Chapter 319: Cold-Blooded Mountain Lord, New and Old Strong Enemies

He had only come after long consideration, having learned that Wang Yu had drawn with Lu Chenzhou, and even had a slight advantage. In the demonic path, encountering people and being set up or ambushed was commonplace, even ubiquitous. He had no choice but to treat such situations with extreme caution.

Wang Yu owed him two favors. Now, these two favors merged into one task: killing the Peach Ghost Matron! She possessed a Core Formation Level 6 cultivation, was an inner elder of Five Yin Peak, and was known for her exceptional talent. However, due to her indulgence in the Human-Ghost Dual Cultivation Technique, her cultivation had progressed slowly in recent years.

Wang Yu readily accepted Situ Hong's request. It was just a minor matter; if he encountered her, he would simply kill her. No big deal.

As the date for the opening of the Blood Abyss drew near, just as the Cold Blood Peak Master convened a mobilization meeting, Wang Yu also awakened from his cultivation at an opportune moment. By now, he had already consumed his second top-grade Guanghan Pill and still had one left, which should be enough to support his cultivation to Core Formation Level 6. There were also new cultivation spiritual pills that could be refined within the Ten Directions Frozen Demonic Path. The only issue was that the materials were a bit scarce, and he estimated there was no hope of acquiring them before entering the Blood Abyss.

During this period, including the enhancement from the pills, his cultivation limit increased by 1605 units of spiritual power, bringing his total to 3605 units. He was only 395 units of spiritual power short of reaching the peak of Core Formation Level 5. Such a substantial increase in just over two years indicated incredibly rapid cultivation progress. After entering the Blood Abyss, he would be able to break through to Core Formation Level 6 in at most half a year. His rocket-like progress naturally filled him with delight.

Additionally, his greatest trump card, the Twelve Aspects of Guanghan, had broken through to the Minor Accomplishment realm, successfully condensing twelve illusory aspects, and its power surged significantly. Concurrently, the Minor Asura Killing Fist was also very close to perfection, just one step away from completion.

Regarding pills, Wang Yu used the Millennial Earth Spirit Milk he had obtained years ago to refine a batch of twelve third-tier, top-grade recovery spiritual pills, primarily for restoring spiritual power. Nine bottles of high-grade recovery spiritual pills were prepared, totaling eighty-one pills. A large batch of third-tier, high-grade spiritual pills for healing injuries and recovering physical vitality were also prepared. The refinement of these pills alone cost him over a million spirit stones.

On another note, the Netherworld Demonic Sword was officially completed. When Master Tianqi handed it to him, the magic treasure had reached the high-grade rank and was capable of unleashing incredibly powerful Netherworld Malevolence. For this, he paid an additional 300,000 spirit stones. It was well worth the cost. The most basic effect of this treasure was to unleash a Netherworld Sword Aura, which had an effect similar to the Netherworld Grand Hand Seal but focused more on destructive power against flesh and blood. Its power was equivalent to a third-tier low-grade spell, making it quite practical. It also possessed the Netherworld Malevolent Sword Slash, whose power was no less than a third-tier high-grade spell, even stronger than an entry-level divine ability, and vaguely shared similarities with the Netherworld divine ability Wang Yu had mastered. Unfortunately, the Bankrupt Grand Hand Seal was still a little short of reaching Grand Accomplishment, lacking the fundamental conditions for a combined weapon and technique attack.

It is worth mentioning that the Bankrupt Hand Seal was also a Yin-cold type divine ability! If he could cultivate the Ten Directions Frozen Demonic Fist to the Grand Accomplishment realm, he might be able to transform it into a variant divine ability, such as the Netherworld Bankrupt Fist.

By then, with all preparations maximized, Zhuo Shouqing helped him obtain quite comprehensive personnel data regarding those Zhuo Shouyun would bring into the Blood Abyss this time. He was finally not just a mere participant; his goal was to slay all of these elite enemies!

On this day, on the summit of Cold Blood Peak, at the Peak Master's Daoist field, all participants for the Blood Abyss trial had arrived. Wang Yu didn't know many of them, but those he did recognize were all figures of considerable standing: Yan Ling, the fourth and last direct disciple of the Cold Blood Peak Master; Qiao Yu, a genius of the Qiao Clan and one of Wang Yu's partners; and Xue Ying, the young phoenix of the Xue Clan, possessing the Heavenly Ice Spirit Root, also known as True Human Xue. He happened to know these three, especially Xue Ying, for whom this trip to the Blood Abyss might resolve her karmic ties. All of these individuals, without exception, were in the early stage of Core Formation. If it came to a real fight, Wang Yu was confident he could suppress them single-handedly!

Apart from them, there were other influential figures he didn't know, such as a cultivator from the Chu Clan named Chu Juntian, who was much older than the rest. He was almost at the 300-year age limit, and his Core Formation Level 6 cultivation made him quite conspicuous. From the Ji Clan, the strongest family faction within Cold Blood Peak, three individuals had come: one woman and two men. The woman was the strongest, having reached the late stage of Core Formation, while the other two were in the middle stage. Considering that Core Formation cultivators have a lifespan of 800 years, for them to reach this realm before the age of 300 made them absolute geniuses. If they continued to cultivate steadily, each of them would have at least one opportunity to attempt breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. The Ji Clan deploying three such geniuses meant that their accidental demise would be a significant blow to the clan.

Besides them, there were also cultivators from the Zhuo and Zuoqiu Clans who seemed to have taken some of Cold Blood Peak's allocated spots, but no one seemed to object. Some descendants of ordinary inner elders also participated. Cold Blood Peak alone had forty-two participants. If Blood Pavilion disciples were included, nearly a thousand cultivators would likely enter the Blood Abyss for this trial.

A rough estimate left Wang Yu flabbergasted. The number of people was simply too high. He had previously thought the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect only had a dozen or so Nascent Soul cultivators, only to later learn there were forty or fifty. Now, considering he thought the Holy Sect only had several thousand Core Formation cultivators, producing nearly a thousand for a Blood Abyss trial that occurred once every two hundred years was truly a bit exaggerated. It should be known that the lowest status for participants was that of an inner elder, and cultivators of this strength could defeat three to four rogue cultivators of the same realm from outside. Their quality was astonishingly high. If one measured combat power by rogue cultivators, then beneath the Five Demonic Sects, all others were mere ants; even first-rate forces with one or two Nascent Soul cultivators were no exception. All were lambs to the slaughter! He now understood why external forces were replaced so quickly; the slightest offense to the Five Sects meant annihilation. Smaller forces, ironically, could thrive. It was truly peculiar.

A howling sound echoed. Just then, a cold wind roared in, and amidst the fierce storm, numerous shards of ice condensed into a humanoid figure, slowly emerging from within. Then a sword light tore through the clouds, and from the frost and snow walked a man clad in transparent ice armor. These two were the Cold Blood Peak Master and Demonic Lord Tianshuang, respectively. Representing the Master-Disciple Faction and the Family Faction, they had arrived, and the atmosphere in the field instantly grew lively as everyone exclaimed loudly, “Greetings, Peak Master! Greetings, Demonic Lord Tianshuang!”

Wang Yu also blended in among them, narrowing his eyes to secretly observe. Everyone said that Demonic Lord Tianshuang's renowned technique was the “Glacial Sword Canon,” but based on current observation, his physique and aura carried traces of the “Ten Directions Frozen Demonic Path,” especially the familiar feeling of his powerful strides. He was definitely a master of fist techniques! No wonder he was named Tianshuang; it seemed he had later switched to cultivating the Ten Directions Frozen Demonic Path. Wang Yu thought to himself.

Following this, the Cold Blood Peak Master, representing the orthodox faction, spoke first. “Dispense with the formalities. All of you are the young talents of my Cold Blood Peak, and you are all somewhat aware of the Blood Abyss trial. Its opening day is in seven days. This time, disciples from all nine peaks, along with elites from the Blood Pavilion, will participate. The duration remains thirty years, and what benefits you gain inside will entirely depend on yourselves. Next, Demonic Lord Tianshuang will announce the specific tasks.”

Demonic Lord Tianshuang appeared extremely young, looking only seventeen or eighteen and quite youthful. He must have consumed a youth-preserving pill early on. His eyebrows were slightly upturned, giving him an arrogant and highly aggressive demeanor. His voice, however, was deep and powerful, conveying a sense of solidity.

“Your task, within thirty years, is to collect thirty third-tier Blood Beast Cores. The higher the quality, the better. The reward will be an opportunity for a Bloodfall Baptism, personally granted by the Blood Demon Palace, using the Blood Beast Cores you collect.”

The so-called Bloodfall Baptism involved drawing the essence from the 9,000-foot Blood Pool Waterfall behind the Blood Demon Palace and combining it with Blood Beast Cores for a baptism. Its effect was similar to the Dragon Vein Baptism. These were all fortuitous opportunities that could enhance potential, increase lifespan, and strengthen bloodline aptitude. For some cultivators, it might not be a perfect fit. However, it could enhance physical potential and vitality, an undeniable benefit, as every cultivator understood the advantages of a strong physical body. They didn't cultivate both simultaneously simply because they lacked the talent, not because they didn't want to. Furthermore, thirty Blood Beast Cores were merely the minimum. They could kill more Blood Beasts, or even steal from fellow disciples; thirty years was enough time to accumulate even more blood crystals. At that time, the benefits from the Bloodfall Baptism would also be greater.

Wang Yu clenched his fists. His body refinement cultivation now lagged behind his fundamental cultivation realm, not because of his insufficient talent or lack of resources; body refinement was inherently like this—slow! It was normal. He had already experienced the Dragon Vein Baptism; another Bloodfall Baptism would likely further enhance his physical aptitude, perfectly compensating for his lagging progress.

After Demonic Lord Tianshuang finished describing the task, he continued. “The Bloodfall Baptism, strictly speaking, is a reward bestowed by the sect. I am personally offering a reward for a third-tier blood-path creature called the Bloodfiend Beast. Bring me their cores, and each one can be exchanged for a third-tier resource of the same grade. Whether rare or common, even if I don't possess it myself, I will trade for it elsewhere and exchange it with you.”

As his words fell, most people were tempted. They were not like Wang Yu, who possessed top-grade third-tier alchemy skills and could simply find someone to exchange with for advanced rare resources. Even if they had powerful family backing, they were not without needs; in fact, their needs were still substantial. While a clan had many resources, it also had many clansmen to cultivate. It was impossible to pour all resources into a single individual, not even if you were the young clan leader!

“Bloodfiend Beast cores…” Combining the characteristics of the magic treasure, the Tianshuang Blood Halberd, and the divine ability, Tianshuang Halberd Technique, Wang Yu could roughly guess what he intended to do. If it was truly as he thought, it might help him to completely perfect the Minor Asura Killing Fist!

After the assembly that day, seven days passed in a flash. On the day the Blood Abyss trial opened, cultivators from the nine peaks of the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect surged out like raindrops from various nooks and crannies; some spots were so inconspicuous, one wouldn't even know they were cave dwellings. Everyone converged towards the Blood Abyss outside the sect. During this process, Wang Yu saw acquaintances from other peaks: Su Yulong, Wei Shanze, Ding Ming, Wei Hao, Xie Xie'an… His acquaintances were basically all cultivators at the early Core Formation stage, posing little threat. Among them, Wei Hao seemed to have given up the benefits of the Moon Chasing State conflict, choosing the sect's Blood Abyss instead, unwilling to miss the opportunities here.