Chapter 24: Unit 3

Leaving Tantai Chan's medicinal garden, Wang Yu felt a momentary sense of disorientation. In truth, he could choose to leave the Niling Blood Sect at any time, but between the Red Kite Demon Domain and the Taihu Spirit Domain lay natural barriers and formidable mountain passes; as a mere Qi Refinement cultivator, how could he hope to cross them?

In fact, having a major sect as a backing was the only way a cultivator of his mediocre talent could continuously improve on the path of cultivation. A Qi Refinement cultivator had a lifespan of one hundred and fifty years; ideally, one should break through to the Foundation Establishment stage before the age of one hundred.

Back when he had burned ten years of his lifespan, according to the theory of vital essence, the younger one is, the more abundant the essence; the reduction occurs at the beginning rather than at the end.

For Wang Yu, this deadline was before the age of ninety. He still had seventy-three years to prepare, which should be sufficient.

"Cold Blood Pill..."

On his way out of the Evil God Workshop, Wang Yu blended into the crowd of passing disciples and headed toward the Cold Blood Workshop.

His mind wavered slightly when he discovered that his placement slots had changed.

[Placement Slot 3: None]

This change brought him great joy. By extension, a fourth slot would be born when he broke through to the late stage of Qi Refinement. By this estimation, achieving Foundation Establishment seemed very close, and even Core Formation was not an impossible dream to aspire to!

He selected a cultivation technique for placement.

[Placement Slot 3: Cold Blood Manual]

[Cold Blood Manual (51/100): Fifty-six practices per day; mastery in six months.]

Compared to six months ago, the progress bar had increased by half, and the daily practice frequency had grown significantly. These were the hidden benefits brought about by Wang Yu's breakthrough in realm and the widening of his meridians.

The Yin-cold spiritual energy circulated through his entire body, making his constitution increasingly robust. His blood, in particular, grew thicker day by day, and its temperature was dropping, making it exceptionally compatible with the "Heavenly Yin Blood" required for the [Corpse Demon Secret Method].

Even with two placement slots working simultaneously, the time for his next breakthrough was pushed back to eight years later. He needed external assistance; relying solely on the placement slots was no longer enough.

After a moment of thought, he decided to place something else first.

[Placement Slot 3: Cold Blood Pill]

[Cold Blood Pill (0/100): Twelve refinements per day; mastery in six months.]

This move was actually intended to strengthen Wang Yu's mastery of a single pill formula, which was closely linked to his alchemy skills.

He only had to wait one year until his Cold Dragon Alchemy reached perfection and his mastery of the Cold Blood Pill became sublime. At that time, when he refined the pills himself, he estimated the failure rate would be near zero.

As an exclusive formula attached to his cultivation technique, its auxiliary effects on cultivation were bound to be incredible, making it worth the investment.

His next goal was to spend one year collecting two complete sets of medicinal ingredients and resolving issues regarding the alchemy furnace and the earth-fire chamber.

Upon arriving at the Cold Blood Workshop, Wang Yu went straight into the Ice and Snow Pavilion.

Zhao Shang was indeed sitting in that familiar spot, his voice carrying from a distance.

"Junior Brother Wang, I haven't seen you for half a year, and your appearance is completely refreshed. Congratulations."

"I simply rested well to alleviate my deficiency of both qi and blood. Senior Brother Zhao, I trust you have been well?"

While they were polite on the surface, Zhao Shang spoke with an air of amusement.

"Junior Brother, you were gone for half a year. The position in the Ice and Snow Pavilion is quite precious, and I couldn't bear to let it go to waste. So, I temporarily rented it to an inner disciple in the late stage of Qi Refinement. You won't hold it against me, will you?"

Wang Yu: "..."

Late stage of Qi Refinement, inner disciple!

With those two conditions stated, did he think he could get it back? He was truly disgusted. Recalling how he had learned six months ago that this man was secretly selling the twenty-ninth Essence Chamber, several malicious schemes surfaced in his mind.

"Senior Brother Zhao, I went out to complete tasks. Acting in such a manner is, I fear, inappropriate."

Zhao Shang narrowed his eyes. He dared to do this for two reasons.

First, he believed Wang Yu lacked sufficient cultivation and had terrible talent, meaning he had almost no possibility of turning the tables on his own and could only rely on external help.

Second, when Fatty Duan had sent someone over last time, although he had explicitly stated that Wang Yu was personally selected by True Disciple Su, Duan Ping had been hinting all along that he should make things difficult for Wang Yu.

If even Duan Ping wasn't afraid, why should Zhao Shang be?

Wang Yu had no direct connection to True Disciple Su; what if he seized the room by force? As long as the excuse sounded plausible, it would pass. Zhao Shang released the aura of a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator as a reminder for Wang Yu to show more respect.

"Wang Yu, I am helping you generate income. The inner disciple isn't occupying your room for free; this is the rental fee, paid annually."

In the next instant, a dark shadow was tossed toward him. Wang Yu quickly retreated several steps to dodge.

Seeing a spirit stone bouncing repeatedly on the ground, he was almost driven to laughter by anger. Was he being treated like a beggar?!

"Fine, fine, fine—

"Senior Brother Zhao's methods are superb. I accept it."

Choosing not to issue threats, Wang Yu had no desire to go upstairs to negotiate; he simply turned and left the Ice and Snow Pavilion.

Just you wait.

True Disciple Su had invested the Corpse Demon Secret Method, one thousand contribution points, the promised second-grade Frost Corpse Arm, and an outer disciple token into him.

To a True Disciple, these various things were merely minor scraps, but the frequency was high, and there was a clear intention of cultivation.

Zhao Shang did not know this information, and Fatty Duan wouldn't tell him.

If True Disciple Su ever came looking for him and couldn't find him, Zhao Shang would be in trouble. A greedy man deserved such a calamity.

The [Essence Chamber] held little significance for Wang Yu. After all, his talent was terrifyingly poor; while a normal three-element spiritual root cultivator could gain great benefits, he could only improve from "1" to "1.01"—it was more useless than a chicken rib.

It wasn't worth mourning if he lost it.

Once his mind calmed and he had organized his thoughts, remembering the information he gathered at the Tantai medicinal garden, Wang Yu felt inclined to apply for a job at the Xu Family Pill Shop.

His Cold Dragon Alchemy had been in placement for about two months.

[Placement Slot 2: Cold Dragon Alchemy (Incomplete)]

[Cold Dragon Alchemy (16/100): Twelve refinements per day; mastery in ten months.]

He had reached the entry level; he could attempt to refine pills. He had already mastered the fire-control hand seals and the pill-condensation seal, all of which were insights gained through practice.

Even if he didn't apply as an alchemist, working as a furnace-tending pill boy wouldn't be a problem. The Xu Family Pill Shop wouldn't open for another two months, so he could look around more.

Glancing back at the Cold Blood Workshop, Wang Yu departed leisurely, showing none of the irritation from before.

The Evil God Workshop.

This place was a mixed bag of disciples from all nine peaks, with complex and overlapping backgrounds that were difficult to untangle.

Wang Yu had a Black Blood disciple token, so he didn't need to worry about accommodation; every workshop had a designated area of ordinary caves for living.

Since it was within the sect, the empty rooms in the ten Niling Workshops could be used freely. After one night...

The next day.

Considering that he wasn't the only one practicing the [Cold Blood Manual] on Cold Blood Peak, he went out to various shops to see if any finished Cold Blood Pills were for sale, while also collecting relevant medicinal ingredients along the way.

This search was very successful.

In the [Treasure Pill Pavilion] operated by the sect's Alchemy Hall, he successfully found a large quantity of medicinal ingredients and the Cold Blood Pills themselves.

"How much for this?"

The attendant behind the counter was likely a formal disciple of the Alchemy Hall. If Wang Yu wished, he could also join after passing an assessment. Joining such a department meant having the concept of a "base salary," which was entirely different from that of an ordinary disciple.

"Low-grade Cold Blood Pill, three hundred spirit stones."

"Mid-grade Cold Blood Pill, four hundred spirit stones."

"High-grade Cold Blood Pill, five hundred spirit stones."