Chapter 473: Mengshan Sect's Overt Scheme, Xueyu Transforms

Meanwhile,

Below the mid-slope of Mount Kuangmei, on the side leaning towards the Scarlet Kite Demonic Domain, a platform jutted out from the mountain. After being repaired, it became the main base of the Scarlet Kite demonic cultivators.

The offensive and defensive battle at Ice River Pass was led by Cold Blood Peak of the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect and the Nether Mountain Sect. The latter deployed a large number of Nascent Soul cultivators as their main force and held command authority. After all, the demonic internal strife had completely ended following the expedition to Dongji Capital.

With the Heaven-Refining Demonic Sect's involvement, the main force of the Yellow Springs Monastery was dispatched as vanguards to the Black Mountain Pass battlefield. The same applied to the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect; they would not have come here if the Cold Blood Peak cultivators weren't better suited for combat in icy and snowy environments. Ice River Pass would be the battlefield for the Nether Mountain Sect faction.

It was only natural for command authority to be in their hands. Furthermore, with a limited number of Nascent Soul cultivators from Cold Blood Peak, and the Cold Blood Mountain Lord presiding over the sect, Elder Blue Heart and Ice Spirit Fairy, two late-stage Nascent Soul Grand Cultivators, were among the main force, along with the mid-stage Nascent Soul Frost Demon Lord and numerous Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators from the four great Cold Blood families. This contingent, numbering over three thousand, was already a formidable force, serving as a main army on the Ice River Pass battlefield.

Wars between cultivators are fought based on the reserves of powerful individuals and the strength of their war artifacts. In this regard, the demonic path's war airships were not inferior to those of the righteous path, resulting in a balanced situation, which is why a contest of equal strength has persisted for a long time.

Using the Void-Return Heaven-Obscuring Spell, Wang Yu successfully bypassed the Blazing Sun Sect's encampment and directly infiltrated the Scarlet Kite's base. Considering his personal feud with the Nether Mountain Sect, Wang Yu chose to appear in Ice Spirit Fairy's tent. She was from the Zuoqiu clan and cultivated the same method as Wang Yu. Although they had not interacted much, a basic level of trust existed between them. Moreover, Wang Yu was there to help.

Ice Spirit Fairy's tent was quite spacious. All conditions were optimized, and this encampment even had several fourth-tier spiritual veins temporarily drawn in by a Geo-Formation Master, for the daily cultivation and recovery of numerous Nascent Soul experts. Passing through various outposts, Wang Yu went directly into the tent.

Ice Spirit Fairy was sitting cross-legged on the bed, her veil removed, revealing a face with arched eyebrows and pearly teeth, possessing the delicate elegance of a distant mountain hibiscus. Her face was indeed beautiful, otherwise she wouldn't have earned the title of "Fairy". However, in truth, her identity as a Grand Cultivator was far more appealing. Excluding a few oddities, men's desire for conquest is inherent.

Wang Yu leisurely admired her for several breaths before lightly coughing to announce his presence.

Ice Spirit Fairy suddenly opened her eyes, her sharp gaze sweeping over him. Upon seeing Wang Yu's handsome face, she quickly calmed down, then asked with a hint of surprise and doubt: "What kind of secret art is this? To think it could even deceive my senses..."

Wang Yu acted as if he hadn't heard and cut straight to the point. "Fairy, do you have confidence in taking this natural chasm of Mount Kuangmei?"

Ice Spirit Fairy slightly furrowed her delicate brows. "It seems you've made another breakthrough recently. Your talent is indeed formidable; no wonder you can manipulate a venerable one like that."

"You flatter me, Fairy," Wang Yu replied. "I merely used the power of the Yellow Springs Monastery Master to offer some resistance. The path of cultivation is arduous, with all beings striving for advancement; how could I be an exception?"

"That's what you say, but you rose from having a wasted spiritual root. The Profound Yuan Demonic Embryo is indeed unfathomable. Did Nine Evils also die by your hand?"

Wang Yu continued to evade the question. "Why dwell on the past? Let's talk about Mount Kuangmei and Ice River Pass. I haven't betrayed the sect; I am still one of Cold Blood Peak's Nascent Soul Patriarchs."

Upon hearing this, Ice Spirit Fairy suddenly understood. "I almost forgot, you also have the title of 'Profound Pill'. It seems you want to quickly raise your cultivation through Blood Path Spirit Pills. This path is not easy and will create countless enemies."

"You don't need to worry about that, Fairy. Instead, please inform me of the Nascent Soul roster for the Blazing Sun Sect and the Azure Cloud Sect, as well as the Nether Mountain Sect's recent strategic deployments."

After a moment of silence, Ice Spirit Fairy said, "Theoretically, I shouldn't give this to you, but you are indeed a Nascent Soul Patriarch of my Cold Blood Peak, so I will provide you with a copy."

Taking the spiritual jade slip, Wang Yu had mostly achieved his objective, so he continued to ask, "Do you have a detailed map of the locations of the fourth-tier spiritual veins on Mount Kuangmei?"

"Of course, there are. But there are also some near Lake Tai. If you hide there, you could easily fall into a trap."

"No matter."

Wang Yu cultivated the Earth Mother Scripture, which, although focusing on geomancy and arcane arts, also made him half a Geo-Formation Master. Drawing in spiritual veins was one of his core skills, even if he hadn't delved into the profound mysteries of formation arrays. The lineage of Formation Masters is divided into three branches: Heaven, Earth, and Human. Human Formation Masters are the lowest in skill, understanding neither geomancy nor celestial phenomena, thus forming the base of the Formation Master inheritance. Geo-Formation Masters, however, integrate the arcane arts of geomancers, and surveying and drawing in spiritual veins are their fundamental duties. Heaven Formation Masters, building upon this, possess the ability to set up grand celestial phenomena arrays. If they can combine the wonders of heaven and earth, they can evolve into the peak power of the Ice Prison Realm, though their numbers are extremely rare.

Finding spiritual veins was preparation for Xue Yu's breakthrough. Mount Kuangmei was so vast that, as long as he avoided some combat hotspots, utilizing the spiritual veins would not be difficult. As long as the lightning tribulation was drawn, no one could stop the breakthrough.

With both objectives achieved, Wang Yu immediately checked the information in the spiritual jade slip. Soon, his brows furrowed. "Is the Nether Mountain Sect slacking off?"

Ice Spirit Fairy nodded. "About twenty years ago, Elder Blue Heart and I, with the Heaven Formation Master Xu Yao, used the Heaven-Freezing Soul-Scouring Grand Formation to trigger a snowfall phenomenon. Our original intention was to use the cold current disaster to tie down the Azure Cloud Sect's core forces. Then, we would simultaneously attack Ice River Pass and Mount Kuangmei to secure a decisive victory. However, the Vice Sect Master of the Nether Mountain Sect, Bishop You Peng, advocated for a war of attrition. The opportunity was naturally wasted. After the Blazing Sun Sect used their Fiery Crow Blazing Flame Grand Formation to counteract the cold current's impact, the conflict devolved into a prolonged war of attrition. To this day, only two early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators have fallen—one righteous, one demonic—with very few achievements."

Ice Spirit Fairy's explanation was clear, and Bishop You Peng's objective was not difficult to guess. Their cooperation with the Yellow Springs Monastery had fallen through due to losses in Dongji Capital. However, the Yellow Springs Monastery and the Nether Mountain Sect shared a border. As long as the Yellow Springs Monastery expended too many high-level combatants, the Nether Mountain Sect would naturally be able to march north after the war between the righteous and demonic paths concluded, and seize a portion of the Yellow Springs Monastery's territory. Their sect's territory was originally in the southeastern corner of the Scarlet Kite region. Even if they gained vast territories as spoils from the righteous-demonic war, it would be difficult to manage fragmented, disconnected areas. No matter how fertile the land, it would hold little value for the Nether Mountain Sect.

Looking back, regardless of the outcome of the righteous-demonic war, the territories of both sides had never changed, always using the North Divide Mountain Range as a boundary. Therefore, Bishop You Peng's intentions were almost openly displayed. Whether they put in effort or simply gave up, the outcome would be largely the same. It was better to plan for the gains after the war ended. A brief moment of thought was enough to fully grasp Bishop You Peng's subtle intentions; he didn't care if others guessed them. As long as the Heaven-Refining Demonic Sect's focus remained on Black Mountain Pass, whether they won, drew, or were repelled here was irrelevant, unless a venerable one personally arrived to oversee the battle.

"This is a bit difficult to manage..." Wang Yu pondered how to break the deadlock, while reviewing the list of powerful cultivators from the Blazing Sun Sect and Azure Cloud Sect, as well as the numbers and compositions of their forces. Suddenly, an idea struck him. The Nether Mountain Sect had no real need to break through Ice River Pass; they were merely responding to the demonic leader's call. However, the Azure Cloud Sect and Blazing Sun Sect definitely wanted to achieve merit. Especially after being impacted by the cold current disaster, they had already lost face. Wang Yu had also wreaked havoc in Shuiyun Immortal Capital. If the Azure Cloud Sect had any shred of dignity, they wouldn't just swallow this humiliation; they would surely find a way to strike back. Otherwise, the reputation that righteous sects valued most would be utterly tarnished.

After long deliberation, Wang Yu believed the key lay with Daoist Jin Yan and Demon Lord Yin Jiao. Bishop You Peng, the commander of the Scarlet Kite faction, was a peak Nascent Soul cultivator. He would not easily engage in combat, and would even try to avoid situations that required his intervention. Demon Lord Yin Jiao was his most powerful subordinate. At the peak of the eighth layer of Nascent Soul, he was the Blazing Sun Sect's powerhouse pitted against Yin Jiao. Their strengths were comparable, and Jin Yan undoubtedly wanted to slay Yin Jiao. This "motive" might be the breakthrough point.

The specific plan required further deliberation. Wang Yu gave Ice Spirit Fairy a sound transmission jade talisman, so communication in the Mount Kuangmei area would not be an issue. He then cast the Void-Return Heaven-Obscuring Spell and departed. He remembered that the main activity area of the Demonic Luo Host was in the North Divide Mountain Range, and Lei Yao might be able to help him. Of course, directly asking her to help hunt down Azure Cloud Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators would certainly not work. However, if he revealed vulnerabilities in the Scarlet Kite's defense line, there might be room for maneuver. However, this move would likely cost him the friendship of this direct descendant of the Thunderfire Monastery, especially considering Wang Yu had served as a demon-slaying vanguard for a period. For the first deception, he was 100% confident of success. Afterward, they would become enemies.

This was one option. The second was to contact the Northern Demon Race and have them dispatch more Demon King-level powerhouses to lure the Azure Cloud Sect's cultivators deeper into their territory. During the previous cold current disaster, the Fiery Crow King of the Northern Demon Race had provided assistance, so they had an alliance with the Azure Cloud Sect, making further cooperation quite possible. His goal of hunting Nascent Soul cultivators could also be achieved. It would just require paying a greater price, unlike deceiving Lei Yao, which would only cost him a friendship. He also owed a favor to the Heavenly Roc King, and a free pill-refining favor each to the Shadow Mastiff King and the True Word King. He certainly had accumulated quite a few debts. Would a few more debts really matter?

Thoughts raced through his mind.

A moment later, on the outskirts of Mount Kuangmei, Wang Yu successfully rendezvoused with Xue Yu and Dou Zhao, who were waiting there.

"Master, how are things?"

"I've found a place for breakthrough, and the hunting plan still has some issues. But you don't need to worry about it; focus on transforming first."

"Mhm, mhm~" Xue Yu was like an echo, agreeing to whatever Wang Yu said.

Dou Zhao, however, wanted to actively help him share his worries. Seeing this, Wang Yu briefly explained the situation, and Dou Zhao analyzed it seriously. "From ancient times to the present, the only way to lure the enemy deep is to feign weakness, using battle results to entice the enemy's main force to venture into dangerous territory. However, in this battle, Lake Tai is on the defensive. For them, holding Ice River Pass is the fundamental objective. The significance of the Mount Kuangmei offensive and defensive battle also lies in ultimately securing Ice River Pass. Given the average age of Nascent Soul old monsters, faking it too obviously definitely won't work. But if we make it real, there's a chance they might seize the opportunity and rout us in one battle."

This balance was very difficult to strike, which was why Wang Yu was troubled despite having two options. He truly wished his enemies were simple-minded and could be easily tricked with minor schemes. However, this was impossible, unless it was an overt plot or exploiting an information gap. Otherwise, very few people could outmaneuver old monsters!

After a moment of silence, Dou Zhao suddenly said, "Master, why not look at the situation from a broader perspective? There might be an opportunity for a breakthrough."

"Broader perspective?" Wang Yu pondered silently, and then a flash of inspiration struck him. He blurted out, "Shuiyun Province... Shuiyun Immortal Capital?"

By looking at the overall situation, one would realize that the battle at Ice River Pass was in a stalemate, and the conflict between the Joyful Demonic Sect and the Thunderfire Monastery was also at a standstill. Furthermore, in the three provinces extending from Black Mountain Pass towards the Lake Tai Spirit Domain, with the Heaven-Refining Demonic Sect overseeing the battle, and a massive number of powerful cultivators from the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect and Yellow Springs Monastery, it was already confirmed that they would seize the three provinces.

When Wang Yu left Shuiyun Immortal Capital, the City Lord and the Inspector were still considering how the Scarlet Kite demonic cultivators would attack next, concerned that Shuiyun Immortal Capital was also a target. Consequently, they implemented numerous precautions, such as increasing border patrols, setting up covert outposts, establishing more road checkpoints, and so on. As long as the main force there continued to advance north, the Azure Cloud Sect, being the first in line, would surely panic. After all, they collectively possessed only four provinces. With ongoing conflict at Ice River Pass, Zehu Province had already fallen. If Shuiyun Province were also captured, they would lose more than half of their territory. The longer their sovereignty was lost, the greater the losses. Moreover, this war had the hidden objective of expending excess population, with many areas practically being handed over for demonic cultivators to slaughter. Under a strategy of sustaining war through war, the demonic cultivators, having acquired countless living resources, were in fact continuously growing stronger, especially with low and mid-level cultivators advancing rapidly. The Azure Cloud Sect would also worry about losing territory they couldn't reclaim. The seven righteous sects were not entirely unified either; there was no shortage of scheming and petty conflicts among them. Just like the Nether Mountain Sect's overt plot, if another righteous sect were to do something similar to the Azure Cloud Sect, and they couldn't reclaim their territory after the war ended, the losses would be catastrophic.

As for Wang Yu's sudden inspiration: "Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao!" Shuiyun Immortal Capital was a fertile land. After he annihilated the Yuan clan of the Red Cloud lineage, there would undoubtedly be disputes over its ownership. At that time, if pressure were applied from Black Mountain Pass, the Ice River Pass side would surely become more conservative, even withdrawing powerful cultivators to reinforce the south. This very contingent would be Wang Yu's target and the best way to achieve his hunting plan.

"My Zhao'er is truly intelligent." Wang Yu's unreserved praise made Dou Zhao blush. She stammered, "Even without me, Master, if you thought about it more, you would surely find a way."

"Not necessarily. The greatest fear for people is getting stuck on a single point."

The master-disciple interaction made Xue Yu twist uncomfortably. She chirped, "Master, let's go, transform, transform!"

"Alright." As they needed to travel through many dangerous areas, Wang Yu's previously discarded magical artifact, the Human Seed Pouch, once again proved useful, temporarily accommodating Dou Zhao. Xue Yu also returned to her spirit beast pouch to wait. In fact, Xue Yu's path to breakthrough was no longer difficult. All challenges had been resolved by Wang Yu. She only needed to focus on her breakthrough.

Thus, in just half a year, awe-inspiring heavenly might descended upon a sheltered hollow near a small spiritual spring, close to Mount Kuangmei's summit. Demonic energy surged skyward, and snow marks covered the ground.