Tomorrow, everyone could return to Aqua-Blue Star through the Space-Time Tunnel.
During this time, Ian had once ventured five hundred li deep into the ancient forest.
But on that trip, he encountered an S-class Demonic Beast—unbelievably powerful. Even using every trick he had, Ian nearly died.
Since then, Ian no longer dared to be reckless and limited himself to a three-hundred-li radius around the base.
With help from Kyle Lee’s squad—not counting Beauty Flower—Ian managed to collect nearly a thousand stalks of Spirit Medicine. Among them was a fifth-grade herb used for refining Foundation Establishment Pills.
For cultivators, Foundation Establishment is a major hurdle. If you cross it, your cultivation soars; if not, you’re stuck for life.
That’s why Foundation Establishment Pills are precious to every sect and low-level cultivator. Naturally, the herbs for refining them are equally rare.
Besides the Spirit Medicine haul, Ian’s merit points skyrocketed to 110,000 after slaying countless Demonic Beasts.
Most of those points came from teaming up with Oscar Liao’s squad to kill more than a dozen A-class Demonic Beasts. As for B-class beasts, they were simply too many to count.
It’s also worth mentioning that Zhao Ying broke through to Innate Seventh Layer just the day before.
Of course, every gain comes with sacrifice.
One squad, while hunting a group of B-class Demonic Beasts, was ambushed by two A-class beasts and nearly wiped out. Luckily, Ian and Oscar Liao’s teams were nearby.
Even with their timely rescue, that squad still suffered four deaths and two seriously wounded.
Besides that, two other squads also lost members.