Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 390

A life-and-death struggle?Wang Yu’s gaze swept subtly toward the Cloudsky Warship high in the distant sky. With righteous indignation, he declared,

“Old demon, what is there to talk about between you and me? Evil heretics and demonic scum, everyone has the right to kill them!”

“...Fine. Fine. Fine.”

In Ancestor Cloudsmoke’s understanding, Wang Yu was a new face.

And Wang Yu’s realm aura was clearly far weaker than his, obviously a Nascent Soul cultivator who had only broken through recently. Cloudsmoke was confident he could take Wang Yu down. Besides, Qingyi’s Nascent Soul was already in his possession.

Ten days ago, while he was rushing toward Strange Peak Pass, he suddenly sensed the aura of a Nascent Soul from his own clan, and the distance was extremely close.

When he went to investigate, he was instantly overjoyed.

A gift from the heavens!

Thus, just like many demonic cultivators would, Cloudsmoke did not wait for Qingyi to speak. He seized him on the spot, then used a divine sense secret art to force him into slumber. Only after that did he head to Strange Peak Pass.

If he could avoid a real battle today and buy himself a little time to devour that Nascent Soul from his own clan, he was absolutely confident he could break through to mid-stage Nascent Soul.

Therefore, Ancestor Cloudsmoke had no desire to fight Wang Yu to the death. He had retreated repeatedly, intending to fake a fight and stall for time.

But the other party was a stubborn hothead.

“Hmph!”

“I think you refined your body until your brain turned to mush. How many benefits did that red-faced Thunder Lord Yang give you? Is it really worth it?”

“That’s none of your concern.”

With that, Wang Yu launched himself forward and swept out a sideways kick. A visible shockwave surged outward, slicing through the air with a shrill screech that made one’s scalp tingle.

Ancestor Cloudsmoke retreated once again.

His life-bound treasure, the Thousand Transformations of Heavenly Net Smoke, extended countless smoke-like tendrils that merged into an eggshell-shaped shield. The instant the two collided, another deafening boom erupted.

The damage was not great, but the commotion was huge. It repeatedly drew attention from afar.

“Stubborn and beyond saving!”

Ancestor Cloudsmoke crawled out of a massive crater, covered in dust. His hands formed seals, and the Thousand Transformations of Heavenly Net Smoke finally displayed its true nature.

An entire mass of smoke split apart into seven cloud beasts, locking Wang Yu inside a tight encirclement. A formation took shape in an instant.

Ancestor Cloudsmoke’s secondary profession was a formation master.

Using a special life-bound treasure to form a formation was also an extension and broadening of his formation arts.

“Seven Stars Strange Formation, Cloudsmoke Blots Out the Sun Array!”

Fengshui techniques plus formations.

Wang Yu’s expression turned grave. As a Fengshui Masters, he could tell at a glance whether someone was truly skilled. The pressure Ancestor Cloudsmoke’s set of methods brought was far greater than Qingyi’s.

And in practice, it truly felt that way. This old ghost was far stronger than Qingyi.

With a thought, the fengshui compass nurtured within his Qi sea flew out. This was the signature skill of a Fengshui Master. Wang Yu countered move for move. The Seven Stars Strange Formation was easy to set up, and comparatively easy to reverse as well.

In the instant the directions flipped, the Big Dipper Death formation changed into a Southern Dipper Life formation. That meant the Cloudsmoke Blots Out the Sun Array had revealed a flaw.

With his Silverblood divine strength surging, Wang Yu suddenly charged out from the cloud-wreathed formation.

All the cloud beasts’ pouncing attacks were wasted. Ancestor Cloudsmoke was utterly stunned. He had never expected this thick-headed brute to be a fengshui master as well.

What difference was there between that and having Zhang Fei doing embroidery?! [1]

He had intended to kill Wang Yu in one decisive move, but the strange formation he hastily fused together had instead become his weak point.

However.

“Do you think my attainments in formation arts stop at this!!”

Wang Yu could counter him, and he could respond based on the situation as well. In the end, it came down to whose level was higher. Pure fengshui strange arts were, in truth, inferior to formation arts in steady practicality.

Strange arts emphasized the word “strange”.

Just as Wang Yu had broken out of the formation, his vision blurred. Heaven and earth inverted like mirrored reflections.

He was dragged back into the formation again.

This was an extremely advanced secret technique among fengshui strange arts.

It was called Heaven and Earth Displacement!

Space itself had not changed, but the directional positions of the world’s layout had been forcibly twisted. Exit became entry, and entry became exit.

In just a few short breaths, their clash had escalated to the limit on a mental level. Wang Yu understood perfectly. His attainments in the Earth Mother Scripture were only at minor accomplishment.

If they truly competed in this regard, he was no match for an old fox like Ancestor Cloudsmoke. A trick that relied on surprise could only work once. After that, the other party would be on guard.

So he might as well break the formation with brute force!

This cloud-wreathed array was the perfect place for him to use some methods that could not see the light of day.

In the blink of a thought, the Demonic Dragon Armor, which had only just completed its advancement in recent days, emerged from within his body and instantly wrapped him completely. The hideous, ferocious dragon armor was steeped in dense baleful qi.

A fourth-rank low-grade bloodline true artifact, its effects were simple and brutal. Aside from defense, it directly enhanced his physical body, expanded the range of his strength domain, and strengthened his Silverblood divine strength.

All of it caused Wang Yu’s combat power to surge by an entire tier.

Divine strength erupted.

Wang Yu stomped down with one foot. In an instant, boundless dust and debris burst upward, crashing directly against the Cloudsmoke Blots Out the Sun Array. Dozens of mile around were swallowed by the influence range of the strength domain.

The entire formation was engulfed within the domain.

The earth shattered inch by inch.

If one could look down from high above, they would see that Wang Yu’s single stomp was like an invisible giant slamming a vicious foot down onto the formation.

Under pure pressure of strength, its effect was nearly identical to gravity itself. It was as if several mountains were pressing down at once. The seven lifelike cloud beasts all suffered the blow simultaneously.

They were slammed flat onto the ground.

Cloudsmoke’s life-bound treasure was pressed into a thin layer of white mist, tightly plastered to the earth.

Breaking technique with sheer force, nothing surpassed this!

Not far away, Ancestor Cloudsmoke was hiding inside one of the cloud beasts, intending to seize the chance to strike Wang Yu with a lethal blow. Instead, he too was pinned down by the strength domain of Silverblood divine strength.

His expression immediately turned extremely ugly.

He was already considering whether he should focus on containment instead. A mere Body Refiner, his speed could not possibly be faster than his...

“Boom!”

The thought had only just surfaced when Ancestor Cloudsmoke was sent flying like a ball.

As long as he had anything to push off of, the explosive force of Wang Yu’s strength made his speed so fast that his figure could no longer be seen.

And with the physique of a fourth-rank Body Refinement cultivator, even stepping on air could be used as leverage!

A Body Refiner honed to Wang Yu’s level had truly risen. This was no longer the awkward, disadvantaged position of the past.

Divine sense fluctuations surged.

The Soul-Extinguishing Death Light shot forth. Empowered by divine sense strength comparable to mid-stage fourth-rank, Ancestor Cloudsmoke had no time to react before the gray beam struck him.

His body instantly stiffened on the spot.

Whoosh!

Wang Yu’s afterimage, left behind where he had stood, dispersed into nothingness. His true body had already arrived at Ancestor Cloudsmoke’s side. An utterly inhumane scene of beating up an elderly man began on the spot.

With his life-bound treasure absent, and lacking any protective magic treasures that could automatically shield him, only Ancestor Cloudsmoke himself truly understood how terrifyingly heavy Wang Yu’s fists were. In fact, the fact that he had not exploded into a mist of blood from the very first punch meant his physical body’s toughness had already exceeded Wang Yu’s expectations.

Once the Soul-Extinguishing Death Light’s stunning effect wore off, the dense storm of punches was mixed with large numbers of fist imprints from the Lesser Asura Killing Fist. Ancestor Cloudsmoke’s entire body went numb.

Even his mind was invaded, making him cry out miserably.

Under multiple layers of restriction and relentless, violent assault, the situation completely reversed in just three breaths. Then came Wang Yu’s final turning kick, a savage stomp that sent him flying.

Broken and tattered, barely even human-shaped anymore, Ancestor Cloudsmoke plunged straight into the deep underground and fled like a fish swimming through earth. Every tendon and bone in his body had shattered, and his internal organs had been beaten into a bloody paste.

If not for the terrifying vitality of a Nascent Soul cultivator, he would have died long ago.

Compared to Qingyi, Ancestor Cloudsmoke perhaps trusted his life-bound treasure, the Thousand Transformations of Heavenly Net Smoke, too much. After relying on it for so long due to its versatility, he had not even prepared any defensive backup methods.

It was a fatal mistake of carelessness. Otherwise, this physical body might still have been usable. But now, the victory had been completely secured.

Wang Yu’s main body did not move. Vast waves of divine sense power surged endlessly into the depths underground. Carrying the Yellow Springs Earth Resentment Puppet within the Glazed Iceheart Pagoda, he simply waited like a hunter beside a tree stump.

Nascent Soul shifting techniques were truly troublesome.

If one wanted to settle things once and for all, the best solution was to cultivate a spatial-sealing secret art to perfection. Such a technique involved space itself and held tremendous strategic value, which meant ordinary cultivators had absolutely no way of obtaining it.

If he were still within the Exalted Sect, he should have been able to find a way to obtain one.

All because of that damned Nine Evil Sword Lord. Wang Yu added yet another mark in his little ledger.

Deep underground.

The moment Cloudsmoke was struck by the Soul-Extinguishing Death Light, his heart had already sunk. He knew the situation was extremely bad, and reality proved it.

This body he had used for twelve hundred years…was ruined.

A body beaten to near minced meat like this had lost all value, aside from the fundamental nature of a fourth-rank lifeform.

It was at this moment that he decided to abandon his original flesh. After enduring that final kick, Cloudsmoke’s Nascent Soul immediately fled its shell.

In the process, he even made sure to rip off his storage ring.

However, it was precisely that greed which caused him to miss the timing. When he tried to use a shifting technique again, it was already too late. A bizarre humanoid figure carrying the aura of Yellow Springs appeared from even deeper underground at some unknown point.

A pitch-black ice pagoda, glossy like glazed crystal, spun as it swallowed him inside.

The sealing power activated.

Shift away? Shift your ass. Qingyi had been able to escape before because he had used the Cicada-Shell Escape method long in advance. If he were truly trapped inside the pagoda, he would not have enough lives even if he had ten.

After retrieving both the corpse and the Nascent Soul, Wang Yu’s true body descended to the surface. Carefully, he retrieved the puppet and magic treasure.

As demonic essence was infused and he peered inside with divine sense, within the glazed pagoda, Ancestor Cloudsmoke’s Nascent Soul was tightly bound by countless black-ice chains that had formed from the tower walls. His tiny face was filled with fear and regret as he shouted desperately.

“Fellow Daoist! Fellow Daoist!!

“Please spare this old man. The Feng Clan of the Hidden Valley still has many foundations hidden across the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain. Within the Severed Boundary Mountains, my Feng Clan also has a secret treasure vault.

“As long as you spare this old man’s Nascent Soul, everything can be negotiated!”

Wang Yu listened quietly for a while.

He actually considered it for a moment, then infused even more demonic essence, freezing Ancestor Cloudsmoke’s Nascent Soul completely into a block of black ice. Only then did he relax slightly.

If the circumstances were different, he would at least have performed a soul search.

Strictly speaking, this was his first time killing a Nascent Soul cultivator, and it was even an old, slippery veteran like this. It proved that his combat power was indeed very close to mid-stage Nascent Soul.

He might have already reached it.

“The path of Body Refinement really is formidable!”

According to the records, fifth-rank Body Refiners represented the limit of the Ice Prison Realm. Only a handful had ever appeared throughout history. The tyrannical effect of Silver Blood Divine Strength was something you could only appreciate once you had it.

In any case, he was extremely satisfied. If he could advance further into an even stronger realm of Body Refinement, he might gain an even greater advantage among cultivators of the same realm.

“Wuuuu…”

In the distance, a deep, ancient-sounding horn echoed through the air. Wang Yu immediately realized it was time to retreat.

Perfect timing.

…

…

On the Cloudsky Warship.

Yang Lei, Burning Heart, Violet Lightning, and Lei Yao were seated on chairs around a conference table.

Among them, Violet Lightning’s face was deathly pale. A pitch-black crack stretched from his temple all the way down to his neck, saturated with the aura of the Great Black Heaven Talisman. Because of it, the wound refused to heal.

The other three looked the same as before. Thinking of the price they had paid for the full assault on Strange Peak Pass, all of them felt somewhat gloomy.

Failing to take it was the normal outcome. Taking it would have been an unexpected delight.

So it was only a mild depression.

“Uncle Li, Wang…”

Lei Yao had just been about to ask about Wang Yu’s condition when her vision blurred. A pale blue streak of light flickered into view with the Aurora Escape Technique, and Wang Yu appeared on the spot.

With a flick of his right hand, he tossed the mangled remains of Ancestor Cloudsmoke onto the conference table. Smiling brightly, he said, “Everyone, what do you think?”

True Lord Yang Lei sprang to his feet, delight flashing across his face.

“That’s the corpse of the old devil Cloudsmoke! Where is his Nascent Soul?”

Wang Yu spread his hands and let out a sigh.

“He got away. But with injuries this severe, even if he seizes a body, there’s no way he can recover to peak condition in a short time.”

A Nascent Soul of an old devil held far too many secrets.

Its strategic value was even greater.

A large amount of highly time-sensitive intelligence could play a decisive role in the battle situation, making it immensely valuable.

Not to mention, there was also Qingyi’s Nascent Soul. Wang Yu had already sensed its presence. This was practically a buy-one-get-one deal, returning something that had originally belonged to him in the first place.

But he was not going to mention it now, because he did not fully trust these people.

If greed arose, or if someone invoked “righteous duty” to demand it, he would be stuck. Giving it away would feel like a loss, but refusing would easily breed suspicion and resentment.

Better to say nothing.

With True Lord Yang Lei’s generous personality, if the offer was high enough, Wang Yu feared he might actually be tempted to sell. He still needed to confirm what exactly was going on with Cloudsmoke and Qingyi.

There was no way he would risk exposing himself by trading it away.

“That makes sense.”

“Being able to make Strange Peak Pass lose a Nascent Soul combatant is already a great merit.”

After the initial surprise, Yang Lei pondered for a moment, then said, “I wonder if Fellow Daoist Wang would be willing to take up the post of Demon-Subduing General. Our army is currently lacking someone as strong as you to hold the line.”

Demon-Subduing General…

Wang Yu’s mouth twitched. His gaze happened to meet Lei Yao’s, and she was covering her lips as she laughed quietly as well. This position carried quite a bit of irony.

“Could you explain the details?”

“Certainly.”

In short, the Demon-Subduing General commanded a Demon-Subduing Army of around three hundred elite troops. Every one of them was an outstanding expert among their peers, possessing top-tier combat strength within the same realm.

Their battlefield task was mainly to behead enemy commanders and seize banners, specializing in eliminating outstanding enemy talents and strangling demonic figures in the cradle.

During wartime, the righteous side recorded everything through battle merit points. The Taihu Treasury, including the Sword Sect’s reserves, would be opened for all cultivators under heaven to exchange rewards. It even included high-grade Core Formation spiritual items.

And in a cultivation environment where internal competition was intense, Taihu cultivators were the most easily stimulated by resources, especially rare breakthrough spiritual items.

The Demon-Subduing General received a fixed monthly stipend of three thousand battle merits.

For destroying the flesh body of the old demon Cloudsmoke, Wang Yu was credited with one merit achievement and rewarded with one hundred thousand battle merits. True Lord Yang Lei handed him a scroll listing treasures and told him to browse it at his leisure.

“Wait.”

The pledge had been delivered, and a heavy post had been bestowed.

It was clear Wang Yu had successfully gained Yang Lei’s trust. This was a good sign. But before he could even unroll the scroll, Violet Lightning spoke up abruptly.

His eyes were filled with deep distrust.

“Senior Yang Lei, how can such an important position as Demon-Subduing General be handed to an outsider of unknown origin? I disagree.”

Wang Yu raised an eyebrow, immediately seeing the core of the issue.

“You want it?”

“Heh. Not giving it to you!”

[1]:- Classic Chinese idiom referencing Zhang Fei (the fierce, roaring general from Romance of the Three Kingdoms) doing delicate needlework. It means “a rough brute doing something impossibly refined/delicate”