Chapter 41 Comprehensive Expansion! Late Foundation Establishment

Right at this moment, Li Yuanhua walked in.

"Young Master! As per your instructions, the Immortal Ascension Conferences across all thirteen islands surrounding the Sky Absolute Island have just concluded!"

"Mhm. You've worked hard, Elder Li!"

"You flatter me, Young Master. It's only what this old slave should do!" Li Yuanhua beamed, his face creased with smiles.

Across a total of thirteen large islands, the cumulative number of participating investors had surpassed one hundred million.

The number of cultivators detected with spiritual roots exceeded one million.

This was a terrifyingly massive figure.

Wang Mu could clearly sense that the rate at which his cultivation base was increasing was growing faster and faster.

Two days ago, upon waking from sleep, he had unknowingly broken through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. Now, his realm had already stabilized and was rapidly surging toward the peak of Foundation Establishment.

"It seems these people have not lived up to my expectations; they are cultivating with all their might!" Wang Mu thought to himself with satisfaction.

Given the sheer difficulty of improving his own cultivation level, if he had to rely solely on himself—even without the curse plaguing him—advancing normally from the early stage to the late stage of Foundation Establishment would surely take three to five months.

Going from the middle stage to the late stage might even require half a year!

Or perhaps even longer!

And that assumed he was consuming all sorts of supreme heavenly treasures like snacks.

After all, the pure magic power exceeding the Earth Immortal level was no joke; a single wispy thread of it surpassed countless ordinary streams of magic power.

……

"Keep pushing forward!"

On the wall behind Wang Mu hung a massive, incredibly detailed nautical chart recording the status of all large and small islands throughout the entire Northern Territory, as well as the distribution of various factions.

He turned around, pointed at the chart, and said, "And we must accelerate our pace. In addition to the large islands, we must also dispatch personnel to organize conferences on the smaller islands in the outer perimeter!"

Medium and small islands possessed relatively thin spiritual qi.

The probability of ordinary mortals being born with spiritual roots there would also be significantly lower than on the large islands.

Fortunately, the sheer quantity of these islands was immense—outnumbering the large islands by a thousandfold or more.

For Wang Mu, this was likewise a huge chunk of fat meat that he could not possibly abandon.

Li Yuanhua glanced at the dense, star-like cluster of medium and small islands on the chart and let out a soft hiss. "Young Master, the manpower and material resources required for this... will likely be immense!"

Wang Mu replied, "Don't worry about the material resources; whenever you need funds, go directly to Tingting to get them! As for manpower, you can openly recruit from the outside!"

"Openly... from the outside?"

Li Yuanhua was somewhat surprised. Because Wang Mu attached such great importance to the Immortal Ascension Conferences, he had always assigned these tasks to direct members of the Li family bloodline to handle personally.

Furthermore, every time before sending people out, he would repeatedly emphasize that the tasks must be carried out flawlessly, taking every single detail into consideration out of a lack of trust in outsiders.

Wang Mu nodded and said, "This operation will only grow larger in the future. Relying solely on your Li family members will definitely not be enough!"

"Of course, your people have handled things exceptionally well and saved me a lot of worry."

With that, Wang Mu waved his hand, and a chest materialized before him.

The chest opened.

Inside lay a dense pile of medium-grade spiritual stones.

"Take these down and distribute them to them!"

"Young Master, what is this...? We serve the Young Master of our own free will—it is the greatest of honors. How could we accept a reward?"

Li Yuanhua said this, but his hands immediately reached out and swept the chest of spiritual stones away.

Wang Mu chuckled and said, "Since you are working for me, how could I treat you unfairly? This is what you deserve!"

"From now on, all members of the Li family who participated in organizing the Immortal Ascension Conferences may, if they wish, break away independently and form the [Immortal Ascension Conference] Project Team!"

"A project team?"

"Yes! Simply put, going forward, you will work for me, receive my salary, and handle specialized tasks!"

Wang Mu explained, "If you agree, all personnel subsequently recruited to promote and expand the Immortal Ascension Conferences will be uniformly trained by you!"

"I'll say it again: I want maximum efficiency!"

Li Yuanhua bowed without the slightest hesitation: "My Li family is willing to serve the Young Master as loyal hounds!"

Are you kidding?

Having worked so hard for so long, wasn't the ultimate goal to secure a permanent place under the Wang family's banner?

At a time like this, how could there be any reason to refuse?

Wang Mu nodded in satisfaction.

He extended a slender index finger and drew a circle over the vast nautical chart.

"For the first batch, take down this section of medium and small islands first!"

Li Yuanhua stared at the drawn circle, which encompassed well over a hundred medium and small islands, and silently committed it to memory.

……

Li Yuanhua and Nie Tingting departed to prepare for the subsequent affairs of the Immortal Ascension Conferences.

Just at that moment, a pleasant chime rang out in Wang Mu's mind.

[Ding~]

[Detected that the number of the host's investments is excessively large. For the host's convenience, the system will undergo an adaptive upgrade!]

[Upgrading...]

???

System upgrade?

Wang Mu was stunned. This thing could even upgrade?

After a short while.

[Ding~]

[System upgrade complete!]

Anxious to see the changes, Wang Mu opened the system interface.

[Name: Wang Mu]

[Race: Human]

[Aptitude: Immortal Grade]

[Realm: Late Foundation Establishment]

[Abilities: Solar Emperor Scripture (Remnant), Eight Extremes Heaven-Shattering Fist, Seizing Heaven Creation Art (Qi Refining Chapter), Golden Origin Technique (Consummated), Water Origin Technique (Consummated), Wood Origin Technique (Consummated)... Hunyuan Stance (Consummated)

Metal Element Mastery: Proficient!

Fire Element Mastery: Proficient!

Wood Element Mastery: Proficient!

Water Element Mastery: Proficient!

Earth Element Mastery: Proficient!

Wind Element Mastery: Proficient!

Lightning Element...]

Beneath the basic panel was an endless stream of profit notifications.

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining cultivation effect return yields from Wang Yongquan: Golden Origin Technique experience +1, Metal Mastery +1, Magic Power +0.1!]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining cultivation effect return yields from Forestry-Zhong: Hunyuan Stance experience +1, Physical Strength +1!]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining cultivation effect return yields from Zhang Yuchun: Wood Origin Technique experience +1, Wood Mastery +1, Magic Power +0.1!]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining cultivation effect return yields from Wu Tianlin: Fire Origin Technique experience +1, Fire Mastery +1, Magic Power +0.1!]

[......]

"Have all the returns been digitized?"

Wang Mu stroked his chin. Because the number of people he had invested in was simply too massive, making it difficult to clearly track the status of investment returns, the system had directly upgraded to digitize all returns?

This certainly made things clear at a glance~

The cultivation techniques Wang Mu had invested out were all foundational ones. While not the absolute worst, they were still basic tier.

In reality, their enhancement to a cultivator's strength and various attributes was not particularly substantial.

However, no matter how small the individual increase.

Multiplied by a massive base of several million people.

Even broadcasting exercises could surpass the Dragon-Subduing Palms.

Wang Mu's capabilities across various elemental masteries were pushed directly to the absolute pinnacle.

More than enough to rival the unshared esoteric arts of various sacred lands.

And as the number of people Wang Mu invested in continued to grow, his future achievements would have no upper limit!

It was precisely at this moment that Wang Mu suddenly noticed the experience bar behind the [Hunyuan Stance], which had previously been filled to the brim in red, undergoing a change amid the continuous influx of experience after a sudden flash of light.

[Ding~]

[Congratulations to the host, your comprehension of the Hunyuan Stance has broken through the limit!]

[Comprehended—Hunyuan Ultimate Intent Art!]

[......]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining cultivation effect return yields from Zhou Yecai: Hunyuan Ultimate Intent Art experience +0.1, Physical Strength +1!]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining cultivation effect return yields from Wu Zhongqiong: Hunyuan Ultimate Intent Art experience +0.1, Physical Strength +1!]

"..."

In that exact instant, Wang Mu's body trembled slightly.

His vital blood surged, roaring like a mighty river.

Wisps of white mist steamed upward from the crown of his head. His skin grew increasingly fair and jade-like, purged of the slightest impurities, while an incomparably majestic surge of strength coursed through his body.

This had nothing to do with magic power cultivation.

Rather, it was the manifest sign of accomplished body refinement!