Chapter 296: Qiao Joins, Fourth Layer of Core Formation

That area held immense development potential, and it was precisely at a time when pivotal figures were needed. They were sent there to accompany Qingyang.

Once the conflict over Crescent Moon Province concluded, the ancient ruins of Dongji Jing, being a popular exploration site in Yunling Province, could provide a large influx of visitors to nearby cities. To truly profit from this, one had to possess sufficient strength. Otherwise, if every Tom, Dick, and Harry tried to take a bite out of Guiling, there would be no time for development, as they'd be constantly dealing with messy disputes.

Although he, as the city lord, was not physically present, he could still contribute to Guiling's development. Last time it was a group of frustrated alchemists; now, it was powerful Core Formation cultivators who needed resources. It was a perfect match, one might say.

Yang Xiong and Chu Jun both accepted this arrangement, though whether they would actually go remained to be seen. The offer from Wang Yu was merely a basic guarantee, enough to support their daily cultivation. If they desired more, they would also need to take risks and undertake more dangerous missions. Once the city lord's term ended, if no better options arose, they would naturally go to Guiling for the time being.

Days later, the two departed one after another. Wang Yu remained in Golden Sword City, waiting for Qiao Yu to stabilize his injuries and, while he waited, began to delve into alchemy recipes for breaking through bottlenecks. This pill, named the Zhilan Pill, could significantly enhance the quality of spiritual energy and had a miraculous effect on breaking through the bottleneck of the mid-Core Formation stage. In truth, given the superior quality of his spiritual energy, a breakthrough would naturally occur if he simply continued to refine it methodically for a few months. However, if he wanted to accelerate the process, he would need to use pills.

After staying in Golden Sword City for nine days, Qiao Yu finally stabilized his injuries. Unlike the other two, despite also yearning for a future path, he actually knew of Wang Yu's great reputation! Without the interference of the other two, he intended to follow Wang Yu on Cold Blood Peak after his city lord's term concluded. This held a different significance. After all, he originated from the Qiao clan, whose ancestors were once prominent, whereas Wang Yu came from humble beginnings, a cultivator of his generation still striving for success. Even though his status as a candidate elder was high, it was still in the process of being fully realized.

If other clan disciples found out, he would be mocked, especially on Cold Blood Peak. Did they not understand the benefits of investing in Wang Yu now? They did! But they could not let go of the family honor they held dear. Why was there constant conflict between the Clan Faction and the Master-Disciple Faction? Vying for power and profit was one aspect. Another aspect was their deep-seated contempt for these cultivators. In their view, Cold Blood Peak had been established by their own clan ancestors. By what right did these upstarts rise to prominence, not only wielding their ancestors' spirit treasures but also seeking to rule and govern them? How incredibly arrogant!

On this point, Wang Yu's past experiences had actually shown signs. For example, Luo Chen, who was simply unhinged, inexplicably went out of his way to antagonize him. He saw himself as part of the Zhuo clan and believed it was deeply beneath Zhuo Shouqing's dignity to recruit Wang Yu and exert himself on his behalf. The Niling Three Young Masters, had they not been crippled, would never have associated with him; they were high and mighty figures. Qiao Yu was even more extreme: he wanted to serve Wang Yu! To put it bluntly, he wanted to be a lackey. His strength, demonstrated in the battle ten days prior, was already extraordinary. Considering the Qiao clan's current weakened state, he might even be one of their top talents. It was truly a bit hard to fathom.

After a moment of thought, Wang Yu shook his head and refused. “I don't need subordinates...”

Hearing this, Qiao Yu was somewhat puzzled. He remarked with emotion, “Actually, I've always followed you. Ever since the news came from Yunling Province that you ordered the slaughter of Jinman Tower, I knew you were very bold.”

Wang Yu, however, denied it. “False news,” he said. “I, Wang, never did such a thing. It's just a baseless rumor; someone wishes to harm me.” Having accepted Jin Miaoshan's Core Formation spiritual items, he could not possibly admit to such a thing. After-sales service was always a point he paid close attention to.

Qiao Yu couldn't help but chuckle, then asked, puzzled, “Through me, you could establish a connection with the Qiao clan. Although the Qiao clan has declined, there are still many top-tier resources within the family. You could use this to reach the Nascent Soul stage faster.”

Wang Yu countered, “If I don't accept your service, will you then refuse to associate with me?”

Qiao Yu was stunned. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. Let's change our method of cooperation. How much do you know about pills?”

“I know the basics.”

“Excellent, then listen to me.”

On his way back to the sect, Wang Yu was contemplating his cooperation with Qiao Yu. It was still the same old system of refining pills on behalf of others. This could bring him considerable profit and quickly solidify his position on Cold Blood Peak. Having sold so many high-grade spiritual pills, the Alchemy Hall must surely be aware of it. After all, it was an act that undermined their monopolistic position. Before they could resort to any tactics, he needed to quickly bind together an interest group centered around himself. The more participants, the better, and the forces from Cold Blood Peak should be a significant part of it.

Furthermore, while he didn't take subordinates, it didn't mean he didn't use people. Ultimately, it came down to a matter of trust. With the Qiao clan's protection, Wang Yu couldn't implant a control secret art in Qiao Yu's mind. Being within the sect and being in Guiling were two different concepts. As he massively refined pills and collected high-grade resources as remuneration, more eyes would fall upon him. He couldn't afford to place his trust based on just one or two incidents. Who knew if they were the opponent's secret agents? Unless he could implant a control method that allowed him to kill them at any time, he wouldn't trust anyone. Binding them through shared interests made him feel more secure. On this point, Chu Jun's identity could also be leveraged, but he needed to take things step by step; haste makes waste.

His pill refining efficiency had its limits, making it impossible to take on too many orders.

Another half a month later, Wang Yu successfully returned to the sect. To have encountered such fortune after only a month away from the sect naturally left him extremely satisfied. After examining Wen Hua's storage ring, he discovered its secret: a collection of spirit herbs, including the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, which almost completed the main ingredients for the Nascent Condensing Pill. Another fourth-tier spirit herb, the Heavenly Gang Sacred Fruit, was already prepared. Only a few third-tier auxiliary ingredients were missing, which could surely be gathered after some time. This was a huge gain! Offending a Nascent Soul cultivator for this seemed like a minor matter. He wasn't afraid at all, like someone who isn't bothered by more debts when they already have many, or more lice when they're already infested.

Not to mention, he had pointed the clues towards Yellow Springs Temple. Even if the other party knew he was responsible, they couldn't possibly storm the Rebel Spirit Blood Sect overnight; that would be courting death. Considering the conflict over Crescent Moon Province, encountering people from Yellow Springs Temple within the Sacred Sect's territory was perfectly normal. Of course, if the Yin-Yang Gate Master had other ways to identify the culprit, then he hadn't said anything. Countless robberies and murders occurred daily in Chiyuan; this was merely one of them.

After removing his Earth Net Ghost Mask, Wang Yu appeared on Cold Blood Peak in a cheerful mood, feigning the appearance of having just emerged from seclusion. Soon, people from Blood-Eyed Demonic Jiao and the Qiao clan came to discuss cooperation. Yan Ling's side, after the last batch of spiritual pills, needed a break. With a profound alchemy technique at his disposal, earning spirit stones and high-grade resources was indeed relatively simple, and this was even without revealing his trump card. Once he could refine supreme-grade third-tier spiritual pills, the people from the Alchemy Hall likely wouldn't be able to sit still. With his alchemy skills at that point, he could even attempt to refine low-grade and mid-grade fourth-tier spiritual pills. The significance of that would be entirely different. However, revealing it too early also carried the risk of being seized and forcibly exploited. One had to be strong enough to withstand it.

“It's time to break through to the mid-Core Formation stage.”

After entertaining the three parties of guests, thoroughly discussing the cooperation details, and determining the order of priority, this meant that he would receive new high-grade resources for several years to come. By drawing a portion from the pill refining losses as consumption, it wouldn't be long before all his resources were maximized. However, getting involved was easy, but withdrawing would be difficult. Stop refining once he had earned enough? Dream on, no one would agree to that! Too many pill refining tasks could easily affect his own cultivation, or rather, already had. Aside from daily cultivation, his comprehension of divine abilities had been greatly impacted, and he had no time for body or spirit refining, only able to maintain the lowest intensity of cultivation. He had to significantly reduce the time spent on pill refining. This would require supreme-grade spiritual pills to satisfy his partners. Wang Yu estimated that he could only truly begin implementing this after the current batch of refining commissions was completed.

After making a brief appearance on Cold Blood Peak, Wang Yu entered seclusion to refine the Zhilan Pill. Since he wasn't aiming for supreme quality, it only took him half a month. He then opened the furnace and refined a batch. As he hadn't fully comprehended the pill recipe, only four pills were produced. He focused all his energy on one of them, making it a high-grade pill, which was sufficient.

On this day, Wang Yu formally consumed it. The Sea of Qi within him immediately rippled. His blue-black Golden Core, only 0.01 cun in diameter, was even smaller than the Zhilan Pill he had just consumed. Yet, under the effects of the medicine, his spiritual energy continuously improved in quality, flowing ceaselessly into his Golden Core.

At one moment, the Golden Core, having absorbed to its limit, suddenly expanded, surging from 0.01 cun to 0.03 cun, and then continued to slowly increase, gradually stopping only after reaching 0.04 cun. Within his now vast Sea of Qi, as the Golden Core continuously rotated, it released even denser and more viscous spiritual energy—precisely three hundred strands—which continuously flowed in and out, circling the Golden Core, the Glazed Ice Heart Pagoda, and the Feng Shui Compass.

Core Formation Level 4, breakthrough successful!

Despite the Glazed Ice Heart Pagoda not having been refined long ago, it rapidly ascended with the breakthrough in his cultivation level, soon reaching the standard of a mid-grade magic treasure. This was the benefit of a profound foundation. The materials used to refine this pagoda far exceeded what others used, so it naturally didn't require slow nourishment. It only lacked the integration of his Natal Divine Ability to unleash its full power.

After the breakthrough in his cultivation, Wang Yu continued to adjust his placement slots, re-positioning the *Ice Soul Demonic Scripture* in slots 1 and 2, which continued to provide him with a steady stream of cultivation feedback. To cultivate to the peak of Core Formation Level 4, he still needed to cultivate 1,700 strands of spiritual energy, or 17,000 wisps. This time, the breakthrough wouldn't be so simple. After stabilizing his cultivation, Wang Yu continued to frantically refine pills, constantly verifying his understanding with the experience feedback from his placement slots.

As a result, the speed at which his Cold螭 Alchemy Art advanced through deduction became increasingly rapid, showing noticeable progress almost daily. With the multiple enhancements from the placement slots, the step to advancement seemed almost within reach.

In early January of the fourth year of Elder Wang Yu's tenure, the Cold螭 Alchemy Art was completely perfected. Under multiple accelerations, it had taken just over three years.

(End of Chapter)