Chapter 284: Enmity Temporarily Settled

This was "Realm Pressure"!

It was a tangible form of aura suppression that could affect both will and physical body, effective only when there was an immense disparity between two parties. In other words, it was a divine skill for crushing weaker opponents. It was also a capability that showcased the "prestige" of high-level cultivators, akin to a difference in life-level, which ordinary people would naturally find very difficult to overcome. But once broken through, it was like shattering mental shackles, after which one would no longer fear being suppressed by the aura of Nascent Soul cultivators!

Wang Yu had already mastered the Way of the Mind; mind and will were intrinsically linked, much like the relationship between soul and spiritual sense—two sides of the same coin, both essential. If he wanted to break through, it would naturally be easy.

However, after a thought circled in his mind, Wang Yu allowed his physical body to be suppressed. His Asura Killing Intent only exerted a slight effect, just enough to let him speak. He deliberately made his expression look pained. Since no one else was around, there was no harm in letting Black Heaven Talisman Lord vent some "steam"; there was no loss. Besides, precisely this attitude showed that there was room for negotiation. Otherwise, if he had acted like a perfect gentleman, Wang Yu wouldn't have trusted it.

"Talisman Lord, I came here to apologize. The conflict with your disciple was not my original intention. Most of the reason for it..."

"Silence!"

At this moment, Black Heaven Talisman Lord turned around. His face was covered in black talismanic markings, and his eyes were like mesmerizing whirlpools, seemingly ready to devour one if they weren't careful. His whole demeanor exuded an evil beauty; his expression was unreadable, making it impossible to guess his thoughts. He said, "Wang Yu, why should I believe your word alone? It is an undeniable fact that Luo Chen died by your hand. Since you've come knocking, you should have considered... what to do."

Zhuo Shouqing suddenly stepped forward, slowly floating the Qiankun Ring Wang Yu had given him moments earlier, propelled by his true essence. "Uncle, these are Luo Chen's belongings. The Black Heaven Talisman and Junior Brother Luo's innate magic treasure are inside, untouched."

Black Heaven Talisman Lord took it and probed inside with his spiritual sense. When he found only one Black Heaven Talisman and the Black Heaven Banner almost degraded in quality, he immediately understood something. Did he evade an attack from a Black Heaven Talisman, and then, in anger, strike back and kill Luo Chen? Given that mischievous disciple's personality, this was highly probable. He certainly was someone who liked to provoke others.

As for the Black Heaven Banner, half of Black Heaven Talisman Lord's reason for taking disciples and teaching them the "Black Heaven Talisman Scripture" was due to this magic treasure. His innate magic treasure was a Rank 4 Black Heaven Banner. If he could obtain twelve more top-tier Rank 3 Black Heaven Banners, refine them using talismanic array methods, and finally consolidate them into one, not only could his magic treasure advance, but he could also break through to the Mid Nascent Soul stage with the power of talismanic arts. Not long after forming his Nascent Soul back then, he realized how slow cultivation was at this realm and had started preparing early. With a Nascent Soul cultivator's lifespan of 1600 years, he would only have enough time for two to three attempts. It was fortunate that it was only Luo Chen; he wasn't overly angry. Especially yesterday, after learning that Wang Yu possessed Lord Lei Hou's command token, his already faint thoughts of revenge diminished even further.

However... thoughts are just thoughts. A Nascent Soul cultivator's dignity could not be lost. After receiving the Black Heaven Banner, he became somewhat annoyed again. Its aura had dropped so severely that it was worse than when Luo Chen had just finished refining it under his nose. The Yellow Spring aura within the banner had long been completely absorbed by Wang Yu. There were many divine abilities in the world that could degrade the quality of magic treasures, but the Yellow Spring Grand Handprint was definitely the most famous one. Too many cultivators had been ruined by this technique, leading to much resentment towards cultivators of the Yellow Spring Sect. However, if given the chance to learn this divine ability, each one of them would naturally be willing, even eagerly coming to their doors. The Yellow Spring Sect disseminated the legacy of the Profound Yin Hand everywhere precisely for this kind of appeal, ultimately to compensate for the shortage of disciples under their command.

As the few people pondered, the atmosphere grew silent. Wang Yu tapped his brow with two fingers, pulling out a black paper boat. It carried a processed memory, which he had actively duplicated. Using a derived application of the Soul-Carving Evil Boat Curse, he had removed all parts that could not be exposed, imprinting a copy of everything that happened after his encounter with Luo Chen. This was his "sincerity"! However, he skipped all the combat scenes, only retaining the memory of being ambushed by the Black Heaven Talisman, and preserving the surge of fury he felt at the time. He was serious about taking things out of context.

As for the gift of apology, Luo Chen's Qiankun Ring was his war prize; its value was considerable, perhaps insignificant to a Nascent Soul cultivator, but to a Core Formation cultivator, it was a substantial amount of resources. Using it to resolve a grudge was still worthwhile.

"Talisman Lord, after seeing this, I trust you will make your own judgment. After all, I am recognized as an adopted brother by Brother Shouqing. It is only natural for me to retaliate when Luo Chen tried to ambush me in such a way. It's just that some unexpected events occurred midway, forcing me, for self-preservation, to choose to kill him. This was an accident." He finished by articulating his stance clearly. His sincerity had been shown.

Attitude, compensation, sincerity—none were lacking. If Black Heaven Talisman Lord couldn't grasp the situation, he wouldn't be residing in Evil Sword Mountain Lord's dojo, sharing power with him. However, whether this power was good or bad was a matter of perspective. After all, one's energy is limited. Just like Wang Yu, who had six 'placement slots' to assist him, he was still incredibly busy every day. Daily cultivation, comprehension, and practice of divine abilities alone would take up most of his day, and he had long ago given up on sleep as a low-level method of restoring energy. Among the Heaven Soul Sect's many advanced spiritual sense applications, there was a technique called "Meditation for Strengthening the Spirit" that not only aided in strengthening the spiritual sense origin but also allowed him to get ample rest. In less than half an hour, he could recover from a state of exhaustion equivalent to months without rest, proving extremely practical.

Beside him, Zhuo Shouqing, upon hearing Wang Yu call him "Brother Shouqing," rolled his eyes at him. This kid's skill at adapting his speech to his audience was becoming increasingly masterful. He had never seen him act so respectfully before; now that he needed something, he was acting intimately. Ultimately, this kid was just like him! Both were cultivators who prioritized personal gain and focused on their own cultivation path.

As Zhuo Shouqing muttered to himself, his vision blurred, and the scene of the gloomy hall vanished. He quickly searched for Wang Yu's figure. Fortunately, the other party had also been "kicked out," and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Let's go. This matter is tentatively settled. However... in the future, you still need to be extra careful when encountering fellow disciples from Evil Sword Peak. While Black Heaven Talisman Lord has let you go, those who are eager to curry favor with him might not." These words entered Wang Yu's ears via a sound transmission.

He naturally understood these principles and didn't believe it would end so simply. If it meant bearing the cost of a Heavenly Yin Spirit Root again, he would gladly do so. The talent of a Heavenly Spirit Root, combined with the function of the placement slots, was truly formidable. In at most another month, at his current cultivation speed, he would be able to cultivate over a thousand strands of magical power and break through to the third level of Core Formation. Even if the cultivation difficulty for the middle and late stages soared, he could still advance realms at an extremely fast pace. With the basic power granted by his realm, and then executing perfected divine abilities, it might be an exaggeration to say he was invincible, but those who could contend with him at the Core Formation stage, even among dominant forces, would be few and far between!

Therefore, unlike the Foundation Establishment stage where he sought to accelerate cultivation, at the Core Formation stage, he needed to prepare various magic treasures. While raising his own combat power ceiling, he also needed to compensate for his weaknesses to deal with various situations. Zhuo Shouqing was about to go to war with Zhuo Shouyun. The probing and contention during this period would certainly intensify, and it was hard to say when he might be needed.

"Let's go."

As they left, the two of them didn't dutifully walk down the mountain steps but flew straight out. This caused many observers hidden in the shadows to feel a chill in their hearts.

"They're actually fine."

"Did the Talisman Lord let him off?"

"It must be the doing of that useless young master, Zhuo Shouqing. That kid calls the Talisman Lord 'uncle,' so he had to give him some face."

"So the face of us, Evil Sword Peak, doesn't count?"

"Heh— It's more than that. Do you know the reason why this fellow Wang Yu advanced so quickly?"

"Why?"

"The rumor is that he refined the Demonic Embryo Profound Origin Secret Spell, devoured his cousin to break through to Foundation Establishment, and then went around killing geniuses with high spirit root aptitudes. The young Talisman Lord being targeted might very well have been for his Heavenly Yin Spirit Root."

"Hiss—" Upon hearing this, someone couldn't help but gasp.

"The Demonic Embryo Secret Spell was unearthed by Lord Nine Evil Sword centuries ago from ancient ruins and later submitted to the sect, becoming one of its advanced inheritances."

"So, there's still some lingering connection with Lord Nine Evil Sword? Could it be out of respect for him..."

"What are you thinking? Are you possessed?"

"I heard that cultivating this secret art means death if you fail."

"Many people want to take a gamble, but so far, successful cultivators are few. Besides this Wang Yu, the only other one still alive is Fu Xiao."

"Fu Xiao... it's actually him."

The conversation among the Evil Sword Peak elders quickly ceased with a cough from the peak, and no one dared to speak again.

At the dojo on the peak, not far from Black Heaven Talisman Lord, a figure materialized from thin air. It was none other than Evil Sword Mountain Lord, whose cultivation was also at the early Nascent Soul stage. The cough just now had been his voice! He proactively asked, "Black Heaven, what do you make of this Wang Yu?"

"He indeed cultivated the Demonic Embryo Secret Spell, but his aura is somewhat different from Fu Xiao's, more pure, and... he devoured Luo Chen's Heavenly Yin Spirit Root."

"Pure? Purity is good!" Evil Sword Mountain Lord spoke a few nonsensical words, then his figure faded again, heading straight towards Lord Nine Evil Sword's dojo.

On the other side, after leaving Evil Sword Peak, Wang Yu and Zhuo Shouqing parted ways. The latter gave him a specially made sound transmission jade talisman, which ensured that powerful spiritual senses of Nascent Soul cultivators could not eavesdrop. Moreover, the sound transmission range had made a leap forward, reaching thousands of kilometers, several times its original distance, significantly increasing its practicality. As for the Ancient Burial Pit, Zhuo Shouqing told him not to rush, to finish his current tasks first, and then go when he had time. After all, it was compensation specifically intended to replace the ticket to the Profound Heaven Secret Realm.