Chapter 20: Dizziness Is Normal

Wang Yu said, feigning relaxation.

"To be honest with you, I was born a spiritual slave, with a terrible spiritual root aptitude. Forget about Foundation Establishment; it's difficult for me to even reach the late stage of Qi Condensation in this lifetime. True Disciple Su values my mind, not my strength. Killing me won't prove anything. We'd be better off shaking hands and making peace. Tell me who incited you to come here, and we'll pretend today never happened."

His words appealed to both emotion and reason.

The other person was clearly swayed, hesitating.

"Are you serious?"

"Truly—" Wang Yu chuckled as he walked forward, speaking softly. "Just tell me who was plotting against me behind the scenes, and we'll be friends."

The person sighed deeply, completely relaxing.

"It's Zhao Shang. He secretly offered a bounty among the outer disciples. He's selling the Essence Qi Lodge where you live for one thousand two hundred contribution points. Whoever kills you gets it."

A glint flashed in Wang Yu's eyes. He hadn't expected it to be Zhao Shang, as they had no prior grudges. The only thing that could have prompted such a decision was self-interest. One thousand two hundred contribution points? Was his life only worth that much?

"Thank you. May I ask your name, friend?" Wang Yu patted the person's shoulder as a gesture of friendliness.

"My name is..."

The ice sword suddenly pierced the person's neck, emerging from the back of their head. Wang Yu held his head, his palm stained red with blood, and whispered softly, "Relax, dizziness is normal."

It might seem that this person was easily persuaded, but that was because Wang Yu was indeed promoted by True Disciple Su from among the spiritual slaves, and everything he said was true. Zhao Shang had a high cultivation realm and powerful connections, but his authority derived entirely from True Disciple Su. When these two factions clashed, anyone would know to side with the True Disciple. Secondly, Wang Yu's strength and decisiveness had intimidated the person. Without the certainty of a kill, making peace was the best option. Coupled with Wang Yu's provocative words, the person began to feel suspicion and resentment towards Zhao Shang.

Various reasons contributed to this outcome.

Of course—the most crucial point was his lack of worldly experience, and his insufficiently resilient and decisive character. He had not yet fully matured into a cunning and qualified demonic cultivator.

According to Wang Yu's understanding, the Reversal Spirit Blood Sect typically recruited disciples through four channels. First, from cultivation families within the Scarlet Kite Demonic Domain. Second, a "Disciple Recruitment Assembly" was held tens of thousands of kilometers away in a city called Tengfei City. This event was hosted by five Nascent Soul-stage powers, with numerous Core Formation-stage demonic sects participating. It was a grand event held every twenty years, attracting rogue cultivators and prodigies from all over the Scarlet Kite Demonic Domain. The recruitment primarily focused on Qi Condensation cultivators, though some rogue cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage were also accepted; Core Formation stage recruits were rarer. Third, by abducting qualified disciples from the orthodox forces' Taihu Spirit Domain, or acquiring a large number of cultivation prospects through trade to become disciples of the demonic sect. Fourth, the Scarlet Kite Demonic Domain practiced the widespread raising of mortals. Each major power had numerous cities specifically designated for breeding mortals, whose aptitudes were tested annually to select potential disciples. Elderly mortals and those who had lost their reproductive capabilities were used for other special purposes.

Consequently, thousands of new disciples from both domains joined the Reversal Spirit Blood Sect annually. Generally, only those who reached the mid-stage Qi Condensation were qualified to undertake missions outside the sect. This peacefully deceased fellow disciple was one of those prospects acquired through trade from the Taihu Spirit Domain, having experienced too little of the world's deceit and struggle.

After taking the storage pouch and stowing away the body, Wang Yu cleaned up the bloodstains and exited the alley from the other end.

Upon returning to the Ice Snow Pavilion, Zhao Shang was still leaning against the counter on the first floor. He showed no reaction upon seeing Wang Yu. Wang Yu nonchalantly walked up the stairs. At that moment, Zhao Shang twitched his nostrils, narrowed his eyes, and spoke, "Junior Brother Wang, are you injured?"

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Zhao. It's just a minor injury, hardly worth mentioning."

Zhao Shang rose and gestured for him to sit. "Whether you're injured or not isn't important. The corpses of those who cultivate the Cold Blood Peak lineage are valuable. Junior Brother Wang, have you considered selling them? The Ice Snow Pavilion's business in this area is quite substantial."

Wang Yu paused for a moment. "Senior Brother Zhao has sharp eyes indeed. I just happened to 'pick up' two corpses while strolling today. I was going to hand them over to the Hall of Law Enforcement, but since the pavilion wants them, I'll give them to you, Senior Brother."

He lightly patted his storage pouch, and two skinned, bloody, and unidentifiable corpses appeared on the table.

Zhao Shang's eye twitched slightly as he looked at him with some surprise. "These corpses you 'picked up,' Junior Brother, are quite... unique."

"They're alright, I suppose." Wang Yu smiled shyly. "How much does the pavilion value them at?"

After a brief inspection, Zhao Shang said, "Both of these corpses cultivated the Ice Marrow Scripture. We can extract two portions of low-grade ice marrow from them. How about a total of one hundred spirit stones?"

"Acceptable."

No matter the price, Wang Yu would agree. A few external possessions were minor; as long as he could keep Zhao Shang stable, there would be a day when he would reclaim everything, so there was no rush to demand repayment.

The transaction was complete, and he was about to leave. But Zhao Shang stopped him again, reminding him, "Junior Brother, don't you have anything else to sell?"

Wang Yu's movements paused. He took a deep breath and, in front of Zhao Shang, emptied the contents of both storage pouches, excluding only the spirit stones and spirit sand.

Flying magical artifacts: Black Cloth x 2.One quasi-magical artifact sharp sword, two sets of standard quasi-magical robes.Low-grade Bigu Pills x 3, low-grade Spirit Recovery Pills x 1, mid-grade talisman 'Ghost Shadow Steps' x 1, exotic insect 'Confusing Mind Butterfly' x 1, and various miscellaneous items.

After rummaging through them, Zhao Shang somewhat disdainfully tucked the mid-grade talisman and the small bottle containing the butterfly into his own pouch, then pointed at the remaining items and said, "Fifty spirit stones for everything else."

"Alright." Wang Yu felt displeased but powerless. This son of a bitch was trying to squeeze him dry! He wondered how Su Qingshan handled such situations.

After being emptied of his possessions, Wang Yu took the one hundred fifty spirit stones upstairs, returning to room 29 on the tenth floor. Unless specifically mentioned, items traded by Qi Condensation cultivators were typically first-tier spirit items. The two new storage pouches still contained a lot of spirit sand, which, when converted, was worth about eighty spirit stones. Although he had been largely exploited, it still amounted to the earnings from a single mission. A total of two hundred and thirty low-grade spirit stones was indeed a windfall!

Murder and robbery brought in money like rain, falling in torrents and truly shocking Wang Yu's innocent mind. No wonder demonic cultivators were all masters of combat. Producing or developing technology was nowhere near as fast as simply seizing things!

After that day, Wang Yu stayed indoors for a full four days, not stepping out of his room.

Placement Slot 2: Compendium of Materia Medica: Qi Condensation Volume (Mastered)

[Compendium of Materia Medica (100/100): Cultivate for twelve hours a day, achievable in one month.]

"One month..." Having experience with placing pure knowledge-based classics, Wang Yu generally understood the pattern: after the first mastery, it was the rote memorization stage. Placing it for another month would allow him to fully grasp and spontaneously apply the knowledge.

However, after the skirmish in the dark alley, he had an urgent desire for greater combat power. Coupled with the unpredictable and uncanny methods of demonic cultivation, he decisively switched to placing the Night Concealment Charm.