Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 124

"Yuan Qu, how is the situation?"

In the darkness, a cultivator whose aura had reached the Foundation Establishment stage was coldly staring at City Lord Yuan, making cold sweat drip down his face.

"My lord, it should not be the Sword Sect’s emissary, but the specific culprit has not been found yet. Should we contact Black Mountain Pass to confirm the number of people in this batch?"

"Useless."

The aura of the shadow suddenly surged, pressing all the might onto Yuan Qu, forcing him to kneel trembling uncontrollably.

"Do not ask about things you should not ask."

"Y… yes, yes."

If not for matters of Spirit Slaves and suitable-age women, which could not be separated from Yuan Qu’s assistance, with his meager cultivation he would not have known these things at all.

In truth, he only knew from Old Ning that this group of demonic cultivators had come from Black Mountain Pass. Every year he was responsible for transporting two batches of "people."

Where they went, what they did, and what they were used for, he had no idea.He only knew that the deeper plan involving suitable-age women brought him enormous cultivation resources. The Spirit Slave trade was purely his own private business.

They were using this layer of trade to cover up the deeper plan, concealing from a portion of their collaborators in the righteous path, such as the garrison stationed at Black Mountain Pass.

Yuan Qu could guess a little, but he dared not speak it aloud.

"Hmph.

"This year’s transport has already been delayed nearly three months. Be ready to set out tomorrow at midnight, using secret passage number four."

"Yuan Qu understands."

The short exchange ended. The Foundation Establishment shadow flickered and disappeared from the City Lord’s mansion. No one knew where he went.

Kneeling on the ground, Yuan Qu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, anxiety weighing on his heart. For the past three months he had feared that the Sword Sect’s emissary was secretly fishing in the dark.

After the Day of Spiritual Root Testing, he had only marked a few names. Some were suitable female cultivators, and some were mortal women of the city. He had not yet dared to seize them.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Spirit Vulture Sect was too impatient. Tomorrow at midnight they were to be taken away. He had to act either tonight or tomorrow night. The daytime was impossible; they would be discovered too easily.

As for the Spirit Slave business, with Old Ning having disappeared, those marked seedlings for Spirit Slaves could be taken next year. That was not urgent.

But the timing of capturing the suitable-age women was critical. He did not have enough manpower in hand. Most were still at the early stage of Qi Refining. To capture more than five hundred women, he would need to pull some strings.

Yuan Qu looked at the night sky and thought to himself:

"This difficulty is too great. Perhaps I should visit Third Uncle at the Clear Spring Bamboo Residence to ask for advice. He is living there in retirement precisely to provide counsel for me.

"An elder in the family is like a treasure. I should go at once."

Clearly, he still did not know that the old city lord had already been brutally killed by a certain Wang. He had only himself to blame for not maintaining the relationship with care and never truly providing for the old city lord’s retirement.

That man had entrenched himself in Stone Lake City for decades, with connections and influence. Merely inheriting the authority of the City Lord’s mansion was not enough to smoothly secure such networks.

For instance, the nearby itinerant cultivators and cultivation families were potential allies. Yuan Qu had arrived too recently, and he was too poor, far from having established any deep roots.

Meanwhile.

At the Wang residence.

Wang Wu, who had not returned for some time, came back to Stone Lake City together with his master and several late-stage Qi Refining fellow disciples. They had come to harvest resources.

Do not be fooled by the Wang clan only having recently entered the cultivation world, with merely three generations of inheritance since their rise. Among mortals they were still a powerful family. And in the nearby mountains, influenced by spirit veins, there was a chance of low-grade spirit herbs emerging.

The Wang clan had risen through medicine and spirit herbs. From this, Wang Wu obtained many benefits, at least enough to supply his early-stage Qi Refining cultivation needs.

With dual spiritual roots, and nurtured by the Spirit Vulture Sect, he had entered the sect as the disciple of a Foundation Establishment master. Wang Wu’s strength grew rapidly.

At just over thirty years of age, he had already reached the peak of the seventh layer of Qi Refining. At most within a year, at the shortest within a few months, he would surely breakthrough.

In the cultivation world, a cultivator with three spiritual roots, without taking any pills, without relying on rare spiritual materials or treasures, relying only on a single Qi Refining cultivation method, could still reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining before the age of one hundred.

As for dual spiritual roots, their speed on this basis was even faster. With the aid of various resources, if Wang Wu had entered a Nascent Soul lineage and worked harder, he might already have reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining by now.

That Wang Yu was able to catch up to his speed, and even surpass him, was indeed no easy matter.

After smoothly returning to the Wang Residence.

Wang Wu did not alarm too many people and went directly to the rooms of his two nephews.

“Qiu Yi, Qiu Shi.”

The two boys, about eleven or twelve years old, woke up in shock from their beds. Realizing it was Wang Wu, they quickly scrambled down, kneeling on one knee.

“Greetings to the Patriarch.”

After a moment of silence, Wang Wu finally revealed a satisfied smile and helped them up.

Although the two of them did not have high aptitude, and had even been prematurely pushed forward by him with demonic cultivation methods, forcibly stepping into the first layer of Qi Refining, in the future at most they could only reach the third layer of Qi Refining.

But to him, they were the only ones he could trust and use.

“When there are no outsiders, there is no need to be so formal. Tell me about the spiritual items you have gathered recently.”

“Yes.”

……

……

At the bottom of Stone Lake.

After silently cultivating for three months, Wang Yu slowly opened his eyes. In his pupils flashed a silver-white divine light, like a crescent moon piercing through the void, gazing far into the distance.

He felt it, he sensed that familiar yet foreign aura, it triggered the divine sense imprint he had left on the two Wang clan youths.

“Wang Wu.”

The anger he had been suppressing for some time erupted completely, hidden emotions surging beneath Wang Yu’s calm expression.

To be honest, even though he had cultivated in the demonic path.

He still found eating humans revolting. After all, refining the purest origin of heaven and earth was more in line with his intentions.

Moreover, when he came, the Demonic Embryo Mysterious Origin Curse still required four years to reach complete perfection. That time was originally a period of trial he left for himself.

The result, needless to say.

Before the Demonic Embryo Mysterious Origin Curse was perfected, he would not kill Wang Wu, but he had to seize him in advance, so that the moment the time arrived, he could immediately strip away his spiritual roots.

During these three months, Slot Four temporarily set aside the Mysterious Yin Hand and perfected the superior spell Thousand-Mile Divine Travel, adding a method of long-distance pursuit.

Currently, what was placed in the idle slot was the Tortoise Breath Secret Method. This method was relatively simple, requiring only nine days to reach perfection, even inferior to some first-rank spells, but it could be applied at critical times.

At this moment, Wang Yu departed from Stone Lake, circulating the Thousand-Mile Divine Travel technique. This spell mainly strengthened his legs, as if a tidal gale was pushing him forward.

It not only saved strength but also consumed little spiritual power, and when tired, there was even a sensation of riding the wind with comfort.

Running while resting.

In terms of speed, it surpassed the Illusory Step, becoming faster the longer he ran.

With the Night Concealment Mantra, Wang Yu entered the city from a corner of the wall in less than half a stick of incense.

Since Wang Wu had returned from the Spirit Vulture Sect, he certainly brought attendants with him, and he had not forgotten the disturbance he had caused in the city some time ago.

Caution above all.

After traveling tens of miles through the night, Wang Yu cautiously returned to the Wang Residence. Wrapped in night silk, like a moving shadow, he gradually heard the sounds coming from the room ahead.