Chapter 525: Heavenly Divine Treasure Vine Acquired, Leaving the Secret Realm

The Five-Colored Saint Master had waited a long time for this day.

In the past, the Medicinal Antler Deer clan served not only as the Monster Race's dedicated healers but also, in a sense, as consumables. The antler pearls that grew on their heads had never been used by themselves.

Moreover, when important figures were critically injured or at death's door, they were expected to offer their own flesh, blood, and even their entire monster bodies, sacrificing their lives to heal these key individuals.

He had long since grown tired of being treated like a lamb to the slaughter.

To ascend to the position of Saint Master, he had maintained a disguise for nearly a millennium, finally distinguishing himself from the countless pawns of the Prison King Spirit Official and ultimately securing this opportunity to reach the Divine Transformation stage.

The Heavenly-Human Divine Communication Vine was his only hope.

Once he successfully broke through and surpassed the limits of his bloodline, his humble origins would no longer restrict him. In fact, he could even use his cultivation realm to drive the evolution of his bloodline.

This would completely alter the future of the Medicinal Antler Deer clan.

Such were the constraints of the Monster Race's bloodlines: success and failure were both tied to them. However, once these constraints were broken, one could possess "limitless" potential.

The lower the cultivation realm, the easier it was to break these shackles.

Of course.

It wasn't strictly necessary to defy one's bloodline; normal bloodline advancement through rare natural treasures or special opportunities was also a viable path to greatness.

Take Wang Yu, for example: his body cultivation had reached the fifth stage, and his profound realm was as innate and controlled by him as a natural talent.

His descendants would have a certain probability of awakening top-tier aptitudes like the "Innate Body Cultivation Sacred Physique," representing the continuation and inheritance of his bloodline.

While this was the case for the Monster Race from birth, humans needed to be powerful enough themselves to pass down such potent traits through their bloodline.

Therefore, the higher a being's cultivation realm, the more difficult it became to procreate, and the greater the demands on the maternal body. After all, nurturing "little Nezhas" was something mortals simply couldn't endure.

Returning to the present moment.

The emotionally agitated Five-Colored Saint Master clearly overlooked the fact that, if one is to be a subordinate, one must understand their place. As the saying goes, "a wise person knows when to yield to circumstances."

Principles he normally understood perfectly well now seemed to escape him, and he reacted with significant defiance, as if he had lost his senses.

This instantly crossed the Prison King Spirit Official's boundaries.

To save the Five-Colored Saint Master, he had cleverly torn apart spatial barriers, redirecting Wang Yu's offensive divine ability elsewhere. On the surface, this seemed not to violate the immortals' rules.

In reality, he had already touched a forbidden line.

Having done so three times consecutively, he had already reached the limit of what he could suppress. Any further intervention, and the commotion of his actions would be detected by the Immortal Palace's supreme treasure—the Sky-Patrol Mirror!

If reported to the Omniversal Exorcism Court, those formidable enforcers would come looking for him, and he would be the first to be punished.

The Immortal Palace was one of the rulers of the True Spirit Realm.

It had its own established laws and regulations. The Prison King Spirit Official's duty was primarily supervisory, involving observation and reporting. If actual combat were required, a Void Refinement cultivator wouldn't be assigned to the role.

According to information provided by the previous Prison King Spirit Official, his senior brother, the natives of the Ice Demon Prison were very troublesome, having caused numerous disasters involving ancient demons breaking their seals.

They had even caused the deaths of two True Immortals stationed in the Immortal Palace.

Therefore.

His senior brother had thus taught him many practical minor divine abilities, primarily focused on cultivating native forces—a strategy akin to "using the barbarians to control the barbarians."

He had been in office for just over a millennium, and the Five-Colored Saint Master was a very important chess piece in his hands. If he could replicate his senior brother's feat of controlling the leader of the righteous path,

the entire Ice Demon Prison would naturally become incredibly peaceful, saving him much trouble. That's why he chose the Five-Colored Saint Master, who was meticulous, intelligent, and ambitious.

Whether demons, humans, or demonic cultivators, they were all tools to be utilized in his eyes. And when it came to understanding the Ice Demon Prison, it could be said that no one had more comprehensive information than the Prison King Spirit Official.

Giving up just one Heavenly-Human Divine Communication Vine...

If he missed this one, he could find similar opportunities elsewhere. The only pity was that much information could not be divulged to these natives of the lower realm.

He could only hint and see if the other party understood.

However, the Five-Colored Saint Master's sudden emotional outburst revealed a blind spot to him: his control over his pawns was too weak!

From the spatial rift, the Prison King Spirit Official remained silent for a moment.

"Lu You," he said, "as long as the green mountains remain, there will always be wood to burn. With me here, why worry about this one vine?"

The logic was sound.

It was also the last chance the Prison King Spirit Official would grant.

Unexpectedly.

The Five-Colored Saint Master turned and ran. Even Wang Yu hadn't expected the usually astute Saint Master to make such a choice.

It seemed that being influenced by a long-standing obsession...

...even the smartest person could make irrational decisions.

Hearing the long sigh, Wang Yu immediately quipped.

"Senior," he said, "do you require my assistance? I guarantee I won't harm a single hair on his head."

This was also a test.

Wang Yu had no idea about the Prison King Spirit Official's intervention standards, so naturally, he needed to probe further. After all, taking risks didn't mean rushing in blindly; he would never do anything with a guaranteed death.

If the other party agreed, it would prove that he was already constrained by the immortals' rules and could no longer act directly.

At that point.

The Five-Colored Saint Master would be entirely at his mercy, like a "chicken in a brothel." If the Prison King Spirit Official refused and personally retrieved the Saint Master, then Wang Yu would lean more towards achieving victory without a fight.

As for negotiations, it was all about attrition!

He could even accept the other party's invitation, as long as no life-threatening secret arts were cast upon him. He could simply play along!

The Prison King Spirit Official was clearly no fool; he instantly saw through Wang Yu's intentions. But even knowing this, there was nothing he could do. An overt scheme was precisely that overbearing.

There was only a choice to be made, no room for retreat.

With the situation as it was.

The Prison King Spirit Official's power surged forth once more from the spatial rift, instantly forming a talisman seal.

"—By Edict!"

"—Return!"

In an instant.

Gale-force winds surged, sweeping up mounds of snow. The already gloomy secret realm space grew even darker, and the entire Phoenix Abyss Cold Pond was almost completely dispersed.

Not a trace of water remained, only endless ice crystals still freezing the ground. Then, to his astonishment, the Five-Colored Saint Master found his body uncontrollably moving backward.

It was as if time were reversing; he was returning in reverse, in the very same posture he had used to leave.

Throughout his growth, he had consumed many spiritual items bestowed by the Prison King Spirit Official. Otherwise, relying solely on the resources and status of the Medicinal Antler Deer clan, it would have been impossible to cultivate a cultivator at the perfected Nascent Soul stage.

This kind of forced control had appeared more than once in his estimations, which was why he practiced demonic cultivation; demonic cultivators' deceptive methods were the most unpredictable.

He had wanted to prepare counter-curse methods in advance.

But when actually confronted, none of his preparations were useful. He didn't even know what method the Prison King Spirit Official had used, and his body showed no abnormalities whatsoever.

—How strange!

However, the current situation left him no time for further thought. With a flushed face, he reappeared before Wang Yu and meekly squatted down.

"Young friend Wang," he said, "how do you find my method?"

Wang Yu looked admiringly and clapped his hands repeatedly.

"Impressive, indeed worthy of a great figure from the Immortal Palace," he replied. "Might I ask if this talisman is a consumable item, or a form of talismanic divine ability?"

"There's no harm in telling you," he said. "This is a Reversal Talisman, typically used to rewind the temporal flow of an area to observe past events. I improved it using Gu arts."

"By implanting the Shadow Severing Gu into Lu You's shadow, I can achieve control over him through his shadow."

As for the more detailed principles, he did not elaborate.

Wang Yu, however, had an epiphany.

The Prison King Spirit Official himself was constrained by rules and couldn't act directly, but certain external objects and methods below the sixth stage were not entirely forbidden.

Like the talismans and Gu worms he just used... expanding on that thought, corpse refinement, beast taming, magical artifacts, puppets, flying swords, and so on, were all forms of power that could be controlled remotely.

Only then did he realize.

The other party's polite explanation, even highlighting the use of Gu arts, was a reminder that the Prison King Spirit Official was not someone to be trifled with casually.

His numerous past successes in preventing ancient demons from breaking their seals were proof of this.

Even if the other party didn't display Void Refinement stage power but merely targeted him with peak Divine Transformation strength, it would still be unbearable for Wang Yu at his current stage.

Another factor had been added to his considerations.

Wang Yu's already capable mind began to race even faster, pondering how to respond next.

After subduing the Five-Colored Saint Master, by some unknown means, he instantly rendered him unconscious, his spiritual sense fluctuations becoming incredibly tranquil.

The power within the spatial rift continued to surge.

The Heavenly-Human Divine Communication Vine floated out from the Five-Colored Saint Master's storage ring and slowly drifted before Wang Yu.

Gazing at the vine, which was entirely verdant but whose leaves shimmered like stars, with veins that resembled a human figure performing a sequence of movements,

undisguised greed flickered in Wang Yu's eyes.

This was the origin of the "Heavenly-Human Divine Communication."

It was said that someone with astounding comprehension once gleaned a Divine Transformation secret art from it, which is now the widely used breakthrough method for Divine Transformation cultivators.

It was also known as the Nascent Soul to Divine Transformation Art!

Its versatility could adapt to almost every human's physical state. One had to admit that the cultivator who created this method was simply a genius.

After numerous events, the treasured vine for Divine Transformation breakthrough was finally in hand.

Considering the situation was now different from their initial encounter.

Wang Yu had gained a much deeper understanding of the Prison King Spirit Official, progressing from initially seeing him as a "six-eared thief" to now being able to roughly estimate the limits of the power he could wield under the rules.

This was already significant progress, greatly increasing his confidence in breaking free from the cage that was the Ice Prison Realm.

Unfortunately, the intelligence was still insufficient, and some information couldn't be obtained merely by "asking." Facing this entity alone, Wang Yu's heart was not as fearless as he outwardly appeared.

Therefore... it was time to know when to stop.

And so.

Just as Wang Yu accepted the treasured vine, the Prison King Spirit Official was preparing to open his mouth to continue discussions about "recruitment," attempting to draw this rising talent into his own faction.

He had even prepared his rhetoric and bait.

Without any warning, Wang Yu smiled at him, then transformed into a streak of aurora and vanished above the cold pond ruins. The spatial rift, which had been constantly rippling, clearly froze for a moment.

Immediately after.

A furious roar suddenly shot into the sky, scattering countless dark clouds.

"Wang Yu! You dare to trick me!!!"

Heaven could attest.

The Prison King Spirit Official had never before been deceived by the lowly natives of a lower realm, nor had he even considered such a possibility.

In his view, since Wang Yu and the Five-Colored Saint Master had old grievances,

their rivalry was a normal state of affairs. Furthermore, after recruitment, it could even intensify competition within the group, further stimulating the natives' potential and making them serve him better.

He had never imagined that once Wang Yu obtained the item...

...he would simply turn his back and flee! Damn it, he ran!

The thought of the price and concessions he had made for this native, who then showed such utter disregard, ignited a devouring rage that nearly consumed his reason.

A terrifying spatial storm raged in the void behind the secret realm.

It almost destabilized the Ice Prison Realm's largest subordinate spatial secret realm, causing the entire Saint Master's Celestial Palace to tremble. Meanwhile, Wang Yu, in his rapid escape,

clearly had no intention of going to the secret realm's final area.

All the objectives of this journey had been achieved. He still had many living Nascent Souls in hand, and with the existence of the Tragic Phoenix Ice Bloodstone, just give him a little time...

...and Divine Transformation was within reach!

As for the Ice Demon Forest, whoever wanted to go could go. Thus, after escaping a certain distance and realizing the entire secret realm was beginning to shake, he decisively pulled out his Saint's Token.

He activated its power.

It directly teleported him out of the secret realm, a getaway so smooth it was remarkable. Of course, along the way, he didn't forget to use a sound transmission jade talisman to notify Yan Ling and the others.

At the entrance to the Celestial Palace Secret Realm, atop the ice mountain platform.

The Azure Dragon Demon Venerable was like a war god descended upon the world. Nine thunder dragons circulated around his body, and with every claw swipe, the mournful cry of a mixed-blood ice race member echoed across the sky.

Their corpses were like charred remains, struck dead on the spot by the thunder dragons.

No matter how strong they were, as long as they hadn't reached the Divine Transformation stage, they typically couldn't withstand a single blow from him. His offensive capabilities were clearly overkill, far beyond what these mixed-blood ice race members could contend with.

The traps they had set were like those of foolish fishermen trying to catch an adult blue whale with a net—like ants trying to shake a tree—utterly overestimating their own strength!

Meanwhile, the Azure Dragon Demon Venerable had never felt so alive.

This Nine Dragons Thunder Force divine ability was once his most powerful and renowned skill, yet he had successively been defeated by the White Tiger Demon Venerable and the Heaven-Refining Demonic Venerable.

This had significantly diminished his reputation, but those defeats weren't against the Nine Dragons Thunder Force at its peak. Even now, he wasn't employing it to its absolute maximum.

Facing an endless siege of Nascent Soul cultivators, the Nine Dragons Thunder Force, at less than fifty percent of its power, was like a divine judgment descending. Its dazzling electric light, imbued with the essence of thunder, effortlessly slaughtered his opponents.

He actually felt an extreme sense of exhilaration, as if he had vaguely returned to his peak state.

"Comfortable, comfortable, so comfortable!"

"I have been suppressed for a millennium, and I've never felt such exhilaration before."

Indeed, the "Musou" mode of mowing down enemies felt great.

The mixed-blood ice race was almost slaughtered into submission and disarray. The Sons of the Ice God, who held great renown in the endless ice plain, now seemed like toddlers just learning to walk.

The Azure Dragon Demon Venerable, on the other hand, was like a madman wielding a chainsaw. After his rampage, the area was strewn with charred remains and fleshy bits, completely cleared out.

The slightly panting Azure Dragon Demon Venerable's eyes widened.

"Come quickly and help this old man up!"

The Twin Monster Kings then reacted, rushing over to support him. In truth, the Demon Venerable wasn't that weak; he was merely using this gesture to deepen their bond.

Before he could say anything, he immediately sensed the spatial tremors, and his expression instantly changed.

"Quick, escape with all your might!"

At that moment.

Wang Yu and the others had just emerged from the secret realm and hadn't yet grasped the external situation when they heard the Azure Dragon Demon Venerable's furious roar.

Instinctively, they moved, fleeing from the area somewhat frantically.