Chapter 109: Six Years of Change and Progress in Cultivation (Part 2)

Some people refused to listen; others simply had no choice.

This wait truly paid off for Yan Ling. Based purely on aptitude, she was undoubtedly more qualified to inherit the Nascent Soul legacy of Cold Blood Peak.

Their attributes were compatible, and their ages aligned.

When Su Yulong and Wei Chong were both ousted and the true disciple factions reshuffled, she didn't rush to make her move, estimating that the other true disciples were busy competing for the legacy left behind after the "whale fall."

Once they had nearly finished battling each other, she would then make her move to maximize her gains, truly embodying the maxim of "biding one's time to act."

Thus, over at Five Yin Peak, True Person Hongxia's grand-disciple, unable to bear the environment, proactively requested to return to the sect's main headquarters, a request that perfectly aligned with Yan Ling's intentions.

This was now the opportune moment to inherit her competitor's "legacy." Her earlier retreat had been to bide her time, but with changes occurring so rapidly, it was no longer wise to hide or hold back.

The two parties immediately saw eye to eye and decided to return four years earlier than planned.

Wang Yu was able to observe everything clearly from a third-person perspective, thanks to his usual habit of paying attention to the details of life.

Furthermore, his access to various sources of intelligence and his status of having been deeply involved before withdrawing also granted him a higher-level perspective.

Even without having met True Disciple Yan, he could be certain!

Such was the case.

The sixth year of the Spider Mountain mission arrived as scheduled, marking the 10th month of the 15th year of Wang Yu's outer sect career!

This period had been quite peaceful, with nothing happening, allowing him to cultivate quietly for over four years.

Throughout this period.

The Spirit Taming Seal reached mastery after six months of cultivation. This secret art was primarily used to implant spirit seals into demon beasts that had lost their ability to resist. The stronger one's spiritual sense, the higher the cultivation limit of the demon beasts one could control.

One could not exceed one major cultivation realm. For example, a first-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator could tame a ninth-layer Foundation Establishment demon beast, but this would not work upon breaking through to Core Formation, as it would lead to a spiritual sense backlash.

Except for keeping the first-tier early-stage Snow Jade Fox, which he controlled with the Spirit Taming Seal, he didn't care for the other two spirit beasts. He sold them both to the cultivators from Fierce Meditation Peak who regularly came for inspections, earning four thousand spirit stones.

At the same time, the second-tier low-grade Stealth spell reached mastery after three years of cultivation.

The so-called "Void Stealth" level seemed closely related to spatial power, but only superficially. This spell consumed true essence, and even with his cultivation, he could only sustain it for half an hour at most.

How similar this was to his use of the Night Concealment Charm across realms back then!

As his techniques became more advanced, his cultivation realm, serving as the energy source, was instead proving insufficient.

Over four years, the remaining six months in the fourth cultivation slot were dedicated to the Profound Yin Hand, and it had indeed made some progress.

In addition.

The body-tempering cultivation method "Flood Dragon Strength," which he had already mastered, saw remarkably fast progress ever since he acquired the first-tier dragon-blood essence. Wang Yu used a pill furnace to refine a secret medicine, which, paired with his mastered cultivation method, greatly accelerated his improvement.

He had already reached the seventh layer of "Nine Dragon Vitalizing Tendons," which was equivalent to the body-tempering cultivation of the late Qi Condensation stage. Although body-tempering cultivation seemed unrelated to spiritual root aptitude, it actually had basic requirements.

After all, body tempering also required absorbing spiritual energy, which was impossible for a shattered spiritual root.

As for the third-tier Flood Dragon inner core, Wang Yu's cultivation realm was too low to refine it. However, by boiling it with the body-tempering secret medicine using a cold flame, the secret medicine's effects, influenced by the inner core, far exceeded the cultivation method's descriptions.

This was the fundamental reason for his rapid progress. He had likely extracted a small amount of power from it, but this minimal loss did not affect the inner core's intrinsic efficacy.

Regarding the cultivation slots, numbers one and two remained untouched. The true advancement of the "Cold Blood Art" should occur this month. With both slots working concurrently, the twenty-year duration had been shortened to ten years, and it was now on the verge of completion!

Slot number three had progressed by more than half.

Cultivation Slot 4: Demonic Embryo Profound Origin Secret Incantation."Demonic Embryo Profound Origin Secret Incantation (60/100): 96 practices per day, completable in four years." This secret art aimed to cultivate the essence of a demonic embryo, with its target actually being the spiritual roots. Daily absorption of "Heavenly Demon Malice" and chanting of the secret incantation caused Wang Yu's already mutated five spiritual roots to undergo yet another transformation.

Originally, his five elemental spiritual roots — metal, wood, water, fire, and earth — were all less than an inch long.

Among them, the water spiritual root had mutated into dual Yin and Ice attributes, reaching a full four inches, comparable to a four-element mixed spiritual root.

Now, black and crimson secret incantations crept up the spiritual roots, shrouding them in a faint, eerie, misty haze, while slender, dark roots sprouted from beneath them.

These roots were exerting force towards each other, attempting to intertwine; this was the "umbilical cord" for nurturing the demonic embryo. At this point, the secret art was 60% complete, more than halfway done.

The final form should involve the spiritual roots completely entwining.

To manifest the demonic embryo!

When that happens, the essence of the spiritual roots will be altered, acquiring Heavenly Demon characteristics. Wang Yu will then be able, based on the other profound aspects of the secret incantation, to devour everything from others and enhance his own aptitude.

The closer the bloodline, the better this effect; for siblings from the same origin, it could even achieve a perfect, 100% replication.

For complete strangers, only one or two tenths of the effect could be retained. If quality was insufficient, quantity could compensate, as this method could be used repeatedly.

Once this cultivation was complete, Wang Yu's situation would undergo a monumental change.

It was close!

In terms of cultivation, his progress remained steady and painstaking, one step at a time. Over four years, he had barely managed to digest three improved versions of top-grade Cold Blood Pills.

The cultivation slots contributed 58 units of spiritual energy, pills added 45 units, and his own cultivation barely increased by 1 unit, for a total increase of 104 units.

He was now at Qi Condensation eighth layer, with 404 units of spiritual energy.

At this rate, he would need another 12 years to reach the 700 units of spiritual energy required to break through to Qi Condensation ninth layer, and another 12 years to reach Qi Condensation Grand Completion.

This pace was neither fast nor slow, comparable to a three-spiritual root cultivator with full resources. He did some calculations.

Currently 32 years old, he would likely break through to Foundation Establishment by the age of 56. A boost from the Ghost Eye had further increased his efficiency.

He had many fortuitous encounters and abundant resources.

Reaching this stage was certainly something to be proud of.

Having almost finished tallying the gains from his six years at Spider Mountain, it was also time for him to leave and return to the sect.

If his return was smooth, he might even be promoted to the inner sect.

After all, the requirements for outer sect disciples to advance to the inner sect were not high, just two, apart from connections.

Namely: late Qi Condensation cultivation, and a record of spending over ten thousand contribution points.

Wang Yu had not yet met the latter requirement, but after True Disciple Su's downfall, he could use the channel of recommendation by a Foundation Establishment cultivator. All things considered, he had been in the sect for sixteen years, so he could certainly be considered a staunch loyalist.

Paying a recommendation fee and securing an inner sect disciple status was still very necessary. At the very least, after breaking through to Foundation Establishment in the future, he would gain more benefits.

Yes, he had already decided to cultivate in the demonic path from now on.

Even if he successfully returned to the Taihu Spirit Domain, he had decided to deeply cultivate within the Anti-Spirit Blood Sect. Only the demonic path was suitable for someone with his wasted spiritual roots.

In the righteous path, secret arts like the Demonic Embryo Profound Origin Secret Incantation, which harmed the heavens and earth, would definitely be forbidden; he shouldn't even consider it.

Only here could he change his fate!

(End of chapter)