Chapter 17: Transferring to Practice [Cold Blood Technique]

This rule was astonishing, but since it existed, it must have a logical reason. Otherwise, demon cultivators wouldn't be fools; they wouldn't willingly allow themselves to be exploited.

Its continued existence indicated that it was more profitable than taking on commissions from the Mission Hall.

Wang Yu naturally thought of people using connections to get positions – he was all too familiar with that kind of situation; it felt just like that!

The True Disciple's authority was equivalent to an elder's, with a very wide reach, not just limited to the individual. The Ice-Snow Tower itself was a product of such privilege.

If both parties benefited, then it made sense.

When he arrived on the tenth floor, he found it mostly occupied, with only room twenty-nine vacant. Wang Yu moved in without hesitation.

The room had a pleasant environment and was quite spacious.

There was a large purple paulownia bed, big enough for five people to lie side-by-side lengthwise, or over ten people widthwise. The bedding was as smooth as water, cool and moist to the touch, and made of superior fabric.

Tables and chairs were fully furnished, many carved with landscape scenery.

There were emerald screens with embroidered paintings: ink wash paintings of cranes dancing by a lotus pond, and masterfully rendered mundane scenes of an old man climbing a mountain to cut firewood.

The arched corners of the room were inlaid with gold and silver, truly a display of luxury.

Moreover, it was much larger than he had imagined.

There was a round arched curtained alcove with a couch, an expansive hall, and a balcony with a short railing and a bench, perfect for admiring the beautiful scenery of the Small Ten Districts.

In addition, there was a quiet room that could be sealed off, designed to meet a cultivator's secluded practice needs.

Thus, Wang Yu's first day as an outer disciple concluded successfully.

The next day.

He encountered his first challenge after his status was formalized.

Food!

Cultivators also needed to eat. Before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, Qi Condensation cultivators couldn't sustain themselves solely on spiritual energy. Without someone regularly providing meals, Wang Yu felt a little unaccustomed.

He could either buy food outside or purchase Grain Abstinence Pills from the Alchemy Hall. One pill could last three months and fulfill the body's daily needs.

The problem was Wang Yu had no spirit stones. He did have a few ounces of spirit sand left since he hadn't submitted any during the last three months of his spirit slave period.

The Anti-Spirit Blood Sect had no concept of disciple stipends; it was good enough that they weren't exploiting you. Giving out "wages" was simply wishful thinking.

Flipping through the small booklet Zhao Shang had given him, he found that the Ice-Snow Tower offered dining services, mostly various spiritual foods beneficial for cultivation.

As for the prices, Wang Yu was deterred.

Currently, two issues lay before him: earning money and changing his cultivation method. After all, the Blood Combustion Art was a quick-success demonic art with no subsequent stages, so he would have to switch eventually.

The sooner, the better.

Regarding earning money, besides harming his cultivation to condense spirit sand or resorting to theft, he had no other skills to acquire spirit stones.

"First, I need to solve the survival issue, then go to the Scripture Depository in the Various Halls District to settle the cultivation method problem."

Having made up his mind, Wang Yu left early in the morning.

Within the Anti-Spirit Blood Sect, two currencies were used: contribution points and spirit stones. While essentially equivalent in value, they could not be directly converted into one another.

Spiritual foods with special effects were almost exclusively traded for contribution points, but ordinary food was inexpensive. With a storage bag, there was no need to worry about food spoiling.

Wang Yu bought three hundred large meat buns in one go, spending half an ounce of spirit sand.

After a quick meal, the Scripture Depository came into view.

This place was more like a catalog hall. After determining the cultivation methods or spells one wished to learn, one had to take the catalog to the Dharma Transmission Hall to obtain the corresponding transmission jade slip.

These could not be taken out or taught to others, requiring a Heart Demon Oath to be sworn.

There weren't many people in the Scripture Depository, perhaps because the main disciple recruitment period had passed. The Anti-Spirit Blood Sect's ten peaks corresponded to different demonic legacies.

Wang Yu went to the section corresponding to Cold Blood Peak. As an outer disciple of Cold Blood Peak, his opportunity to freely change his cultivation method could only be used there.

However, another benefit given by True Disciple Su had no such restrictions.

"Cold Blood Art, Netherworld Art, Heaven-Cold Stratagem, Ice Marrow Scripture..."

Without exception, all were ice-cold attribute cultivation methods, all of top-grade Rank 1. They could be cultivated normally to the great perfection of the Qi Condensation stage, and even allow a smooth breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage, only then requiring a change of cultivation method.

Each method had subsequent stages, but their upper limit was only Rank 3; there were no Rank 4 Nascent Soul cultivation methods.

Those who cultivated the Ice Marrow Scripture had stable minds and clear spiritual platforms. After death, their bodies could produce "Ice Marrow," an excellent material for cultivating cold corpses.

Those who cultivated the Heaven-Cold Stratagem wielded powerful ice spells, far surpassing ordinary people. After death, their bodies could serve as excellent materials for refining corpses.

Those who cultivated the Cold Blood Art possessed robust physiques and yin-cold blood. They had a higher affinity for yin-cold spiritual energy, could slightly improve their aptitude, and their bodies after death were premium materials for refining ice corpses.

Wang Yu: "???"

Is it really this blatant?!!

It was almost as if it explicitly stated that the body belonged to the sect after death, but the description implied as much.

The only thing that attracted Wang Yu was the description of the Cold Blood Art, which claimed it could slightly improve aptitude. He estimated this improvement would indeed be very subtle.

However, for him, there was no worse aptitude than a waste spirit root. Every minuscule improvement would be magnified several times under the effect of the placement slot.

This made it quite significant.

"Cold Blood..."

Furthermore, he had a hunch that this art paired perfectly with the Corpse Demon Secret Art!

After pondering for a long time, Wang Yu took down the catalog and went to the adjacent Dharma Transmission Hall. After verification through the Heart Demon Oath, he successfully obtained this new cultivation method and immediately placed it into his placement slot to examine it.

Placement Slot 1: Cold Blood Art"Cold Blood Art (0/100): Forty-eight practices a day, achievable in one year."

It was worth noting that Ice Sword Art was one of the auxiliary spells for this cultivation method, and Wang Yu also acquired a mid-grade spell called Ice Shield Art.

The accompanying Rank 1 artifact blueprint, the Cold Blood Needle, and the Rank 1 pill recipe, the Cold Blood Pill—this was a complete cultivation method inheritance!

With a complete set provided, he only needed to slowly perfect it to become a qualified Qi Condensation cultivator.

If he could advance to Rank 2 and become a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the future, there would be even more corresponding spells, artifacts, pill recipes, and so on.

Wang Yu returned to the Ice-Snow Tower feeling satisfied.

He hadn't yet decided how to use the special token worth one thousand contribution points.

Besides breaking through to the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, perfecting all the accumulated spells he possessed was also a major priority.

These included the high-grade spell Night Concealment Charm, the mid-grade spell Ice Shield Art, and the fragmentary Nascent Soul secret art, the Corpse Demon Secret Art—three items in total.

He had already decided to cultivate this secret art, but first, he needed to determine the order of priority.

Since breaking through to the fourth layer of Qi Condensation was still a distant prospect, freeing up a placement slot would not significantly impact his progress.

Placement Slot 2: Night Concealment Charm"Night Concealment Charm (1/100): Twelve hours of practice daily, achievable in three months."

Seeing this, Wang Yu swapped it for the Ice Shield Art.

Placement Slot 2: Ice Shield Art"Ice Shield Art (0/100): One hundred forty-four practices a day, achievable in one month."

After some deliberation, he decided to place the Night Concealment Charm first.