Chapter 555: Accelerate, Accelerate, Accelerate

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Heavenly Demons are intangible beings formed from the evil of all living creatures across the heavens. Utilized by cultivators, they serve as both a calamity and an opportunity. Their varieties are countless, with new Heavenly Demons being born constantly. The Demonic Heavens is also one of the few "major maps" that can connect to all realms. Unfortunately, intelligent beings find it difficult to enter such worlds of evil thoughts, as they are repelled by the Demonic Heavens and subjected to severe targeting. Heavenly Demons exhibit a vast range in power levels, from extremely weak to immensely strong.

Fishing for Heavenly Demons is an extremely dangerous endeavor, so the intensity of the bait must be carefully controlled. The Six Desires Demonic Diagram is not an invincible treasure; it is only particularly effective against Heavenly Demons of the Six Desires Demon Lord's lineage. Therefore, the Heavenly Demon infant Wang Yu fished out was also a newborn of this lineage. Its specific classification will be determined by the types of sentient emotions the Heavenly Demon absorbs during its future cultivation. Thus, its malleability in infancy is exceptionally high, allowing Wang Yu to perform extensive modifications. His cultivation plan involves using his own refined Heavenly Demon malevolence as nourishment to eventually raise a Myriad Transformation Heavenly Demon, enabling his innate Demonic Embryo physique to reach a more mature stage. As it is a demonic embryo, it naturally has an adult form. This is also the main reason Wang Yu believes this secret art has further potential for advancement.

At that time, by adjusting the bait's intensity using alchemy, Wang Yu finally fished out a Heavenly Demon infant. Upon its initial appearance, it fell under Wang Yu's control, being directly extracted from its physical shell and confined within the Demonic Skull. Its originally formless and immaterial body, influenced by the Demonic Skull, was forced to absorb pure demonic energy, revealing its true appearance. It was a Heavenly Demon infant, closely resembling a human baby. Its skin was grayish-blue with a translucent quality, covered all over with fine scales. Its features were extremely ferocious, like an embodiment of worldly ugliness, inspiring dread. Its three fingers were sharp and stubby, awkwardly clasped to its chest.

Through the empty eye sockets of the Demonic Skull, it stared in horror at Wang Yu's large, approaching face, muttering incomprehensible Heavenly Demon language. Its emotions were highly agitated. After a few 'ah' and 'oh' sounds, it hid in the darkness behind the long skull, refusing to reappear no matter how Wang Yu tried to lure it out, causing him to rub his chin and mutter to himself, "This little fellow looks quite unique..."

Regardless of the creature's cooperation, its subjugation was a foregone conclusion. Over the next few days, Wang Yu continued to perfect the Six Desires Demonic Diagram. After filling all six vacant Heavenly Demon slots, the treasure entered its complete state, and its previously hidden grade finally manifested. Perhaps Wang Yu had a great talent for crafting such demonic treasures. The Six Desires Demonic Diagram ultimately achieved a high-grade fifth-tier quality. However, due to the treasure's unique nature, no spiritual intelligence was born within it. Its power could only be wielded by Wang Yu's own strength, as the spiritual essence of a spirit treasure is naturally suppressed by Heavenly Demons. It was perhaps for the best that no spiritual intelligence emerged; this might have been a fixed rule set when the treasure's blueprint first appeared. It would still be excellent for combat during the Soul Transformation stage. Once the spiritual treasure was fully formed, its Heavenly Demon Possession Curse was also activated, proving very effective for inflicting negative statuses on enemies. It was highly practical!

As for the Heavenly Demon infant, it remained quite 'shy', only briefly appearing when Wang Yu fed it malevolent Heavenly Demon thoughts. It was currently in a preparatory stage. He was not in a hurry to fatten up and devour the infant. The subsequent processes still required time for deduction and verification. This was a matter of his own life, and the Demonic Heart Venerable served as a cautionary tale. Therefore, without absolute certainty, Wang Yu would not attempt to directly devour the Heavenly Demon.

And so, fed once every ten days, the infant grew extremely fast. Wang Yu also formally entered a new period of secluded cultivation, beginning to delve into the essence of techniques and divine abilities. Concurrently, his progress in artifact refining did not cease. The once very useful Flesh and Blood Demonic Sword and the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear were completely destroyed. He needed new weapons for his different forms. To unleash the full power of a body cultivator, it was best to forge a true artifact, activated by the Golden Blood Divine Marrow. Additionally, for his normal state, he needed a spiritual sword treasure. This would accommodate his various divine ability transformations. The perfect fusion of techniques and artifacts, combined with the cultivator's own comprehension and the aid of their foundational insights, is the truly complete form of a great divine ability, representing peak combat power! These deficiencies needed to be rectified. In this regard, the Demonic Artifact Refining Art was perfectly suitable. The number of powerful corpses in his Sea Heart Ring was virtually countless, with demonic corpses being the most abundant. All of them were top-grade artifact refining materials, perfect for his use.

First year of seclusion: Version 3.0 of the Flesh and Blood Demonic Sword was completed, using the Five-Colored Saint Lord's spine as the primary material, supplemented by a large quantity of Nascent Soul demonic corpses collected from the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm. With flesh and blood as the flame, a bone demonic artifact solidified! Calling it the Flesh and Blood Demonic Sword was no longer appropriate. Moreover, after reaching the fifth-tier grade, a heavily demonic artifact spirit consciousness successfully formed within it. Wang Yu officially named it the Bone Demon Sword. Although it only reached the lower fifth-grade, it could already amplify his divine abilities' power several times over, significantly boosting his regular combat strength.

Second year of seclusion: The advanced version of the Everlasting Blood Infant Pill was developed, named the Blood God Ascension Pill. It could be refined using Soul Transformation-stage primordial spirits as the main ingredient, supplemented by Nascent Soul and Golden Core powder. Just one pill could reduce his cultivation time by twenty years. Once he fully mastered the formula and maximized his experience, the Five-Colored Saint Lord's primordial spirit might become an excellent aid for him to break through to the third layer of Soul Transformation. Accelerating, accelerating, still accelerating! During this seclusion, a vast amount of resources was consumed, and the batch of cultivation resources he had accumulated also proved effective.

By the fourth year of seclusion: Wang Yu's recently acquired resources were exhausted. After refining the second Extreme Yin Dragon Pearl, his Soul Transformation stage magical power surged to 400,000 strands in one go. This covered well over a third of the accumulation process for the second layer of Soul Transformation. From this point onward, he could only rely on the 'placement slot' for gradual improvement. His main body transformed into the Ice Phoenix form to cultivate demonic clan techniques. With the Myriad Transformations ability of Heavenly Demons, the power cultivated in the Ice Phoenix form could be proportionally converted into his main body's cultivation base. Under the blessing of his incomplete true spirit aptitude, his cultivation speed was remarkably fast.

Fifth year of seclusion: Wang Yu took out half of his Qiankun Ring, extracted the spatial-attribute spiritual materials, and upgraded his Sea Heart Ring and Demon Locking Bracelet. The former was mainly for expanding capacity, without any additional special effects. The Demon Locking Bracelet, however, was infused with a large amount of Ice Phoenix demonic essence, transforming its internal space into the icy and snowy environment that Xueyu most preferred, undergoing targeted improvements. This treasure also successfully upgraded to a lower fifth-tier, gaining spiritual intelligence. The number of spiritual beasts it could bind increased by one slot. Wang Yu also gave it a new name: the Fox Tail Snow Bracelet! Its newly acquired spatial characteristics allowed it to possess some profound void-teleportation abilities, making it almost impossible to forcibly seize unless its owner perished. Its independent teleportation ability would facilitate more tactical maneuvers when Wang Yu coordinated with Xueyu. It was also in this year that Xueyu's cultivation reached the peak of the mid-fourth tier. She was on the verge of becoming a grand cultivator, a level previously beyond reach! Her demonic life's fortunes were truly unpredictable. Relying on the dual cultivation method of the Heavenly Demon Art, having Wang Yu as a supreme 'furnace' readily available, and benefiting from the continuous evolution of her bloodline which improved her aptitude, her path to becoming a powerhouse could only be described as smooth sailing. Enough to make others green with envy.

By the sixth year of seclusion: Wang Yu's divine abilities that were just shy of perfection had largely reached their peak. Further progress would only come from deriving higher-tier versions. Wang Yu chose the Dragon Emperor Fist and Aurora Escape Technique, using two slots to obtain a sixth-tier body-cultivation divine ability and an escape technique. According to the feedback from the placement slots, this would take approximately one hundred and fifty years. He wondered if he could catch the timing of the Heaven-Refining Demonic Venerable's plan.

Tenth year of seclusion: The fifth-tier grade Ice Soul Sacred Demonic Scripture was completely perfected. The characteristics brought by this cultivation method were no less profound than the divine talents of the Soul Transformation realm, specifically known as the Ice Soul Sacred Demon! Its primary effects were on Wang Yu's demonic essence and Dharma Idol. His Soul Transformation magical power became purer and easier to control, and the extreme cold property of his demonic essence gained the power to freeze primordial spirits. A vast amount of insights related to the path of extreme cold surged into his mind. It could be said that it fundamentally enhanced the power of many of Wang Yu's ice-attribute divine abilities, raising their upper limit once more. The other benefit was yet another increase in his cultivation speed. Based on current estimates, even without the aid of the Blood God Ascension Pill, he could break through to the third layer of Soul Transformation within twenty years.

In the same year, the Blood God Ascension Pills were successfully refined. Two high-grade fifth-tier pills were produced, and Wang Yu consumed them on the day they were completed. Due to the characteristics of the Human Pill Grand Dao, their refining speed would be exceptionally fast. Conservatively estimated, within two to three years, he would make another breakthrough, reaching the third layer of Soul Transformation.

At this point, all necessary preparations were complete. There was no need to continue seclusion; he could digest the valuable pills while simultaneously gathering resources for his next period of seclusion. In March of the 210th year of Ancestor Wang Yu's career, his cultivation period concluded. He emerged from the Endless Ice Plains and returned to the Scarlet Kite Demonic Domain!

The main purpose of this trip was to ascertain the situation on the front lines. After all, the time for the Heaven-Refining Demonic Venerable's plan was drawing near, and annual updates were crucial. Once he confirmed the information, if time permitted, Wang Yu would make a trip to the Frozen Demon Seal. Therefore, after leaving the ice plains, he didn't travel too far, staying in Fengzhou Prefecture City to check the sect's latest intelligence.

Meanwhile, at Taihu Spiritual Domain, Blazing Sun Sect! As one of the top three among the Seven Orthodox Sects, the Blazing Sun cultivators boasted nearly forty human Nascent Soul cultivators, along with over ten transformed great demons from the Fire Crow Clan. Their strength was second only to the Sword Sect, making them a formidable opponent. However, the Northern Demonic Clan had suffered heavy losses in the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm. Yet, they unexpectedly welcomed back the Azure Dragon Demonic Venerable and, setting aside past grievances, reintegrated with the Southern Demonic Clan to become a complete demonic race. This Fire Crow clan, which had existed within the Blazing Sun Sect for nearly ten thousand years, for the first time, harbored intentions of departure.

Logically, over a thousand years ago, the demonic race already had two peak Soul Transformation demonic venerables, and the Fire Crow clan could have returned then. But circumstances were different, leading to different choices. Returning to the demonic race a millennium ago would have merely entangled them in the struggle between the two demonic venerables, diminishing their strength without any real benefit. Now, however, demonic might reigned supreme, and Taihu was on the verge of complete annexation. In just a few centuries, the Taihu Spiritual Domain, with its billions of inhabitants, saw its total population drop by at least two billion, a direct result of constant warfare. Scarlet Kite demonic cultivators, however, advanced triumphantly, gaining countless benefits from the war's advantages. Furthermore, due to the unique nature of demonic cultivation techniques, the more people died, the faster demonic cultivators improved their strength. In recent years, many new Nascent Soul cultivators had emerged. Although their casualties were not low, compared to the tragic state of Taihu, their losses were negligible.

Especially the former Seven Orthodox Sects: The Emerald Cloud Sect was completely annihilated. The Moon-Gazing Palace, Thunderfire Abode, and Crane's Return Valley were left with only remnants, barely surviving by hiding in the Sword Sect's territory. The Northern Garrison Tower was confirmed to have traitors within it, and they had all relocated deep within the Endless Ice Plains. Remarkably, only their Blazing Sun Sect lineage remained in the vast Taihu region. The Sword Sect, despite its fierce rhetoric, took very little real action, and its few attempts ended in failure. This truly baffled the Blazing Sun Sect. Their high-ranking members would bet their heads that something was amiss. And so, the current situation arose.

The Fire Crow clan intended a 'sacred separation' from the Blazing Sun Sect to return to the embrace of the demonic race. The heavily depleted demonic race naturally put aside past grievances and was delighted to welcome back this clan. However, the Blazing Sun Sect's higher-ups were unwilling. "When disaster strikes, you just leave? Was there no friendship after ten millennia of shared hardships?" If the Fire Crow clan were truly allowed to leave, putting aside the loss of powerful cultivators, what if others followed suit? Therefore, this matter touched upon the Blazing Sun Sect's taboo. Any high-ranking member with deep ties to the sect's interests would not permit such an occurrence. Consequently, an internal conflict erupted without warning.

Just as the combined forces of the Demonic Alliance, led by the Yellow Springs Demonic Venerable and Earth Fiend Demonic Venerable, swiftly broke through and advanced into Chongguang Prefecture, one of the five prefectures under the Blazing Sun Sect, a chaotic battle involving Nascent Soul cultivators erupted near the Fusang Ancient Tree, where the Fire Crow clan resided. It was said that the spatial fabric was obliterated for nearly a thousand li, with countless casualties. This internal strife caused the Blazing Sun Sect to lose more than half of its powerful cultivators. The demonic path naturally didn't miss this opportunity, seizing the moment to strike while the iron was hot. In just half a year, they conquered four prefectures in quick succession, reaching Haotian Prefecture, where the Blazing Sun Sect's main gate was located!

Therefore, when Wang Yu learned of the latest front-line situation from Fengzhou Prefecture City, he was also stunned. The casualty figures and whereabouts of the Nascent Soul cultivators were only rough estimates. However, judging by the previous speed at which Orthodox sects were eliminated, the Blazing Sun Sect would surely be destroyed within twenty years at most! Unless the Sword Sect dispatched true Soul Transformation masters to assist, early-stage cultivators who had just broken through to Soul Transformation wouldn't be very effective, especially since the Earth Fiend Demonic Venerable had appeared on the front line. There was a ninety percent chance he was acting under the orders of the Heaven-Refining Demonic Venerable. His exact purpose couldn't be fully deciphered yet, but it was certainly related to the decisive battle against the Sword Sect's main gate. The sudden acceleration of the war meant Wang Yu's time was running out.

Wang Yu was definitely going to participate in this. Whether it succeeded or failed, it was a rare opportunity. Success would be ideal, but failure would still provide valuable experience, allowing him to challenge the sinister might of the Prison King Spirit Official once he was fully prepared. He considered his accumulated preparations to be quite good. However, he still had a long way to go before challenging the Prison King Spirit Official. Considering the Sword Sect's attitude in this conflict between the orthodox and demonic paths, if it failed, not only would the Heaven-Refining Demonic Venerable perish, but the Sword Sect's Grand Void Venerable would also die alongside him. Without these two towering figures, tsk, tsk... he couldn't even imagine how exhilarating it would be. The leaders of both the orthodox and demonic paths were destined to fall. If he rose with the tide, he would surely lay the foundation for a legacy that would last for ten thousand generations.

Of course, all of this hinged on... failure!