Cultivation : I'm an Ancient Giant Bear-Chapter 407 - 386: Second-Grade Steward

Wang Wu initially thought that the internal gaps were due to substandard casting or intentional damage, but after observing for a while, he confirmed that it was not intentional damage, rather it was corrosion caused by the Five Qi of the Human World.

This is quite magical.

Yet it seems reasonable.

Because the reason the Hidden Origin Bell can absorb the Five Qi of the Human World is due to these one hundred and eight Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillars.

Wang Wu didn’t have the energy to ponder further, thinking it useless, as these are matters for immortals. What could he possibly figure out?

But how should it be repaired?

The quality of these Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillars is very high, equivalent to a Celestial Eighth Grade Lifebound Flying Sword, and since the cracks are internal, they cannot be cut open and must be repaired with minimally invasive methods.

At present, Wang Wu first determined the location of the internal cracks, then shrunk himself to one millimeter, and used his Lifebound Demon Soldiers to open a one-millimeter hole in the Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillar, allowing him to drill inside, locate the cracks, extract his Refined Profound Iron, and use Red Flame Spiritual Qi to dissolve and refine it before patching it onto the Profound Iron of the Heaven-Supporting Pillar.

Then he patched it bit by bit until he withdrew to the outside.

The repair method was very primitive, very rough.

The effect is certainly not as good as the original, but hopefully, it will work.

At this time, Wang Wu had no other method.

In short, after a flurry of busy work, he smoothed out all the internal cracks, and as he was about to inspect whether the Ninefold Tribulation Fire Array on top was complete, he heard a faint hum, and there was a faint, almost imperceptible flash of Spiritual Light on the Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillar, and simultaneously a Ninefold Tribulation Fire Array naturally emerged, then transformed into fierce fire and morning glow, directly extending upward to the Spirit Net.

Success?

Did it succeed just like that?

The Ninefold Tribulation Fire Array on top wasn’t damaged!

"Such a simple matter, yet those guys just wouldn’t inspect it, clearly they wanted to stir up trouble!"

Wang Wu complained, not finding it very difficult, but then he realized, okay, it’s a bit hard because Level 18 Spirit Essence is something ordinary people can’t have.

At this moment, his heart stirred, and he saw another wisp of morning glow fall from the Heaven-Supporting Pillar, winding around him, it was the Five Qi of the Human World!

Moreover, it was quite a substantial amount of the Five Qi of the Human World!

Calculating it, there turned out to be ten thousand wisps.

So, is this the reward for repairing the Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillar?

Quite generous!

Wang Wu felt great joy in his heart. At this time, he picked up the Hidden Origin Association Steward Jade Talisman and saw the relevant information had already appeared on it.

"As a Fifth-Grade Steward of the Hidden Origin Association, without a task guide, you actively discovered and solved the problem, and you have received the Hidden Origin Bell’s reward. Your Steward Level has been promoted to Fourth Grade, and your authority has been enhanced."

"Now, you are the nineteenth Fourth-Grade Steward of the Vermilion Bird Immortal Alliance Branch of the Hidden Origin Association. Your current authority is as follows."

"You can now consume one hundred wisps of the Five Qi of the Human World to perform point-to-point instant teleportation at any location within five thousand miles of the Hidden Origin Bell."

"You can directly teleport into the Hidden Origin Bell for daily cultivation, and you can receive a certain quota of Spiritual Qi profit based on the Hidden Origin Bell’s inventory of Spiritual Qi each day."

"You can purchase goods from the twelve branches of the Hidden Origin Association at a twenty percent discount."

"You will gain observer status in both minor and major matters of the Hidden Origin Association branch. However, you can also choose to refuse; if you choose the former, you must disclose your identity, name, and background. If you choose the latter, you will receive protection of Concealment."

——

Goodness, just as a Fourth-Grade Steward, such benefits indeed made Wang Wu greatly pleased, but also even more urgent, not bothering to check the details of those benefits but instead seizing the time to continue inspecting other Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillars.

As expected, in regions dense with mortals, the damage condition of the Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillars was quite severe.

Some Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillars had only three to five tiny cracks, not even affecting the array’s operation, while others had dozens or even hundreds.

Wang Wu performed minimally invasive repairs across the board.

As long as repaired, the Hidden Origin Bell would reward according to the number of cracks and the difficulty of the repair, ranging from a thousand to ten thousand, or even twenty thousand wisps of the Five Qi of the Human World.

Wang Wu worked tirelessly until dawn the next day, inspecting seventy-six Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillars, of which five had serious problems impacting the array’s operation, while fourteen had no effect on the array’s operation.

In total, Wang Wu obtained approximately one hundred thousand wisps of the Five Qi of the Human World and smoothly advanced to the Third-Grade Steward of the Hidden Origin Association.

Ranked sixth.

That is to say, there are only six Third-Grade Stewards in the Vermilion Bird Immortal Alliance Branch of the Hidden Origin Association.

Hehe, it feels somewhat prestigious and powerful.

However, the welfare treatment of a Third-Grade Steward does not change much, mainly just a thirty percent discount on purchasing materials.

Additionally, there’s one new clause—being able to consume the Five Qi of the Human World to exchange for some resources, including Spiritual Qi.

"Wait, something seems amiss."

Wang Wu furrowed his brow. He had repaired a total of nineteen Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillars, yet even the most severely damaged pillar’s Ninefold Tribulation Fire Array and Three Realms Spirit Wind Array were undamaged. They simply functioned normally once their internal cracks were repaired.

If it were just one or two, it might be a coincidence, but for all nineteen to be this way, there must be something wrong somewhere.

"Unless, the normal repair method requires recasting the Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillar. That would need the rare materials Evil Wind and Cloud Marrow, and Pale Ashes for redeploying the array."

"No way, does my Level 18 Spirit Essence advantage really make such a big difference?"

Wang Wu was very shocked and found it hard to believe. Indeed, he knew that Level 18 Spirit Essence was impressive, but he never thought it would be this impressive.

"I understand now."

"This Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillar itself is forged from highly refined Profound Iron, which requires the internal Profound Iron to have an extremely high resonance effect with Spiritual Qi, akin to a Lifebound Flying Sword!"

"Normally, if even a micron-sized crack appears in a Lifebound Flying Sword, it would be sensed by Divine Thought, as it’s a magical treasure connected to one’s life."

"However, this Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillar is three hundred meters high, with a radius of ten meters, so immense that it can be compared to a Celestial Eighth-Grade Lifebound Flying Sword. Coupled with the characteristics of refined Profound Iron which isolates perception, not to mention ordinary cultivators, even if a Super First-Grade cultivator were to arrive, unless it were refined into one’s Lifebound Flying Sword, it would be impossible to detect such minute internal cracks."

"So the best method is to pull it out and recast it!"

"It’s no wonder the Sub-Pavilion Master of the Hidden Origin Association wants to rebuild a station here, for this very reason!"

The case was solved, and Wang Wu felt completely at ease.

Relying on his current status as a Third-Grade Steward of the Hidden Origin Association, along with the stake of 100,000 strands of the Five Qi of the Human World, and the merit for repairing these nineteen Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillars, he could even make his voice heard.

Indeed, a Fourth-Grade Steward only has listening privileges, but a Third-Grade Steward already has the right to make proposals, though unfortunately still without veto power.

Wang Wu did not procrastinate and continued to inspect, repairing each place he found until all one hundred and eight Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillars were checked and repaired.

His contribution finally broke through the limit, and without needing to submit any more strands of the Five Qi of the Human World, he became a Second-Grade Steward of the Hidden Origin Association—note, a valid Second-Grade Steward that is effective in any one of the twelve branches of the Immortal Alliance.

The total amount of his Five Qi of the Human World successfully surpassed 150,000 strands.

Additionally, the permissions and benefits were finally different.

He opened the Jade Talisman, and lines of information emerged from it.

"As a Third-Grade Steward of the Hidden Origin Association, by actively discovering and resolving issues without task guidance, you have received the Hidden Origin Bell reward, your steward level has been promoted to Second-Grade, and your permissions have been enhanced."

"Now, you are the fourth Second-Grade Steward in the Vermilion Bird Immortal Alliance Branch of the Hidden Origin Association. You possess the right to cast a vote of approval or opposition within the current branch. Note, if you proceed to another branch, you must remain on standby in the current branch for over ten years to gain the authority to cast an opposition vote and approval vote."

"You can now use up to 100 strands of the Five Qi of the Human World to perform instant point-to-point teleportation within 30,000 miles of the Hidden Origin Bell."

"You can directly teleport into the Hidden Origin Bell for daily cultivation. You will receive a daily spiritual Qi dividend based on the Hidden Origin Bell’s inventory of spiritual energy."

"You can purchase materials from the twelve branches of the Hidden Origin Association at a 40% discount."

"You can use the Five Qi of the Human World to exchange for most materials in the Hidden Origin Association’s secret warehouse."

"You can issue new Hidden Element Tasks within the current branch of the Hidden Origin Association, with levels ranging from Fourth to Ninth. If a steward of the Hidden Origin Association completes the corresponding task, you will receive a 10% reward commission."

"You can obtain an independent, hidden small cave within the Hidden Origin Bell."

"Within 100,000 miles of the Hidden Origin Bell, you will receive high-tier protection from the Hidden Origin Bell. Any attack from an Immortal Artifact, not exceeding the Hidden Origin Bell’s level, will have its damage reduced by 80%."

—

"Not bad, not bad, this is indeed the kind of benefits I seek!"

"Unfortunately, there are no more Heaven-Supporting Pillars to repair; otherwise, if I advanced to a First-Grade Steward, I should be able to stand on equal footing with that black-robed elder, and even have a veto power."

"And now, could I perhaps prevent their plans to relocate?"

"Furthermore, does that black-robed elder now know of my existence?"

Many thoughts raced through Wang Wu’s mind, and he believed that the issue ultimately lay with Gui Taizhen. Once Gui Taizhen is dealt with, the significant external condition for the Hidden Origin Association’s relocation would no longer exist.

However, even with the help of the Hidden Origin Bell, Wang Wu could not possibly defeat a Taiyi True Immortal.

So, let’s look at the materials in the secret warehouse first.

A flicker of thought from Wang Wu, and the Jade Talisman in his hand, which had turned golden, immediately revealed the relevant information.

"Based on your current total of the Five Qi of the Human World, and your privileges, here is the list of all high-secret-level materials available for purchase and exchange for you."

"One Fifth-Grade Yang Thunder: Exchange condition, 150,000 strands of the Five Qi of the Human World."

"One cluster of Fifth-Grade Yin Fire: Exchange condition, 150,000 strands of the Five Qi of the Human World."

"One Fifth-Grade Evil Wind (with Fifth Stage Evil Wind Bone Plague evolution): Exchange condition, 150,000 strands of the Five Qi of the Human World."

"A damaged Fifth-Grade Yang Thunder Immortal Talisman: Exchange condition, 150,000 strands of the Five Qi of the Human World."

"A damaged Fifth-Grade Pale Immortal Talisman: Exchange condition, 150,000 strands of the Five Qi of the Human World."

"A damaged Fifth-Grade Evil Wind Immortal Talisman: Exchange condition, 150,000 strands of the Five Qi of the Human World."

"One Fifth-Grade Five Elements Spirit Pill: Exchange condition, 150,000 strands of the Five Qi of the Human World."

"One Ninth-Grade Creation Golden Pill: Exchange condition, 150,000 strands of the Five Qi of the Human World."

"One Ninth-Grade Leisurely Golden Pill: Exchange condition, 150,000 strands of the Five Qi of the Human World."

"A damaged, incomplete page of the Creation Golden Scroll: Exchange condition, 150,000 strands of the Five Qi of the Human World."