Nascent Souls were divided into three grades.
False Soul, True Soul, and Heavenly Soul.
A False Soul was essentially a dead soul. Huang Jiu was a representative example of this path. Some special unorthodox methods could also allow a person to temporarily possess False Soul-level combat power.
True Souls and Heavenly Souls differed only in size.
One to eight inches was a True Soul, while nine inches was a Heavenly Soul. The difference was only a fraction, yet the gap was worlds apart. Whether in potential or comprehension, the latter surpassed the former by a considerable margin.
Even the speed of movement techniques was faster.
As for a True Soul below three inches, that person would have no chance of ever reaching Spirit Transformation in this lifetime. Whether a Nascent Soul was “full” or not depended entirely on one’s foundation, namely the strength of the three treasures: essence, qi, and spirit.
Wang Yu, without question, had reached nine inches. His Nascent Soul, thirty centimeters tall, was exceptionally robust. After fusing his soul, it resembled an internal body constructed jointly from demonic essence, divine sense, and the secret patterns of divine abilities.
Even if he lost his original fleshly shell, he could still seize another body and be reborn.
But in the end, the original body was still the best to use. The connection was tighter, and the compatibility was naturally perfect.
As for Nascent Soul cultivation, it was mainly divided into two aspects.
The first was the accumulation of demonic essence.
The second was the strengthening of the Nascent Soul itself.
The former was as it always had been. One simply cultivated demonic essence continuously, raising the upper limit until it met the requirement. A hundred strands of mana condensed into a single drop of demonic essence. For the first layer of the Nascent Soul realm, one had to accumulate two thousand drops in order to reach the peak.
At that point, if one wished to break through, mere accumulation was no longer enough.
The Nascent Soul had to be strong enough to contain even more demonic essence.
Demonic essence was different from mana. Under normal circumstances, it circulated continuously between the Nascent Soul and the Qi sea, forming a complete cycle circulation meridian diagram similar to that of a cultivation technique.
Refined magic treasures would also circulate along with this cycle system and thus be nourished by demonic essence. Therefore, as long as they were not severely damaged, it was normal for them to last until the end of one’s lifespan.
They could even be passed down to one’s descendants.
Life-bound magic treasures, in particular, could grow alongside their master without end. At this moment, his Glazed Iceheart Pagoda circulated in and out constantly along this demonic essence flow system.
Perhaps because the foundation had been laid too firmly, and because he had fed it enough precious materials, even though he had broken through to the Nascent Soul realm later, the pagoda’s advancement was still noticeably faster than that of the Evil Demonic Dragon Armor.
He estimated that within a year, it would smoothly advance into a fourth-rank magic treasure. That was already an astonishing speed.
The method of cultivating a Nascent Soul was also simple.
Cultivating the technique was one aspect. When demonic essence flowed in and out, it naturally drove the Nascent Soul’s growth. Another aspect was consuming pills and devouring spiritual objects, which was also one of the standard approaches.
The third method was comprehending the profound mysteries of divine abilities.
At the instant a divine ability reached perfection, a wondrous spiritual radiance would appear. It could be used to nourish the Nascent Soul and was the best possible supplement, but it was not an easy condition to meet.
Most cultivators still relied obediently on techniques to slowly strengthen their Nascent Soul. As for unorthodox soul-strengthening methods, unless one had already despaired of the Dao Path, very few would resort to them.
Wang Yu had condensed a nine-inch Heavenly Soul.
Before reaching mid-stage Nascent Soul, he did not need to worry about his Nascent Soul’s strength being insufficient at all. At minimum, it could support him all the way to the fourth layer of the Nascent Soul realm.
And by then, stronger techniques and more heavenly materials and earthly treasures would certainly make his Nascent Soul even stronger.
So that problem was not very serious.
At present, he only had one hundred drops of demonic essence. Stabilizing his realm was merely an excuse. The truly important task was to reorganize his Idle Slot once again.
After a realm breakthrough, the “welfare period” of rapidly increasing cultivation, like a Heavenly Spiritual Root genius breaking through to Core Formation, had passed. Compared to others, he still had advantages, but it was no longer as exaggerated as when he was weaker.
His dual Idle Slots had increased from “100 strands per day” to “10 unit per day”, a tenfold increase in magnitude. It was not as insane as the one-hundredfold amplification he had in the very beginning, but it was still fairly good.
Following the rule that one hundred units condensed into a single drop, to cultivate to the peak of Nascent Soul Layer One, he needed an increase of a full 1,900 drops of demonic essence. Estimating roughly, he would need only about fifty-two years to reach the peak, and then break through into the second layer.
Considering that Nascent Soul cultivators had a lifespan of sixteen hundred years, this speed was extremely outrageous. After all, he was not even two hundred years old yet. Even so, Wang Yu still felt it was far too slow compared to before.
At this rate, the further he went, the slower cultivation would become.
The Idle Slot planning truly needed to speed up.
“Seven slots…”
While pondering, Wang Yu assigned the first three Idle Slots entirely to the Ice Soul Holy Demonic Scripture. Ever since this cultivation method reached Perfection, it had been continuously deducing its way toward the fourth-rank version.
And now it was the 60th year of his life as an elder.
The progress bar was only missing the final small segment before it could rank up. At most, it would take four or five more years. So there was no need to rush into switching cultivation methods. With his current cultivation, once he returned to Cold Blood Peak, he would naturally be able to obtain the corresponding technique.
He began planning from the fourth Idle Slot onward.
The Cold Chi Alchemy Technique progress bar was still one-third short of perfection. But after advancing to the Nascent Soul realm, his perspective had fundamentally changed, and his baseline physical qualities had surged. Now that he was deducing it again, the time required was cut in half.
Idle Slot Five: Corpse Demon Secret Technique.
For the future of his Body Refinement path, this secret art had to be completed. Only then would he have a road to follow and a framework to reference. Otherwise, he would have to consider going overseas to seek out the source of the Flood Dragon Technique.
At this moment, placing it into an Idle Slot reduced the deduction time from two hundred years down to fifty years, which was acceptable.
As his realm and cultivation continued to rise, Wang Yu’s perception of time was also constantly changing.
In the past, he had felt that seven or eight years was unbearably long. Now, when faced with a span like fifty years, he instead found it reasonable. To mortals, that was nearly an entire lifetime, yet to him, it was merely one round of deduction.
Of course.
If he truly had to sit still for fifty years, he might not be able to endure it.
That was exactly why he needed the Idle Slots!
Idle Slot Six: Blood Slaughter Heart Sword, a fourth-rank killing-path divine ability.
It was perfectly suited for him at this stage. Techniques advanced one rank at a time, but divine abilities could evolve continuously through cultivation, progressing from low to high.
Other than the accumulation and growth of corresponding power, the key lay in whether one could comprehend the mysteries of the divine ability.
In other words, it was also called “Dao Intent”.
Back then, when Wang Yu obtained the Aurora Escape Technique, he had once been puzzled.
He remembered it very clearly. Comprehending Aurora Dao Intent could elevate this movement technique in a single leap, reaching fourth-rank peak escape speed.
Refining the Rainbow Feather Stone could also push this technique to fourth-rank peak escape speed. If he obtained both, it could even reach the fifth-rank.
Heavenly treasures and earthly treasures were unexpected windfalls.
Dao Intent was the proper path for a divine ability’s advancement. Wang Yu even suspected that the reason divine abilities could strengthen a Nascent Soul was not primarily due to that faint trace of mysterious spiritual radiance upon reaching Perfection, since that was only a minority.
The real bulk likely lay in Dao Intent itself.
As for how to comprehend it, he had no clear direction yet. So for now, he placed the killing-path divine ability into an Idle Slot to ensure he had a trump card available. Once his magic treasure successfully advanced, the Guanghan Twelve Phases would be his true ultimate ace.
This seclusion also had another reason.
Part of it was to wait until these divine abilities advanced to major accomplishment first, and then wait for the opportunity to reach Perfection.
Before reaching Perfection, he had no way of grasping Dao Intent at all. Perhaps the most suitable divine ability for experimenting would still be Asura Killing Fist, which he was more familiar with.
He was also considering something else.
If the effect of using an Idle Slot for deduction and advancement could allow him to take shortcuts, then perhaps he could try it. For the time being, there was no rush.
As for the final Idle Slot Seven, he placed Ten Directions Frozen Demon Fist into it. This divine ability possessed integrative power, and it was not far from minor accomplishment. It could also fully bring out his advantage in the ice path.
If he could transform his many Perfection-level divine abilities into a single fist technique, integrating all methods into one, and condensing them into a heaven-trembling punch, then its might might even become more outrageous than the Guanghan Twelve Phases. It was a form of preparation against future threats.
After sorting everything out, he finally began his true seclusion.
On one hand, he stabilized his realm and familiarized himself with Nascent Soul-stage strength. On the other, he waited for the Glazed Iceheart Pagoda to complete its advancement.
Everyone knew this.
A magic treasure plus a cultivator was what made a complete person.
…
…
One year later.
Calling it the Glazed Iceheart Pagoda no longer seemed quite appropriate. Its effect on the mind path had only improved to a limited extent. Instead, it provided far more help in Wang Yu’s ice-path divine abilities.
Especially the scripture inscriptions of the Guanghan Twelve Phases, the Aurora Escape Technique, and the Ice Soul Divine Light carved upon it. They had fully fused with the pagoda's body.
Inside the fourth-rank cave residence, in front of Wang Yu’s seated figure, a nine-story glazed pagoda radiated spiritual light. Its body leaned toward black, yet it was transparent like glazed crystal. The round pearl-jewel atop its crown looked like a full moon.
It released a hazy, luminous glow. Streams of brilliantly colored aura flowed across the pagoda body, making it appear even more transcendent.
It had already advanced into a fourth-rank low-grade magic treasure, and its sturdiness had kept pace as well.
There was no need to worry about it being too fragile and unusable.
In this state, it was sufficient for him to engage in battle techniques with other Nascent Soul cultivators. Together with his Body Refinement cultivation, defeating some early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators should not be too difficult.
Additionally, the inheritance jade slip of the Taiyin Nether Eye was fully unlocked. It truly was a Nascent Soul secret art. From first-rank “Moon Observation”, second-rank “Illusory Moon”, third-rank “Falling Moon”... all the way to fourth-rank “Void Moon”!
Its applications in the space path were far more complete.
If Falling Moon was a summoning technique, then Void Moon was a spatial eye technique. It condensed what was broad and extensive into something small and refined. Wherever the eye locked on, it could borrow the power of the Taiyin Star to disrupt space itself.
Its initial effect was to distort and throw a region of space into chaotic turbulence.
It could serve as a defensive barrier, or as an eye technique to restrain an enemy. If cultivated to Perfection, it could tear open a true spatial rift.
Anyone who stepped through would be lost in the void. It could also be used offensively, because the tearing and cutting properties of spatial rupture were among the strongest offensive divine abilities in the world.
However, Wang Yu could already glimpse its next direction of development.
That was positioning, and strengthening the connection to the Taiyin Star. Relying solely on one’s own power made it extremely difficult to gain the ability to traverse worlds. Even Spirit Transformation cultivators could not accomplish that.
Otherwise, why would anyone place faith in the legend of ascension?
His Falling Moon Eye technique still had not reached perfection yet, let alone the point of beginning cultivation of the Void Moon Eye technique. What was worth noting, however, was that the Taiyin Nether Eye was a modification-type secret art.
The deeper one cultivated it, the greater the transformation it brought to the eyes.
So far, the changes seemed to be headed in a positive direction. Moreover, it served as one of Wang Yu’s hidden escape routes. If things truly came to that, he could try following the old path of the Taiyin Sect. It was not a bad fallback plan.
As for the cultivation path after breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, aside from the future journey to the Holy Lord Heavenly Palace, which meant he was destined to enter the Endless Ice Plains a second time, the imminent righteous-demonic war was also his opportunity.
Plum Crest City, the Feng Clan of Hidden Valley…
There should be plenty of supreme-grade spirit stones, right?
With that thought in mind.
The next day.
Wang Yu left seclusion and instructed a servant to inform Ancestor Qingyi. That very night, he entered the Plum Crest City Lord’s Mansion and, naturally, received the highest level of hospitality.
The quality of the song, dance, and beauties at the banquet was exceptionally high.
The great hall where the feast was held was also the largest venue in the city. Below the platform were over seventy dancers, each possessing Foundation Establishment cultivation, and the lead performer had even reached the Core Formation realm.
Wang Yu and Ancestor Qingyi sat together on the raised platform, with the various younger members of the Feng Clan of Hidden Valley accompanying the banquet. The taste of this kind of authority, aside from provoking a sigh at the decadence, left nothing but envy.
The development model of an individual and that of a clan were somewhat different.
A powerful individual often held a great deal of “cash” in hand, living by a distinctive spending pattern where they would blow through everything in one go. A clan, however, relied mainly on fixed assets.
Places for entertainment, workshops for artifact forging and talisman crafting, outputs from mines and orchards, and so on. A clan earned more overall, but once it was spread across each person, the amount per head decreased. Some received more, others less.
Still, their speed of earning spirit stones far exceeded that of individual powerhouses.
There was also a massive gap in total wealth. Yet in terms of liquid assets they could freely allocate, clans were actually inferior to individual experts. What clans could offer was usually long-term benefit.
In other words, empty promises and grand visions.
That approach did not work on demonic cultivators. They cared more about immediate profit. This was precisely the point Wang Yu intended to discuss with Ancestor Qingyi.
“Fellow Daoist Ice Demon.”
“Fellow Daoist Qingyi.”
As dawn approached, Qingyi dismissed the dancers and most of the clan members, leaving only the Plum Crest City Lord behind. He then said,
“Let us speak plainly. I have inquired into some of the rumors about Fellow Daoist in Maple Prefecture. I heard you came from the territory of the Heaven Refining Demonic Sect?”
“Correct.”
Wang Yu did not deny it. He nodded.
“The Endless Ice Plains is this realm’s holy land for ice-path cultivators. I went there in order to break through, relying on the support of your region’s spirit veins.”
Ancestor Qingyi’s brows twitched, and he tested the waters.
“May I ask where Fellow Daoist’s immortal homeland lies?”
“A free man has no hometown. That was four to five hundred years ago. Fellow Daoist Qingyi truly wishes to hear it?”
“Why not tell it for me to listen? This old man is already over a thousand years of age. I should be able to clear up a thing or two for you.”
Wang Yu raised his cup in a toast.
“How heavy the word ‘homesickness’ is. Better not to speak of it, lest it spoil everyone’s mood.”
At this point, Ancestor Qingyi’s meaning was obvious. Your background is unclear, so we do not dare use you, especially with war about to break out.
If something went wrong, the Feng Clan of Hidden Valley could not bear the consequences.
In the past, there had even been righteous-path cultivators who disguised themselves as demonic cultivators and stirred up chaos within the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain. Demonic essence could serve as proof, but the world held countless secret arts. Who could say there was not one capable of imitating and faking it?
With historical problems like that, they did not dare take the risk.
Wang Yu’s answer was essentially a direct message: my origins do have issues, so decide for yourselves whether you want me or not. He tossed the question right back to them.
Ancestor Qingyi exchanged a glance with the Plum Crest City Lord.
They could not quite make up their minds.
“The sky is growing bright. My realm has also stabilized. If Fellow Daoist Qingyi has nothing else, then I will return to the ice plains. I will remember tonight’s hospitality, and in the future, if we meet again, I will certainly return the favor with a feast of my own.”
“Heh heh, no rush, no rush.”
Ancestor Qingyi stood up and directly took a seat opposite Wang Yu.
Then he began to complain.
“Fellow Daoist has no idea. The Feng Clan truly thirsts for talent right now. Why not stay in Plum Crest City a few more days?”
As he spoke, he clapped his hands. Immediately, a pair of twin sisters walked in from outside the hall. Their faces were alluring, their eyes full of charm, and their every glance made one’s heart stir. They were delicate to an almost tender degree.
Wang Yu hesitated slightly.
A honey trap? Were they trying to delay his departure?
Qingyi continued.
“I have heard Fellow Daoist is skilled in the great Dao of Human Pill refinement. Why not do this old man a favor? The war is still far off. There is no need to rush to avoid disaster.”
By “avoid disaster”, he meant that once war began, all rogue cultivators within Blood Reversal Sect territory would be conscripted. Even Nascent Soul cultivators could not escape, unless they never showed their faces again. Otherwise, sooner or later, someone would come knocking.
“As far as pill dao goes, I do have some modest understanding. It depends on what favor you want.”
“Refine Taihu’s spies into Human Pills!”
With that, Wang Yu understood immediately.
So it was a pledge of loyalty. In that case, it would be easy enough to resolve.
