Chapter 581: Heavenly Demon Seizes the Way, Guanghan, Guanghan

The inheritance of the Monster Tribe originates from bloodlines. Even a lone monster, as long as its bloodline is powerful enough, can still cultivate. This is why monsters "know from birth." However, to possess a complete bloodline inheritance, a Heaven-grade bloodline is the minimum requirement.

Previously, when Wang Yu acquired the Myriad Transformations Ice Phoenix bloodline, he gained a significant boost to his frost powers and extraordinary cultivation aptitude, but he didn't receive extensive inheritance. Thus, this Myriad Transformation was imperfect.

Now, things are vastly different. The True Spirit Ice Phoenix bloodline, though a lower-tier among True Spirit ranks, offers a remarkably complete inheritance: a high-grade cultivation method reaching the seventh tier.

—The Ice Phoenix Nirvana Dao Canon!

The Ice Phoenix tribe's bloodline inheritance is primarily centered around this technique. However, due to Wang Yu's current cultivation level, even this bloodline inheritance temporarily grants him access only to content below the Void Refinement stage. This mechanism is not specifically aimed at him; rather, it serves as a protective measure for true monster prodigies against those who might covet their bloodline inheritances.

Despite the content being restricted, all its profound mysteries are complete, including corresponding divine abilities, secret arts, artifact blueprints, and even wondrous techniques.

Theoretically, this content can only be cultivated and utilized by the Monster Tribe. The fact that the energy used for activation is demonic essence inherently means humans cannot cultivate it. However, myriad Great Daos eventually converge. Legend says the first human cultivators learned from nature, absorbed strengths from various schools, and integrated the profound systems of different realms, ultimately forming the current orthodox path to immortal longevity.

Wang Yu can practice the Monster Tribe's methods in his Ice Phoenix form. By mastering them completely, he can extract profound insights, which will, in turn, enhance his mastery of human ice-type cultivation. Through the clash of Daos and the fusion of methods—discarding the dross and keeping the essence—his own path will be forged!

Therefore, the Ice Phoenix Nirvana Dao Canon is invaluable to him.

The bloodline inheritance is one of his gains. There are three innate divine abilities: Ice Phoenix True Flame, Nine Revolutions Nirvana, and Phoenix Cry Ice Heaven Melody.

Wang Yu had already experienced the Ice Phoenix True Flame. In this more perfect Myriad Transformations state, his Ice Chilong Alchemic Flame perfectly transformed into Ice Phoenix True Flame. While their natures are similar, their essences are entirely different. He had a premonition that if he could maintain this state long-term, his Ice Chilong Alchemic Flame might self-evolve, gaining some characteristics and abilities of the Phoenix Flame. Although its upper limit wouldn't increase, there would be long-term benefits.

Nine Revolutions Nirvana is a common divine ability among the Phoenix tribe. It is generally used for reproduction, recovery from near-death situations, and healing. Legend has it that the Phoenix's immortality stems from this innate ability; even with body dead and soul extinguished, it can be reborn through nirvana. Finding a sliver of life in death, nine revolutions is the limit for each Phoenix, restricted by the Heavenly Dao. A Phoenix undergoing nirvana more than nine times will emerge as a completely new individual, thoroughly separated from the previous generation.

This also constitutes a unique method of reproduction for the Phoenix tribe. The difficulty of giving birth to offspring through normal physical union is far, far lower than the probability of human mighty cultivators conceiving children! Moreover, as the number of nirvanas increases, the difficulty of each nirvana also skyrockets, often leading to a success rate of less than one-tenth after just three or four attempts. If nirvana fails, a phoenix egg will still be left behind.

Consequently, throughout history, the number of Phoenixes has been very stable—stably decreasing! The probability of new Phoenix births is too low, and it is difficult to replenish quickly after disasters. With many Phoenixes lost due to human factors, they gradually faded from the Lesser Worlds, now existing as tribes only in the Great Worlds.

This brings us to the inherited memories from the depths of the bloodline. Phoenixes are immortal. Except for those whose True Spirit imprints are artificially annihilated, their numbers are actually very stable. For example, the Ice Phoenix imprint possessed by Yan Ling is, in fact, the legitimate reincarnation of that Phoenix's soul. If there is an opportunity to receive Phoenix blood baptism, there is a certain chance to obtain a pure Ice Phoenix bloodline and become a true Ice Phoenix, like a new birth.

Wang Yu's Heavenly Demon Myriad Transformations simulated the original body when it was tortured in its previous life. In a sense, they are from the same origin. The inherited memories contain guidance for "Lesser World Phoenixes" like him, enabling him to directly enter the Wutong World, ruled by the Phoenix tribe, upon ascension!

Unfortunately, the Ice Hell Realm has no ascension mechanism. Unless he can break through the chaotic layer and enter the Cosmic Sea, only then can he activate his bloodline and receive the guiding immortal light from the Wutong World.

Additionally, there are details of the Phoenix tribe's reception points located in various Great Thousand Worlds, which can help Phoenixes born in Great Worlds return to the Wutong World. Due to their limited numbers, the Phoenix tribe is relatively united and highly values "wild Phoenixes" ascending from the myriad worlds. After all, according to the Nirvana rules, every Phoenix was once the true spirit of an older Phoenix reborn in ancient times. Although they no longer retain previous memories, their aura and inheritance are very similar. They are truly "their own" Phoenixes, so there won't be a situation where they are looked down upon for being "from the countryside."

Such a complete system was truly eye-opening. Although Wang Yu knew this was a path to break free from his current cage, and the Heavenly Demon Myriad Transformations could even change the form of his Soul, achieving perfect transformation, this was ultimately an ability of the Innate Demonic Physique. And the Phoenix tribe... has True Immortals residing there. It's hard to guarantee he wouldn't be discovered. He might be able to operate a bit in life-or-death situations, but for him to directly seek refuge with them, the risk would be too great.

"Cultivation, in the end, must rely on oneself," he vaguely understood in his heart.

Wang Yu looked at the last innate divine ability, the Phoenix Cry Ice Heaven Melody—a perfect combination of frost and sound Dao, best performed with the zither, guzheng, or pipa. It can cover the sky with ice, seal the ground, and freeze space. When cultivated to the extreme, it can even affect the flow of time. This description made it the strongest ice-type divine ability he had ever seen. However, to reach the level of freezing time and space, his own cultivation would need to meet a minimum standard; otherwise, he simply couldn't bear the burden.

Driven by curiosity, Wang Yu observed it using the Placement Slot.

Placement Slot 5: Phoenix Cry Ice Heaven Melody (Innate Divine Ability / No Upper Limit)"Phoenix Cry Ice Heaven Melody (0/100): One melody every nine days, 129,600 years to reach perfection."

Wang Yu: "..."

Innate divine abilities are truly terrifying. Even with a True Spirit's aptitude, it takes so long. Of course, this is also related to his current low cultivation level. Achieving perfection is incredibly difficult; he could only instinctively wield a fraction of its power through innate talent, and it had to be performed in Ice Phoenix form. There were many restrictions, so there was no need to waste a Placement Slot on such a divine ability for now. Activating it with the Ice Phoenix bloodline was enough. The power it could unleash felt quite similar to the Twelve Guanghan Phases, just a different type. Phoenix Cry Ice Heaven Melody was clearly more suited for area-of-effect attacks.

After experiencing the effects of the Ice Phoenix bloodline, Wang Yu was quite satisfied. But he also remembered that he had another ferocious beast bloodline known as the "Emperor of the Earth"—the Bixie!

The Innate Demonic Physique can store nine Myriad Transformation forms, which can be swapped at will. Currently, only these two are truly valuable. Having experienced the effects of the Ice Phoenix bloodline, he naturally wanted to see what profound mysteries the Bixie bloodline held. He had acquired this from the Ancient Beast True Monarch of the Southern Sea Luo family, and he hadn't used it much since.

As his physical form changed, a ferocious beast with a dragon-like head adorned with rugged dragon horns, a lion-like body covered in scales, a whip-like tail ending in a fierce iron ball, and four goat-like hooves, its entire body covered in thick mane, appeared in the temporary cave dwelling. It was precisely Wang Yu transformed into this Bixie.

Still the same three categories: bloodline inheritance, innate divine abilities, and racial memory.

The bloodline inheritance was a sixth-tier supreme-grade technique: the Earth Emperor Respiration Art! Its name seemed basic, but it could actually absorb telluric qi for cultivation, constantly tempering the body to strengthen the physique, and even improve cultivation aptitude for the Dao of Earth. In Wang Yu's eyes, although its grade was a full tier lower than the Ice Phoenix inheritance, its profound aspects aligned more with his preferences. Innate strength isn't true strength; existence that can rise from weakness is more worthy of respect. Legend says the Bixie is a true dragon descendant, but it embarked on a completely different path.

There are two innate divine abilities. The first is Earth Control. Its basic effect is excellent, capable of granting immunity to most earth-elemental spells and divine abilities. It allows one to burrow underground, shift earth veins, nourish a spiritual land, solidify vast earth, and ignore conventional seals. Although it is a ferocious beast bloodline, it is regarded as a beast of fortune by many powers. Void Refinement and Dao Integration cultivators who have established grotto-heavens all hope to have a Bixie permanently residing within their grotto-heavens.

The second is the Bixie Earth Emperor Seal. Depending on the scale of the earth it controls and the strength of the earth veins, this seal can be cultivated into a mountain-like Earth Emperor Seal of immeasurable weight. When cultivated to the extreme, a single strike can shatter an entire realm.

"A very powerful offensive divine ability. If I establish a Qiankun Grotto-heaven in the future, I can even transform into a Bixie myself to nourish the grotto-heaven world and gain an unparalleled foundation." The value of the Bixie bloodline exceeded his expectations.

The only pity was that while these inheritances were excellent, they were all demon race techniques. His true body would need to modify them to cultivate, and the layer-by-layer unlocking mechanism prevented him from seeing all the content.

The racial memory aspects were similar to those of the Phoenix tribe. Most of it concerned guidance information, instructing him on how to return to the world ruled by their tribe. However, the Bixie were much more numerous and not as united as the Phoenix tribe.

After sorting through all his gains, Wang Yu selectively reviewed the demon treasure crafting blueprints. The Monster Tribe valued their physical bodies more and often regarded themselves as weapons. Therefore, their artifact refining methods were relatively crude. They often used some of their own organs and shed materials to refine demon treasures. These were easier to modify than divine abilities and secret arts, and Wang Yu also cultivated the Demon Refining Art. One could say it was a perfect fit.

"Among the magical treasures in the Ice Phoenix Nirvana Dao Canon, few are useful to me. The Soul Sealing Pearl, however, is quite good. Refined with Sorrowful Phoenix Weeping Blood Stone and Heavenly Mountain Ice Jade, it's more suitable for containing souls and spirits as spoils of war than the Glazed Pagoda. The Emperor Scale Inner Armor recorded in the Earth Emperor Respiration Art can also be crafted using the Bixie corpse as material, combined with my Natal True Artifact, the Baleful Demon Dragon Armor. With inner and outer layers, coupled with the defensive capabilities of a body cultivator's indestructible physique and physical divine abilities like the Immovable Wisdom King Seal... it can perfectly compensate for any defensive shortcomings."

Thoughts churned in Wang Yu's mind, and he quickly made his arrangements. He immediately exited his Myriad Transformation form, preparing to begin artifact refinement. Perhaps because he had completed the use of the Myriad Transformation talent, the second innate talent of his Innate Demonic Physique finally emerged. Its name was—Heavenly Demon Dao Seizure!

At first glance, a look of pleasant surprise quickly appeared on Wang Yu's face. This new talent perfectly complemented Heavenly Demon Myriad Transformations.

What is "Dao Seizure"? Seizing, plundering, forcing... in short, it can be summarized in four words: forcibly taking and seizing! It can refine the target's innate divine abilities from their bloodline for his own use, directly performing a personal adaptive modification. He wouldn't need to laboriously research how to perform demon race divine abilities as a human. After Dao Seizure, he could apply them directly and continue to comprehend and cultivate them to perfection.

Similarly, the number of Dao Seizures is limited. Nine is the extreme number. The number of Myriad Transformations and Dao Seizures are the same, but the Myriad Transformation talent can swap out unneeded bloodlines at any time, whereas Heavenly Demon Dao Seizure can only be used nine times in a lifetime. Therefore, the choice is crucial.

Wang Yu didn't need to choose for now. There weren't many powerful demon bloodlines in the Ice Hell Realm. However, he heard that the True Spirit Realm not only had demon races but also myriad other races born in other worlds. Those would be his targets for Dao Seizure. As for the Ice Phoenix and Bixie bloodlines, neither had reached its peak, and given Wang Yu's greed, he would definitely not choose to use Dao Seizure on them yet. This talent was more suitable for future use.

After finishing his calculations, Wang Yu couldn't help but burst out laughing. "What an Innate Demonic Physique, what a Heavenly Demon Dao Seizure, what a... Demonic Heart Venerable. It's truly a pity for such a prodigious talent to die in this cage."

No matter how much he lamented, he couldn't pull this person from the river of time. But his own rise, the Mysterious Origin Demonic Fetus Secret Art's contribution was on par with the Placement Slot. Without this heaven-defying life-changing method, relying solely on the Placement Slot, he absolutely couldn't have improved his realm so rapidly. Looking back at the first half of Wang Yu's life, suffering dominated. But once he overcame the current great tribulation, his future path would only become smoother.

After this day, Wang Yu fully focused on comprehending the True Meaning of Guanghan. With the help of Enlightenment Tea Leaves and Bodhi Seeds, coupled with the Placement Slot's effect, his progress was swift, gaining new insights and integrating them daily. In his eyes, the Lunar Star, high in the nine heavens, seemed to draw closer. The subtle connection gradually strengthened, which also inspired him to continue deducing the Lunar Nether Eyes. Even though this technique had already been perfected by the Placement Slot, leaving no shortcuts, he could still rely on his own comprehension to slowly deduce the possibilities of this eye technique reaching higher levels. After all, the current him was no longer the weakling or cultivation novice of the past; he could accomplish much more on his own!

Thus, another twelve years passed in the blink of an eye.

It was April of Wang Yu's 254th year as an ancestor. Exactly sixty years had passed since he broke through to the Soul Transformation Stage. By cultivating a higher-grade demon race technique with the Myriad Transformations Ice Phoenix, his speed in accumulating Frozen Demonic Essence soared by nearly a hundredfold. He perfectly utilized the cultivation aptitude of the True Spirit bloodline. The demonic essence within his body reached a new limit, just one step away from Soul Transformation Stage Five. All the elixirs and essences from demon corpses he had consumed previously were completely digested. A series of artifact refinements had also depleted his Sea Heart Ring's reserves by half, so he needed to replenish them.

Over the past twelve years, he had acquired a new fifth-tier low-grade Spirit Treasure, the Soul Sealing Pearl, and a fifth-tier mid-grade Spirit Treasure, the Emperor Scale Inner Armor. Simultaneously, the Enlightenment Tea Leaves were fully consumed.

The promotion of the True Meaning of Guanghan was happening today!