Chapter 19: The Reckless Assault

This exploitation is a bit harsh; a full sixty percent of the profits must be distributed, meaning only 200 contribution points will ultimately end up in his hands.

Even so, it was still profitable. After all, this was merely a short-term task lasting six months, whereas the minimum duration for tasks at the Mission Hall was one year, with a standard remuneration of 300 spirit stones.

The longer the time spent, the higher the reward, which also had a certain correlation with the difficulty of the task.

What Wang Yu valued more was the ability to enjoy half a year of peace and quiet. In recent days, the attitude of the outer disciples from Frostblood Peak he had encountered was extremely hostile. As time went on, he feared he, the "lucky spirit slave," would become a target for everyone.

The outer disciples of Frostblood Peak who had pledged allegiance to True Disciple Su would not let this rest; their goal was nothing more than to replace Wang Yu and obtain the right to reside within the Ice and Snow Pavilion.

Forcing him to withdraw voluntarily was one method; killing him was another.

The Ten Workshops of Reverse Blood, located at the base of the Nine Peaks, housed the inner and outer disciples of the entire Reverse Spirit Blood Sect, as well as the industries of numerous Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators that served the disciples' consumption.

The number of inner disciples from each peak alone exceeded ten thousand. With the nine peaks combined, that approached one hundred thousand; adding the even more massive population of outer disciples, the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect had at least several hundred thousand disciples.

On the surface, sect rules prohibited disciples from killing one another, but if no one noticed and no one cared if a disciple went missing, it was a non-issue.

If done cleanly, even the disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall wouldn't bother to investigate.

During this period, Wang Yu tried his best to avoid remote and secluded places to prevent accidents. After taking his leave from Zhao Shang, he headed straight out, intending to go to the Alchemy Hall to purchase classics regarding the cultivation and maintenance of spiritual herbs.

These types of classics were relatively inexpensive, and there were many demonic cultivators who resold them. Every workshop belonging to the Nine Peaks had a specially designated trading street for the use of sect disciples.

Every few years, the Nine Peaks would jointly host the—[True Disciple Auction]!

There were many good items there, including high-quality Foundation Establishment Pills.

However, those were still far out of Wang Yu's reach; he needed time to accumulate wealth and cultivation level.

Having spent all the spirit sand in his hands, he only managed to buy a classic describing various first-tier spiritual herbs and their maintenance methods, titled *The Compendium of Materia Medica: Qi Refining Volume*.

This item could greatly broaden Wang Yu's horizons, teaching him the knowledge of identifying, nurturing, and recognizing herbs, which would be of great use to his future livelihood.

The Four Arts of Cultivation: Alchemy, Weapon Refinement, Talisman Making, and Array Formation!

They held no specific ranking, but in terms of burning money, only Alchemy ranked first; once one achieved some level of success, the speed of making money was also the fastest.

He had also set his sights on this skill; the "Idle Slot" was perfectly suited for such a craft requiring dexterity.

Even if he had to grind for it, he could; moreover, it wouldn't consume too many materials for practice. The Idle Slot would cultivate muscle memory, much like how another version of him had been tempered in an unknown space.

[Idle Slot 2: The Compendium of Materia Medica: Qi Refining Volume]

"Compendium of Materia Medica (0/100): Twelve hours of daily logging; completed in four days."

As expected, pure knowledge-based items could be memorized with incredible speed.

Knowledge surged into his mind almost every moment, giving him a sensation of being strengthened by knowledge—beautiful and pleasant.

After accepting the "Nurture the Herb Garden" task, the scroll containing detailed information arrived in his hands. Just as he was preparing to check the specific location...

A gust of cold wind swept in.

Wang Yu suddenly looked up, startled to find that he had unconsciously walked into a dark alley.

Was he being dazed?

A person emerged from the front, and another from behind, both openly revealing their true faces. They were no more than thirty feet (ten meters) away from him. A colorful butterfly landed on the shoulder of the cultivator in front.

"Wang Yu, how is the effect of my Mind-Confusing Butterfly?"

Without waiting for an answer, the spiritual power within his body began to circulate. Judging by their auras, the cultivator behind him was at the third level of Qi Refinement, while the one in front manipulating the butterfly was at the fourth level. This was a bit troublesome.

"What are your intentions?"

"Heh—"

The opponent moved suddenly, stepping with the Ghost Shadow Step, arriving beside Wang Yu in an instant. They pressed their fingers together like a sword and slashed forward in a reverse strike.

The technique was strikingly similar to the hand-chop used by Manager Liu that day!

Wang Yu, who had originally intended to stall for time to launch a sneak attack, hadn't expected the opponent to act so decisively, and with such lethal intent. Fortunately, he was prepared.

With a light tap of his toes, he bent his waist and slid backward like an iron plate to dodge. As his hands formed a spell seal, an ice sword over eight feet long without a hilt rapidly coalesced.

*Swish—*

The ice sword collided with the air blade, and both dissipated simultaneously.

The mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator was surprised by Wang Yu's proficiency in spells; forming a spell with a single seal was a sign of perfection in spellcasting. As far as he knew, this spirit slave had only been cultivating for about half a year, yet possessed such comprehension.

No wonder he was handpicked by True Disciple Su; it was a pity he had run into him.

He shouted, "Chen Sanshi, do it!"

The person who responded was precisely the third-level Qi Refinement outer disciple behind Wang Yu. His dodging posture made it look as if he were actively throwing himself into the man's arms.

"Just in time."

The man drew a longsword and slashed down with spiritual power reinforcement. Wang Yu kicked off the ground again, flipping his entire body around, only to see a dense volley of ice swords, each no longer than an index finger, shooting out.

There were at least twenty or thirty of them. Chen Sanshi's eyes widened; with the crisis upon him, his strength inevitably dropped significantly. The blade struck Wang Yu's back, leaving a bloody wound.

However, he himself was completely impaled by the massive amount of ice swords, dying with his eyes wide open!

The tactic had succeeded. Wang Yu reached out with a hook, pulling Chen Sanshi's storage bag into his bosom. With no more obstacles behind him, he could dash out of the alley and into the main street at any moment.

The clash with the mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator had actually been a feint.

His target had always been the cultivator behind him who was at the same realm. Only by swiftly killing one person could he stand in an invincible position of being able to both attack and retreat.

"You, a mere spirit slave, dare to murder a fellow disciple!"

"Ridiculous."

Wang Yu sneered with disdain.

"Do you think I, Wang, would just stretch my neck out and let cattle like you slaughter me?!"

After the mockery, Wang Yu narrowed his eyes to study the man's face and said coldly, "I was personally selected by True Disciple Su to enter the Ice and Snow Pavilion. Even if you kill me, what certainty do you have that you can enter the pavilion and secure a single room?"

The man took several steps back, staring at him fiercely.

"However Su Qingshan enters, I shall enter. What does that have to do with you?"

*What does it have to do with me?* Wang Yu was almost laughed to death by the absurdity.

As for Su Qingshan, he was another cultivator residing in the Ice and Snow Pavilion under the identity of an outer disciple.

The reason he could enter was that during the previous Nine Peaks Outer Disciple Competition, he had defeated a Qi Refinement eighth-level disciple while only at the sixth level.

He was subsequently handpicked by True Disciple Su and recruited into the Ice and Snow Pavilion.

The core reason was his combat strength that surpassed his peers!

Wang Yu frowned and said, "You are at the fourth level of Qi Refinement, and I am at the third. What does killing me prove? You don't even know why I was favored by True Disciple Su, yet you attacked so recklessly. How do you know if you aren't being used?"

After thinking it over, Wang Yu believed there were few people with a reason to deal with him. Fatty Duan Ping was one, the missing Manager Liu was another, and then there was Zhao Shang, though his suspicion was relatively low.

Faced with this barrage of counter-questions, the assassin's expression became uncertain, clearly also deep in thought.