novelraw Chapter 273
Chapter 273
Wang Yu looked at the drastically reduced data. His previously discouraged expression immediately revived. How long did True Personage Qingyang take to break through to the second layer of Foundation Establishment? More than ten years!
He only needed half a year, and that was just with the Idle Slot calculation. His own cultivation speed had not even been factored in yet, nor the effects of the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Bed, third-rank cultivation elixirs, and other aids.
Once all those means were utilized, he estimated he would soon break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and only then would the pace begin to slow.
“Not bad, not bad.”
Next, Wang Yu continued cultivating for another month.
His mana rapidly accumulated to seventy strands, filling the previously empty Qi Sea a bit. With the quality of his mana, even a single strand equaled over a thousand drops of True Essence.
That was enough to repeatedly cast second-rank spells without exhausting his reserves. He wanted to test the complete version of the Lesser Asura Killing Fist, but after some thought, he decided against it—the place was unsuitable.
That day, the long-awaited moment of completion finally arrived: the Third-Rank Corpse Demon Secret Technique, today was the day!
With one feedback cycle from the fifth Slot, Wang Yu’s body began to wriggle. The Corpse Demon Bones and Heavenly Yin Blood both started to advance.
His bones cracked and popped. Corpse qi surged endlessly from his bone marrow—accumulations from a long period. Even Wang Yu was surprised.No wonder his blood and qi carried the traits of the Nether Yin. The marrow was one major reason;
the other was his blue-black blood that seemed utterly inhuman.
It contained the influences of both the Yin Nether Demonic Dragon Art and the Heavenly Yin Blood.
Within his blood were countless rune particles, and as the Corpse Demon Secret Technique was completed, the number of these particles increased rapidly.
The corpse runes engraved upon his bones shifted from incomplete to increasingly whole.
From second-rank to third-rank—perfection in an instant.
Beneath his skin, the iron corpse armor advanced, transforming into the golden-armored corpse robe that emitted faint golden light.
The zombie’s traits of copper skin and iron bones, along with its immense strength, took a great leap forward. Combined with the divine marrow’s bestowed innate power [Mountain Hurling Divine Strength] the results were terrifying.
At that moment, Wang Yu felt as if he possessed the strength of two mountains. His physical might skyrocketed.
At the same time, the advancement of his Heavenly Yin Blood was far from calm, and the commotion it caused was no less than that of his Corpse Demon Bones.
In the unseen void, the Lunar Yin (Taiyin) Star seemed to cast down a beam of brilliance.
As his whole body was bathed in that glow, gray mist in the Niwan Palace between his brows spread swiftly, and his divine sense power expanded greatly. For a fleeting moment, Wang Yu vaguely saw his own soul.
It was merged with his body, yet not completely perfect.
It was said that when a cultivator reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, they had to merge their divine soul into their Golden Core to nurture a Nascent Soul. This was the secret art of fusing soul and law.
That was also why advancing one’s divine sense to third rank did not trigger heavenly tribulation—because soul cultivation and the main cultivation system were inseparable. Strictly speaking, they were equally vital.
Wang Yu’s path of pure Body Refinement was, in the truest sense, another cultivation system. Similar to the mainstream path, yet fundamentally different.
Under the wondrous sensations flooding his body, he even dared to imagine what the Nascent Soul realm might feel like.
The Corpse Demon Secret Technique once again restored part of its lost profundity.
Within his flesh and blood, the long-accumulated Yin Blood Pills increased to three. This special recovery technique could only be used by him. Consuming all three Yin Blood Pills could restore eighty percent of his body’s injuries—even severed limbs could regenerate. Combined with the zombie traits and third-rank Body Refinement, his survivability and close-combat power were unmatched.
The Yin Soul trait of his Heavenly Yin Blood also granted him significant aptitude in the divine sense path, making improvements to his spiritual roots seem less important.
No matter how much they improved, the Mysterious Origin Demonic Embryo was still the stronger foundation!
[Idle Slot 5: Corpse Demon Secret Technique (third rank / currently being completed…)]
"Corpse Demon Secret Technique (0/100): 1,440 practice per day. perfection in a 100 years."
Beyond that would be the complete Nascent Soul Secret Technique, whose derivation was even harder than a third-rank divine ability, though not by much—after all, he already had experience completing several before.
Certainly faster than starting anew with a completely broken third-rank secret art.
After some thought, Wang Yu removed the Corpse Demon Secret Technique and placed the Demonic Dragon Fist into the fifth Slot instead.
He had just broken through, so enhancing his combat power swiftly was the priority. A hundred years of Idle Time was too long—he wasn’t even a hundred years old yet.
After another sixty years or so, once some Idle Slots were freed, it would be more suitable to put the Corpse Demon Secret Technique back in.
After experiencing the changes of this secret technique, Wang Yu took out a black jade slip from his Sea Heart Ring. It was the inheritance of the Taiyin Nether Eyes. Now that he had reached Core Formation, he could finally receive its third-rank inheritance.
When his divine sense touched it, the jade slip, which had always remained unresponsive before, suddenly released a flood of information.
After carefully sorting through it, Wang Yu could not help but take a sharp breath.
The third-rank Taiyin Nether Eyes not only recorded the methods for advancing Moon Observation and Illusionary Moon eye arts to third rank, but also contained a third new technique—Falling Moon!
“The moon of the vast sea descends…”
Simply put, this new eye art was far stronger than ordinary divine abilities. At this stage, the Taiyin Nether Eyes could establish a faint connection with the Lunar Yin Star.
By borrowing its power, one could use mana to stir the Lunar Yin star force and bring down a celestial disaster of falling moons.
“Calling the moon itself down? That seems a bit excessive.”
Taking a deep breath, and studying it carefully, Wang Yu realized that was the description of its perfected state.
The Falling Moon Eye Technique had three stages.
In the first stage, one coordinated their mana with naturally falling Lunar Yin star power to summon a meteor shower spanning dozens of kilometers.
With the foundation of his perfected second-rank Taiyin Nether Eyes, he should easily reach the first stage.
At the second stage, one could call forth a meteor bombardment covering dozens of kilometers.
At the third stage, there was no range limit—the more mana expended, the larger the summoned lunar meteors, potentially exceeding a hundred kilometers.
Such a terrifying eye art also consumed an unimaginable amount of mana.
Wang Yu estimated that he could not yet perform even the first stage. He would at least need to reach the third layer of Core Formation before attempting it.
That level of attack could annihilate the entire Jade Spirit City.
[Idle Slot 6: Taiyin Nether Eyes (Third Rank / Physical Body Transformation / Eye Art)]
“Taiyin Nether Eyes (20/100): 72 cycles of practice per day, perfection in 50 years.”
“Not bad.”
He merely glanced at it and did not immediately assign it to an idle slot.
The Falling Moon Eye technique consumed too much energy. Even if fully perfected, it might still be unusable. It belonged to the over-standard category and could be postponed for now.
On the other hand, the two eye techniques Moon Observation and Illusionary Moon could be cultivated and improved through his own effort. The former allowed him to perceive the yin of all things, while the latter provided him with an additional third-rank divine sense illusion technique.
Their practicality was quite strong and should not be underestimated.
Having secluded himself to this point, his closed-door cultivation was almost complete. The speed at which his realm stabilized was much faster than expected, likely due to the effects of the Idle Slot.
The cultivation feedback he received from it was, in a sense, a form of stabilization as well.
When he cultivated by himself, due to the various cultivation methods, secret arts, and divine abilities he practiced, he could not devote himself entirely to training. The efficiency was still inferior to the never-ceasing Idle Slot.
…
…
Jade Spirit City, City Lord’s Mansion.
Qingyang, Xu Ruzhou, and his four nominal disciples all stood obediently outside the main hall on the plaza. They had received prior notice from Wang Yu.
In addition to them, several others had arrived: Han Jia, a True Personage who had already crossed tribulation once and was now visiting for the second time;
a Core Formation cultivator from Purple Dragon Mountain;
the Old Lady Golden Flower from the Scent Perceiving Sect;
as well as the heads of the Guan and Jiang families.
Unexpectedly, Jin Miaoshan did not come.
High above, Wang Yu glanced down, muttering quietly to himself. In the next moment, he appeared directly in the middle of the plaza.
Everyone was startled, then immediately cupped their hands in salute.
“Congratulations to City Lord Wang for entering the Core Formation Realm. May your lifespan reach eight hundred years!”
“Congratulations, City Lord, on forming your Golden Core!”
“Congratulations, Master, on achieving the rank of True Personage!”
The chorus of congratulations filled the air. Wang Yu smiled and raised his hand to signal for silence.
“Thank you all for coming to offer your congratulations. Wang gratefully accepts your kind intentions.”
Hearing this, Xu Ruzhou quickly stepped forward and handed Wang Yu a gift ledger. It listed the congratulatory gifts that everyone had already sent a month earlier. The items were not exceedingly valuable, but all were respectable and appropriate.
Seeing this, Wang Yu’s smile became even more sincere.
“My friends, since I have been fortunate enough to achieve Core Formation, why don’t we all stay and share a drink together?”
“Indeed, we should.”
“Many thanks for your invitation, City Lord Wang.”
“In that case, this old lady from the Scent Perceiving Sect will gladly accept.”
“Hahaha! Ruzhou, please see to the arrangements.”
“Yes, City Lord!”
After Wang Yu formed his Core, the celebrations were not overly grand—just a small gathering among the powerful figures of Jade Spirit City. To the lower-level cultivators, life went on as usual.
They only knew that someone in the City Lord’s Mansion had faced a tribulation. Whether that person succeeded or failed was not widely spread.
Several days later, deep in the night.
Wang Yu sat opposite Zuo Qiuming, discussing serious matters. During the years he had been in seclusion, several major events had occurred, and Zuo Qiuming was now informing him of them one by one.
Speaking of which, when Wang Yu left seclusion, Zuo Qiuming had not come to greet him. Perhaps he had been discouraged.
Seeing Wang Yu’s refined and spirited appearance now, Zuo Qiuming seemed even more dispirited, speaking weakly: “Fourth Brother, the negotiations between the two sects have concluded.”
“How did it go?”
“First, the inheritance site of the ancient Heavenly Soul Sect—Yellow Springs Monastery will receive a duplicate copy of the legacy.”
“Second, both sects will jointly pressure the Spirit Transformation–level poisonous beast deep within the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest, to determine whether it has seized the dragon vein.”
“Third, the struggle for Chasing Moon Prefecture continues. The Exalted Sect will not pursue Yellow Springs Monastery for its underhanded tactics, and the previous terms remain valid. The time spent in negotiations does not count within the twenty-year limit.”
“In other words, the chaos in Chasing Moon Prefecture will last for about eight more years before its ownership is finally decided.”
After listening, Wang Yu asked curiously, “And the Nascent Soul cultivator who was captured alive? Wasn’t it said that there would be retaliation? After all, that person was drained to the point of nearly dropping in cultivation realm.”
At this, Zuo Qiuming perked up slightly and grinned wickedly.
“That one has been imprisoned by the Exalted Sect for more than ten years. His entire faction has been divided up—his industries, spiritual veins, and spiritual mountains all seized. There were even reports that he sold out some of his fellow Nascent Soul cultivators for personal gain.”
“This…”
Seeing Wang Yu’s shock, Zuo Qiuming shook his head helplessly. “In short, the Yellow Springs Monastery has abandoned him.”
Wang Yu still could not make sense of it.
“But that was a Nascent Soul cultivator! A true ancestor-level figure!”
“If he were truly that powerful, he wouldn’t have been captured alive. According to rumors, during the battle at the Heavenly Soul Sect ruins, he was betrayed by his own people, leading to his downfall. He’s already been handed over to the Exalted Sect for disposal.”