Chapter 382: Ancient Demon — [Freeze]

Meanwhile,

Completely unaware he had been discovered, Wang Yu was still contemplating where to begin, as the area was not only vast but also extremely desolate.

In the past, he could simply burrow underground and dig a temporary cave dwelling. Now, finding even a cliff face was difficult. As the concentration of demonic frost aura increased, he felt as if he had passed through an invisible membrane; all wind and snow ceased, and a sheer, towering cliff appeared in his view.

The extreme cold emanating from the black peak made him shiver. He could tell it was formed from some kind of dark ice, and it rose almost vertically from the ground. It stood like a stone pillar, piercing the sky, stretching straight into the dark clouds. It was truly magnificent.

What raised his suspicion, however, was the absence of guards in such an important place. This suggested either that the place was inherently extremely dangerous, or that he had been discovered!

Of course, to insist there were no guards would be foolish; that possibility was negligible. He leaned more towards being discovered, as he had collected a wisp of demonic frost aura while circling the Ice Tribe's settlement. Normally, such a slight fluctuation would be insignificant. However, if the opponent possessed terrifying power and knew the vicinity like the back of their hand, then being detected was indeed possible. Such a faint fluctuation, almost indistinguishable from the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth, logically should have gone unnoticed.

As he pondered, Wang Yu's actions became bolder. Just as he had initially speculated, this Ice Tribe had no intention of confronting the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect, so the obstacles they set up were primarily for delaying time. Elder Yu Shu was almost bewildered by the prolonged chase. Whatever secrets the other party harbored, it was safer for him not to investigate. Maintaining this unspoken understanding, the other party had also withdrawn the guards from the sealed area.

Wang Yu clearly understood that it likely related to the half-breeds he had discovered. Seriously speaking, this was persecution of the human race and an attempt to seize living space. But speaking lightly, it was nothing extraordinary. The Gatekeeper Tribe, with its heritage and history, had dwindled to only tens of thousands of members. The "wild" Ice Tribes outside were even weaker. No one would consider them opponents; they were too weak! Only Cold Blood Peak might intervene due to the involvement of the Demonic Frost Seal. The other dominant demonic sects would certainly not take it seriously.

However, the Ice Tribe's objective was surely not as simple as gaining freedom. He would put this matter aside for now and just keep it in mind. He also lacked the power to make a fuss here.

Dutifully, Wang Yu took out three empty supreme-grade spirit stones and actively circulated his cultivation method, attracting a large amount of surrounding spiritual energy from heaven and earth. In this way, the mixed demonic frost aura would also gather. Since his cultivation level wasn't high enough to absorb it, it would naturally be absorbed by the supreme-grade spirit stones and transform into demonic frost spirit stones. With these, he could entirely choose another location to form his Nascent Soul. This place was truly unsafe.

If he didn't want to waste spirit stones, a fourth-tier spiritual vein was also a necessary condition for breakthrough. Maple Prefecture City was originally his backup location, but since Black Sky Talisman Lord had arrived, it was no longer suitable. His primary location had been the Ice Tribe settlement. After all, before coming, he had thought that since previous Cold Blood Peak Lords and Nascent Soul True Monarchs had all broken through here, it proved there would be no problems. He never expected to encounter issues himself. Even his backup location, Maple Prefecture City, was now occupied. It was truly infuriating.

He couldn't help but recall the ominous rumors about Feng Shui masters: could manipulating the world's natural patterns truly deplete one's luck? He had only made one major move against the Dragon Blood Demonic Tree. Yet, these two incidents had happened one after another. Looking back, Takirama's death, after forcibly triggering the Heaven and Earth Anomalous Formation twice, and dying in the aftermath of the poison beast army, had deeply shaken him. The concept of 'luck' was elusive and intangible. He also had moments of strong luck. Shaking off the myriad chaotic thoughts in his mind, his cultivation method circulated even more smoothly, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, inside the tall tower at the Ice Tribe settlement.

The Great Priest was meditating in mid-air, ice-blue light particles continuously surging from his body and flowing into the belly of the pregnant woman on the altar. His expression grew increasingly weary and weak. Bing Rui and Bing Heng exchanged glances. The former was the one who advocated killing Wang Yu, and he had the weakest cultivation, only at the third level of Nascent Soul. He was now wearily swaying his body, pouring a special medicinal soup into his mouth, muttering complaints.

“The Child-Seeking Water from the Joyous Demonic Path is truly disgusting; I'm about to vomit from drinking it. And the number of qualified offspring is too low, aren't the mothers' aptitudes insufficient?”

Bing Heng looked at the Great Priest with concern in his eyes. He didn't answer Bing Rui's complaint, but instead said, “For this child, the Great Priest has lost too much of his essence. If this continues, even the long lifespan of the Ice Tribe will be prematurely exhausted.” Perhaps due to the Ice Prison Realm's favor or because they are spirits formed from ice, Ice Tribe cultivators' average lifespan is twice that of human cultivators. This is somewhat related to how difficult it is for them to produce new tribe members. A race with a very long average lifespan often has worrying reproductive capabilities. It's perfectly reasonable to consider them a special race of spirits and monsters.

“The Child of Hope carries too many expectations from the tribe.”

Upon hearing this, all of Bing Rui's complaints vanished. After chugging two more mouthfuls of Child-Seeking Water, he suddenly looked towards the sealed area. His already pent-up negative emotions surged when he sensed Wang Yu brazenly collecting demonic frost aura. He was instantly enraged.

“It's all these cursed humans! No… I must kill that boy to vent my anger.”

Bing Heng's eyebrows shot up, and he immediately stopped him. “Are you crazy? You want to cause more trouble at a time like this? If you really provoke a Grand Cultivator from the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect, how will you explain it to the tribe?!”

At these words, Bing Rui seemed to lose his spine, slumping down powerlessly, his eyes slightly dazed. He whispered, “Brother Heng, is our resistance meaningful?”

“—Yes!”

The reply came not from Bing Heng, but from an aged yet powerful and resolute voice. At some point, the Great Priest had risen.

“Rui, to break the shackles the world has placed upon the Ice Tribe, there is no other way than to integrate human bloodline. This restriction was not imposed by human grand cultivators... but is the world's own bestowal and confinement.”

For a moment, both looked out at the wind and snow, lost in thought. The Ice Prison Realm had nurtured them but also did not wish for them to leave.

Just then, an attendant came to report. “My Lords, a Cold Blood Peak cultivator is visiting.”

All three were startled. The Great Priest stepped forward, his divine sense swiftly sweeping out. Only when he detected Yu Shu standing at the tribe's main gate did he relax slightly.

“Another Core Formation Peak cultivator, likely also here to form his Nascent Soul. Bing Heng, go receive him, but don't let him approach this tower.”

“Understood, Great Priest!”

After instructing the steady and mature Bing Heng, the Great Priest turned and saw the expectant Bing Rui, a corner of his mouth twitching. “You continue. You are not to leave the tower without my permission.”

Bing Rui: “…”

Wang Yu, of course, had no way of knowing what was happening inside the Ice Tribe settlement. He was engrossed in the pleasure of absorbing spiritual energy. This place also possessed a large spiritual vein. The freezing cold climate made him feel exceptionally comfortable. He had never before experienced such a prolonged absorption of spiritual and cold energy, feeling completely refreshed and relaxed throughout his entire body. The quality of his magical power subtly advanced further. The after-effects of refining the Human Core had been completely resolved.

He awoke then. This was because the three empty supreme-grade spirit stones, under his intentional infusion and guidance, had become completely filled, transforming into black-blue prismatic crystals. These were the demonic frost auras he needed for forming his Nascent Soul.

“All preparations are complete, but the location for forming my Nascent Soul still needs careful consideration.”

In any case, he wouldn't break through right in front of the Ice Tribe. A conservative plan would be to simply rent a fourth-tier cave dwelling in a random large city. A more aggressive option might even be to consider returning to his sect for the breakthrough. However, he would absolutely not choose the latter. The Reverse Spirit Blood Sect simply did not feel safe, especially now that Sword Lord Nine Evils had broken through to the seventh level of Nascent Soul. Grand Cultivators and ordinary Nascent Souls were on entirely different levels. In Crimson Kite, assurances from powerful figures were merely for showing off and should never be fully trusted. Therefore, neither Lord Thunder Beast nor the Blood-Eyed Demonic Dragon... unless they remained by his side at all times, there was no guarantee that Sword Lord Nine Evils wouldn't go mad. Given the involvement of the Innate Demonic Embryo, Wang Yu preferred a more conservative approach.

After carefully putting away the three demonic frost spirit stones, he was about to leave. However, a divine sound suddenly echoed in his ears. It was as if a doctrine was being preached, instantly enchanting Wang Yu. Supreme scriptures, heaven-reaching divine abilities—as long as he was willing to listen, the voice would continue to speak. This temptation, directly striking the deepest desires of a person's heart, was like a demonic melody entering his ears, continuously distorting the scene before Wang Yu's eyes.

Fortunately, he had already reached the second stage of Mind Dao, the 'Empty Self' realm, in his mental cultivation. Upon sensing his consciousness becoming chaotic, his mental power instinctively took effect. His Asura Killing Intent quickly calmed Wang Yu down. The surging waves in his mind's lake quickly subsided as well. Upon opening his eyes, Wang Yu realized he had walked to the black ice cliff. His hand was reaching out, attempting to touch the ice mountain seal, and he only belatedly withdrew it.

“What a strange demonic nature…”

After swiftly retreating, Wang Yu couldn't help but look back. With that one glance, his body immediately stiffened. On the black ice, which had been pitch black and featureless, his own silhouette was now imprinted. Its mouth was exaggeratedly split open in a grin, waving at him. This sight made Wang Yu turn and run immediately.

He had long speculated about the existence of Ancient Devils, believing them to be entities far stronger than Soul Transformation Venerables. Initially, he thought they were mad demonic beings who had reached the pinnacle of the Demonic Dao. Now that he thought about it, that wasn't necessarily true. Once power reached a certain level, the difference between the righteous and demonic paths wasn't so great; both were simply seeking advancement. Without more information, he couldn't determine the exact situation, but he was certain that Ancient Devils were top-tier existences even outside the Ice Prison Realm. Otherwise, there would be no need to imprison them all. With their indestructible nature, could it be that even Immortals couldn't kill them? He would have to investigate this himself in the future.

Startled by this sudden fright, Wang Yu reacted by quickly summoning his escape light, intentionally avoiding the Ice Tribe settlement as he flew into the distance. From beginning to end, apart from this sudden anomaly, everything else went rather smoothly.

Half a month later, in the outer region of the Endless Ice Plain, sunlight now shone down, and the wind and snow had eased considerably. According to his plan, he should have formed his Nascent Soul within the ice plain. A slight unforeseen circumstance had occurred. Now, his backup location, Maple Prefecture City, was also unusable. So he chose a nearby large city. Maple Prefecture was remote and desolate, with only a few major cities, so 'nearby' actually implied a considerable distance. His first trip to the Endless Ice Plain thus came to a temporary end.

Wang Yu did not stop, continuing his journey south. Along the way, he inquired about the treacherous situation outside. The circumstances hadn't changed much since he entered, as he hadn't been gone for too long after all. However, one piece of news was widely circulated. It was nothing short of explosive. Namely—the Seven Righteous Sects, using territorial expansion as a pretext, had officially declared war on Crimson Kite. War artifacts were being mobilized from various locations and converging towards the North-South Dividing Mountain Range.

Such a massive movement could not possibly be hidden from spies. Consequently, as he traveled south, he saw nothing but excited demonic cultivators and terrified mortals. Large numbers of families were also relocating, highlighting the advantages of the city system at such a time. With gates closed and formations activated, everything was decided by those at the top: setting objectives, planning war zones, determining which types of resources to contend for, and so on.

A conflict between two regions couldn't just start on a whim. The preparation phase alone required a significant amount of time. Recently, the most noticeable activities around the North-South Dividing Mountain Range were teams of scouts and groups setting up traps. With war imminent, they were still reinforcing this natural defense line, seemingly afraid it wouldn't be potent enough or ensnare enough victims. More people, however, were diverting to various passes. Laying down formations, drawing talismans... even secretly setting up arrays to collect living souls and vital essence. This was purely a competition of skill, as dozens of people might vie with you for a single pre-set battlefield.

During this period, the demonic cultivators of Crimson Kite displayed an unprecedented enthusiasm, like desperate gamblers who would do anything, believing that if they survived, they would inevitably break through their current social strata. War was seen by them as an opportunity. As for danger... wasn't normal cultivation dangerous anyway? Murder, robbery, refining souls into pills—the level of danger was genuinely not much different from wartime. It was just a different guise.

Everything he saw and heard along the way was somewhat beyond Wang Yu's expectations. The only ones who truly feared it were the mortals. While he might have felt some pity for them in the past, he was now too preoccupied to care.

Over ten days later, he arrived at Meiling City, one of the major cities in Night Qiong Prefecture! Two fourth-tier spiritual veins ran through this city, attracting a large number of cultivators. Furthermore, as the closest major city in Night Qiong Prefecture to the Northern Dividing Mountain Range, it had recently seen an influx of outsiders seeking refuge. This city was originally one of the main cities for defending against beast tides. After the demonic beasts retreated, it had long since lost that purpose. However, due to the underground spiritual veins, it remained quite prosperous. Moreover, Meiling City belonged to the Feng Clan of Hidden Valley, and Wang Yu had quite a connection with the Feng Clan.

At the City Lord's Office.

“I'd like to rent a cave dwelling.”

“What tier?”

“Fourth tier.”

“Fourth tier… Nascent Soul dwelling?”

The clerk, quickly adjusting his attire, eyed Wang Yu's noticeably young appearance, his eyes darting as he said, “Little Taoist, are you doing this for your elder?”

“You could say that.” Wang Yu smiled in response. He had decided to form his Nascent Soul in Meiling City. Naturally, he wouldn't leave any procedural issues, and once he survived the lightning tribulation, there would be even fewer problems.

“Rental prices have recently doubled. Give this jade slip to your elder; it's from the Feng Clan of Hidden Valley.”

“Certainly.”

After paying for the spirit stones at another counter and receiving the cave dwelling token, Wang Yu rearranged the formations and banners, then formally began his closed-door cultivation. The information on the jade slip was merely an attempt at recruitment, holding little significance.