Chapter 17: Switching to the [Cold Blood Art]

This particular rule was simply jaw-dropping, but since it existed, there had to be a reason for it; otherwise, demonic cultivators wouldn't be fools and wouldn't willingly submit to exploitation.

The fact that it could persist meant it was more profitable than taking commissions from the Mission Hall.

Wang Yu naturally associated this with the concept of "connections" used to secure positions—he was all too familiar with this vibe!

The rights of a True Disciple were equivalent to those of an Elder, and their influence was incredibly broad, extending far beyond just the individual. The Ice Snow Pavilion was a direct product of such privilege.

Since both sides benefited, it made sense.

When he arrived at the tenth floor, he found it mostly occupied, with only the twenty-ninth room vacant. Wang Yu took the opportunity to move in.

The room's environment was excellent, and the area was quite spacious.

There was a large purple tung wood bed, large enough for five people to lie lengthwise, and more than ten could lie across it without issue. The bedding was as smooth as water, feeling cool and moist to the touch, made of premium fabric.

The room was fully furnished with tables and chairs, many of which were carved with landscapes.

There were embroidered screens featuring ink wash paintings of cranes dancing in a lotus pond, as well as vibrant depictions of elderly men climbing mountains to chop wood.

The corners of the room were inlaid with gold and silver, exuding pure luxury.

Furthermore, it was much larger than he had imagined.

There was a circular arched curtained sleeping area, a spacious main hall, and a balcony with a small railing seat, providing a perfect view of the beautiful scenery of the Little Ten Workshops.

In addition, there was a closable quiet room to satisfy the needs of cultivators in seclusion.

Thus, Wang Yu's first day as an outer disciple came to a successful conclusion.

…………

…………

The next day.

He encountered his first problem after officially gaining his status.

Food!

Cultivators still needed to eat. Before breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, Qi Refinement cultivators could not survive on spiritual energy alone. Without the scheduled feedings he was used to, Wang Yu found himself somewhat unaccustomed to the situation.

He could either buy food outside or go to the Alchemy Hall to purchase Inedia Pills, which could sustain a person for three months with just one pill, meeting all daily nutritional needs.

The problem was that Wang Yu had no spirit stones at all. He had a few grains of spirit sand left, however, since he hadn't submitted any spirit sand during his three months as a spirit slave.

The Reverse Spirit Blood Sect had no concept of disciple salaries; it was a blessing if they didn't exploit you, let alone pay you a "wage." He was dreaming if he expected that.

Flipping through the booklet Zhao Shang had given him, he discovered that the Ice Snow Pavilion offered a meal delivery service, consisting mostly of various types of spiritual foods beneficial to cultivation.

As for the prices, Wang Yu recoiled at the sight of them.

Currently, two problems stood before him: making money and switching his cultivation technique. The Blood Burning Art was, after all, a rapid-growth demonic technique; without follow-up techniques, he would eventually have to change it.

The sooner, the better.

Regarding making money, aside from damaging his own cultivation to condense spirit sand or resorting to robbery, he possessed no skills capable of earning spirit stones.

"Solve the survival issue first, then make a trip to the Scripture Hall in the [Palace Marketplace] to settle the technique issue."

Having made up his mind, Wang Yu headed out early in the morning.

Within the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect, two currencies were used: contribution points and spirit stones. The two were essentially equal in value but could not be converted into one another.

Spiritual foods with special effects were almost exclusively traded with contribution points, while ordinary food was not expensive. Now that he had a storage bag, he didn't need to worry about food spoiling.

Wang Yu bought three hundred large meat buns in one go, costing him half a grain of spirit sand.

After eating a bit, the Scripture Hall came into view.

This place functioned more like a catalog hall. Once one determined which technique or spell they wished to learn, they had to take the catalog to the Law Transmission Hall to obtain the corresponding Law Transmission Jade Slip.

They could not be taken out, nor could they be taught to others; one had to swear a Heart Demon Oath.

There weren't many people in the Scripture Hall, perhaps because the formal recruitment period for disciples had passed. The ten peaks of the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect corresponded to different demonic heritages.

Wang Yu went to the section corresponding to Cold Blood Peak. As an outer disciple of Cold Blood Peak, his free opportunity to change techniques could only be used here.

However, the other benefit granted by True Disciple Su had no such restrictions.

"《Cold Blood Art》, 《Yin Nether Art》, 《Heavenly Cold Strategy》, 《Ice Marrow Scripture》..."

Without exception, these were all ice-attribute techniques, all of which were first-grade high-tier. They could be cultivated normally to the Great Circle of Qi Refinement, and one could even use them to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage before needing to change techniques.

Each had follow-up stages, but the ceiling was only the third grade; there were no fourth-grade Nascent Soul techniques.

【Those who practice the 《Ice Marrow Scripture》 possess a stable mind and a clear spiritual platform. After death, their corpses can produce <Ice Marrow>, which is an excellent material for cultivating Cold Corpses.】

【Those who practice the 《Heavenly Cold Strategy》 possess powerful ice spells far exceeding ordinary people. After death, their corpses can serve as excellent materials for corpse refining.】

【Those who practice the 《Cold Blood Art》 possess a powerful physique and cold blood/qi, showing higher affinity for ice-attribute spiritual energy, which can slightly improve one's aptitude. After death, their corpses are top-tier materials for refining Ice Corpses.】

Wang Yu: "???"

Is it really this blatant?!!

They might as well have written "the sect owns your corpse after death" right on there, but the meaning was essentially the same.

The only thing that attracted Wang Yu was the description of the 《Cold Blood Art》. The claim that it could "slightly improve aptitude" was likely very subtle.

But for him, there was no aptitude worse than a Waste Spiritual Root. Under the effect of the Placement Slot, even the tiniest improvement would be magnified several times over.

That would be quite substantial.

"Cold Blood..."

Moreover, he had an intuition that this thing paired perfectly with the 【Corpse Demon Secret Method】!

After much deliberation, Wang Yu took the catalog and turned toward the adjacent Law Transmission Hall. After passing the verification of the Heart Demon Oath, he successfully obtained the new technique. Without a second thought, he tossed it into the Placement Slot to check.

【Placement Slot 1: Cold Blood Art】

「Cold Blood Art (0/100): Forty-eight practices a day, completed in one year.」

It was worth mentioning that the Ice Sword Technique was one of the supporting spells for this art, and a mid-grade spell called 【Ice Shield Technique】 was also taken into his possession.

A first-grade tool blueprint for the 【Cold Blood Needle】 and a first-grade pill recipe for the 【Cold Blood Pill】—this was a complete technique inheritance!

With the entire set equipped, he only needed to slowly refine it to become a qualified Qi Refinement cultivator.

If he could ascend to the second grade and become a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the future, there would be even more supporting spells, tools, pill recipes, and so on.

Wang Yu returned to the Ice Snow Pavilion feeling satisfied.

As for the Any-Token worth a thousand contribution points, he hadn't decided how to use it yet.

His next focus, besides breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refinement, was to bring all the accumulated spells in his hands to perfection.

The high-grade spell 【Night Hide Curse】, the mid-grade spell 【Ice Shield Technique】, and the fragment of the Nascent Soul secret method 【Corpse Demon Secret Method】.

He had already decided to practice this secret method, but he had to determine the order of priority.

Since breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refinement was a distant prospect, freeing up a placement slot for it wouldn't have a major impact.

【Placement Slot 2: Night Hide Curse】

「Night Hide Curse (1/100): Twelve hours of practice a day, completed in three months.」

Seeing this, Wang Yu swapped in the Ice Shield Technique.

【Placement Slot 2: Ice Shield Technique】

「Ice Shield Technique (0/100): One hundred and forty-four practices a day, completed in one month.」

After weighing his options, he decided to prioritize the Night Hide Curse.