Chapter 115: Returning Home

The Inner Sect forms the backbone of the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect, with almost all Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators emerging from this group.

Its greatest benefit is the qualification to independently claim and guard a city after breaking through to Foundation Establishment. One only needs to look at Corroding Heart City to understand the immense profits that can be gained by monopolizing a city.

Outer Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators, however, do not possess this qualification. Even opening a shop within the sect requires permission from a relevant superior.

Deacon Xu and the Xu Family Pill Shop are prime examples of this.

Wang Yu’s promotion to the Inner Sect was a carefully considered decision, a move to deeply embed himself within the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect, anticipating future benefits.

After respectfully taking his leave, Wang Yu, dressed in brand new attire, appeared in the plaza of the All Halls Quarter. Many fellow disciples cast envious glances his way.

The Nine Peaks of the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect boasted over 100,000 Outer Sect disciples, yet the Inner Sect numbered only around 10,000. To hold a higher status meant standing above those hundreds of thousands of cultivators.

It was a completely different world.

"I, Wang, am now an Inner Sect disciple! It's the end of the year, and today marks the first day of my Inner Sect life!"

With a surge of pride in his heart, Wang Yu left the All Halls Quarter, unaware of a hidden gaze that seemed to be watching him.

Heavenly Corpse Quarter, ordinary cave dwelling.

Nearly two months had passed since his promotion to the Inner Sect, and Wang Yu had quickly adapted to his new identity. He was currently using cold flames to refine a first-grade, top-tier Beast-Feeding Pill, which could aid in the growth of the Snow Jade Fox.

He attached great importance to this, so as soon as the pill formula was perfected, he immediately began refining the pills.

Having been well-fed for several months, the little fox rarely stayed in its spirit beast pouch. Wang Yu often held it in his arms and petted it, knowing that if he was going the elite route, he needed to cultivate a strong bond.

After all, spontaneous protection of one's master and forced execution were two entirely different concepts.

The former was far more efficient and effective!

His alchemy skills were already perfected, making the refining of first-grade pills no longer a challenge. He even had full confidence in refining low-grade second-tier pills. However, his Icy Serpent Alchemy technique remained incomplete, and he currently had no capacity to finish it.

When the timing was right, Wang Yu slapped the pill furnace. The moment its lid flew open, three vibrant green spirit pills, exuding vitality, appeared.

After undergoing four processes—refining, integrating, condensing, and nurturing—the final result was nothing short of perfect.

That was the impressive power of Instinctive Alchemy.

"Three top-tier pills," he mused. "It's the potency of the spirit herbs that limited my performance. If the medicinal power were several times more abundant, it wouldn't be impossible to produce nine top-tier spirit pills in one furnace."

As he placed the top-tier Beast-Feeding Pills into a jade bottle, the impatient Snow Jade Fox dashed out, crying "yoo-hoo" at Wang Yu, even jumping into his arms and exposing its soft belly.

Wang Yu couldn't help but smile. Since the Snow Jade Fox had joined him, his facial features, which were on the verge of becoming expressionless, had been salvaged.

Humans are social animals after all, and it's difficult to endure prolonged solitude. With a cute pet for companionship, his chances of developing into someone abnormal had significantly decreased.

In such an environment, maintaining one's mental and physical well-being was truly not an easy task.

"Here you go, here you go. When you grow up, you can be my mount."

The Snow Jade Fox gulped down the fragrant spirit pill in one bite. Immediately, its eyelids drooped, and it fell into a deep sleep within a few breaths. Wang Yu placed it in his pocket and continued refining pills.

He opened four furnaces consecutively, only stopping when he was sure the fox had consumed enough to develop a pill barrier. By the time he emerged from seclusion, more than half a month had passed.

News regarding the second matter finally arrived from Tantai Chan, who had disappeared without a trace since her promotion to the Inner Sect.

The matter had been settled, and Wang Yu was instructed to report to the Stone House Area of Cold Blood Peak within seven days. A new round of slave-capturing teams was about to depart.

The attrition rate for spirit slaves had always been very high; very few lived longer than twenty years. He had never heard of anyone else being promoted from a spirit slave to the Outer Sect, as he had been.

No wonder his story always evoked exclamations; such a feat was incredibly rare, perhaps even unique within the last century.

The high attrition rate of spirit slaves also led to clear territorial divisions for slave-capturing among the Nine Peaks. Some peaks operated within the Crimson Kite Demonic Region, which was precisely why Wang Yu insisted on joining the Cold Blood Peak team.

He wanted to return to the Taihu Spirit Domain, to Shihu City, and his only option was to retrace his steps, continuing along the Black Mountain Pass route.

So many years had passed; he wondered how his family was doing. After packing his belongings and sending messages to his acquaintances about his mission, he left the Ten Quarters of Inverse Blood without a second glance.

At the foot of Cold Blood Peak, in the secluded Stone House Area.

Today, the area was bustling. Three slave-capturing teams were preparing to depart for different locations.

Upon his arrival, Wang Yu spotted several familiar faces.

Among them were the old cultivator who had personally "escorted" him here years ago, now Steward Liu, who was the most prominent figure in the Stone House Area. Upon seeing Wang Yu, he even offered a friendly greeting.

Even Duan Ping, also known as Fatty Duan, who had been missing for some time, was there. He was no longer a steward but a member of this slave-capturing team.

Qi Condensation Level 7... Wang Yu's eyes couldn't help but narrow. This was a different cultivation level from when they had first met.

After Wei Chong and Su Yulong fell from power, Duan Ping, this small fry, had surprisingly remained safe. It seemed the main culprits had been caught, and a minor figure like him was released out of respect for the Xiangshan Duan Clan.

However, he had been stripped of his position and demoted to the slave-capturing team. His aged appearance was starkly different from how he looked just a while ago.

He must have attempted Foundation Establishment once using a low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill (Inverse Blood Pill) and clearly failed. Otherwise, he wouldn't look so dispirited, and his cultivation level wouldn't have regressed.

Upon seeing Wang Yu, Duan Ping shivered, fearfully retreating behind his captain, "Old Man Ning."

Seeing his reaction, Wang Yu couldn't help but flash him a toothed smile.

Under the sunlight, his teeth looked anything but warm, making his smile appear exceptionally chilling.

"You... what do you want?"

"Nothing," Wang Yu replied. "Brother Duan, you seem to fear me. Have you done something with a guilty conscience?"

"No, no!" Duan Ping stammered. "Stay away from me! Old Man Ning... Old Man Ning!"

"Enough," Old Man Ning interjected.

Old Man Ning grabbed Duan Ping from behind him and pushed him in front of Wang Yu, saying with a smile:

"Fellow Daoist Wang, this trip to the Taihu Spirit Domain will be fraught with peril. Accidents on the road are common. While we are still in the sect, it would be wise to make thorough preparations."

"Thank you for the advice, Fellow Daoist Ning."

Wang Yu was slightly surprised by his attitude. Old Man Ning's unspoken meaning was clear: while they were within the sect, he would give Wang Yu face, but once they were outside, Wang Yu could deal with Duan Ping however he pleased.

He was indeed a shrewd individual.

Duan Ping also caught the subtext, and his face instantly paled. "No, you can't do this! I treated you well before, you—"

Unexpectedly, Old Man Ning didn't even spare him a glance.

"Everyone's here. Let's depart," he announced.

Over a dozen late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators simultaneously released their flying magical artifacts, preparing to depart. Duan Ping stubbornly refused to move, but Old Man Ning paid him no mind.

"Not leaving?" Old Man Ning scoffed. "Then you can wait here for the sect's execution order. Everyone else, depart!"

With that, he took the lead, soaring into the air.

The others followed one after another. Soon after, the pale-faced Fatty Duan also followed, keeping a significant distance from Wang Yu. *It's death either way*, he likely thought, *might as well go out and take my chances.*