Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 423

They were both shocked by the strength Wang Yu had displayed and unsettled by the sinister schemes hidden in his heart. His meticulous planning had been aimed precisely at this final step: ensuring that these two Nascent Soul sword cultivators would be completely wiped out.

The most perfect effect of feigning weakness was the information gap at their first meeting.

Even the two of them, his temporary allies, had been deceived.

He had even left behind spatial-sealing secret technique in advance within the void. This showed that killing intent was rooted deep in his bones, unlike them, who had not initially harbored murderous thoughts.

After all, a Nascent Soul life was precious.

One’s own life was precious. An enemy’s life was also precious.

Unless absolutely necessary, there was no need to fight desperately to the death.

Now, the perfect killing opportunity Wang Yu had created instantly stirred desire and greed in the hearts of Dark Demon Barbarian Lord and Dark Tiger Demon Lord.

A Nascent Soul cultivator’s lifetime accumulation.

Even if it was not all carried on their person, it was still an extremely substantial fortune. Especially when it involved two Nascent Souls. This was something the Heaven Refining Demonic Sect had spent enormous resources collecting for years.

That Blood Pill Master, known as the greatest master of human pill techniques in this realm and the number one alchemist of the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain, was precisely why the Heaven Refining Demonic Sect had been gathering Nascent Souls.

There were also magic treasures, resources, and a lifetime of accumulation.

Countless thoughts raced through their minds.

Yet in reality, the two old demons did not hesitate in the slightest before making their move. Even a trace of hesitation would have been disrespectful to Wang Yu.

The Lock of Heaven sealed the surrounding space.

Two streams of demonic light struck simultaneously.

Dark Demon snapped off one of his own fingers, transforming it into a pitch-black blood nail that pierced directly into Bagua Master’s Nascent Soul at the crown. Dense black curse patterns spread rapidly.

The Nascent Soul’s aura declined at once, yet retained a faint trace of vitality.

Dark Tiger Demon Lord’s method was similar.

However, he did not know the flesh-and-blood secret arts of Barbarian Ghost Peak. Instead, he used Yin Beast Path techniques. He spat a mouthful of “old phlegm” onto Ancestor Hemp-Robed Nascent Soul, instantly forming a thick layer of dark yin shell.

Taking advantage of the stiffness caused by the failed spatial shifting technique and the suppression of the Lock of Heaven, neither of them missed this perfect opportunity.

They exchanged a glance and, with tacit understanding, stored the Nascent Souls away.

Seeing this, Wang Yu took the two storage rings and the two shattered physical bodies, likewise showing no intention of sharing.

This kind of mutual understanding did not need words.

Those who understood, understood.

The interception mission was perfectly completed.

“What next?”

He coldly watched as the demonic cultivators slaughtered the Sword Sect disciples. In at most half an hour, nothing would remain here except a few traces of blood.

Dark Demon Barbarian Lord thought for a moment and said, “Logically speaking, now that the mission is complete, we should circle back to Black Mountain Pass. But before that, I’d like to hear Fellow Daoist Profound Pill’s thoughts. Brother Dark Tiger, what do you think?”

Having just earned a huge profit, Dark Tiger Demon Lord was in an excellent mood.

He nodded at once. “Brother Dark Demon is right. What does Fellow Daoist Profound Pill think?”

When traveling outside, one’s identity was self-created.

In the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain, strength was everything. As a newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator, Wang Yu’s terrifying performance signified extraordinary talent and a future as a great cultivator.

Naturally, his influence over decisions began to tilt in his favor.

When he could bring them benefits, that tilt became exceptionally smooth.

Moreover, Nascent Soul cultivators leading external missions possessed autonomous decision-making authority.

The power of choice was now placed in Wang Yu’s hands.

As he pondered, his divine sense swept through the two Nascent Soul storage rings. Several items inside made his eyes light up. After considering the current situation, he said, “Black Mountain Pass is a key node. The sect has already resolved to seize it at all costs. My stance remains the same. Contact the Exalted Sect and request reinforcements. We will take Withered Leaf City.

“If we move fast enough, we can coordinate from inside and outside with Strange Peak Pass, annihilate the Taihu forces stationed in Iron Pillar Forest, then strike from the rear and besiege Black Mountain Pass. In that case, this chokepoint will certainly fall.”

The strategy itself was sound.

It was a classic lightning war approach.

How much they could gain depended on their efficiency. However, there was also a problem.

What about benefits?

The premise of serving the sect was that this massive interest consortium could provide enough resources to support Nascent Soul cultivators in continuing along the path to longevity.

This was the core demand.

Contributing to the righteous-demonic war was essentially about competing for territory. More blessed lands and secret realms naturally meant more cultivation resources.

But such returns were delayed and depended on the final outcome. Temporary victories were not sufficient reason for them to risk their lives.

This was also a fundamental problem faced by the demonic path.

Short-sightedness.

Compared to long-term benefits, they valued immediate gains far more. Whether it was forcing rapid growth or killing the goose for its eggs, they did so gladly.

Did they not understand the benefits of long-term development?

They did.

But in the Crimson Kite environment, if you did not kill the goose, others would. Gradually, this formed a peculiar “involution” mindset.

If you did not do it, someone else would.

Better to do it yourself than let uncertainties arise and end up with nothing.

This was how the Crimson Kite environment reshaped people.

The environment forced cultivators to act this way.

Over countless years, only in the current era had Crimson Kite begun imitating Taihu’s strategy and deliberately cultivating mortal populations.

They needed to establish fertility temples to expand the population.

Otherwise, the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain would peak at only one or two hundred million people at most. Meanwhile, Taihu’s population had already reached tens of billions. The war potential that could be unleashed from such numbers was simply too terrifying.

There was a reason why Crimson Kite kept losing battles, yet continued fighting again and again. If not for the sheer strength of the Spirit Transformation venerables of the Heaven Refining Demonic Sect, it was hard to say what the situation in the Ice Prison Realm would look like now.

The Joyous Union Demonic Sect had once suffered a generational gap, and part of the reason was that righteous-demonic wars almost always ended in defeat for the demonic side.

If they wanted to stabilize those two old demonic behemoth, they had to offer sufficient benefits.

Then Wang Yu realized something rather tragically.

Even though he had figured all this out, why was it his problem?

Why did he have to worry about satisfying the interests of two old behemoth?

Why did he have to attack Withered Leaf City?

Aside from benefiting the Blood Reversal Sect, what did he gain from it?

With the resource requirements of a Nascent Soul cultivator, ordinary spirit-vein cities could no longer satisfy his appetite. Unless he could seize a prefectural capital or a main city-level giant metropolis, it was simply not enough.

All of a sudden, he completely lost his motivation.

The dejection he felt did not come from gains and losses of benefits, but from the indescribable feeling of being shaped and altered by his environment. It was extremely complicated.

Seeing Wang Yu fall silent, Dark Demon and Dark Tiger exchanged glances.

They more or less understood what he was thinking.

Anyone who could advance to the Nascent Soul realm was an outstanding figure among ten thousand. Since they did not come from great clans like the Yu, Zhuo, or Zuoqiu families, they had all gone through this kind of reflection.

Dark Demon Barbarian Lord sighed.

“Fellow Daoist Profound Pill, there’s no need to dwell on it. People like us exist only for cultivation. Back then, the Wei Clan rose from nothing in exactly the same way.

“If the price is not high enough and the benefits are unclear, prioritizing one’s own needs is the top priority. Who cares about righteous-demonic wars?”

Dark Tiger Demon Lord did not speak, but his meaning was the same.

How much money was it, really, that he should risk his life for it?

If Black Mountain Pass stayed blocked, then so be it. He would just live his carefree life.

Regarding the term “demonic path”, Wang Yu gained a brand-new understanding at this moment.

Acting freely sounded simple, but was difficult in practice. In reality, it meant breaking traditions and rules, disrupting the order of all living beings. Being labeled as “demonic” for that was hardly strange.

“Then let’s do it this way. Send word to the Exalted Sect and Black Mountain Pass and let them decide. The matter of negotiating benefits and resources will be left to Fellow Daoist Dark Demon.”

“Don’t worry. I’m experienced in this.”

“Then we’ll return to Withered Leaf Swamp and lie low for now, waiting for the second-stage orders. If there’s no news after one month, we withdraw back to Blood Abyss Prefecture.”

“Alright.”

After making their decision, they led the demonic cultivators and set out once again.

With the Ghost Gate Pass formation lifted, only a shattered wasteland remained behind. Dense residual demonic essence lingered in the air, making it obvious at a glance that this was the handiwork of the demonic path.

…

…

Deep within Withered Leaf Swamp.

Inside a hidden valley, after setting up concealment formations using formation flags, the group temporarily stopped here, waiting for replies from the Exalted Sect and Evil Soul Old Ancestor.

Newly promoted “slacker” Wang Yu was adapting to his role as a low-profile freeloader in the righteous-demonic war, quietly doing his own things.

Originally, he had attached great importance to this war.

But after his sudden enlightenment, his priorities had completely shifted.

The storage rings of Bagua and Hemp Robe were of higher grade than the Seaheart Ring. After erasing their divine sense imprints, he discovered several remarkable supreme-grade materials inside.

Fourth-rank spatial material: Black Thread Meteoric Iron.

It looked like a crack on a sheet of pure white paper, pulling a two-dimensional plane into three-dimensional space. It resembled a three-foot-long black line, straight and razor-sharp.

Legend said that this treasure had fallen from beyond the heavens, like a sword slicing through the world’s canvas. Although its name sounded ordinary, it was a supreme-grade spatial material.

This single item alone was worth a fortune.

It came from Ancestor Hemp Robe’s storage ring and was likely prepared for refining into the life-bound Iron Sword. Unfortunately, fate was cruel, and he encountered Wang Yu’s vicious group.

In addition, there was a well-preserved fragment of beast hide that also possessed rare spatial attributes.

During this period in Withered Leaf Swamp, Wang Yu planned to use the Yellow Springs Demonic Sword as the foundation, add these two new materials along with three fourth-rank demonic beast corpses, and refine a new flesh-and-blood demonic sword using the Demon-Refining Artifact Art.

With this treasure as support, the power of the Blood Slaughter Heart-Butchering Sword would become one of his regular trump cards. The Asura Dao Intent matched this divine ability perfectly.

When the three were combined, the resulting might would not be inferior to the Guanghan Twelve Phases, and it would be even more focused on single-target annihilation.

At the same time, the large number of storage rings he had accumulated over the years could be melted down and reforged into a batch of spatial materials, allowing him to refine the Seaheart Ring once more.

After all, as time passed, the high-grade Seaheart Ring that had once been sufficient was gradually becoming too small. The corpses of transformed demonic kings were often thousands of meters long.

Those with special bloodlines were even more massive, and his various needs would only continue to increase.

After their side had gone through a major battle and entered a phase of preparation and recuperation, Black Mountain Pass, thousands of li away, suffered another crushing defeat.

After Ancestor Evil Soul activated his life-bound treasure, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, the army of evil ghosts he released still failed to take Black Mountain Pass. The ghosts within the banner suffered devastating losses.

Two of the nine fourth-rank Ghost Kings were also destroyed.

They were slain by the Righteous Sword Chief with the Righteous Qi Sword. The price he paid was merely having the blood essence in one arm drained, leaving it weak and powerless for several days. With spiritual pills, he could soon recover.

Ghost Kings comparable to Nascent Soul cultivators were extremely difficult to cultivate. Every single one represented Ancestor Evil Soul’s painstaking effort, and they were closely tied to the advancement path he had designed for the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

The loss made his heart ache so badly he could barely breathe.

In terms of battle results, however, things were not entirely bad. Almost all the defenders stationed at Black Mountain Pass had been wiped out. Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators were completely annihilated, leaving only a little over twenty Core Formation cultivators and two peak-level experts holding the line.

As for the side of Dark Blade Demon Lord, it was a complete disappointment.

Aside from consuming most of his demonic essence, he had not even messed up a single strand of hair. Compared to his earlier image of shouting and cursing after being overwhelmed by Granny Silvermoon, he now stood in the main hall of the flying warship like a cold, icy mountain.

Full of presence.

Ancestor Evil Soul shot him a gloomy glance, once again suspecting that this guy had been deliberately slacking off. He simply did not say it out loud.

“Still putting on an act…”

He muttered inwardly.

Ancestor Evil Soul formed hand seals and chanted an incantation. Two shadow crows emerged from the void. This was a wartime communication secret art, mainly handled by disciples of Fierce Nether Peak.

They could summon shadow crows from the netherworld, use their bodies to record information, send them back to the netherworld, and then have another crow summoned on the other end, enabling ultra-long-distance communication.

This secret art consumed enormous amounts of spiritual power from the users and could easily drain them to death. As such, it was only used during wartime.

After checking the message, Ancestor Evil Soul’s confidence surged.

Two pieces of good news.

First, in the coming days, the sect would dispatch five thousand Exalted Sect disciples, along with thirty thousand miscellaneous troops formed from affiliated clans, sects, and rogue cultivators, to support the battle at Black Mountain Pass.

Cultivator warfare could not be equated with mortal warfare. The differences were enormous. But when it came to siege warfare, the attacking side usually had to pay a much greater price.

The casualty rate was far more horrific than in mortal sieges. Moreover, Black Mountain Pass was a stubborn hard point. After repeated assaults, the first batch of troops that followed Evil Soul and Dark Blade had been almost completely wiped out.

This was another difference between cultivators and mortals. Under the threat of death, regardless of morale collapse, as long as the commander was still alive and was a peak-level cultivator, retreat was absolutely impossible.

Charging forward offered a slim chance of survival. Running away meant certain death.

Or worse, one could be controlled through mind-confusion and soul-manipulation techniques, forcibly sent to die. Afterwards, the body would be refined into a zombie, and the soul into an evil ghost. One life would be used as three.

This was cultivator warfare.

This was the cultivation world’s disposable frontline cannon fodder.

The second piece of good news naturally came from Wang Yu’s side. The Sword Sect reinforcement team had been completely wiped out. This meant that the arrival of the next batch of reinforcements would definitely be slower than Taihu’s.

By seizing this time gap and holding back the two peak Nascent Soul cultivators, once they gained control of Black Mountain Pass’s formation hub, they could drive those two away.

Even Ancestor Evil Soul had never thought of killing them. Nascent Soul cultivators were already hard enough to kill, let alone peak-level experts with countless hidden methods.

Life and death were uncertain. Victory and defeat were undecided.

But forcing them to retreat was possible. This was the game played at higher levels. Those who died were always middle and lower tier cultivators. Whether in the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain or Taihu, it was always done this way.

Inside the main hall of the warship, Ancestor Evil Soul shared the good news with Dark Blade, then silently sat in meditation to recover, waiting for the next opportunity to act.

Meanwhile, on the Taihu side at Black Mountain Pass, the atmosphere was bleak and oppressive.

The near-total casualty figures clearly demonstrated the Blood Reversal Sect’s determination, causing both the Righteous Sword Chief and Granny Silvermoon to feel deeply worried.

Meanwhile.

In just half a month, relying on the powerful effects of the Demon Refining Artifact Art, along with his perfected mastery and flawless demonic sword foundation, the Yellow Springs Demonic Sword Version 2.0 was completed.

The Taihe Blood Cauldron, capable of both pill refinement and artifact forging, truly embodied “killing two birds with one stone.” The new version of the demonic sword looked as though it were formed from flesh and blood.

A black line ran down its center, resembling an abyss that devoured everything.

It radiated an extreme sense of sharpness.

That was spatial power.

“Fourth-rank high-grade. Its toughness and hardness are slightly inferior to others of the same rank, but with the killing advantage brought by spatial cutting, it is enough to dominate among its peers.”

Continuing to call it the Yellow Springs Demonic Sword was now somewhat inappropriate.

Naming had never been Wang Yu’s strong point, so he decided to put it off for now.

As for the accompanying item, the Seaheart Ring had also absorbed more spatial materials. Its internal space expanded greatly. Judging by its grade, it was now roughly at the level of a fourth-rank mid-grade treasure.

He had only used about one-third of his stored storage rings. These treasures that could be smelted into spatial materials would still be useful in the future, so he had no intention of using them all up.

With his new weapon settled, the next thing to deal with was Chang Xi.

He had a bold idea.

Whether it could succeed depended on Snowjade’s cooperation.