Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 454

The seemingly trash-grade Forbidden-Breaking Talismans were, in truth, regulated strategic resources.

Whether in the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain or in Taihu, they were never made available to ordinary cultivators. The batch in Wang Yu’s possession had been accumulated over who knew how many years, numbering more than five hundred.

Faced with these specialized talismans designed specifically to dismantle restrictions, a massive hole was instantly torn open in the Eastern Palace’s protective barrier. Wang Yu flew inside, and within moments, the restriction restored itself through the palace’s cyclical formation layout.

Wang Yu merely glanced back once before ignoring it.

The Eastern Palace was both important and unimportant. But it would certainly contain valuable treasures.

Entering through the main gate, he encountered no traps or ambush mechanisms. What surprised him was a spirit coffin placed conspicuously in the center of the hall, abnormally eye-catching.

Wang Yu immediately became much more cautious and did not approach rashly.

There were many versions of the legend concerning the destruction of the ancient Immortal Dynasty. The most widely circulated and accepted explanation was that it had been caused by Ancient Demons breaking free from their seals.

After all, most ruins of the ancient Immortal Dynasty bore severe traces of battle damage. Concluding that they were destroyed by Ancient Demons was not without basis.

Given the prosperity of the cultivation world in ancient times, only the Ancient Demons could have inflicted such catastrophic devastation, even to the point of toppling the entire Immortal Dynasty.

The Taiyin Sect itself had been built atop the ruins of that dynasty.

For a spirit coffin to be placed so openly within the Eastern Palace, the identity of the occupant was certainly extraordinary. After scanning the surroundings and finding no ancestral spirit tablets, Wang Yu could not help but speculate.

“Could it be the Crown Prince inside…”

The moment this line of thought surfaced, he dismissed it himself.

Given the Crown Prince’s importance, even if he had died at the very end, his coffin should not have been left displayed here so casually.

It was more likely that this arrangement had been ordered by the Crown Prince himself.

After searching thoroughly and finding no other gains, Wang Yu returned to the coffin. His divine sense transformed into countless fine threads, spreading out in all directions, probing through cracks, corners, and even directly penetrating the coffin to sense the situation inside.

Inside the spirit coffin.

The moment Wang Yu’s divine sense threads entered, it felt as though he had stepped from midsummer heat straight into an ice vault. A bone-chilling cold surged from head to toe. Even divine sense could be frozen.

This only deepened Wang Yu’s curiosity.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he took out his fengshui compass. The Water Ancestral Token emitted a hazy blue radiance. With the ancestral token’s amplification, Wang Yu’s feng shui arts were greatly strengthened.

His Golden Eyes of Qi Observation pierced through structural obstructions. In his vision, everything related to feng shui layout emitted distinct spiritual luminescence. When his gaze swept downward, Wang Yu was stunned for a moment.

Thick ice-crystal conduits converged from all directions, channeling extremely dense yin-spirit energy. The concentration rivaled that of the small world formed within the Heavenly Yin Water Pool.

All of it was being poured into the spirit coffin.

There was also a stream of transparent energy clearly beneficial to divine sense. Following these hidden channels back to their sources, Wang Yu discovered that the yin-spirit energy originated from various locations throughout Eastern Extreme Capital. The Heavenly Yin Water Pool had once been one of the largest suppliers, but since he had removed it, that conduit was now empty and nearly abandoned.

As for the transparent energy, its source lay within the residential houses of the inner and outer city. Within those ancient corpses, remnants of soul power still lingered. After Eastern Extreme Capital was buried underground, endless yin energy had been generated, nourishing those ancient corpses over countless years.

By all logic, these ancient corpses should have grown incomparably powerful after so long.

But precisely because of the Eastern Palace’s layout, they had remained perpetually weak.

Aside from a few special individuals, every strand of newly generated soul power had been siphoned into this coffin.

No wonder they were pitifully weak.

“The soul power of tens of millions of ancient corpses, nourished for so many years, along with nearly inexhaustible yin-spirit energy… even a pig would have been raised into a terrifying monster by now.”

Wang Yu’s eyes darkened slightly. Whatever lay within this coffin, was absolutely no simple existence.

Wang Yu muttered inwardly. For a moment, his scalp tingled with numbness. He had a strong feeling that he had stumbled into serious trouble.

The Heavenly Yin Water Pool had been taken away by him. The ancient corpses in both the inner and outer city had been slaughtered or captured in large numbers by intruding cultivators. Even the stronger fourth-rank Three-Eyed Corpse Infants had been seized.

The power transmitted through these conduits had become incomparably weak.

No matter what the mastermind’s objective had been, once the layout lost its meaning, there would certainly be a direct contingency prepared to trigger the next stage.

Glancing around, still hesitating over whether to open the coffin, a streak of starlight suddenly descended from the firmament. The previously unremarkable dome revealed an entirely different appearance. Only when Wang Yu raised his head did he realize, in astonishment, the full picture of the feng shui grand configuration here.

“Heavenly Star Earthly Yin Soul-Returning Grand Formation?”

A geomantic configuration arranged through feng shui secret arts was, in essence, also a type of formation. It simply required precise control over timing, terrain, and orientation, with deviations not allowed to exceed half a finger’s breadth.

Some rare configurations could only be arranged under specific celestial phenomena.

The so-called Heavenly Star Earthly Yin Soul-Returning Grand Formation originated from the second-ranked earth configuration known as the Houtu Rebirth Grand Formation. After research and modification by feng shui masters, the original Houtu earth-bearing power was replaced with heavenly stars and earthly yin. Both configurations achieved rebirth in effect, but the man-made version could only accomplish soul return.

In the end, it still followed the path of possession and rebirth.

After his initial shock, Wang Yu quickly regained confidence. He had feared that all that accumulated power had nurtured some monster that only a Spirit Transformation cultivator could handle.

If it was merely for resurrection, then it was not so terrifying.

“It seems the one lying inside should be the Immortal Dynasty’s Crown Prince.”

Placing hope in the Crown Prince could not be called wrong. Even if he had been suppressed by the Human Emperor during his lifetime, at the very least he would have possessed Nascent Soul cultivation.

With the remaining foundation of the Immortal Dynasty, achieving Spirit Transformation should not have been difficult.

Now that the resurrection was occurring so late, perhaps there would be other unforeseen changes.

After grasping the situation, Wang Yu suddenly lashed out with his foot. The tip of his shoe struck the edge of the coffin, directly flipping the lid into the air.

In an instant, a surging, pure yin spiritual power formed a pillar of light that shattered the Eastern Palace dome. The black-gray beam went even further, breaking through the palace’s restrictive barriers.

Amid the violent tidal surge of energy, faint wails of countless resentful souls could be heard. A storm of soul force followed close behind.

Wang Yu had no choice but to retreat several steps. Demonic essence formed a temporary semicircular shield before him. With divine sense perception and his Taiyin Nether Eyes activated simultaneously, he still could not see through this energy tide accumulated over a hundred thousand years.

Opening the coffin brought great calamity.

In the most literal sense.

Once again, events exceeded Wang Yu’s expectations. What lay within was a voluptuous female corpse, unclothed.

Her face was peerlessly beautiful, surpassing every woman Wang Yu had seen in his life. Even Little Chan’er would seem dim beside her.

Her lifeless, pale-white hair drifted in the turbulent currents.

Aurora light already flickered across Wang Yu’s body, ready to escape at any moment. It had not been long since he parted ways with Ancestor Scorching Sun. The other party definitely had not yet entered the Longevity Medicine Vault.

If he fled now, there was still time to salvage the situation.

Within the terrifying current of yin spiritual frost, the aura emitted by the female corpse faintly exceeded the limits of the Nascent Soul realm.

As her eyes opened, pure white eyeballs without pupils gave off an even more eerie impression. Her full lips parted and moved, as if murmuring, or perhaps clinging to some lingering obsession.

“Husband…”

Cold sweat streamed down Wang Yu’s back. He was well aware that she was not calling him. Such a precious opportunity for soul return would make no sense for the Crown Prince to yield to another.

Yet the reality was before him. Wang Yu suspected this female corpse was very likely the Crown Princess, or perhaps some other beloved consort. Both were possible.

His steps slowly retreated. More restriction-breaking talismans appeared in his left hand behind his back. His desire to flee had reached its peak.

In the next instant, all the strange phenomena vanished simultaneously. Pupils appeared within those pure white eyes. Nearby curtains suddenly flew over, concealing the alluring snow-white body.

The woman sighed with melancholy and looked toward Wang Yu.

“What year is it tonight?”

“Approximately one hundred thousand years after the Immortal Dynasty’s fall. The exact date can no longer be verified.”

As Wang Yu answered, doubts also stirred in his heart.

The soul-return configuration had both advantages and flaws. The female corpse had awakened far too late. The feng shui technique was already beyond saving. She could not live.

If it had been within a thousand years after death, there might still have been a chance of true revival.

Nearly one hundred thousand years had passed. Even a stone would have weathered into dust over such a span of time. Thus, when the female corpse did not awaken immediately, her soul remained in a state of nourishment and had not suffered excessive damage.

But her physical body had already completely perished. The moment her consciousness returned, the decay of her soul began as well. The immense power of time descended upon her.

She would have to relive the hundred thousand years she had lost.

Even a Spirit Transformation cultivator should have died by then.

Upon hearing that so much time had passed, the female corpse indeed fell into a daze.

“You once said… you would accompany me forever. Is this the eternity you chose?”

She reached into the spirit coffin and took out an object.

It was a bone whistle. She rubbed it gently against her cheek with great tenderness before placing it between her lips and blowing.

At the same moment, within an imperial mausoleum somewhere unknown, inside the tomb of the Immortal Dynasty’s Crown Prince who had been buried with heir status, a spirit-lit object shot into the sky and swiftly vanished into the firmament.

Only then did the female corpse, or rather the Crown Princess, turn her attention toward the cautious Wang Yu.

“I am not one who delights in slaughter. You may rest assured.”

“Senior jests. This junior rose from humble beginnings and has long grown accustomed to acting cautiously. It is a habit I cannot change.”

“You speak very much like the palace eunuchs.”

Wang Yu hesitated, his lips trembling slightly as he failed to respond. Yet soon, his curiosity about history overcame his caution.

“May I ask if Senior would be willing to reveal the truth behind the fall of the Immortal Dynasty? The current cultivation world is striving toward the same objective.”

The Crown Princess had no reason to conceal anything. From the moment she left the coffin, her life had entered its final countdown.

Since Wang Yu asked, she spoke.

Seeing her speak so readily, Wang Yu immediately cast the Six Senses Veiled secret art to guard against prying ears and the watchers beyond the Ice Prison Realm.

The Crown Princess did not object. With a sigh, she said,

“At that time, Sword Venerable and Soul Venerable were bewitched by the Ancient Demon that had slain them. In their later years, they descended into madness, using slaughter as ritual sacrifice to the Ancient Demon. Because of this, the Slaughter Demon broke free.”

“Was it Asura and Rakshasa?”

“Yes. It seems you know quite a bit about the Immortal Dynasty.”

“Not much. Just a little.”

The Crown Princess continued, “After the Slaughter Demon’s physical body broke free, it began acting according to instinct, slaughtering in all directions. At that time, Venerable Futuo of the Buddhist sect sought to convert it. He secretly gathered several other Buddhist Venerables.

“Before the Immortal Dynasty had fully prepared, they confronted the Slaughter Demon head-on… The outcome was as expected.”

“Total annihilation?”

Wang Yu frowned deeply. These Buddhist Venerables seemed somewhat lacking in judgment. At that level, they should have had some understanding of the origins of the Ancient Demons.

How could they act so rashly?

As if seeing through his thoughts, the Crown Princess said with emotion,

“The Buddhist sect was actually confident. The Prajna Heart Scripture passed down within their lineage could cultivate an extremely elevated state of mind, specifically restraining the Slaughter Demon’s erosion of killing intent.

“Moreover, after the Ice Prison Realm had been modified by the rules established by upper-realm immortals, the ancient demon’s physical body could not exert power beyond the Spirit Transformation stage. Unless a demon-corrupted apostle used secret arts to help it break those rules.”

The answer was self-evident.

The Asura and Rakshasa used a blood sacrifice method, causing the Slaughter Demon’s power to surge dramatically. In turn, it corrupted the Buddhist Venerables with demonic influence, and from that moment onward, matters spiraled completely out of control.

The Ancient Immortal Dynasty had been able to establish Buddhism as the state religion precisely because it possessed numerous Venerable-level combatants. Once those figures were suddenly corrupted by demonic influence, the entire Buddhist sect rapidly fell into the abyss from top to bottom.

During the decisive battle between the Immortal Dynasty and the Slaughter Demon, they turned their blades against their own side.

This dealt a devastating blow to the dynasty’s vitality. What followed was a long era of stalemate warfare. In the midst of it, a second Ancient Demon, [Moon], descended upon the world, becoming the final straw that crushed the Immortal Dynasty.

After their complete defeat, all living beings faced the brink of slaughter and extinction.

Only then did an immortal from the Upper Realm descend to save the world, and the story reached its most crucial point.

The Crown Princess’s expression carried both resentment and sorrow.

“The immortal swallowed the Fire Essence to save the world. Under the charge of negligence, he sentenced the entire Human Emperor bloodline of the Immortal Dynasty to extermination. After my body and soul were severed, my husband rescued me, barely preserving a single breath of life.

“Who would have thought that the Fire Essence spirit vein, once devoured and refined, would bring down heavenly punishment. In order to save himself, the immortal used secret demonic arts and nearly wiped out the entire cultivation world of that era, using vast quantities of life essence and pure spiritual qi to heal his wounds. In the end, he still failed.

“I watched him disintegrate into ashes above Eastern Extreme Capital.”

The story came to a pause.

Wang Yu keenly grasped the key point.

“Senior is saying that the first immortal in history who descended to save the world ultimately fell at Eastern Extreme Capital?”

“If you want whatever relics he left behind, that can be discussed later.”

As her words fell, a streak of flowing light shot across the horizon and landed in the Crown Princess’s hand. She explained, “After his death, all of his belongings were placed within my husband’s mausoleum. What the bone whistle has summoned is a Human Emperor supreme treasure.

“If you can find the Crown Prince’s tomb in the future, you will naturally obtain the immortal’s legacy treasures. I will give this to you. I only ask that you help me with one matter.”

The so-called Human Emperor supreme treasure was, in truth, a Coiling Dragon Ring.

Its grade required no doubt. It was a fifth-rank Spirit Transformation spiritual treasure, and a high-grade one at that.

The moment he accepted it, he was also accepting the next strand of karma.

The Crown Princess spoke.

“This is the Blood Vengeance Source Pearl. I require you to swear upon your Dao heart that every living being within the Ice Prison Realm capable of causing this pearl to glow shall be slaughtered without exception.”

As for who exactly her enemies were, Wang Yu did not know.

But he clearly had no room to refuse. After only a brief silence, he made a Dao heart oath and signed a contract as further assurance.

In exchange, he obtained a Spirit Transformation spiritual treasure and a blood pearl.

The Crown Princess’s physical body began to dissipate, turning entirely into dust and returning to heaven and earth. A faint glimmer of tears seemed to flicker at the corner of her eyes.

She murmured softly, “My husband… Ruoshui has come to find you.”

After several breaths, the Eastern Palace returned to silence.

Wang Yu scratched his chin and fell into contemplation. His journey to the Eastern Palace had been unexpectedly swift. On the very first day, everything had been resolved. Although he had taken on another “task,” the reward had already been delivered in advance, and there was no fixed deadline requiring him to search actively. If he encountered those targets, he would simply kill them. That was manageable enough.

“Human Emperor supreme treasure…”

He examined the ring in his hand. As a Spirit Transformation spiritual treasure, it possessed abundant spirituality, like a lively child of a few years old, brimming with vitality.

Touching it with his divine sense and refining it with demonic essence, he encountered no resistance whatsoever. Soon, he sensed the true function of the Coiling Dragon Ring.

A thought rapidly formed in Wang Yu’s mind.