Chapter 522: Fengyuan Cold Pool, Five-Colored Holy Lord

"Guidance? You fools, have you long forgotten your duties?"

Unexpectedly, the Prison King Spirit Official's first words were an insult, yet his condescending attitude had significantly softened. He spoke in a tone a superior would use with a subordinate.

The Azure Dragon Demon Venerable was bewildered, which made him even more cautious.

"Senior, where does this duty come from, if I may ask?"

The Prison King Spirit Official immediately snorted coldly.

"Haven't you left black steles specifically to record secrets? I'm sure there's plenty of bad talk about me on them, but don't forget, the original inhabitants of this realm are the Ice Clan. Although some demonic beasts exist, they don't cultivate and are utterly insignificant. Therefore, both the demonic beast cultivation system and the human cultivation system were taught by cultivators from the Immortal Palace. In other words, you are all reserve talents of the Immortal Palace and are inherently responsible for supervising the ancient demon's sealed grounds. Do... do I need to explain it more clearly?"

The Azure Dragon Demon Venerable immediately fell into a state of confusion and doubt.

It wasn't that his will was wavering, but rather that the opponent possessed peak Refinement Void stage strength. There was no need for them to explain kindly; they could simply crush him like a small ant.

Unless... they couldn't act.

Once this thought flashed through his mind, the Azure Dragon Demon Venerable looked at the Five-Colored Sacred Master. With only one life, he decided to test the waters first.

So he asked, "Is this also why you chose to serve the Senior?"

"Naturally." The Five-Colored Sacred Master, wearing an expression of benevolence, pointed a single finger skyward. "Were it not for the sake of all living beings and the mission of the Immortal Palace, why would I diligently perform so many good deeds? All of demonkind knows of this Sacred Master's benevolent reputation!"

This was a lie. The Azure Dragon Demon Venerable could tell something was amiss without even thinking, relying on his extensive life experience. The reason was simple: aside from renowned figures of the righteous path, such a person didn't exist in the world.

While there were many despicable acts committed by those on the righteous path, and indeed many scoundrels among them, they ultimately represented a minority. There were still many gentlemen with the world in their hearts. One cannot judge the good and evil of an entire group based on a few extreme anomalies; the principle is the same.

If the Five-Colored Sacred Master was evil, what good could this Prison King Spirit Official be? Moreover, humans are humans; most of the demon race's inheritances come from memories deep within their bloodlines. The *Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Art* he cultivated was born from his bloodline's yearning for true dragon blood, deduced by his ancestors one after another, and ultimately inscribed into their bloodline memories. This was to facilitate every rising talent of his clan. It had nothing to do with any Immortal Palace, so that 'duty' held no sway over him.

Thoughts swiftly cycled through the Azure Dragon Demon Venerable's mind.

At that moment, the Prison King Spirit Official seemed to grow a little impatient, his tone becoming slightly more hurried: "Azure Dragon, have you considered returning to the embrace of the Immortal Palace?"

The previous Northern Demon Sacred Master suddenly revealed a fawning smile and explained, "Senior, cultivators like us merely seek ascension to the True Spirit Realm. If you can guarantee that I will ascend in the future, then any other demands are fine!"

"Of course..." Before the words were finished, the Azure Dragon Demon Venerable suddenly transformed into a bolt of lightning and sped away towards the outside of the Phoenix Abyss Cold Pond.

The Prison King Spirit Official's promise completely exposed the fact that he was strong on the outside but weak on the inside. If he were to put himself in the other's shoes, if a Nascent Soul cultivator were to propose all sorts of conditions to him, the Azure Dragon Demon Venerable would undoubtedly swat them away, telling them to get as far away as possible.

And ascension, leaving the Ice Prison Realm! This was an iron rule set by the Immortals; no one could escape it at will. This Prison King Spirit Official did not have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the Immortals. Therefore, this 'pie in the sky' was simply too illusory in the Azure Dragon's eyes. They were treating him like a fool from the Ice Clan! If he still couldn't figure it out, all his years of demonic life experience would be for naught.

A peak Deity Transformation cultivator suddenly fled. The Five-Colored Sacred Master couldn't catch up at all and seemed not to have expected the other party to choose to flee so decisively, completely abandoning his dignity.

Although he had other thoughts, constrained by the presence of the Prison King Spirit Official, he temporarily couldn't speak, instead shamelessly asking, "My Lord, how should we proceed now?"

In the void beyond the world, the Prison King Spirit Official's expression was grim. Indeed, just as the Azure Dragon had anticipated, he couldn't act freely within the Ice Prison Realm. Under the Immortals' rules, the highest power allowed in this realm was at the Deity Transformation stage. Even the ancient demon's physical body could be restricted, let alone him. Therefore, the Prison King Spirit Official training cultivators within the realm for his own use was one of the best methods of intervention. The Five-Colored Sacred Master was merely a pawn; there were more powerful individuals working for him, eager to truly join the Immortal Palace, currently lurking in the shadows.

"You are not his match. Break through to Deity Transformation first, then we'll talk. There is a treasure here called the Heaven-Human Divine Vine, which grows in a fissure at the bottom of the cold pond. First, refine this treasure to break through to Deity Transformation, then contact me."

"Understood, my lord." With that, the spatial rift above the Five-Colored Sacred Master's head vanished. As the superior departed, his expression gradually returned to coldness, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

"Still wary of this Sacred Master, are they afraid we're putting on an act to deceive him? How cautious..."

He already knew about the Heaven-Human Divine Vine. After all, this treasure was recorded in the demon race's secret texts, and with his extensive reading, he had long since seen it. It was just that the item might not necessarily help him.

Whenever he thought of the 'inferior' cultivation aptitude of the Medicinal-Horned Deer clan, he couldn't help but feel emotional fluctuations. Even though he had evolved into a Five-Colored Deer, it was only at the terrestrial-grade limit. Such a bloodline simply wasn't qualified to reach Deity Transformation. Unless he could evolve into a Seven-Colored Deer, elevating his bloodline to the celestial-grade limit in one go. Furthermore, the cultivation method he practiced was also an issue; the Medicinal-Horned Deer clan had never produced a Deity Transformation cultivator. There was no corresponding cultivation method inheritance either. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered to latch onto the Prison King Spirit Official. In his eyes, his current problems could easily be solved by the other party. Yet, they remained indifferent... This suggested that either they were constrained by some rule and couldn't transmit cultivation methods to him, or they required him to achieve more substantial results.

His thoughts ended there. If it still didn't work after trying, then he would have to consider how to betray the Prison King Spirit Official to achieve his own goals. With this thought, the Five-Colored Sacred Master walked towards the edge of the cold pond.

Meanwhile, after realizing no one was pursuing him during his escape, the Azure Dragon Demon Venerable was somewhat surprised. He swiftly slowed down until he stopped completely. Feeling the depletion of his demon essence exacerbating his internal injuries, the Azure Dragon truly felt helpless.

With such a major upheaval in the secret realm, it was virtually impossible to continue recuperating here. Moreover, he had witnessed the changes in the secret realm itself. He knew it must have been caused by outsiders entering.

"Since the Five-Colored Sacred Master is the new Sacred Master of the Northern Demon Clan, he must have brought many demon experts with him..." As this thought flashed through his mind, and just as the Azure Dragon Demon Venerable was considering whether to rendezvous with the demon clan, his expression suddenly froze. He heard faint, indistinct voices approaching from not far away, and the sounds were growing steadily louder.

About half an incense stick of time ago, Wang Yu and his group successfully arrived at the Phoenix Abyss Cold Pond. The abundant frost spiritual energy there made him feel completely refreshed. According to the Dual Kings' judgment, the Azure Dragon was more likely to be in the Ice Demon Forest. Therefore, Wang Yu intended to cultivate in the cold pond for a period. This was both to search for the Divine Vine and to allow himself time to absorb the Ice Phoenix's fierce corpse, thereby gaining a new Myriad Transformations of Heavenly Devil form. This matter was quite important.

The Ice Phoenix possessed a genuine True Spirit bloodline. The improvement this level could bring was incomparable to trivial things like the Extreme Yin Dragon Body. Even in the True Spirit Realm, it would remain useful all the way to the Integration and Mahayana stages. The only issue now was that the Innate Demonic Embryo Body was merely a spirit-body level special physique, corresponding to the Deity Transformation stage. Only by further upgrading it twice could it even approach the true spirit bloodline. There was a gap between the two, a fact that was hard to ignore. Therefore, Wang Yu was very concerned about the possibility of failing to absorb it. Thus, he prepared to try with a small piece of flesh first; if successful, he would continue, if not, there would be no need to mention it again.

After he left the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm and returned to his sect, he would then investigate Evil Sword Peak to find the origin of the *Profound Origin Demonic Embryo Secret Art* and consider how to advance his physique. This matter had not been a necessity before. Moreover, the strongest existences in the Ice Prison Realm were Deity Transformation cultivators. The Innate Demonic Embryo Body had already reached the limit of the Ice Prison Realm, so the possibility of a method for further advancement was actually low, but it was a clue nonetheless.

Of course, these were matters for later. For now, there was no need to worry too much. Wang Yu's attention was primarily on the Phoenix Abyss Cold Pond, as he was still a long way from reaching the Great Completion of the Nascent Soul stage.

Considering the uniqueness of this place, he suddenly asked, "Junior Sister Yan Ling, could you sense something?"

She was, of course, perfectly aware of the hidden meaning in his words. Immediately, she activated the soul spirit mark in her palm and closed her eyes to sense. The Fire Crow King and Thunder Qilin King were perplexed. Yet, having a request, they dared not interject a single word and could only foolishly wait by the side.

After half an incense stick of time, Yan Ling suddenly opened her eyes, clear pupils filled with a surge of anger. "Senior Brother Wang, this place should be where the false phoenix imprisoned the true Ice Phoenix. It contains endless resentment and sorrow. Some flowing Ice Phoenix True Blood created the environment of the cold pond and also condensed a special type of exotic spirit stone called Sorrowful Phoenix Ice Blood Stone, which should be very helpful for your cultivation."

Wang Yu nodded thoughtfully. "Since it's an ice-attribute spiritual item, it will also be considerably useful to you. Take thirty percent."

This was clearly a form of consideration. After all, Wang Yu was the strongest here, and according to the demonic path's law of the jungle, the strong could take everything. The distribution of this thirty percent was due to her ability to guide the direction with her senses. Of course, this was the ostensible reason.

Yu Tangtang, pouting, said, "What gives? This secret realm is full of ice-attribute spiritual items; there's nothing Tangtang can use."

"That's not necessarily true." Wang Yu chuckled, affectionately patting her head.

The Fire Crow King, however, suddenly asked, "Fellow Daoist Yan, what was that about the false Ice Phoenix and true Ice Phoenix you mentioned just now? And this cold pond..."

Yan Ling nodded, her expression serious. "It should be your true first generation Sacred Master who is imprisoned here—the True Spirit Ice Phoenix who was supposed to lead the demon race to glorious prosperity for an era!"

The poor demon race seemed to have encountered nothing but misfortune since they were met, truly a strange turn of events.

The Dual Kings immediately fell silent, and no one knew what they were thinking. It wasn't until everyone was about to depart that an unexpected, aged voice made Wang Yu's alarm bells ring.

"Fire Crow, Thunder Qilin beast?"

The Azure Dragon Demon Venerable leaped out of the cold pond and landed before them. None of them had expected the Demon Venerable, whose tracks they had painstakingly sought, to appear so simply before their eyes. They could hardly believe their eyes.

It was the Fire Crow King who reacted quickly, instantly bursting into tears of joy. "Sacred Master! We've finally found you!"

The Azure Dragon Demon Venerable, however, remained expressionless. After the incident with the Five-Colored Sacred Master, he harbored a natural wariness towards the current Northern Demon Clan. Who knew if it was a trap set by the Prison King Spirit Official? Furthermore, there was a special Deity Transformation cultivator...

The Azure Dragon's gaze met Wang Yu's across the distance. The latter quickly offered a friendly smile and spoke, "It seems Senior Azure Dragon has encountered the Five-Colored Sacred Master. From the current outcome, it appears he failed."

"Oh?" The Azure Dragon Demon Venerable's interest was immediately piqued. "Young human friend, how much do you know about this scoundrel?"

Hearing this, Wang Yu glanced at the Fire Crow King and then back at the Azure Dragon. He already had many guesses about what the other party had experienced, as they clearly didn't trust their own kind and instead asked him, an outsider. After a moment of thought, he fully articulated his impressions of the Five-Colored Sacred Master. "He is deeply cunning and hard to see through, highly ambitious and desirous, skilled at disguise, very adept at manipulating people's hearts, but his strength is only average."

"Hmm, so that's how it is."

"—Sacred Master!" The Fire Crow King, seemingly oblivious to the Azure Dragon's demeanor, eagerly recounted everything the Northern Demon Clan had encountered within the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm. At the same time, he also explained the situation of the Northern Demon Clan in the outside world and the Five-Colored Sacred Master's reason for deceiving them into coming.

Wang Yu clearly saw the veins bulging on the Azure Dragon Demon Venerable's forehead, and his face twitched incessantly. He seemed to have never imagined the Northern Demon Clan would be in such a state. "Fools, fools! How could the Northern Demon Clan fall into the hands of you idiots? If I had known, I would have insisted on keeping the Fox Clan back then."

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Xue Yu suddenly poked her head out of the spirit beast bag, blinking her pink eyes, her face beaming with satisfaction. She clearly enjoyed the old man's praise.

Wang Yu helplessly pressed her back down, giving her a stern mental warning. He continued to watch the show.

The Azure Dragon Demon Venerable cursed for a long time, causing the Dual Kings to hang their heads so low they were almost tucked into their crotches, before finally getting to the main point. He turned to Wang Yu and said, "Young human friend, are you a fifth-rank alchemist?"

"Yes, I suppose so. Due to a lack of fifth-tier alchemy inheritance, I can only attempt to refine low-grade treasure pills."

"I happen to have a pill recipe here; see if you can refine it."

Wang Yu took the noticeably ancient scroll and unrolled it. It recorded an ancient treasure pill called the Frost Heaven Ghost-God Pill. It wasn't a pill specifically for treating injuries; accurately speaking, its effect was very niche. It was, in fact, a treasure pill that suppressed true flames.

Wang Yu's eyes lit up as he thought of something. "Is this a treasure pill for dispelling the Heaven-Refining Demonic Flame?"

The Azure Dragon Demon Venerable frowned. "Yes. Young friend, do you have some insight?"

"To be honest, Senior, I was also once entangled by the power of the Heaven-Refining Demonic Flame. It was only thanks to this indestructible body and vigorous life force that I managed to endure. If I had this pill, I wouldn't have needed so much trouble."

"So that's how it is."