Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 468

“Indeed, that is how it is.”

Wang Yu paused, deliberately probing.

“That woman died in the alley last night. This morning, the cultivator in charge of managing mortals came and took the body away. I heard there were no wounds at all, nor any signs of freezing to death.”

“This…”

The teahouse owner immediately fell silent, speaking with difficulty.

“Brother Wang, some things are better left unsaid.”

Wang Yu continued.

“The Azure Cloud Sect is one of the Seven Righteous Sects, right? I heard their disciples are skilled at exterminating demons and guarding the Dao, promoting justice. Is this how they have been promoting it for so many years?”

“This… I don’t know.”

He quickly excused himself on the grounds of being busy with business and retreated, unwilling to listen to Wang Yu’s “treasonous” words any longer.

But this allowed Wang Yu to clearly understand the structure of the Azure Cloud Sect.

He did not know what the other righteous sects in Taihu were like, but the disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect were indeed ordinary.

Judging from the situation.

The new charcoal they delivered should be relief supplies required by the sect. Unfortunately, many policies start with good intentions, yet are ruined by corrupt minor officials.

In ancient dynasties, many reforms failed at the level of these minor officials.

For a massive sect like this.

Wang Yu would not generalize and assume that because the lower levels were bad, the upper levels were all trash. Just like how the demonic path had people like Yin Gui.

There should be many true gentlemen among the upper echelons of the righteous path. It was just that a few bad apples were causing trouble.

When good people do bad things, it is intolerable by heavenly principle.

When bad people turn over a new leaf, they are greatly praised. This is human nature. When evaluating a group, one always looks at how the majority behaves.

Not at a few clowns jumping around.

The world is so colorful; it is reasonable that all kinds of people exist.

After leaving the teahouse.

Wang Yu did not take any extra actions regarding this matter. On a larger scale, even if all the mortals in Water Cloud Immortal Capital or even the entire Taihu Spiritual Domain died, it would have little to do with him.

On a smaller scale, this was just a minor interlude in his quiet cultivation life.

Although it was disgusting, he would not lose sight of the bigger picture over something small.

“The priority now is still to focus on healing and refining the treasure pill to convert it into my own strength.”

The winter scenes gradually sank into the depths of Wang Yu’s memory.

Several days later, as the residual power of the Heaven-Refining Demonic Flame was completely worn away by the heart sutra, Wang Yu recovered to his full peak strength. Having gone through this tempering.

His physical body advanced another level. Judging by Nascent Soul layers, it had at least reached the level of fifth-layer Nascent Soul. Moreover, the Indestructible Spiritual Bone throughout his body was basically fully formed.

Next, as long as he continued to meticulously refine the power of the Indestructible Spiritual Bone.

And replenish his life force, he would naturally reach sixth-layer Nascent Soul stage. Then he would cultivate the physical body divine ability

Immortal Spirit Body to complete the integration of bone and flesh.

Thoroughly breaking through to late fourth-rank Body Refinement. After that would be a long period of accumulation until cultivation reached perfection and the peak realm where there was nowhere left to advance.

At that time, he would activate the break-and-rebuild effect of the Blood Abyss Glazed Treasure Pill to directly reach fifth-rank Body Refinement, a realm that no pure Body Refiner had achieved since ancient times.

Wang Yu had arranged the path of Body Refinement clearly and plainly.

It could basically be said to be smooth sailing.

In contrast, on the proper spirit refinement path, the difficulty of accumulating demonic essence in mid-stage Nascent Soul rose sharply. Even with Wang Yu’s three Idle Slots accelerating it, plus the aptitude of the Innate Demonic Embryo.

It would still take a full sixty years to break through. One could imagine how difficult it was for others, and the higher one went, the harder cultivation became.

The reason so many people were stuck at early and mid-stage was not without cause. Demonic essence, something that could be piled up with heavenly materials and earthly treasures, was actually one of the easier parts to achieve.

In this regard, Wang Yu planned to massively refine Blood Nascent Pills.

Directly stepping onto the fast highway.

And the cultivation of divine sense was the simplest. The Ancient Soul Art itself was a fourth-rank soul refinement technique, sufficient to support him up to early fifth-rank.

The Idle Slots’ derivation opportunity had also not been used yet.

Before escaping the Ice Prison Realm cage, he did not need to consider changing techniques. Moreover, in the Longevity Medicine Vault he had obtained a fifth-rank mid-grade treasure pill — Pagoda Illusion Spirit Origin Pill!

Now that his injuries had fully healed, Wang Yu prepared to refine this treasure pill. As a fifth-rank Spirit Transformation-realm spirit pill, it was more than enough to assist in breaking through to fifth-rank divine sense.

Refining it in advance would also allow him to possess peak Nascent Soul divine sense power. At that time, waiting for the opportunity for the Ancient Soul Art to derive and advance would be the perfect moment for his divine sense to break through to fifth-rank.

The path of divine sense had also been arranged clearly and plainly.

The subsequent direction and breakthrough opportunities were all prepared. It could be said that everything was ready, only awaiting the east wind!

The next day.

Wang Yu posted a notice on the shop saying it would be closed for a period of time, then changed his appearance and directly left the city for the secret cave abode he had prepared long ago.

It was located three thousand zhang underground. Through multiple reinforcements, formation flags, and feng shui techniques for concealment, unless someone happened to tunnel in by chance.

It would be impossible to discover.

This seclusion was mainly for refining the treasure pill. With multiple assisting methods, and unlike cultivation spirit pills that contained extremely vast energy requiring slow refinement.

Therefore, Wang Yu estimated the time needed for refinement to be around two to six months, at most not exceeding one year. If things went smoothly, he could exit seclusion at the end of this winter.

After closing the shop, Wang Yu left the city without encountering any disturbances along the way.

Until one month later.

Dou Zhao, accompanied by several Foundation Establishment martial maids, hurriedly arrived at the wine shop. Upon seeing the notice that it had been closed for an entire winter, her expression almost collapsed.

She quickly asked the teahouse owner for information.

The owner was also shrewd. Seeing that Dou Zhao and the others did not look like mortals, he answered truthfully, telling everything he knew.

Unfortunately, Wang Yu had indeed not returned yet.

Dou Zhao went to the small courtyard Wang Yu had bought and to the homes of the two hired assistants, but found no information on where to find him.

Her expression suddenly became dejected.

The martial maid Qing Shu could not help saying: “Miss, can that senior really save the Dou Family? With such a big crime, we should not involve other families. Let’s just run away.”

Dou Zhao shook her head and sighed.

“We can run, but the Western Mountain cannot. My mother, my father, so many sisters and brothers. If the Azure Cloud Sect really convicts us, where can we go…

“Could it be that we rely on my meager Qi Refining cultivation?”

Another martial maid, Qing Fang, spoke up instead.

“Miss, since you are certain that Boss Wang can save the Dou Family, this servant will wait here. The moment he returns, this servant will truthfully relay everything.

“You can go ask the Gu Family again. The Dou and Gu families have been in-laws for generations, both prominent Core Formation clans. Perhaps, for the sake of this kinship, they will lend a hand.”

“Sigh…

“At this point, we can only try. But the Gu Family most likely won’t help.”

Although she said this, Dou Zhao had to admit that Qing Fang was right. This was currently their only option. They had to try no matter what.

As for the sudden trouble that had befallen the Western Mountain Dou Clan.

It was actually closely tied to this winter.

The general situation was that in early winter, the Nascent Soul old demons from Cold Blood Peak of the Blood Reversal Sect had joined forces to cast a large-scale freezing rain technique. They had also drawn cold currents from the Endless Ice Plains and continuously blown them toward Ice River Pass.

This pass was different from Black Mountain Pass and Strange Peak Pass. It was built directly on the river surface, and the waterway behind it served as the perfect channel for the cold currents.

It was like the narrow mouth of a gourd.

The cold currents surged straight in. Water Cloud Prefecture, located right at the center behind it, suffered a catastrophe. The temperature plummeted below zero, and snow blanketed the mountains and rivers for ten thousand li.

In response, the Azure Cloud Sect mainly employed three countermeasures.

First, they invited Nascent Soul Dao friends from the Blazing Sun Sect to use fire-type Dao techniques to counter the cold currents and reduce the massive damage to mortals caused by the low temperatures.

Second, they invited the Fire Crow Clan from the Northern Severed Boundary Mountain Range. The purpose was the same as inviting the Blazing Sun Sect Daoist friends.

Third, they mobilized their disciples to deliver charcoal and grain to the hardest-hit areas affected by the cold currents. Water Cloud Immortal Capital was naturally the top priority.

However.

After one winter passed and the natural cycle of seasons was about to begin again, the cultivators responsible for tracking population changes were shocked to discover a massive decline in the mortal population.

The number of people who had simply frozen to death approached ten million. It was truly horrifying.

The Azure Cloud Sect’s war commander, who had believed their countermeasures were flawless, could not explain this to the Sect Master, nor could they report to the Sword Sect that their losses were so devastating.

In a fit of rage, they ordered a strict investigation to find out exactly which link had gone wrong.

Ten million frozen corpses. Just in Water Cloud Immortal Capital alone, the number exceeded one hundred thousand.

The information sent from various places was glaringly obvious.

Winter was ending. Even if the demonic cultivators tried the same tactic again, without the help of heavenly timing, they would be utterly unable to affect such a large area.

The cold current tactic had come to an end, but the reckoning had only just begun.

Under this backdrop.

The people of the Azure Cloud Sect were busy shifting blame and began “outsourcing” the responsibility to the local powerful clans of Water Cloud Immortal Capital. The Western Mountain Dou Clan was merely one of them.

Several other “heartless rich,” “law-breaking,” “arrogant and indulgent,” and “life-destroying” Core Formation families were implicated. Not only were they freshly accused of embezzling relief supplies, but they also had records of past offenses.

The details were so precise that even the exact time of each incident was recorded down to the second.

As for why these families would embezzle utterly useless coal… the reason they gave was that they had secretly cooperated with demonic cultivators to sell mortal corpses.

No matter how far-fetched it sounded, as long as it provided an explanation to those above and calmed the war commander’s fury, everything was worth it.

As long as it could roughly make sense, and with the Azure Cloud Sect acting as the judge, any cries of innocence would be useless.

That was roughly the situation.

At the same time.

Outside Water Cloud Immortal Capital, in an unnamed underground cave abode.

Wang Yu, whose eyes now looked no different from an ordinary mortal’s, divine light restrained within stretched lazily and tugged at the ordinary luxurious robe he was wearing. It felt a little uncomfortable.

After sitting for so long, this thing really did wrinkle.

It was nowhere near as comfortable as a proper magic robe.

At this moment, the Pagoda Illusion Spirit Origin Pill had been completely refined. His divine sense had naturally reached the peak of Nascent Soul. A breakthrough in divine sense could not bring about a leap in life level.

It was difficult to affect physical body evolution.

But if he could break through to fifth rank, Wang Yu would gain an eighth Idle Slot. That significance was even greater than the power it brought.

It continued to lead the way as always.

After completing this seclusion, Wang Yu planned to return to the city once. He needed to inquire about the situation at Ice River Pass and also spend a few days readjusting.

The next time he came, it would be to mass-refine Longevity Blood Nascent Pills. When refining spirit pills, he would not need to leave the city. He could silently convert them into cultivation inside his body.

And so.

When he appeared at the entrance of his own shop, it was already the next day.

The bitterly waiting Qing Fang looked like a stone statue gazing for her husband. The moment she spotted him from afar, her face lit up with surprise. She slid forward and dropped to her knees with a motion smoother than Dove chocolate.

“—Please save us, Senior!”

…

…

Water Cloud Immortal Capital, Dou Clan Residence.

As the stationed base of a prominent Core Formation clan in the city, it was located in the Inner City, very close to the Core Zone. It could simultaneously enjoy the pure spiritual energy from multiple third-rank top-grade spiritual veins.

The City Lord’s Mansion even allowed them to set up three spirit gathering formation. The cultivation environment was quite good.

However, compared to the spiritual energy environment Wang Yu had enjoyed back at the Blood Reversal Sect, it had to be said that places with fewer people made it easier to enjoy material comforts.

The demonic path’s competitive pressure was life-or-death.

The righteous path’s competitive pressure was pure population-driven internal competition. The prices of all spiritual items were extremely high, while commission rewards were lower and lower.

It was all caused by unfair competition with no industry regulation.

The more people who knew a skill, the lower its value.

They had truly figured it out.

The Dou Clan’s true ancestral land was in the Western Mountain, located in the northwest part of Water Cloud Prefecture. However, quite a few clan members lived in the Dou Residence inside Water Cloud Immortal Capital.

There were also many shops and businesses in the city that needed people to watch over them.

In the past, everyone had fought to go audit the accounts. They could skim a little in the process and eat until their mouths were oily. It had been a lucrative job.

Now.

The entire Dou Residence was in panic. No one could even step out the door. All four gates — east, west, south, and north were tightly blocked by people from the City Lord’s Mansion. Until the Azure Cloud Sect’s decree was issued.

No one from the Dou Clan was allowed to leave, and no outsiders were permitted to enter.

This situation had occurred right after Dou Zhao went to the Gu Family for help. She had not even met these “warm and hospitable” relatives. Forget about “when the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold” or “when the rabbit dies, the fox mourns.”

If the Dou Clan fell, the Gu Family could feast on the remains through their kinship ties. How could they possibly think of helping? Unless both families were at the level of the Seven Righteous Sects.

Otherwise, talking about “lips and teeth” was laughably naive.

The power to decide their fate had always rested in the hands of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Inside the study.

Dou Zhao sat in a row with her two younger sisters, while her father and several uncles sat in another. In a cultivation family, whether male or female, as long as one had cultivation talent, everyone was treated equally.

They all had inheritance rights and the right to discuss major family affairs.

However, marriage was still primarily arranged through the women. There were very few live-in sons-in-law. After all, only women could give birth. In the matter of bloodline and descendants, only they held the final say.

At this moment, Dou Zhao spoke as lightly as possible.

She did not let her emotions affect her uncles’ thinking.

“…That is the situation. The Gu Family will not help. As for the method I mentioned earlier… there is still no news. Uncles, do any of you have ideas?”

Everyone looked at one another.

Dou Zhao’s second uncle gritted his teeth and said,

“If it really comes to it, I’ll try to contact Dou Quan from the Sword Sect. He entered the Righteous Qi Courtyard and has some influence.”

“Not appropriate.”

Third uncle shook his head and refused.

“Quan’er’s authority is not enough. He cannot persuade a Nascent Soul senior to help. Since he is cultivating outside, why drag him into this muddy water? To put it bluntly.

“If something really happens, he will be the last remaining direct descendant of the Western Mountain Dou Clan. He may be able to revive the family in the future.”

Dou Quan was precisely the eldest legitimate son of this third uncle.

Since he was unwilling and his reasoning was sound, no one could find fault with it.

“How about this.”

Just as Dou Zhao’s father was about to speak, a servant’s voice suddenly sounded from outside the door.

“Great Lord, the Enforcement Elder from the City Lord’s Mansion has arrived.”

“—This is bad!”

......

Author:- These two chapters are mainly transitional. The Dou Family matter is an introduction. It will trigger a larger-scale war later. As for whether the plot feels cliché, as long as it has novelty and my own style, I think it’s not a big issue. After all, writing a novel is writing a story. Beginning, development, climax, ending… all the necessary parts must be present. Leveling up and fighting monsters, daily life, showing off and enjoying life, all must be there. This kind of mortal-world xianxia novel basically enters a soft period once it reaches Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation. This author has no choice. The writing block is severe. Every day I stare at the outline in a daze, deleting here, revising there. Eight thousand characters a day is already the limit. I can no longer return to the early days when ideas flowed like a spring.