Chapter 342: Blood-Killing Stele, The Direct Transmission of Jiang and Yan

He once fell here. The power from his corpse dispersed, eventually forming the Deity Transformation Venerable of the Sea of Blood Demons, known by the name Venerable Yinshi! This place is also called Yinshi Hall, which is naturally closely related to him.

From this, it can be deduced that the dangers here are far beyond what Core Formation cultivators can withstand. However, the Spirit-Defying Blood Sect has governed the Blood Abyss Holy Land for a long time. Since Nascent Soul Grandmasters began exploring this place, they gradually harvested all its benefits, and more relevant information became available. Naturally, the danger level has steadily decreased. Now, only the Blood Infant Fruit, a Rank 4 opportunity that appears once every two hundred years, remains, reserved for the sect's cultivators. They are left to compete for this Nascent Soul opportunity themselves.

Of course. With so many Nascent Soul Grandmasters, the Spirit-Defying Blood Sect possesses more than one treasure land or secret realm that consistently produces Nascent Soul opportunities. Some are exclusive to the Saint Sect, some are contested with other sects, and others are privately owned by clans. For example, the Guifang Zhuo Clan has a secret realm called the Demon Cave, which consistently yields an evil artifact known as the Ghost Curse Demon Stone. This artifact greatly aids demonic cultivators in forming their Nascent Souls.

Another example is the Shengshan Yu Clan, whose ancestral land, "Holy Mountain," is itself a blessed land. The Holy Mountain Stone Liquid, which condenses periodically, also assists in breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. Categorized by rank, all these fall within the scope of high-grade Nascent Soul-forming spiritual materials. Adding the Xianyin Zuoqiu Clan to the list, the more Wang Yu learned about them, the more formidable they seemed. Years ago, when he first investigated, these three clans claimed to have only eight Nascent Soul cultivators combined. But what was the reality? Figures like Lord Huitian Talisman, a son-in-law to the Zhuo Clan, weren't even counted. Many more hidden powers lie beneath the surface.

Currently inside Yinshi Hall, Wang Yu quickly bypassed the initial empty section and finally entered the first main hall. Due to its rectangular layout, Yinshi Hall is divided into nine sections, from the first to the ninth hall, connected by two long corridors on the left and right. Each hall has a different function, offering distinct opportunities. This time, due to the Blood-Slaying Stele, the order of each hall has been randomized, and even the precise layout and positions of restrictions have changed. Wang Yu was not concerned about what secrets might be hidden within. He now needed information concerning Blood God Mind Control, and after much thought, concluded that only the Nine Peaks direct disciples might have such details. Disciples from Evil God Peak were not counted, and those from Blood Nether Peak hadn't arrived. So there were only seven. He was most familiar with Yan Ling, who he presumed had already entered the depths of Yinshi Hall, perhaps even sitting before the Blood-Slaying Stele by now.

He reached out and once again extracted his heart, burning it to ashes. Wang Yu felt increasingly like a monster; there was a time he wouldn't have dared to face such injuries. Even among demonic cultivators, known for their bizarre techniques, Core Formation cultivators capable of this were exceedingly rare. The Yin Blood Secret Power within his body could sustain his recovery at most three more times. Wang Yu temporarily switched his cultivation method to the Corpse Demon Secret Art, allowing it to provide corpse qi and yin qi to re-condense Yin Blood Pills. Otherwise, if Zhuo Shouyun caught up, he might lose control of his body, so he needed to prepare. He had performed a similar operation once before, so he was quite familiar with it.

The first hall within Yinshi Hall was inscribed with the name—Yin Gong Hall! Wang Yu immediately recalled the relevant information: this was likely where Venerable Yinshi once refined artifacts. The opportunities here primarily involved materials of blood, yin, and poison attributes. He just didn't know what changes had occurred. Upon entering, Wang Yu immediately slowed his pace. One had to be extremely cautious walking inside, and he took out his geomantic compass. Blank formation flags spun on the geomantic compass. If he accidentally triggered a restriction, he could use geomantic secret arts to mend it with the flags, a clever workaround.

Inside Yin Gong Hall, nine large furnaces were arranged in a Nine Palaces layout. The dome fresco depicted an ancient exotic beast called the Wind Civet. Though its name seemed ordinary, it was actually an embodiment of wind. It was inherently difficult to move and could only travel with the wind. Its appearance resembled a mutated calamus with a civet-like body. Ancient cultivators therefore regarded it as a celestial medicine; consuming it could dispel old qi, spontaneously extending one's lifespan by five hundred years. It was hunted to extinction. According to the intelligence, this should have been the mural of the Pill Cloud Hall. Yet, it now appeared in the Yin Gong Hall, used for artifact refinement. The Blood-Slaying Stele had indeed disrupted the layout, a truly peculiar method.

His spiritual sense swept through the large furnaces. Inside the furnaces, a batch of materials would form every two hundred years, of varying quality. It was said they were brought up from the depths of the Sea of Blood Demons after Yinshi Hall vanished. Upon inspection now, they were all empty. Clearly, those who entered first had taken them. Legend had it that in the earliest times, Nascent Soul Grandmasters had obtained Rank 5 materials from them, but as explorations increased, the quality declined. Now, only Rank 3 materials would appear.

Wang Yu walked from back to front along the Nine Palaces sequence, and looking at the artifact-refining furnaces, he had a sudden idea, wishing to pry them loose and take them. Then he thought better of it. If those who came before him hadn't touched them, there must be a reason. After all, which demonic cultivator wouldn't try to strip the place bare? He subconsciously glanced back and then an idea sparked. The astrological mechanisms on the geomantic compass activated. After passing through the Nine Palaces Earth Fire Formation, Wang Yu tossed out nine blank formation flags, inserting them into the tops of the furnaces. The mysteries of the Earth Mother Scripture circulated in his mind. Quietly, the Nine Palaces were reversed! The original normal order was gone. If Zhuo Shouyun and his group still followed the old intelligence, they would surely suffer a great loss. This was where geomancy masters truly excelled. Besides borrowing power from strange natural formations, they could also make use of the arrangements left by previous cultivators. Passing through the latter half of Yin Gong Hall, he encountered many ashes. Wang Yu glanced at them a few times before quickly leaving.

The second hall within Yinshi Hall was inscribed with the name—Empress Hall!

"Whoosh~" A middle-aged cultivator, breathing out flames, wiped sweat from his forehead and carefully used a flying sword to chip off some melted black ice, sending it to the rear. "Young Master Yun, it's almost cleared. Please come in!" Zhuo Shouyun, seated in a blood-red sedan formed by eight merging blood shadows, looked down impassively and said, "You go first." "Yes, yes, yes." Currently, more than twenty people followed him, all standing in the passage cut through the black ice, making it appear somewhat crowded. They were about half an hour behind Wang Yu. Being inside Yinshi Hall, they dared not exert too much force, so their efficiency was naturally much slower. At this point, they successfully entered the first hall.

When they saw the Nine Palaces furnaces, someone said, "Are there any formation masters among us?" However, no one responded, and that person's expression immediately turned somewhat grim. Realistically, those with capability and confidence would have entered Yinshi Hall immediately. Regardless of the changes brought by the Blood-Slaying Stele, they were fearless and eager to secure the benefits as quickly as possible, driven by a competitive spirit. Those who remained outside, apart from those deliberately sending others ahead to slowly gather information, were mostly cultivators who weren't skilled in formation arts or geomantic secret techniques, lacking that confidence!

"No matter," Zhuo Shouyun looked up at the Wind Civet fresco on the dome before saying, "I have the Zhuo Clan's intelligence on Yinshi Hall here. After you've reviewed it, pass through one by one to prevent any accidents." The Guifang Zhuo Clan's intelligence was naturally more detailed than what they possessed, and it was immediately circulated. Another half an incense stick of time was delayed. A cultivator said, "Let me, Li, go first then. Young Master Yun has made so many preparations, it surely won't be in vain." This person stepped into the Nine Palaces layout. After finding no changes, he waved to those behind him. Some followed, while others decided to wait and see. When they were halfway through, the nine furnaces suddenly stirred. Their bottom fire mouths violently opened, and a strange black-grey flame, carrying a peculiar stench, surged from the ground.

"Not good!" Zhuo Shouyun's expression changed. The blood-red sedan beneath him transformed into a blood cocoon, enveloping him completely. Several cultivators who were currently in the Nine Palaces Earth Fire Formation had just picked up speed but were directly burned to ashes by the bizarre flames. Even their storage rings were damaged, scattering magic treasures, miscellaneous items, and Core Formation pills across the ground. Items of poorer quality were also burned to ashes, while better ones were sucked into the furnaces, bobbing up and down as if being refined, carrying a certain allure. If Wang Yu had been there, he would have noticed that these ashes were identical to those he had seen earlier. However, what he had seen were just a few unlucky individuals. These people were purely trapped.

This change caused everyone's gaze to fall upon Zhuo Shouyun, intense looks of doubt fixed on his face. His expression remained unchanged as he said coldly, "I said, go through one by one. After the Blood-Slaying Stele appeared, the layout of Yinshi Hall was already disrupted. The first three steps were fine, but the fourth step had an issue. Let's re-evaluate the possibilities. Have a puppet or ghost servant try it. Are there any fellow cultivators from Five Yin Peak here?" His logic was meticulous, and Zhuo Shouyun had no motive to harm them. Although suspicious, the crowd did not immediately attack, barely maintaining their trust. "I'll do it. I have plenty of yin ghosts in my Myriad Soul Banner, enough for testing." "Very well, this fellow cultivator, please proceed."

After barely managing the situation, Zhuo Shouyun also fell into deep thought. He wondered if this was Wang Yu's doing or if it had been set up by the earlier group. If it was the latter, how had Wang Yu managed to pass through? He could sense through a secret art that Wang Yu was still alive. But if it was Wang Yu's doing, when did he become proficient in geomantic secret techniques? His intelligence network hadn't uncovered anything, which was quite frightening. His calculations were all based on target information; nine out of ten schemes wouldn't escape his grasp, but Wang Yu was an exception. "Once is a coincidence, twice or thrice is a certainty. After we pass through Yin Gong Hall, we'll confirm whose handiwork this truly is!" he thought to himself.

After a batch of yin ghosts perished, a safe route was finally found through the scrambled Nine Palaces positions, and no more accidents occurred. By the time they entered the second hall, his team had dwindled to nineteen people.

—Empress Hall! There were seventeen stone statues, all lifelike and posturing, with eight female statues and nine male statues. They represented the Eight Yin and Nine Yang, where the extreme of Yang numbers is nine, and the extreme of Yin numbers is eight. Yet the hall's name was "Empress," making it difficult to discern its purpose and methods. The opportunities here were called Yin Pearls and Yang Pearls. The reproductive organs of these stone statues would condense a pearl every two hundred years. These artificial Rank 3 spiritual objects could be used for alchemy or artifact refinement. They were very popular among Dual Cultivation Sect cultivators.

After Zhuo Shouyun and his team exited the Empress Hall, only thirteen remained; six had been permanently left behind in the hall. Someone couldn't hold back. "Zhuo Shouyun, you wouldn't intentionally give us false intelligence, wanting us all to die in Yinshi Hall so you could renege on the promised benefits, would you?" With these words, the already unstable trust immediately collapsed. They all began to accuse him. Those with hot tempers even unleashed their magic treasures, waiting to see what Zhuo Shouyun would say. He thought for a moment, then spoke. "Everyone, this is all Wang Yu's trick..."

"Wang Yu, Wang Yu! Don't blame everything on Wang Yu! This person's combat prowess is exceptional; not only are his divine abilities profound, but he also cultivates the path of body refinement. For someone so young to achieve such mastery is already extraordinary. Are you trying to say he's also proficient in geomantic secret techniques? Do you even believe that yourself?!" Zhuo Shouyun was instantly speechless.

"Now... hand over the promised rewards. Everyone has already accompanied you in a skirmish with Wang Yu at the entrance of Yinshi Hall; it's just that you failed to keep him. It's time to hand over what is due." The change in sentiment put Zhuo Shouyun in a dilemma. He said, "How about I lead the way next?"

The Sixth Hall—Blood-Slaying Hall!

Wang Yu stroked his chin, sighing regretfully as he looked at his completely depleted stock of formation flags. "This Earth Mother Scripture is truly useful. I should prepare more blank formation flags in the future. I wonder how Zhuo Shouyun is faring." After a brief internal grumble, Wang Yu shifted his focus. He murmured, "Blood-Slaying Hall... it's not listed in the intelligence. It seems this must be the inner hall where the Blood-Slaying Stele is located." This meant that Yan Ling and the others were most likely also in this hall.

After entering the grand hall, Wang Yu paused, slightly surprised, because the number of people in this inner hall was far greater than he had imagined. He had originally thought a few dozen people would be the maximum, but who would have guessed there were over three hundred! In front of a massive black-red stele, there were people everywhere. Sitting, standing, lying down, some hanging from beams, others clinging to pillars... Aside from the stele itself, this inner hall contained only people. It seemed the past intelligence was highly reliable, and incredibly detailed at that, otherwise the success rate couldn't be this high. If this was truly the case, he was fortunate to have caused trouble along the way, leaving plenty of problems for Zhuo Shouyun.

"Wang Yu!" His entrance attracted the attention of some people, and Yan Ling's call drew even more notice. Wang Yu smiled in response and wove through the crowd. "Your Highness Yan Ling, this is..." Beside her was a man with a cadaverous complexion who looked perpetually drained, though he was quite handsome, no less so than Wang Yu. However, his demeanor was excessively sinister, and a faint mix of corpse stench and fragrance emanated from him, which was rather unpleasant.

"Jiang Mingxin. It's better to meet a person than just hear about them, Fellow Daoist Wang Yu!"

"So it's this generation's direct disciple from Heavenly Corpse Peak. I've long admired you."

After exchanging greetings, Wang Yu didn't stare at Jiang Mingxin but instead pulled Yan Ling out of the Blood-Slaying Hall, preparing for a private conversation. As mutually supportive partners, Yan Ling naturally agreed, greeting a few acquaintances before temporarily leaving with Wang Yu. Outside the hall, Wang Yu deployed a sound-isolating barrier with his spiritual sense. Only then did he speak with ease. "Are you all gathered in this Blood-Slaying Hall because of that stele?"