Chapter 197: Second Pit Little Gold, Dongji Jing Ruins

After collecting a complete set, it should be somewhat helpful for exploring the Jingzhao Evil Suppression Prison.

He had previously shared this speculation with Ding Ming, one of the true disciples of Xiongming Peak.

Although he didn't return to Guiling to meet him afterward, quite a bit of information was revealed, which he clearly saw in the recorded footage.

Ding Ming and Wei Shanze, despite arriving relatively late, were the first to appear within that towering pillar of light, making it seem as though they had triggered something.

As for the final whereabouts of the "Rakshasa True Demon Scripture," it wasn't clear. Since Jin Miaoshan had obtained the "Asura Killing Saint Scripture," he could take this opportunity to ask during their next contact.

Along with Proprietor Ye's message came a pearl that Wang Yu had seen before; it was the top-grade magic sub-pearl used to contact Jin Miaoshan.

After injecting true essence and activating it, this time, only Jin Miaoshan's facial image materialized, and it was somewhat blurry, likely due to the great distance between them.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, we meet again."

"Fellow Daoist Jin, just tell me your conditions directly."

The main ingredient for the Soul Essence Pill was called "Soul Essence" in ancient times, but in the current era, it's known as "Ghost Cry." To be honest, Wang Yu didn't know why the other party insisted on discussing the terms with him personally.

If he could refine the Soul Essence Pill, he was confident he could truly elevate his spiritual power to the Core Formation realm within twenty years.

The reason it would take so long was that the "Ancient Soul Art" needed to be perfected first. After all, it was only a second-tier spiritual cultivation technique, though he might be able to use the power of the 'placement bar' to deduce it to the third tier.

However, the time required would be incredibly long.

In the faint image, Jin Miaoshan seemed to be in an ordinary mood. Instead of responding to Wang Yu's blunt inquiry, she said, "I know everything you've done at the Guiling Jinman Building, so... I also know about the Soul Essence Pill."

"And then?"

Wang Yu raised an eyebrow. He had long suspected this situation, but there was nothing he could do. Jinman Building was simply convenient, and Guiling City didn't have a Tianbao branch; that was the reality.

Jin Miaoshan paused slightly, then began a lengthy explanation.

"The Soul Essence Pill is an ancient recipe, originating from the Heavenly Soul Sect, one of the lost sects from ancient times. This sect specialized solely in spiritual cultivation. Its founding patriarch even reached the Soul Transformation realm, but unfortunately... still perished in the Blood Demon Rebellion. In a way, the Heavenly Soul Sect and the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect, which inherited the true lineage of the Blood Demons, are sworn enemies. And you, you should possess the true lineage of the Heavenly Soul Sect, correct?"

Wang Yu looked indifferent. The Blood Demon Rebellion of ancient times was also called the Lost Era, as the Blood Demons massacred so many factions that they almost caused a complete generational gap in the cultivation world.

But what did that have to do with him, Wang?

"You want the Heavenly Soul Sect's legacy?"

"Of course. After you tell me, Jinman Building will send you over a thousand 'Ghost Cries,' and all other materials for refining the Soul Essence Pill will be prepared as well."

Jin Miaoshan's eyes faintly showed anticipation, but due to the blurry image, Wang Yu didn't catch it.

However, this urgent attitude made Wang Yu consider a highly probable possibility, almost making him burst out laughing.

Feigning contemplation, Wang Yu waited for three breaths before narrowing his eyes and saying, "Alright. As per the old custom, we'll sign the Styx Contract."

"I will fully impart the fundamental cultivation technique of the Heavenly Soul Sect to you. Fellow Daoist Jin, you just need to fulfill your promise."

"Good—"

The Styx Contract, being an extremely high-level agreement, could materialize the contract paper before each party, even if they were miles apart. Imparting the cultivation technique was even simpler; a verbal transmission would suffice.

As the black paper vanished from thin air, Jin Miaoshan stopped concealing her emotions and spoke anxiously, "Begin."

"The soul is the master of the ethereal, spirit is human thought, intent is the true self. Gather purple qi to nourish the spirit, absorb sun essence to strengthen intent, draw lunar yin to cleanse the soul... this is the Ancient Soul~"

Wang Yu unhurriedly imparted the cultivation technique, without altering a single character. He had indeed fully transmitted the second-tier Ancient Soul Art to Jin Miaoshan, which was all he knew.

A moment later, Jin Miaoshan seemed to have gained some insight, but that calm state only lasted a very short time before she became anxious again.

"And then? What about the rest of it?!"

Wang Yu asked, puzzled.

"This is all the content I possess. Are you satisfied?"

Jin Miaoshan froze, the surging killing intent in her mind almost uncontrollable. She said, somewhat reluctantly, "It's only the second-tier part. I thought you would at least have the third-tier Ancient Soul Art. Don't worry... a thousand complete sets of Soul Essence Pill materials will be delivered to the Guiling City Lord's Mansion within half a month."

Immediately after, the image disappeared, and the sub-pearl of the spatial treasure turned into a handful of powder, like smoke in the past.

Wang Yu frowned deeply. Jin Miaoshan had seen through his intention to watch the drama unfold and attempt a second extortion, yet she didn't fly into a rage.

Instead, she went along with it, agreeing even at a disadvantage, likely because her craving for the Ancient Soul Art had reached an urgent, indispensable level.

Her condition was clearly not right.

Considering the situation with the Bloody Shackles and Fetters, it was highly probable that problems arose after she switched to cultivating the "Asura Killing Saint Scripture." As for whether the problem lay with the person or the cultivation technique, Wang Yu leaned towards both.

What was special about the Ancient Soul Art? A pure spiritual cultivation technique? No... with Jinman Building's power, they could surely find something similar.

That meant the Heavenly Soul Sect's legacy had a special effect.

"Ancient Soul..." Wang Yu suddenly realized. The Heavenly Soul Sect's fundamental legacy, the Ancient Soul Art, not only allowed cultivation to the Soul Transformation stage but was also equal in rank to the Asura Scripture.

Most importantly, it could bestow the 'Ancient Soul' divine ability upon the spiritual soul.

This divine ability could grant immunity to over ninety percent of negative states targeting the spiritual soul in the cultivation world.

"Jin Miaoshan has been corrupted by Asura's killing intent." This was a very straightforward and obvious conclusion. She was currently busy trying to maintain her self-awareness and find an opportunity to save herself.

"It has nothing to do with me. The thousand sets of materials I exchanged for are the true reward that belongs to me. I'll use them when I get back."

The items would arrive gradually within half a month. Wang Yu didn't linger long at the City Lord's Mansion. After activating the Invisibility Art and Breathless Charm, he quietly slipped out through the back door.

This was his first outing since arriving in Guiling. He would be back within twenty days at most, so he shouldn't disappear for too long. His vigilance was at its peak.

As he journeyed towards the Dongjijing Ruins, he would occasionally stop to cast the Mountain Search and Demon Seeker spell to scout his surroundings. If any cultivators approached, he would quickly distance himself.

He absolutely avoided meeting any cultivators.

Seven days passed in a flash, and a scorched land appeared before his eyes.

It was a part of the ruins completely obliterated by the previous battle. The land was stained with cultivators' blood, and in the very center were two bottomless pits.

Those were the marks left by the pillar of inheritance light.

He heard that afterward, some cultivators entered through these pits, attempting to reach the depths of the Dongjijing Ruins directly. However, none who entered were ever seen again.

Therefore, Wang Yu decided not to take a shortcut. After moving away from this battlefield, he arrived at the true entrance of the ruins: a cluster of ancient above-ground buildings.

Centered around these ancient buildings, there were many makeshift dwellings built by cultivators, or simply cave-like houses constructed from earth and rocks.

These people truly had a special fondness for caves.

Over time, these temporary dwellings left by previous explorers formed a small community, almost like a market, though people here rarely interacted and remained wary of others.

When Wang Yu arrived, he only saw five or six people.

At this time, it was estimated that no more than three hundred people were still exploring, which was a very small number for such a vast ruin.

From the intelligence reports, Wang Yu couldn't be more familiar with this place.

Yet, despite all the talk, he had never seen or experienced it firsthand, so it still felt very unfamiliar.

He only had twenty days; fourteen days for travel, leaving six days for actual exploration. He planned to explore the outer periphery, experience it firsthand, and then plan his route for the next deeper delve.

This was an ancient ruin that had existed for many years, and he would certainly enter it more than once, so adapting early would be beneficial.

Wang Yu adopted the cautious attitude he had during his first long journey to Xuan Bone Mountain. That time seemed long ago now.

In the dark underground, two cold flames illuminated the surroundings. Invisible spiritual power, accompanied by the colorless ripples of the Mountain Search and Demon Seeker secret technique, penetrated obstacles like buildings and terrain.

It transmitted every detail of objects within a one-kilometer radius back to his mind. This was the maximum power of the secret technique; if perception was extended in one direction, it could reach up to fifteen kilometers.

After Wang Yu passed through the ancient building complex on the surface, which had long been cleared out, he truly entered the somewhat dangerous underground environment. Darkness was the biggest problem here.

An overly bright light source would attract the attention of ancient corpse monsters. Therefore, using cold flames for illumination was a good idea, as they emitted a cold light.

Currently, he was using the secret technique to search for monsters: active ancient corpses, cadaver demons, corpse imps, ghost bats... and so on.

"Found one."

Soon after, the cold flames' light vanished. Wang Yu used his spiritual sense in conjunction with his Lunar Ghost Pupils, perceiving darkness as if it were nothing. However, spiritual sense was consumed much faster than true essence, and its recovery was slow.

Therefore, he had to use it sparingly, unlike true essence, for which he had a large reserve of top-grade recovery elixirs; his true essence had never dropped below thirty percent.

This was a Corpse Imp.

It was about three meters tall, humanoid, with hands hanging down to the ground, possessing claws imbued with potent corpse poison. Its entire body was covered in long black fur, though some grew red fur, symbolizing ill omens and disaster.

It possessed immense strength, moved like the wind, had a superb stealth ability, and nigh-immortal regenerative power, making it a nightmare-level killer for low-tier cultivators below the third rank.

In Chiyuan, it was widely known and considered a true demonic creature. It was a rare species even in these ancient ruins, while the Cadaver Demon, often compared to it, was somewhat more common and classified as a demonic beast.

Therefore, despite their similar names, their fundamental racial classifications were vastly different.

Wang Yu reverted to his old ways, lurking in the darkness, seeking an opportunity to strike.

This Corpse Imp was toying with a skull, and judging by the flesh remnants and signs of decay, it likely belonged to someone from the previous wave of exploration.

The crucial point was that it was sitting on something Wang Yu was very familiar with.

An ancient Evil Treasure—the Bloody Shackles!

It was a square torture device, made of two wooden boards clamped together with two circular holes for imprisoning hands, and it was a complete set with the fetters that bound the body.