Chapter 186: Chains and Shackles

Wicked God Peak.

This peak is the weakest among the nine peaks of the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect. It's also the only one without a Nascent Soul Peak Master. True disciples from this peak are inherently considered inferior to those from other peaks.

If things continue like this, Wicked God Peak might be abolished by the sect within 300 years, provided a new Nascent Soul cultivator emerges and is willing to pass on their legacy.

Wang Yu actually had indirect interactions with the true disciples of Wicked God Peak, for instance, his entanglement with the Zhu family grandfather and grandson when he first became an outer disciple.

The legacy of Wicked God Peak primarily focuses on the path of divine consciousness. Its cultivators are pure soul cultivators, similar to those who practice the *Ancient Soul Art* that Wang Yu possesses. It is said that at advanced stages, they abandon their physical bodies to become spectral deities, feeding on the souls of living beings. As for being "wicked gods," it's quite normal for them.

During its prime, this peak was particularly effective against the legacy of the Five Yin Peak. The two peaks have a long-standing feud, and currently, half of Wicked God Peak's weakness is due to their suppression. The other half is due to the scarcity of disciples with soul cultivation talent. Those who force themselves to cultivate it often end up in a strange state, and because of their strong souls, they are highly sought after by the Five Yin Peak.

Over time, this has made them particularly vulnerable. Consequently, the number of true disciples allowed has also decreased to just three.

At this moment, by the low table, Zhuo Shouqing, as soon as the spirit wine was warmed, couldn't wait to take a sip, sighing.

"It's a bit subpar, but never mind. Let me tell you about Xie Xie'an."

"Xie Xie'an?"

"He's the true disciple from Wicked God Peak who's here this time. Heh heh, this guy and I have quite a history. When you first met me, your big brother here played a trick on him, and it was quite satisfying. Otherwise, with that little spirit stone, you'd never have been able to buy that Law Enforcement Token!"

Wang Yu was taken aback, never expecting such an untold story. So, this Xie Xie'an was the person the Zhu family grandfather and grandson wanted to use spirit stones to replace as a scapegoat. And Wang Yu had ultimately used the situation to his advantage.

"So, I've offended him too."

"Yes, but he doesn't know about you. After I gave you the Law Enforcement Token, you didn't appear at the Law Enforcement Hall, and Xie Xie'an's information isn't well-updated. You almost sidetracked me. Back to the main topic."

Zhuo Shouqing gathered his thoughts and began recounting a very ancient tale.

"During the ancient Immortal Dynasty era, the demonic path in this realm was completely suppressed, making it difficult for cultivators to survive, like rats scurrying in the street. However, a demonic cultivator specializing in soul arts and an Immortal Dynasty sword cultivator became entangled. They hunted and plotted against each other, and during a fierce battle in the primeval wilderness, they accidentally fell into the sealed ground of an ancient demon named 'SLAUGHTER'. Perhaps it was their fervent fighting spirit, or their pure malevolence and murderous intent, but both received the legacy of the ancient demon 'SLAUGHTER'."

"The soul demonic cultivator obtained a volume of the *Rakshasa True Demon Scripture*, and the Immortal Dynasty sword cultivator acquired a volume of the *Asura Killing Saint Scripture*. After emerging from the ancient demon's sealed ground, both were swept into a spatial storm and subsequently vanished. A century later, the demonic path gained a dominant force known as the Wicked God Cult, while the Immortal Dynasty established a prison called the Evil Suppression Prison."

As the story reached this point, Wang Yu began to understand.

"Are you suggesting that the legacy of Wicked God Peak is this *Rakshasa True Demon Scripture*, and this set of shackles is the accompanying magic artifact of the *Asura Killing Saint Scripture*?"

"Yes and no." Zhuo Shouqing nodded, then shook his head.

"Due to the immense passage of time, the complete cultivation method was lost long ago. Ten thousand years ago, when the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect was founded, it was created by ten late-Nascent Soul demonic cultivators working together, with one who had obtained a Blood Demon legacy becoming the sect master. The first Peak Master of Wicked God Peak only had half of the *Rakshasa Scripture* legacy, making it impossible to break through to the Soul Transformation stage. After his death, his successors attempted to complete it using other methods, and it evolved through many generations to what it is today. However, Wicked God Peak still seeks to complete its legacy, and has expended countless efforts towards this goal."

Hearing this, Wang Yu's expression grew a little strange.

"These shackles..."

"They must be creations from the *Asura Killing Saint Scripture*. When touched with divine consciousness, one can perceive a vision of mountains of corpses and seas of blood; there's no mistaking it. This is a top-tier Soul Transformation legacy, and ninety percent of the disciples from major powers are here for it."

"What about that Immortal Dynasty sword cultivator? What was his fate? Did he suppress and kill the soul demonic cultivator in the prison?"

"That, I don't know." Zhuo Shouqing shrugged, looking somewhat exasperating.

"Since Xie Xie'an is here, he must have some clues regarding this. If he can obtain the complete *Rakshasa Scripture* legacy, he might truly be able to restore Wicked God Peak to its former glory."

Seeing that all information had been extracted, Wang Yu stopped asking questions and instead fell into silent contemplation.

According to intelligence gathered by the City Lord's Mansion, a new "Jingzhao Evil Suppression Prison" recently appeared in the Eastern Capital Ruins, which perfectly aligned with Zhuo Shouqing's account. Furthermore, an ancient artifact suspected to be a matching set for the shackles appeared: manacles! Both have a strange effect of clouding one's mind, and they use somewhat "idiotic" methods to lure people to the Evil Suppression Prison. If unsuccessful, they indiscriminately kill all living beings in sight.

This certainly didn't seem right.

"Suppressing evil... suppressing evil..." It appeared to be a place for suppressing evil spirits and ferocious souls, but considering the Immortal Dynasty's ways, they clearly did not tolerate the existence of the demonic path. In other words, after obtaining the *Asura Killing Saint Scripture*, that sword cultivator must have received support from the Immortal Dynasty. Otherwise, how could he establish an Evil Suppression Prison in the Eastern Capital? But this ancient artifact... it hardly seemed like something a righteous cultivator would possess. Moreover, the legacy originated from an ancient demon named 'SLAUGHTER'; that sounded unreliable. Why would anyone choose to cultivate it? Everything about this situation was unsettling.

He drank several cups in succession with Zhuo Shouqing.

Wang Yu suddenly asked, "By the way, have any cultivators from the Heaven-Refining Demon Sect arrived? Aren't they quite interested in ancient demons?"

"They are interested in matters related to life. As for Soul Transformation legacies... they might not necessarily need them, after all, they already have living Soul Transformation Venerables among them."

"That's not right. An extra legacy adds another layer of foundation. Why wouldn't they take it if they can? This anomaly in the ruins surely signifies the presence of this legacy."

"Perhaps. I don't know. I've said all I can say. Drinking without purpose is boring. I'm going to stay at the Cloud Dream Pavilion for a few days. You be careful."

Wang Yu: "..."

It was hard to keep a straight face. Coming to a new place and immediately making a brothel his home, that rascal truly was a character.

"Wait—" Wang Yu called out, stopping him, and quickly asked, "How many true disciples from the sect have arrived, and who are they? Why haven't they come to the City Lord's Mansion to meet?"

Zhuo Shouqing paused, then replied without turning his head.

"Xie Xie'an from Wicked God Peak is one; it's normal he wouldn't come, as he doesn't want to see me. Then there's Ding Ming from Fierce Meditation Peak, a beast master of yin beasts, quite mysterious usually, not much information on him. And Wei Shanze from Savage Ghost Peak, with a powerful physical body. He once revealed a trump card, a technique called the Six Styles of Spectral Demon Fist, capable of killing a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator with a single punch. Oh, all three of them are at the peak Foundation Establishment stage. Ding Ming and Wei Shanze should come to see you before entering the Eastern Capital Ruins. See you later."

Hearing this, Wang Yu clenched his fist, then helplessly relaxed it. As the master of this place, he should, by all accounts, host them. He didn't need to fawn over them, but he ought to go through the motions of basic social etiquette.

For the next few days, Wang Yu focused on cultivation and reorganized his placement slots. His core cultivation methods in slots one and two remained unchanged. Slot three was allocated to the *Yin Evil Corpse Refinement Art*. He didn't aim for mastery, just enough to refine corpses, as it wasn't his primary path but merely an aid for combat.

Slot four was occupied by the *Nether Devil Dragon Art*. This cultivation method was created by him, and due to the need to draw upon the Lunar Yin energy for body tempering, it could be said that only he could successfully cultivate it. Unless someone possessed the exact same abilities as him, it was naturally at the perfected realm for him. Using a placement slot for it was to continue deducing it further; its limit would only be reached at the third tier. Previously, he hadn't deduced cultivation methods in advance, leading to his cultivation being stuck. This time, he needed to prepare for the future.

Slot five contained the *Corpse Demon Secret Art*. The fifty years needed to complete its advancement was a bit long, so he could only assign it when he had spare time. For now, he temporarily removed it. He intended to cultivate the *Wind-Thunder Spirit Rune* burst secret art. This method was difficult to initiate, requiring him to wait for stormy weather to draw a wisp of wind-thunder energy from the heavens and earth into his body. He would then engrave the Wind-Thunder Spirit Rune onto his skin. Only then could he use the rune's effect to absorb ambient wind-thunder energy, continuously accumulating it for an instantaneous burst, significantly enhancing Wang Yu's speed and attack power.

As a third-tier secret art, its completion time was neither short nor long.

Placement Slot 5: Wind-Thunder Spirit Rune Secret Art* Wind-Thunder Spirit Rune (0/100): 144 practices per day, 25 years to complete.

Roughly calculated, that was about ten minutes per practice.

It was March, the season of spring's revival, with frequent thunderstorms, and the wind-thunder energy in the world was quite active. But Wang Yu couldn't subject himself to lightning strikes; it was too dangerous. With the power of the placement slots, he only needed to initiate the Wind-Thunder secret art. Now that he possessed dual spirit roots, his attraction to the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth was completely different. Even if he cultivated it himself, his speed wouldn't be too slow. The best plan was to cultivate it himself after forming the Wind-Thunder Spirit Rune; the difficulty wouldn't be significant. The placement slot would help him overcome the most challenging initial part.

"This arrangement is perfect."

After experiencing the tingling sensation of wind-thunder energy entering his body for a while, Wang Yu went to study pill recipes. Now that his alchemy skills had improved, he intended to upgrade all his necessary provisions. And then prepare a pill for Xueyu to enhance her demonic essence. There were quite a lot of tasks to do.

As for the exploration plan of the Eastern Capital Ruins, even though Zhuo Shouqing mentioned the possibility of two top-tier Soul Transformation legacies, Wang Yu remained unfazed. The current intensity of that accursed place was not something a small fry like him could contend with, and even the three true disciples from the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect wouldn't have much competitiveness. If they dared to come, they surely had some sort of backing. Just like when Jin Miaoshan came, she brought two late-Core Formation stage protectors.

As for the Wei and Ding clans, Wang Yu honestly didn't know their origins. He had never had much knowledge in this area, so treating them as Core Formation families wouldn't be a major mistake. In any case, they couldn't be first-generation cultivators; such grassroots individuals were still in the entrepreneurial stage and wouldn't be able to attain true disciple positions. Even Wei Chong had a strong Foundation Establishment family supporting him, ensuring he never lacked low-level resources in his early cultivation.

And so.

It wasn't until late spring, early summer, after Wang Yu had absorbed wind-thunder energy for nearly two months, that Ding Ming and Wei Shanze finally arrived together in early May to visit the infamous City Lord Wang. After his two convenient disciples led them in, Wang Yu greeted them at the foot of the main hall's steps. There was no other meaning behind this; it was simply because this spot was near the formation core, emphasizing safety.