Fifteen corpses.
It was somewhat short of the twenty that had been requested earlier, but fourth-rank demonic corpses were not cabbages growing everywhere. They had practically dug up ancestral graves already, and being unable to gather more was pletely understandable.
As for what Peng Qing and Clan Leader Hei discussed in private, it was not important. At most, they would pensate in other ways. They still needed Wang Yu’s help and were unwilling to offend Golden Abundance Pavilion.
Peng Qing’s attitude as an envoy already explained many things. Moreover, the spirit pill that the Five-Colored Holy Lord wanted refined was not for cultivation or breaking through bottlenecks.
Instead, it was a pill whose main effect was repairing soul injuries. Wang Yu suspected it was prepared for Venerable Azure Dragon, but he had no evidence or clues. Pure speculation could not be taken as proof.
After inspecting everything,
Wang Yu put away the storage pouch with satisfaction and said in a deep voice, “The matter of the Demon Cat Clan ends here. I've has a second request for Brother Peng Qing.”
As a shapeshifted great demon, aside from the golden-cyan feathers at his sideburns, Peng Qing looked no different from a human. Even his subtle expressions were vivid and lifelike.
After being involved in so many matters in succession, he was already somewhat irritated, but he still restrained himself and said patiently,
“Alchemist Wang, please speak. If it is within my duty, I will not refuse.”
“I would like to meet the Heavenly Roc King. Is that possible?”
“This… please wait a moment.”
Peng Qing thought for a bit, took out a golden feather, closed his eyes to municate for a while, then spoke again.
“The Roc King has agreed. He will arrive within three days. Is there anything else?”
“No. Please do as you wish.”
“That is good. In another half year, when the Holy Lord needs the spirit pills, please make sure to deliver them on time.”
“Of course.”
Wang Yu nodded. He had no intention of going back on his word.
With that, the three-party meeting came to an end. Next would be his transaction with the Heavenly Roc King, trying to enlist this Nascent Soul Great Perfection powerhouse to help him deal with the Nine Evil Sword Lord.
Yes.
With only True Lady Jin Xiyuan, Wang Yu felt it was still not safe enough.
When estimating an enemy’s strength, one should never underestimate or be conservative. One had to plan for the worst in order to ensure absolute safety.
Although the cultivation world was also a society built on relationships, it was different from mortal dynasties. The existence of powerful cultivators meant that many problems could be solved directly. There were rarely schemers with demon-like cunning.
Most plots revolved around interests and secrets.
The former still left traces. The latter was purely about information gaps. No matter how clever you were, if you did not know something, you simply did not know it, and there was no way to counter it.
Just like the secrets of the Ice Prison Realm. Before learning the truth, one could only speculate from scattered clues, and it was easy to stray far from reality.
Or like the secret of the Demonic Embryo Mysterious Origin Curse. Wang Yu had long known that it was handed over to the sect by the Nine Evil Sword Lord. The problem was that hundreds of years had passed, and many people had cultivated it.
The two had never even met. His imagined enemy had always been Fu Xiao, not the Nine Evil Sword Lord.
When the other party suddenly appeared, he was truly caught off guard.
This was the power of information disparity.
As for why the other party wanted to capture him, Wang Yu vaguely felt it was related to the Innate Demonic Embryo. But the Idle Slot was an absolute secret. No one could detect it.
It was impossible for the other party to know in advance that he could shape an Innate Demonic Embryo Physique. At most, they would assume he had a Acquired Demonic Embryo Physique.
That was far more reasonable.
So the Nine Evil Sword Lord’s goal was probably his Acquired Demonic Embryo Physique. Thinking about it, could it be that he also wanted to reverse it and return to the innate state? Whatever the truth was, he would soon find out.
With that thought, Wang Yu looked at Jin Miaoshan, then cupped his hands toward True Lady Jin Xiyuan.
“May I ask how far Senior’s cultivation has reached? In a one-on-one fight, do you have confidence in taking down a newly advanced Nascent Soul seventh-layer cultivator who has only cultivated for a few decades?”
After the meeting ended, Peng Qing and Clan Leader Hei had already left.
Only the three of them remained in the council hall. With soundproof restrictions and six-sense isolation layered together, there was no need to worry about being overheard.
Meticulous and serious, True Lady Jin Xiyuan glanced at Jin Miaoshan and answered honestly.
“This humble one has reached the eighth layer of the Nascent Soul realm and has mastered Golden Light Intent. My speed should be the fastest among those of the same realm, but I am not good at frontal offense.”
Wang Yu’s expression did not change, but he understood what she meant.
She could fight.
She could not kill.
If early and mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators could still be assassinated with enough effort and planning, then late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivators could rarely have their lives threatened unless a venerable expert intervened.
To seal a great cultivator’s teleportation ability, his current level of Lock of Heaven was still insufficient. He had been accumulating this secret art for about twenty years.
The spatial power condensed into Lock of Heaven could currently extend to about eight hundred meters, forming a silver spatial imprint branded into a Nascent Soul. It was already enough to deal with early-stage Nascent Soul teleportation. bined with Wang Yu’s secluded integration of various arts, and his current efforts to prehend Dao Intent, he had temporarily stopped accumulating it.
Spatial power was extremely difficult to cultivate.
A single Idle Slot was still far too slow. Moreover, secret arts originating from the Void Dao pendium practically had no upper limit. They were equivalent to a spatial divine technique. The longer the Lock of Heaven were condensed, the better the effect.
In addition, even after achieving minor acplishment with the secret art, he was still unable to extract power from normal space. The environment was too stable. He could only rely on the Idle Slot’s peculiar absorption ability to cultivate.
Even the cleverest cook cannot prepare a meal without rice. That was precisely the situation.
To the side, after hearing Wang Yu’s explanation, Jin Miaoshan said in surprise, “You offended a great cultivator? No wonder there hasn’t been any news about you all these years. You’ve been fleeing for your life!”
“More or less.”
After a brief pause, he continued, “Miaoshan, if you can persuade the Heavenly Roc King to take action, do you have any spatial treasures that can seal teleportation techniques?”
“About that… what are you prepared to offer?”
Business was business, personal ties were personal ties.
With Golden Abundance Tower’s foundation, they definitely possessed such items. The problem was that treasures of this level were extremely valuable. Even as a candidate for succession, it would not be easy for her to mobilize one.
And it could not be known that it was being used to help Wang Yu. After all, this brat’s reputation in Golden Abundance Tower was utterly terrible. Not kicking him while he was down was already generous. Asking for help?
“Name your conditions. If this matter can be resolved, I can return to the Exalted Sect and ascend to the summit of Cold Blood Peak.”
After that, there was the matter of the righteous-demonic war.
He had thought it through. His repeated wavering in the past had been seventy percent due to survival pressure. Being ruthless while gathering resources was normal. It was also very Crimson Kite.
Now, with the Blood Reversal Sect in turmoil, this was another opportunity to climb higher.
If he could endure it, he would rise along with it and bee one of the sect’s patriarchs.
He would be able to freely consult the core inheritances and learn even more secrets of the Ice Prison Realm.
If he could not endure it, then relying on the relationship he had built in advance with Lei Yao, temporarily joining Thunderfire Temple was also a fallback. If that failed, he could bee an independent cultivator.
The world was vast. He could go anywhere.
This was the confidence brought by his cultivation realm. Advancing in realm ultimately gave him more choices.
As for why he wanted to participate in this righteous-demonic war, resources were only a very small part of the reason. What truly made him uneasy was Yellow Springs Monastery’s stubborn, life-and-death attitude. He always felt they were plotting something.
Back when they had robbed Jade Spirit’s Holy Tribute, he had already begun to harbor doubts.
The people of Yellow Springs Monastery were searching for something, and that something was very likely in Cloud Ridge Prefecture. More precisely, it might be within the territory of New Chasing Moon Prefecture.
As a ceded region, its territorial resources were not particularly abundant. Yet the petition there was far too fierce, which was also suspicious. These matters would surface sooner or later. For now, there was no need to think too deeply about them.
Seeing Wang Yu’s “name-your-price” attitude, Jin Miaoshan curled her lips and narrowed her eyes.
“I’ll bring up the conditions next time. They will definitely be something you can acplish. For now, I’ll help you first.”
“Alright. Let’s sign a contract.”
“No need. Miaoshan still has this much trust.”
“Fair enough.”
Wang Yu was slightly surprised, then patiently waited for the Heavenly Roc King’s arrival. His speed was even faster than Peng Qing’s. He said three days, but arrived one day early.
When facing this burly and handsome generation’s Demon King, Wang Yu kept his posture very low, fully aware that his current status was not enough for equal standing.
After he and the Heavenly Roc King spoke privately, the latter left directly.
He did not exchange a single word with Jin Miaoshan or True Lady Jin Xiyuan.
Seeing this, she asked curiously, “How did it go?”
Wang Yu pondered for a moment, then shook the roc-feather token in his hand.
“It’s settled. The price is not small, but it’s worth it.”
“What price?”
“Secret.”
Pushing away the overly curious onlooker, Wang Yu’s next plan was to enter closed-door cultivation, deeply prehend the Demon-Refining Art, continue deducing his advancement, and then refine a batch of magic treasures.
“Miaoshan, Fellow Daoist Jin Xiyuan, this is my token. Please wait for me in Maple Prefecture City for three years. At that time, it will be the true moment to act.”
Three years was not long for high-level cultivators, so they agreed readily.
With everything settled and the demon cat clan’s pensation paid, the matter was considered resolved. Those demon cats who had fled and hidden would likely return. However, Wang Yu did not plan to stay any longer.
After all, it was only a fourth-rank low-grade spirit vein.
His cultivation was unlike that of ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators. His environmental requirements were frighteningly low. He could even increase his cultivation in a spirit-devoid environment, entirely thanks to the powerful Idle Slot.
After leaving the demon cat clan’s territory, he flew three hundred li toward Maple Prefecture.
He casually found a mountain peak and settled down.
Taking out the seventy-year Celestial Enlightenment Dao Platform, Wang Yu began his closed-door life of simultaneous prehension and artifact refinement. With fifteen fourth-rank demon corpses, he had more than enough materials.
As for the spiritual pills requested by the Five-Colored Holy Lord, he had actually refined them long ago. He had merely claimed otherwise. Leaving them in his Little Spirit Mountain cave abode was sufficient.
Now that he had established direct contact with the Heavenly Roc King, he would have many dealings with the northern demon clans in the future. There was no need to worry about him backing out or refusing further cooperation.
…
…
Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
Inside the remote and desolate cave dwelling, there was not the slightest trace of spiritual essence.
Yet this did not affect the roaring, surging flames.
Three years was neither long nor short. It was not enough to allow the Artifact Chapter of the Demon Refining Art to advance to fourth-rank.
However, just like in his past pill refinement, reaching the peak of third-rank mastery already meant he could attempt fourth-rank refinement. High-grade products were still out of reach.
But low-grade ones had a very good chance of success.
Moreover, seated atop the Celestial Enlightenment Dao Platform, it was as if he had activated a permanent epiphany buff. His exceptional prehension caused inspiration to flow endlessly.
The first thing he refined was an insect vessel.
According to his estimates, the Iceflame Imperial Butterfly was about to emerge.
The difficulty of refining an insect vessel was relatively low. It mainly served as a container. He chose the corpse of an ice-attribute demonic cat.
Using fourth-rank ice-attribute materials obtained from exchange fairs, along with spatial materials refined from melted storage rings, he employed Ice Chi Pill Flames to forge a fourth-rank auxiliary magic treasure.
Demon Refining Art: Artifact Chapter.
It could only be described as an evil technique. The refinement process was utterly horrifying.
Under the influence of the demon-refining formula, the entire demonic cat corpse rapidly shed its flesh, condensing into a sphere of blood and meat.
It was mixed with fur, claws, eyeballs, and internal organs.
Extremely disgusting.
Fortunately, after being tempered by the Ice Chi Pill Flames, it pletely transformed into a writhing mass of flesh. The remaining bones also melted rapidly. Under the control of artifact-refining hand seals and fine divine sense adjustments, a bone insect vessel quickly took shape.
The vessel itself was originally a soup-stewing container. It could also be used to brew wine. It stood about nine inches tall and had a round lid.
It was excellent for housing Gu insects. Such containers were usually made in three forms: bags, tubes, and vessels.
After the demonic corpse was initially refined.
Wang Yu continued melting the spatial materials, turning them into strands of silver patterns that merged into the inner walls. Thanks to the Lock of Heaven secret technique, his understanding of spatial principles was far from blank.
No specific refinement blueprint was needed.
The Demon Refining Art emphasized one thing: adapting to circumstances and tailoring to materials.
It allowed the refiner to shape the finished product according to their will.
How powerful it became was closely related to the quality of the demonic corpse.
As the final cold-attribute materials transformed into frigid liquid and merged into the bone vessel, the previously separated flesh sphere covered it pletely. Wang Yu let out a low shout.
“Refine!”
The Ice Chi Pill Flames surged even more fiercely. Profound and mysterious demon-refining runes formed a five-direction, five-element formation, causing all materials to merge into a unified whole, gradually losing all distinction.
An internal spatial domain was opened within the bone vessel.
Several ice mountains rose from the ground, constructing the ideal environment for the Iceflame Butterflies to live in. Countless ice-crystal flowers bloomed endlessly.
The interior scenery was inparably beautiful.
These scenes occurred in the early stage of his three-year seclusion. After two years of nurturing and gestation, the treasure finally took shape today.
“Fourth-rank low-grade: Ice Bone Vessel!”
This treasure was mainly used to house Iceflame Butterfly swarms. It was not a primary bat magic treasure. Thanks to the Demon Refining Art’s characteristics, it also possessed growth potential.
As long as suitable demonic corpses were fused into it, advancement would not be a problem.
Of course, this characteristic was not enough to give birth to intelligence and turn it into a fifth-rank spiritual treasure. For Wang Yu, this was already more than sufficient.
The Ice Bone Vessel had a base color as delicate and snow-white as polished bone. Red and blue intertwined to form butterfly patterns. At first glance, it looked like a piece of art.
After a brief inspection, Wang Yu stored it in his Qi Sea and began refining it.
At the same time, using Dragon Blood Demon Tree, fourth-rank demonic cat corpses, Taihe Flowing Silver Gold, and other materials as the main ponents, the centerpiece of this seclusion, a pill furnace-type treasure he named the Taihe Blood Cauldron, was pleted as well.
Both cauldrons and furnaces could be used for pill refinement.
The difference was that cauldrons could also serve bat purposes, while furnaces were purely for alchemy. He had long wanted a fourth-rank pill cauldron.
The Taihe Blood Cauldron was a late-stage product of this seclusion. Although its gestation period was short, the craftsmanship was extremely refined. It did not reach mid-grade, but among fourth-rank low-grade treasures, it was top-tier.
After refining more spirit pills and nourishing it with pill essence and spiritual resonance, at most three hundred furnaces would be enough for it to advance to mid-grade.
Considering how rare high-grade pill materials were, this would still take quite some time.
The refinement of these two treasures solved many of his problems.
In theory, the remaining Dragon Blood Demon Tree materials could be used to craft another coffin.
However, their attributes did not match the Thunder Corpse, so there was no urgent need.
He did not proceed with it.
There were still thirteen fourth-rank demonic corpses left.
In addition, among his existing treasures, he still lacked a primary bat weapon. The Yellow Springs Demonic Sword could no longer keep up. The Glazed Iceheart Pagoda was his life-bound treasure and was suppressing two Nascent Souls.
He needed a frequently usable magic treasure.
His gaze unconsciously fell upon the Ghost-Weeping Flute.
This was an old and reliable veteran.
Reviews
All reviews (0)