Chapter 344: Blood-Shedding Heart Sword, Blood-Producing Fruit

At the moment of realization, Wang Yu actively engaged with this state of mind. He silently recited the Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra.

His inherently fierce and bloodthirsty demeanor softened, making him appear benevolent. Forgetting his identity, his power, and his past, he held a broom and slowly but steadily swept away the dust.

As the saying goes: To be lauded by the world without becoming complacent, to be denounced by the world without being disheartened, to discern the distinction between inner and outer, to comprehend the realms of honor and disgrace, and to accept one's ordinary self—this is the true self.

His heart's bewilderment, fear, confusion, and regret all vanished. It seemed like a search for self, an enlightenment of self… leading directly to the Empty Self!

The expanse of his mental lake rapidly expanded, his mental power surged, and Wang Yu gradually entered the second stage of the spiritual realm—the Kongwo Realm! However, while the initial phase felt like a gentle spring breeze, a path of subtle and grand righteousness, strange phenomena began to emerge within his mental lake as he delved deeper.

Blue smoke ascended, transforming into spiritual artifacts and stones. Pink smoke swirled, turning into alluring beauties. Black smoke billowed, forming gigantic gluttonous mouths. A streak of blood-red smoke materialized into a blood sword cleaving the air. He desired all seven emotions and six desires; joy, anger, love, thought, desire, and sorrow—he embraced them all!

Forget being unaffected by external things or personal misfortunes. Forget not being complacent with praise or dwelling on harsh words. He fully embraced commendation and retaliated against slander, enduring when he couldn't fight, and killing when he couldn't curse.

Being supreme is me, and treating everyone equally is also me. This is the true self, this is Wang Yu's Kongwo Realm! Buddhas are outdated; now is the era of the Chiyuan people.

With this profound self-realization, the eighth stage of the stele was silently broken, and rewards followed. Wang Yu oddly examined the information transmitted to his mind.

"Fourth-tier divine ability of the Slaughter Path—Blood-Slaughtering Heart Sword!"

"The mystery is solved… it's really you." One of the inheritances deliberately leaked by the Ancient Demon Killer. As for why it appeared in the Blood Abyss, in the Yinshi Hall, and even disrupted the original plans, that remained unknown.

It had little to do with Wang Yu himself. This divine ability was a relatively common sword technique, but the power it contained was absolutely extraordinary. In Wang Yu's current view, it was simply the best way to control the sea of murderous intent!

"Cultivate murderous intent, transform it into sword form.""Asura wields the sword, one strike to slay the heart!"

He could now attempt to cultivate this divine ability. After all, he had already entered the Kongwo Realm of the spiritual stages, and beyond that lay the third spiritual stage—the Immaculate Realm. Achieving it would certainly not be an overnight feat. Coupled with the assistance of the Asura Killing Heart, this divine ability was very suitable for him. All prerequisites were met; he could practice it as soon as he acquired it.

Meanwhile.

As Wang Yu passed the eighth stage of the stone stele, the dozens-of-meter-tall monolith suddenly burst forth with a red light. Anyone who had passed the first three stages and had made progress in their mental state almost all received an inheritance, be it a spell, secret art, or divine ability, of varying ranks. To their surprise, no one knew who had broken the eighth stage, yet it had bestowed a benefit upon everyone.

Yan Ling also frowned, feeling a secret art called 'Killing Intent Perception' suddenly appear in her mind. Subconsciously, she looked towards where Wang Yu was meditating. With that glance, she felt as if she saw a towering figure standing in a sea of blood, its face obscured, yet merely sensing it sent chills down her spine. It was like a sharp sword piercing her heart. An extreme sense of unease!

"Only the last stage remains. We must seize the opportunity; if the most precious Roshen Blood Fruit is taken…"

Jiang Mingxin turned her head and surveyed her surroundings. Zhou Lingjun, the direct disciple of Man Gui; Tong Du, the direct disciple of Wuyin; Lu Jue, the direct disciple of Gu Du; Yan Tianxing, the direct disciple of Xie Jian; Yin Jiuge, the direct disciple of Xiong Ming—plus himself and Yan Ling. They were almost all present. Although these direct disciples were uniformly at the third layer of Core Formation, their futures were promising, and their inherent foundations were incomparable to those of ordinary disciples. They were definitely his greatest rivals.

Once the Blood Abyss training concluded, they could at least reach the peak of the mid-Core Formation stage. After exiting, undergoing the Blood Pond baptism would cleanse them, removing impurities and resolving the side effects of the Myriad Spirits Blood Essence. They would then be able to step into the late Core Formation stage, with an eye towards the Nascent Soul stage! This was the complete advancement path for true disciples of the Rebel Spirit Blood Sect. Regardless of whether one could ultimately break through to the Nascent Soul stage, the sect would at least grant them one opportunity. He knew not how many disciples had followed this path and eventually became elder-level figures; he too intended to achieve this!

A wave of self-motivation surged within him. Jiang Mingxin subconsciously looked at Wang Yu; this person was too dazzling to ignore. He was tempted to trip him up, but seeing Yan Ling nearby, he decided against causing further complications. The Roshen Blood Fruit was a tangible item, regardless of who obtained it. When the Blood Slaughter Stele dispensed it, there would always be a clear indication, and at that point, it would likely lead to a major free-for-all.

The ninth stage of the Blood Slaughter Stele!

Wang Yu expected another mental illusionary test, but suddenly realized that his surroundings had become completely silent at some point, with a thin layer of water beneath his feet. It was so clear it perfectly reflected the entire sky.

"The Celestial Dome Realm?"

Wang Yu had heard of such trials in ancient texts. Legend had it that this was a creation left behind by an immortal who once descended upon this world to seal demons. There were two known instances of immortal legends in ancient times. The first was at the end of the Ancient Immortal Dynasty, when an immortal consumed the essence of a spirit vein to save this world from peril, ultimately perishing from a qi backlash. This Celestial Dome Realm was said to be left by the 'Mirror Immortal'. The second was during the ancient Blood Demon Rebellion. The situation was strikingly similar to the first: an immortal also consumed the essence of a fire-elemental spirit vein, severely wounded and sealed the Blood Demon, and then also perished from the backlash. Both incidents proved that the essence of a spirit vein truly should not be consumed. These essences were like spirit energy manifesting as beings, children of heaven and earth, natural Spirit Transformation venerable ones with unparalleled power, yet possessing innocent hearts, making them extremely susceptible to deception.

Focusing on the present. While in the legendary secret realm of the Celestial Dome, Wang Yu watched as his reflection, composed of countless droplets of water, formed an exact replica of himself. He instantly realized what he had to do. With a flick of his Yellow Spring Demonic Sword, a sword aura formed a sweeping gale. The mirrored Wang Yu also materialized an identical magic treasure, and a similar sword aura slash swept towards him. Yet, its power was slightly greater than Wang Yu's original self.

As such, Wang Yu, facing Yellow Spring Path techniques for the first time, knew the cunning nature of this path and chose not to meet it with his magic treasure. Instead, he pressed his palms together, and above his head, the turbid flow of the Yellow Spring materialized. A giant's hand emerged from it, smashing the sword aura slash while continuing to grasp at the mirror image.

"Boom—"

Water splashed everywhere as two Yellow Spring giant hands collided, vying for dominance. Upon sensing the power disparity, Wang Yu stomped his foot. He instantly closed in on the mirror image, launching a flying kick—Demonic Dragon's Roar!

Unexpectedly, the opponent acted first, though thankfully not using the same move. As it launched a punch, unleashing a Shadowy Demonic Dragon, its eyes lit up with a crescent moon mark. "Moon Illusion Eye Technique!" Wang Yu's mind trembled, and he found himself trapped in a Moon Illusion Realm. Combined with the outer Celestial Dome Realm, he was now caught in a double bind. His divine sense power erupted, tearing through it with extreme speed, but it was still a step too late. When he opened his eyes again, the Blood Sea Asura's fist had already touched his nose.

His heart vibrated. The Asura Killing Heart pounded wildly within his mental lake. His murderous intent materialized into a semi-circular shield. This momentary delay allowed Wang Yu to unleash the perfected Minor Asura Killing Fist and clash with it. Above, Yellow Spring giant hands collided; in the middle, shadowy demonic dragons entangled; and at the very bottom, blood seas merged, with two Asura half-forms trading blows, causing blood to surge. The battle reached such intensity from the very beginning. Wang Yu now understood what those who had faced him in the past were truly fighting against.

Feeling his mind continuously tremble, "So this is what it feels like… to have one's mind attacked." His thoughts spun. He decided against releasing his two corpses; if they also formed mirror images, he might not be able to stop them. If this were a normal battle, what decision would he make? Ambush! Ambush! Still ambush!

Never fight openly when a covert approach is possible. With this thought, Wang Yu's body flickered, and his Aurora Evasion technique transformed into hundreds of illusory figures that dispersed. The opponent responded identically.

However, his Glazed Ice Heart Pagoda instantly expanded, covering both Wang Yu's true body and the mirror image within its base. Not to be outdone, the opponent also conjured an identical Ice Heart Pagoda, attempting to protect itself. Cherishing life was also one of his traits.

"Buzz—"

Since his cultivation had broken through to the late Core Formation stage, the Glazed Ice Heart Pagoda had also advanced to the high-grade magic treasure level. For its third divine ability, Wang Yu chose Ice Soul Divine Light. At this moment, the Ice Soul Divine Light completely illuminated the inside of the pagoda. The mirror image visibly transformed into an ice sculpture. The moment it struggled free, Wang Yu punched, shattering the mirror image's upper body into fine dust. It seemed he had won, but he had not. Both the mirror image's inherent immortality and Wang Yu's recovery secret art meant that the opponent would not easily perish.

The Ice Heart Pagoda shrank, hovering and rotating above his head. "Twelve Phases of Guanghan!" The mirrored Wang Yu recovered at this moment, also deploying its strongest technique at this stage. Two frosty moons collided, and biting cold winds transformed the Celestial Dome Realm into an icy hell. Spiked ice shards erupted from the ground. Both were almost simultaneously heavily wounded. Yet, Wang Yu had a sudden idea: a black paper boat sailed out from between his brows, carrying dense heavenly demon malevolence, and instantly plunged into the mirror image's body. As if time and space had frozen, Wang Yu could feel it. At this moment, the mirror image... changed!

The demon seed he sent out showed signs of losing control, which startled Wang Yu. Could he have actually attracted a heavenly demon? Thinking about it, it wasn't impossible. Seizing this interval, Wang Yu's brow emitted a soul-destroying death ray, and his right hand blazed with Ice Chi Dan Flame. Aurora wrapped around his body. In an instant, he punched the mirror image into countless water droplets. The demon seed Wang Yu had sent out had actually grown a human face, though it didn't quite resemble him.

This rare opportunity, Wang Yu captured it using the Ice Coffin Sealing secret art, and then externally set a minor Mystifying Heaven Restriction with a geomancy compass. This was a sealing method recorded in the Earth Mother Sutra, frequently used by geomancers to disrupt feng shui formations. It was said to be able to even confuse the heavens. Of course, this was merely an exaggerated claim, but its practical utility was quite good. After properly dealing with this unexpected product of his whim, the mirrored Wang Yu resurrected once more. Its power wasn't weakened, but its reactions were slower, as if it had lost its combat instinct. Wang Yu perceived this change most clearly.

An idea instantly formed in his mind. Under calculation, he managed to trap it for several breaths using the Ice Chain Soul Binding Curse. Wang Yu then sent over a few more black paper boats using a soul secret art. Without exception, these spiritual paper boats all carried demon seeds. Once, twice! With each successful tactic, the mirror image's reaction ability plummeted. It seemed to lack intelligence, possessing immense power but no ability to control it. This meant that after each instance, the next ambush became even easier, and the intervals grew shorter. After three or four times, when Wang Yu held the fifth demon seed ice coffin, the mirrored Wang Yu was finally drained. Although it didn't dissipate, it became immobile, like a living corpse.

At this point, even if Wang Yu sent in more demon seeds, the mirror image showed no reaction.

"System crashed?" he mumbled to himself, his attention drawn to the five ice coffin seals. The Profound Origin Demonic Embryo within him stirred, possessing a primal attraction to him, much like consuming someone with Heavenly Spirit Root aptitude.

"So fragrant..." Licking his lips, Wang Yu involuntarily approached the ice coffins. Suddenly, a dark demonic face peered through the translucent ice, its eyes filled with resentment, anger, malice... and a hint of embarrassment? He really did lure them out. Legend had it that the Demon Realm contained countless extraterrestrial demons, formless and insubstantial, only observable when possessing a physical body. His sudden whim had actually yielded five infant heavenly demons. This was inextricably linked to the mirror image's unique body. Ordinary demon seeding would absolutely not attract heavenly demons themselves. It was precisely because the mirrored Wang Yu's replication was too perfect that it led them to mistakenly believe it was Wang Yu's true body. That imbalanced heavenly demon malevolence then attracted the descent of these extraterrestrial demons. After much thought, only this theory seemed most plausible. As for whether to consume them, Wang Yu decided to play it safe for now and research them first.

On another note, he was currently still within the mental illusion realm of the Blood Slaughter Stele, and he wasn't sure if he could take these items out. Considering the need for long-term preservation, Wang Yu applied another layer of Ice Coffin Seal, a triple sealing. Then, using the Ice Chi Dan Flame with the Pill Sealing method, he completely sealed them away. Holding them in his left hand, he approached the immobile mirror image. He feigned a sigh, saying, "I had intended to compete with you, but alas, wisdom forbade it. What a pity~"

He plunged his right hand into the mirror image's body, and black solid ice exploded within it like a porcupine. As the mirror image regenerated, Wang Yu repeated the act of erasing it several more times, as if destroying all traces. As its vitality was depleted, the mirror image finally met its end.

From the depths of the Celestial Dome Realm, a watery blue spiritual light entered Wang Yu's mind. Before he could see clearly, he was back in front of the Blood Slaughter Stele in the blink of an eye. A realization dawned upon him. This Celestial Dome Realm and the Blood Slaughter Stele were not the same thing. The latter had merely transported him into the former. The works of such great divine power users were indeed mysterious and unfathomable.

When he came to his senses, the five overlapping ice coffins in his left hand immediately attracted many people's attention. He ignored their gazes. Wang Yu put away these treasures. Fortunately, he had managed to bring them out, otherwise, it would have been a huge loss.

At this moment, the Blood Slaughter Stele once again burst forth with boundless crimson light, and a beam of light suddenly erupted, with an oval-shaped fruit bobbing within it.

"This is… the Roshen Blood Fruit? Someone passed the ninth stage!""—Who?"

Everyone became vigilant, their gazes sweeping over those around them. Magic treasures quietly emerged from their Qi Seas, seemingly ready to launch a fatal blow at any moment.

"Hahahahaha, the Roshen Blood Fruit? This treasure is destined to be mine."

Among the crowd, it wasn't one of the Nine Peaks' direct disciples who spoke. Instead, it was a member of the Blood Pavilion, speaking brazenly, who used a secret art and reached out to grasp into the crimson light pillar.

"Seeking death!"