Chapter 11: Turning Point

On that day, Manager Liu aggressively severed Wang Yu's arm. This not only humiliated Manager Duan but also damaged True Disciple Su's reputation. Wang Yu himself was insignificant; even if he died, it wouldn't involve True Disciple Su.

The problem was that Manager Duan remained indifferent. As someone who represented True Disciple Su, his silence was tantamount to conceding defeat, especially since he had only recently, and quite publicly, taken Wang Yu under his wing. This incident caused him considerable trouble.

Manager Liu's arrogance stemmed from the True Disciple he served. Cold Blood Peak, the cultivation ground of the Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Rebel Spirit Blood Sect, held a prominent position among the nine peaks. This generation had ten True Disciples, all at the Foundation Establishment stage, and one even possessed a rare Water Celestial Spirit Root. Whoever could first break through to the Golden Core stage would inherit the Nascent Soul True Monarch's legacy and be designated as the next Nascent Soul candidate.

True Disciples were selected every two hundred years. New True Disciples would only be chosen from the tens of thousands of inner sect disciples after the last of the current True Disciples had reached the Golden Core stage; mid-term replacements were rare. The True Disciple behind Manager Liu unexpectedly discovered a high-grade Golden Core spiritual item among the tributes from his subordinates, which perfectly complemented his primary cultivation technique. Consequently, he immediately applied for a high-grade, third-tier Golden Core Pill, the Blood Demon Pill, and was expected to be the first True Disciple of this generation to form a Golden Core within ten years.

Golden Core Pills, like Foundation Establishment Pills, were auxiliary elixirs that cultivators used when breaking through major realms. Due to different legacies, various types of Golden Core Pills existed. The Blood Demon Pill was unique to the Rebel Spirit Blood Sect, highly effective for blood-attribute techniques, and remarkably boosted the chance of forming a Golden Core by nearly forty percent. With the aid of the Golden Core spiritual item, this True Disciple's breakthrough was practically guaranteed. As soon as the news spread, his subordinate forces naturally grew in influence, becoming increasingly aggressive in their actions. Such behavior was common in the Demonic Dao: those who gained power became arrogant and would do anything to accumulate wealth.

This fortuitous opportunity undoubtedly made the other nine True Disciples envious. Since the situation was irreversible, they could only redouble their own efforts. They wanted to try their luck, just in case. This is why Manager Duan sought him out again, a timely coincidence.

After hearing Manager Duan's explanation, Wang Yu understood the situation. Due to his previous inaction, Manager Duan's prestige among the spiritual slaves had significantly diminished. Manager Liu now had the most spiritual slaves affiliated with him, nearly two thousand. Manager Duan and another manager, Manager Liu, each had only six to seven hundred spiritual slaves. The management of these spiritual slaves was the financial lifeline for the three True Disciples; if one took more, the others received less. And spiritual stones were indispensable for recruiting subordinates and expanding influence.

Manager Duan continued, "Wang Yu, you are capable. Even after the last incident, seven or eight spiritual slaves did not transfer to other managers, and the minimum amount of spiritual sand they submitted this month was one liang and six qian. True Disciple Su and I both appreciate this. However, Manager Liu's side should not be provoked for now; avoid them if possible. As long as you can re-establish your spiritual slave team, True Disciple Su can arrange for you to become an inner sect disciple, let alone an outer sect one.”

Wang Yu wasn't interested in this offer. Moreover, the situation had changed, making it much harder for him to persuade those people. Even those accustomed to submission wouldn't frequently switch allegiance in a short period. Unless a new batch of spiritual slaves arrived, that would be a different matter. He sighed inwardly, knowing he had no right to refuse.

“Manager Duan, Wang Yu will do his utmost.”

“Very good. This is an advance reward from True Disciple Su. Take it.”

Wang Yu took the jade slip and placed it on his forehead. With a touch of his divine sense, streams of information immediately flowed into his mind, and he memorized all of it within moments. This was one of the marvels of a cultivator's divine sense, though it could not yet leave the body during the early Qi Condensation stage. Upon reaching the fourth level of Qi Condensation, it could extend outside the body to perceive the external world in minute detail, allowing for the imprinting of divine sense on artifacts and significantly increasing flexibility. Its uses were numerous.

The jade slip contained a rare secret art. Secret arts had no grade divisions; their value was determined by their effects. This art, called the Corpse Demon Secret Art, was created ten thousand years ago by 'Old Man Heaven's Bane.' This individual was born with a congenital disability, naturally missing an arm and a leg. Fortunately, he possessed a mutated high-grade spiritual root, a remarkably rare 'Yin Spirit Root.' The Corpse Demon Secret Art was his creation during the Nascent Soul stage, allowing for the integration of a zombie's arm to compensate for physical deficiencies.

The secret art given by True Disciple Su was an incomplete version with significant side effects. Corpse transformation of the body, loss of carnal desires, reduced lifespan, abnormal qi and blood... there were seven or eight such effects. The more Wang Yu read, the more his mood soured. Was this even meant for human cultivation? He had thought it would be some spiritual elixir for limb regeneration, but now that he'd taken the bait, this was the outcome.

Manager Duan patted his shoulder and said playfully, “Once you complete the task, True Disciple Su will find you the severed arm of a Cold Ice Corpse. This is a second-tier malevolent corpse; even if you can't break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, you'll still be among the top cultivators in the Qi Condensation stage.”

Wang Yu's patience was stretched to its limit. After thanking Manager Duan again, he left the private room and returned to Stone House Number 83.

He mulled it over carefully. His decision to sever an arm and a leg from those three spiritual slaves last time was, in fact, a carefully considered one. Had it not been for the incident involving the Cold Blood Peak True Disciple, Manager Duan would certainly have protected him, and that Manager Liu would not have been so arrogant. Alas, fate was not on his side. This made him realize that while everyone is the protagonist of their own world, they are merely supporting characters in others'. Therefore, one must act cautiously and prioritize safety. Especially in the Demonic Dao, one should not easily stand out; keeping one's abilities hidden was the correct approach.

This convoluted turn of events presented him with a new dilemma: should he cultivate the Corpse Demon Secret Art? It had many side effects, but the 'Placement Slot' could increase the upper limit of his Ice Sword Art, so it should also be able to affect and complete the Corpse Demon Secret Art. The difficulty should be lower than creating it from scratch. It was a Nascent Soul secret art; he didn't believe it would have so many flaws. True Disciple Su must have misinterpreted it, for Old Man Heaven's Bane created this art for his own use and would surely have perfected it without leaving any loopholes.

“Let's examine it first,” he thought. He removed the Blood Combustion Technique from Placement Slot 2 and temporarily placed the Corpse Demon Secret Art there.

Placement Slot 2: Corpse Demon Secret Art[Corpse Demon Secret Art (0/100): Practiced 1,440 times a day, achievable in three months.]

Wang Yu was surprised by the daily practice count. Practicing once a minute seemed a bit exaggerated, yet it would still take three months to achieve mastery. If he waited for the Placement Slot to complete it, it would definitely take years, far longer than the Ice Sword Art.

Without much hesitation, he removed the Corpse Demon Secret Art and re-inserted the Blood Combustion Technique into Slot 2. He decided that cultivation level was still his priority. Besides normal comprehension, the Corpse Demon Secret Art also required practice.

“Nourish blood with Yin, gaining the fortune of Celestial Yin.Nourish the body with corpses, gaining an uncorrupted demonic physique.Celestial Yin transforms blood, connecting bone and generating muscle.Corpse Qi transforms meridians, unaffected by water or fire.”

Simply put, before truly attaching a corpse arm, one needed to absorb Yin spiritual energy to transform their own blood, and simultaneously absorb corpse qi to infiltrate their bones for a deep-level transformation.