Chapter 348: Blood Killing One-Origin Gourd, Ten Years in an Instant

"I didn't! Everything I said is true!"

"It seems you won't relent until you face the music. Brother Wei, let's proceed."

Regardless of whether he was telling the truth or lying, Wang Yu could only assume he was. The Wei clan did not possess a Nascent Soul late-stage grand cultivator, and if Wei Hao were to infer anything from this, it would only harm him.

It was better to simply deny Jiang Mingxin's words. Such a wretch deserved to die, even if unjustly. There was no pity to be wasted on him anyway.

Wei Hao, who had long been prepared to exact revenge personally and already wished to kill him, saw that Wang Yu had no more questions and naturally did not hesitate to strike mercilessly.

Half an hour later, on a rocky island far from the scene, Wei Hao cupped his hands towards Wang Yu and said, "Thank you, Brother Wang, for your assistance. I, Wei, will remember this favor."

Wang Yu waved his hand dismissively. "There's no need. That Jiang fellow repeatedly caused me trouble. Killing him was simply following my own will."

"That may be true... but it's a separate matter!"

Wei Hao thought for a moment, then pulled out a red-skinned gourd from his storage ring. A blood-red pattern was etched onto it, inscribed with ancient demonic script, 'Blood Talisman Characters'. Handing the treasure to Wang Yu, Wei Hao explained, "This gourd is called the 'Blood Fiend One-Yuan Gourd.' Families like the Three Great Clans, the Wei clan, and the Jiang clan, who possess Nascent Soul ancestors, usually prepare one for their disciples before they enter the Blood Abyss."

"Oh?" Wang Yu's expression was peculiar. He had never heard Zhuo Shouqing mention this item. Reflecting on it, it made sense; the other party wasn't even willing to prepare a life-saving item like the Blood Abyss Sacred Talisman for him. It was Zuoqiu Ming who had guessed this would happen and slipped it into his hands beforehand. Yu Xing hadn't even shown up.

This showed the nature of his relationship with the Three Rebel Spirit Young Masters. Strictly speaking, Zuoqiu Ming was his only true friend. Even the Demonic Embryo Secret Incantation had been obtained by Zuoqiu Ming, using his direct descendant status in the Zuoqiu clan, to exchange for it on Wang Yu's behalf. If it weren't for the three young masters viewing themselves as a single entity and being bound by a pact back then, he would actually have had a greater liking for Zuoqiu Ming.

The Yu clan had offered very little help during his growth, mostly providing him with background status and a bonus that was merely icing on the cake. Ordinary resources were handled by the Zhuo clan, but in critical moments, Old Ming proved reliable, helping him solve many crucial issues. Zhuo Shouqing, on the other hand, had repeatedly disappointed him. When Zhuo Shouyun was let go in the Blood Kill Hall, it's not to say Wang Yu didn't have his own considerations. After repeated disappointments, he naturally became disheartened, concluding that this person was not worth cultivating a deep friendship with. Coupled with the second Styx Pact signed during this Blood Abyss trial, to be honest, his desire to win the "Double Zhuo" contention had greatly faded. He was only hanging on because of the allure that Fu Xiao brought him.

At this moment, listening to Wei Hao explain the function of the Blood Fiend One-Yuan Gourd, the chill in his heart deepened. This treasure was specifically designed for the Blood Abyss. Simply put, it could purify harmful substances like blood poison and blood fiend from the Blood Essence of Ten Thousand Spirits and Blood Beast Crystal Cores. The refined essence it produced was no less potent than the small blood pills Wang Yu refined using alchemy. For those who wished to use the Blood Abyss's opportunities to advance their cultivation, this was equivalent to the most supreme auxiliary magical treasure.

"Oh, by the way, the deeper you go into the Blood Fiend Sea, the denser the blood fiend energy becomes. Brother Wang, you must know that, right?"

"I know a little."

"The most powerful function of the Blood Fiend One-Yuan Gourd is its ability to absorb endless blood fiend energy and eventually condense it into Blood Fiend Crystals. This treasure is extremely beneficial for body cultivation. This gourd is mine, and Jiang Mingxin's storage ring should have another one. I'll give both of these gourd magical treasures to Brother Wang."

"This—" Wang Yu frowned. Since Wei Hao was willing to tell him about this, there was no reason for him to hoard it. "There's no need. I'll just take one."

Wei Hao considered for only a moment upon hearing this, then handed his own Blood Fiend One-Yuan Gourd to Wang Yu, while taking Jiang Mingxin's. His meaning was obvious: he would bear all the consequences of killing this person, inherit Jiang Mingxin's accumulated possessions, and that corpse puppet could become his second trump card. The strength of the Heavenly Corpse Jiang clan was no less than that of the Wei clan. Both were first-rate clans under the Three Great Saint Sect Clans.

"Our business here is done. I'll take my leave for now."

"Alright, then we'll meet again when we leave."

"Certainly."

Bidding farewell to Wei Hao, Wang Yu rubbed the forty-centimeter red-skinned gourd in his hand and flew towards Cape Cliff Cave. Since he had unexpectedly obtained this treasure, his subsequent plans could be adjusted accordingly. Enhancing his cultivation remained the primary goal.

Given his peak third-tier body refinement level, no matter how good the Blood Fiend Crystals were, they could only serve to temper and solidify his foundation. Due to breaking through too quickly, he needed a relatively long time to stabilize. He felt that before leaving the Blood Abyss, the possibility of another breakthrough in body refinement was slim. The lack of corresponding fourth-tier breakthrough spirit items was one reason. Furthermore, the difficulty of breaking through to the fourth-tier body refinement realm far surpassed that of spiritual consciousness. Moreover, the difficulty was comparable to a normal Nascent Soul formation. After all, in terms of spiritual consciousness, his fundamental realm breakthrough had led to spiritual consciousness being the second most improved aspect, as both belonged to the same path. Body refinement, however, was a separate path, and naturally, its difficulty was higher.

Additionally, whether it was body refinement or Qi cultivation, breaking through a major realm would increase lifespan, and the life essence would undergo a leap and evolution. A breakthrough to the fourth-tier spiritual consciousness, however, did not bring such a profound transformation; his lifespan remained eight hundred years. This clearly illustrated the difference!

"Solidifying the foundation of body refinement, maintaining progress in spiritual consciousness, significantly increasing the upper limit of magical power, advancing various divine abilities, and refining the Yellow Springs Earth Grievance Puppet..." Counting on his fingers, Wang Yu listed five goals. These would occupy all of his time.

Several days later, he successfully returned to his temporary dwelling at Cape Cliff Cave. No incidents occurred during the half-month he was away. The Three-Tailed Snow Fox, seeing him return, immediately yelped and pounced on him, loving to rub against his cheek.

"Come, let's go hunt Blood Sea Demons and, while we're at it, practice our combat skills." The collection of Blood Essence of Ten Thousand Spirits and Blood Beast Crystal Cores could not stop. He could purify the former himself, and for the latter, the sect would handle it during the Blood Pool Baptism. Thus, he threw the Blood Fiend One-Yuan Gourd into the depths of the Blood Fiend Sea. It was specifically used to condense Blood Fiend Crystals. Once it was full, that would mark one cycle, and Wang Yu would return to absorb the accumulated gains. When the Blood Fiend Crystals were exhausted, he would throw the gourd back into the depths of the Blood Fiend Sea, repeating the cycle endlessly. Given the concentration of fiendish energy in the Blood Fiend Sea, there was no need to worry about it being depleted. This unique cultivation method was something only Wang Yu could employ, and only he was suited for it.

Comprehending cultivation methods or practicing divine abilities? For now, these were left to the "placement slots" to handle. All his time was dedicated to cultivation. He also included the Wind-Thunder Spirit Mark Burst Secret Technique in his goals. This secret technique was highly practical. His thunder patterns were already complete, needing only the expansion of his wind patterns. With focused dedication, his progress was considerable. As for hunting demons, Wei Hao's newly explored maps from recent years made it relatively easy to find places where demons gathered.

The Blood Fiend One-Yuan Gourd took about a year to fill with Blood Fiend Crystals, and he also needed a year to digest these gains. Thus, five cycles passed in the blink of an eye, a decade gone in an instant!

Early February of Wang Yu's 24th year as an elder. Ten years of cultivation had left no trace of time on his face; he remained as youthful as before, though his demeanor had changed slightly. This was likely due to absorbing too many Blood Fiend Crystals. Although his body refinement cultivation had not advanced, just like when he was stuck at the peak of the second tier, his foundation had been solidified and deepened, and his realm had become completely stable. His physical strength had increased by about ten percent overall. One shouldn't underestimate this increase. It was achieved by exhausting all his remaining body refinement resources, and his original base was already very strong. An additional ten percent increase on that foundation was definitely a massive improvement.

On another note, there were gains in his cultivation realm. The third supreme-grade Guanghan Pill had been completely refined, increasing his magical power by 150 strands. After this, he had no more cultivation spirit pills to consume; a clever housewife cannot cook without rice. No matter how powerful his alchemy, it was useless without spiritual herbs. Furthermore, factoring in the small blood pills refined from the Blood Essence of Ten Thousand Spirits, each capable of increasing his magical power by hundreds of strands, his cultivation had skyrocketed over the past decade! His magical power increased by 1020 strands. He was now at the Core Formation seventh layer, with 1620 strands of magical power—more than halfway complete!

Normally, even with the acceleration from two "placement slots," it would have taken him over 21 years of arduous cultivation to accumulate this much magical power. But with the help of the Blood Essence of Ten Thousand Spirits, the time was cut in half. It was no wonder then that those who had stayed in the Blood Abyss Sacred Land for two hundred years could cultivate to the peak of Core Formation; opportunities were abundant here, and cultivation was indeed fast. The difficulty of cultivation in the late Core Formation stage, compared to the early and middle stages, primarily stemmed from the efficiency of spiritual energy absorption; refining and converting it into magical power was, comparatively, a quicker step.

"The accumulation of quantitative change is indeed difficult. I heard that after the Nascent Soul stage, it involves requirements for comprehension, and cultivation speed will slow down even further." Despite the arduous accumulation of magical power, the combat strength did not widen significantly. The power of divine abilities and magical treasures was the key factor determining a Core Formation cultivator's strength. It was time for Wang Yu to consider allocating more "placement slots" to cultivation methods.

Calculating his age, he should be 118 this year. Having entered the cultivation world for over 102 years, this achievement was definitely monstrous. He would certainly enter the Nascent Soul realm before reaching two hundred years old.

"There are still 14 years until the end of the Blood Abyss trial." If he continued cultivating at this pace, he would at most break through to the eighth layer of Core Formation before leaving the Blood Abyss, which would greatly alleviate the problem of insufficient magical power. However, it wouldn't fundamentally give him decisive power.

Therefore, "It's time to change locations for cultivation." Half the reason he stayed in the Blood Fiend Sea was for the Blood Fiend Crystals. Now that his body had been perfectly tempered, there was no other way to improve it besides continued refinement. He would just keep grinding; the longer he ground, the thinner the fourth-tier barrier would become. If he continued for several decades, even without corresponding breakthrough spirit items, he could attempt to advance on his own. This could be continued anywhere.

Wang Yu spread out the map of the Blood Abyss Sacred Land, his gaze searching over it for a moment, finally settling on his target—the Blood Prison Icefield! Savage Ghost Peak had the Shattered Rock Archipelago, suitable for its disciples. Naturally, there was also the Blood Prison Icefield, a cultivation treasure land suitable for cultivators of Cold Blood Peak. This place was north of the Blood Abyss and was about half the size of the Blood Fiend Sea. It was primarily home to blood beasts and demons with dual ice and blood attributes. Over the years, Cold Blood Peak cultivators had always cultivated here. After the disappearance of the Blood Infant Fruit this time, ambitious disciples were almost all searching for clues everywhere. This meant there was still a decisive battle to be fought. Wang Yu had no intention of participating, so he would avoid the central Blood Fiend Sea region and go to the Blood Prison Icefield for secluded cultivation.

He practiced two cultivation secret techniques. One was the "Cold Drawing Art," and the other was the "Heavenly Frost Secret Technique." Both were cultivation secret techniques capable of absorbing the cold energy between heaven and earth to improve the quality of magical power and even upgrade the power of divine abilities. Previously, he had absorbed it from the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Bed. Over time, the effect of this treasure had significantly weakened.

Furthermore, the Three-Tailed Snow Fox had also reached its breakthrough critical point, having been tempered for several years. It was a good time to go to the Blood Prison Icefield to help it find an ice-attribute Core Formation spirit item to use. If its fortune wasn't enough, refining the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Bed could also help it form its core to some extent. The problem of the lightning tribulation would have to be handled by the fox itself. Wang Yu's third-tier tribulation-passing set was left in Guiling City to earn spirit stones for him, and it should have recovered its cost by now.

Having made up his mind, Wang Yu was about to pack up Cape Cliff Cave. However, he suddenly caught sight of the Yellow Springs Demonic Bone in the corner. After years of refinement, Wang Yu had used a large amount of materials, as well as Blood Fiend Crystals and Blood Beast Crystal Cores obtained locally, to refine it. This puppet had been initially refined, but it was still some way from being fully completed and emerging. In the "placement slots," there was no longer any mention of puppet techniques. Slots 5, 6, and 7 were all dedicated to the Demonic Embryo Profound Origin Secret Incantation, which he intended to study regarding the five sealed Heavenly Demon bodies. Of course, part of the reason was also that the closer it got to his departure, the more he wanted to improve this secret technique to gain more advantages in internal conflicts. As for the "Earth Grievance Puppet Refining Secret Technique"—it was already complete!

Earth puppets were considered the pinnacle of current puppet arts, though they had long been in decline, existing more as assistants for artifact refiners, with few puppet techniques applied in combat. When they did occasionally appear, they were mostly scout-type puppets.

"Using the Yellow Springs Demonic Bone as a foundation, it shouldn't be difficult for the Earth Grievance Puppet's rank to reach the early fourth tier. Let's finish refining it completely before leaving."

And so, under the resentful gaze of Snow Jade, Wang Yu stayed, dedicating all his time to puppet refinement. The Earth Grievance Puppet was a type of magical puppet. It naturally mastered more techniques of the Yellow Springs Dao. Those mysteries were hidden within the demonic bone, just as when Wang Yu cultivated the Yellow Springs Grand Hand Seal, the true meaning of the divine ability condensed within the bones of his hands. And being cleansed by the Yellow Springs aura day and night, its essence was very close to the nature of this skeleton, resembling even more the treasure bone techniques of demonic beast races. The Yellow Springs Grand Hand Seal divine ability was only a few years away from completion, progressing similarly to the Demonic Dragon Fist. At that time, two more "placement slots" would be freed up.

As a demonic bone left by a grand master of the Yellow Springs Dao, if Wang Yu wished to secretly learn from it, the difficulty would still be immense, with a negligible chance of mastering it in the short term. However, if the Yellow Springs Earth Grievance Puppet was successfully refined, it could personally demonstrate the various Yellow Springs divine abilities and secret techniques ingrained in its bones, which was a different concept entirely. Once he mastered them, his disguise as a Yellow Springs Dao cultivator would be virtually flawless. But these were matters for later.

He summoned the Ice Dragon Pill Flame, enveloping the Yellow Springs Demonic Bone, and continuously cast puppet refining seals, then took out more puppet spirit materials, integrating them one by one. Wang Yu completely entered a state of secluded cultivation. As time passed, another half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, at the calm edge of the Blood Fiend Sea, a turbid yellow pillar of light suddenly shot into the sky, disturbing the thick, blood-red clouds considerably. In the forbidden palace deep within, a gaze that had been fixed elsewhere swiftly turned towards Wang Yu's secluded cultivation spot, and a sigh of emotion escaped.

"—What a fortunate opportunity!"