Chapter 351: Puppet War Scorpion King, Yan Ling Arrives

The output of Ten Thousand Spirit Blood Essence from the Blood Prison Ice Plains was more suitable for cultivators like him, who practiced ice-attribute techniques. His cultivation speed was faster here than when he was in seclusion in the Blood Fiend Sea. His efficiency had increased by about two and a half times. In just five short years, he achieved 80% of the progress he would have made in ten years there.

His maximum magic power surged by 842 strands, reaching a total of 2462 strands. He was now only 538 strands away from the peak of Core Formation Layer Seven. If he could maintain this pace, he would break through to Core Formation Layer Eight in at most four years.

While his cultivation speed was maximized, he had to periodically emerge from seclusion to search for gathering points of demon folk. Over time, he had nearly cleared out all such points in the vicinity.

In addition to harvesting cultivation resources, Blood Beast Cores were also a crucial resource. Having experienced the Dragon Vein Baptism, he knew how rare opportunities like baptisms, which could enhance potential, truly were. He currently possessed over ten thousand Blood Beast Cores. However, only about three hundred of them were Tier 3 Blood Beast Cores, and merely a few had reached the peak of Tier 3, equivalent to the Beast Kings of Blood Beast Valley, which was barely adequate.

With the Netherworld Earth Resentment Puppet now in his possession, Wang Yu couldn't help but consider Tier 4 Blood Beasts. Blood Beasts were not demons; they were monsters born from the power of Blood Fiends. They possessed no intelligence whatsoever. From another perspective, just as human cultivators could easily overpower demonic beasts of the same tier during the Tier 1 and 2 stages, Tier 4 Blood Beasts were the weakest among Nascent Soul cultivators of the same rank. They were even less formidable than rogue cultivators, making them the absolute best targets for both opportunity and battle prowess verification!

Unfortunately, even within the Blood Abyss Sacred Land, Tier 4 Blood Beasts were extremely rare, few in number, and difficult to find.

On this day, as he descended from the peak of Scarlet Snow Mountain, he noted that his magic power quality had improved by about 60% after this period of cultivation. The black solid ice he manifested naturally grew in power. Ordinary Core Formation spells could barely destroy it. Even more troublesome was the chilling aura; a slight carelessness could lead to complete freezing. This effectively elevated the quality of his "ice," and the soul-freezing wind's effect on him was diminishing.

However, its impact was still quite noticeable. He estimated that once his cultivation reached about 1.2 times its current level, the wind would lose all effect, requiring him to seek colder places to train. At that point, he might head to the Endless Ice Plains, but only after the Dual Zhuo conflict concluded.

As he descended the mountain, he encountered a few acquaintances chatting by a scenic platform on the cliff. It was Song Yun and a few ordinary elders who were flattering him. The highest cultivated among them was only at Core Formation Layer Six.

"Elder Wang!"

Presumably recognizing his aura, Song Yun called out from a distance. This made the aurora, which was Wang Yu's transformed body, change direction mid-flight and descend directly into the viewing platform.

As soon as he appeared, the other ordinary elders promptly stood up and bowed respectfully, saying, "Elder Wang Yu!" It seemed they had heard of his fearsome reputation in the Blood Fiend Sea. While a great reputation could have some drawbacks, it brought more advantages, making everything more convenient. In simple terms, more "good people" appeared around him. That was just the way of the world.

"No need for formalities."

He made a gesture to excuse them from bowing, then looked at Song Yun. The other party calling out to him suddenly likely wasn't just to alleviate an awkward situation.

"It's like this," Song Yun began, as expected.

"My fellow cultivators on this peak have been saying that an extra cultivator has been at the top of Scarlet Snow Mountain these past few years, and I just knew it had to be Elder Wang."

"Speak plainly," Wang Yu prompted.

"Alright." Song Yun glanced at the others beside him, signaling them to speak.

"It's like this, Elder Wang Yu. News recently came from the Blood Fiend Sea that someone discovered traces of the Blood Infant Fruit. We plan to gather a group of fellow cultivators from this peak..."

"Of course, it would be even better if you joined us. We would all follow your command."

Wang Yu frowned upon hearing this, then looked at Song Yun and said, "Why covet such an unverified opportunity when your strength is insufficient? Even if you managed to seize it, could you hold onto it securely?" The principle was sound, and it sounded reasonable when explained. However, actually achieving it was harder than ascending to the heavens.

Song Yun offered an awkward smile. "Aren't we discussing it now? I heard that Her Highness Yan Ling will be coming to Scarlet Snow Mountain for a period of seclusion. With her and her people, it might not be impossible to contend for it."

Based on their previous interactions, Song Yun didn't seem like someone who would act against his better judgment. So, was it for his grandfather? The rumor that Elder Yushu would certainly reach the Nascent Soul stage had been circulating for years, though Wang Yu didn't know the basis for such confidence. If Song Yun intended to seize the Blood Infant Fruit for his grandfather, his idea was understandable. However, he would most likely die in the Blood Fiend Sea.

After offering a few words of advice, having done his duty, Wang Yu decided not to linger. His own time was quite pressing, and there was no need to waste it on meaningless matters. According to his previous deductions, the Blood Infant Fruit was undoubtedly in Xie Xie'an's possession. Its exposure at this crucial juncture likely meant someone wanted to test his strength. This was how it was for the weak: they were manipulated without even realizing it. Perhaps Zhuo Shouyun's mental state would have collapsed even further in the Blood Killing Hall, as he was intelligent and found it harder to accept the fact of being forcefully controlled. It was like being forced to do something extremely humiliating in public. It would be the death of him!

"Wait..."

Just as Wang Yu was about to leave, he was called back. Song Yun gave a sincere smile and handed Wang Yu a jade slip containing information.

"This contains intelligence on the Blood Prison Ice Plains that my clan elder has collected over many years. While its understanding of the Blood Abyss may not compare to families like the Zhuo clan, it is absolutely the most detailed information on this ice plain!"

After the last life-saving favor, Song Yun hadn't sought a deeper relationship. This time, however, he proactively approached with an overture of goodwill, clearly aiming for Wang Yu's help at a crucial moment. But this level of goodwill was far from enough. After taking it, Wang Yu said nothing further and simply vanished.

The few people beside Song Yun said, somewhat indignantly, "He didn't even say thank you. It seems this Wang Yu is as arrogant and rude as the rumors claim."

"Blasphemy! Do not speak ill of Elder Wang Yu!"

"Well..."

Meanwhile, after reviewing the so-called detailed intelligence, it turned out to be quite useful to Wang Yu. The Blood Prison Ice Plains map provided by Song Yun marked numerous dangerous areas. Some were labeled with "demon folk," others with "blood beasts." Extremely deadly locations were even blacked out, with strict warnings against exploration. Wang Yu, however, was precisely looking for risks that Core Formation cultivators could not withstand.

"Surely, places like these should have Tier 4 Blood Beasts."

Several days later, in a fissure canyon in the northern Blood Prison Ice Plains—a canyon less than a hundred meters wide but hundreds of miles long—numerous ice-blue giant scorpions with blood-red pincers were crawling on the steep mountain walls. From time to time, they would dig out a type of blood-rock from the soil and squeeze it dry with their pincers, a blood-like liquid flowing out. They were constantly foraging.

"Blood Scorpions possess strong venom and defense. Their tail stinger can break through magic power defenses, and in groups, even ordinary peak Core Formation cultivators would perish here." Within this long, narrow fissure, there were at least ten thousand Blood Scorpions, and that was just in the areas he observed; there were undoubtedly more he hadn't seen. No wonder it was marked as a blacked-out, fatal location.

Wang Yu touched the insect jar that resembled a small teacup. Inside was the Immaculate Jade Toad he had raised for several years, a strange insect capable of asexual reproduction. He had waited all these years, and the Immaculate Jade Toad showed no signs of laying eggs, but he hadn't expected it to be useful now.

"Little one, if you don't start being useful soon, your life will come to an end."

The Immaculate Jade Toad couldn't understand Wang Yu's words. Its intelligence was akin to that of a common insect; its favorite pastime was staring blankly. Wang Yu only needed to feed it some poison for it to survive, making it very easy to care for.

The Snow Jade in his arms couldn't help but stir. It appeared to be sleeping but was actually eavesdropping, which was quite amusing.

"Let's go."

Summoning the Glazed Ice Heart Pagoda to protect himself, Wang Yu transformed into a streak of aurora, sweeping swiftly through the fissure, the Netherworld Demonic Sword held in his right hand.

Wherever he passed, Blood Scorpions rained down like drops of water. Within a few breaths, a thin layer of corpses piled up at the bottom. More Blood Scorpions emerged from dark corners, chasing Wang Yu from a distance and emitting sharp hisses. With that cry, the entire Blood Scorpion Fissure erupted into chaos. An ice-blue mist rapidly spread, filling the entire fissure, making escape impossible.

Placing the Immaculate Jade Toad on his shoulder, the small creature opened its mouth wide and swallowed all the poisonous mist within ten zhang of Wang Yu, its white jade-like body beginning to turn blue. According to the Immaculate Jade Toad's characteristics, a color change indicated some indigestion, showing that the Blood Scorpions' venom was far more potent than ordinary Tier 3 toxins. It was fundamentally more powerful. The ice mist, drained of its toxicity, posed no threat to Wang Yu, making the slaughter of Blood Scorpions incredibly easy.

Often, by merely throwing the Netherworld Demonic Sword, he could achieve a round trip of kills, with remarkable results, piercing the heads of at least a dozen Blood Scorpions in a single sweep. In the already narrow bottom of the fissure, as the corpses of Blood Scorpions piled higher, more and more Blood Scorpions gathered in the area where Wang Yu was active.

Finally, Tier 3 Blood Scorpions began appearing in droves. Given the defensive power of their carapaces, the sharpness of the Netherworld Demonic Sword alone was no longer sufficient; he had to activate the Netherworld Sword Fiend within the artifact.

After mastering the Netherworld Great Hand Seal, Wang Yu naturally developed some derived applications. For instance, wielding the sword with a Netherworld Hand allowed perfect compatibility between his divine ability and the magic treasure, causing the sword light's power to skyrocket. With the corrosive power of the Netherworld Path divine ability, even mere Tier 3 Blood Scorpions were slaughtered in large swaths. At the same time, Wang Yu continuously absorbed the aura of slaughter, nourishing his Asura Killing Intent and gradually enhancing the power of his Killing Fist. He truly integrated cultivation into every aspect of his actions, wasting no time.

He didn't know how long he had been killing, but Blood Scorpions continued to pour out from every corner, seemingly endless. Even the Immaculate Jade Toad had turned pale blue, having absorbed more than half of its toxic capacity.

At one point, the ground suddenly fractured, and a colossal Blood Scorpion, over a hundred meters long, crawled out from beneath. Its scorpion pincers, like mountains, slammed down, violently smashing Wang Yu into the cliff face. This caused the ground within a hundred-meter radius to shatter.

Wang Yu rubbed his shoulder and burst out of the dust. His body swiftly ascended with aurora-like speed as the Netherworld Earth Resentment Puppet shot forth, sending the Blood Scorpion King flying with a single slap. This creature was the early-stage Tier 4 Blood Beast he had been searching for. Aside from collecting Blood Beast Cores, his secondary objective for this trip was to test the Earth Resentment Puppet's combat capabilities.

Wang Yu primarily used his divine sense for assistance, rising to a certain height. He then focused his concentration, remotely controlling the puppet to battle the Blood Scorpion King. His hand seals changed rapidly, and a pair of Netherworld Hands, even more powerful than those he could personally wield, suddenly materialized. Each finger was a hundred meters long, with every detail perfectly rendered. With the length of the palms and forearms combined, it was like holding a mere doll when gripping the Blood Scorpion King. The murky Netherworld current continuously washed over it, refining it into a bloody, mangled mess.

The Blood Scorpion King roared skyward, its tail stinger rapidly thrusting. It actually pierced through the Netherworld Hand, and its massive pincers swung like collapsing mountains, carrying an endless cold current that completely shattered both Netherworld Hands! The Blood Scorpion King suddenly leaped and lunged towards the Netherworld Earth Resentment Puppet.

Seeing this, Wang Yu unleashed soul-destroying death light from between his eyebrows. The Immovable Mirror spun beside him, and under the soul-annihilating death light and strange pressure, the Blood Scorpion King was momentarily pinned in mid-air. Seizing this excellent opportunity, the Earth Resentment Puppet's right arm shot out like a cannonball. Strands of black and yellow fibrous threads extended from its torso, connecting to the right arm. Midway through its flight, the right arm transformed into a spear-like bone artifact!

—The Netherworld Malevolent World Spear!

This was one of the Netherworld Path divine abilities inherent in the puppet's demonic bones, manifesting its law-breaking power to the extreme. It violently pierced through the Blood Scorpion King. The launched right arm then suddenly exploded into a cluster of monstrous bone spikes, firmly latching onto the Blood Scorpion King as black threads of resentment danced wildly. As the Earth Resentment Puppet swung with force, the Blood Scorpion King crashed down like a falling meteor, smashing half the mountain fissure with a thunderous roar.

At that moment, a dim, murky light flickered again. Runes flew out from the puppet's most powerful demonic spinal bone, constructing a massive white bone greatsword several kilometers long in mid-air, covered in Netherworld incantations. It plunged fiercely towards where the Blood Scorpion King had fallen.

—The Netherworld Buried Bone Curse Sword!

It was estimated to be the innate divine ability that this demonic bone had cultivated in its previous life. Its power undoubtedly reached Tier 4. Under such a heavy blow, this entire section of terrain completely disintegrated, as terrifying as if it were destroying heaven and earth. After the dust settled, the Blood Scorpion King lay limply in the center of the ruins, its life force gone. It had actually been directly dealt with by the Netherworld Earth Resentment Puppet with overwhelming force, with Wang Yu's crucial interference also playing a vital role.

"Much weaker than I imagined."

Compared to the pressure Black Heaven Talisman Monarch exerted on him, the Blood Scorpion King was at most one percent as powerful. It offered some reference value, but not as much as he had hoped. He estimated he would have to genuinely battle a Nascent Soul cultivator to fully understand their true power level.

After putting away the puppet and inspecting it, Wang Yu felt a pang of heartache. This engagement had cost at least six to seven hundred thousand spirit stones, with that final attack being a full-power strike. Great power came with great consumption! Fortunately, the rewards from this battle were decent. He had killed thousands of ordinary Blood Scorpions, and adding the Blood Scorpion King's core, the value was considerably higher than the spirit stones expended. The Netherworld Earth Resentment Puppet could not yet be used as a regular method; otherwise, each use would result in a loss. Unless it was for saving his life, using it to seek wealth was far more cost-effective.

He spent another half-day clearing the battlefield. After returning to Scarlet Snow Mountain, Wang Yu prepared to restore the puppet to its full peak state before going out to seek trouble with demon folk again. However, he hadn't expected Yan Ling, whom he hadn't seen in a while, to come knocking.

"Fellow Daoist Wang."

"Your Highness Yan Ling."

Coming at such a time, could she truly be interested in the Blood Infant Fruit? Through his divine sense, Wang Yu perceived Yan Ling to be at Core Formation Layer Five. Given her Heavenly Spiritual Root, her cultivation speed was not slow. She had likely progressed so rapidly thanks to the Blood Abyss.

This time, Wang Yu was mistaken. Returning to Scarlet Snow Mountain at this moment, Yan Ling was actually planning to distance herself from the eye of the storm.