Chapter 69: Swallowing Soul Evil Armor Technique

The displayed text blurred for a moment before becoming legible.

Placeholder Slot 4: Soul-Devouring Evil Armor Art."Soul-Devouring Evil Armor Art (0/100): Thirty-six practices a day, achievable in five years."

As the placeholder slot activated, insights related to the art flooded his mind without conscious effort, giving him a comprehensive understanding.

"So, it's this art."

Wang Yu recalled that when he had a close encounter with Xu Jiaojiao, she had used a ghost-devouring technique that manifested as a layer of highly defensive black armor on her body.

She, too, had evidently cultivated something from the mysterious silk scroll.

It now appeared to be an ancient secret art, which, by modern standards, was at most a Foundation Establishment secret technique.

However, upon closer consideration, Wang Yu felt something was amiss.

"Perhaps this is... a unique art!"

During his time as a spirit slave, he had a basic understanding of the cultivation world's various arts and divine abilities, though he had only encountered secret arts and general arts so far.

Among them, "treasure arts" were recorded on the precious bones left behind by powerful bloodline demonic beasts after their demise. These were also known as "bone arts" and formed a major category in the cultivation world.

Legendary "True Spirit Treasure Arts," recorded on the precious bones of true spirit bloodlines, were powers that surpassed the Nascent Soul stage and existed only in myths.

As for "unique arts," they were considered shortcuts. Their effects were often potent and highly specific, yet they lacked broad applicability and came with severe side effects.

Their cultivation threshold was also relatively high. Lower-level unique arts often involved unorthodox or expedient methods, being even more extreme than demonic cultivation and widely scorned by the world.

Higher-level unique arts, on the other hand, included techniques like Qimen Dunjia, unique Feng Shui arrays, divination of heavenly secrets, and defying fate.

The Soul-Devouring Evil Armor Art was a mid-to-high-tier unique art. It used the yin souls of myriad spirits as nourishment, devouring yin spiritual bodies to outline a dark malevolent armor pattern on the body, specializing in defense and being particularly effective against spiritual attacks.

The more yin spirits devoured and refined, the more powerful the art became, and the stronger the dark malevolent armor's defense. Correspondingly, practitioners needed to withstand a yin spirit backlash periodically.

If they failed to endure this, they would suffer the horrifying torment of soul-devouring yin spirits. Failing to hold on would result in minor soul damage, or even immediate death in severe cases.

It was a very typical demonic unique art.

Xu Jiaojiao must have cultivated it incorrectly. This art primarily focused on spiritual defense, with physical defense being secondary. She likely reversed the focus, emphasizing the physical body, which explained her enormous, mountain-like physique.

Wang Yu was currently in the Three Mysterious Bone Mountains, where the "earthbound spirits" and yin spirit farmers were excellent cultivation materials. However, even without these necessary conditions, the placeholder slot could still forcibly cultivate the art to completion.

For example, currently, there was a feedback cycle every forty minutes. Besides unseen cultivation experience and insights, a trace of extremely pure yin spirit power flowed into his body.

Centered around his navel, black patterns were gradually forming—these were the dark malevolent armor patterns. Once they spread throughout his entire body and merged beneath his skin, it would signify complete mastery!

He could achieve mastery without devouring external spirits. The backlash of the Soul-Devouring Evil Armor Art stemmed from these external yin spirits; since he hadn't consumed any, where would the backlash come from?

This situation greatly pleased him. It was a unique art that could be cultivated long-term; even after reaching full mastery, he could continuously upgrade the dark malevolent armor's defensive power.

This filled another of Wang Yu's shortcomings. In terms of defense, he only had one mid-grade spell, the Ice Shield Art. While it was adequate before, it could no longer keep up with the intensity of combat.

Having experienced the profoundness of this art, Wang Yu decided not to switch it out.

After all, the Profound Yin Hand required too much time, and he had already achieved a basic grasp. He could accumulate experience slowly even without Yin Marrow Liquid, so there was no rush.

Thus, Wang Yu grew even more curious about the demonic inscription stele in the underground palace. For now, however, cultivation remained his priority.

However, bringing Situ Hong and the others down again wouldn't be a bad idea. The content recorded on the stele might even be more valuable than the Grand Yin Nether Pupils.

For a moment, he felt an itch in his heart, like a cat's scratch, and it took a long time for him to calm down.

Ten days later, Wang Yu consumed his fourth top-grade Cold Blood Pill.

It was the first month of his sixth year in the outer sect. In two more years, his patrol mission in Mysterious Bone Mountain would expire.

That day, his curiosity got the better of him, and Wang Yu couldn't resist going out again to find Situ Hong to discuss a second exploration of the underground palace.

However, danger often strikes when one is most relaxed. He had assumed that his time in Mysterious Bone Mountain was settled, and he merely awaited his return.

Then, an unexpected person suddenly attacked.

"Wang Yu!!!"

The voice, like thunder, reverberated through the Three Mysterious Bone Mountains.

A terrifying aura surged into the sky, stiffening Wang Yu's entire body. Based on the sensed aura, he immediately knew who the newcomer was.

It was Xu Jiaojiao's father, Deacon Xu, a Foundation Establishment Stage 3 cultivator!

"How could this be—"

Logically, even if Deacon Xu had been released by the Disciplinary Hall, he shouldn't have immediately come looking for trouble. After all, only Gu Zhengshun and Su Qingshan knew about the matter.

The former was still hiding in the formation, and the two had been in the honeymoon phase of their cooperation when they came to Mysterious Bone Mountain together, so there was no reason for him to leak information.

The latter had been personally killed by him, leaving no corpse, so there should have been no leaks.

Clearly, Wang Yu was unaware that after Su Qingshan had thoroughly ransacked the Xu residence, he had left Wang Yu's information in an envelope within the house to avoid further trouble.

This sudden appearance left him quite passive.

Fortunately, the Three Mysterious Bone Mountains were currently uninhabited. After being occupied by the early second-tier Ferocious Bone Lion, the four of them had retreated to the periphery, only harvesting enough bone-wood for a few people and even abandoning the Mysterious Essence Flowers.

Deacon Xu's arrival was sudden, and Wang Yu discreetly retreated using the Night Concealment Charm.

Meanwhile.

The first to react was the Bone Lion King. As if provoked, it roared skyward, its body shrouded in a misty, bone-white spiritual energy, and charged straight out.

Deacon Xu clearly hadn't anticipated the situation in Mysterious Bone Mountain.

Seeing a Foundation Establishment demonic beast attacking, he cursed under his breath. A crimson alchemical furnace appeared in his right hand. Under the activation of his true essence, it spun rapidly, and its lid opened.

A scorching flame tongue shot out fiercely, its extreme temperature distorting the very air.

As the Bone Lion King growled, the bone armor covering its body rapidly proliferated, and savage spikes from its spine launched forth, piercing through all the flames.

As an alchemist, Deacon Xu was more skilled in alchemy; his combat abilities were only barely adequate. With his mind clouded by rage, he was actually disadvantaged by a demonic beast of the same cultivation level, one without any significant background.

It was practically a disgrace for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

From a distance, Wang Yu glanced back, and the two parties had already exchanged several more blows.

After conjuring a low-grade, second-tier sword artifact, Deacon Xu finally gained the upper hand. He could defeat the Bone Lion King in at most a hundred and eighty more exchanges; such wild-grown demonic beasts were simply too weak.

They were utterly incomparable to cultivators of the same stage who originated from the Rebellious Spirit Blood Sect.

From his initial observation, Wang Yu concluded that this person was not adept at spells; using artifacts to fight enemies wasn't inherently bad.