Chapter 62: Viewing the Moon

"What happened?"

"A swarm of bees," the Five Yin Peak cultivator sighed, spreading his hands. "It's a swarm of Corroding Poison Bees at the Foundation Establishment level. Their corrosive venom is strong enough to dissolve top-grade magic artifacts. Only those skilled in arcane arts can enter."

At these words, everyone instantly fell silent.

It wasn't just the corrosive poison; the Foundation Establishment-level Poison Bee King was also a problem.

After a long pause, someone finally spoke with a sigh.

"No wonder Senior Sister Liu and the others haven't returned yet. They must have run into trouble at the Foundation Establishment level. We're doomed now."

The leader of the Five Yin Peak cultivators spoke again:

"I heard that as soon as Liu Jin Xian arrived at Profound Bone Mountain, she started collecting poisonous bees to refine into Gu worms. Does anyone here have a method to deal with this type of poisonous bee?"

Upon hearing this, the Gu Poison Peak disciples exchanged glances. After a moment of hesitation, one of them finally relented, gritting his teeth.

"I have a method."

"Junior Brother, don't!"

The person, with red eyes, said, "We're going to die either way. Going down might give us a slim chance. If Senior Sister Liu is trapped, rescuing her would be a great service, and only by balancing our merits against our faults can we hope to survive!"

These words finally silenced the other Gu Poison Peak disciples.

"Alas... This Gu worm emerged prematurely during its refinement. I wonder how effective it still is. Who will refine it?"

This special Gu worm was one of Liu Jin Xian's main reasons for traveling thousands of miles to Profound Bone Mountain. The primary material used for it was precisely this insect beast, the Corroding Poison Bee.

Before descending into the underground palace, it was being refined in a scorpion jar, entrusted to the disciples for safekeeping. New live poisonous bees had to be added constantly, hence the enormous demand for the bee swarm.

Whoever refined it would inevitably make an enemy of Liu Jin Xian, and their fate would be sealed.

Seeing this, the new leader of Five Yin Peak suggested:

"I possess a secret technique from the Underworld Mountain Sect that can temporarily control Gu worms. Are you willing to try it?"

The Underworld Mountain Sect is also one of the five Nascent Soul Demon Sects in the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain. Its sphere of influence is in the southeastern corner of the Demonic Domain, very close to the Chaotic Ancient Sea, but quite far from the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect.

With this suggestion, the Gu Poison Peak disciples immediately understood that the other party had been prepared all along and had them completely cornered.

"Tell us, what price do we have to pay?"

"Straightforward."

"Help us clear out Profound Bone Mountain. You'll only get 30% of all the Profound Essence Flower profits, as payment for the secret technique and access to the underground passage. How about that?"

The provisional leaders of Five Yin Peak, who were at the late Qi Refining stage, revealed their true intentions, seeking to extort the Gu Poison Peak disciples with this offer.

"Three Profound Bone Mountains?"

"Of course!"

It was completely a seller's market; they had no leverage to bargain. After all, their lives were at stake, and any further delay would surely lead to deaths.

"Alright."

After a long hesitation, both parties reached an agreement for the first time.

Concentrating the power of eight newly promoted late Qi Refining cultivators, they officially began clearing Profound Bone Mountain.

In the shadows, Wang Yu retracted his gaze with interest.

Although he remained hidden, he had been constantly observing the movements of this group. The apparent cooperation between the two sides was, in fact, merely a desperate measure born of pressure.

Once the immediate threat to their lives was removed, they would quickly turn on each other, and a major conflict would be inevitable.

No wonder only fifty or sixty disciples from the previous group returned from Profound Bone Mountain. The Spirit Reversal Blood Sect was also content to watch them fight, as those who returned were elites, all with the potential to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

Why wouldn't they be?

For Wang Yu, this was also an excellent opportunity to seize benefits. The Night Concealment Charm allowed him to move stealthily and remain hidden in the shadows, enabling him to snatch a batch of Profound Essence Flowers when the time was right.

As long as he remained well-hidden, in their eyes, Wang Yu's identity was that of someone trapped underground, illustrating the concept of "darkness under the lamp."

Slot 3: Grand Yin Dark Pupils (Perfected)

"Grand Yin Dark Pupils (100/100): Twenty-four practices a day, achievable in one year."

At this time, it was the fifth month of his fourth year as an outer disciple.

His cultivation had advanced significantly once again. Half of the top-grade Cold Blood Pill had been refined, increasing his spiritual power by fifty strands. The placement slot added seventy-two strands, and his personal cultivation increased by two strands.

His spiritual power cultivation accumulated to 660 strands. In the latter half of the year, it was estimated to reach around 800, bringing him even closer to a breakthrough.

Of course, most importantly, after almost a year of recuperation,

his Divine Power Corpse Arm had fully recovered, and his Grand Yin Dark Pupils had successfully completed the first stage of cultivation. The inheritance for the second stage would only be accessible from the inheritance jade slip after he broke through to Foundation Establishment.

The perfected first stage of the Grand Yin Dark Pupils bestowed a mystical quality upon his eyes, which the inherited information referred to as — Moon Gazing!

Radiant spirits disperse light, vermilion flames cast separate gleams; the moon's essence is clear, clouds gather in misty clusters; the chilled toad serene, wind sways and scatters.

Gathering its light tirelessly, it replenishes vitality and spirit with nurturing grace.

This "Moon Gazing" ability granted Wang Yu's eyes the power to attract the essence of the Grand Yin. By observing the moon and perceiving its form within his mind, this process was called 'visualization'.

It was like the spirit of the Grand Yin, or the essence of the jade toad; with spirit withdrawn and intentions focused, qi stirs and the mind empties. Borrowing the brilliance of the crimson plume, it manifests the jade wheel's luminosity.

His eyes, originally corroded by the Corpse Demon secret technique, returned to their normal appearance, no longer emitting a dark green, malevolent glow.

Instead, they resembled a brilliant full moon, radiating a serene, solitary, and pure light, like the moonlight cast by Wangshu.

A crescent moon anomaly appeared in his black pupils.

Moment by moment, they absorbed the scattered essence of the Grand Yin from the heavens and earth. This spiritual energy passed through his eyes directly to the Mud-Pill Palace between his eyebrows, creating a milky-white moon pool in the repository of his spirit.

It cleansed his spiritual sense and enhanced his mental power.

With prolonged exposure, the essence of his soul would significantly grow, and his spiritual sense would be constantly nourished, experiencing the pleasure of improvement every single moment.

In other words, the first stage of the Grand Yin Dark Pupils allowed him to passively draw in the Grand Yin moonlight, enhancing his spiritual sense, acting like a constant, innate talent.

Furthermore, it granted him a unique 'Moon Gazing' perspective.

It was as if he could see the 'yin' aspect of all things, which was highly unusual.

This technique could only be considered an auxiliary secret method at the Qi Refining stage.

However, its unique effects of enhancing spiritual sense and cleansing the soul made his decision to temporarily stop cultivating the Corpse Demon secret technique worthwhile. Now that it was complete and Slot 3 was vacant, he put the Corpse Demon secret technique back into the slot to continue its completion.

He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but after cultivating the Grand Yin Dark Pupils, he constantly felt that his body had also absorbed some of the Grand Yin moonlight. The side effects of his Heavenly Yin Blood and Corpse Demon Bones seemed to have diminished.

He experienced a certain degree of physical recovery.

Ten days later.

The nameless cave.

This was the same path Wang Yu and the others had taken into the underground palace a year ago, which he later destroyed.

Now, however, under the repair and excavation efforts of the Five Yin Peak disciples, an even wider path had been reopened.

Several late Qi Refining cultivators from Gu Poison Peak were looking downwards, accompanied by hundreds of people. In front of them, a buzzing bee-Gu, emitting black poisonous smoke, hovered.

This was Liu Jin Xian's painstaking creation.

However, it had emerged too early, and its aura was highly unstable. Its bird-skull-like head was completely scarlet and agitated.

On top of the bee-Gu's head was a mysterious character condensed from spiritual power.

Clearly, it was the secret technique of the Underworld Mountain Sect.

Without further dialogue, under everyone's gaze, the Gu Poison Peak disciples jumped down one after another. After they had all entered,

they waited for about thirty breaths. Only three Qi Refining Stage Six disciples from Five Yin Peak, skilled in movement techniques, were dispatched; none of the late-stage cultivators moved.