Chapter 35: Again Bringing

Plans always change due to unexpected events and sudden inspirations. Wang Yu decided to switch a few more cultivation arts to better arm himself.

Ice Sword for offense, Ice Shield for defense.

He still needed movement-based or functional cultivation arts. The harder they were to master, the better, as with his training slot, there was almost no cultivation technique or divine ability he couldn't master.

Even if the conditions weren't met, the training slot would resolve it automatically.

The Corpse Devil Secret Art was the best proof of this.

That day, after completing his daily cultivation and refining the elixirs, Wang Yu prepared to head to the Ice and Snow Tower.

Even though it was night, he felt no apprehension. Things were different now; after mastering his cultivation technique, both his combat power and cultivation speed had significantly increased.

He considered himself among the top tier of mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.

He couldn't help but relax a bit.

As he left Evil God District and headed towards Cold Blood District, he took a narrow shortcut. The alley was pitch black, with no one in sight.

Wang Yu quickly entered it. The moment he stepped in, something happened.

Dense threads were laid out across the front of the alley.

It was an ambush trap. Looking back, two dark figures also appeared on the path he had just taken, completely blocking the way.

Wang Yu's eyes narrowed. He sighed inwardly, realizing he had been careless.

This was what happened when things went too smoothly. He needed to be more vigilant to avoid greater setbacks in the future.

"Who are you?"

As he asked, two more people appeared behind the thread trap. In total, there were four individuals: two at Qi Refinement Layer 4, and two at Qi Refinement Layer 6.

A bit tricky, but within an acceptable range.

"Don't move, put your hands up, or don't blame us for being rough."

There was no killing intent.

So... it was just a robbery?

Wang Yu raised one hand above his head. The four instantly paused, and one sternly shouted, "I said, put your hands up! What are you doing with the other hand?!"

Wang Yu's eyes darkened. What kind of hellish joke was this?

"Fellow cultivator, look closely, I only have one hand."

"Oh~"

"I hadn't noticed that."

This playful tone made Wang Yu realize they knew him and were deliberately taunting him.

He couldn't tolerate it for a second!

The perfected Ice Sword Art had long since transcended the restrictions of spell incantations. It could be cast with a mere thought, without any delay; if anything, the movement of spiritual energy within his meridians constituted his preparation time.

"Go!"

In an instant, ten ice swords shot out simultaneously, aimed straight ahead. The seemingly effective threads snapped cleanly under the barrage of ice swords.

Of the two blocking the path ahead, the Qi Refinement Layer 4 cultivator was impaled through both shoulders and pinned to the ground. The other, a Qi Refinement Layer 6 cultivator, reacted.

He dodged the attack with nimble footwork. A mocking expression appeared on his face as he prepared to scoff, but then he heard...

Three consecutive swords executed a surprise counter-attack, piercing his head and both sides of his chest. He died under the Ice Sword Art before he could utter a single word.

Perfected cultivation arts had endless marvelous uses, catching opponents off guard.

Moreover, they seized the initiative. Without perfected arts of the same caliber, the opponents could only dodge and were unable to retaliate.

With the path ahead now clear, the two behind him paled in shock, quickly stopping to cast their spells.

"Evil Spirit Art, go!"

A ghost-controlling art? Wang Yu's heart stirred. Seeing the roaring, black smoky ghost-skull flying towards him, he raised his hand forward.

A prismatic ice shield blocked it. He stomped his right foot on the ground, like a gecko scaling a wall, and in a few steps, he leaped onto the rooftop.

"Damn it, he's escaping, pursue!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than dense ice swords came flying towards them. The Qi Refinement Layer 4 cultivator, who hadn't even made a move the entire time, was riddled with swords like a sieve—a truly miserable sight.

Three out of the four were gone. Wang Yu swooped down like a soaring Roc.

The remaining person gritted his teeth and spat out a mouthful of vital blood. Another ghost-skull shot out from his body, striking with eerie blood-red threads.

Wang Yu brought his right hand back to his front and once again cast the Ice Shield Art using the Guardian Seal. This time, it was slightly different: the originally massive prismatic ice shield split into ten knife-like pieces, completely encircling the blood-threaded ghost-skull.

With that, he flew forward and delivered an upward kick!

As if with innate divine strength, he shattered half of the man's teeth. The Cold Blood Art had a slight body-tempering effect, and while far inferior to body cultivators who specialized in physical training, it was far superior to these emaciated blood-and-ghost feeders.

With a thought, in the interval before the first ghost-skull could return to defend, an ice sword directly decapitated the man!

With their master dead, the two ghost entities, whose lives were linked to his, also perished. Wang Yu frowned as he surveyed the mess on the ground.

"Disciples of Five-Yin Peak..."

He couldn't recall when he had offended them; they were likely hired thugs.

Zhao Shang? Impossible. Their cooperation was still in its honeymoon phase.

He turned his gaze to the one pinned to the ground by an ice sword. A slight smile appeared on Wang Yu's lips.

Approximately fifteen minutes later.

The narrow alley returned to its usual appearance, with no traces left behind.

After a somewhat amateur interrogation, Wang Yu obtained the information he wanted. These disciples were originally hired for illicit work, so it was impossible to expect them to keep quiet.

Therefore, a slight scare, without even laying a hand on them, was enough for them to reveal everything. The man didn't know the reason for the attack, but he only gave Wang Yu a name.

"—Xu Jiaojiao."

They had been staking him out for over half a month and only managed to ambush Wang Yu today.

If he remembered correctly, Xu Jiaojiao was Deacon Xu's daughter and the young lady of Xu's Alchemy Shop. The only possible reason for animosity between them would be this matter.

However, it shouldn't have escalated to this extent.

"Could it be that something serious happened to Deacon Xu?"

Wang Yu pondered this and continued on his way to the Ice and Snow Tower.

Thud~

Zhao Shang's mouth twitched as he looked at the four fresh corpses on the table. He remained silent for a moment before quoting a price.

"Corpses from Five-Yin Peak are worth less, only one hundred spirit stones."

"Only a hundred for four? That's pathetic!"

Wang Yu then tossed out four sorted storage bags. He had already taken most of the spirit stones and spirit sands; the remaining items were of little value, so he sold them all to Zhao Shang at a low price. His total earnings were five hundred spirit stones.

"Not bad."

"You came this late just for this?"

Wang Yu shook his head.

"True Disciple Su left quite a few spell inheritances at the Ice and Snow Tower, didn't he? Let me have a look."

Zhao Shang, resigned, pulled out a jade slip and said,

"If you weren't a member of the Ice and Snow Tower, you wouldn't be able to see these."

"Of course I am." After examining them with his divine sense, Wang Yu quickly selected two targets: "Just these two."

Zhao Shang glanced at them, then held out his hand.

"Thirteen hundred."

Wang Yu's eyes widened.

"That expensive?"

"Do you think high-grade spells are cheap? It's already good enough that you can exchange spirit stones for them."

Wang Yu fell silent for a moment. "Give me the biggest discount."

"One thousand."

"Eight hundred."

"Seriously? Do you think this is a market where you can haggle?"

Seeing Wang Yu's gaze, and realizing he couldn't extort him on this, Zhao Shang turned around and quietly went to retrieve the spell inheritance jade slips.

"See you, friend."

Wang Yu bid farewell nonchalantly.