Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 257

“So many people~”

To be honest, suddenly appearing in the outside world after activating the Void Escape Talisman and finding himself watched by tens of thousands of cultivators made his heart tremble slightly. It felt as if he had just escaped a tiger’s den only to fall into a wolf’s lair.

He could not help but sweep his gaze around.

When he saw the gathering blood mist over Yin Ghost Mountain, the dissipating dark clouds above, and the collapsing formation that once resembled an inverted “mountain,” he could roughly guess what had happened.

“What a bunch of clingy parasites!”

He cursed inwardly.

Wang Yu’s eyes turned toward the group from the Yellow Spring Monastery. With the help of the Earth Net Ghost Mask, unless a Nascent Soul cultivator appeared, it was almost impossible for anyone to see through his true identity.

After a brief moment of confusion, the surrounding cultivators finally reacted.

“He came out of Yin Ghost Mountain?”

“He’s so badly injured... could it be that he discovered something inside?”“Maybe he’s a spy sent by the Exalted Sect or the Yellow Spring Monastery?”

“Hey, hey, hey... he’s coming closer.”

“I feel like he just escaped from some kind of secret realm. That silver light earlier—wasn’t it spatial power?”

“Don’t pretend to know what you don’t. That was the trace of a Void Escape Talisman, idiot.”

“What did you say—!”

As the cultivators chattered among themselves, only the members of the Blood Reversal Sect and the Yellow Spring Monastery stood still for a moment before closing in.

The two groups, as if by silent agreement, surrounded Wang Yu.

In that strange and tense atmosphere, a subtle air of conflict began to form rapidly.

A late-Stage Core Formation cultivator from the Exalted Sect—one of the Ten Inner Elders of the Venom Peak and the leader of this exploration, spoke first.

“Little friend, do you happen to know the truth behind the mutation of Yin Ghost Mountain?”

Under his mask, Wang Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly as he replied politely.

“Senior of the Exalted Sect, this junior was ambushed by enemies outside the Heavenly Demonic Bone Forest. I activated a Void Escape Talisman to barely escape. I did not expect to fall into your encirclement here.

I am gravely injured and urgently need a place to go into seclusion. May I ask if the esteemed seniors could—”

“Hmph—”

Before he could finish, a cold snort cut him off.

A Core Formation cultivator’s pressure surged toward Wang Yu. To be fair, he could hardly feel anything, but he had to pretend to be affected.

He dropped to one knee in midair, seemingly unable to speak.

From the Exalted Sect’s ranks, a thin, withered old woman at mid-Stage Core Formation stepped forward.

“Brat, if you refuse the toast only to drink punishment wine, this old lady will kill you with a single slap if you dare lie again!”

“Hehe—Why would senior say such a thing?”

Wang Yu stared at the old woman with a smile that did not reach his eyes. A seething killing intent rose within him as he squinted, concealing the emotion that might leak through his gaze.

“If I'm says you’re lying, then you’re lying. Why should I explain myself to an ant like you? Slap him!”

Her spiritual power gathered, forming a giant hand that reached for Wang Yu. He rose swiftly, his divine sense transforming into countless steel needles to collide against it.

This was one of the advanced divine sense techniques he had obtained in the Heavenly Soul Scripture Pavilion.

Simply put, if one could master these techniques to perfection, they would truly be a Soul Dao cultivator—able to fight equals using only divine sense.

He had not practiced long and had only studied one or two methods, but that old woman had struck casually, thinking him to be merely at the Foundation Establishment stage.

The moment his divine sense erupted, others immediately grew wary.

“A Core Formation divine sense?”

“Fellow Daoist, you deliberately hid your cultivation. What is your true intention? If you refuse to speak of Yin Ghost Mountain’s secrets, do not blame me, Fang, for performing a Soul Search!”

This came from the Exalted Sect’s late-Stage Core Formation cultivator.

Wang Yu sneered softly. The Exalted Sect was still the Exalted Sect—this familiar arrogance. Having spent too long around Long Yiran, even his personality had nearly been warped.

“In the end, my Dao Hearts is still not firm enough...”

He sighed inwardly. Beneath his mask, his lips curved into a strange smile that no one could see.

Taking a deep breath, sensing his true essence almost restored, Wang Yu pressed his palms together.

Behind him, a phantom of the Yellow Springs torrent appeared, and a massive muddy-yellow palm descended toward the insolent old woman.

At that moment, not only did the Exalted Sect members’ expressions change, but even the cultivators of the Yellow Spring Monastery, who had remained quiet due to their weaker strength—looked shocked.

“He’s using the true inheritance technique of the Monastery? Which disciple is he...”

“You’re from the Yellow Spring Monastery!!!”

“Very well, very well... then let’s settle this today.”

As the Exalted Sect’s Core Formation cultivators prepared to attack, Wang Yu retreated gracefully and slipped seamlessly into the Yellow Spring Monastery’s ranks. His voice was deliberately soft, yet just loud enough for the Exalted Sect members to hear.

“Honored elders of the Monastery, this disciple was sent by Curse Ghost Demon Lord to investigate the Yin Ghost Mountain mutation.

By sheer luck, I discovered a spatial secret realm within Yin Ghost Mountain. Inside lies a ten-thousand-year-old Medicine King! I beg you to report this to the Nascent Soul Ancestor immediately and summon reinforcements!”

The Core Formation cultivators of the Yellow Spring Monastery were momentarily stunned before joy spread across their faces. This true inheritance art could only be cultivated through the Yellow Springs Azure Fall Sutra.

In other words, Wang Yu had already proven his identity.

As the Exalted Sect cultivators were about to surround him, the Yellow Spring Monastery’s elders immediately cast a spell, manifesting a river of Yellow Springs energy that shielded Wang Yu. One of them quickly asked.

“Do you have proof?”

Wang Yu brushed a hand across his abdomen. That was where he had taken a punch from the Blood Demon Ginseng, and a trace of its aura still lingered. Extracting a wisp of it, he let the Nether Spring Temple’s cultivators sense it.

Their expressions instantly turned from doubt to absolute confidence.

“Indeed, this is the Ten-Thousand-Year Medicine King. I once caught a distant glimpse of it in the Yellow Springs Herb Garden. I could never mistake it.”

As these words were spoken, the other Core Formation cultivators revealed joy. This was a great achievement.

The Heavenly Demonic Bone Forest was a land without an owner, open for anyone to explore. Treasures there belonged to the capable. Moreover, it lay right on the border between the two sects, so conflict was inevitable.

“The Medicine King may not be skilled in combat, but it possesses at least fourth-rank strength. No wonder you were so badly injured. Step back. Leave this to us.”

“Yes, sir.”

The situation was tense. Even exchanging a few words delayed them. No one had the time to ask for Wang Yu’s name or background.

Thunderous explosions rumbled as the Core Formation cultivators of the Exalted Sect began bombarding the River of the Yellow Springs.

Turning his palm, Wang Yu took out a handful of supreme-grade spirit pills and swallowed them all in one gulp. His figure gradually faded as the Invisibility Technique took effect. Though this second-rank low-grade technique was starting to lag behind his cultivation, it still worked well to conceal his form.

Paired with the Ghost-Face Mask and the Breath Concealment, the moment battle broke out and everyone’s attention was drawn elsewhere, he vanished quietly from the center of the battlefield.

As long as he could buy himself a little time to move farther from the heart of the clash, and avoid getting caught in a large-scale spell attack, half his safety would be assured.

The two strongest sides were locked in confrontation.

The cultivators of the Yellow Springs Monastery allowed Wang Yu to slip away.

But the Exalted Sect would not. The mid-stage Core Formation old woman who had been staring at him sharply screeched, “All city lords of the Exalted Sect, hear my command. Capture that cowardly rat hiding in the shadows.”

Damn it.

If not for his need to conceal his identity, he would have torn off his mask and slapped that old hag across the face. Too many secrets lay hidden in the ruins of the Heavenly Soul Sect.

Especially since the Blood Demon’s power had now been exposed, the Blood Reversal Sect would surely spare no effort to seize this place. After all, the Blood Demon Hall lineage cultivated the very techniques passed down by the Blood Demon himself.

The two were deeply connected. There was no way they would let such an opportunity slip away. If the Yellow Springs Monastery decided to fight for it too, the ensuing slaughter would be even bloodier than the struggle for the Chasing Moon Prefecture.

At that point, Wang Yu’s ties with the Three Young Master of the Blood Reversal Sect would be meaningless. He could not even allow Jin Miaoshan to suspect anything.

Wang Yu’s identity must never be exposed in the Heavenly Demonic Bone Forest. Otherwise, Jin Miaoshan would immediately deduce the truth.

When the city lords turned their gazes toward him, he realized his plan to escape had failed. Without hesitation, he prepared to use another Void Escape Talisman to get far from the crowd.

At that moment, a familiar peal of thunder resounded through the sky. The Core Formation cultivators on both sides froze their attacks. Even Wang Yu slowed his movements and looked upward.

Black lightning exploded, forming a sea of thunder in midair. Blood mist surged endlessly from the ground, crashing against the lightning in a ceaseless tide.

The blood mist could not match the thunder in power, but its sheer quantity was overwhelming.

The Thunder of the Nether Tiger erupted with all its might. Though its power was immense, it lacked endurance. After splitting apart several Ghost Mountains, the dark clouds scattered completely.

An ancient illusion of a vast structure appeared in the sky, separated by space yet facing the cultivators from afar.

“This…”

“It’s really a secret realm!”

“Hahaha! Fortune smiles upon me! Good thing I stayed here guarding this place. Everyone knows that the first to explore a secret realm always gains the richest rewards.”

“Brother, well said. I see your strength is not weak. Shall we join forces to explore together?”

“I’ll consider it.”

Loose cultivators and minor sects were all ecstatic, believing opportunity was at hand.

Wang Yu too let out a breath of relief. He had thought the Nether Tiger Formation was triggered by Long Yiran, and now wondered how she was faring.

Then he saw something even more bizarre. The shadow of the ancient structure in the sky appeared close, yet was like a mirage—visible but unreachable.

Normally, one would need to find the secret realm’s entrance.

However, with the complete exhaustion of the Nether Tiger Formation’s power, its spatial seal over the secret realm had ended.

Tens of thousands of years ago, this space had vanished into nothingness. But now, without the Blood Demon’s lingering influence, it reappeared—almost as if reborn from the void.

The Ghost Mountains were torn apart. Space itself expanded. Land masses squeezed out from the void, and ruins of ancient structures replaced what once was the Ghost Mountains.

The first thing everyone sensed was the aura of a super grade spiritual vein.

Wang Yu’s expression turned grim. He knew things had just become much more troublesome.

It was not only the presence of a fifth-rank spiritual vein. The legacy of an ancient overlord made this place even more tempting. Not just the Blood Reversal Sect and Yellow Springs Monastery—even the Nether Mountain Sect in the far south of the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain would covet it.

But the most dangerous thing of all descended amidst the crowd’s excitement.

A thunderous roar shook the heavens.

“ROAR!”

The Blood Demon Ginseng, Blood Demon Polygonum, and Blood Demon Lingzhi—three Nascent Soul-rank Medicine Kings, appeared. The endless blood mist now had masters. It transformed into blood beasts, blood corpses, and gigantic blood golems that surged forward in countless hordes, stretching far beyond the horizon.

A towering Sky-reaching Demon Sunflower stood among them, its late fourth-rank aura alone enough to crush Qi Refining cultivators to death.

This was the insurmountable gap between life levels.

The cultivators of the Exalted Sect and the Yellow Springs Temple were utterly terrified—“scared pissless” would not be an exaggeration.