Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 437

Jin Xiyuan and the Shadowless Dark Lord had already fought their way to who-knows-where. Wang Yu chatted with Jin Miaoshan for a while before recalling the Yellow Springs Earth Resentment Puppet.

The puppet’s performance in this battle had been mediocre at best, barely better than nothing.

It was simply because Wang Yu’s own strength was far too ferocious, completely surpassing what an early-stage Nascent Soul should possess, whether in Dao intent, magic treasures, extreme cold demonic essence, divine abilities, or any other aspect.

How could ordinary Nascent Souls possibly compare to him?

Those old-timers who saw his young age and assumed he must be lacking in other areas truly deserved this setback.

With four Nascent Souls in hand, refining more Longevity Blood Nascent Pills would now offer far greater flexibility. Most were at the third layer of Nascent Soul, each one guaranteed to add at least a thousand drops of demonic essence. The results were worth looking forward to.

“The Peach Blossom Immortal has arrived.”

A nearby peach tree suddenly sprouted facial features and reported the news.

“Miss Jin, Fellow Daoist Jin Xiyuan and that Shadowless one were locked in combat, but the opponent suddenly retreated for some unknown reason and is currently rushing back.

“The treasure transport team has stopped at the southern border of Tao Prefecture and is no longer advancing.”

“Looks like they received the news,” Wang Yu nodded.

“The transport team’s reaction is one step behind, but even if we head over now, it would be too late.”

Their ambush location was in northern Tao Prefecture, while the transport team was in the south. The prefecture itself was oval-shaped, with an enormous distance between north and south.

Even at full speed, it would still take nearly ten days.

Jin Miaoshan also looked a little troubled at this point.

“Forget it, never mind…

“Brother Wang mentioned you came here for a specific matter. Would you like me to accompany you?”

Hearing this, Wang Yu gave her a strange look.

Her words were practically an open hint. After a moment of silence, he replied,

“Jin Lin’s matter is settled. You should return to Golden Abundance Tower as quickly as possible, enter seclusion to break through to Nascent Soul, and shut everyone’s mouths. There is no need to accompany me around on explorations.”

The Thunder Amassing Mountain matter did not guarantee any gains.

Even if he obtained some strange thunder power, the boost to his strength would be limited, because no matter how powerful it was, it would only be a fourth-rank seed of thunder.

It could not possibly be fifth-rank; otherwise someone would have taken it long ago.

There would be no chance left for him.

It was probably on par with the Ice Chi Pill Flame, useful as a supplement to his regular methods, but difficult to raise his overall limit.

His main reason for targeting Thunder Amassing Mountain was to patch the shortcoming in his speed. Before he comprehended the Dao intent of the Aurora Escape Technique, it would be hard to reach true fourth-rank extreme speed; it could only be considered average.

But Aurora Dao intent combined with the Rainbow Feather Strange Stone could elevate this divine ability to fifth-rank level, granting speed unmatched under the heavens, even faster than Jin Xiyuan’s Golden Light Traversing the Earth.

There was still potential worth expecting.

Thunder had always been famous for both offensive power and speed. Adding one more fourth-rank thunder enhancement would allow him to make up for his “defect” in speed.

Therefore, the trip to Thunder Amassing Mountain was both important and unimportant.

If he found nothing, the Thunderfire Remnant Map contained other recorded locations anyway. It would just take time to identify and analyze them. The next time he returned to the sect, he could check the ancient and primordial terrain maps of the Ice Prison Realm.

Territorial maps were a sharp weapon for controlling lower-level cultivators.

The authority required to view them was not low, but for a Nascent Soul cultivator there was no issue at all. After all, this realm already counted as first-class experts.

Even without maps, one could still travel freely. There was no need to offend others over such matters; that was definitely not the correct way to operate a faction.

Having been directly refused by Wang Yu, Jin Miaoshan opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing.

She spoke up anyway, “If the transport team chooses to turn back, the pressure inside Golden Abundance Tower will indeed fall on me. But what you truly need to worry about… is Yellow Springs Monastery!”

In other words, Golden Abundance Tower would not further involve Wang Yu in this matter. She would shoulder everything on that side.

The real problem was destroying Yellow Springs Monastery’s transaction and slaughtering the Curse Ghost Demon Lord. Looking at Wang Yu’s previous relationship with Yellow Springs Monastery, it had already dropped to rock bottom.

Thus, Jin Miaoshan could guarantee that Golden Abundance Tower would not pursue him.

But this information would definitely leak to Yellow Springs Monastery. The danger Wang Yu faced came from those people, not from a merchant organization.

“No need to worry. This lord has ways to deal with it.”

Wang Yu did not wish to say more on this topic.

The main goal of this trip had been to kill Jin Lin. Now that it was accomplished, he would head to Thunder Amassing Mountain for a quick inspection before returning to the sect to continue closed-door cultivation. Whether the heaven-and-earth-nurtured special thunder existed or not made little difference.

Once he slowly digested this wave of gains, his strength would still rise rapidly. However, after reaching mid-stage Nascent Soul, the Heavenly Soul Creation he had obtained during Nascent Soul Condensing would hit its limit for the first time.

The current embryonic form of his Asura Dao intent alone was not enough to expand his Nascent Soul to the point of breaking through to late stage. He needed to pay more attention to this aspect as well.

The essence of Asura Dao intent was slaughter and battle!

Sitting in seclusion all the time was far too inefficient. If he could step onto a true large-scale battlefield, he would surely reap considerable rewards.

Ever since the righteous-demonic war began, Wang Yu had actually participated many times. The problem was that every time it had been high-end battlefields using exchange tactics.

He had never truly experienced charging into crowds and slaughtering wantonly, feeling the epic scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. There was a slight flaw in this regard.

But it was not a big issue. If the items placed in the idle slots, such as cultivation methods, secret arts, divine abilities, and other knowledge-type objects, required him to read them first before they could be stored.

Such a more ethereal concept as Dao intent could actually be placed inside as well. As long as he had comprehended the embryonic form, he could toss it in and slowly let the progress bar fill up.

In his judgment, the embryonic form of the Asura Dao intent was already more or less complete, sitting at roughly eighty percent progress. One more step and he would truly grasp it.

As time flowed by.

Roughly half an incense stick later, Jin Xiyuan descended from the clouds. A few strands of disheveled hair fell from her bun, her small face slightly flushed, as if she were a little out of breath.

Her gaze went straight to Wang Yu the moment she landed.

“Dead?”

“Mission accomplished without disgrace.”

“Good. My fierce battle with that Shadowless fellow was not in vain. Now that Jin Lin is dead, the Golden Abundance Tower of Crimson Kite will naturally and rightfully become Miss’s subordinate force.”

Jin Miaoshan, however, sighed upon hearing this.

“It is not that simple. If eliminating an opponent guaranteed the loyalty of all their key pillars, the Heavenly Pond Jin Clan would have perished in internal strife long ago.

“Golden Abundance Tower is no longer the Jin Clan’s Golden Abundance Tower.”

Jin Xiyuan frowned. She was not skilled in these matters and usually simply followed Jin Miaoshan’s instructions, rarely thinking for herself.

This personality made her perfectly suited to be a “useful tool.”

Jin Miaoshan continued, “Senior Jin Xiyuan, I will have to trouble you to go to the ancient teleportation formation in Tao Prefecture and wait for me there.”

“???”

Confusion appeared in Jin Xiyuan’s eyes.

Yet Jin Miaoshan cheerfully grabbed Wang Yu’s sleeve.

“Whether one day or three at most, Miaoshan will definitely return. Please help me deal with Father, Senior Jin Xiyuan. Just tell him I went to the Azure Flower Manor on the southern coast.”

With that, the Golden Light Traversing the Earth, inherited from the Jin Xiyuan lineage, wrapped around Wang Yu and shot toward the depths of the peach forest. Wang Yu neither resisted nor commented.

He upheld the three-no principle.

No initiative. No stance. No responsibility.

He was not a fool; he could more or less guess what Jin Miaoshan wanted to do.

…

…

Miaoshan, Miaoshan. The word “miao” ran through everything.

Back in the early years in Jade Spirit City, Jin Miaoshan had mainly used him. Ever since the first time he helped her dispel the killing-intent corrosion, their relationship had quietly changed flavor.

Yet it had only shown the first signs. Her merchant nature made her unwilling to easily give up on Wang Yu, this high-potential stock.

Now the potential had been realized, Jin Lin had added fuel to the fire, the Mind Nirvana had broken the distance between man and woman, and on top of that came the pleasure of revenge this time.

Once emotions surged, doing something was perfectly normal.

Wang Yu briefly immersed himself in the gentle land. Calculating carefully, it had indeed been some time since he last relaxed.

After the two delved deep into the peach forest.

The Peach Blossom Immortal proactively created a layer of peach-blossom illusion barrier, shrouding the surroundings. Tree roots and grass rapidly grew and wove together to form a small house filled with peach-pink hues.

Even when their movements grew intense and damaged quite a bit of the little house.

The broken tables, chairs, doors, and windows…would all be swiftly repaired by the Peach Blossom Immortal using its vast life force. It did not dare watch, only kept concealing everything. Occasionally it would even place a jar of peach blossom wine at the doorway.

To help set the mood~

The Peach Blossom Immortal’s exact strength was unknown, but it had definitely not reached the Spirit Transformation realm, though it was still far beyond what an early-stage Nascent Soul could provoke. The fact that it compromised with Golden Abundance Tower proved it had some ability, but not much.

It was not particularly adept at human relations and worldly affairs, but it could listen to advice. Taking the initiative to build a shelter for Wang Yu and Jin Miaoshan, and even creating a sufficiently quiet and comfortable environment, proved that it was still quite ambitious.

On this day.

The lower hem of the snow-white three-foot ritual robe transformed into a layer of brocade-gauze cloud quilt, covering the two of them. Wang Yu stared absentmindedly at the sunlight filtering through the gaps in the peach blossoms filling the forest.

He did not know what he was thinking.

Beside him, Jin Miaoshan lay prone against his chest, upper body exposed.

Her back, smooth as jade, resembled snow-capped peaks, beautiful and pure. Every slight twist made one’s heart flutter with amazement.

Three thousand strands of black hair cascaded down one side. Her beautiful eyes carried restrained affection before she angrily slapped away Wang Yu's wandering hand.

"That's enough. We've already wasted far too much time these past few days..."

Wang Yu immediately came back to his senses, yet said nothing.

Instead, he leaned forward and planted a light kiss on Jin Miaoshan's forehead.

Fleeting pleasure was merely an interlude in cultivation. A cultivator must ultimately walk the correct path. Wang Yu said nothing, yet it felt as if he had said everything.

The two officially parted ways within the Peach Blossom Forest. No one knew when they would meet again.

One and a half ten-day periods later.

At the northwestern corner of Tao Prefecture, the border region adjacent to Cloud Ridge Prefecture and Liuju Prefecture, the eight-hundred-li Thunder Amassing Mountain gradually entered Wang Yu's field of vision.

This place was perpetually devoid of sunlight. Thick layers of dark clouds blanketed the sky year-round, with frequent flashes of lightning and peals of thunder. Bolts of lightning would occasionally strike the ground from the clouds, leaving patches of scorched black earth.

The dense thunder qi between heaven and earth made Wang Yu feel as if he had returned to the Thunderfall Pit. In such an environment, both demonic beasts and spiritual plants possessed unique characteristics.

For example, the ability to control lightning or extremely strong resistance against it.

Such a location was undoubtedly a rare and treasured feng shui land for thunder-path cultivators. The reason it had never been occupied was mainly due to two factors.

This area bordered three prefectures belonging to different major powers.

Heaven Refining Demonic Sect, Blood Reversal Sect, and Yellow Springs Monastery, three of the Five Great Demonic Sects, plus the territory of a transcendent force.

Strictly speaking, it was a land contested by four sides.

No matter who tried to claim it, the other two parties would never permit it. If the Heaven Refining Demon Sect truly wanted it, the Blood Sect and Yellow Springs Monastery would actually be powerless to stop them.

This brought us to the second major drawback of this place.

There were no spiritual veins!

As everyone knew, no matter which path a cultivator walked, spiritual qi was an indispensable resource.

When breaking through major realms, one usually required a spiritual vein of corresponding grade to provide pure spiritual qi for complete transformation. The higher the realm, the greater the demand for spiritual qi quality.

Because Thunder Amassing Mountain suffered constant heavenly lightning strikes throughout the year, the concentration of thunder qi was excessively rich. This caused the local earth veins to mutate and take on thunder attributes.

In other words, Thunder Amassing Mountain possessed a very special thunder vein. Its existence completely cut off any possibility of spiritual veins forming here. Even if one attempted to relocate spiritual veins from elsewhere, they would be repelled or absorbed by the thunder vein.

Over time, Thunder Amassing Mountain became unsuitable for long-term settlement by cultivators. However, it remained an excellent trial ground. Cultivators frequently entered the mountain to search for treasures or cultivate thunder-path techniques.

Progress here often came twice as fast, making it far more suitable for advancing thunder attributes than ordinary environments.

In such an environment, if heaven and earth were to nurture any special treasure, it would definitely be discovered almost immediately. Not to mention far-off examples, the Heaven Refining Demonic Sect would absolutely not let go of such a valuable resource.

The most direct characteristic of items nurtured by heaven and earth was their nearly limitless growth potential. One could use the Ice Chi Pill Flame as a good example.

Although the pill flame also possessed decent growth potential, its path had actually been planned from the very beginning. Its birth fundamentally relied on the Ice Chi Pill.

To some extent, it was actually stealing the innate flame talent from the bloodline of Ice Chi demonic beasts. While it appeared to have no limit in advancement, it was in truth shackled by the number and strength of such demonic beasts.

For instance, if there were no fifth-rank Ice Chi demonic beasts in the Ice Prison Realm, then Wang Yu's Ice Chi Pill Flame would most likely remain stuck at the fourth rank, with little hope of further progress.

But that was only under normal circumstances.

The fact that it had reached this stage was already thanks to the deduction and advancement effects from the Idle Slots. Judging from those effects, once his pill refinement arts reached new heights, there would still be a chance for further improvement. However, this was merely a special case.

On the contrary, special thunder nurtured by heaven and earth had growth potential similar to a life-bound magic treasure. The higher one's realm, the stronger its power would become. Refining suitable heavenly materials and earthly treasures into it could also accelerate its growth.

Its value was beyond doubt.

It existed on the same level as things like dragon veins, belonging to the category of heaven-and-earth rare treasures.

Speaking of which, the Demonic Dragon Armor, which had absorbed dragon vein treasures and refined flood dragon remains, had always performed rather ordinarily.

Wang Yu suspected it simply had not been fed enough suitable materials.

Just look at the Glazed Iceheart Pagoda. Its amplification effects and sealing power had both been pushed to the absolute limit for his current realm.

Using it felt incredibly smooth and satisfying!

By comparison, it was not without reason that pure Body Refiners had been eliminated by the cultivation world. They were indeed lagging behind in many aspects, yet their combat performance remained quite strong.

Wang Yu had no intention of abandoning that path.

All things considered, precisely because he understood the preciousness of heaven-and-earth thunder, he actually did not hold overly high expectations for Thunder Amassing Mountain.

After officially entering the eight-hundred-li territory of Thunder Amassing Mountain, Wang Yu activated the divine sense secret art: Ten Thousand Miles Tracing Manifestation.

This was to compare the details recorded on the Thunderfire Remnant Map.

It would help him further narrow down the search range. The landscape here had not changed drastically over the ages, so the remnant map still provided considerable help.

After a considerable period.

After comparing the two, Wang Yu advanced toward the west. This direction was closer to the territory of the Heaven Refining Demonic Sect...

[T/N:- Ice Chi → “Ice Hornless Dragon”]