Chapter 57: Guarding the Corpse

Feeling somewhat at ease, Wang Yu sorted through his storage bag, placing all the Profound Essence Flowers together. He suddenly found himself with enough for four late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators.

The number of first-grade Profound Essence Flowers reached seven hundred.

The number of second-grade Profound Essence Flowers reached fifty.

He preserved them using the pill-sealing method, intending to use their effects to quickly break through bottlenecks and complete his second spirit refinement after reaching the sixth level of Qi Cultivation.

However, it was not convenient to use them at this moment.

Profound Essence Flowers purify and condense spiritual power, reducing its quantity with each refinement. He had already accumulated more than half of the spiritual power needed for his current cultivation level, and the more he used them, the further away he would be from breaking through. Therefore, he decided to wait until he reached the sixth level of Qi Cultivation.

Once he completed his second spirit refinement in one go, he could continuously break through in a short period, directly reaching the seventh level of Qi Cultivation. At that point, he could consume all the Profound Essence Flowers to transform his spiritual power into liquid true essence.

Currently, his combat strength was abundant, and he found few worthy opponents at the Qi Cultivation stage. A mere one or two levels of cultivation increase wouldn't make much difference, and his spiritual power reserves could also be maintained with top-grade pills.

“The trouble is resolved,” he thought. “It’s time to explore this underground palace ruin.”

With a thought, Wang Yu swapped out the Corpse Demon Secret Art for the Profound Yin Hand, checking the time required to cultivate it to perfection.

Slot 3: Profound Yin Hand (0/100): Nine practices a day, achievable in ten years.

A second-tier, high-grade spell, it actually required ten years!

Up until now, all the high-grade spells Wang Yu had placed in the slot, though first-tier, only took a maximum of three months. The sudden requirement of ten years truly made him unable to maintain his composure.

After a moment of thought, he honestly put the Corpse Demon Secret Art back.

This secret art was crucial for his "lower body's happiness," and like the Cold Blood Art, it was a top-priority item to keep active.

Now that the secret art was perfected and his severed limb reattached, while he gained immense power, he also had to endure the corresponding side effects.

His body was like that of an ancient corpse.

His body was cold, emotions were suppressed, physical sensations were lost, his "second brother" was dysfunctional, and he occasionally harbored thoughts of bloodlust and slaughter. The sacrifice was considerable!

A conservative estimate suggested it would take twenty years to potentially recover. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, he was reluctant to remove the Corpse Demon Secret Art.

As for the Profound Yin Hand, since he had Yin Marrow Fluid to assist him, he could try cultivating it himself first, keeping only enough material to refine a Cold Dragon Pill.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Wang Yu did not rush to the Condensing Moon Palace at the very top. Instead, he stopped at the second level of the stairs, where he found the library pavilion of this ancient sect's ruins.

In his eyes, no fortuitous encounter or treasure was more attractive than a top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill formula. He wondered if one could be found here.

He had been delayed by his battle with Su Qingshan and the other three, and now, disciples from Gu Poison Peak were already present here. There were three of them, all cultivators at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation.

The library pavilion here was a three-story building. It featured flying eaves and Dougong brackets, its corners adorned with carvings of various rare and exotic beasts, and ancient, rusted bronze bells hung from them.

Six vermillion-purple pillars, engraved with dragon patterns, supported a long corridor at the entrance.

On a lounge chair lay a corpse clad in gray robes with moon patterns. Its hand clutched a palm-sized teapot, as if in the act of drinking tea.

The legendary guardian of the pavilion had died in such a peculiar way, suggesting the event occurred suddenly, leaving no room for resistance. He had fallen in the blink of an eye, which indicated the enemy's immense power.

The problem was, he hadn't found any other corpses along the way, except for this one...

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the three fellow disciples on the first floor of the library pavilion.

They stood before a black stone stele, also secretly observing Wang Yu. This observation, combined with his thoughts, sent a chill down Wang Yu's spine.

There were no signs that the corpse had been moved. They were clearly waiting for a foolish newcomer. Wang Yu noticed this and inwardly scoffed. He brushed his sleeves and walked directly into the library pavilion.

As expected, the three individuals looked disappointed.

Wang Yu approached them with a smile and asked, “May I ask what you three are observing? Have you gained any insights?”

“Hmph!”

“What business is it of yours?”

One person spoke rudely, displaying undisguised disdain for Wang Yu.

“Ah, Junior Brother Wang, please don't take it to heart. Brother Zhang is just frustrated, it's not directed at you. Come, let's look at these ancient demonic script together.”

At that moment, another cultivator, clad in emerald green robes, wearing a jade crown, and idly twirling two jade orbs in his hand, spoke up. He first eased the tension, then invited Wang Yu to examine the stele.

Wang Yu looked past the others, his gaze falling upon the black stone stele. Indeed, it was inscribed with blood characters of ancient demonic script, identical to the script on the mysterious silk book he had obtained from Xu Jiaojiao.

The so-called ancient demonic script was said to be a type of character closer to the Grand Dao of Heaven and Earth, possessing mysterious power. These "blood characters" were merely the most widespread form of it.

Currently, with these blood characters inscribed, no one could understand them.

Wang Yu had once intended to investigate them, but he never had the time. He had originally planned to entrust the task to the Alchemist Society, but his relationship with Zhao Shang had reached a critical, hostile point.

He hadn't expected to see them again in this underground palace ruin.

“Since a stele with blood characters was left here, this underground palace must have been left by a demonic cultivator of the past. That's not good news for us.”

They were very familiar with the disposition of demonic cultivators. This underground palace surely harbored numerous dangers.

Wang Yu mused, “Do any of you know if there’s an ancient demonic sect in the Scarlet Kite Demonic Domain that matches the appearance of this place?”

At this, the man who had shown disdain spoke up again, scoffing:

“Demonic sects iterate incredibly fast. Given the scale of this underground palace, it's, at most, a sect established by a Core Formation cultivator. Forget searching through the ancient records of the Demonic Domain; even if you were well-versed in history, you wouldn't be able to guess what kind of place this is.”

Wang Yu's expression instantly darkened. Again and again! With no one else nearby, killing intent immediately rose within him.

“Brother Zhang…”

The peacemaker was about to speak, but felt the temperature suddenly drop. A large amount of frost spread out from Wang Yu. The three men's expressions changed, and they tried to retreat.

Wang Yu slammed a punch towards the cultivator surnamed Zhang. Because they were looking at the stele, they were too close, and the power of his second-tier divine Corpse Arm generated a white ring of air wave.

It was completely unexpected. They had absolutely no idea Wang Yu would suddenly attack. As the saying goes, "one who possesses a sharp weapon will have killing intent in their heart."

He had directly killed Su Qingshan and his three companions, so why would he fear three seventh-level Qi Cultivation cultivators? Moreover, Liu Jin Xian was currently absent, and the Gu Poison Peak disciples were scattered throughout the underground palace. This was a perfect opportunity to weaken her influence.

In a blink of an eye.

The cultivator surnamed Zhang exploded into fragments. The remaining two, filled with terror, ran towards the library pavilion's entrance, showing no will to resist.

They were clearly intimidated, and finally understood why Liu Jin Xian treated Wang Yu with such courtesy.

—His strength!

“Hmph.”

He drew his Ice-Patterned Sword and swung it towards the one who had remained silent. The ice sword rapidly grew to three zhang in length. With a mental incantation, combining it with his Ice Sword Art, the chilling aura surged.

In a critical moment, the man slapped his chest and spat out a mouthful of vital blood.

A centipede-like Gu worm flew out, quickly growing in size, and wrapped itself around its master, attempting to defend against the descending ice sword with its carapace.

The two only stalemated for an instant, before Wang Yu pressed his left fist and palm horizontally onto the sword. Both the Gu and the man were forcefully flattened into a bloody paste.

His strength advantage was undeniably evident.

The last remaining person was utterly terrified, almost crying as he said:

“Wang Yu, I didn’t offend you! Why are you making things so difficult for me?!”