Immortality and cultivation begin at age forty, starting with Foundation Establishment.

The number of independent cultivators in the market has surged. Initially, it only cost one spirit stone for an independent cultivator to enter the market, but now it has risen to five spirit stones.

Despite this situation, large numbers of independent cultivators still line up every day, wanting to enter Qingyang Market.

Outside Qingyang Market, many smaller markets have been newly built, which can be entered at a lower cost. The controllers of these markets are not limited to sects, families, and independent cultivators.

There are even small markets set up by the other two major sects of Jin Kingdom, the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Jade God Palace, where you can exchange spirit stones and resources for various magical artifacts, pills, and talismans.

The more people there are, the lower the cost of recruiting independent cultivators.

Chen An, along with five Foundation Establishment cultivators—Yu Lanhua, Lu Nian, Zheng Ping, and Ye Hongyi—plus Yu Peiyao and four vice-captains, discussed the matter of expanding recruitment.

The current demon-hunting team has reached 1,500 members, forming more than ten demon-hunting squads.

The current management system has begun to show signs of conflict, with many people reporting various issues to the four deputy team leaders every day.

Chen An also felt a headache when talking about these things.

Before the expansion of recruitment even began, the four vice-captains were already complaining bitterly.

It describes the current internal conflicts.

There were too many people recruited, including traitors from other demon-hunting teams. Some took more resources than they were entitled to, some withheld spirit stones from their subordinates, and one team even robbed another team of their resources.

Someone attacked their own teammate and then escaped from the monster-hunting team.

The most important reason for the conflict was that the monster-hunting team expanded too quickly, and many people did not have time to work together, resulting in uneven distribution of resources.

The demon-hunting team's gains are many times higher than those of independent cultivators outside, but the team still feels unfair.

Chen An recalled a saying from an ancient sage: "It is not scarcity that is to be feared, but inequality."

Achieving a balance is extremely difficult.

The culture of cultivators differs from that of mortals. While the differences between mortals are not significant, cultivators undergo earth-shattering changes with each advancement in their cultivation realm.

Resources are allocated differently depending on the level of achievement, the individual's level of expertise, and the level of merit.

Even within the team, there are relationships of varying degrees of closeness and distance.

If Chen An were to reward someone, he would definitely choose one of his close subordinates. As for those he had barely met, Chen An was too lazy to concern himself with their affairs.

Chen An needs the resources of the demon-hunting team, but doesn't want to manage its trivial matters.

Human energy is limited after all. Chen An didn't want to focus his energy on management, just as he didn't want to learn alchemy and handed over the task of alchemy entirely to Shi Ying.

Chen An, Yu Peiyao, and Lu Nian were in similar situations. As for Ye Hongyi and Zheng Ping, they were completely clueless and even felt that they had gained too much and wondered if they should share some of the resources to appease the anger of the Qi Refining disciples.

At this moment, Yu Peiyao stepped forward and offered several suggestions.

First: Core team building, gathering a group of elite disciples into a demon-hunting team and offering them generous benefits.

Second: Recruitment and layoffs will be carried out simultaneously, reducing resources for all independent cultivators and implementing a bottom-ranking elimination system to force some of those who are just coasting along to leave the demon-hunting team.

Third: Establish a bounty system, providing generous resources and equipment to those who dare to take risks, so that they can explore dangerous places.

Fourth: For experienced demon hunters, relax management attitudes, improve treatment, reduce losses of experienced demon hunters, and allow veteran demon hunters to lead new demon hunters to progress together.

Fifth: The team establishes a points system. In addition to the basic spirit stone benefits, points can be earned through merit and exchanged for cultivation resources.

Under the new system, the focus is on managing the core monster-hunting team, while the other teams are left to develop on their own.

Yu Peiyao participated in the demon-hunting team for three months, working at the bottom, middle and top levels. She observed the demon-hunting team from multiple angles and could clearly perceive the problems that existed in the team. She was always thinking about how to solve the problems that arose in the team.

Yu Peiyao, who had no management experience, was able to come up with so many solutions in three months; she was very resourceful.

Chen An could also think of a solution, but he wouldn't say it out loud, because if he was asked to solve it this time, he would be asked to come up with a solution next time, and the time after that.

It's better to just let it develop as it is. After all, the demon-hunting team doesn't belong to one person. It's not like he'll raise the demon-hunting team only to have someone else reap the benefits later.

The Demon Hunting Team has officially changed its name to "Demon Wolf Demon Hunting Team," signifying unity like that of the Demon Wolf Beast.

Three hundred miles to the north, deep in a dense forest, ancient trees rise from the ground, their canopies layered like a sea of ​​clouds, sunlight filtering through the gaps in the branches and leaves.

Wang Qian sat under a tree, surrounded by five rows of array flags. She held a black stone in each of her hands, and the two stones were drawn to each other.

The jade hand slowly approached, and the fluctuations of the two black stones grew stronger and stronger.

The black stone, emanating spiritual energy, emitted an increasingly dense aura, making Wang Qian feel warm all over.

Click.

The two black stones met perfectly.

Just as Wang Qian was anticipating a change in the Black Stone.

A ripple of soul energy emanated from the black stone.

Without hesitation, Wang Qian immediately took the Soul-Binding Talisman and stuck it on, trapping the soul on it.

Something's not right.

Just as Chen An said, some opportunities are not actually opportunities.

The black stone cannot be separated again.

As Wang Qian watched the soul power fluctuations grow stronger, she could only stick all the soul talismans she had prepared beforehand onto the areas around her where the soul power was overflowing, and wait for the next developments.

The night before.

Chen An gave Wang Qian a lot of life-saving measures, plus a set of mid-grade defensive magic artifacts.

There are also a large number of Soul-Binding Talismans, Fireball Talismans, and Water Dragon Talismans.

Add three second-tier lightning orbs.

Before long, the soul power broke through the soul-sealing talisman, and a powerful wave swept over Wang Qian before passing through the restriction and disappearing in another direction.

Wang Qian had no idea that if she hadn't lost her primordial yin and hadn't had serious health problems, the owner of this soul power fluctuation would have directly possessed her.

Even though the being inside the black stone had just awakened and was in a state of confusion, it still felt a sense of rejection towards Wang Qian.

Wang Qian, having miraculously survived, held the black stone in her hand, which trembled uncontrollably. She continued to use her divine sense to examine the stone's condition.

She saw a mysterious space.

With a single thought, Wang Qian entered this mysterious space; with another thought, she returned to the outside world.

Indeed, a great secret was hidden on the black stone.

Wang Qian continued into the mysterious space, but couldn't help feeling somewhat disappointed. This cave was much worse than she had imagined, and the spiritual energy here was even lower than outside.

On a cliff, an array composed of strange runes frantically absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy and transmitted it towards a certain node.

Seeing this, Wang Qian understood why there was spiritual energy emanating from the black stone.

This is the existence within the Blackrock, a deception deliberately set up to lure outsiders in order to escape.

Since this black stone cannot immediately enhance Chen An's strength, it has little value.

As for this space...

It's up to Chen An to decide how to use it from now on.

It was only because Wang Qian didn't understand formations that she was shocked that a spirit-gathering formation built in a place with sparse spiritual energy could be comparable to the spiritual energy of a second-tier spiritual vein.

The value of this single formation surpasses that of ordinary third- or even fourth-order formations.