Wang Yu pretended to be relaxed. "To be honest with you, I started as a spirit slave, and my aptitude is just a Waste Spiritual Root. Forget Foundation Establishment; reaching the late stages of Qi Refining in this lifetime would be difficult."
"What True Disciple Su values isn't my strength, but my brains. Killing me proves nothing. Why not shake hands and make peace? You tell me who instigated you to come, and we'll pretend today never happened."
His words appealed to both emotion and reason.
The other party was clearly swayed, hesitant and uncertain. "Really?"
"Really—" Wang Yu walked forward with a smile, speaking softly. "As long as you tell me who's scheming against me behind the scenes, we can be friends."
The man let out a long sigh, completely relaxing. "It was Zhao Shang. He posted a secret bounty among the outer disciples. He's selling the [Essence-Qi Room] you live in for twelve hundred contribution points. Whoever kills you gets to buy it."
A glint flashed in Wang Yu's eyes. He truly hadn't expected it to be him. After all, there was no grudge between them. The only thing that could drive him to this decision was profit.
Twelve hundred contribution points—was his life worth only that much?
"Thank you. May I ask your name, fellow Daoist?"
Wang Yu patted the man's shoulder in a friendly gesture.
"My name is..."
*Thud—*
An ice sword abruptly pierced the man's neck, protruding from the back of his skull. Wang Yu supported his head, his palm stained red with blood, and whispered,
"Relax. Dizziness is normal."
Don't think this person was persuaded easily. It was because Wang Yu truly was promoted from a spirit slave by True Disciple Su, and everything he said was true.
Zhao Shang had a high cultivation level and powerful backing, but his authority all came from True Disciple Su. If the two clashed, anyone would know which side to take.
Secondly, Wang Yu's strength and decisiveness intimidated this person. Without confidence in killing him, shaking hands and making peace was the best option. Coupled with the provoking words, he grew suspicious and resentful towards Zhao Shang.
Various reasons led to this outcome.
Of course—
The most important point was his lack of life experience, his temperament not yet resilient and decisive enough, not yet fully becoming a cunning, qualified demonic cultivator.
From what Wang Yu understood, the Reverse Blood Sect normally recruited disciples through four channels.
First, from cultivation families within the Crimson Kite Demon Domain.
Second, holding a "Disciple Recruitment Conference" in a place called [Soaring City] tens of thousands of kilometers away. Five Nascent Soul forces presided, with numerous Golden Core demonic sects participating.
It was a grand event held every twenty years. Talented rogue cultivators from all over the Crimson Kite Demon Domain would come, attracted by its reputation. It mainly recruited Qi Refining cultivators, also accepted rogue Foundation Establishment cultivators, but rarely Golden Core ones.
Third, abducting qualified disciples from the 〈Taihu Spirit Domain〉 where righteous forces resided, or using trade means to acquire large numbers of cultivation seedlings to become demonic sect disciples.
Fourth, raising mortals in captivity was prevalent in the Crimson Kite Demon Domain. Every major force had several cities dedicated to breeding mortals. Annually, they tested aptitudes and selected disciples.
Aged mortals or those who lost reproductive ability had other special uses.
Therefore, tens of thousands of new disciples from the two domains joined the Reverse Blood Sect each year. Generally, one needed to reach the mid-Qi Refining stage to qualify for out-of-sect missions.
This peacefully deceased fellow disciple was a seedling traded from the Taihu Spirit Domain, having experienced too little scheming and intrigue.
Taking the storage pouch and storing the body, Wang Yu cleaned up the bloodstains at the scene and left through the other end of the alley.
After returning to the Ice Snow Pavilion, Zhao Shang was still leaning behind the first-floor counter. He showed no reaction upon seeing Wang Yu.
Wang Yu walked up the stairs as if nothing had happened. Then, Zhao Shang twitched his nostrils, narrowed his eyes, and spoke.
"Junior Brother Wang, you're injured?"
"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Zhao. It's just a minor injury, not worth mentioning."
Zhao Shang stood up, gesturing for him to sit. "The injury itself isn't important. The bodies of those who cultivated the Coldblood Peak legacy are valuable. Isn't Junior Brother considering selling them? This business is quite substantial in the Ice Snow Pavilion."
Wang Yu was silent for a moment. "Senior Brother Zhao has a sharp eye. I happened to come across two bodies while shopping today. I originally intended to hand them over to the Enforcement Hall, but if the pavilion wants them, then I'll entrust them to you, Senior Brother."
He lightly patted his storage pouch. Two skinned, bloody, and completely unrecognizable corpses were placed on the table.
Zhao Shang's眼角 (yǎnjiǎo - corner of the eye) twitched slightly, looking at him with some surprise. "These bodies you 'found,' Junior Brother, are somewhat... unique."
"Not really." Wang Yu smiled sheepishly. "What's the pavilion's price?"
After a brief inspection, Zhao Shang said, "These two bodies cultivated the Ice Marrow Scripture. Two portions of low-grade Ice Marrow can be extracted. How about a total of one hundred spirit stones?"
"Agreed."
No matter the price the other offered, Wang Yu would have agreed. Mere worldly possessions—as long as he could stabilize him, there would be a day to reclaim everything. No need to rush collecting the debt.
With the transaction complete, he prepared to leave.
But Zhao Shang called out to him again, reminding, "Does Junior Brother have nothing else to sell?"
Wang Yu paused, took a deep breath, and poured out all the resources from the two storage pouches except for spirit stones and Spirit Sand in front of Zhao Shang.
Flight Artifacts: Black Silk × 2.
One quasi-magical instrument sharp sword, two sets of standard quasi-magical garments.
Low-grade Fasting Pills × 3, Low-grade Spirit Restoration Pill × 1, Mid-grade Talisman: Ghost Shadow Step × 1, Strange Insect: Mind-Confusing Butterfly × 1, miscellaneous items.
After sorting through them, Zhao Shang somewhat disdainfully pocketed the mid-grade talisman and the small bottle containing the butterfly, then pointed at the remaining items.
"Fifty spirit stones for everything."
"Fine."
Wang Yu was dissatisfied but powerless. This son of a bitch was fleecing him, and him alone, to death! He wondered how that Su Qingshan dealt with such situations.
After being cleaned out, Wang Yu went upstairs with one hundred fifty spirit stones and returned to Room 29 on the tenth floor.
Unless specified otherwise, items traded by Qi Refining cultivators were first-grade spiritual objects.
The two new storage pouches still contained quite a bit of Spirit Sand, roughly equivalent to about eighty spirit stones. Although heavily exploited, it still amounted to the earnings from one mission.
In total, two hundred thirty low-grade spirit stones—quite a windfall!
Killing people and seizing goods made money pour down like rain, clattering all over the ground. It truly brought a shock to Wang Yu's pure heart. No wonder demonic cultivators were all proficient in combat.
Engaging in production or technology—how could it compare to the speed of robbery!
After that day, Wang Yu stayed indoors, remaining in his room for four full days.
**[Slot 2: Compendium of Herbs · Qi Refining Chapter (Perfected)]**
**[Compendium of Herbs (100/100): Twelve practices per day. Mastery achievable in one month.]**
"One month..."
Having experience with placing purely knowledge-based texts, Wang Yu roughly knew the pattern. After the first perfection, it was in the rote memorization stage. Placing it for another month would lead to mastery and effortless application.
However, after the alley encounter, he had an urgent craving for combat power. Combined with the unpredictable and ghostly methods of the demonic path, he decisively switched to the Night Concealment Curse.
(End of Chapter)