Chapter 292
Chapter 292
After breaking through to the seventh layer of Core Formation and reaching the late stage.
The final phase would arrive. When ten strands condense into one, and when a cultivator completes nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine strands of mana, they may attempt to shatter the core and form a Nascent Soul.
These viscous mana strands would become the nourishment used to construct the body of the Nascent Soul. The higher the quality, the stronger the Nascent Soul that would be condensed.
In other words, this was also an elevation of one’s foundation.
At the moment, he had reached the peak of the third layer of Core Formation. His three thousand strands of mana would eventually condense into three hundred streams. He would then need to accumulate an additional one thousand seven hundred streams.
Calculating according to his current cultivation speed, he would require at most seven years to ascend to the fifth layer of Core Formation. This was still absurdly fast.
After all, under normal circumstances, others needed thirty to forty years for a single layer.
To break through in less than ten years was truly heaven defying.
His cultivation was accelerating more and more. This was the result of having perfect aptitude filled to the limit. When the advantages of a Heavenly Spiritual Root diminished in higher realms, his speed would also slow down.
It was a dynamic process rather than a fixed one.Beyond the Heavenly Spiritual Root was the innate spiritual physique. As long as the correct cultivation method existed, such beings were guaranteed to form a Nascent Soul.
Until now, Wang Yu had never seen a single one.
Even if he entertained such thoughts, he could only rely on the Demonic Embryo Mysterious Origin Curse. Last time, he heard Zhuo Shouqing mention the acquired Demonic Embryo physique, which might be a type of pseudo spiritual physique.
He felt it was something worth gambling on.
As the pills commissioned by the Blood Eyed Demonic Flood Dragon were gradually delivered, and as Yan Ling’s commission approached its final stage, Wang Yu finally found himself free to leave.
He planned to ask his partners to send him some pill recipes meant for breaking bottlenecks, using the expansion of his repertoire as an excuse for negotiations.
Such actions were normal and fit the personality of an alchemist.
After contacting Yan Ling’s side, Wang Yu shifted his attention back to himself.
His cultivation realm was stuck at the peak of the third layer of Core Formation. His mana limit could not be raised for now. The Idle Slots could not force a breakthrough here. All the mana gained daily would merge into his existing mana pool.
The focus was on improving quality. When he reached the standard for breakthrough, the accumulated mana would naturally merge into the Golden Core, causing it to expand from a diameter of one li to three li.
In other words, he could break through simply by stockpiling.
With the advantage of his Heavenly Spiritual Root, in at most a few months he would break through smoothly. He would not be like others who were stuck for decades.
Thinking this, he removed the techniques in Slots one and two. All six Idle Slots were now used entirely for alchemy. He urgently wanted to refine a supreme grade Exquisite Inner Core.
The faster, the better.
He would soon be working on a pill for breaking a minor realm, so he did not mind spending a few extra months.
When Yan Ling’s envoy delivered the pill recipes for breaking mid stage and late stage Core Formation bottlenecks, Wang Yu was preparing to visit the sect treasury to see if he could gather all the materials at once.
At that moment, Tantai Chan brought him new information.
The Tianbao City Auction would open.
Years ago, Tantai Chan had been targeted by colleagues after refining high grade Foundation Establishment Pills. She used Yu Tangtang’s influence during her trip to Tianbao City to trick and kill many ill intentioned individuals.
She intimidated all sides and protected her interests.
Tianbao City was located in the eastern Blood Abyss Prefecture, bordering the Refining Heaven Demonic Sect in Liuju Prefecture. The two overlords each ceded a portion of land for Tianbao City.
This place was the headquarters of the Heaven Treasure Pavilion. Not only did it possess several dozen fourth rank spirit veins, it also housed more than ten Nascent Soul cultivators. Auctions of various ranks were frequently held.
Wang Yu lacked high level rare resources. An auction was a source he could not miss. Every time it was held, it attracted countless experts.
He felt it was worth trying his luck. His Sea Heart Ring contained tens of millions of lower grade spirit stones. Among Core Formation cultivators, almost none were wealthier.
Body Refinement, spiritual sense, and fundamental cultivation.
All required massive investments. Since he had the money, he had no reason to miss the event. After properly expressing his gratitude to Tantai Chan at high noon, he began preparing intensively.
During the year he spent back at the sect, his movements were not large, yet he had still drawn considerable attention, especially because his transactions with Yan Ling continued.
Yan Ling had repeatedly taken out high quality spirit pills to buy influence, attempting to gain more voice within the factions of Cold Blood Peak. Anyone who observed carefully could guess where Yan Ling’s pills came from.
And Wang Yu was already in the spotlight. One year was far from enough for the aftermath of killing Luo Chen to fade.
Instead, the situation grew more dramatic after he repelled the elder of Evil Sword Peak and visited the Black Heaven Talisman Lord. People dug into his past.
At this time, his history as a Spirit Slave came to light and was inevitably compared to Wei Zhong and Su Yulong, whose scandal had caused an uproar years earlier.
Especially the latter. Wang Yu had essentially been raised under Su Yulong’s guidance. That man had never mistreated him, aside from conflicts with his subordinates.
Such competition existed everywhere. They did not count as enemies. But when compared now, it became obvious that Wang Yu was far more outstanding.
Once the news spread, it inevitably seemed like deliberate disparagement.
This could easily create enmity, especially since Su Yulong was close to the Nine Swords Demon Lord, who was his maternal uncle. Moreover, the Demonic Embryo Divine Curse had spread from that same Demonic Lord.
A series of coincidences collided, giving the entire matter a strange and humorous tone.
Many people were now watching Wang Yu.
If he wanted to leave the sect, it was best to disguise himself. The Earth-Net Ghost Mask could finally serve its purpose. He also had not practiced mystical techniques enough recently.
Using a Breath Concealment treasure as a substitute was perfectly suitable.
Several days later.
In the desolate wilderness of Blood Abyss Prefecture, Wang Yu, traveling alone, sped toward Tianbao City. This place was not far from the Sacred Sect’s mountain gate. With his current speed, flying for a dozen days or so would be enough to arrive.
Although Heaven Treasure Pavilion and Golden Abundance Tower both operated across two regions, they ultimately belonged to the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain, so their influence in Taihu was inevitably weaker.
Golden Abundance Tower was centered around the Jin Clan, a true family enterprise.
Heaven Treasure Pavilion was a business alliance, its entire structure based on ability, maintaining a long-standing system of healthy competition. Within it were five major factions, serving as permanent directors.
Every three hundred years, the position of Council President would rotate, and many major decisions were made in that meeting.
Among Heaven Treasure Pavilion’s five families, the Star River Lin Clan had close ties with the Sacred Mountain’s Yu Clan. Tianbao City was built here because the Lin Clan held the presidency at that time and made that decision.
They maintained close contact and shared interests with the Blood Reversal Sect. Furthermore, located at the center of the Crimson Kite region, Tianbao City also functioned as a major transportation hub, convenient for all sides.
Along the way, Wang Yu contemplated the information in his mind.
Since he did not intend to reveal his true identity, he stored away items such as the Coldblood Ring and disguised himself as a cultivator of the Yellow Springs Monastery, his Yellow Springs power perfectly pure.
He could even use the signature Yellow Springs Great Hand Seal. There was no better disguise.
If he tried to deceive outsiders, there might still be doubts.
But deceiving the people of Yellow Springs Monastery would succeed every time. No one understood the prerequisites for cultivating this divine ability better than they did.
During his journey, Wang Yu would occasionally transform into a streak of aurora light, flashing across a segment of distance. It only lasted a few seconds at a time but was essentially practical training.
The supreme-grade movement art would remain useful to him for a very long time.
It was also the technique that replaced Frost Moon Wings. Unfortunately, he was still some distance away from entry level. Hard to learn or not, its effectiveness was truly excellent.
The method of transforming into aurora and escaping not only avoided enemy attacks but also reached speeds that few could react to.
A dozen days later, Tianbao City arrived.
From a distance, it was the most magnificent giant city Wang Yu had ever seen. Within the entire Crimson Kite territory, it belonged to the highest tier. Everyone coming and going was a cultivator; no mortals existed here.
Its permanent population exceeded one million. Its transient population numbered in the tens of millions. Its land area could not be seen at a glance. Wang Yu did not dare to rashly scan it with his divine sense.
Living here required real ability.
The elite of all itinerant cultivators, stationed grounds of major sects and clans, shops of every kind, and buildings of diverse styles displayed the most flourishing side of the current cultivation world before his eyes.
Hovering in the sky were twenty or thirty floating mountains.
They were connected by iron chains, cloud bridges, and jade pathways. Each one served as the Dao field of a Nascent Soul cultivator and contained mysteries of both formations and geomancy.
Once activated, even ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators might not withstand them.
Without probing further from the outside, Wang Yu landed at the city gate. After paying ten lower-grade spirit stones as the entrance fee, he blended into the boundless crowd like a grain of sand.
Utterly inconspicuous.
According to the information he had gathered in advance, Tianbao City supported four tiers of auction venues: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow.
Heaven-tier opened once every three hundred years, suitable for Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators. Its timing matched the rotation of Tianbao Pavilion’s Council President. It was not merely a display of influence.
It was also a fixed procedure to bolster the authority of the new president. It was rarely held early.
Earth-tier was the auction Wang Yu intended to attend.
It was suitable for Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators. Its schedule was irregular, but one would always be held within two hundred years to cover the intervals when no Heaven-tier auction took place.
Black-tier was the main venue for Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators. It convened every few decades and was quite frequent. It often auctioned Foundation Establishment spiritual items and Core Formation spiritual items.
Occasionally, even a superior-grade Core Formation item would appear, one of the few breakthrough opportunities for rogue cultivators in the Crimson Kite region.
Yellow-tier was the lowest level, suitable for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators. It was held every ten to fifteen days. There were many Yellow-tier auction houses in the city.
Rare low-grade spiritual items often appeared.
Had Wang Yu cultivated in Tianbao City back then, his Foundation Establishment breakthrough would certainly have been much faster. The city’s enforcers numbered more than fifty thousand.
Their strength was among the best in their respective realms.
They enforced Tianbao City’s extremely strict rules. They valued order even more than the mountain gate of the Blood Reversal Sect and were willing to invest immense effort and resources to maintain it.
At the most basic level, killing was forbidden, damaging buildings was forbidden, controlling others with secret arts was forbidden, and having intercourse in the streets was forbidden.
In short.
If discovered, the punishment ranged from imprisonment and fines to immediate execution. Even members of dominant demonic powers were not exempt. Their resolve to protect order was extremely firm.
Wang Yu’s objective was clear. After wandering the city for several hours, and while feeling his eyes open in wonder, he successfully gathered the materials needed to break through his minor bottleneck. When he returned, he could begin refining immediately.
He would raise his realm first.
Earth-tier auction main venue.
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