Chapter 145: 越沼

Now.

Wang Yu didn't spare a glance for the Alligator Dragon's fate. He focused all his strength on unleashing the Black Yin Hand, lunging toward the pale Lan Boting. During the Qi Refinement stage, the largest gray-black giant hand was no more than one zhang. But now, wielded by Wang Yu at the Foundation Establishment stage and amplified by his true essence, the perfected Black Yin Hand stretched a full ten zhang! The thirty-three-meter Black Yin Hand resembled a giant's arm. It abruptly seized the weakened Lan Boting, whose expression was utterly shocked, his features already contorted.

"This is... a legacy of the Yellow Springs Sect. Are you a true disciple of the Yellow Springs Sect? How is this possible! And... you were supposed to be in that other location."

Wang Yu smiled, watching his flustered enemy. "Indeed," Wang Yu replied. "I am a true disciple in training from the Yellow Springs Sect. How about it? Are you surprised?"

At this moment, the Black Yin Hand was about to unleash its true power as a top-grade Tier 2 spell. Due to a shortage of true essence, Wang Yu had only conjured one. But this was more than enough!

"No... Fellow Daoist Wang, I know Elder Dizang of the Yellow Springs Sect. He has connections with the Sword Sect..."

The moment Wang Yu felt a flicker of suspicion, Lan Boting exploded into a puddle of blood in his hand. He hadn't even exerted force; he had intended to keep the corpse of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. It would have been incredibly valuable!

Still puzzled, he looked toward his companion, the Alligator Dragon, on the other side. He saw that most of its neck had been split open and its spine broken, with only some flesh remaining, barely preventing its head from falling off. What a formidable Blood Essence Sword. Nonetheless, Wang Yu breathed a sigh of relief. The crisis was averted.

It seemed he would need to break through within the sect in the future. With the assistance of spiritual veins, he wouldn't need to expend his own spirit stones, and it would be much safer. If forced to cultivate in the wild, he would need to prepare formation flags capable of concealing any disturbances in advance. Learning from a setback was crucial for sustained progress.

Now it was time to reap the rewards. The Alligator Dragon's corpse was highly valuable, but Wang Yu had no intention of selling it. Its essence blood could be used to refine secret elixirs, its flesh for beast-feeding pills, and its bones, tendons, and scales were superior materials for magical artifacts. What's more... this Alligator Dragon possessed a demon core!

A demon core, unlike the Golden Core of human cultivators, was a symbol of potent bloodline concentration. Even a Tier 1 demonic beast could potentially form one. It signified powerful innate talent. The earlier a demonic beast formed a demon core, the greater its potential. This Alligator Dragon undoubtedly had the potential to break through to Tier 3, making its value even higher. Wang Yu knew of a pill called the Earth Dragon Profound Pill, which was refined using the previously acquired Earth Spirit Dendrobium. It could significantly strengthen the physique of a body cultivator. When combined with a dragon's spine, it could even activate a unique physical ability. He could consider learning it upon his return.

When he reached the puddle of blood that was once Lan Boting, he first collected all the storage bags, his expression solemn.

"If my guess is correct, this must have been some kind of restriction or a highly binding contract. He violated the contract and was thus punished, turning into a puddle of blood, not even leaving behind his soul..."

The Yellow Springs Sect, Elder Dizang. Wang Yu rubbed his chin. He had claimed the identity of a true disciple in training from the Yellow Springs Sect and possessed the Black Yin Hand inheritance. This status was high enough that he was implicitly privy to some of the sect's secrets. It was normal for Lan Boting to be punished by the contract for speaking so rashly.

"However, the Sword Sect and the Yellow Springs Sect are connected?" He couldn't help but recall the origin of the Black Yin Hand technique — Su Qingshan! Could he truly be a spy? But giving a spy a core inheritance to carry with them seemed utterly illogical. His head ached with confusion!

"No, I won't think about it," he decided. "It has nothing to do with me anyway." He then proceeded to take stock of his gains.

He found a top-grade Tier 2 Demon-Binding Rope and a top-grade Tier 2 Azure Water Sword. Aside from these two artifacts, the rest were quite ordinary, not even as good as the Earth Origin Cauldron he had acquired previously. He had gained 32,000 spirit stones, a substantial haul. There were also five bottles of Tier 2 spirit elixirs and various miscellaneous items, including extensive information and maps related to the Taihu Spirit Domain, as well as internal intelligence from the Heavenly Void Sword Sect regarding the Dead Leaf Swamp. The last item, in particular, was an immense help to Wang Yu. He had been pondering how to safely traverse the swamp, and with this internal intelligence, the difficulty would be significantly reduced.

Additionally, the storage bag contained several tokens, likely used for movement within the Sword Sect. There were no other notable gains. As for cultivation techniques and spells, there were none. This was consistent with cultivators from major powers; their skills were learned directly from their sects, unlike rogue cultivators who typically carry their techniques with them. Even if they acquired something externally, it was usually inferior to the inheritance provided by their sect, and they wouldn't even bother cultivating outside techniques.

"These gains are sufficient," he thought. "Once I've dealt with the miscellaneous items, magical artifacts, and elixirs, I'll once again be in the ranks of those with a net worth of 100,000 spirit stones." He had arrived with a net worth of 100,000 and would depart with the same amount. Despite significant expenditures and great advancements in his strength, the Taihu Spirit Domain truly seemed to have more "good people" compared to Chiyuan, where everyone seemed to be penniless.

After finding a secluded spot and restoring his true essence, he spent several more days refining the four Tier 2 magical artifacts: the Glazed Soul Lamp, Earth Origin Cauldron, Demon-Binding Rope, and Azure Water Sword. His strength naturally rose to the next level. At the Foundation Establishment stage, a cultivator's powerful divine sense was sufficient to control two magical artifacts simultaneously, and those at late-Foundation Establishment could even control three. With a rational combination, this was enough to establish a comprehensive advantage.

Taking out the map Lan Boting had painstakingly acquired, Wang Yu chose his direction and set off toward the Chiyuan Demonic Domain! Having intelligence versus having none were two entirely different concepts.

Even so, he encountered numerous dangers along the way, which grew more severe the deeper he went. Especially after entering the territory of Core Formation demonic beasts, even Wang Yu's invisibility spell couldn't deceive such powerful beings. He could only bypass them by sticking to the edges. These relatively safe paths had, over countless years, been heavily laden with restrictions and formations by both the righteous and demonic factions. There were even illusion formations designed to lure people in. Just three days after setting off, Wang Yu spotted a Tier 4 spirit ginseng growing under a tree. Had the map not indicated it was a trap—an illusion formation combined with a killing formation—he might have fallen for it.

The two domains had been locked in conflict for many years, employing various tactics. Smuggling through dangerous areas and bypassing natural passes to directly enter enemy territory were worn-out tricks. It was evident just how many traps these "safe paths" actually held. In some areas, the walkable path was less than three feet wide, forcing him to walk sideways.

"Ah, old Lan, old Lan, I misjudged you. You're truly a good person."

Two months later.

Having just escaped from a pack of wolf-like beasts, Wang Yu noticed the demonic beasts' strength was gradually declining, signifying he had traversed the most dangerous core region of the Dead Leaf Swamp. He was now advancing toward the outskirts closer to the Chiyuan Demonic Domain. His spirits immediately brightened; the most perilous part was behind him.

Time passed as he journeyed.

In early January of Wang Yu's fifth year as an inner disciple, on a silent, snowy night, the familiar nine twisted mountain peaks came into view. The spiritual energy in the environment carried a sweet scent.

"It's been a long time, Sacred Sect!"

His use of 'Sacred Sect' indicated that Wang had fully accepted his identity as a demonic cultivator; it was no longer forced. The second volume was about to begin, with Core Formation as his goal!

(End of Chapter)