Chapter 223: Lei Hou Jun, Seventh Stage of Foundation Establishment

The loyal residents of Guiling welcomed their Lord Wang Yu.

As expected, the City Lord's Mansion was mostly in ruins, a result of the late-stage Core Formation cultivator who had been sealed within the array. Dozens of guards who had remained at the mansion had also perished.

This was a slight pity for Wang Yu.

Outside the ruined central district, many people stood. When they saw Wang Yu and his companions approaching, they collectively shuddered and shouted with full vigor, "Congratulations, Lord City Master, on your successful return!"

Wang Yu was speechless.

Elder Xuanyan quipped from the side.

"My young friend, you certainly have quite the prestige within the city," he remarked.

Wang Yu offered a wry smile.

"Elder Xuanyan, you overestimate me," Wang Yu replied. "They're just scared."

Indeed, after being startled by the late-stage Core Formation cultivator suddenly teleported to the City Lord's Mansion, and witnessing dozens of their comrades die tragically, how could they remain indifferent?

This was... this was forced servitude, giving no one time to react.

However, most of the lax-minded individuals were rogue cultivators. The first group of youths recruited by Wang Yu were all young cultivators who had grown up in the city. By now, they had become a formidable backbone.

It was time to consider sifting through them, selecting the best from the rest, and truly cultivating a cultivator army loyal to Guiling City.

This was an opportune moment to get rid of some freeloaders and allow truly capable individuals to rise.

Once everyone had ascended the steps and entered the mansion.

Wang Yu immediately saw three familiar faces. Their limbs were bound by rocks that had emerged from the ground, their aura was incredibly weak, and no trace of spiritual energy could be detected.

One was a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, and the other two were early-stage Core Formation cultivators.

"Elder Xuanyan, how do you plan to deal with these three?"

"How to deal with them?"

Elder Xuanyan paused, as if remembering something.

"This time, only I came to Guiling. You should dispatch an envoy to Youzhou Prefectural City and inform the Yellow Springs Sect to send people over. This is my direct order.

"For the foreseeable future, I will be stationed in Guiling, and more fellow disciples will arrive from Yunling Prefectural City. Just ensure they are well accommodated; all negotiations and matters will be handled by me."

"Understood, Senior," Wang Yu replied.

Wang Yu beckoned Xu Ruozhou, instructing him to immediately lead the reconstruction of the City Lord's Mansion, starting with a new residence for Elder Xuanyan.

Cultivators' work efficiency was incredibly high, and with the aid of some magical arts, reconstruction was quite simple. However, meticulously carving murals or coiled dragons would take more time.

This was an emergency, so they would build it overnight first.

"Oh, and Xu Ruozhou, record the ruins of the City Lord's Mansion and the appearance of the central district using a Soul-Recording Stone. Make several copies, and give one to Elder Xuanyan.

"Also... Qingyang, come here! Record all the spirit pills you used after your injuries and write a note to Xu Ruozhou."

Qingyang paused, then realized, and deliberated, "Is it reasonable for me to use cultivation spirit pills for healing?"

"Hahaha," the City Lord laughed. "If I say it's reasonable, then it's reasonable. Report it five times over; any more, and it'll be difficult to claim compensation."

Everyone was speechless.

Xu Ruozhou quickly took notes. No wonder the City Lord always called him stupid; apparently, one could be shameless to this extent. Wasn't the central district's destruction caused by Master Tianshui of the Golden Full Pavilion?

Suddenly.

Wang Yu, who had just turned away, turned back again.

"I recall a number of mortals and a few cultivators died in the central district, perhaps tens of thousands," Wang Yu said. "Report them to Elder Xuanyan: change the mortals to cultivators, and the cultivators to mortals."

"...Yes!"

"Yes!!"

Wang Yu instructed them on every detail, fearing these foolish subordinates would waste an opportunity to earn spirit stones. He was incredibly poor right now, though the million spirit stones of Holy Tribute could be obtained immediately.

He had already gathered his alliance of interests to fill this deficit, but could he monopolize it?

The truth was, no!

Because there would be follow-up to this matter, and the recovery of the Holy Tribute couldn't be hidden from the alliance members. It would be better to return it, earning their favor, which would make them more willing to be commanded by him in the future.

Walking alone through the ruins of the City Lord's Mansion, Wang Yu took out a scroll, planning its appearance after reconstruction.

"Here, a row of alchemy rooms; here, a garden built with exotic stones and spirit wood; here, three palaces; and here..."

All reconstruction expenses would be covered by the Yellow Springs Sect.

This was entirely reasonable.

As he passed the former main hall, he hurried over and used his Profound Yin Hand to clear the entrance to the secret chamber.

Fortunately, the cultivation chamber downstairs and the second underground level, formed by the Slaughtering Intent Slabs, had not suffered significant damage. Otherwise, he would have extorted the Yellow Springs Sect to death.

Without wasting any more time wandering, Wang Yu meditated in the secret chamber, refining pills to slowly recover from his injuries, and continued his cultivation.

Indeed, after experiencing a life-and-death battle, his cultivation speed had significantly improved. Though temporary, it filled him with joy. Thus, one month later.

In the 9th month of Wang Yu's 25th year as a steward, the reconstruction of the City Lord's Mansion was temporarily completed. Although the work was somewhat rough, it was at least habitable.

Next came the reconstruction of the central district. The perfectly fine city guard army had effectively been turned into a renovation crew.

A large number of cultivators also arrived from Yunling Prefectural City: over twenty Core Formation cultivators, hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and another Nascent Soul cultivator.

This Nascent Soul cultivator was drawn by Elder Xuanyan.

He was Lord Lei Hou, a Nascent Soul cultivator from Tian Shi Peak, the second peak of the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect!

It was rumored that this individual cultivated a unique technique, transforming himself into a zombie, and further evolving into the remarkably rare "Thunder Hou," possessing the potential to break through to the Soul Transformation stage.

He was only just over eight hundred years old, yet had already cultivated to the seventh layer of the Nascent Soul stage!

He was the second most powerful person on Tian Shi Peak, second only to Daoist Three Corpses. As for the "Old Corpse Demon" that Elder Xuanyan mentioned, he was actually the Master of Tian Shi Mountain, whose cultivation was only at the third layer of the Nascent Soul stage, on par with Xuanyan.

Upon hearing about the Thunder Spirit Corpse, Lord Lei Hou immediately rushed over. To him, this Thunder Spirit Corpse was almost akin to a "kinsman," which was an incredibly bizarre situation. Utterly strange.

Faced with a Grand Cultivator at the late Nascent Soul stage, Elder Xuanyan had no choice but to agree. In fact, he was willing to offer it to Lord Lei Hou, likely anticipating a substantial reward.

A Grand Cultivator at the late Nascent Soul stage was on an entirely different level compared to one at the early Nascent Soul stage. The latter would barely have a slim chance of escape if their Nascent Soul fled early from the former's grasp.

In a life-or-death battle, they would be subdued within ten moves.

Such was cultivation: the further one progressed, the greater the disparity. Sometimes, even a small realm difference was enough to create an overwhelming advantage.

Wang Yu had the good fortune to meet Lord Lei Hou once.

The Lord presented him with a token engraved with the character 'Lei,' a gesture far more sincere than Elder Xuanyan's. This meant that if Wang Yu ever got into trouble, he could use this token to save his life.

Wang Yu carefully placed it into his Sea Heart Ring.

As for the negotiations with the Yellow Springs Sect, Wang Yu's cultivation was too low; he could only provide information and had no other role. He didn't even join the negotiation table, leaving everything to Elder Xuanyan to communicate with them.

A Nascent Soul cultivator also arrived from the Yellow Springs Sect, accompanied by the culprit, Elder Dizang. Their confidence stemmed not only from their strength but also apparently from the backing of a major lineage within the Yellow Springs Sect.

Negotiations wouldn't conclude anytime soon.

The Guiling City area became incredibly stable due to the convergence of Nascent Soul cultivators from both dominant forces. Even the frequent robberies and killings ceased.

As for Lord Lei Hou, after obtaining the Thunder Spirit Corpse, he immediately rushed back to the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect's mountain gate, with no intention of participating in the negotiations.

If a Grand Cultivator at the late Nascent Soul stage were stationed there, negotiations would likely conclude very easily. Such an existence could represent the sect behind them.

Every word and action needed careful consideration, especially in the presence of outsiders.

These negotiations would erupt into arguments every ten to fifteen days, either over Wang Yu's unreasonable demands for compensation or accusations of falsely reporting losses.

They also used the three captured individuals as leverage, shifting all blame onto them.

Elder Xuanyan's stance was firm.

He consistently emphasized the dignity of the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect, demanding an explanation. This was not something that could be settled with a few million spirit stones; he also wanted a written apology to be publicly announced.

However, this was precisely what the Yellow Springs Sect found unacceptable.

This back-and-forth between the two parties lasted for three full years, as spring turned to winter three times. Now, midway through the fourth year, no resolution had yet been reached.

However, many compensation terms had already been finalized.

Wang Yu, on his part, continued his life, completely unaffected by the negotiations, doing whatever he pleased.

It was a rare period of calm with a powerful figure stationed there, allowing many of his policies to be implemented very smoothly, especially after the failure of the Wenxiang Society.

He had planned to establish a cultivator market within the city, which was convenient since the central district was in ruins.

He invited cultivators from various regions to settle in Guiling and developed a new business for renting out immortal caves.

It was important to note that Guiling City's third-tier mid-grade spiritual vein was an exceptionally rare spiritual environment for rogue cultivators. He and Qingyang couldn't possibly use it all, so it was better to designate a section for immortal cave rentals.

For cultivators to break through to the Core Formation stage, a third-tier spiritual energy environment was essential. Second-tier spiritual veins could not provide the vast amount of spiritual energy needed for forming a Golden Core and undergoing a life transformation.

Even Wang Yu couldn't avoid this.

Even the placement interface couldn't instantly provide him with the massive spiritual energy required for breakthroughs; when he was in the Black Mountain Demonic Lands, he had to use spirit stones as a substitute.

These operational strategies were minor matters.

In early January of his 30th year as a steward, Wang Yu successfully entered the seventh layer of the Foundation Establishment stage, truly stepping into the late Foundation Establishment realm, thanks to the efficacy of the Two-Pattern Core Condensation Pill.

This differed somewhat from his initial two-year plan, as he had overestimated his cultivation speed. During this period, he had refined two more top-grade Ice Spirit Pills.

In total, his true essence increased by 552 drops, with 82 drops coming from his own cultivation, reaching an all-time high record!

Now, the lake of true essence within his body had condensed, his recovery speed had increased severalfold, and his true essence limit reached 2018 drops. He would need to accumulate 4000 drops to reach the peak of the seventh layer.

It had doubled, and he had already consumed seven Ice Spirit Pills. He needed to find new cultivation spirit pill formulas, as this type was already close to causing a pill barrier.

The breakthrough in his cultivation made Wang Yu feel refreshed and significantly more energetic in his tasks.

One day.

A notice from Elder Xuanyan prompted Wang Yu to rush to Xuanyan Hall, which had been specially built for him!

"Wang Yu greets Elder Xuanyan."

"No need for formalities. Do you remember when I told you to think about how to claim compensation?"