Chapter 385: Setting Traps and Battle of Magic

He, as the "Ice Demon Child," was not a known figure in Taihu; if anyone was listed, it should have been Wang Yu, the Seventh Elder of Cold Blood Peak.

He had now regrown to the age of ten. His appearance had naturally changed somewhat as he transitioned from a young child to a youth.

He felt almost no psychological resistance towards refining human pills.

He believed that Old Ancestor Qingyi merely intended for him to present a "letter of allegiance," assuming that as long as he wasn't a spy from Taihu, the ancestor could handle any other circumstances.

"Hahahaha, since you're so straightforward, shall we go take a look now?"

"Very well."

Wang Yu nodded slowly. His gaze inadvertently swept over the twin sisters standing in the hall. Noticing this, Qingyi immediately shot a meaningful glance at the Meiling City Lord.

The City Lord understood.

"Senior Ice Demon, I shall have these beautiful twins sent to the Fragrant Court for your stay."

"You are too kind."

"Not at all, it is an honor to have you accept."

Wang Yu immediately smiled with satisfaction. The difference between Nascent Soul and Core Formation was indeed immense; in the past, these resourceful scions would never have bowed to him. Nascent Soul cultivators were already among the most powerful beings in this realm.

Furthermore, now that he was ten, his features were beginning to resemble his adult self, so he needed to reapply his concealment techniques. For this purpose, he intended to test the Myriad Transformation characteristic of the Innate Demonic Embryo. While it currently stored only one demon spirit form, this ability was sufficient to subtly alter his facial features, making him even more deceptive.

After brief pleasantries, Wang Yu followed Qingyi to the prison within the Meiling City Lord's manor. Inside, he saw seven or eight young men, dressed in traditional Scarlet Kite attire, each with seven or eight knife scars on their faces. They lay weakly in their cells.

Their attire made them look more like mortal bandits than Scarlet Kite demonic cultivators. Wearing traditional clothes was also highly unusual, as locals only donned such garments during festivals and celebrations. As for Scarlet Kite's festivals, Wang Yu knew nothing beyond the "Demon Arrival Day," nor did he need to. These obviously fake disguises indicated that they were raw recruits, inexperienced and likely sheltered, otherwise they wouldn't have been so foolish.

"Fellow Daoist, please—"

Wang Yu observed them briefly, sensing something was amiss.

"Brother Qingyi, may I perform a soul search?"

"That... might not be suitable."

Old Ancestor Qingyi chuckled and explained. "These spies have already undergone one soul search. A second search so soon would shatter their souls, making it impossible to refine them into human pills."

Wang Yu, however, sneered. "For the art of human pill refinement, the soul itself is merely an ingredient. Unless one is specifically crafting soul-based elixirs, it's not required. Brother Qingyi, you're not suggesting you happen to need them, are you?"

"..." The other party was left speechless.

Meanwhile, the spies in the prison, having overheard their conversation, were utterly horrified and began to shriek hysterically. One particular cry stood out.

"No! I am the legitimate son of True Monarch Yang Lei, I..."

Qingyi's expression changed. With a wave of his hand, he forcibly sealed the man's lips. Blood dripped as muffled grunts, like a pig's dying squeal, escaped him. He tried to cry out but couldn't, his face turning crimson from the suppressed effort.

"True Monarch Yang Lei, a veteran mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from Thunderflame Monastery!"

"Fellow Daoist Qingyi, this is not an easy favor to grant."

Wang Yu's aura grew cold. Once he realized how foolishly naive these individuals were, he began to suspect they were pampered scions trying to prove themselves. He didn't even need a soul search to piece together the entire story; it was simply a matter of experience. Worthless individuals trying to prove themselves without any actual skill. Their current predicament was entirely self-inflicted.

Faced with Wang Yu's questioning, Old Ancestor Qingyi remained silent for a moment, then defended himself, "Since things have come to this, I won't hide it from you. Fellow Daoist Ice Demon, your origins are indeed unclear, and thus, this letter of allegiance is necessary."

"True." Wang Yu did not deny this point.

"But you shouldn't have set a trap for me. For a mere letter of allegiance, killing a few people from Taihu would suffice. Why force me to incur the wrath of True Monarch Yang Lei by slaying his son? With the war between righteous and demonic cultivators on the horizon, what are your true intentions?!"

Reprimanded by a junior who had only just achieved Nascent Soul, Old Ancestor Qingyi lost face, and his demeanor instantly hardened. "What do you propose to do about it?"

"This person cannot be killed; get another batch. Furthermore, you shall pay for your transgression: ten supreme-grade spirit stones."

"Impossible!" No sooner had the words left Wang Yu's mouth than Old Ancestor Qingyi flatly refused. "That's an exorbitant demand! Do you think I'm wealthy beyond measure?"

"So, Fellow Daoist, you mean you refuse to pay?"

Blood rushed to his head, and furious emotions surged within Old Ancestor Qingyi. However, remembering that Wang Yu was an invited guest, he forcibly restrained himself. Yet, upon reflection, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

"I, a dignified third-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, am I to fear a mere greenhorn like you?!"

Anticipating a fight, Wang Yu's sneer deepened. At such close range, his large hand shot out, a force field of silver-blood divine power forming an invisible palm print that slammed down forcefully.

In an instant, Old Ancestor Qingyi unleashed an endless tempest from within him, forming a whirlwind defense. But caught off guard, he could not possibly withstand Wang Yu's sudden assault.

A resounding boom echoed. The entire prison instantly collapsed. Wang Yu seized the moment to whisk away the legitimate son of True Monarch Yang Lei, along with every single person near him, into his Human Seed Bag. He rescued them all.

He had come to a realization: his true self, Wang Yu, needed to avoid the Nine Evil Sword Monarch and dared not reveal himself before reaching mid-stage Nascent Soul. The "Ice Demon Child" identity, however, had no discernible background. While it was tolerable in peacetime, this identity would be frequently scrutinized once war broke out. There was no way he could blend into the upper echelons of the Scarlet Kite sect. Given such a frustrating situation, he might as well defect. After all, it had nothing to do with Wang Yu's true identity.

Besides, the sheer number of Taihu cultivators almost overwhelmed the Scarlet Kite sect. It was only due to the greater number of top-tier combatants that the Scarlet Kite territories were preserved. Temporarily joining the advantageous side seemed perfectly reasonable, didn't it? He was also familiar with the Scarlet Kite region, and gaining advantages here would be like a mouse finding a rice granary. Once the war concluded, he would still be the Seventh Elder of Cold Blood Peak.

A daring plan suddenly formed in his mind. While seemingly viable at first glance, its execution would undoubtedly present numerous challenges, yet it promised to be more comfortable than his current situation.

Qingyi had no habit of tolerating insults. And Wang Yu had even less of one! If he had been timid before forming his Nascent Soul, and remained timid after, what would have been the point of cultivating it in the first place?!

"If you were a Grand Cultivator, I might show you some deference."

"Hmph!"

Qingyi burst from the rubble, looking disheveled and covered in dust, with a large bruise forming on his face. A hint of apprehension flickered in his aged eyes. "Ice Demon Child, don't blame this old man for being ruthless. Fenghua, activate the City Lord's manor array!"

As a fourth-tier main city, its defensive array was naturally also of the fourth-tier. Wang Yu, utterly unfazed, rushed fiercely towards Old Ancestor Qingyi as if in a frenzy. In truth, his divine sense was linked to the Sea Heart Ring. Upon activating the Cold Blood Seventh Elder Ring, he instantly breached the array's core. As an influential elder of the sect headquarters, the ring allowed him to control the arrays of all third-tier cities under the Defiant Spirit Blood Sect. While he couldn't fully control a fourth-tier grand array, he could ensure it wouldn't attack him, as it would always recognize him as an ally. Activating the array would merely be a waste of spiritual energy.

Qingyi remained completely unaware. He swiftly executed the Wind Evasion Art to create distance. With a flick of his hand, seven or eight hurricanes condensed into wind ropes, coiling towards Wang Yu. With his demonic power surging, Wang Yu simply pushed his hand outward. Two force fields compressed the air, acting like shields that pushed away all the wind-gang. The image of the Moon Illusion flashed in his eyes. Enhanced by his mid-stage fourth-tier divine sense, this also caused Qingyi to falter for a moment.

Seizing this opening, the Ice Dragon Pill Flame erupted high in the air, transforming into a long ice-flame dragon that seized Qingyi, slamming him into the City Lord's manor plaza and exploding with a roar. A burst of sea urchin-like ice spikes erupted. The entire Meiling City Lord's manor was utterly destroyed, the surroundings transforming into an icy hell. The true might of the Ice Dragon Pill Flame, when amplified by demonic essence, was finally revealed. A third-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was no more than this.

"Old Ancestor!"

Seeing this, Fenghua, the Meiling City Lord, was greatly alarmed. A token in his hand was already activated; the fourth-tier grand array was capable of protecting the entire central district. The array's core was not easily destroyed. It was naturally activated without a hitch.

Wang Yu couldn't discern the intricacies of this array. He could only see long blue snakes descending from the sky, transforming into ninety-nine wind pillars that connected heaven and earth, with multiple wind pillar nodes appearing throughout the city. Most, however, were outside the city walls.

"You're using a defensive-counterattack array against me?"

Although Wang Yu couldn't instantly see through the array, its behavior allowed him to determine its type: such arrays were most easily breached from within.

"Hahahaha!" Evidently, Old Ancestor Qingyi held a different view. He was in agony from the Ice Dragon Pill Flame, his magnificent blue robes now tattered and blackened, and his once dignified long beard utterly ruined. He pulled out a long ruler and pointed it at Wang Yu. "This array can externally withstand Grand Nascent Soul cultivators, and internally... it can also bind you! Fenghua—Wind-Gang Condensation Crystal!"

Following this command, Wang Yu found a circle of tornadoes suddenly rising around him. He was at the eye of the storm, as dense wind-elemental demonic essence transformed into hurricanes, then solidified into crystals. It was attempting to completely seal Wang Yu. After a slight probe with his divine sense confirmed that the Seventh Elder Ring was functioning properly, he immediately feigned a look of terror.

"Fellow Daoist Qingyi, let's discuss this reasonably."

"Heh heh—" Qingyi's entire body surged with tempestuous demonic essence. His innate magic treasure, the Azure Sky Ruler, began to condense a special divine ability of immense power, while he continued to mock Wang Yu. "Only now, facing death, do you realize your error! You're nothing but a coward who fears death! Ice Demon, you possess only the mindset of a newly rich upstart, not the true demeanor of a Nascent Soul expert. How laughable."

A slight smirk played on Wang Yu's lips. The taunts went in one ear and out the other. His gaze was fixed solely on Qingyi's charging posture. In less than a third of a second, the purple Aurora Escape technique was unleashed, and Wang Yu transformed into thousands of illusory clones, scattering in all directions. Simultaneously, the Illusionary Mist Ice Mirror condensed. This defensive spell, though his first time using it, was employed for deception, allowing him to control the illusory clones to move in perfect synchronization with his true self. The mirror directly enveloped the City Lord's manor, forming an inverted bowl-shaped world of ice. This was primarily to obscure outside vision. As for the beings within the manor itself, all had already been reduced to ashes by his Ice Dragon Pill Flame. The only survivors were, in fact, the City Lord and Qingyi. Such was the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator!

Witnessing Wang Yu move freely within the sealing formations of the fourth-tier grand array, Old Ancestor Qingyi's body trembled uncontrollably, his eyes wide with utter disbelief. The divine ability "Wind Break Giant Spirit Sword Aura" possessed unparalleled might, capable of unleashing power beyond its realm. However, its drawback was that it required charging, and an interruption mid-execution could even inflict internal injuries. That was why Qingyi had Fenghua use the array to first seal Wang Yu's movement before he began charging. The procedure was sound, yet the array, which had never failed before, had suddenly become ineffective. His mind was reeling with the sheer impossibility of it.

Who could move freely within the array? Only the array master who set it up, the token holder, an ally, or a venerable elder of the Saint Sect! The first two were impossible, but the latter two... Qingyi was suddenly struck with a thought.

"You can actually swiftly decipher the array's identification protocols. Ice Demon! Are you, by any chance, a multi-talented prodigy, excelling in both alchemy and array formations?!"

"Nonsense." Too bothered to further engage with Qingyi, Wang Yu activated the Illusionary Mist Ice Mirror to obscure external sight. This was a clear sign he was about to employ methods that must remain secret. Once these methods were unleashed, given Wang Yu's true identity and reputation, Qingyi would surely recognize him within moments.

Therefore, he had to deliver a fatal blow, allowing no chance for the Nascent Soul to activate teleportation. Demonic essence simultaneously flowed to various parts of his body. Multiple divine abilities were unleashed consecutively, with less than half a breath between each.

First, the combination of Soul Shattering, Spirit Annihilation Death Ray, and Immobilizing Mirror — a sequence of moves almost guaranteed to be lethal for Core Formation cultivators. After he had achieved fourth-tier divine sense, few could withstand it. Nascent Soul cultivators, however, were an exception! Even with his body immobilized, Qingyi spat out divine light, and several needle-shaped magic treasures shot from beneath his tongue, each radiating a potent soul aura. This was one of his advantages. His extensive and skillful use of fourth-tier magic treasures was a given; with the formidable wealth of the Yougu Feng Clan and only two Nascent Soul cultivators within it, having a complete arsenal was a basic expectation.

Building on this, Wang Yu still needed to calculate Qingyi's life-saving measures and ultimate trump cards. While there was a chance to overcome a stronger opponent, achieving an absolute kill would be extremely difficult. Nevertheless, he decided to try.

"Soul-Splitting Needles, specifically designed to counter divine sense!"

Qingyi sneered at the myriad illusory figures of Wang Yu filling the air. With the Azure Sky Ruler's charge nearing completion, Wang Yu no longer hesitated. The Yellow Spring Earth Grudge Puppet abruptly emerged from one of the ice mirrors.

Yellow Spring Buried Bone Curse Sword—Horizontal Slash!

"Yellow Spring... Monastery!"

Qingyi had clearly misunderstood. Human puppets possessed auras remarkably similar to living beings, especially since Wang Yu had them covered with a blood sac robe. At that moment, Old Ancestor Qingyi misjudged Wang Yu's identity. Pressured by the fearsome reputation of the "Bankrupt Divine Ability," he activated a talisman. A fourth-tier Talisman Treasure: Wind King Slash!

Wang Yu had seen this divine ability before, but this was clearly one of the life-saving legacies left by the Feng clan ancestors. The murky yellow bone sword clashed with the massive wind-gang sword. Both were annihilated simultaneously. The Yellow Spring Earth Grudge Puppet was sent flying by the residual shockwave, and the City Lord's manor completely collapsed, sinking several meters into the ground and becoming utterly unrecognizable as a once prosperous spectacle.

At that moment, Old Ancestor Qingyi had just recovered his wits when veins instantly bulged on his forehead, as an immense sense of crisis enveloped him. A blood-red sword beam, seemingly spanning across all ages, slashed down vertically. No matter how he dodged, he seemed unable to evade it. It was one of Wang Yu's trump cards. This was the fourth-tier killing path divine ability, "Blood Slaughter Heart Sword," whose introductory stage was nearing completion, effectively qualifying it as minor mastery. It was a meticulously planned sword strike, designed to inflict devastating blows on both the mind and the body-soul simultaneously.

"—Ancient Ancestor, save me!"

With a loud roar, Qingyi, at the brink of death, decisively abandoned his charging divine ability, despite his reluctance. A green talisman shot from his glabella, transforming into a giant bell that shielded him from the sword beam.

End of Chapter.