Chapter 57: The Remains of the Pavilion Guardian (Please keep reading, please vote)

With his current situation temporarily secure, Wang Yu rummaged through his storage bag and placed all the Profound Essence Flowers in one spot. He suddenly found himself with four additional portions meant for late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.

The number of Tier 1 Profound Essence Flowers had reached seven hundred.

The number of Tier 2 Profound Essence Flowers had reached fifty.

He preserved them using the Pill Sealing Method, intending to use their effects to rapidly break through his bottleneck and complete his second Spirit Refining once he reached the sixth layer of Qi Refinement.

It was actually inconvenient to use them right now.

The essence of the Profound Essence Flower was to wash and concentrate spiritual power; the more it was used, the less remained. Since he had already accumulated more than half of his spiritual cultivation, the more he used them, the further he would be from a breakthrough. Therefore, he would wait until he reached the sixth layer of Qi Refinement.

By completing the second Spirit Refining in one go, he could achieve consecutive breakthroughs in a short period, reaching the seventh layer of Qi Refinement. At that point, he could consume all the Profound Essence Flowers to facilitate the transformation of his spiritual power into liquid True Essence.

Currently, his combat power was abundant, and he could find few equals within the Qi Refinement realm; he wasn't lacking for a one or two-layer increase in realm, and his spiritual reserves could be supported by top-grade medicinal pills.

"Trouble is resolved; it's time to explore this underground palace ruin."

With a thought, Wang Yu swapped out the Mysterious Yin Hand for the Corpse Demon Secret Method to check how much time was required to cultivate it to perfection.

[Placement Slot 3: Mysterious Yin Hand]

[Mysterious Yin Hand (0/100): Nine practices a day, mastery in ten years.]

A high-grade Tier 2 technique actually required ten years!

One had to realize that all the high-grade techniques Wang Yu had placed so far, though only Tier 1, took at most three months. Suddenly being faced with ten years was truly more than he could bear.

After pondering for a moment, he honestly placed the Corpse Demon Secret Method back in.

This secret method concerned his "happiness" in his lower half; like the "Cold Blood Art," it was a first-sequence placement item.

Now that the secret method was perfected, allowing for the reattachment of severed limbs and granting him great power, he had to endure the corresponding side effects.

His body was like an ancient corpse.

His body was cold, his emotions were muted, his physical sensations were lost, his "younger brother" was impotent, and he occasionally suffered from bloodthirsty murderous impulses. The sacrifice was quite significant!

A conservative estimate suggested it would take twenty years before recovery was even possible. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to remove the Corpse Demon Secret Method.

As for the Mysterious Yin Hand, since he had the Yin Marrow Liquid to assist him, he could attempt to cultivate it himself first, keeping only a portion of the materials to refine the <Cold Dragon Pill>.

…………

…………

An incense stick's time later, Wang Yu did not rush to the [Moon-Condensing Palace] at the summit but instead stopped at this level, the second height of the stairs, having found the Library of this ancient sect ruin.

No matter the opportunity or fortune, nothing was as attractive to him as a top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill recipe, and he wondered if one was located here.

Due to the battle with Su Qingshan and the other three, he had been delayed. There were already signs of disciples from Gu Poison Peak here—three in total, all of whom were Qi Refinement seventh-layer cultivators.

The Library here followed the style of a three-story pavilion, with flying eaves and bracket sets. The corners were carved with various exotic beasts, and ancient, rusted bronze bells hung from them.

Six vermilion-purple dragon-patterned pillars at the entrance supported a long corridor.

There was a lounge chair where a corpse in gray robes with moon patterns lay. The corpse held a palm-sized teapot in its hands, posed as if drinking tea.

The legendary Library Keeper had died in such a strange manner, suggesting the event was sudden, leaving no room for resistance; to fall in the blink of an eye spoke to the strength of the enemy.

The problem was, along the way, he hadn't discovered any other corpses besides this one...

His peripheral vision flickered toward the three fellow disciples on the first floor of the Library.

They were standing before a black stone monument, also secretly observing Wang Yu. Their suspicious behavior sent a chill through his heart.

There were no signs that the corpse had been disturbed; they were clearly also waiting—waiting for a reckless fool. Realizing this, Wang Yu let out a silent, mocking smile, brushed off his sleeves, and walked straight into the Library.

The three men indeed showed expressions of disappointment.

Wang Yu stepped forward with a smile and asked, "May I ask what the three of you are observing? Have you made any discoveries?"

"Hmph!"

"What does it have to do with you?"

One of them spoke insolently, making no effort to hide his disdain for Wang Yu.

"Hey, Junior Brother Wang, do not take it to heart."

"Brother Zhang is merely feeling frustrated; it is not directed at you. Come, let us observe these ancient demonic scripts together."

At this moment, another cultivator, dressed in emerald green robes and wearing a jade crown while playing with two jade gallstones in his hands, spoke up. He first smoothed over the conflict and then invited Wang Yu to view the inscriptions together.

Wang Yu bypassed the crowd and fixed his gaze on the black stone monument. It was indeed recorded in blood-runes of ancient demonic script, consistent with the font on the mysterious silk scroll he had obtained from Xu Jiaojiao.

The so-called [Ancient Demonic Script] was said to be a type of character that was closer to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, possessing mysterious powers; these "blood-runes" were merely the most widely circulated variety.

With these blood-runes appearing now, no one could understand them.

Wang Yu had intended to investigate this, but he had never found the time. He had originally planned to commission the Alchemist Association, but things with Zhao Shang had already reached a point of total confrontation.

He hadn't expected to see it again here in the underground palace ruins.

"Since a blood-rune monument was left behind, this underground palace must have been left by a predecessor of the Demonic Path, which is not good news for us."

They knew very well the nature of the Demonic Path; this underground palace surely hid immense dangers.

Wang Yu pondered and asked, "Do you three know of any ancient demonic sects in the Crimson Kite Demonic Realm that match the layout of this place?"

At this time, the disdainful man spoke again, sneering

"The Demonic Path sects iterate so rapidly."

"Given the scale of this underground palace, it is at most a Core Formation sect. Forget searching through the ancient history of the Demonic Realm; even if you were well-versed in all things, you wouldn't be able to guess what kind of territory this is."

Wang Yu's expression instantly darkened. Again and again! With no one around, a murderous intent suddenly rose.

"Brother Zhang..."

The peacemaker was about to speak when he felt the temperature suddenly drop. A massive amount of frost spread out with Wang Yu as the center. The expressions of the three men changed, and just as they attempted to retreat—

Wang Yu threw a punch at the cultivator surnamed Zhang. Because they were so close while observing the monument, the strike from his Tier 2 divine-strength corpse arm sent out a white ring of air pressure.

Unexpectedly, they had not anticipated that Wang Yu would strike so suddenly. As the saying goes, when one carries a sharp weapon, the intent to kill arises naturally.

He had already killed Su Qingshan and the other three head-on; why should he fear three Qi Refinement seventh-layer cultivators? Furthermore, Liu Jinxian was currently absent, and the Gu Poison Peak disciples were scattered throughout the palace, making this an excellent opportunity to weaken her influence.

In the blink of an eye.

The cultivator surnamed Zhang exploded into fragments. The remaining two, terrified, ran toward the entrance of the Library, showing no will to resist.

They were clearly intimidated and finally understood why Liu Jinxian had treated Wang Yu with such courtesy.

—Strength!

"Hmph."

Drawing his Ice Pattern Sword, he slashed toward the man who had remained silent. The ice sword rapidly expanded to three zhang in length. With a mental command of a spell, he layered it with his Ice Sword Technique, causing the chill to surge violently.

In the moment of crisis, the man slapped his chest and spat out essence blood.

A centipede-like Gu insect flew out, rapidly growing in size to wrap around its master, attempting to use its carapace to defend against the descending ice sword.

The two clashed for only a brief moment before Wang Yu's left hand pressed down upon the blade with a palm strike. Both the insect and the man were violently crushed into a pulp of flesh.

His advantage in strength was absolute.

The last person was terrified to the point of despair, crying out almost in a sob

"Wang Yu, I haven't offended you, why must you be so difficult!"

(End of Chapter)