Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 494

This time Wang Yu had spent an entire sixty-year cycle in closed-door cultivation, and the gains were substantial.

Almost every treasure in his possession that could temporarily boost comprehension had been completely exhausted. Even the Dao rhyme within the Celestial Enlightenment Dao Platform had been used up, leaving it as nothing more than an ordinary stone seat.

First were the magic treasures.

The Taihe Blood Cauldron and the Thunder Fiend Coffin had both advanced to fourth-rank mid-grade magic treasures. Thunder Corpse, after sixty years of transformation within the feng shui formation Wang Yu had arranged, had also successfully broken through to mid fourth-rank.

They could still be used for the time being, but these unorthodox methods were gradually falling behind his cultivation speed. Their effectiveness was growing weaker and weaker. Even though they still held some potential, the value of further investment had greatly decreased.

Unless he handed them over to others or traded them at a high-level treasure exchange meeting, he had not yet decided what to do with them. For now, he would simply keep them.

In terms of Dao intent, the Asura Dao intent had reached complete perfection with nowhere left to advance. The Aurora Dao intent had stepped into the small accomplishment stage, allowing his movement speed to completely surpass that of early-stage Spirit Transformation cultivators.

At this speed, he could definitely escape from Crimson Heaven.

To a certain extent, as long as he did not step into an obvious trap, even if he was still not Crimson Heaven’s match, he no longer feared the man the way he once had.

At the same time, Wang Yu had comprehended the embryonic form of a third Dao intent.

It was none other than the Yellow Springs Dao intent.

This caused his Nascent Soul’s strength to surge once more. Nourished by three different Dao intents, its growth rate far exceeded ordinary imagination. This was all thanks to the Idle Slots.

In divine abilities and secret arts.

The Corpse Demon Secret Technique had officially advanced to the fifth rank. On the foundation of his Body Refiner physique, it could now stack the strength of a fifth-rank zombie physique. The Yin Blood Pill recovery secret art had advanced alongside it.

It was now enough to rapidly restore the spiritual essence of his Indestructible Spiritual Bone.

Its strategic value had increased dramatically.

The fifth-rank divine ability, Ice Prison Demon Seal, had reached small accomplishment, basically hitting his current limit. Any further comprehension would require Spirit Transformation cultivation; otherwise it could not be used at all.

The fifth-rank body-refinement divine ability, Immortal Spiritual Body, had also reached small accomplishment. This body-refinement divine ability focused on defense and also assisted in raising body-refinement cultivation.

The progress in divine abilities had further driven the evolution of his physical body.

Judging by its current strength, it had reached at least the level of ninth-layer Nascent Soul. Half of the Silver Blood Divine Marrow within his dragon spine had turned golden, continuously supplying his body with unmatched divine strength.

In close combat, Wang Yu could now be considered unrivaled within the Ice Prison Realm.

All the other divine abilities and secret arts had basically been cultivated to perfection.

Especially the Yellow Springs divine abilities. Ever since the Yellow Springs Monastery Lord had given him the complete set of advancement and cultivation methods for them, he had used the pretext of refining pills for the Northern Demon Race to gradually raise every Yellow Springs divine ability to the fourth rank.

Unless there was further value in advancing them, the Idle Slots were now almost entirely occupied by cultivation techniques.

The improvement in cultivation techniques had also been considerable.

The Ice Soul Holy Demonic Scripture had been derived and elevated to the fifth rank, becoming a true Spirit Transformation inheritance. The resulting chain reaction was a massive surge in his demonic essence cultivation speed.

His life-bound divine ability, Guanghan Twelve Phases, had reached the fifth rank ahead of schedule.

Unfortunately, without Spirit Transformation cultivation as a foundation, even though the realm was perfect, he could not unleash its full power. He could only push it to the limit within his current capabilities.

In addition, the body-refinement divine ability [Dragon Emperor Fist] that he had obtained from the ancient Human Emperor’s secret vault had also been comprehended to the entry level. It had replaced the Ten Directions Frozen Demon Fist and become Wang Yu’s strongest trump card on the Body-refinement side—without equal!

His configuration at the Nascent Soul realm was almost completely maxed out.

Even if he broke through to Spirit Transformation on the spot, his full set of divine abilities and secret arts would still grant him impressive combat power. At the very least, he would not be at the bottom among those in the same realm.

The only area that still lagged slightly was magic treasures. The Blood and Flesh Demonic Artifact could serve for the time being, but for any significant boost he would still need traditional magic treasures.

In divine sense.

The Ancient Soul Art had also advanced to the fifth rank in sync, causing Wang Yu’s divine sense to surge once again. It had basically reached the peak of the Nascent Soul realm. The next step would be Spirit Transformation-level divine sense.

This realm could not be reached ahead of time for now.

When the Nascent Soul transforms into the Primordial Spirit, it must completely fuse with divine sense, achieving the unity of the three treasures—essence, qi, and spirit. Only by reaching this state can the Nascent Soul undergo its transformation.

Of the seven Idle Slots, three were occupied by his fundamental techniques, one by the Ancient Soul Art, one by the Yin Nether Demonic Dragon Art, and the final two were temporarily placed on comprehending the Yellow Springs Dao intent.

This kind of intangible, formless thing was perfectly suited for the Idle Slots. However, the effect of deriving and advancing it had temporarily stalled.

At least when he had placed the perfected Asura Dao intent, there had been no reaction at all, and no progress bar had appeared below it. Wang Yu suspected this was due to realm restrictions.

Advancing Dao intent further would lead to the power of Domain intent.

Only Spirit Transformation cultivators could wield it, and a cultivator could comprehend only one Domain Intent in their entire lifetime. He had not yet considered exactly how he would develop it.

There was also the Spirit Transformation-exclusive realm phenomenon—Heaven and Earth Manifestation!

Wang Yu currently had only three choices.

The [Undying Blood Demon Dharma Aspect] of the Blood Reversal Sect, as well as the [White Bone Demon God Dharma Aspect] and the [Yellow Springs Azure Firmament Dharma Aspect] of the Yellow Springs Monastery—none of these were particularly compatible with him.

The Ice Soul Holy Demonic Scripture that had been elevated did not contain any knowledge regarding Dharma Aspects, so he was also at a loss. It would be best if he could cultivate a half-body Dharma Aspects before breaking through to Spirit Transformation.

That way, the moment he broke through he would be able to use it directly.

Both the Yellow Springs Monastery Lord and the Blood Demon Hall Master had done exactly that. As for him, he simply did not have a suitable one on hand. Moreover, being too young while simultaneously cultivating three different Dao intents meant he really could not spare the attention.

In short, the harvest from this sixty-year closed-door cultivation had been enormous.

The most significant gain of all was the advancement in his fundamental cultivation.

When a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator broke through to late-stage Nascent Soul, the demonic essence within their body would once again condense from liquid into solid state, forming a starry scene like the heavens within their Qi sea.

One ten-thousand drops of demonic essence were required to condense a single demonic essence crystal.

Condensing ten crystals allowed one to break through to late-stage Nascent Soul. Wang Yu had already achieved this while digesting the Blood Nascent Pills. The subsequent years of closed-door cultivation had been spent accumulating more on top of that foundation.

Breaking through to the eighth layer of Nascent Soul required only twenty demonic essence crystals.

Breaking through to the ninth layer required fifty demonic essence crystals.

Great perfection of Nascent Soul required ninety-nine crystals. After breaking through to Spirit Transformation, the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit would merge into one, and the demonic essence crystals would return to a gaseous state, forming a qualitative leap in mana.

At present, Wang Yu had accumulated roughly seventeen demonic essence crystals. He was only three crystals short of breaking through — the equivalent of thirty thousand drops of demonic essence. At his current cultivation speed, he could make the breakthrough in at most ten years.

He estimated that by the time the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm opened, he would just about reach the edge of the ninth layer of Nascent Soul. This shocking cultivation speed owed sixty percent of its success to the Blood Nascent Pills.

The effect of these pills was truly heaven-defying, and they had not yet produced any pill barrier.

The human-eating school’s cultivation method was indeed extremely fast.

The only downside was that it consumed far too many Nascent Souls. At least one-third of the Azure Cloud Sect’s Nascent Souls had ended up in his hands, along with a scattering from the demonic path and some from the Blazing Sun Sect.

They had been forcibly piled up through sheer numbers. The remaining forty percent of the credit belonged to the Idle Slots. Every step felt as though it had come from Wang Yu’s own bitter cultivation.

If he had relied solely on normal cultivation, he would have needed at least three times his current age to reach his present strength.

Right now, it was the 5th month of the 111th year of his Ancestor career.

His actual age was only 298 years old — still two years short of three hundred. At this age, he had only just finished consuming the lifespan he had gained upon breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

With a Nascent Soul’s lifespan of sixteen hundred years, he was still extremely young.

Standing at the entrance of the closed-door stone chamber.

Wang Yu quickly reviewed the gains from these years in his mind. The Heavenly Palace Secret Realm would open in roughly thirty years. He still had time to continue increasing his strength during this period.

He could strengthen his magic treasures, consider advancing the Ice Chi Pill Flame and Black Demon Thunder, and further refine his Body Refinement cultivation.

And so on… He was still far from being able to rest easy.

Moreover.

He had gradually begun to factor the overseer from outside the realm into his plans. The Ice Prison Realm was growing more and more chaotic. There was an eighty percent chance that person would make their move ahead of schedule to avoid any real incident such as an Ancient Demon breaking its seal.

Negligence would carry severe consequences for that individual. There was room to maneuver on this matter.

The Overseer possessed the ability to eavesdrop on the voices of an entire realm.

The ancient predecessors had called them the Six-Eared Thief. This implied they had once personally intervened; otherwise they would not have been discovered. This factor also needed to be taken into consideration.

At the same time, the overseer held a terrifying intelligence advantage.

Logically, the best place to plant pieces would be the Sword Sect and very likely more than one location.

The Ice Race, the demonic path… none of the possibilities were low. In the future he would need to be extra cautious. The secret art Six Senses All Veiled that he had obtained from the Ancient Beast Ancestral God Mountain was one of the best countermeasures.

Just as Wang Yu stood at the edge overlooking the scenery.

A Green Peng from the Heavenly Roc Race landed beside him and spoke respectfully, “Congratulations on your emergence from seclusion, Profound Pill Grandmaster. The Holy Lord requests your presence!”

This demon also possessed sixth-layer Nascent Soul cultivation. The change in address from Fellow Daoist Wang to Pill Master Wang and now to Profound Pill Grandmaster showed just how many spirit pills Wang Yu had refined for the Northern Demon Race over the past sixty years.

A full sixty batches. Calculating three fourth-rank supreme-grade spirit pills per batch, that came to one hundred and eighty pills. Even if every Nascent Soul received one, there would still be plenty left over.

If distributed properly, it was enough to raise the overall strength of the Northern Demon Race by an entire level. It would not be an exaggeration to say they were willing to treat him like a living ancestor.

However, the Northern Demon Race’s fourth-rank spiritual materials were not infinite. After refining those sixty batches, they had also handed over sixty types of fourth-rank supreme-grade spiritual materials.

They had basically exhausted the reserves they had accumulated over the years.

The frequency of alchemy commissions was decreasing. It was time for Wang Yu to go out and take a walk, and along the way gather some spiritual resources to further strengthen himself.

“Lead the way.”

Following Peng Qing, he passed through many demon race palaces. Every great demon they encountered respectfully addressed him as Grandmaster. Clearly, they all knew exactly who the current provider of food and clothing for the Northern Demon Race was.

The mutually beneficial cooperation had elevated Wang Yu’s relationship with the Northern Demon Race to a new level. Almost everyone was willing to give him face.

Half a teacup’s time later.

Five Colors Holy Hall — the Northern Demon Holy Lord’s office.

“Profound Pill worthy brother, you’ve finally come out of seclusion! Once the Heavenly Roc King and the others arrive, we’ll hold a three-day, three-night banquet to celebrate your emergence!”

Wang Yu raised an eyebrow. The way the Holy Lord called him “worthy brother” was overly familiar.

“There’s really no need to go that far. Does the Holy Lord have something to entrust to me?”

“It’s a good thing.”

The Five Colors Holy Lord descended the steps and came to Wang Yu’s side.

“Worthy brother, have you heard of the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm?”

“—Oh?”

Wang Yu had not expected the Five Colors Holy Lord to bring it up directly. He could only pretend ignorance and ask with a curious tone.

“Would the Holy Lord please elaborate?”

“The Heavenly Palace Secret Realm was opened by the first-generation Holy Lord of the demon race in ancient times, the Ice Phoenix Venerable. It contains a large quantity of rare spiritual resources from the ancient era that have since gone extinct.

“Only the Holy Tokens can open it. It is a foundation left behind by the Ice Phoenix Holy Lord for the demon race. There are one hundred and eight Holy Tokens in total. Quite a few have been lost over the years. The Northern Demon Race currently holds only forty. Would worthy brother be interested in joining us to obtain treasures?”

Wang Yu’s heart stirred. He immediately sensed the issue.

The Five Colors Holy Lord’s expression was sincere; he did not seem to be lying. Offering such heavy benefits was not merely because of Wang Yu’s alchemy talent, his own cultivation potential was also peerless.

The Holy Lord clearly wanted to thoroughly tie him to the Northern Demon Race’s war chariot.

However.

The Ice Phoenix Venerable had actually been the first Venerable of the Ice Race. Because her appearance resembled an ice phoenix, she had been misidentified, causing the older demon race to unknowingly serve the Ice Race all along.

This hidden truth appeared flawless but actually contained quite a few flaws.

Wang Yu did not believe the Five Colors Holy Lord was completely unaware of it.

As for what exact scheme the Holy Lord was plotting, that was impossible to guess.

His thoughts flashed rapidly.

In truth, Wang Yu had no reason to refuse.

“Since the Holy Lord is showing me such favor, it would be too ungrateful of me to decline. When exactly will the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm open?”

“After calculations by the clan elders, it should be in roughly thirty-four years.”

“How is it opened?”

“Naturally with Ice Phoenix blood. Our clan still has some in reserve, so worthy brother need not worry. Just enjoy the upcoming banquet.”

With that, he clapped his hands.

Several stunningly beautiful demon maidservants immediately approached. They massaged his shoulders, played the flute, and began a grand banquet with both body and music.

Wang Yu had been in closed-door cultivation for a full sixty years and was indeed quite bored.

He did not mind relaxing for a few days.

…

…

One month later.

Wang Yu, now full of energy and glowing with health, leisurely flew away from the Northern Demon Race territory. He had browsed through their archives and recorded quite a few secrets.

He had also noted down the locations of several high-level secret realms in the Taihu and Crimson Kite domains that could meet his needs. For the next thirty-plus years, he planned to travel around and stir up some excitement.

Once he updated and replaced part of his magic treasures, that would basically be enough.

The further one advanced in cultivation, the less sensitive one became to the passage of time. Calculating the date, he recalled that when he had parted ways with Yan Ling years ago, they had agreed to meet in advance.

It would be both to discuss strategy for the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm and to make preparations ahead of time. After all, when they had made the agreement he had only been at Core Formation. Back then he had estimated that simply breaking through to Nascent Soul would already be good enough.

He would have needed to prepare many trump cards in advance. Yet the later stages had seen his cultivation speed skyrocket. After fully developing the wonders of the Human Pill Art, he had soared straight into the heavens.

He could now compete openly and had no need for meaningless little tricks.

Additionally.

Since the Five Colors Holy Lord had personally invited him, he would surely prepare a Holy Token for him. Bringing his main body and Snowjade would be more than enough. The one he already held could be handed to Yan Ling to pass on to Yu Tangtang.

By now she should have broken through to Nascent Soul as well.

They could form a team to explore the secret realm together. Therefore, he would go find Yan Ling first to arrange everything in advance. When the time came, they could simply meet up in the Endless Ice Plains.

Over these years, Snowjade had been immersed in cultivating the Human Desire Art.

After the Idle Slots had derived and elevated this secret art, the dual cultivation with Wang Yu had been far too frequent, three times a day for sixty straight years. That was the real reason Wang Yu had felt bored.

Otherwise he would not have been very interested in the demon maidservants; it had simply been a change of taste.

At the moment Snowjade was still asleep. Once she woke up she would advance to mid-rank Heavenly-grade bloodline, and her cultivation would surge dramatically, faster than riding a flying boat.

And so.

At the border of Maple Prefecture, formerly of the Blood Reversal Sect and now of the Northern Demon Race, Wang Yu flew southward and arrived at the place where he and Yan Ling had first met.

Night Jewel Prefecture — Spider Mountain!