Chapter 156: Mystical Yin Hand Perfected, Thunder Axis Forging Workshop

"Don't rush, there's more."

Wang Yu had always believed in reciprocity, "giving a peach for a plum." Since Situ Hong had helped him solve a major problem, he wasn't stingy about giving him some resources in return.

Even if it was late, it was better than nothing.

Moreover, caution was the norm in the Demonic Dao. Wang Yu still wanted to obtain the Five-Yin Peak's inheritance from him; he just hadn't had the chance to ask yet.

Rummaging through the numerous storage bags under his robe, Wang Yu picked out five. They were filled with corpses, magical artifacts, and miscellaneous items.

Their total value was roughly 30,000 spirit stones.

"Help me sell these goods. I only need 20,000 spirit stones, but in return, you need to continue acquiring more Yin Marrow Fluid for me."

Situ Hong remained silent. After inspecting each storage bag, he finally nodded.

"No problem. Senior Brother Wang, please focus on your cultivation. You can leave all these errands to me."

There was a time when their relationship was completely reversed.

Back then, on Mystic Bone Mountain, he was merely an insignificant ant.

Time truly was the most potent force in the world; it could change everything.

Once Situ Hong left,

Wang Yu immediately took out the Yin Marrow Fluid and eagerly applied it to his hands. Since only one portion had been delivered, it was only enough for a single cultivation session.

However, it would undoubtedly significantly elevate the mastery of this technique.

When first learned, the Profound Yin Hand was tiny, no bigger than a fist.

Upon reaching Minor Accomplishment, two Profound Yin Hands could be conjured, fighting alongside the user's arms. They could detach but had to remain within a certain range of the body.

At Great Accomplishment, their size would drastically increase, and they could even manifest as forearms. The range limitation would be gone, allowing them to reach anywhere within the user's spiritual sense. Furthermore, they could integrate with the user's physical strength, significantly raising their power ceiling.

At the Perfected stage, everything would return to its fundamental essence.

Wang Yu could either continue the previous path, pursuing greater size for strength and immensity for beauty, or condense and shrink the hands.

All of its power could be concentrated into a single palm strike, instantly killing an opponent.

The compatibility between the Yin Marrow Fluid and the Profound Yin Hand was simply perfect. After application, no matter how Wang Yu practiced or meditated, the feedback he received in his mind was far superior to what he got from merely allocating time to it.

In just half an hour, the final progress bar surged by one-third.

This meant he would need at least three more portions to perfect this spell, thereby freeing up a slot specifically for the Cold Drake Alchemy.

After a long while,

After absorbing the medicinal power from his arms, Wang Yu focused on other cultivation, awaiting Situ Hong's next visit.

And so,

Time pressed the fast-forward button again. From that day onward, Situ Hong would visit every month, delivering the Yin Marrow Fluid he had acquired to Wang Yu.

Each portion cost 5,000 spirit stones, which was a reasonable price.

Wang Yu spent five months, using a total of five portions of Yin Marrow Fluid, to finally elevate the Profound Yin Hand to the Perfected level, completely freeing up the third cultivation slot.

Without hesitation, he immediately assigned Alchemy to it.

Although it would take fifteen years to fully master, the constant stream of information he received during the process was enough to make him a second-tier alchemist. This technique didn't require perfection to be useful.

He fully leveraged his initiative.

With the temporary lack of demand for Yin Marrow Fluid, he sent Situ Hong away to cultivate in seclusion, telling him they would meet again when he broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Wang Yu, meanwhile, took the opportunity to visit the Hall of Transmitted Arts. He used all his remaining contribution points to exchange for a low-grade second-tier spell.

Flame Form Art!

This art was obtained to replace the Flame Spitting Art and better utilize the power of his cold flame. To fully unleash the might of a second-tier cold flame, a more advanced spell was naturally required.

The Flame Form Art could condense beasts of flame, greatly extending the attack range beyond the Flame Spitting Art. It also concentrated the cold flame's power more effectively than the loose flame spitting, raising its potential.

Furthermore, since the Cold Drake Pill he refined years ago contained a wisp of an ice python's essence, when Wang Yu controlled the cold flame and used the Flame Form Art to transform it into an ice python for combat, the spell's power would surge dramatically.

If he could cultivate it to perfection, its power would be comparable to a mid-grade second-tier spell, making it sufficient for his regular combat needs. After completing this aspect,

Wang Yu discovered that the deacon token issued by the sect came with many benefits he hadn't known about.

For instance, any exchange for inheritances or treasures from the vault came with a 10% discount.

Also, serving in the Hall of Enforcement earned him an annual salary of 3,000 contribution points, disbursed by the Central Enforcement Pavilion of the Various Halls and Districts. He hadn't been aware of this before.

Furthermore, he gained access to the Central Enforcement Pavilion's storage, which contained far more "contraband" than the Evil God District's vault. Wang Yu browsed through it.

He acquired a wealth of rare and advanced knowledge.

Examples included: "Collection of A Hundred Herbs: Core Formation Chapter," "Compendium of Spiritual Metals in the Cultivation World," "A Hundred Explanations of Spiritual Fruits," "Talisman/Formation Identification," "List of Fierce Demonic Beasts," "List of Exotic Insects," "Analysis of Demonic Dao Factions," and so on.

Some of this knowledge originated from the Taihu Spirit Domain, others from ancient ruins. All of it was highly detailed and practical, far superior in quality to the texts found in the Hall of Scriptures.

As for spells, secret arts, and unique techniques, he was willing but unable to acquire them. Firstly, he still had too many inheritances he hadn't fully comprehended, and secondly, the cost was substantial.

Some of the items he was interested in even required contribution points for exchange, though there were also some available for spirit stones, which he simply wasn't impressed by.

After a period of busyness, life gradually returned to tranquility.

...Time always passes quickest when one is busy.

In the Various Halls and Districts, the Artifact Forging Hall.

Wang Yu, who rarely visited this place, felt a wave of oppressive fire spiritual energy surging from deep underground, instantly making him uncomfortable.

He was a master of ice.

The area was filled with gigantic, boiler-like structures, covering about half of the district. Periodically, these boilers would tilt, pouring liquefied metal into molds.

This process formed initial component products. Golems would then transport these high-temperature raw products to various earth-fire chambers. Occasionally, explosions could be heard from within.

He didn't know much about artifact forging.

To summarize the situation in the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect, almost all artifact forgers specialized in puppet crafting. Compared to flesh-and-blood apprentices, spiritual metal puppets were far more suitable as their assistants.

He believed the artifact forging inheritance of the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect must be quite unique. Just as alchemy had water and fire forging methods, artifact forging also had masters specializing in different types.

There were masters of fire forging, lightning forging, earth forging, blood forging, and so on.

Some excelled at crafting killing weapons, others at weaving spiritual fusion, some utilized earth veins to create artifacts, and still others guided lightning to forge destructive tools. Their sheer variety was even more exaggerated than in the Alchemy Hall.

Following the directions, Wang Yu found a three-story building with a plaque above its entrance that read: "Thunder Core Artifact Forging Workshop!"

This was the place. Holding the letter of introduction given by Zhuo Shouqing, Wang Yu cautiously entered the open-doored workshop.

"Whoosh—"

A white-bearded old man suddenly appeared before him.

"Who sent you?"

Wang Yu quickly handed over the letter of introduction and respectfully said,

"Greetings, Elder Lei. Zhuo Shouqing recommended me."

"The young master of the Zhuo family?"

Though the old man appeared unassuming, he was actually a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, and his artifact forging skills were of the highest grade among third-tier artisans. In the Artifact Forging Hall, he held a position of significant power and influence.

With some good fortune, he might even advance further in the future, touching upon the Nascent Soul stage, a realm rarely seen by 90% of cultivators.

Inviting this elder to act would not be cheap, but it was obtained through Zhuo Shouqing's influence, costing Wang Yu nothing for now, though he might have to pay a considerable price later.

"Show me the items."

Wang Yu quickly took out the crafting method for the Ghost Wail Flute and the valuable Ghost Bamboo material. After a swift perusal, Elder Lei Shu said, speechless,

"A third-tier rare treasure, to be forged into a peak second-tier artifact? Is this Zhuo Shouqing's idea?"

"No, it's what I need."

Wang Yu quickly stated his requirements, lest he be misunderstood as squandering a treasure.

"I wish to integrate this 'Earth Spirit Gold' to imbue the finished product with sufficient hardness, enough to contend with swords of the same tier.

"Furthermore, I hope that while you forge it, Senior, you can preserve some potential for future advancement, so that if suitable materials are found later, it can be elevated to the level of a Dharma Treasure."

Hearing this, Lei Shu still smiled, speaking with a hint of regret.

"Even so, it will still be difficult to fully unleash the effects of this 'Ghost Domain Wailing Bamboo.' The inherent ghost domain ability of this treasure is extremely rare, enough to make it a core material for a top-tier third-grade Dharma Treasure.

"Even if you assist it in advancing later, it will at most reach the level of a low-grade Dharma Treasure. Once you begin, there will be no turning back. Are you truly set on using it this way?"

Elder Lei Shu appeared easygoing, tirelessly persuading Wang Yu not to squander the valuable material, but the deep greed in his eyes made Wang Yu sigh inwardly.

This damned Demonic Dao, why are all its people like this!

Whether it was something useful to them or to their future descendants, they all displayed this greedy attitude. The last time he encountered Fei Xue, it was like this, and Elder Lei Shu was no different.

They didn't even bother to hide it, displaying their emotions fully, completely unafraid of being seen.

This artifact was manageable, but if he were to encounter an alchemist with malicious intent or insatiable greed, Wang Yu wouldn't know how to choose.

Fortunately, he had learned alchemy early, and his situation with artifact forging could still be salvaged.

According to the ancient texts, as long as it was a Dharma Treasure forging method matching a specific cultivation technique, it could be crafted even without mastery of artifact forging skills.

The prerequisite was that one must have at least achieved Great Accomplishment in that specific cultivation technique, and the crafting must follow the regulations for a Life-Bound Dharma Treasure. This was an extremely crucial step that could not be entrusted to others.

If one were fortunate enough to acquire another cultivator's Life-Bound Dharma Treasure, there was a certain chance of comprehending the original owner's primary cultivation technique from it. The profound intricacies involved were too numerous to explain in a short time.

He would naturally gain a deeper understanding when he personally undertook it in the future.

Faced with Lei Shu's thinly veiled avarice, Wang Yu found it difficult to change his stance. His mind quickly turned, and he decided to invoke a more powerful name.

He furtively glanced around, then carefully lowered his voice and sighed.

"Ah, it seems Senior has seen through me. The crafting of this treasure is indeed not my own idea. I am merely a first-tier Foundation Establishment cultivator; how could I possibly possess a treasure of such caliber?"

Seeing Wang Yu change his tune, Lei Shu sneered repeatedly. He didn't believe a word Wang Yu said.

However, his thoughts quickly shifted.

Wang Yu continued,

"This item belongs to the winner of this year's Corpse Battle Assembly at Heavenly Corpse Peak. His life-bound corpse acquired the characteristics of a Corpse King through a ritual, allowing it to possess a life-bound corpse artifact.

"By having Senior forge half of it, Lord Jiang will then combine it with his own life-bound Dharma Treasure, thereby possessing two life-bound treasures."