Chapter 196: Taiyin Nourishing Sha Coffin, Exploration Plan

Given the innate versatility of his magical techniques, Wang Yu preferred to rely on their power. Perfected techniques were more potent than artifacts and could be adapted into various forms, making them suitable for almost any situation. In contrast, artifacts that could significantly enhance Wang Yu's combat strength were exceedingly rare; all the artifacts he used were spoils of war. Furthermore, countless artifacts had been destroyed in his hands.

Presently, he had two powerful artifacts awaiting delivery. The first was a coffin for his Grand Yin Baleful Corpse, a low-grade auxiliary artifact costing 180,000 spirit stones. It was being shipped from Jinchancheng and was expected to arrive in Guiling in about three months. The second was a custom-made alchemical cauldron, its exact grade still undetermined. It incorporated the 'Meteorite Cold Iron' material and a Tier 3 Cold Moon Pearl. Jinmanlou would provide the remaining necessary materials before calculating the final price. Even the upfront fee for the master artificer's work was 100,000 spirit stones, and it was projected to be completed within five years. This swift production was only possible by utilizing Pavilion Master Ye's connections and Jin Miaoshan's special channel.

Once these items were in hand, his direct combat prowess wouldn't see a massive increase, but his overall capabilities would certainly experience a qualitative leap. Furthermore, a Tier 3 ice-attribute snake demon core was currently being sought, with news anticipated within six months. His progress was indeed flourishing.

He also possessed several Tier 3 spiritual items: Life Soul Blood Gold, Earth Core Milk, Thousand-Year Ice Marrow Jade, Golden Qi Root, and half a piece of Dragon Blood Essence. Additionally, he had two Yin-attribute Tier 3 precious materials acquired previously—Nether Spirit Iron and Soulstone—bringing his total to seven. Four of these materials were specifically prepared for his life-bound artifact. Although he hadn't yet obtained the refining method, he knew he would choose between the Yin and Ice attributes. It was always prudent to plan ahead. As for his spirit stone reserves, they had significantly dwindled to around two million due to preparations for the treasure exchange event and other various expenses.

Currently, two Golden Cores had been acquired, netting him at least a million low-grade spirit stones. While typical Core Formation spiritual materials fetched a similar price, and Golden Core cultivators themselves should inherently be worth more, the situation wasn't so straightforward.

By then, it was Wang Yu's third day back in Guiling, and the copied cultivation scriptures from Qingyang had also been delivered.

With two powerful Core Formation enemies eliminated, Wang Yu's reputation soared. True Master Qingyang also publicly announced his official appointment as the First Grand Elder of the Guiling City Lord's Mansion. Despite this, he remained the Vice Sect Master of the Ink Sect. He also transferred about a dozen Ink Sect disciples, his trusted confidants trained over the years, to the City Lord's Mansion to serve under his command. This stance infuriated the Ink Sect Master, who, in a fit of pique, canceled Layman Qingyang's Core Formation celebration. City Lord Wang, without hesitation, took over the arrangements. He prepared to host a grand celebration for Qingyang at the same palace where the Scent Gathering was held. Surprisingly, even more guests attended than the Ink Sect had originally expected, including both Qingyang's friends and Guiling's allies. The event was truly magnificent, offering a grand spectacle. The Core Formation celebration lasted for seven days, with open banquets for the entire city.

Meanwhile, Wang Yu reviewed his gains from the inheritances. He acquired two relatively ordinary Tier 3 fundamental cultivation methods. However, the accompanying magical techniques, artifact refining methods, and three blueprints for life-bound artifacts—the Crimson Serpent Sword, Five Fire Rings, and Soaring Flame Cauldron—were quite useful. While these had some value, Wang Yu had no intention of switching to fire-based cultivation. Nevertheless, some of the flame control secret arts proved to be considerably beneficial to him. As for divine abilities, both 'Three Cores Spitting Flames' and 'Fire Dragon Burning Heaven' were inheritances from the . Although the two defeated cultivators knew these abilities, they naturally did not possess the complete inheritance jade slips. Therefore, aside from enriching the City Lord's Mansion's scripture pavilion, these gains were merely better than nothing.

Three months later, Pavilion Master Ye Qing arrived at the City Lord's Mansion. "Congratulations, City Lord Wang," he greeted with a smile. "What brings you here, Pavilion Master Ye? Please, come in," Wang Yu replied. Ye Qing entered, swiftly handed over the item to Wang Yu without lingering, and prepared to depart. "The artifact you ordered has arrived from Jinchancheng," he stated. "The shipping fee is ten thousand spirit stones." Wang Yu didn't mind such a small sum; efficiency and security were his top priorities. Jinchancheng, the headquarters of Jinmanlou, was located in the territory of the Nether Mountain Sect, just outside the Heavenly Pool Grotto-heaven. Its function and scale were comparable to Tianbao City. The Heavenly Pool Grotto-heaven, the ancestral land of the Jin family, was a premier cultivation holy site, spanning almost half of the Chiyuan continent from south to north. A personal flight there would typically take Wang Yu one to two years. Given his numerous and complex requirements for the artifact, only the main branch, which amassed all the treasures of this realm, had it in stock, and they had delivered it from thousands of miles away.

The treasure Pavilion Master Ye delivered was indeed the coffin prepared for his Baleful Corpse, accompanied by a jade slip detailing its functions. It was the Grand Yin Corpse-Nourishing Coffin, a low-grade Tier 3 artifact, refined in earlier years by the rogue demonic cultivator known as True Monarch Baleful Fiend. Its capabilities included nurturing baleful aura, refining corpses, size manipulation, and attracting lunar baleful energy. Wang Yu was well aware that while Grand Yin Lunar Baleful energy was unique, it wasn't exclusively absorbed by the Grand Yin Nether Pupils; otherwise, he wouldn't have requested such an item. However, the coffin's efficiency in absorbing lunar baleful energy was not as high as his own body's. Its true value lay in its abilities to nurture baleful aura and refine corpses. For instance, the baleful corpse Wang Yu had been refining for several years could now be placed within the Corpse-Nourishing Coffin and emerge fully refined in less than a year. It functioned much like an alchemical cauldron for corpse cultivators. Its baleful aura nurturing effect was even more mystical, capable of transforming a single wisp of baleful energy into a hundred, including lunar baleful energy. This feature allowed rare baleful energies to be continuously scaled up, making it an unparalleled treasure for both corpse nurturing and cultivating baleful path divine abilities, with immeasurable auxiliary benefits. It was undoubtedly worth over 100,000 spirit stones, and Wang Yu made a mental note of True Monarch Baleful Fiend's name. Regarding its size manipulation, it could expand up to a hundred meters or shrink down to the size of a fingernail or even a segment of a thread. It could also house up to a hundred zombies, making it incredibly convenient for transport.

After some effort, Wang Yu refined the artifact, shrinking it to its smallest form and hanging it on his hair ornament.

After this incident, the area around Guiling City returned to complete tranquility. Far fewer teams entered the Dongjijing ruins, and the number of Core Formation cultivators dropped sharply. Perhaps due to the brutal and extensive deaths of the past few years, the Dongjijing ruins now even exuded a sense of desolation.

However, covertly, small teams under the City Lord's Mansion were continuously exploring the outer areas of the ruins, constantly relaying compiled intelligence to Wang Yu. Indeed, in this lull after the turmoil subsided, and before a new wave of interest surged, Wang Yu intended to enter and investigate. Ninety percent of the deaths in the previous round were attributed to human conflict. The inherent dangers of the ruins, such as six-eyed corpse infants, alluring blood vines, corpse demons, and corpse ghouls, were all clearly documented. Information regarding mechanisms, restrictions, and formations was unprecedentedly abundant, compiled from various sources. Although the two most valuable Nascent Soul inheritances from the last expedition had been claimed, Dongjijing itself still held significant value, making this the optimal time to enter. Once the cultivators of Yunlingzhou recovered, the ruins would undoubtedly become a popular exploration site again, making access far less convenient. Wang Yu kept this plan to himself.

In the City Lord's Mansion prison, Patriarch Guan, whose plump figure had withered to a skeletal frame, still lay confined. On most days, only the sisters Guan Yingdong and Guan Yingxue would visit him. It was as if even the Guan family had forgotten their former patriarch.

“Brother Guan, you unfortunate soul, forgotten by most in less than a decade. How tragic, how lamentable…” Wang Yu said. “Today, I shall grant you a quick end.”

Initially, Wang Yu had indeed attempted to save him, employing methods such as the Mind-Clearing Incantation or forceful manipulation with Mind-Control Demonic Sound, but all had failed. If this continued, he would be completely drained of his life essence and perish from those eerie shackles within half a year at the latest. These bloody shackles were undeniably a type of evil artifact. Wang Yu handled them with extreme caution.

With his spiritual sense saturating the borders of his Niwan Palace, the Heavenly Soul Qi Secret Art actively circulated. With a flick of his finger, a streak of frigid sword qi instantly pierced Patriarch Guan's heart. The man's convulsing body trembled, and the scarlet haze receded from his eyes. His bloodshot gaze held a complex mix of emotions; in his final moments, he had regained his sanity. A voice as faint as a mosquito's hummed, "Tha... thank you..."

“You’re welcome,” Wang Yu replied. He instructed the guards to notify the Guan sisters to collect the body, then, carefully wrapping the bloody shackles in his chilling True Essence, he returned to his residence.

These shackles were clearly connected to the Rakshasa and Asura inheritances. If he were to enter the Dongjijing ruins, he would certainly visit the Jingzhao Suppressing Evil Prison. The core inheritance had already been claimed, and the site was likely almost entirely destroyed, meaning most dangers would have been triggered. Any remaining benefits there would be more than enough for him. This would merely be a detour. His primary target, however, was the Artisans' Workshop, which the Ink Sect's patriarch had once explored. It was located extremely close to the Imperial City. While the local inhabitants might not understand the imperial system, he did. Although the two worlds couldn't be directly equated, the information he possessed about feudal dynasties offered significant reference value. Direct application was impossible, but applying similar logical frameworks could greatly assist him.

Such archaeological endeavors were a blend of excavation and conjecture, relying primarily on intuition. Now that he had a plan, Wang Yu also seized the opportunity to prepare all necessary items, particularly those vital for escape, which he handled with meticulous care. Just as he was fully prepared and ready to depart at any moment, Pavilion Master Ye sent him another message. It announced that the Tier 3 ice-attribute demon core had arrived and was being transferred from the branch pavilion in the Northern Fractured Mountains to Guiling, guaranteed to arrive within a month.

Furthermore, the search for spiritual herbs he had commissioned years ago had also yielded results: a remarkably rare spiritual herb specifically for enhancing spiritual sense. He had once acquired an ancient spiritual-nourishing pill formula called the Soul Essence Pill, which complemented the Ancient Soul Art. One of its main ingredients was exceedingly difficult to find in the current era. Therefore, he had placed a request with Jinmanlou to search for it, even authorizing them to purchase it at a premium if necessary. The actual herb had arrived in Guiling, but there was only a single stalk. To obtain more information, he would need to personally contact Jin Miaoshan.

“What new schemes are they brewing now?” Wang Yu mused. After a moment's thought, he decided to first explore the outer regions of Dongjijing, without venturing too deep for now. His primary objective was to find the corresponding restraints to the bloody shackles.