Chapter 24: Three

After leaving Tantai Chan's medicinal garden, Wang Yu felt a momentary sense of confusion. He could choose to leave the Blood Spirit Sect, but with formidable passes and natural barriers separating the Scarlet Kite Demonic Domain and the Great Lake Spiritual Domain, there was no way a mere Qi Cultivation realm cultivator like him could cross them.

In fact, only by relying on a major sect could a cultivator of his aptitude continuously improve on their cultivation path. Qi Cultivation realm cultivators have a lifespan of 150 years, and it's best to achieve Foundation Establishment before reaching 100.

When he burned ten years of his lifespan, according to vital energy and blood theory, the sacrifice occurred in his prime, affecting the vigor of his youth rather than the end of his life.

For Wang Yu, this meant he needed to break through before the age of ninety. He still had seventy-three years to prepare, which should be ample time.

"Cold Blood Pill..."

On his way out of the Evil God District, Wang Yu blended in with the other disciples, making his way towards the Cold Blood District.

His heart stirred slightly when he noticed a change in his placement slot.

Placement Slot 3: Empty. This change greatly delighted him. By extension, a fourth slot would appear when he broke through to the late Qi Cultivation stage. With this estimation, achieving Foundation Establishment seemed very close, and even Core Formation was not an unattainable goal!

He selected a cultivation method to place.

Placement Slot 3: Cold Blood Art. "Cold Blood Art (51/100): With 56 daily practices, completion can be achieved in half a year."

Compared to six months ago, the progress bar had advanced by half, and the number of daily practices had increased significantly. These were all implicit benefits resulting from Wang Yu's cultivation breakthrough and widened meridians.

The yin-cold spiritual energy circulated throughout his body, making his physique stronger by the day. His blood, in particular, became increasingly viscous and its temperature dropped, making it exceptionally compatible with the "Heavenly Yin Blood" required for the Corpse Demon Secret Art.

Even with two placement slots active simultaneously, the time for his next breakthrough was still eight years away. He needed external aid; relying solely on the placement slots was no longer sufficient.

After pondering for a moment, he decided to place something else first.

Placement Slot 3: Cold Blood Pill. "Cold Blood Pill (0/100): With 12 daily refinements, completion can be achieved in half a year."

This action was actually meant to enhance Wang Yu's mastery of a single pill formula, which was closely linked to his alchemy skills.

In just one year, his Cold Dragon Alchemy would be perfected, and his mastery of the Cold Blood Pill would become unparalleled. At that point, when he personally refined the pills, the failure rate would likely be infinitely close to zero.

As an exclusive pill formula that accompanied the cultivation method, its effect on aiding cultivation was surely astonishing and worth the greater investment.

His next goal was to collect two complete sets of medicinal ingredients within a year and sort out equipment like the alchemy furnace and earth-fire chamber.

Upon arriving at the Cold Blood District, Wang Yu went straight into the Ice Snow Pavilion.

Zhao Shang was indeed sitting in his usual spot, and his voice carried from afar.

“Junior Brother Wang, it's been half a year, and you look completely refreshed. Congratulations.”

“Proper recuperation has merely alleviated my depleted vital energy and blood. Senior Brother Zhao, I trust you've been well.”

The two exchanged pleasantries, but Zhao Shang spoke with a hint of amusement.

“Junior Brother, you were gone for half a year. The Ice Snow Pavilion's location is quite valuable, and I couldn't bear to let it go to waste.

So I temporarily rented it out to an inner disciple in the late Qi Cultivation stage. You won't blame me, will you?”

Wang Yu: “...”

Late Qi Cultivation stage, inner disciple!

As soon as those two conditions were mentioned, he knew he couldn't get it back. He was utterly disgusted. Remembering that he'd learned six months ago that this person had secretly sold Essence Qi Chamber No. 29, several malicious schemes began to form in his mind.

“Senior Brother Zhao, I was out on a mission. Your actions are rather inappropriate.”

Zhao Shang narrowed his eyes. He dared to do this.

Firstly, he was counting on Wang Yu's insufficient cultivation and extremely poor aptitude, which meant Wang Yu had virtually no chance of recovering on his own and could only rely on external forces.

Secondly, when Fatty Duan brought Wang Yu here last time, although he explicitly stated that Wang Yu was personally chosen by True Disciple Su, Duan Ping himself had subtly implied that Zhao Shang should make things difficult for Wang Yu.

If even he wasn't afraid, why should Zhao Shang be?

Wang Yu had no direct access to True Disciple Su, so what if he forcibly occupied it? As long as it was nominally justifiable, it was fine. Zhao Shang then released the aura of a late Qi Cultivation cultivator, subtly reminding Wang Yu to show some respect.

“Wang Yu, I'm helping you generate income. The inner disciple isn't occupying your room for free. This is the annual rental fee.”

The next instant, a dark object was thrown over, and Wang Yu quickly retreated a few steps to dodge it.

Seeing it was a single spirit stone bouncing repeatedly on the ground, he almost laughed in anger. Was Zhao Shang treating him like a beggar?!

“Alright, alright, alright—

“Senior Brother Zhao, your methods are truly superb. I concede.”

Without uttering any threats, Wang Yu didn't even bother to go upstairs and negotiate. He simply turned around and left the Ice Snow Pavilion.

Just wait.

True Disciple Su had invested heavily in him: the Corpse Demon Secret Art, a thousand contribution points, the promised second-tier Ice Corpse Arm, and the Outer Disciple token.

For a True Disciple, these were merely small benefits that had "slipped through their fingers," but their high frequency and the clear implication of patronage could not be overlooked.

Zhao Shang didn't know this information, and Fatty Duan wouldn't tell him either.

If True Disciple Su ever came looking for Wang Yu and couldn't find him, Zhao Shang would be in serious trouble. The greedy wretch deserved whatever calamity befell him.

The Essence Qi Chamber held little significance for Wang Yu. After all, his aptitude was terribly poor; while a normal three-spirit root cultivator could gain significant benefits, he could only improve from "1" to "1.01," making it even less useful than a "chicken rib."

It was no pity to lose it.

After calming his mind and sorting through his thoughts, Wang Yu recalled the information he had gathered at Tantai's medicinal garden and began to consider applying for a position at Xu's Pill Shop.

The Cold Dragon Alchemy had been placed for about two months now.

Placement Slot 2: Cold Dragon Alchemy (Incomplete Art)

"Cold Dragon Alchemy (16/100): With 12 daily refinements, completion can be achieved in ten months."

At this level, he had already grasped the basics and could try refining pills. He had mastered both the fire control hand seal and the pill-condensing imprint, gaining practical experience.

Even if he couldn't apply as a full alchemist, becoming an alchemy apprentice overseeing the furnace wouldn't be a problem. Xu's Pill Shop wouldn't open for another two months, giving him more time to observe.

Glancing back at the Cold Blood District, Wang Yu calmly departed, showing no trace of his previous anger.

Evil God District.

This district was a chaotic mix of disciples from all nine peaks, with complex and intertwined backgrounds that were difficult to decipher.

With his Black Blood Disciple token, Wang Yu didn't have to worry about lodging. Each district had an area with ordinary dwelling caves reserved for residents.

After all, within the sect, empty rooms in the Ten Reverse Blood Districts were free for temporary use. The next morning,

Knowing he wasn't the only one cultivating the Cold Blood Art on Cold Blood Peak, he went out to various shops to inquire about finished Cold Blood Pills and to gather relevant medicinal ingredients.

His inquiry proved very smooth.

At the Treasure Pill Pavilion, established by the sect's Alchemy Hall, he successfully found a large quantity of medicinal ingredients and the Cold Blood Pills themselves.

“How much for this?”

The young attendant behind the counter was likely an official disciple of the Alchemy Hall. If Wang Yu wished, he could also join after passing an assessment. Joining such departments came with the concept of a "basic salary," which was entirely different from the remuneration of ordinary disciples.

“Low-grade Cold Blood Pill, 300 spirit stones.”

“Mid-grade Cold Blood Pill, 400 spirit stones.”

“High-grade Cold Blood Pill, 500 spirit stones.”