novelraw Chapter 227
Chapter 227
Taking a deep breath, Jin Miaoshan forcefully suppressed all her goodwill toward Wang Yu. As expected, he was a man who valued profit above all else. He would only help her when it concerned his own interests, not out of genuine kindness.
In truth, this was normal in the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain, where benefits came before all else.
Before anyone acted, they would first weigh whether it was worth it. Jin Miaoshan’s emotions had been unstable recently, rising and falling like a tide, which made her mentally fragile and thus develop a faint affection toward Wang Yu.
That affection, however, was not of romance between man and woman, but rather the sense of support between friends. In this world, not only lovers shared bonds of affection; parents, siblings, kin, and friends all did as well.
After watching the scenes captured in the Stone, Jin Miaoshan nodded slightly.
“Fellow Daoist, I understand your meaning. I will give due compensation and express my gratitude. However, I would like to ask—why do you harbor such strong hostility toward Golden Abundance Tower?”
“Hostility?” Wang Yu raised his brows. He immediately realized she was referring to Ye Qing’s betrayal and to his act of introducing the Heaven Treasure Pavilion into the city, which admittedly appeared somewhat underhanded. But he already had his answer prepared.
“Bringing in the Heaven Treasure Pavilion was for the development of Jade Spirit City. As its City Lord, this is a duty I cannot shirk. With two major trade guilds coexisting in the city, the benefits to the city are self-evident.
“As for Ye Qing, he was merely a casualty of circumstance. If anyone is to blame, it should be you. You went into seclusion and could not protect or support him. His betrayal was a result of reality, and thus the fault lies with you, not me.
“As for Jin Lin, he has schemed against you more than once. I personally experienced it twice. Even if your seclusion was urgent, you should have been able to foresee his reaction. Your failure to act is the true cause of this tragedy.”Wang Yu spoke three statements in one breath, leaving Jin Miaoshan stunned—though what he said was not entirely without reason.
She sat down on the chair to her right, her slender fingers massaging her temples. Something about his reasoning felt off, but she could not deny that her lack of precautions against Jin Lin was indeed a mistake.
At that time, her mind had been eroded by killing intent; she could not maintain a sound sense of reason. Even now, she relied on spiritual items to keep her mind clear.
A large part of her thoughts had been consumed by that killing intent. Her black-and-white hair was the result of that corruption. If it were to turn completely white, she would lose herself entirely—becoming a demon controlled by slaughter.
The thought of it left her no desire to argue about right or wrong. Spiritual items as compensation meant little to her; she could afford that.
What truly mattered was the message Wang Yu had delivered during her seclusion.
She suddenly raised her head and looked at Wang Yu.
He was already watching her.
“…”
“Daoist Wang, let us set aside the matter of right and wrong for now. I want to know about the method you mentioned—the one that could save me. What exactly is it?”
Wang Yu, however, did not answer her directly. Instead, he asked something he had long been curious about.
“Daoist Jin, that Asura Slaughter Sacred Scripture you cultivate—could it be a Spirit Transformation stage inheritance of the Heart-Mind Dao? And the other scripture, Rakshasa True Demonic Scripture, do you know who obtained it?”
Jin Miaoshan’s brows furrowed. Having gone through the Heavenly Soul Sect’s technique exchange, she was not surprised he had deduced her cultivation path. But if Wang Yu intended to ask for it—how could she refuse?
Top-tier Spirit Transformation inheritances were nearly all unique. It was difficult to cultivate two at once due to the conflicting nature of the ancient demonic powers behind them. Typically, once a cultivator broke through the Nascent Soul stage, their path was set.
Only the Heart-Mind Dao was different—it could be cultivated alongside other paths.
To preserve the Asura Slaughter Sacred Scripture, Golden Abundance Tower had paid a heavy price. Even though Jin Miaoshan already possessed a profound inheritance, she still cultivated this scripture to gain greater strength.
The scripture’s contents were already imprinted into her sea of consciousness; unless she was killed, even a Soul Search could hardly extract anything.
Perhaps noticing her worry, Wang Yu said calmly, “I don’t want your inheritance. Just answer my question.”
Only then did Jin Miaoshan breathe a sigh of relief.
“Yes, the Asura Slaughter Sacred Scripture is indeed a Heart-Mind Dao inheritance. As for the other scripture, although I did not witness it myself, I believe it fell into the hands of Ding Ming from your sect’s Fierce Nether Peak.”
“So it was him!”
That result was both unexpected and reasonable. Wang Yu had initially thought Xie Xie’an, who held half of the Rakshasa True Demon Scripture, would have had the advantage.
As for Ding Ming, with Wei Shanze’s assistance, his success was possible, especially since Wang Yu himself had provided information and the proper entrance token.
After losing, Xie Xie’an would surely have returned to his sect to demand justice. But Evil God Peak was too weak—it did not even have a single Nascent Soul cultivator. Its strongest was only at the peak of Core Formation.
Compared to other peaks, the difference was enormous. Not only would they fail to obtain the remaining half of the Rakshasa True Demon Scripture, they might even be forced to surrender the half they already held.
Pitiful. Truly pitiful.
Evil God Peak would likely be abolished entirely, while Fierce Nether Peak would enter a period of great prosperity. Wang Yu silently pondered the changes within his sect.
Any alteration within the mountain gates could affect him. He needed to be cautious, especially since he had ties with both Ding Ming and Wei Shanze.
After waiting a while, Jin Miaoshan finally pressed again.
“Daoist Wang, can you now tell me what exactly this thing is that can help me?”
“This matter,” Wang Yu said, “must be told from the beginning.”
He began to describe what had happened after the end of the Great Exploration Tide.
“In short, after you all left, I entered the ruins of the Eastern Extreme Capital alone. From there, I obtained many clues and gains.
“The Asura Venerable and the Rakshasa Venerable—the first two to obtain these inheritances, were both influenced and had their mind and hearts distorted.”
“The two inheritances may even have originally been one. According to my deduction,” Wang said, “in the later years of the Asura Venerable’s life, his mind was also distorted by this cultivation art, forcing him to use every means possible to calm his condition.”
“He tried self-torture, self-binding, heart-refining, and even Buddhist methods, all to maintain his sanity. Judging by your situation, the inheritance you obtained is most likely the original version.”
“Otherwise, if you had inherited the same self-control methods as the Asura Venerable, you should possess them as well. But in truth, you have completely lost control, and can only maintain your current state through Golden Abundance Tower’s assistance.”
By this point, the conclusion was already clear.
After Jin Miaoshan and the others obtained the inheritance, they used special means to withdraw in order to avoid being besieged and killed. They had no time to investigate deeper secrets.
She widened her eyes and suddenly asked, “After you entered alone, did you obtain the Asura Venerable’s mental control method?!”
“Yes and no,” Wang Yu replied with a sigh of regret.
“Perhaps it was because you people damaged the Evil Suppression Prison of Jingzhao too severely. I only obtained a Buddhist Heart Sutra, which should be one of the Asura Venerable’s many mental control techniques.”
“As for whether it will have much effect, I am not sure. After all, no one knows whether the Asura Venerable eventually lost control.”
Even so, to Jin Miaoshan, this was nothing short of a lifeline. Since cultivating the Asura Slaughter Sacred Scripture, that surging killing intent had constantly driven her to slaughter all living beings she encountered.
This was clearly abnormal. At first, she thought it was because her cultivation level was insufficient to control herself.
So she secluded herself to condense her Golden Core. But after breaking through to the Core Formation stage, the disturbance became even more terrifying, completely shattering her pride. She was then forced to seek help from within the Golden Abundance Tower.
She made use of all kinds of spiritual objects that could calm the mind and clear the spiritual platform. Inevitably, this matter leaked to other inheritance candidates.
That was when Jin Lin’s conspiracy began.
Buddhist inheritances had long since gone extinct. Even within the Golden Abundance Tower, they were extremely rare, and none were related to the path of the Heart-Mind.
Such inheritances were rare even in ancient times, let alone in this world of cultivation, which had suffered multiple eras of extinction due to demonic calamities. Excavating ancient history had become one of the few ways for cultivators to grow stronger.
However, accidents like Jin Miaoshan’s were not uncommon.
The inheritances given by ancient demons were exceedingly dangerous. In fact, demonic inheritances in general became perilous in their later stages. No one truly knew the origins of those sealed lands.
Contact with them must always be approached with extreme caution.
The lifeline Wang Yu now offered was far too precious. Without hesitation, Jin Miaoshan offered the highest price she could afford.
“I will exchange with you using a superior-grade Core Formation spiritual object of yin and ice attribute. What do you think?”
Although Wang Yu already possessed superior-grade Core Formation spiritual objects of fire and wood attributes, the Molten Earth Core Fruit and the Ten-Thousand-Year Tree Heart—he still lacked those of yin and ice attributes.
After the Fragrance Gathering’s reputation collapsed, he had originally planned to trade for one through the Heaven Treasure Pavilion. With Han Jia as his connection, he believed that by waiting several more years, he would eventually obtain the opportunity.
Now, however, Jin Miaoshan took the initiative to offer it. Wang Yu feigned displeasure and said, “Fellow Daoist Jin, are you making fun of me? The last time we discussed compensation, you said you had no yin or ice attribute Core Formation spiritual objects.”
The meaning was clear.
It had only been a little over ten years. You had none before, yet now you suddenly do? Are you toying with me?
Jin Miaoshan realized she had misspoken and quickly apologized.
“That was not my intention. I still do not have one now, but I am willing to mobilize all the forces of my lineage to find a spiritual object for you, no matter the cost.”
“No, no.”
Wang Yu shook his head, unwilling to be placated by empty promises. He then proposed the condition he had long prepared.
“Miaoshan, I am not an unreasonable man. If you can produce a treasure that can increase the cultivation speed of a Core Formation cultivator, I will teach you the Prajna Heart Sutra.
“Note, the treasure must be something I can use myself, effective up to the peak of Core Formation. Also, I still want a superior-grade yin or ice attribute Core Formation spiritual object.”
Jin Miaoshan clenched her teeth, feeling that Wang Yu’s expression at that moment was exactly like that of a blackmailer from years past.
“The Golden Abundance Tower has Spiritual Refining Talismans, supreme-grade cultivation pills, and the Grand Refining Spirit Formation. All can meet your needs. Which do you want?”
Wang Yu was indeed intrigued. He had scoured every place he could for treasures that could increase cultivation speed, yet apart from a few natural spiritual materials, he had found almost nothing.
He preferred something that provided continuous benefit, like supreme-grade spiritual pills. He said, “Forget the pills. Explain the other two.”
“The Spiritual Refining Talisman, when applied to the body, increases the cultivator’s rate of refining spiritual energy. It is suitable for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators and boosts efficiency by about fifty percent. It has no effect on those with Heavenly Spiritual Roots.
“The Grand Refining Spirit Formation functions similarly to the talisman, but is more suitable for Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators. It also increases the efficiency of refining spiritual energy by around fifty percent.
“These two methods can compensate for the deficiency of spiritual root aptitude. Unless one possesses Heavenly Spiritual Roots, which already refine the world’s spiritual energy at the highest possible rate, these methods are beneficial even to them.”
After hearing this, Wang Yu unexpectedly shook his head.
“No, no. These will not do.”
Jin Miaoshan was helpless.
“You refuse this and that. What exactly do you want?”
“I already said it…”