Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 419

The person he was going to meet was none other than Situ Hong.

A friend he had truly come to know in his earliest, weakest days, and one of the few who was still alive.

Ever since the Blood Abyss trial ended and the Peach Blossom Ghost Mother died at Wang Yu’s hands, Situ Hong had finally been freed. He had been following Wang Yu for decades now.

The two were not far apart in age. Wang Yu was only about a dozen years younger. If not for the incident involving the Nine Evil Sword Lord, he would have visited Tianbao City long ago.

After Jade Spirit City was reclaimed by the Zhuo Clan, his “trusted subordinates”, namely Daoist Qingyang and Xu Ruozhou, had followed his remote instructions and carried out a ruthless harvest.

After escaping with their gains and regrouping with Situ Hong, they stayed in Tianbao City to cultivate. This place was similar to Golden Toad City of the Heavenly Pond Jin Clan. Both were ideal locations for rogue cultivators.

The order here was strict enough that, as long as one had spirit stones, most problems could be solved.

Back then, when Wang Yu participated in Tianbao City’s Earth-rank auction, he had accidentally obtained a set of Nascent Soul Pill materials, thereby offending the Yin-Yang Sect Master, a late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivator.

However, the Yin-Yang Sect only had him as a Nascent Soul cultivator. With no successors, it would fade away in a few hundred years. It also had some connection with the Heaven Refining Demonic Sect.

Wang Yu knew he had offended the man, but the other party might not even know who his enemy was.

At most, based on the location of his only son’s death, he might guess that the culprit was someone from the Blood Reversal Sect, which had nothing to do with Wang Yu on the surface.

If there was any real loophole, it lay with the three external helpers he had hired back then. The families behind Qiao and Chu had ongoing pill business dealings with him. There was no need to think further.

The only true weak point was the person he had introduced to develop in Jade Spirit. He had already forgotten that person’s name. It had been far too long since he had been active in this region.

Tianbao City stood in the southeastern part of Blood Abyss Prefecture, occupying a vast neutral zone and bordering Liuju Prefecture of the Heaven Refining Demonic Sect. In the past, traveling there took at least a month.

Now, with his Nascent Soul escape speed, even though his Aurora Escape Technique had not yet advanced, it would take only a few days.

Considering the matter of supporting Black Mountain Pass later, he also needed a few subordinates who could actually be put to use.

Therefore, this trip was both to retrieve spirit stones and to formally bring Qingyang and Xu Ruozhou into the Blood Reversal Sect, seamlessly integrating them into the righteous-demonic war.

With their cultivation levels, they also needed such an opportunity.

On the path of cultivation, aside from encountering benefactors, opportunities were extremely important. As long as those who dared to risk their lives did not die, they would eventually rise. This was the truth.

Four days later, the majestic and imposing Tianbao City came into view. Floating immortal mountains hovered in the sky, each one a Nascent Soul cultivation ground. This was Tianbao City’s way of displaying its strength.

With so many Nascent Soul cultivators watching over the place, who would dare cause trouble here?

In comparison, although the Blood Reversal Sect also valued order, they treated human life lightly. Only those tempered through blood and fire were considered true gold. The many “Killing Alleys” in the Ten Blood Reversal Districts likely existed with their tacit approval.

As a commercial center, Tianbao City placed order above all else.

There were rumors that even the child of a Nascent Soul retainer, who bought things in the city without paying spirit stones, had been publicly punished. The punishment was deliberately severe, and his cultivation was abolished.

This widely known “secret” established Tianbao City’s positive image. Its good reputation was a major factor in its current prosperity.

Of course, not everyone was qualified to know the follow-up. The crippled Nascent Soul descendant was later saved by a secret treasure of the Heaven Treasure Pavilion, and even achieved a breakthrough after destruction and rebirth.

From then on, that Nascent Soul retainer became fiercely loyal to the Heaven Treasure Pavilion.

Such methods had also been used by Golden Abundance Tower, but with less success.

Moreover, the Heaven Treasure Pavilion was a rotating merchant alliance. Both the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain and Taihu had participating clans. The position of pavilion master rotated among six major families.

Golden Abundance Tower, on the other hand, was purely hereditary. It was weaker in top-tier experts, but its advantage lay in unity. It had grown from family business roots and retained that structure.

Logically speaking, the former should have had fiercer and more ruthless internal competition, since there were no blood ties binding them together.

Yet in reality, Golden Abundance Tower’s internal struggles were more vicious, using every conceivable method. How the Heaven Treasure Pavilion maintained such harmony remained their secret.

Wang Yu did not know either.

With his thoughts in slight disarray, after entering the city, he activated his communication treasure to contact Situ Hong. It was a pair of jade pendants, with a much longer range than standard transmission talismans.

However, they could only contact each other and lacked versatility.

The connection went smoothly. After agreeing to meet at a restaurant in the city, they settled on Egret Cauldron Pavilion.

In less than half an hour, Wang Yu leaned against the railing and saw four figures approaching together, cautious yet excited.

With a sweep of his divine sense, he grasped their situation completely.

Daoist Qingyang, dressed in blue robes with a goat-like beard and a scholarly, thin demeanor, walked at the front. Though they had not met for over a hundred years, the familiarity remained unchanged.

After all, they had worked together on quite a few shady schemes, so they could be considered birds of a feather. Compared to Wang Yu, Daoist Qingyang possessed a hypocritically upright personality, outwardly proper while inwardly crooked.

His cultivation was at the fifth layer of Core Formation. Presumably, he had gained many benefits in Jade Spirit City, and Tianbao City was extremely convenient, with practically every kind of treasure available for purchase.

With conditions like that, how could his cultivation speed not be fast?

The one dressed in flowing white robes, with a three-foot green blade at his waist, was Xu Ruozhou. As the most outstanding junior officer Wang Yu had personally selected, he was actually something of a pretty boy.

It was just that he was usually clad in armor and carrying a halberd, so it was hard to tell.

After leaving Jade Spirit City, his true nature was exposed. His dual-spirit-root aptitude was not bad either. Now at Foundation Establishment peak, if he could obtain Core Formation spiritual items, advancing further should not be a problem.

The one in black robes with a pale, kidney-deficient-looking face was Situ Hong. Those who cultivated the ghost path often looked like this. Moreover, he was born with an incomparably handsome appearance, not inferior to Wang Yu’s in the slightest. He was also fond of beautiful women and loved courtesans.

In a prosperous place like Tianbao City, it would be strange if he could restrain himself. He was already doing better than most, even with Wang Yu’s Blood Pills compensating for his past losses.

Even so, he was still only at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment. Whether he could reach Core Formation before his lifespan ran out was highly uncertain. Situ Hong’s aptitude was somewhat lacking. He only possessed three spirit roots.

The last person wore tight black clothing and carried a baleful blade on his back.

His name was Yang Xiong, a disciple of one of Cold Blood Peak’s elders. He was a core member of the master-disciple faction and had also been an accomplice back then in the siege that killed the only son of the Yin-Yang Sect Master.

The flaw Wang Yu had previously considered was precisely this man.

He had not expected Yang Xiong to come to Tianbao City together with Qingyang and the others. Among them, Yang Xiong’s cultivation was the highest. After many years apart, he had already reached the eighth layer of Core Formation.

As for whether he could charge toward the Nascent Soul realm…

Probably not.

Even with Nascent Soul–condensing treasures, his foundation was still somewhat lacking. Wang Yu had personally crossed that threshold and trusted his own judgment.

When it came to foundation, it was essentially seeing through appearances to the essence.

By judging the strength of a person’s three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit, one could accurately determine their underlying potential. Yang Xiong’s three treasures were not even as strong as Elder Yushu’s at his peak.

When Wang Yu had broken through to Nascent Soul, both his physique and divine sense had advanced first. His foundation was far beyond what such “ordinary geniuses” could ever hope to match.

Naturally, he would never say such things out loud.

Yang Xiong’s willingness to follow him here was probably due to wanting Nascent Soul resources from him, or hoping for some guidance. Both possibilities existed.

News of Wang Yu’s return to the Blood Reversal Sect and his exposure of his Nascent Soul cultivation had already spread throughout the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain. His reputation was considerable. Most of the younger generation’s so-called geniuses were more than a hundred years older than him.

Yet he was the first to condense a Nascent Soul.

That alone gave his fame an enormous boost, making him even more well-known than many senior elders.

One side stood on the upper floor, the other on the street below.

When their gazes met, the four of them became even more excited and rushed up eagerly.

“City Lord!”

“City Lord.”

“Elder Wang.”

“Brother Wang.”

The last greeting was spoken by Situ Hong. He deliberately emphasized their closeness, then took out a storage ring.

“All the spirit stones we accumulated in Jade Spirit City are in here.”

“Not bad.”

Wang Yu accepted it and checked inside. Good heavens. There were a full twenty million low-grade spirit stones. To his current self, this was only a small sum.

But back when he had just reached Foundation Establishment, if he had possessed such a fortune, his mouth would have split into a grin.

“Something came up recently, so I arrived in Tianbao City much later than planned. How have things been for you?”

After everyone sat down and fine wine and delicacies were served, Wang Yu asked naturally.

Xu Ruozhou was straightforward and spoke first, pouring out his grievances.

But the way he spoke made it sound like he was filing a complaint.

“It’s been miserable. This damn place has everything, sure, but I don’t have much savings. Just renting a cave abode costs a fortune. I’ve been relying entirely on Brother Yang’s generosity.”

“Haha…”

Situ Hong laughed awkwardly and explained in a low voice, “That’s Brother Wang’s spirit stones. I couldn’t bear to use them.”

“You really are something.”

Wang Yu was helpless. He clearly remembered telling Situ Hong to use the money when needed and not be overly frugal. Yet this fellow turned out to be a penny-pinching iron rooster.

Still, seeing his subordinates act this way gave him a subtle sense of satisfaction.

Daoist Qingyang was much the same as before, wearing his usual calm and unflappable expression. He understood Wang Yu well and knew that Wang Yu never treated his own people unfairly.

Back when he left the Ink-Water Sect, was it not precisely because Wang Yu was generous and decisive when it came to distributing resources?

Yang Xiong had joined this small group some time ago.

Yet he had spent the least time interacting with Wang Yu. Knowing that Wang Yu was a Nascent Soul cultivator, he adhered firmly to the principle that the more one spoke, the more mistakes one made, and that silence was safest.

So he directly acted like a potted plant, not saying a single word.

When mentioned, he would only smile honestly and foolishly, completely different from the man who had once drawn his blade and hacked down the young master of the Yin-Yang Sect.

Seeing this, Wang Yu took out his treasured Blood-Brewed Spirit Wine. This was a third-rank spiritual wine fermented from wine crystals. He had quite a supply, yet rarely drank it himself.

Its effects were negligible for him now, but for the four of them it was a tremendous tonic. Paired with the spiritual delicacies laid out on the table at Egret Cauldron Pavilion, they ate until their tongues nearly fell out, gaining considerable benefits.

Such a small return was not Wang Yu’s style. Moreover, he would soon be taking them to Black Mountain Pass to work together.

If this pass could be captured, the Blood Reversal Sect would naturally launch a counterattack against Taihu. Wang Yu suspected that the sect’s cooperation with the Heaven Refining Demonic Sect was likely related to this.

As for the latter’s attitude toward the Void Heaven Sword Sect, it was like a dog seeing dung, a cat seeing a mouse, or a rabbit seeing a carrot. They had reached the point of hallucinating from craving the Ancient Demon “Life” suppressed beneath the Sword Sect’s mountain gate.

This was common knowledge.

On the other hand, he also wanted to charge into Taihu and loot it thoroughly.

Being a demon-slaying vanguard was satisfying, but being a demonic cultivator was even more satisfying and suited his nature better. There was no need to worry about offending this person or that person.

The four of them needed to strengthen their overall combat power.

After three rounds of wine and five courses of dishes, Wang Yu rubbed his Seaheart Ring and distributed spirit pills one by one.

What he gave to Situ Hong were mainly blood pills, which could compensate for the losses he had suffered from years of being drained by the Ghost Mother.

Supplemented with a single cultivation Human Pill, it made Situ Hong so grateful that he was nearly in tears.

Yang Xiong and Daoist Qingyang also mainly received Human Pills. Wang Yu had the most of these. During his years as the Ice Demon Child, he had killed far too many people, and he still had quite a few Core Formation cultivators’ remains in storage.

He could refine them whenever he wanted. He even had materials for Nascent Soul Human Pills, but his Human Pill Art was not yet high enough in grade. Using it now would likely waste two Nascent Soul bodies.

Xu Ruozhou was more troublesome.

What he lacked most right now were Core Formation spiritual items. Wang Yu simply gave him five hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones and told him to save up and purchase them himself.

In addition, Wang Yu laid out dozens of third-rank magic treasures for them to choose from. These had also been obtained during his time as the Ice Demon Child.

Those Core Formation cultivators who had caused chaos in Maple Prefecture had not only contributed their flesh and blood essence, but also their entire lifetime savings. What remained in Wang Yu’s possession were all top tier items, either of high quality or made from special materials.

They were worthy of being melted down and reforged. After all, forging fourth-rank magic treasures required large quantities of third-rank auxiliary materials. Since beginning his cultivation, nearly all the equipment he had used had been seized from others.

Now that he had obtained the Artifact Chapter of the Demon Refining Art, freeing himself from the constraints of blueprints, he could finally refine convenient, custom-made magic treasures at will.

Most of his combat power lay in his divine abilities and profound techniques.

His reliance on magic treasures was actually quite low.

Daoist Qingyang selected a set of Five Elements Rings. They were high-grade magic treasures capable of offense, defense, and binding enemies. They were versatile, all-purpose items of excellent quality.

Xu Ruozhou chose a great halberd. Using it was somewhat strenuous for him, yet he was still grinning from ear to ear. In his eyes, Wang Yu was absurdly generous.

The most correct decision he had made in his entire life was following Wang Yu.

Thinking about it carefully, it made sense.

If Wang Yu back then had encountered a benefactor who would casually give away high-grade magic treasures, he would also remember that kindness for life and repay it wholeheartedly… though probably not to the point of dying for it.

Situ Hong chose a flying shuttle magic treasure, also high-grade, focused on speed. Clearly, he had already guessed where Wang Yu planned to take them next.

Yang Xiong chose a battle armor treasure.

He specialized in close combat, and his cultivation of the Yin Evil Profound Saber Art gave him considerable physical strength.

However, he was still inferior to true body cultivators and to those sharp-headed savages of Barbarian Ghost Peak.

This saber art was actually quite decent.

Back when he had chosen his cultivation method, Wang Yu had also considered it.

With pills granted, treasures bestowed, and the boost from fine wine and delicacies, even though they had not seen each other for many years, their relationship quickly grew close again. After spending some more time together, it would be no different from the past.

Only then did Wang Yu turn to serious matters.

“Over the past few years, the sect’s major movements should not be unfamiliar to you. I plan to take you with me to Black Mountain Pass. Qingyang and Ruozhou can also formally join the Exalted Sect. What do you think?”

They had already accepted the gifts, so naturally they could not refuse now.

Xu Ruozhou wanted to fight for a chance at Core Formation. Participating in the righteous-demonic war was the best option. With a Nascent Soul powerhouse like Wang Yu watching over him, he would not immediately become cannon fodder.

Situ Hong shared the same thoughts.

As for Yang Xiong, there was nothing to say. He already had the obligation to participate in the war. Following Wang Yu meant receiving plenty of preferential treatment. Sheltering under a big tree made it easy to enjoy the shade.

After hesitating for a moment, Qingyang also nodded.

He did not care much about participating in war, as long as he followed Wang Yu. Privately, he actually wanted to go to the Cloud Ridge Prefecture battlefield. The Painting Dao he cultivated was unpopular and extremely rare.

If he wanted Nascent Soul level cultivation methods, he could only look for them in Eastern Extreme Capital.

However, going to Black Mountain Pass was also acceptable. After all, Nascent Soul was still far away. Such thoughts were nothing more than distant fantasies, and he had little confidence in breaking through.