Chapter 497: Qianbao Liquid, Sun-Piercing Demon Bow

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The Myriad Treasures Secret Realm serves as a social tool for Jinman Tower to build connections with numerous Nascent Soul cultivators, including those from the Scarlet Kite sect. One of its purposes is to foster goodwill among these cultivators towards Jinman Tower. It also aims to attract them and develop them into long-term clients.

Even if this doesn't fully succeed, each additional day these powerful cultivators spend in Golden Toad City significantly boosts Jinman Tower's daily revenue, as their spending power far exceeds that of ordinary cultivators. In addition to these various benefits, ticket sales are a crucial revenue stream, allowing them to acquire significant amounts of rare resources and top-grade spirit stones. All they relinquish, however, are the benefits of the Myriad Treasures Secret Realm.

The secret realm is akin to a fruit tree. If properly maintained, it will continue to yield delicious fruits year after year. Harvesting some, selling some, and gifting some is a perfectly reasonable approach. Notably, neither the Golden Clan of Tianchi nor the numerous Nascent Soul Grandmasters enshrined by Jinman Tower will enter the Myriad Treasures Secret Realm to contend for its treasures. This is precisely why the business has continuously prospered!

“Esteemed cultivators—” Jin Miaoshan announced from the high platform atop the jade steps, her voice clear and resonant. “The Myriad Treasures Secret Realm is now open. Fellow Daoists may submit their entrance fees here to gain direct access. All treasures acquired within will belong to the individual; Jinman Tower will not inquire about your gains. However, if the treasures you acquire are not to your liking, you may sell them to Jinman Tower; we welcome all transactions! Naturally, should conflicts escalate into death matches, your fates will be in your own hands; this establishment bears no responsibility.”

As her words concluded, the crowd immediately stirred. Wang Yu and Yan Ling exchanged glances, then swiftly transformed into two streaks of light, surging directly into the spatial vortex that shimmered like fragmented gold. Do not ask why they bypassed the ticket fee. The simple answer is: connections.

An elder from Jinman Tower also displayed a look of confusion. Jin Miaoshan calmly stated, “Their tickets were paid to me long ago. Why… do you have an objection?!”

“No, no, no, Miss Miaoshan, you misunderstand. I was merely observing the confusion among these fellow Daoists.”

“What could possibly be delayed in just a few breaths?”

Indeed. Upon realizing that the two had gained a head start, the numerous Nascent Soul cultivators promptly dropped their top-grade spirit stones and swiftly followed them into the Myriad Treasures Secret Realm, the whole process taking no more than five breaths. The area before the Myriad Treasures Secret Realm was now completely clear.

“A total of one hundred and thirty-six Nascent Soul cultivators entered. Half of them were from the Nether Mountain Sect, many from the Joyous Demon Sect also arrived, and there were even rogue cultivators from the South Sea.”

“Record this accurately and present it to my palace later.”

“—Understood!”

The Myriad Treasures Secret Realm was unlike the Profound Bone Nether Palace, the Buried Pit, Eastern Capital, or Thunder Accumulation Mountain — all places Wang Yu had previously explored. His past destinations could only be described as ruins. The only exception, the Buried Pit Secret Realm, was also essentially the Yellow Spring Mausoleum. These places were sealed due to demonic puppets infected by ancient devils; they were far from normal and certainly not designed as trials for future generations.

The Myriad Treasures Secret Realm, however, was different. It was a classic trial secret realm established by predecessors, much like the Ancient Beast Ancestor God Mountain. The rewards were tiered, with each stage linked to the next in a continuous chain. It was unknown what kind of successor cultivators the ancient practitioners who established the secret realm truly sought. In any case, the primary danger stemmed from the fellow Nascent Soul cultivators, not the realm itself. In this regard, the Holy Lord Heavenly Palace should also be a similar type of secret realm. However, given the numerous hidden secrets involved, it couldn't be judged by conventional experience.

After passing through the secret realm's portal, their vision instantly brightened. The secret realm was a self-contained world. In ancient times, such realms were typically maintained by formations and wondrous geomantic arrays, while the ability to create a spatial dimension was one of the divine marvels achieved by Refinement Void cultivators. In principle, the Ice Prison Realm shouldn't have been able to support so many secret realms, but the existence of the Void Dao Canon taught its inhabitants many techniques for manipulating space. Most of these secret realms were, in fact, extensively created during that era. The gradual disappearance of spatial spiritual materials in the Ice Prison Realm was partly due to the massive consumption during that era, which led to the extinction of many precious resources and a lack of the special environments needed for their regeneration.

To return to the main point: after a momentary darkness, a twilight-like sunset illuminated the world in golden hues, filling the sky. Unusually, a large quantity of rock fragments floated suspended in mid-air. They formed a winding stone staircase that stretched into the clouds, its end lost to sight. A profound silence enveloped the secret realm, as if no living beings existed within.

The spiritual energy concentration was approximately Tier 3, becoming purer with ascent. Upon landing, the two quickly stepped onto the floating stone staircase. Flying was prohibited on the stone steps; only walking was permitted. Furthermore, a gravity restriction was in place, with the pressure varying for each cultivation stage. For Nascent Soul cultivators, it was naturally the ultimate test.

“A physical body trial… It seems the ancients indeed valued physical cultivation far more than cultivators do today.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Ling couldn't help but glance sideways. She knew Wang Yu possessed an exceptionally strong physique. “Brother Wang, if you're confident you can gain an advantage, please go ahead. This place currently prevents me, Yan Ling, from progressing quickly.”

Wang Yu smiled indifferently. Noticing the golden-fragmented vortex behind them growing brighter, he knew others were catching up. He said, “It's an outdated trial; just follow my lead.”

With that said, an invisible field of force expanded from him, enveloping Yan Ling and directly shielding her from the gravity restriction's pressure. Recalling the agony of tempering his body with the Heaven-Refining Demonic Flames, a pain that made his very bones scream, this minor gravity was utterly insignificant. The Immortal Spirit Bones cultivated by a body cultivator nearing the peak of the Fourth Tier possessed a pressure resistance far beyond anyone's imagination.

Yan Ling felt her body lighten considerably. She immediately followed Wang Yu's pace, rapidly ascending the floating stone steps; even describing their speed as 'walking on air' would be an understatement. In mere breaths, they had already reached the halfway point.

At that moment, figures arrived one after another within the Myriad Treasures Secret Realm. Everyone instantly spotted the two who had ascended to the mid-section of the stone steps, and those in the know cried out in astonishment. Those entering for the first time, lacking prior information, were utterly perplexed.

“That speed, is that considered fast?” Immediately, a cultivator conjured a streak of light and charged headlong. The moment he ascended, he was instantly slammed into the ground by an immense force, unable to rise for a considerable time. He instantly became the object of everyone's amusement.

An informed individual remarked, “The first stage is the Gravity Stone Steps. Gravity increases with altitude, testing physical strength. It's a rather traditional trial; you can resist the pressure using your magical power.” With that, he was the first to ascend the stone steps. However, his speed was no faster than an ordinary person walking. His face turned crimson, as if he were straining with constipation.

Only then did the others abandon their dismissive attitudes, casting strange glances at the increasingly fast Wang Yu and Yan Ling. One truly had to experience the pressure firsthand to grasp its sheer absurdity. “Are those two even real people??”

“Damn it, we only entered a few breaths later, yet there's such a vast difference! Did those two perhaps purchase some top-secret intelligence from Jinman Tower?” Such malicious speculation, born of human nature, was quite common.

As the Nascent Soul cultivators began ascending the gravity stone steps, Wang Yu, enveloping Yan Ling within his field of force, had already surged into the clouds, reaching the second challenge of the Myriad Treasures Secret Realm.

On a unique platform composed of white clouds, ethereal tendrils of cloud qi, like silkworm threads, coalesced into a vast, stable cloud platform. This imbued the area with an inexplicably ethereal, transcendent aura, reminiscent of the immortal path. The void suddenly shimmered with colorful light, from which two drops of precious liquid condensed and descended before Wang Yu and Yan Ling. Wang Yu was quite familiar with this item.

“Hundred Treasures Liquid. It can upgrade a magic treasure by one grade without any side effects and is effective on all items below Tier 3 peak grade.”

Back then, he had used this very liquid to enhance the Ghost Flute's grade. Seeing it again stirred a touch of emotion, especially since sonic spell arts had long been removed from his list of proficiencies. The Black-Eyored Elder's storage ring contained a fair number of valuable demonic sound abilities. He could pick them up again when he had leisure, as demonic sound manipulation could, at times, be quite convenient. They were also particularly suitable for large-scale situations, such as battlefields.

After Yan Ling put away the Hundred Treasures Liquid, she pointed to the boundless white cloud platform and asked, “What is the trial for this second stage?”

“A speed trial!” The Nascent Soul cultivators' suspicions were not unfounded. During that month of dalliance with Jin Miaoshan, Wang Yu had indeed exploited numerous backdoors, acquiring a wealth of information about the Myriad Treasures Secret Realm from her. He knew the trials of each stage like the back of his hand.

“Do you see the cloud qi flowing beneath the clouds? You must fly forward at your fastest possible speed, following their direction of flow. Reaching the required speed will lead you to the end of the second stage. If your speed is insufficient, you will return to the starting point, trapped in an endless loop, never breaking through this barrier.”

“So that's how it is.”

Having fully grasped the situation, Yan Ling initially considered competing with Wang Yu in speed. However, just as she unleashed her Snow-Treading Escape Technique, she saw the lingering streaks of aurora vanish into the horizon. She was instantly dumbfounded. This speed surpassed even the escape velocity of the Blood Demon Palace Master, as she remembered it—not by a little, but by a significant margin. This revelation made her doubt herself. She seemed… to be a hindrance. If he had come alone, he would likely have been far ahead by now, sweeping up all the most valuable treasures within the Myriad Treasures Secret Realm.

Yan Ling couldn't help but clench her fists. She, too, was a prodigy. Breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm at such a young age, she was considered top-tier in any faction. Yet, before Wang Yu, she felt like a mere burden. How could she possibly tolerate this? She even considered the Holy Lord Heavenly Palace, thinking that if her presence weren't essential, he might not even want to bring her along. The blow to her self-esteem was a wound outsiders could scarcely comprehend. Yan Ling gritted her teeth and shot forth as a streak of ice-blue light.

Applying escape techniques in combat was a fundamental skill for Core Formation cultivators, and clashing divine abilities was also a common combat method. As they charged along the cloud path, they encountered some differences compared to the intelligence they had received. For instance, white, flood dragon-shaped “creatures” occasionally emerged from the clouds. These creatures would launch attacks on cultivators speeding along the cloud path. Their attack strength definitely reached Tier 4, an unforeseen event not mentioned in Jin Miaoshan's intelligence. Although it had no significant effect on Wang Yu, he still noted this change, realizing he couldn't blindly trust all the information provided by Jin Miaoshan. Perhaps the Myriad Treasures Secret Realm had undergone certain transformations after years of operation and development.

A moment later, at the end of the cloud path, the void before Wang Yu once again shimmered with multicolored light. Two spiritual artifacts quietly floated there, awaiting his collection.

Thousand Treasures Liquid: Capable of upgrading Tier 3 magic treasures to Tier 4 without side effects, or elevating Tier 4 magic treasures by one grade. It has no effect on spirit treasures.

Cloud Dragon Heart Gold: A Tier 4 top-grade treasure material, a unique metal that influences the path of the mind.

Both rewards belonged to Wang Yu. The rewards set by the ancients were indeed generous. Of course, this also correlated with Wang Yu's performance; a Nascent Soul cultivator displaying speed comparable to a Soul Transformation cultivator had essentially reached the upper limit for the second stage's reward. The former could be used to enhance the Taihe Blood Cauldron, while the latter could be integrated into the Glazed Pagoda, strengthening its mental cultivation power and shielding him from external demonic intrusions.

The third challenge was the final stage of the Myriad Treasures Secret Realm. Upon completion, one could behold the true form of the Myriad Treasures Pond and receive the ultimate reward. While the process of clearing the stages might seem simple and devoid of danger, this was solely due to Wang Yu's extraordinary speed. His companions couldn't even keep up with his dust, let alone cause him any trouble. For him, it was merely an ordinary secret realm experience.

The two stages, focusing on physique and speed, tested a cultivator's fundamental qualities. The first stage leaned towards comprehensive assessment, while the second, though primarily about speed, also incorporated many hidden trials. These included demonic essence capacity, endurance, comprehension of escape techniques, and more. To elaborate, one could discuss them for half a day.

The third challenge was even more intriguing. At the end of the cloud path, a cloudless twilight sky stretched endlessly, and looking down, one could see no bottom. Cultivators were required to design a magic treasure. This design, inscribed on a spiritual jade slip, scroll, or blueprint, would then be cast into the twilight sky. The artifact spirit of the Myriad Treasures Pond would then judge whether the design was worthy of its personal refinement. If the design passed the judgment, it was naturally considered a success. If not, one could only acknowledge their bad luck. The Nascent Soul powerhouses attracted here, including Bishop Youpeng, all came seeking a fortuitous encounter. They were gambling on the Myriad Treasures Pond refining a Tier 5 spirit treasure. Success would bring universal joy, as the top-grade spirit stones paid for tickets were but a drop in the ocean by comparison. Even if it failed, there was a guaranteed minimum reward, ensuring no loss.

Most importantly, this challenge allowed for external strategies. One could prepare a uniquely shaped, extraordinarily complex, wondrous magic treasure in advance to pique the interest of the Myriad Treasures Pond's artifact spirit. Alternatively, one could commission a master artificer to custom-design one. Bringing a blueprint to the Myriad Treasures Secret Realm to try one's luck was also feasible. The spiritual sentience born from a Tier 5 spirit treasure was often very weak, and its potential for growth was highly dependent on its master. Such sentient spirits were often easily deceived and stubbornly adhered to their principles. A spirit as mature as the Myriad Treasures Pond's, having already evolved into a true artifact spirit, was extraordinarily rare. Whether another could be found in the Ice Prison Realm was unknown.

In this regard, Jin Miaoshan revealed a clever trick: since too many people had used this shortcut, the Myriad Treasures artifact spirit had grown weary of it. Unless a design was truly superb, conventional blueprints for Tier 5 spirit treasures would struggle to pique its interest. In fact, the simpler the design and the fewer the requirements, the greater the subjective initiative the artifact spirit could exert.

Thus, Wang Yu made no special preparations. Instead, he pulled out a blank spiritual jade slip and began inscribing it on the spot. A bow-type spirit treasure: primarily of the ice attribute, supplemented by the power of stars… capable of slaying Soul Transformation cultivators… with charge-up abilities… extended range… celestial positioning… and so on! This was a spirit treasure he conceived, tailored to his own abilities. Wang Yu provisionally named it: the Sun-Piercing Demonic Bow! A formidable weapon designed specifically for Soul Transformation cultivators.