novelraw Chapter 225
Chapter 225
“Uh—”
Wang Yu froze for a moment. He thought what had been said earlier was already the end of it.
“Could it be…”
“That’s right. This is an additional personal compensation that this old man has specifically prepared for you.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Yu replied without hesitation.
“Junior wishes to obtain the Earth Nether Finger.”
“Oh?”
Elder Xuan Yan stroked his beard, slightly surprised that Wang Yu would actually ask for a second-rank supreme-grade spell inheritance.
Although this technique was powerful, without merging it with the Mysterious Yin Hand, it was merely an ordinary spell. Could it be that…?
Realizing a hint of the truth, Elder Xuan Yan nodded.“Then this old man shall demand the Earth Nether Finger on your behalf. But if you find it unsatisfactory later, don’t regret it.”
“Junior understands.”
Seeing that the elder seemed to have something left unsaid, Wang Yu did not press further. Ever since the Thunder Spirit Corpse had been taken away by Lord Lei Hou, Elder Xuan Yan’s attitude toward him had turned rather cold.
He faintly sensed that it had something to do with that token. Compared with the many spiritual treasures as rewards, Elder Xuan Yan seemed to value more the token Wang Yu had obtained.
Human favors were worth more than spiritual treasures, at least for a great figure like Lord Lei Hou.
If not for the other party’s eagerness to come to Jade Spirit City to retrieve the corpse, Wang Yu might not have gained any benefits at all. Elder Xuan Yan’s coldness toward him wasn’t due to resentment, but rather… envy?
Wang Yu couldn’t quite tell.
Nonetheless, since there was a chance to complete the Yellow Springs Great Hand Seal, he naturally wanted to give it a try. That divine ability was one of the most renowned secret arts of the Yellow Springs Monastery in the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain.
For it to be so famous, there must be a good reason.
As for the life-bound divine ability he would cultivate after reaching Core Formation, Wang Yu hadn’t yet decided. He still had plenty of time to ponder it, and there was no need to rush.
In any case, the fact that the elder was willing to personally help him obtain the Earth Nether Finger could already be considered repayment for the “corpse-gifting” favor. Besides, he didn’t have the standing to argue over gains or losses.
When one’s cultivation realm was higher by a whole stage, it already crushed others, let alone two large realms. His opinion simply didn’t matter.
Now that the negotiation was nearing its end, he only hoped it would finish soon.
The one-voice rule of Jade Spirit City suited him better.
“Half a month from now, there will be the final negotiation. You will attend as a listener. Consider it this old man’s way of returning the favor for the corpse you gifted.”
“Senior’s command, this junior dares not disobey.”
With that, Wang Yu exited the Xuanyan Hall, his expression betraying no emotion.
…
…
In the City Lord’s Mansion, inside the secluded cultivation chamber, the Insect Room.
This place was a second chamber Wang Yu had personally excavated adjacent to his underground meditation room. Within it, the Immaculate Jade Toad egg he had obtained earlier from the Yanluo Ghost Market was being carefully soaked in a poison pool.
He had deliberately purchased a secret technique for insect-taming from Han Jia of the Heaven Treasure Pavilion and had already implanted a mark within the egg. After several years of sacrificial refinement, it was finally about to hatch.
By coincidence, the Immaculate Jade Toad was actually the first rare item Wang Yu had ever “picked up” since entering the cultivation world. Carefully nurturing it now would prove extremely useful when entering the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest in the future.
At the very least, it could help him avoid the greatest danger of that land filled with ten thousand poisons, venom itself.
That alone made it worth his full effort to raise it.
It was certainly more useful than the Three-Tailed Snow Fox.
“Little one, it’s time to come out of your shell.”
As soon as he spoke, the grain-sized egg pouch suddenly bulged outward. The next moment, a small creature resembling a tadpole wriggled out.
It was as thin as a strand of hair and about two millimeters long.
Immersed in the poison pool Wang Yu had meticulously prepared, it looked completely at ease. After a moment of swimming, it opened its tiny mouth and began absorbing toxins.
Its jade-like white body was quickly tinted purple, but within just a couple of breaths, it returned to its original color, greedily devouring more toxins like a never-satisfied glutton.
Its body began to transform, growing limbs and thickening its form.
It swam freely through the poisonous sea, devouring every toxin it could touch.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the newly born Immaculate Jade Toad began forming a cocoon, reconstructing its body anew.
Wang Yu sat by the side, observing quietly.
It was his first time raising an insect, and curiosity filled his heart.
A day later.
The creature emerged from its cocoon, now truly possessing the form of the Immaculate Jade Toad. This time, its toxin absorption speed was astonishing. Soaking in the pool, it opened its mouth and inhaled.
The poisons dissolved in the water were forcibly drawn into its belly.
This process lasted for a full three hours, until the entire poison pool was purified into a clear water pool.
Then, it began forming its second cocoon.
“Interesting. This rate of growth is simply astonishing. If a human cultivator could possess such an ability, then within a hundred years, the entire world would likely be drained dry.”
With that sigh of emotion, Wang Yu continued cultivating while waiting, for this bodily transformation and reconstruction was not something that could be completed in a short time.
Half a month later.
The final negotiation was about to begin. At that moment, the Immaculate Jade Toad also broke through its cocoon. Compared to when it had first been born, it had already grown to the size of a fingernail.
Its jade-white body was smooth and flawless, without a single poisonous bulge. The two horizontally set frog eyes gleamed with a blood-jade hue. The moment it saw Wang Yu, it impatiently hopped toward him, croaking softly.
To an outsider who did not know better, it would truly appear to be a spirit frog.
The Immaculate Jade Toad belonged to the category of functional-type spirit insects. It possessed no offensive capability and had no cultivation realm. Compared with ordinary insects, it was more akin to a spirit herb capable of neutralizing poison.
At a crucial moment, it was far more useful than any secret art.
Even if it were to become useless later, it could still be refined to grant the cultivator a physique immune to ten thousand poisons. It could also serve as the base for nurturing another spirit insect.
After forming the hand seal and completely establishing a bond with the Immaculate Jade Toad, Wang Yu held a round brown jar. It was a second-rank magic tool called the Spirit Insect Vessel, specially crafted to contain spirit insects and Gu insects. This item was one he had personally purchased.
After storing the Jade Toad inside, he shrank the vessel, threaded it with a cord, and hung it by his waist. With that, the matter was properly settled. Wang Yu immediately left the secret chamber and headed to the grand conference hall that had been specially built at the City Lord’s Mansion for the negotiation.
The hall was large enough to accommodate over a thousand people. At the center was a long table prepared for the representatives of both sides, while their respective supporters stood behind them.
They could consult historical records at any time to launch counterarguments, such as referencing how conflicts between certain sects in the past had been resolved, and suggesting that such precedents be followed.
When it came to matters concerning the dignity of hegemonic powers, neither side would give an inch. In contrast, compensation involving Wang Yu, the minor City Lord of Jade Spirit City, was a trivial issue. Even a few million or tens of millions of spirit stones would not truly harm the Yellow Springs Monastery.
The higher one’s cultivation realm, the more one came to understand matters regarding these hegemonic powers. The so-called Spirit Slaves were truly nothing more than the coin purses of the True Inheritors of each peak.
Only now did Wang Yu realize how laughable his youthful thoughts and understanding had been back then.
Those Spirit Slaves, debased to their very bones, could never possibly influence the status of a True Disciples. His childish years had truly been like a frog at the bottom of a well, ignorant of the vastness of the world.
The loss of that arm had indeed been caused by his own mistake.
However, it was precisely that lesson that shaped his present temperament. Whether it was good or bad was difficult to say.
In the grand conference hall, Elder Xuan Yan remained silent. The opposing leader, known by the honorific title Curse Ghost Demon Lord, was someone Wang Yu had met once or twice during this period. His cultivation was roughly equal to that of Elder Xuan Yan.
He was a senior of Daoist Dizang and was fully responsible for this negotiation. At the moment, he appeared quite leisurely, sipping his own spiritual tea out of boredom.
Standing among the crowd behind, Wang Yu listened to a full half hour of insults being traded.
Then the Curse Ghost Demon Lord spoke. “Xuan Yan, that’s enough. Your side has already taken plenty of benefits this time. If you keep pressing further… some people may grow uneasy.”
“Uneasy?” Xuan Yan snorted coldly. “You, Curse Ghost, are always fixated on probing the human heart. I should be the one asking what exactly you intend.”
“Let’s do this. According to the terms of the two hundred and eighty-first negotiation, you shall pass down the Earth Nether Finger to the City Lord of Jade Spirit. Then this matter shall be settled.”
“I will not demand a public apology from your Yellow Springs Monastery. How about that?”
Hearing this, the Curse Ghost Demon Lord was slightly surprised.
His eerie gaze turned toward Wang Yu, locking directly onto his hands. “Interesting. Both hands tempered with Yin Marrow Fluid. Seems you have cultivated the Mysterious Yin Hand.”
Wang Yu felt nervous. Being stared at by an old Nascent Soul stage demon cultivator was far from comfortable.
After a moment of silence, the Curse Ghost Demon Lord said, “Very well, as you wish. But I will say this in advance. Without cultivating the Yellow Springs Azure Fall Sutra, it is nearly impossible for him to master the divine art Yellow Springs Great Hand Seal.”
“This matter has delayed me for several years already. It is time to bring it to an end.”
Elder Xuan Yan made no further comment.
As for Wang Yu, he did not care much in his heart. Whatever special requirements there might be, the Idle Slot could fulfill them anyway.
If the Yellow Springs Temple was willing to hand over the Mysterious Yin Hand, there must be some restriction he was unaware of.
Otherwise, if every cultivator on the street could master the Yellow Springs Great Hand Seal, that would be quite an embarrassment.
Their purpose in spreading the Mysterious Yin Hand was clearly to recruit talented grassroots cultivators. Naturally, a hidden restriction must exist. Wang Yu had already guessed as much long ago.
Elder Xuan Yan’s refusal to tell him was merely due to a touch of selfish scheming. It was not particularly malicious, yet Wang Yu still felt displeased.
The compensation could not be delivered immediately.
Thus, after the negotiation ended, the Curse Ghost Demon Lord departed with his followers, while Elder Xuan Yan led the people of Cloud Ridge Prefecture City away without speaking another word to Wang Yu.
Instead, he sent a Foundation Establishment cultivator to briefly explain the situation.
Those three cultivators who had caused trouble at the Thunderfall Abyss were now reduced to high-ranking Spirit Slaves of the Blood Reversal Sect. They would be sent back there to serve as living machines producing high-grade spirit stones.
Next came the matter of compensation. One million in offering was to be returned to the sect as usual, and fifteen million spirit stones were to be paid as reparation, of which thirteen million were divided among that group, leaving two million for Wang Yu.
Additionally, part of Secluded Prefecture’s resource points were ceded, including one Foundation Establishment secret realm, which would permanently belong to the Blood Reversal Sect. The territory loss amounted to three counties and nine cities.
It could be said that they lost both men and resources, suffering considerable damage.
The benefits Jade Spirit City could gain from this were limited. Within a few years, a new batch of cultivators would come to take over, and Jade Spirit City would no longer be the city closest to the ‘Eastern Extreme Capital Ruins.’
Whether this outcome was good or bad was hard to say. Especially since City Lord Wang himself received no share of the benefits, it was indeed frustrating.
All these expenses had to be borne by Daoist Dizang’s lineage, which had only paid a portion so far. Nothing had yet reached Wang Yu’s hands, and he had no idea when it actually would.
As for the Earth Nether Finger, within five to ten years, the Yellow Springs Monastery would send someone to transmit the technique. At that time, a binding contract would also be signed, forbidding him from passing it on to a second person.