Chapter 180: Corpse Mountain and Sea of Blood

He watched his reliable disciple depart.

Wang Yu then began to ponder. Guiling City truly was better suited for a Core Formation City Lord to govern. Although he possessed some abilities, he was still lacking. He could handle matters within the city, but anything outside—even opportunities right before his eyes—he couldn't secure. This was a matter of strength. If he were strong enough, the Guan family's opportunity would be his, for the Guan family couldn't hold onto it.

In the short term, the only way for him to gain the power to directly contend with a Core Formation cultivator was through Corpse Refinement. The animated corpse in his possession was at the late Core Formation stage. If he had a method to utilize it, even if his techniques weren't perfect, refining a third-tier early-stage Fiend Corpse shouldn't be an issue. As for an Armored Corpse, that elder clearly hadn't cultivated body refinement techniques. It wasn't the right specialization. Fiend Corpses had many methods and weren't necessarily inferior to Armored Corpses. Moreover, a third-tier Fiend Corpse corresponded to a Flying Zombie, capable of remotely absorbing blood, making it more functional.

He glanced at the placement slot. Currently, replacing the Ice Spirit Pill formula was the *Ancient Soul Art*. With this cultivation method automatically absorbing Taiyin Moonlight essence, and later with "Evil Soul Devouring Body" continuously honing his rapidly growing spiritual sense, Wang Yu's spiritual sense power level was getting closer to the peak of Foundation Establishment. If he could cultivate the *Ancient Soul Art* to completion and allow his soul to develop ancient soul characteristics, he might be able to possess Core Formation stage spiritual sense power ahead of time, coupled with seven or eight soul path combat techniques. There was even hope of contending with an early Core Formation cultivator, though the possibility of killing them would be slim. Now that he was wealthier, he had many more options. There was more than one direction to improve his combat power. There was still much to explore!

"Oh, right, I forgot to ask about treasures that aid in breaking through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage." With his dual spiritual root aptitude, this bottleneck wouldn't stop him, but it would still take several months, or even half a year, to overcome. If there were other methods for an immediate breakthrough, there was no reason not to use them. He, Wang Yu, had plenty of spirit stones!

He continued to issue orders, sending people from the City Lord's Mansion to search for relevant treasures within the city, and also dispatching someone to Jinmanlou. Wang Yu himself entered the Scripture Repository, wanting to research the characteristic treasures of this region.

Meanwhile.

Three thousand kilometers east of Guiling City, lay the Ancient Ruins of Dongji Capital. Both above and below ground, spiritual carriages of Core Formation cultivators were visible. Various travel artifacts—spiritual boats, palaces, pavilions, bone mountains, and yin clouds—dazzled the eye, scattering precious light. The aura of powerful individuals could be sensed every few steps. A rough estimate put the number of Core Formation cultivators who had arrived here at no less than a hundred, and this was only those staying outside, not counting those who had already entered the ruins. Foundation Establishment cultivators were everywhere; you could call out to anyone and they'd be one.

This was primarily due to the scale of Dongji Capital. As one of the four capitals of an ancient Immortal Dynasty, it was definitely a significant place. Just the various residential and commercial building complexes on the surface could accommodate tens of millions of people. And the methods of an Immortal Dynasty naturally wouldn't be so simple. Delving underground, people had also encountered inverted floating mountain ranges, princely manors comparable in size to half a city, and the imperial city at its core, among other things. Due to the difficulty in judging scale underground, lacking an overhead view, as exploration deepened, the "street of official residences" initially discovered seemed to be just a small part. More and more people were acquiring treasures and inheritances. The fighting grew fiercer, leading to countless casualties!

Underground.

A group of people emerged from a place marked "Jingzhao Town Evil Prison," their faces beaming with joy. Each of them had acquired an item that could be called an ancient treasure. It was a blood-red shackle, entirely crimson and emanating a fishy, bloody smell. According to their assessment, this treasure possessed extremely potent sealing power, capable not only of blocking true essence circulation but also suppressing physical strength. The runes imprinted on it also contained a trace of spatial power, effective even against Core Formation cultivators at its peak. Its preciousness was self-evident.

"By the way, these shackles and restraints should be a set, right? Could they have been used by that ancient Immortal Dynasty to imprison criminals?"

"Of course!" The middle-aged man leading the group pointed to the plaque behind them and said, "This is a prison! What we have here must be newly forged ones, stored in the treasury, and well-preserved."

"Indeed, it's a shame about those torture instruments. Those should have true offensive power. Sealing treasures are ultimately a bit lacking."

"It's good enough to have gained anything. This is a third-tier ancient treasure, and this area hasn't been visited much before. Thanks to Guiling City's intelligence."

"Precisely, precisely, hahaha~"

This team, originating from the same sect, surprisingly did not engage in mutual deception or infighting; they even generously displayed their gains. In the broader context of the demonic path, this was far too strange. This wasn't real! Moreover, on their way out, they remarkably didn't encounter any ancient monsters buried underground, reaching the edge of the underground ruins without a hitch.

"Just a bit further up and we'll be on the surface. There are more cultivators here now." Suddenly, a female cultivator blurted out a seemingly nonsensical remark.

"Yes, so many people." Someone's eyes flashed with a hint of red light, and they abruptly pulled out the bloody shackle they had obtained earlier, stating casually, "The Jingzhao Town Evil Prison really has a lot of treasures. After we rest up, we must get that crimson sword next time."

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Nearby cultivators who had cast stealth spells leapt away, and an ambush was dissolved invisibly. The villains looked at this group with surprised eyes. Something was wrong; such a clumsy trap was puzzling.

A Core Formation cultivator coldly snorted, "What are you trying to do?"

The group took out more and more bloody shackles, and their bodies began to emit wisps of blood-red light. Their eyes were bloodshot, pupils gone, and an unknown liquid drooled from their mouths. In an instant, earth-shattering killing intent and blood fiend energy surged skyward. This group, primarily composed of Foundation Establishment cultivators led by only one Core Formation cultivator, launched an attack on the surrounding living beings.

"Lunatics."

"They've been controlled by the strange methods within the ruins. Kill them."

"I'll do it."

A powerful Core Formation cultivator unleashed a divine ability, summoning a lightning sword shimmering with electric light, and swept through a large number of maddened Foundation Establishment cultivators as if cutting melons and vegetables. He then sealed the throat of the deranged Core Formation cultivator with a single sword strike. His strength was clearly at the late Core Formation stage, and with his opponent having lost their sanity and unable to use their magical artifacts or divine abilities, they were easily killed.

The cultivator wielding the lightning sword casually picked up several storage bags and said disdainfully, "Ants are just ants; they're easier to kill when they're mad." With that, he unconsciously snatched a bloody shackle from a corpse's hand and slipped it around his own neck. This action startled the surrounding onlookers, who immediately retreated.

"Senior Guilei..."

"What is it?"

He took off the shackle again, seemingly unaffected. The onlookers were silent for a moment, and only after seeing that he truly was fine did they let out a sigh of relief. They all quickly used their retrieval arts, taking the bloody shackles and corpses remotely before swiftly disappearing.

This act of snatching spoils of war should have prompted the Guilei cultivator to pursue them, but he remained still, instead softly muttering, "Jingzhao Town Evil Prison is a good place... a crimson sword... find more fellow cultivators, retrieve treasures! Retrieve treasures! Retrieve treasures!"

Guiling City.

Some time had passed since Wang Yu emerged from seclusion. He continued to monitor news from Dongji Capital, and concurrently, he received information about the auxiliary essence-condensing items he was searching for. His current true essence limit had reached over four hundred drops. Even without fully digesting the top-grade Ice Spirit Pills within him, he could reach the threshold of the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment.

"Essence Condensation," as it was called, was the process of consolidating the dispersed true essence in one's dantian and qi sea into a spring of true essence! Within Wang Yu, there were currently three streams of true essence, accumulated drop by drop. Their fusion wasn't difficult; the core challenge lay in opening up a spring eye, allowing it to genuinely be called a "spring of true essence." This was a bit difficult. Once a spring of true essence condensed, it would automatically absorb spiritual energy from all directions, and a drop of true essence would emerge on its own at regular intervals, practically full-automatic cultivation. This efficiency was slightly inferior to what a cultivator could achieve on their own, but it could still effectively double their progress.

The more outstanding one's spiritual root aptitude, the shorter the time it took to cross this minor cultivation bottleneck. There were also quite a few treasures that aided in breaking through bottlenecks. Only a few types could be found near Guiling City.

"'One-Mark Essence Condensation Pill,' suitable for opening a spring of true essence, priced at thirty-eight thousand spirit stones. Jinmanlou is out of stock and needs time to procure it."

"'Water Essence Elixir,' a second-tier spiritual item, suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators' first Essence Condensation, priced at twenty thousand, in stock, but slightly less effective."

"'Springing Fountain Ground,' a second-tier blessed land, for single-person, single-use, ticket price twelve thousand, success not guaranteed, jointly controlled by Earth Demon Valley and Sophorawood Sect."

Of the methods listed, Wang Yu preferred the first. He wasn't short on money. The Essence Condensation Pills were a series. Above it was the 'Two-Mark Essence Condensation Pill,' suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators breaking through to the late stage, meaning their second Essence Condensation. It had the highest sales volume in this series and was quite expensive. And the 'Three-Mark Essence Condensation Pill' could help with condensing the sea of true essence. Once achieved, one could be considered a half-step Core Formation cultivator, just a half-step away from condensing a golden core and generating mana. However, this item could not be used with Core Formation Pills. Compared to true realm-breaking pills, the Three-Mark Essence Condensation Pill only affected true essence, making it somewhat superfluous, hence its sales volume wasn't as high as one might expect.

Core Formation also required passing three hurdles, similar to Foundation Establishment but with much higher demands. Moreover, after successfully condensing a golden core, one would face a thunder tribulation. At such a time, having a tribulation-aiding treasure would make the process much smoother, with an eighty percent chance of success. Large factions all had arrays designed to aid in tribulation crossing. There was one on Cold Blood Peak, which could be rented for a certain amount of contribution points. It was said that Wei Chong broke through this way.

Thinking about these things was still a bit premature. He shook his head. Wang Yu took out his Jinmanlou VIP token and relayed his request. The pill would be delivered within three months at the latest. This was him taking advantage of another dominant force's benefits. A normal VIP token wouldn't have this effect. It had to be Jin Miaoshan's influence.

On this day.

Wang Yu, who was currently engrossed in studying the secret art of *Wind-Thunder Spirit Marks*, looked at the demonic cultivator brought in by Ying Dong and Ying Xue with a hint of surprise. The mark of the Taiyin Nether Eyes in his gaze flashed and disappeared. Under the Moon-Gazing Vision, which inherently possessed the effect of discerning truth, he could even perceive the soul fire of living beings. The Guan family sisters had brought the Guan family's head, whose limbs were bound by shackles. What Wang Yu saw... was a scarlet soul fire containing images of mountains of corpses and seas of blood! It was like a reflection of an ancient slaughterhouse, leaving behind only endless killing intent and blood fiend energy. This was a kind of power that could influence the mind.

The mind... was different from spiritual sense. Spiritual sense and soul were two sides of the same coin; as one grew, the other would also grow, inseparable. The mind, however, was closely related to will. It leaned more towards the mysterious concept of one's state of mind, possessing a strong subjective nature, making its cultivation extremely difficult. And once the Dao-heart shattered, one would fall into an abyss of eternal damnation, and the arduously cultivated power of the mind would be reset. This was something he dared not touch.

His gaze unconsciously fell upon the strange shackles.