Chapter 282: Selected Cave Dwelling, Twelve Phases of Guanghan

Cold Blood Peak.

After a tour of the various halls and markets, Wang Yu returned. His former temporary residences in the Cold Blood Market and Heavenly Corpse Market were all communal. Since outer sect disciples often die mysteriously, there are plenty of such temporary cave dwellings. It's generally assumed that after someone leaves, the dwelling reverts to an unowned state. Back then, in the communal cave dwelling at Heavenly Corpse Market, the cup of corpse water, which had been sitting for an unknown period, left a deep impression on Situ Hong when he met him. Such a place could naturally not be called "home"! Nor was it a place for long-term residence.

This time, upon his return, he didn't even visit the Ten Reversal Blood Markets, planning instead to establish a new home on Cold Blood Peak. Given the deep impression Su Yulong's mansion left on him during his first ascent, Wang Yu proactively flew in that direction. That fellow had already been stripped of his true lineage disciple status, so his mansion must have been confiscated. Perhaps he could get a ready-made residence, saving him the trouble of building one himself.

Speaking of which, Su Yulong had actually been kind to him. Judging by the living conditions of low-level spiritual slaves in the stone house area, if Su Yulong hadn't pulled him out, he would have died there within three years. Furthermore, the incomplete Corpse Devil Secret Technique had greatly helped him. Half of the early difficulties and dangers he encountered were overcome thanks to the zombie body provided by this secret technique. The other half was that "Divine Power Corpse Arm," which was also a meritorious contributor and still lay untouched in his collection.

There was no real conflict between him and True Lineage Disciple Su. At most, it was that time he offered a plan, but Su didn't listen, insisting on following Wei Chong's reckless approach. And then came the fallout. By turning others into "barefoot" people with nothing to lose, they directly retaliated, leading to everyone's ruin. This also plunged him into a state of anxiety. Fortunately, Yan Ling then stepped forward, attracting everyone's attention. It was then that he joined the three Young Masters of Reversal Spirit and went to Gui Ling for cultivation. Otherwise, if he had continued to stay within the sect, something bad would have happened sooner or later, and his Foundation Establishment stage accumulation would not have been completed so quickly.

When one stands in a familiar place, images of past memories always fill the mind. In no time, he was at the former True Lineage Disciple Su's mansion. He had arrived!

Wang Yu looked up, and his face darkened. "Zuoqiu Residence..."

Without a doubt, it must be the clansmen of Zuoqiu Ming. The Zuoqiu clan had a strong presence on Cold Blood Peak, and the Zhuo clan also had some key members there. The rest were truly from the Cold Blood Peak's master-disciple faction. The entire Reversal Spirit Blood Sect could be viewed as comprising four factions: Family, Master-Disciple, Grassroots, and Blood Devil. The Grassroots faction was negligible, just making up the numbers. The Blood Devil faction, composed of the Blood Devil Hall and the subordinate Blood Nether Peak, stood out as unique, representing the sect's orthodoxy. Their position was terrifyingly stable, and no one had ever shaken it. Then came the Family faction, which led. The Master-Disciple faction had fewer members, consisting mainly of elites, and held relatively less power, but possessed enough resources for their numbers. For Wang Yu to effortlessly obtain the status of a candidate elder, it must have been the Zuoqiu and Zhuo clans working together to help him.

His first cave dwelling objective was out of the question. He could only fly around Cold Blood Peak, as all third-tier cave dwellings were located hundreds of meters up the mountainside. He didn't want to live in a cave, so he could only find an empty plot of land for a cave dwelling and plan and build it himself. After the dwelling was settled, he would visit the Cold Blood Treasure Vault.

"Oh—"

Flying to the rear of Cold Blood Peak, close to where Wang Yu last entered the Cold Pool, the female cultivator Xue Ying, whom he had just seen, was standing on a rock, surveying the terrain below. Wang Yu proactively approached her.

"Fellow Daoist Xue Ying, are you looking for a suitable place to build a cave dwelling?"

Xue Ying saw it was him and bowed respectfully before speaking. "Indeed. Is Fellow Daoist Wang Yu also doing the same?"

"Yes," he replied. "I'm not very familiar with the seniors on Cold Blood Peak. How about we live as neighbors?"

He was truly curious about Xue Ying's cultivation secrets, so he deliberately spoke to probe her. To his surprise, she merely glanced at him and nodded in agreement. "That sounds good," she said. "Xue Ying is also not very familiar with the seniors on Cold Blood Peak, as I've been cultivating at home until now. What about you, Fellow Daoist?"

Wang Yu looked into her eyes and said, "I was assigned to a place, serving as a city lord, and only recently returned to the sect after forming my Golden Core. Fellow Daoist Xue Ying, you were able to form your Golden Core just by cultivating at home. Are you a Heavenly Spirit Root?"

Xue Ying nodded. "A Heavenly Ice Spirit Root," she replied. "I've relied solely on my natural talent for cultivation until now. I plan to build my residence right here. Would that plot of land suit you, Fellow Daoist?"

Wang Yu's fingers trembled. He felt a strong urge to plant a demonic seed. This desire stemmed from the Black Origin Demonic Embryo's instinct to complete itself. His gaze inevitably revealed a hint of fervent desire. This seemed to cause a misunderstanding on her part, and she turned away, somewhat embarrassed.

Wang Yu: "..."

Never mind, he possessed both kinds of desire regardless of which it was. His current Heavenly Yin Spirit Root talent was already sufficient. Even if he acquired a Heavenly Ice Spirit Root in addition, his cultivation speed would remain the same. Unless all his spirit root aptitudes were elevated to the Heavenly Spirit Root level, otherwise, it wouldn't be very meaningful. Both Yin and Ice attributes fall under the Water Spirit Root, so he actually didn't need this Ice Spirit Root anymore. Of course, having it was better than not having it. He could still benefit from the spell power bonus provided by the Ice Spirit Root.

He said nothing further. Wang Yu chose another 500-square-meter plot of land about a thousand meters away. He stomped his right foot, and with his skilled coffin-making technique, instantly raised a square black ice box from the ground. It was embedded into the rock face, eerily resembling an urn. This made him sigh in exasperation. Professional matters should be handled by professionals.

"Never mind, I'll ask Cold Blood Peak to help with the construction later," he thought. As an elder, he had that much authority, and it wouldn't cost him any spirit stones, as the sect would reimburse him.

Taking out the Cold Blood Cave Dwelling Token, Wang Yu tossed it into mid-air. It immediately reacted with Cold Blood Peak's Tier-4 grand formation, causing a sub-formation to descend from it. It enveloped the area Wang Yu had designated, which was about thirty acres. While not particularly large, it was more than enough for him alone, as he didn't need maids to serve him. With the plot marked, the sub-formation's light barrier gradually faded.

Wang Yu directly used his Cold Ice Sword Aura on the frozen, rock-hard cliff face to carve out another stone cave and multiple stone chambers. This way, he settled the Immaculate Jade Toad and the Three-tailed Snow Fox. He then set up the Ten-Thousand Year Profound Ice Bed, took out a sub-token for Xue Yu to refine, and instructed: "This is Cold Blood Peak; don't run around recklessly. Cultivate diligently on this bed. I'll be back shortly after I go out."

"Woof woof~ Awoo!" Not having been affectionate with Xue Yu for some time, the large fox padded up to him, rubbed against his neck, deliberately licked him a few times with its tongue, then, fearing a scolding, it quickly scampered away.

"You rascal."

Wang Yu's trip out and back took less than half a day. His expression was grim. Not only did he visit the Cold Blood Treasure Vault, but he also toured the Five Yin Treasure Vault, Heavenly Corpse Treasure Vault, and Evil God Treasure Vault. The items inside were surprisingly few and of ordinary quality, even inferior to the third-tier treasure vaults accessible to outer sect disciples.

The vault keeper's explanation for this was: Wang Yu had arrived at an inopportune time. The sect's treasure vaults were not replenished constantly; according to regulations, they were restocked once every twenty years. Before each replenishment, a roster was circulated among the elders of the various peaks. If an elder saw a spiritual item they desired, they could use one of their three allotted chances to claim it. Whoever was fastest claimed it. If multiple elders selected the same item and used their privileges simultaneously, they would first negotiate privately. If negotiations failed, it would go to the highest bidder. If someone still wasn't convinced, they would fight. The winner took all—simple and brutal!

The next replenishment of the treasure vault was five years away, and there was no point in rushing. So Wang Yu simply returned to organize his cultivation techniques.

On a meditation cushion, Wang Yu sat cross-legged. In front of him, visible only to him, six phantom placement slots appeared one by one.

Placement Slot 1: Ice Soul Saint Demonic Scripture (Tier 3)"Ice Soul Saint Demonic Scripture (0/100): Twelve practices per day, completion in fifty years."Placement Slot 2: Ice Soul...

These two fixed cultivation technique slots had been switched to new techniques, which were currently progressing steadily. This temporarily halted Wang Yu's main body cultivation because he hadn't yet learned these techniques. However, the feedback from the placement slots, providing spiritual power and cultivation experience simultaneously, could greatly shorten the time it took for him to grasp them and wouldn't delay his cultivation.

Slot 3 was permanently set to Cold Serpent Alchemy. This technique only needed twenty more years for him to possess perfected Tier-3 alchemy, which was beneficial for cultivation and thus a must-have in the slot.Slot 4: Minor Asura Killing Fist. This divine ability also only needed twenty more years to quickly reach the perfected realm, so there was no need to change it.Placement Slot 5: Demonic Embryo Black Origin Secret Incantation (Perfected/Deriving...)"Demonic Embryo Black Origin Secret Incantation (20/100): One hundred forty-four practices per day, completion in one hundred fifty years."

This was the detailed information for this secret incantation. Every bit of improvement was precious before facing Fu Xiao.

Slot 6 contained the Yellow Springs Great Hand Seal. It was forty years away from perfection, which happened to be the time of the counter-attack mentioned by Zhuo Shouqing.

Wang Yu updated his cultivation calendar. Reflecting on his past, he had now reached the fifth stage. His spiritual slave life endured 137 most painful days. His outer sect life involved 15 years and 12 months of tempering. He then rose to the inner sect, where his tenure was a brief 5 years and 1 month, progressing extremely fast. Then came his deacon tenure, which was also his time as Gui Ling City Lord, totaling 56 years and 3 months. Now, it was the first day of his elder tenure! Quite memorable.

However, the Yellow Springs Great Hand Seal was ultimately removed by Wang Yu without hesitation, replaced by the innate divine ability he intended to engrave into his Golden Core.

Placement Slot 6: Twelve Phases of Guanghan (Divine Ability)"Twelve Phases of Guanghan (0/100): Forty-eight practices per day, completion in one hundred fifty years."(Note: If a divine ability advances before reaching perfection, the time required for placement will be extended.)

Simply put, the Tier-3 top-grade divine ability, "Twelve Phases of Guanghan," required 150 years. If, during this process, the divine ability met the requirements to advance to Tier 4, the time to reach perfection would be extended. However, if it had already reached perfection and then advanced, it would directly become a Tier-4 perfected divine ability.

It was easy to understand. Wang Yu wanted to transform it into his innate divine ability, but he first needed to gain initial mastery of it. The requirement for initial mastery was to condense the wondrous phenomenon of "Frost Moon Across the Sky." After achieving that, he would then condense the phantom images of the twelve phases: osmanthus tree, moon rabbit, ice axe, jade plate, immortal silhouette, palace, and so on. That would be considered minor accomplishment. Only when both could be seamlessly integrated and appear simultaneously would it be considered major accomplishment!

(End of chapter)