Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 480

After handing Snowjade and his little disciple over to the old bird demon for care, Wang Yu did not linger long at the Ancient Beast Ancestral God Mountain. He went straight to the current Northern Demon Holy Lord’s traveling palace.

This was a massive palace complex built only in recent years. Considering the true forms of the demon race, the buildings were constructed tall and rugged.

The core area consisted of smaller palaces that only fourth-rank transformation experts of the demon race could enter. These were exquisite and luxurious, carrying a strong human-style aesthetic.

When Wang Yu descended on his escape light, several demon attendants with medicine-horned deer bloodlines were already waiting.

These demon attendants were special beings refined using human bodies as the base material combined with secret demonic blood techniques. Their original purpose had been to create cheap and practical living weapons.

In the end the project failed, and they became a means to serve foreign guests instead.

Their appearances had been deliberately adjusted.

From a human aesthetic standpoint they were very pleasing to the eye, though a little too stiff, somewhat resembling flesh puppets. Yet they possessed a certain level of intelligence.

“Lord Supreme Law Demon, Master has been waiting for a long time.”

They passed through covered bridges, gardens, and halls, heading straight into the core zone. There, the Five Colors Holy Lord whom Wang Yu had exchanged treasures with many years ago was already seated on the holy throne, awaiting his arrival.

Years had passed, yet the changes brought by time were minimal. The Five Colors Holy Lord greeted Wang Yu warmly and descended from the throne.

With a smile full of goodwill he said,

“Daoist Wang.

“We have not seen each other for many years, yet your bearing is even more outstanding than before.”

Addressing him as “Daoist” was clearly an elevation of status. After all, whether by age or strength, calling him “little friend” would already be giving face.

Raising him to “Daoist” showed that the Holy Lord knew about his recent breakthrough in pill refinement.

“Holy Lord flatters me. Those are merely minor achievements. Before Holy Lord they are not worth mentioning.”

Wang Yu’s face was thick. Compliments came easily from his mouth.

As for what achievements the other party had made? That was not important. This kind of tactful mutual flattery was undoubtedly a symbol of friendly respect.

Both sides now felt far more confident about the upcoming conversation.

“Please take a seat first. The Heavenly Roc King, the monkey, and the old dog will arrive shortly.”

The “monkey” and “old dog” referred to True Word King and Shadow Hound King.

Both were members of the Eight Great Demon Clans of the Northern Lands. When they had previously helped hunt the Nine Evil Sword Lord, the Heavenly Roc King had sent them to assist. Their relationship with Wang Yu was still quite good.

There had been no mishaps during their cooperation, and the outcome had been satisfactory. The Five Colors Holy Lord inviting them here clearly intended to make use of that friendship.

Wang Yu guessed it was related to the pill refinement promise.

That was fine with him.

Coming to the demon race for closed-door cultivation was only one goal. Pill refinement cooperation was the second. Something he could accomplish in passing. And the third goal… was the Spirit Transformation Demon Venerable standing behind the Northern Land Demon Race.

If possible, he hoped to meet that being in person.

But the old bird demon’s previous attitude had made it clear that this topic should not be brought up rashly. Otherwise it would easily backfire.

He did not want to fail to find a backer and end up clashing with the Northern Land Demon Race instead.

If a Spirit Transformation existence could not appear openly before others, then either something was wrong with them personally, or they suffered from some unspeakable hidden ailment. In any case, it was not a topic to touch lightly.

Regarding his grudge with the Crimson Heaven Venerable, he still felt some worry. However, the pressure was far less than the survival pressure he had faced when dealing with the spirit slave overseers back then, so he was in no hurry.

As time passed.

A feast with distinct demon-race characteristics was quickly laid out. Dishes taller than a person were placed in the hall, including an extremely rare delicacy: the Fragrant Illusion Pig!

Crispy skin, tender and juicy meat.

Bright red color, steaming hot vapor.

Paired with dipping sauces and fine wine, and accompanied by demon attendants skilled in music who played, sang, and performed a full set of services, the enjoyment was already no less than a human banquet.

The only thing missing was the other kind of service, which did not quite match human habits. Wang Yu tasted a few bites casually, his mind focused on the upcoming conversation.

He did not have to wait long. Upon receiving the news, the Old Monkey and Hound King hurried over. Their eyes lit up when they saw Wang Yu, but they still greeted the Five Colors Holy Lord first before coming over.

“Brother Wang, impressive! Among the Crimson Kite cultivators, those who can stand shoulder to shoulder with you probably number fewer than ten.”

This was said by the Old Monkey. The Hound King had a more reserved personality, or rather belonged to the cold-and-proud type who preferred receiving praise rather than giving it.

After the greetings ended, the Five Colors Holy Lord waited a moment longer.

Only then did he clap his hands and dismiss all the unrelated people.

They went straight into the main topic of this meeting. With a meaningful look from the Holy Lord.

The Old Monkey was the first to probe:

“Brother Wang, back when we hunted that Nascent Soul Demon Lord, you promised to refine one batch of pills for this Old Monkey and the Hound King for free. I wonder if that promise still stands.”

“Of course. I, Wang, have always kept my word. My reputation for honesty is known to everyone in the Crimson Kite. How could I go back on it?”

Wang Yu agreed readily, his mind completely clear.

This was most likely the Five Colors Holy Lord using the opportunity to test whether his pill refinement skill had truly reached fourth-rank supreme-grade as Third Master had claimed.

Using words to test would be too blunt and somewhat embarrassing.

So he simply let the old monkey test it through favors. If future cooperation was reached, he would naturally compensate the old monkey for this free batch.

True Word King took out an ancient scroll and said,

“This pill recipe is called the [Nine Transformations Speech Spirit Pill]. It is fourth-rank and can greatly assist this old monkey’s cultivation. The corresponding materials have all been prepared. Brother Wang…”

“Leave it to me.”

Wang Yu accepted the test, then turned to look at the Hound King.

“Why not have the Hound King join as well? Let me repay both favors at once.”

“Very well.”

Shadow Hound King also took out an ancient scroll recording a pill recipe. These kinds of recipes not only detailed material combinations, fire control, and pharmacology, but even recorded the exact timing for adding each spiritual herb.

They were far easier to comprehend than ordinary recipes that only listed ingredient ratios, though they also contained quite a few professional terms.

For example, the processing method for one spiritual herb was recorded as: “Roll three times in fire, let fireflies dance and melt into heaven, assist with the spirit of earth, then it may enter the medicine.”

This referred to a specific technique from the alchemy manual called Heaven-Earth Grinding Form, specially used to melt spiritual herbs with hard outer shells.

The spiritual pill the Hound King wanted was also fourth-rank.

It was called the [Nether Heaven Demon Pill].

Wang Yu intended to show off his alchemy skill a little to increase his bargaining power and set the standard for future pill refinement fees.

After borrowing a pill room, he went inside and began closed-door refinement.

True to his personality, he would not spend all his time on the actual refinement. He would basically complete all the procedures first, then supervise everything using only his divided divine sense method.

He placed it inside the Taihe Blood Cauldron and slowly nourished it with the Ice Chi Pill Flame. Refining one furnace per year would be about right. Any faster would affect his own cultivation.

Even with the fire-refinement method known for its speed, the time required to refine high-rank spirit pills kept growing longer. It was no longer like before, when he could finish in just a few days or a dozen days.

In contrast, when Wang Yu refined second-rank or third-rank spirit pills.

He could actually produce them in batches, especially using the Blood Pill Dao method, which was most suited for mass production.

When he ambushed the Azure Cloud Sect team, he had originally planned to turn all those elite disciples into blood pills. He would later return to the Crimson Kite, exchange them for war merits, and then trade for a Blood Demon Medicine King to taste.

Unfortunately that plan had not succeeded, but the impact was not great.

He could still accumulate high-end resources through other means. Moreover, the eight Heaven-Earth Rings he obtained that time were all high-grade.

Just the supreme-grade spirit stones inside added up to over a thousand.

This greatly expanded Wang Yu’s resource foundation. One had to know that back then, at the Yanluo Ghost Market auction, a fourth-rank, high-grade magic treasure, the Blood Skull Demonic Sword — had only sold for fifty spirit stones.

Although ghost market prices were lower than normal channels.

It still showed that the resources Wang Yu currently held had already surpassed most late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivators. He even had enough to buy a fifth-rank spiritual treasure.

Adding his already considerable original wealth.

A conservative estimate put the total value of his resources close to two thousand supreme-grade spirit stones. At the same time, Wang Yu’s demand for high-rank yin-cold heavenly materials and earthly treasures was also enormous.

His consumption in every aspect was high. Earning while spending was the true way.

While he was in seclusion refining pills.

In the same banquet hall from earlier, the Five Colors Holy Lord was conversing with True Word King and the Hound King.

“What do you two think? Can this person be trusted?”

The Old Monkey glanced at the stiff-bodied Hound King.

He nodded and said, “He can be trusted. Not long ago, news came from the Endless Ice Plains that the Holy Lord Heavenly Palace will open in another hundred years. The Southern Demon side should be preparing to collect the Holy Tokens.

“With Wang Yu’s help, our Northern Demon Race’s strength can improve considerably over the next hundred years. Our competitiveness when entering the Heavenly Palace will also be much stronger.”

True Word King not only chose to trust Wang Yu but also listed the benefits. In truth, he was helping Wang Yu increase his bargaining chips.

Before becoming the King of the Northern Demons, the Five Colors Holy Lord had already enjoyed a saintly reputation.

He had a large number of demon cultivators with weak bloodlines under him. But if anyone thought he would sympathize with the weak, they would be gravely mistaken.

The intensity of internal competition in the demon race was in no way inferior to the Crimson Kite’s demonic path.

There had been hidden circumstances when he competed for the Holy Lord position back then. Otherwise, the Heavenly Roc King, who had the greatest public recognition, would not have lost, nor would the Thunder Qilin King, who controlled annihilation lightning.

Although the Fire Crow King was a variant, his defeat had been within the demon world’s expectations. Instead, it was the Five Colors Deer King, who only had a “benevolent reputation,” who ascended to the Holy Lord position.

The official explanation was that the Five Colors Deer’s saintly name benefited demon race unity and could change the previous evil trend of bullying the weak and fearing the strong. But the demon race was even more pragmatic than demonic cultivators.

They were certainly not like the righteous path’s hypocritical gentlemen who deceived the world.

To the demon race, something like “reputation” was far too empty and could not stand on its own. The Holy Lord position could only be decided after a real fight.

Reality does not lie. The true face of the Five Colors Holy Lord was not the benevolent saint praised by both humans and demons. Instead, he hid an abyss-like coldness and ruthlessness.

The Hound King’s reaction was proof enough.

“So that’s how it is…”

Hearing True Word King’s words, the Five Colors Holy Lord smiled gently. “Since he has value, when the Azure Cloud Sect envoy arrives, you, old monkey, will stall him.”

“Once the Holy Lord Heavenly Palace opens this time, this Holy Lord will personally enter the palace and welcome back the Azure Dragon Venerable!”

The information the Five Colors Holy Lord revealed was extremely shocking.

The Northern Demon Race’s foundation was not in secluded healing deep within their ancestral lands. Instead, it had gone to the Heavenly Palace treasury built by the Ice Phoenix Holy Lord.

No wonder, after so many years, the demon kings of the Upper Four Clans and Lower Eight Clans had never received any response from the Azure Dragon Venerable.

The Five Colors Deer ascending to the Holy Lord position had partly been because the other demon kings suspected the Azure Dragon Venerable had died from heavy injuries. That was why they urgently wanted to elect a new leader.

In the hall, True Word King and the Hound King quickly lowered their heads.

They pretended they had heard nothing. Not long after, only half a month later.

A Azure Cloud Sect Nascent Soul seventh-layer cultivator with white pupils and purple hair, his entire body exuding an evil aura, officially arrived at the core ancestral land of the Northern Demon Race.

He was precisely the Soul Spirit Origin Lord mentioned by the Yellow Cloud Ancestor!

He cultivated pure soul techniques, not mana but soul power. His entire strength was built upon a powerful soul. Even if his body died, he could instantly convert into a ghost path cultivator.

This ghost path was different from the Five Yin Peak’s ghost-servant and ghost-devouring arts.

It transformed the self into a soul body, abandoning the physical body to focus solely on soul power. Legend said that in ancient times, one of the divine generals beside an immortal had been a pure soul body.

Yet he could eat, drink, run, and jump.

His physiological reactions were no different from a living body. This was one of the signs of profound cultivation in the Ghost Immortal path. Compared to the Body-refinement branch schools.

The ghost immortal path was an extremely niche path among niches. Unless one was born with a defective physical body, normal people would never walk this road.

The early combat power of the ghost immortal path was worrying and had obvious weaknesses.

Only after condensing a nascent soul did it improve somewhat.

Even then, its fighting ability was still inferior to cultivators of other paths. Its only advantage was perception, which stood supreme under the heavens, able to sense all abnormal fluctuations, including those in space.

The Soul Spirit Origin Lord’s arrival was clearly to demand Wang Yu.

He quickly got into a “fierce” argument with the receiving True Word King. The fierceness mainly came from the Soul Spirit Origin Lord cursing, while True Word King seemed to have cultivated a vow of silence.

He only repeated a few words, and spoke them extremely slowly.

It was pure mental torture.

This would become a long, endless, unsolvable loop until the Soul Spirit Origin Lord gave up.

And so it continued… two years later.

Inside Wang Yu’s pill-refinement room, an incomparably fragrant misty pill cloud drifted out. Under his deliberate control, he created one phenomenon after another.

Nearly half the core palace complex was enveloped by the pill cloud.

Large numbers of transformation great demons walked out of their caves and looked toward the source of the pill cloud in shock. When they noticed the Five Colors Holy Lord standing there, they quickly turned their heads away.

They only inhaled a few breaths of the pill fragrance and immediately felt refreshed and clear-minded.

“Holy Lord.”

Wang Yu pushed open the doors and saw the waiting Five Colors Holy Lord at a glance. Not seeing the Old Monkey or the Hound King nearby, he handed over two small pill bottles.

Fourth-rank supreme-grade spirit pills, three pills per bottle, almost in perfect condition.

He had also mostly neutralized the side effects of the Blood Nascent Pills.

In another year or two, he could begin breaking through to the sixth layer of Nascent Soul. His strength was advancing at a visible pace.

After the Five Colors Holy Lord examined the state of the pills.

His expression became even more sincere. He enthusiastically took Wang Yu’s hand.

“You have worked hard, Alchemist Wang. The Heavenly Roc King has prepared a banquet. At the same time, this Holy Lord, on behalf of the Northern Demon Race, also has a business deal he would like to discuss with you.”

Wang Yu naturally went with the flow.

“With our relationship, Holy Lord need not be polite. My pill refinement has always been fair. One stalk of same-rank, same-grade heavenly material and earthly treasure per refinement, with the attribute specified by me.”