Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 260

The northern outer region of the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest.

After flying around this area for several days, Wang Yu finally approached You Prefecture, the territory controlled by the Yellow Spring Monastery.

However, due to the unique powers of cultivators, border blockades were never truly impenetrable.

The border was vast. Unless it was lined end to end with guards, there were always ways for cultivators, who possessed countless methods—to bypass patrols. No matter how mighty a hegemonic force was, it was impossible to cover an entire prefecture with a continuous formation.

Therefore, even someone at the Foundation Establishment stage could easily smuggle across the border, so long as they flew high enough.

The truly difficult borders were the Northern and Southern Severed Boundary Mountain Ranges.

That place was peculiar, inhabited by innumerable powerful spirit beasts. Deep within resided organized monster clans whose power rivaled the great human sects.

The many wars between Taihu Spiritual Domain and the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain had been fought over the weaker midsection of that same mountain range.

Inside, countless restrictions, formations, and traps were buried—so many that no one could possibly count them all. Too many pitfalls were left behind by those who came before, and even the righteous and demonic factions themselves no longer understood how many traps existed there.

Each new war only added more traps, layer upon layer, making that land ever more perilous.In short:

The borders between mortal powers were easy to traverse.

The borders between the righteous and demonic paths were not.

Wang Yu had tried to cross once before. He succeeded only by relying on a safe route discovered three hundred years ago during a great war between the two sides. Because it had not been used many times since, the route’s traps had not yet been renewed. Even so, he had encountered quite a few decoy traps.

Returning to the present.

Wang Yu felt that his “accidental” appearance in You Prefecture was a useful way to delay Jin Miaoshan’s suspicion.

After several days, through his body’s self-healing ability and the aid of the many supreme-grade spiritual pills he had long stockpiled, he had already recovered to his peak condition.

This, he mused, was the importance of a strong body. It not only reduced the difficulty of breaking through cultivation realms but also granted greater strength and survivability.

Thinking of this, Wang Yu could not help but recall Long Yiran. Her methods had been formidable—she had survived a direct palm strike from a Blood Demon Ginseng. Unfortunately, her injuries had been too severe.

She ultimately perished from the deadly poison released by the horde of venomous beasts—just a little short of survival.

The importance of survivability rose sharply in his mind.

“Hm? Here he comes again.”

At that moment.

It was not the first time he had crossed paths with the true body of the Five Poison Old Demon. In the past few days, because of their difference in cultivation realm, Wang Yu’s speed far surpassed others of the same tier.

To the Five Poison Old Demon, he must have looked like a turtle crawling.

Thus, each time a clone was destroyed, another arrived within a day. After a brief clash, Wang Yu would discover it was yet another clone.

He forcibly suppressed his urge to summon his trump cards—the Lunar Yin Fiend Corpse and the Thunder Corpse. Those could only be used at a critical moment.

Using the Yellow Springs Great Hand Seal, he destroyed the stronger-than-usual clone, and most of his injuries healed in the process.

And then—l

Like an endless cycle, the Five Poison Old Demon’s clones continued to appear, each one slain by Wang Yu. This proved it was not a true external incarnation technique but rather a temporary clone art with limited duration.

The Old Demon’s true body lingered behind, continuously sending out clones to wear down Wang Yu’s energy.

It was, without question, a cornered beast’s strategy.

He feared Wang Yu might still have hidden trump cards capable of a desperate counterattack before death.

His caution was extreme. In his view, so long as Wang Yu had no time to rest, he had no time to heal.

By normal reasoning, Wang Yu’s wounds should worsen until he collapsed, allowing the Old Demon’s true body to claim the final victory.

It was a simple plan—perhaps even crude.

After all, Wang Yu had worn the Ghost-Faced Net Mask the entire time, never exposing his true cultivation.

Still, based on his divine sense intensity and the power of his spells, one could tell he was at least of third rank. The Old Demon’s caution was not without reason.

Unfortunately for him.

Such a war of attrition suited Wang Yu perfectly.

He knew that even with two early third-rank corpse puppets aiding him, it would be extremely difficult to kill a veteran cultivator like the Five Poison Old Demon outright.

He needed a method to crush him in one decisive blow.

Only then could he escape safely. The Immaculate Jade Toad’s cocooning metamorphosis still required at least half a month before awakening, and only it could erase the poisonous skeletal tracking mark.

This would be his opportunity.

Moments later.

A mass of black-green smoke rolled forward, laughing hoarsely and wickedly. The shrill voice aimed to pressure Wang Yu further.

However, when the Old Demon saw Wang Yu standing there, gasping, body covered in eerie green wounds, leaning on a staff—his lips curled into a mocking smile.

“Boy… Have you finally decided to give up? Hand over the treasure, and this lord will grant you a swift death.”

“Heh.”

“Five Poison, you old dog—you’ve chased me for so long, yet you only dare to attack with your clones. Are you not afraid of Yellow Spring Monastery’s revenge?”

The clone hesitated, then shook his head after some thought.

“This lord does not believe you belong to the Yellow Spring Monastery.”

Wang Yu wiped the ‘poisoned blood’ from the corner of his mouth and said solemnly,

“I serve Demon Lord Dizang. Let your true body come forth and sign a Yellow Springs Pact with me. I will give you the treasure in exchange for my life.”

Then, he truly pulled a Yellow Springs Pact scroll from his storage ring.

The sight made the old devil waver slightly, for the Yellow Springs Pact was unique to the Yellow Spring Monastery—the most trustworthy of their contracts.

“Show me the treasure. Once I see it, this lord will decide.”

Upon hearing this,

Wang Yu fell silent. He seemed to hesitate for a long time before finally taking out an ancient jade slip.

To be honest, he truly had not obtained any treasures. Even if he had, he had already consumed or refined them, and none of the inheritance knowledge he possessed had a proper vessel to carry it.

What he brought out now was the inheritance jade slip of the Taiyin Nether Eyes.

There were still two layers of seals within it that remained unresolved. The third layer could only be unlocked through mana and the perfected second-rank eye power. Among all his possessions, this was the only thing that could be considered a treasure.

As expected, the other party immediately questioned him.

“You bring out a jade slip? Do you think I, this venerable one, would need such a thing?!”

Wang Yu let out a bitter laugh, as if both angry and amused.

“Old ugly ghost, do you know where that place was? That was the ruins of an ancient sect, accidentally sealed within a spatial rift, forming a secret realm.

“This is a Nascent Soul inheritance, and it’s my only gain. Believe it or not, that’s up to you.”

How could the Five Poisons Old Demon be willing to accept that? He roared furiously,

“I don’t believe it. Spirit herbs, magic treasures... you mean to tell me you didn’t obtain even one?”

“I already told you there’s nothing! Are you blind? Didn’t you see those four Blood Demon Medicine Kings? Go rob their garden yourself, you fool!”

After being scolded harshly, the Five Poisons Old Demon finally calmed down.

After a short silence, he spoke again.

“Throw the jade slip over. Once I verify it, my true body will come to sign the contract.”

“You take me for a fool? Sign the contract right now, or... fine, kill me. Then you can wait for the wrath of the Dizang Demon Lord.”

The Five Poisons Old Demon tried to argue again.

“You can kill my clone, yet you still refuse to let me inspect it? Show some sincerity, boy.”

—Silence.

Wang Yu closed his eyes, showing no sign of response.

“What? You don’t even dare to let me check it? Are you hiding something?”

“Hey.”

“Say something.”

“One incense stick. I’ll give you the time it takes for one incense stick to burn. If your true body doesn’t come, I’ll destroy the inheritance jade slip. Do whatever you like after that.”

After those words, Wang Yu said nothing more.

During that time, the Five Poisons Old Demon tried saying many things, but when he realized Wang Yu wouldn’t budge, he too fell silent, seemingly giving in.

Time passed. The incense stick burned out.

Just as Wang Yu was about to speak, a plume of green smoke rose from the ground, forming into another figure identical to the Five Poisons Old Demon.

“Boy, this is my true body. Bring out the Yellow Springs Contract.”

Wang Yu frowned deeply.

That easily? Could he really have been tricked so simply? Yet the aura was far stronger than the avatar’s, unmistakably real.

No matter what, he decided to test him first.

Clang—

In an instant, the half-damaged Starfall Cold Cauldron shot up from the ground, enclosing Wang Yu inside. At the same time, a pitch-black pellet flew out of his hand.

It was the Thunder Tribulation Pellet—a treasure once stored by Master Tianshui. He had once used a hundred of them to kill several peak Foundation Establishment death warriors in a single strike.

One pill wasn’t enough to kill the Five Poisons Old Demon, but it wasn’t something easily resisted either. Based on past experience, none of the Old Demon’s clones had reached Foundation Establishment level strength.

Zzzzt—Zzzzt!

As the Thunder Tribulation Pill shattered, terrifying lightning serpents exploded outward in all directions, covering a thousand-meter radius in an instant. The thunder was so dense that even a fly could not escape.

The first clone of the Five Poisons Old Demon was instantly annihilated without a trace.

As for the so-called true body, it spewed out black-green poisonous smoke, resisting much of the lightning’s power, yet was still severely burned. His body was left covered in thunder scars.

“It’s real!”

Wang Yu, who had been observing closely, immediately drew out a Heavenly Thunder Talisman Treasure and activated it without hesitation.

In less than a second, the sky filled with gathering storm clouds.

While the Five Poisons Old Demon was still struggling against the lightning from the pellet, a massive lightning pillar descended from the heavens, striking him squarely. His body turned into charred black ash as he fell to the ground, staring in disbelief at the alchemical cauldron.

Thud.

The sound of his body hitting the ground echoed.

From within the cauldron, Wang Yu emerged, throwing a burst of Ice Chi Pill Flame at the corpse from a safe distance. There was no reaction.

Dead?

He found it hard to believe and immediately heightened his vigilance.

“Heh... good boy.”

“To think you even had a talisman treasure on you. But this lightning... it doesn’t carry demonic energy. It feels more like the methods from the Taihu region.”

He had expended two powerful attacks in succession, merely to lure out the Old Demon’s true body. The loss was painful, yet with that man’s suspicious nature, it had been the only way.

Now that the true body had appeared, Wang Yu pretended to be weak, gazing at him with disbelief.

As expected, the Five Poisons Old Demon reappeared proudly, showing off his cleverness before sighing regretfully.

“That Phantom Spider of mine was a rare find. You’d better have something worth far more than it, or else... you’ll soon learn what pain truly means.”

“I don’t know!”

With a loud crack, Wang Yu unleashed his Wind-Thunder Spirit Pattern without restraint. This third-rank explosive secret art had been forcibly perfected by him through a shortcut in the lightning aspect.

With his physical body joining the outburst, his speed was beyond the Five Poisons Old Demon’s perception.