Chapter 546: Transformation Spirit Second Level, Six Desires Heavenly Demon Diagram

The Qinghe Valley Master, who had proposed the suggestion, showed no sign of annoyance. He merely stated calmly, "Since you elders deem it inappropriate, then propose a feasible method. Do not object merely for the sake of objecting."

Well then...

Several cultivators, so old they were practically in their graves, exchanged glances. The unspoken message in each other's eyes was, "He's talking about you, isn't he?" These individuals had contended with the Qinghe Valley Master for the sect leader position multiple times, ultimately losing by a narrow margin. Though their personal strength had reached the half-step Deification stage, their advanced age meant they had long lost the potential for further breakthroughs.

According to sect tradition, such a talented young junior as the Qinghe Valley Master needed to be suppressed somewhat, to keep him humble and prevent impetuosity. Of course, that was the stated reason, but their true intentions were known only to themselves.

Old Man Tianshou, the former Valley Master, now stood up and spoke. "The outer realm invaders threaten the very survival of this entire domain. We absolutely cannot be the first to act. What if the Sword Sect abandons us? The disciples of Crane Return Valley are most adept at enduring hardship! As long as we can endure the initial difficulties, these demonic invaders, true to their nature, will descend into internal strife. We won't need to lift a finger."

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone offered a different opinion. "Elder Tianshou, this time is different. Even if it's like the previous righteous-demonic war, how can we possibly withstand the attacks of Deification cultivators? Why not listen to the Valley Master and fight these villains to the death!"

The speaker was clearly a confidant of the Valley Master and one of the leading figures among the younger generation. The concept of "young" in Crane Return Valley differed from other factions; in their view, anyone not yet white-haired was considered young and needed to be suppressed.

"Impossible!"

"Why not?"

"That would be a great taboo among all under heaven! Even if the sect survives, it will be held accountable later!"

"It's better than being annihilated now."

"—You impudent fool, you're not fit to scheme with!"

"Old geezer, what risks have you ever taken for the sect, besides flaunting your age? And you dare to challenge me?!"

Aargh!

Seeing that the two sides were about to come to blows, the Qinghe Valley Master suddenly slapped the table, stood up, and roared, "Silence!"

The chamber instantly fell silent, but then they heard the Valley Master say, "Meeting adjourned. We will discuss this again next time!"

With that said, he flicked his sleeves and walked away, clearly enraged, his demeanor conveying, "How can I possibly manage the sect with a bunch of insects like you?"

Everyone immediately exchanged bewildered glances. No one dared to follow the Valley Master.

Arriving in a dark, lightless secret chamber, the Qinghe Valley Master stood in the formation, knelt on one knee, and said, "Your servant, Qinghe, respectfully invites the Master to descend."

In the boundless void, deeper than darkness itself, a pair of purple eyes suddenly opened. It was a wisp of divine consciousness projected by the Spirit Official of the Prison King, and his eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

"How is it?"

"Everything is proceeding smoothly. The conflict between the youth and elder factions in Crane Return Valley has reached an irreconcilable point, and the Void Beast strategy has provoked a strong reaction. As expected, they will be unable to form a unified and cohesive force before the Heaven-Refining Demonic Venerable arrives. Furthermore, under my arrangement, the younger faction has secretly set up formations. At the critical moment, Void Beasts can still be lured into the realm, creating spatial storms powerful enough to crush Nascent Soul cultivators and even restricting the spatial teleportation techniques of Deification cultivators."

"—Very good."

Compared to the Five-Colored Sacred Master, Qinghe was the latest one he had cultivated, yet also the most convenient realm traitor to employ. This plan was relatively simple. He planned to use the Guixu Kun Beast, a strange creature that roamed outside the world, surviving by devouring void energy. This beast would simultaneously banish Crane Return Valley, the Blood Devil Hall Master, the Yellow Spring Demonic Venerable, and the Heaven-Refining Demonic Venerable into the void beyond their realm. At that time, he could rely on his own peak Void Refinement strength to annihilate them all in one fell swoop!

This plan also included bait to attract more Deification cultivators. Killing them all would naturally greatly alleviate the pressure on the Ice Prison Realm. As for the Sword Sect, having lost their allies in breaking the cage, the pressure on the Spirit Official of the Prison King would be incredibly minimal, and they wouldn't be able to cause any more trouble for several millennia. However, there was a chance this plan could be discovered. Nevertheless, even if he only managed to kill two newly advanced Deification cultivators, it wouldn't be a loss. After all, the Blood Devil Hall Master and Yellow Spring had already fallen into the trap and could hardly escape. He merely wanted to further expand his gains; success or failure, the outcome was acceptable.

As darkness returned to silence, the secret chamber was once again empty.

But as the Qinghe Valley Master exited the secret chamber, a voice suddenly sounded beside him.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh? Former Valley Master Tianshou." Qinghe narrowed his eyes and offered a faint smile. "Has the former Valley Master come to surrender?"

"Absurd! Qinghe, what were you just doing?!" Tianshou's words were sharp and went straight to the point, and a triumphant smile appeared on his heavily wrinkled face. "Hahahahaha, Qinghe, you wouldn't want the world to know about your secret dealings with the demonic path, would you?"

"Oh?" Qinghe's eyes flickered, and he gazed strangely at Tianshou as if surprised, while Tianshou became even more smug.

"Am I wronging you? If you deny it, then let this old man enter and search. Do you dare prove your innocence?"

"Former Valley Master, enter if you wish." Qinghe stepped aside, revealing a wide path. He appeared completely fearless.

As both were half-step Deification cultivators who had condensed a Dharma Idol, Tianshou had no fear of Qinghe whatsoever. Having finally seized such a rare opportunity—the very chance he had tirelessly sought to reclaim the Valley Master position—how could he possibly miss it?

The next day, the Qinghe Valley Master announced with immense sorrow that former Valley Master Tianshou had died of old age in his cave dwelling the previous day. The entire Crane Return Valley was thus enveloped in even deeper sorrow. Simultaneously, conspiracy theories began to secretly stir up even greater unrest.

Scarlet Kite — Rebel Spirit Blood Sect.

After learning about the latest intelligence from the righteous-demonic battlefield, Wang Yu once again entered seclusion. Such was the nature of higher cultivation, often necessitating frequent short periods of meditation. Cultivators like him, who achieved significant gains with each seclusion, were few and far between. More often, cultivators found it difficult to perceive any progress in their cultivation. A major difficulty in cultivation lies precisely in this. Innumerable cultivators, unable to perceive personal changes during their day-to-day persistence, eventually give up, believing they have reached the limits of their potential. In reality, pure accumulation of effort can only be refined slowly. The distinction between aptitude and comprehension lies in understanding secret cultivation techniques, especially those for divine souls, which demand extremely high levels of comprehension and aptitude.

This seclusion was for Wang Yu to refine the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Diagram and to break through to the second layer of Deification. Once all this was complete, news should also have returned from the Ancient Beast Ancestral God Mountain. By then, he would coincidentally receive the results of the Crane Return Valley incident, allowing him to formulate his next plan.

"First, I'll refine the artifact..."

Inside the quiet room for seclusion, Wang Yu sequentially arranged the materials for refining the spirit artifact. Secondary materials were directly drawn from the sect's treasury; with his current strength, he could naturally take whatever he wanted. The entire sect was his cultivation resource; he had no need for restraint.

Meanwhile, at the Ancient Beast Ancestral God Mountain.

Dou Zhao, clad in black and red form-fitting attire, looked valiant and heroic. However, covered in copious sweat, combined with her naturally charming and enchanting appearance, she appeared incredibly alluring, as if engaged in some peculiar game. Unfortunately, no one on this Ancestral God Mountain could witness the sight.

With Wang Yu's name as a guarantee, her challenge of the Ancestral God Mountain proceeded very smoothly, receiving permission from the many old demons in the Heart Beast Tower. This rectangular colossal mountain, shaped like an iron pillar, was of immense help to her. The ever-changing methods of tempering on each floor allowed her to solidify her foundation and increasingly master everything she possessed. For the reward on each floor, she chose cultivation. She received infusions of heaven and earth spiritual energy, greatly increasing her magical power. In just a few years, she had already approached the late Core Formation stage. Once she reached its peak, she could swiftly condense a Nascent Soul with the Blood Infant Pill granted by Wang Yu, becoming a top-tier expert in this realm. However, the probability of her breaking through was not yet high enough. She needed more methods to increase her breakthrough probability.

She had now reached the final layer of the Ancestral God Mountain, where gravity from all directions pierced her body, exerting immense pressure on her internal organs. It felt as if countless massive hands were squeezing her vital points, constantly compressing. This feeling, apart from "pain," was almost indescribable. Her delicate body trembled continuously, and with every step, copious amounts of blood spilled out. She advanced purely by willpower. From her lips, a constant murmur escaped: "My... Master... I must... for Master, obtain the secret technique... I must... the secret technique... Master." Her consciousness gradually blurred, and her blood slowly drained away. Strands of demonic energy became increasingly distinct; evidently, she was continuously breaking through in a near-death state, making her magical power even more condensed. In her blurred consciousness, she lost her sense of time. It felt like an instant, yet also like an eternity.

Finally!

Her upward-lifting foot no longer met a step. Dou Zhao collapsed with a crash but swiftly recovered within the crimson glow emanating from the Beast Ancestor bronze statue on the mountaintop. Not only were her internal injuries fully healed, but she also emerged stronger from the ordeal. She naturally broke through to the late Core Formation stage, and her hazy consciousness was awakened by a mysterious power. She went from utter exhaustion to vibrant energy, as if she had just had a good night's sleep.

"This is—" Dou Zhao, sensing something, suddenly looked up and said to the Beast Ancestor bronze statue, "I want the most supreme divine soul cultivation secret technique!"

The remnant will within the bronze statue had long since dissipated when Wang Yu reached the summit, leaving behind only a rigid mechanism to fulfill the requests of successful challengers. The bronze statue's eyes immediately burst forth with a golden light. Where the light projected, dense characters appeared. Dou Zhao quickly stepped forward, memorizing them while also taking out a record pearl to record them, to prevent any errors or omissions. She looked at the complex and mysterious characters and murmured, "The Heavenly Star Destiny Nourishing Soul Wonderful Method involves drawing in the vitality of the Southern Dipper and the death qi of the Northern Dipper, merging them to form a life-death grinding disc to refine the divine soul and purify its divinity. Its cultivation requires the aid of Heavenly Star Treasure Pills..."

This cultivation secret technique undoubtedly belonged to the most supreme tier. But its difficulty was absurdly high. Simply drawing in the vitality of the Southern Dipper and the death qi of the Northern Dipper was a major challenge, and because the life-death grinding disc was so effective, its side effects were not something just anyone could endure. One would need Heavenly Star Treasure Pills to heal injuries to the divine soul and endure the early stages of cultivation. Only after the divine soul adapted to the tempering of life-death star power and gradually developed resistance would the aid of Heavenly Star Treasure Pills no longer be necessary. Once the secret technique was cultivated to mastery, the divine soul would meet the requirements.

After reading the entire text, Dou Zhao scratched her head a little, "Won't this be a bit too difficult...?"

However, as soon as she thought of her Master's requirements—the harder, the better, for he wouldn't want anything too simple—"This is it!"

After obtaining the reward for clearing the Ancient Beast Ancestral God Mountain, Dou Zhao quickly descended, greeted the old demons in the Heart Beast Tower, and then sped off towards the Rebel Spirit Blood Sect. She appeared to be in a great hurry.

An old demon couldn't help but lament, "The human race is truly blessed by heaven, with an endless stream of exceptionally talented individuals. Yet our demon race has repeatedly suffered misfortunes, and the Sacred Master we finally chose turned out to be an internal spy. How tragic!"

"Stop your wailing, old bird." An old turtle sharply rapped the old bird on the head. "If you have time to dwell on that, you'd better think about how to settle the remnants of the Thunderfire Temple's defeated forces. Your third brother brought them here, so you deal with it."

"Hmph, you old turtle, don't bully this bird too much! Be careful, I'll report you to the Azure Dragon Demon Venerable."

"Enough of that. Get ready. The decisive battle will begin soon. Whether we are dragons or worms will be decided in this one encounter. If we lose, this cultivation world will likely be utterly ruined. Perhaps we should start thinking about what kind of monument to leave for future generations..."

A sense of impending storm swept across the entire cultivation world. All top forces understood the outer realm threat. Those capable actively prepared for battle, while those incapable could only pray in secret. Within a century at most, once the Heaven-Refining Demonic Venerable was ready, everything would be reshuffled.

Rebel Spirit Blood Sect, Wang Yu's seclusion chamber.

Two years passed in a flash. Thanks to the aptitude advantage brought by his Ice Phoenix form, his speed of accumulating demonic essence was incredibly fast. Only five years after breaking through to Deification, he ushered in an opportunity to advance further. The dark blue frozen demonic essence once again filled his Dantian Qi Sea. As the placement panel continuously provided feedback, a thin layer of obstruction vanished with a roar. Wang Yu's aura surged significantly, and his essence, qi, and spirit all experienced a noticeable improvement. His overall strength ascended another level. He naturally broke through to the second layer of Deification. If he continued to cultivate with the placement system, he could make another breakthrough in just over fifty years. Unfortunately, he lacked the corresponding spiritual elixirs. Otherwise, his progress would be even faster.

"Finally, I've broken through..."

After closing his eyes and assessing his state, fully grasping all the improvements, Wang Yu's gaze fell on the pale white ball of fire beside him. Within it, an exquisite black scroll was undulating. It was the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Diagram, currently undergoing nourishment. Two years into his seclusion, he completed the preliminary refining in the third month. The remaining time was mainly spent nurturing the artifact, slowly improving its quality in a subtle, unnoticed manner. This was also an extremely effective method for artifact refiners to improve the quality of a finished artifact when their own refining techniques were insufficient.

"Counting the time, this diagram should also be ready to emerge."

The Six Desires Heavenly Demons depicted in the diagram were said to be among the rulers of the Heavenly Demon Realm. The artifact's power could precisely draw Heavenly Demons into the diagram, bringing them under his control. Its power was also determined by the Heavenly Demons confined within it. It could hold a maximum of six. The Heavenly Demons' power ceiling would differ depending on the wielder's state of mind; in other words, this demonic artifact could only unleash formidable power in the hands of a strong cultivator. In the hands of a weaker individual, it would only lead to a backlash from the confined Heavenly Demons. Demonic artifacts were often like this: powerful, yet not lacking in side effects and hidden dangers. Wang Yu refined this artifact mainly to aid his cultivation, so he didn't care much about its inherent power.

"—Come!"