Chapter 429: Subordinate Arrangements, Dialogue with the Sect Leader

The battle at Black Mountain Pass concluded. As the demonic cultivators emerged from their hiding spots, this important pass finally fell into the hands of the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect.

What was strange, however, was that Old Devil Fire Ghost had disappeared.

He had simply vanished without a trace. Normally, with the Taihu cultivators repelled, this was the time for distributing rewards for merit, and given Old Fire Ghost's personality, it was impossible for him to be absent now.

No demonic cultivator would do such a thing.

Therefore, by reverse inference, Old Fire Ghost had most likely encountered some accident, and it happened right after the formation-breaking nail was struck.

Wang Yu and his two companions had chosen to observe the battle together, but this old ghost alone was nowhere to be found.

This matter had little to do with them and could be left for Old Ancestor Evil Soul and the others to handle. Because Black Mountain Pass's formation was broken, some of its foundational stones were also damaged.

It urgently needed repairs and a replacement for its core formation, to install a set of formations more suited to the Sacred Sect's style.

The formation masters accompanying them could begin this work.

Once the Sacred Sect sent stronger formation masters, everything would be fine. Besides, Wang Yu and his two companions also met with Old Ancestor Evil Soul and You Dao, two cultivators at the Great Completion stage.

After exchanging pleasantries and praise, they were recommended for their merits.

Upon learning that Wang Yu had not feared authority and had boldly killed Zi Dian, the Son of Tiandu, they praised him lavishly and without reservation, portraying him as a guiding light for the demonic path.

"As demonic cultivators, one must possess such a fearless disposition. Well done! Are you willing to stay and work with me and You Dao?"

Wang Yu had an excellent relationship with Zuo Qiuming, and even after their honeymoon period of cooperation ended, he was still considered a friend of the Zuoqiu clan. Old Ancestor Evil Soul's original intention was to promote him and help him gain more merits.

However, having offended Tiandu, staying on this border now was too dangerous. After weighing the pros and cons slightly, Wang Yu still shook his head and refused.

"Senior Evil Soul, I appreciate your kindness. However, my recent gains have been substantial, and I need time for secluded cultivation to digest them..."

"No matter, cultivators like us should naturally prioritize cultivation."

Seeing his reluctance, Evil Soul did not press the matter.

"Taking Black Mountain Pass was just the first step. The main event will be sweeping the might of the demonic path across the entire Lingxi Province. There are many benefits to be gained from this; it would truly be a pity if you didn't participate."

Wang Yu only believed a third of what was said.

After also expressing his regrets, he took his leave, preparing to return to the sect.

As he left, he found it somewhat strange that You Dao had not said a single word.

Could it be that he knew of the rift between him and Yu Xing?

Strange.

As soon as Wang Yu left, Evil Soul looked at You Dao and complained.

"What's wrong with you? Not a single word? This lad is very capable, and his strength is top-notch among his peers. In another sixty years, he might even rival a Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. Are you, the Yu clan, truly not tempted at all?"

You Dao remained silent, merely shaking his head repeatedly.

"Since he has already expressed his refusal, why bother saying more and embarrassing oneself?"

"You fellow!"

Every time Evil Soul recalled the difficulties of the previous battles, he felt that You Dao had been feigning incompetence. He could clearly have broken through Granny Silvermoon's domain secret technique, but he acted like a timid junior.

He immediately scoffed.

"I still have a score to settle with you. You'd better have a good reason."

Meanwhile, Wang Yu specifically went to meet Green Goat, Yang Xiong, Situ Hong, and Xu Ruozhou. Their statuses had been settled, acknowledging their contributions in intercepting the Sword Sect's reinforcements, breaching Dry Leaf City, and occupying Black Mountain Pass.

They had three accomplishments, though their individual contributions weren't high.

But it was almost enough to exchange for a Core-Forming Pill. Given Xu Ruozhou's aptitude, forming a core shouldn't be difficult, and with the magic treasures he bestowed, he could smoothly pass through the early stages.

The former two could only use their war merits to exchange for spiritual pills that increased cultivation, or accumulate them for a larger prize later.

As for exchanging for a Nascent Soul opportunity, that would be more difficult; it was certainly not something that could be accumulated in such a short time.

The most challenging case was Situ Hong. However, with these war merits, helping him cultivate to the peak of Foundation Establishment was definitely not an issue, and there would even be a considerable surplus.

These four subordinates didn't significantly assist Wang Yu's endeavors; their main roles were to provide assistance and handle miscellaneous tasks.

"Do you want to return to the sect with me, or continue to stay here and accumulate war merits? Next, the entire Lingxi Province, including Taihu, will see warfare, so opportunities to earn war merits will not be scarce. If you return with me to the sect, you would mostly be in secluded cultivation in your cave dwelling, helping me with minor tasks and running errands."

Situ Hong did not consider long. "I will stay. Only during the war between the righteous and demonic paths can I secure an opportunity to form a core."

Yang Xiong and Green Goat had similar thoughts and also chose to stay.

Only Xu Ruozhou smiled.

"Lord, the war merits I've accumulated, combined with the spirit stones you gave me, are enough for me to form a core. It's a perfect chance to return to the sect with you and see what the renowned Inverse Spirit Blood Sect truly looks like. And by the way, to also take advantage of that set of tribulation-avoiding treasures."

The choices of the four were all based on maximizing their interests given the current situation. While effort doesn't guarantee success, a lack of effort guarantees no success.

Opportunities that seem too good to be true often conceal significant risks.

"Then that's that for now. I will notify you if anything else comes up."

"Understood."

"I'm leaving."

Wang Yu had always acted swiftly and decisively. This trip to Black Mountain Pass, which took less than three months in total, had caused a world-altering change in the situation.

At least regarding the Taihu cultivators, the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect had reversed its passive situation. And the addition of the Heaven-Refining Demonic Sect meant that the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect would transition from a main force to a supporting role.

The focus would shift towards the Yellow Spring Temple. Once these hyenas were repelled, the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect would be considered to have survived the vortex of internal strife.

At that point, it would develop into a true war between the righteous and demonic paths.

Of course, the situation might not necessarily develop in the direction he anticipated. Wang Yu always felt that the Yellow Spring Temple held a greater secret, and that their betrayal of the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect was not merely due to past grievances.

This point should gradually be uncovered in the upcoming battles.

After meeting up with You Mo and Ming Hu, bringing Xu Ruozhou along, the group of four returned to the Sacred Sect's mountain gate. They were also going back to exchange their war merits; Ming Hu needed to break through to the Mid-Nascent Soul stage, while You Mo was still a bit short.

But if they could extract some resources from the Wei clan branch at Barbarian Ghost Peak, it should be enough for his cultivation to advance further. This was one of the benefits of war.

Resources that were usually hard to obtain were much easier to acquire during wartime.

The price of some items skyrocketed, but others rose even more sharply. For example: Nascent Souls!

They were definitely hard currency in the hands of powerful demonic cultivators, more sought after than even top-grade spirit stones. Absorbing the power of others' Nascent Souls was indeed a shortcut.

There were many secret techniques for this purpose.

Each clan had its specialties.

Wang Yu's main reason for returning this time was to process the three Nascent Souls he possessed, and then to acquire body-refining resources and spiritual sense resources.

His body refinement had progressed slowly, far from reaching the peak of the early Fourth Stage. His spiritual sense, however, had reached the threshold of the late Fourth Stage but was stuck there.

The core of the Ancient Soul Art lay in the ancient soul, or "false soul," condensed in his Niwan Palace. Its main purpose was to serve as a substitute, taking soul and spiritual sense attacks on his behalf.

Therefore, secret techniques that typically attacked spiritual sense had little effect on him.

Digging deeper into the Ancient Soul revealed it to be a Second Nascent Soul. He had long ago obtained the corresponding secret technique, but he had been very hesitant about whether to practice it.

The benefits of a Second Nascent Soul were self-evident. He had even long coveted techniques for clones and avatars, as these could free his main body from various miscellaneous tasks. With the added benefit of being able to dedicate himself solely to cultivation, the advantages were obvious.

This secret technique was quite valuable, and the accompanying conditions were almost entirely met, except for one Fourth-Tier spiritual item, the True Soul Stone. It would truly be a pity not to practice it.

"Wait a bit longer. The full potential of the Innate Demonic Embryo Physique has not yet been fully explored, and perhaps the myriad transformation abilities of the Heavenly Demon could play a wondrous role within it."

Half a month later, Wang Yu and the others returned to the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect.

The team disbanded on the spot.

Xu Ruozhou was sent by Wang Yu to Evil Sword Peak. After Sword Lord Nine Evils died, Black Sky Talisman Lord, who had a grudge against him, was in Feng Province, so sending someone there wasn't a big problem.

Personal grudges were personal grudges; the Nine Peaks were all territory of the Three Clans.

As a dignified Demonic Lord, he still had some influence. Next, he would go to the Blood Demon Hall for a formal meeting with the Sect Master and pay a visit to the Blood-Eyed Demonic Flood Dragon.

It was said that a message had come from King Tianpeng, entrusting him with alchemy. This was a favor he couldn't refuse, and it was also a good opportunity to catch up with the old flood dragon.

The Blood Demon Hall.

As the most prestigious place in the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect, Wang Yu had visited many times, but he had only truly entered during the last Nascent Soul meeting.

Other times he visited, he went to the old flood dragon's cave dwelling.

During this trip to Black Mountain Pass, Wang Yu achieved distinguished military merits. The fame of Demonic Lord of Extreme Law Profound Pills had already spread across the Scarlet Kite Continent, no longer being in his previous minor, skirmishing state.

And he was even more famous in Taihu; after all, he had risen by stepping on Zi Dian's corpse and had openly dispersed the spiritual sense avatar of the elder, Thunder Lord of Tiandu.

The stepping stone effect was significant.

From being the fastest cultivating genius among the younger generation of Scarlet Kite, he had transformed into a true powerhouse, already shedding the "weak" label of a newly advanced Nascent Soul and not losing to veteran powerhouses.

Stepping into the main Blood Demon Hall, the young-faced Sect Master sat high on the main seat, waiting for him to come for an audience.

"Wang Yu of Cold Blood Peak greets the Sect Master."

"No need for formalities, rise."

The Sect Master's attitude was mild, but this was only on the surface.

He still remembered the fate of the Young Sect Master and Lu Chenzhou, who were flayed and dismembered. Moreover, the Sect Master's secret technique seemed unfinished, still lacking something.

He had already set his sights on Zhuo Shouyun. This person had successfully forged a Blood Demon Physique after the Two Zhuo Struggle concluded, and this news was not a secret among the higher-ups.

Whatever Zhuo Shouqing and Zhuo Yuanshen's plans were, they had failed; Zhuo Shouyun was the sole victor.

The process wasn't important; knowing the result was enough.

The Zhuo clan also wanted to exert their influence to push Zhuo Shouyun into the position of Young Sect Master. After all, only someone with this physique could inherit the Blood Demon Hall lineage; there was a rigid standard, and no one could contend for it.

However, the Sect Master's scheme had already been exposed, and the Zhuo clan would not send their own people to their deaths. Hence, there had been no news of Zhuo Shouyun; he had been hidden away.

To prevent the Sect Master from making a move, they were also actively preparing for the next baptism of the Blood Spring Evil Art, hoping to artificially create a new "Blood Demon Physique unlucky fellow" to satisfy the Sect Master's appetite.

This objective was virtually an openly played hand.

The collective completion of the Blood Spring Evil Art's purpose was to give the useless descendants of the sect's old ancestors a chance to defy fate and change their destiny. If it were merely to create a "blood meal," no one would willingly offer their own children or descendants, not even a talentless good-for-nothing!

The Disciple Faction's thoughts on this were the same.

In recent years, the Disciple Faction had severely deteriorated internally and was transforming towards the Clan Faction. After all, they also procreated and had descendants; to call them a disciple faction was less accurate than to say they were the first generation of a nascent clan.

The two major factions were at loggerheads, completely unrelated to verbal excuses like ideology or sect development; they simply wanted to divide the spoils.

Inside the Blood Demon Hall, the Sect Master continued.

"Do you have any desired treasures for this return to the mountain? With your war merits, exchanging for a Fourth-Tier spiritual item is more than sufficient."

Wang Yu thought for a moment and said, "I wish for the Starry Demonic Stones from the Bloodfall, Sect Master..."

"Granted. This Sect Master never mistreats meritorious subjects. How about two?"

"It would be my pleasure."

Starry Demonic Stones were demonic treasures nurtured by the sect's Demonic Star Formation, most suitable for demonic cultivators. Wang Yu happened to plan to use them in conjunction with Nascent Souls for alchemy.

They could greatly advance his cultivation, and exchanging them for war merits was a bargain.

"Someone will deliver the Starry Demonic Stones to your cultivation grounds later. Do you have any other plans afterward?"

"Secluded cultivation, to increase my strength."

"Good, it seems your trip to Black Mountain Pass was not in vain, as you recognize this point. Since you intend to stay in the sect to cultivate, this Sect Master will not easily go against your wishes. However, the war is arduous. How about you refine pills for the sect instead? You can do it during your cultivation breaks. The rewards distributed within the sect are far from sufficient just relying on the Alchemy Hall."

The rewards given were generous, even somewhat excessive. It was normal for the Sect Master to propose additional conditions, and Wang Yu readily agreed.

This was the fate of an alchemist. With his current alchemy proficiency, using methods that focused on nurturing pills, refining one batch per year was no problem at all.

As long as he attended to it for half a month initially, he could then leave it in a corner to nurture itself; it wouldn't take much effort.

His attitude of agreeing to everything and complying with every request greatly pleased the Sect Master, who already considered him a core member of the Blood Demon Hall.

"Very well, you may go. I will have the old flood dragon handle future matters; you are more familiar with him anyway."

"Thank you, Sect Master. Wang Yu takes his leave."

Politely withdrawing from the Blood Demon Hall, Wang Yu felt his body and mind relax.

He still couldn't fully gauge the Sect Master's personality, thus he mainly responded in a compliant manner. The more powerful a demonic cultivator was, the more they detested defiance.

The Sect Master, being a half-step Spirit Transformation cultivator, was already the strongest in the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect.

Regardless of whether this powerful support was reliable, the benefits gained from compliance at this stage were quite substantial. The sect's usefulness to him would only decrease after he broke through to the late Nascent Soul stage.

The current pretense and feigning were merely for personal gain.

After leaving the Blood Demon Hall, he immediately went to Old Man Yu's cave dwelling. He hadn't seen it in a while, and within this grotto-heaven secret realm, the mist formed by condensed spiritual energy was even thicker.

In its depths, a dense blood-red glow lingered.

Numerous dragon-species aquatic creatures lived in the lake, and on land, there were communities of creatures like the Three-Colored Dragon Finches. All of them were subordinates of the Blood-Eyed Demonic Flood Dragon.

According to the intelligence he gathered from the Northern Demonic Tribes, the old flood dragon was a mutated individual of the Black Water Profound Snake clan, born with blood-red eyes, akin to an innate blood spiritual root among humans. It continuously purified its bloodline by devouring the bloodlines of its clan rivals, eventually transforming into a flood dragon.

Its reputation was quite ordinary; otherwise, it wouldn't have been called a demonic flood dragon.

It was basically on the periphery, semi-detached from its original clan, rarely interacting with them normally, and directly dealing with demonic lords like King Tianpeng.

So, was Yu Tangtang also a demon of this clan?

Pondering in his mind, Wang Yu opened his mouth and called out, "Senior Yu, this junior Wang Yu has come to pay a special visit."