Chapter 20: Dizziness is Normal

Wang Yu spoke with feigned ease.

"To tell you the truth, I was born a spirit slave. My aptitude is nothing more than a waste spiritual root; forget Foundation Establishment, I'll struggle to even reach the late stages of Qi Refinement in this lifetime.

"What True Disciple Su values is not my strength, but my wits. Killing me won't prove anything. Why not make peace? Tell me who instigated you to come here, and we can act as if today never happened."

He appealed to emotion and reason in equal measure.

The opponent was clearly swayed, hesitating indecisively.

"Truly?"

"Truly—"

Wang Yu walked forward with a smile, his voice soft.

"As long as you tell me who is plotting against me behind the scenes, you and I shall be friends."

The man let out a long sigh, his entire guard dropping.

"It was Zhao Shang. He opened a secret bounty among the outer disciples. He sold the 'Essence Qi Chamber' where you reside for 1,200 contribution points. Whoever can kill you, he sells you to them."

A sharp glint flashed in Wang Yu's eyes. He truly hadn't expected it to be him. After all, there was no personal grudge; the only thing that could drive someone to such a decision was profit.

One thousand two hundred contribution points—was his life worth that much?

"Thank you. May I ask how to address you, fellow Daoist?"

Wang Yu patted the man's shoulder in a gesture of friendship.

"My name is..."

*Pfft—*

An ice sword suddenly pierced through the man's neck, protruding from the back of his skull. Wang Yu supported the man's head, his palm stained red with blood, and whispered softly, "Relax. Dizziness is normal."

The reason this man was so easily convinced was that Wang Yu truly had been promoted from the spirit slaves by True Disciple Su; everything he said was the truth.

Zhao Shang had a higher cultivation realm and a powerful background, but his authority stemmed entirely from True Disciple Su. If the two sides clashed, everyone knew which side to favor.

Furthermore, Wang Yu's strength and decisiveness had intimidated the man. Without the certainty of being able to kill him, making peace was the best path, especially when combined with psychological manipulation that sowed doubt and resentment toward Zhao Shang.

A combination of factors led to this outcome.

Of course—

The most important reason was that the man lacked life experience. His temperament was neither resilient nor decisive; he had not yet become a fully qualified, cunning demonic cultivator.

As far as Wang Yu knew, the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect had four normal channels for recruiting disciples.

First, from cultivation families within the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain.

Second, a "Disciple Recruitment Assembly" held in a place called "Soaring City" tens of thousands of kilometers away. It was hosted by five Nascent Soul factions, with a large number of Core Formation demonic sects participating. It was a grand event held once every twenty years, attracting geniuses from rogue cultivators across the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain. It primarily focused on recruiting Qi Refinement cultivators, with fewer Core Formation recruits and some Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators.

Third, kidnapping disciples with qualified aptitude from the "Taihu Spirit Domain," where righteous factions were located, or using trade methods to acquire large numbers of cultivation seedlings to become demonic sect disciples.

Fourth, the practice of raising mortals was popular in the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain. Every faction had numerous cities dedicated to raising mortals, where aptitude was tested annually to select disciples. Elderly mortals or those who had lost their fertility were used for other special purposes.

Consequently, every year, thousands of new disciples from both domains joined the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect. Generally, one had to reach the mid-stage of Qi Refinement to be eligible for sect missions.

This peacefully deceased fellow disciple had been a "seedling" traded from the Taihu Spirit Domain; he had experienced far too little of the world's treachery.

After taking the storage bag and disposing of the corpse, Wang Yu cleaned the bloodstains in the area and walked out from the other end of the alley.

Upon returning to the Ice Snow Pavilion, Zhao Shang was still leaning against the counter on the first floor. He showed no reaction upon seeing him.

As Wang Yu walked up the stairs nonchalantly, Zhao Shang's sinuses twitched, and he spoke with narrowed eyes.

"Junior Brother Wang, are you injured?"

"I am grateful for Senior Brother Zhao's concern. It is but a minor wound, nothing to mention."

Zhao Shang stood up and made a gesture inviting him to sit.

"Whether you are injured or not is not important. Corps that practiced the Cold Blood Peak inheritance are excellent goods. Has Junior Brother not considered selling them? The business of the Ice Snow Pavilion is quite substantial."

Wang Yu fell silent for a moment.

"Senior Brother Zhao has a keen eye. I happened to pick up two corpses while strolling today. I intended to hand them over to the Law Enforcement Hall, but since the Pavilion wants them, I shall leave them to you."

With a light pat of his storage bag, two corpses—skinned, bloody, and completely unrecognizable—were placed on the table.

Zhao Shang's eyes twitched slightly as he looked at him with some surprise.

"These corpses you picked up are... quite unique."

"They are alright," Wang Yu said with a shy smile. "What is the Pavilion's price?"

After a brief inspection, Zhao Shang said, "Both of these corpses practiced the Ice Marrow Scripture. They can yield two portions of low-grade Ice Marrow. How about a total of one hundred spirit stones?"

"Agreed."

No matter what price the other party offered, Wang Yu would agree. These external possessions were trivial; as long as they kept him stable, there would come a day when he could reclaim them. There was no rush to collect the debt.

The deal was struck, and just as he was about to leave, Zhao Shang called him back again, reminding him, "Does Junior Brother have nothing else to sell?"

Wang Yu paused, took a deep breath, and poured out everything from the two storage bags—except for spirit stones and spirit sand—right in front of Zhao Shang.

Two Black Silk Flying Tools. One quasi-artifact sharp sword and two sets of standard quasi-artifact robes. Three low-grade Inedia Pills, one low-grade Spirit Recovery Pill, one mid-grade Ghost Shadow Step talisman, one exotic insect (Dazzling Butterfly), and various miscellaneous items.

After rummaging through them, Zhao Shang with a hint of disdain tucked the mid-grade talisman and the small vial containing the butterfly into his own belt pouch, then pointed at the remaining items.

"Fifty spirit stones for everything else."

"Fine."

Wang Yu felt dissatisfied but was powerless. This bastard was targeting him alone to fleece him to death! He wondered how that Su Qingshan dealt with such situations.

Having been stripped bare, Wang Yu took the 150 spirit stones upstairs and returned to Room 29 on the tenth floor.

Unless specified otherwise, items traded by Qi Refinement cultivators were all first-tier spiritual objects.

The two new storage bags still contained a lot of spirit sand, worth approximately eighty spirit stones. Although he had been exploited for most of it, it was still equivalent to the earnings of a single mission.

A total of two hundred and thirty low-grade spirit stones—it could be considered a windfall!

Killing and looting brought in money like rain, splashing all over the floor. It truly brought a shock to Wang Yu's "pure" soul; no wonder demonic cultivators were all masters of combat.

Who needs production or technology when you can just rob people?

After that day, Wang Yu stayed indoors for four full days.

[Idle Slot 2: Herbal Compendium · Qi Refinement Chapter (Perfection)] [Herbal Compendium (100/100): Twelve hours of daily placement, one month to completion.]

"One month..."

Having experience with placing pure knowledge-based classics, Wang Yu roughly knew the pattern. After the first perfection, he was in the rote memorization stage; after another month of placement, he would achieve complete mastery and be able to use the knowledge effortlessly.

However, after the encounter in the dark alley, he had an urgent craving for combat power. Given that demonic methods were unpredictable and ghostly, he decisively switched to the Night Hiding Incantation.

(End of Chapter)