“A single Nascent Soul Condensation Pill, plus two fourth-rank high-grade Sacred Abyss Demonic Essense Pills. These are cultivation-enhancing spirit pills that can help a fourth-rank demon king rapidly accumulate demonic essence.”
This offer was extremely generous.
The fire in the eyes of the demons present burned even hotter. Before, they could not be certain, but now they were convinced that this person was a rare fourth-rank alchemy grandmaster.
Seeing discussion gradually rise in the venue and no one continuing to bid, the Five-Colored Holy Lord felt a trace of regret, but still nodded in agreement.
“Very well. This Cinnabar Heart Deer Antler Pearl shall be exchanged with Fellow Daoist.”
The transaction was finalized.
Wang Yu immediately entered everyone’s field of vision. The Dragon Python King frowned repeatedly, having noticed the two-tailed Shadow Cat who had previously passed messages to them.
The two appeared quite familiar with each other.
Unable to hold back, the Dragon Python King asked a fellow clan member, a shapeshifted great demon beside him, “Did the Shadow Cat clan contact us before, saying that a human Nascent Soul cultivator wanted the Celestial Enlightenment Dao Platform and was willing to exchange fourth-rank spirit pills?”
The other Dragon Python was only at early fourth-rank and was responsible for managing the clan’s general affairs. Hearing this, tension flashed through his eyes as he answered cautiously.
“They did… but we did not respond. At the time, we were preparing for the Demon King Banquet and did not want to waste effort on something uncertain, so we…”
He was worried about being held accountable. After all, every demon clan favored alchemists. A fourth-rank one was already the highest level of master they could realistically come into contact with.
Missing the chance to form ties with such a master would make anyone regret it deeply. The Dragon Python King felt the same. But after thinking briefly, he spoke.
“When that master comes down, send a ruined Celestial Enlightenment Dao Platform with no remaining Dao resonance as an apology gift. Say that the Dragon Python clan was occupied with the banquet and overlooked external messages.
“Once he accepts it, then mention that our clan still has three usable Celestial Enlightenment Dao Platforms, each with twenty years of remaining effectiveness, and ask whether he is willing to exchange Nascent Soul Condensation Pills for them.”
“Yes!”
The Celestial Enlightenment Dao Platform was a legendary treasure bestowed when immortals transmitted the Dao. Simply sitting upon it could enhance a cultivator’s comprehension.
To ordinary cultivators, it might be little more than a marginal artifact. But to Nascent Soul cultivators, it was an exceptional aid for comprehending divine abilities and Dao intent.
Therefore, it was not only highly useful to Wang Yu, but also a valuable shortcut for other Nascent Soul cultivators to rapidly grasp divine ability intent. That was all it was, however.
The passage of time had been too long. Almost all Celestial Enlightenment Dao Platforms were in a ruined state. Each contact would cause the remaining Dao resonance to dissipate rapidly, leaving only limited usage time.
This enhancement to comprehension also had a ceiling.
Once a certain threshold was exceeded, it too became little more than a marginal object. Unless one sought to comprehend a second divine ability intent, its effect on the Dragon Python King had already become mediocre.
It was better to take advantage of holding power now and exchange them for fourth-rank high-grade cultivation pills, accelerating his progress toward Nascent Soul Great Perfection, while also cultivating absolutely loyal transformed subordinates.
His position would become even more unshakable.
And the most important gain was still forming good relations with Wang Yu himself. In Taihu, alchemy masters were universally sought after. In the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain, they were both coveted and revered.
Among the demon race, they were truly priceless treasures.
Rare to the extreme.
From a long-term perspective, giving away heavy gifts was an acceptable price. This was what the Dragon Python King thought.
At that moment, however, Wang Yu did not step down after completing the transaction with the Five-Color Holy Lord. Instead, he became the second person to exchange treasures. With a casual wave of his hand, one fourth-rank spirit pill after another, radiant with flowing light, lined up across the high platform like a long serpent. Wang Yu spoke loudly.
“There are ten Sacred Abyss Demonic Essense Pills here in total. Four high-grade, four mid-grade, and two low-grade. Any demon brethren who are interested may make an offer.
“If the price is right, This Wang will naturally agree to the exchange. Personally, I prefer four-material spirit items of yin or ice attributes, or the main ingredient of some fourth-rank pill formula.”
The conditions he proposed were similar to those of the Five-Colored Holy Lord.
Aside from his preferences, there were essentially no restrictions. Everything depended on what the transformed great demons present possessed.
Sure enough, once he produced even more spirit pills, the entire venue erupted. No one was foolish. When Wang Yu produced so many of the same type of pill, even if he had not refined them himself, there had to be a alchemy grandmaster backing him.
The potential gains and losses to consider here were enormous. Even the Five-Colored Holy Lord standing nearby felt the urge to recruit him. This was a true talent.
Very quickly, the Golden Horn Demon King who had previously made a bid once again offered Taihe Silverflow Gold. Cleverly, he proposed to exchange it for a single high-grade Sacred Abyss Demonic Essense Pill.
The value of Silverflow Gold already lay primarily in the pill Dao. Compared to ordinary spirit materials, it was more suitable for alchemists, and its price would naturally rise accordingly.
Wang Yu agreed without hesitation.
As long as the value was not too far off, this was essentially a win-win situation. If a treasure was worth it, he was willing to exchange for it.
“Daoist, I am willing to offer one portion of Ice Plains Earth Marrow in exchange for two high-grade spirit pills.”
This was one of the treasures produced by the Endless Ice Plains.
Buried deep beneath the frozen soil.
Even for a Nascent Soul cultivator, this item was extremely difficult to excavate. It could enhance the power of divine abilities and temper magic treasures, so he was equally tempted.
“One high-grade pill and two low-grade pills.”
The other party hesitated briefly, then decisively agreed.
“Good. I am the Earth Dragon Beast King. Today, I befriend the master.”
“This lord offers one piece of Absolute Yin Divine Iron in exchange for two mid-grade spirit pills.”
“Agreed.”
In essence, two spirit pills were exchanged for one fourth-rank spiritual item.
Wang Yu’s attitude of accepting all comers immediately made the shapeshifted demon kings who had not yet spoken grow anxious. Quotation calls erupted in disorder, and their number only increased.
“I offer one piece of Glazed Heavenly Radiance Jade.”
“Exchange!”
“I offer one piece of Firmament Froststone.”
“Exchange!”
After this round, all ten spirit pills were traded away, and the atmosphere fully ignited. Feeling the heavy weight of his gains, Wang Yu was unwilling to miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
With another casual wave of his hand, he slew two Nascent Soul cultivators and seized the wealth of Violet Lightning. Several fourth-rank magic treasures appeared in his possession, though many were incompatible with his combat style.
Now that he brought them out, the surrounding demon kings were immediately shocked. Judging from their attributes and styles, these magic treasures clearly originated from different cultivators.
Among them, two life-bound treasures became the focal point.
This meant one thing.
These magic treasures were all spoils of war.
The exchanges continued.
The Demon King Banquet hosted more than a hundred shapeshifted demon kings of various attributes, so Wang Yu was not short of buyers.
In no time, he acquired three more fourth-rank spiritual items.
The first was Nine-Deaths Soul-Returning Grass, a primary medicinal-grade spiritual item for divine sense type spirit pills.
The second was Blue Feather Spirit Gold, a water-attribute forging material. He planned to combine it with Taihe Silverflow Gold as the core materials for a new pill furnace. As for who to commission to refine it, he had not yet decided.
Considering that there was still the massive corpse of a Dragon Blood Demon Tree in the Seaheart Ring, using water to nurture wood and then wood to fuel fire, extracting a core material for the pill furnace might also be a viable path.
With his true identity unable to be revealed, and the northern demon clans lacking masters of the cultivation auxiliary arts, he faced the awkward reality of having no one to ask.
At this moment, the limitations of being a “rogue cultivator” became painfully clear. Many hands make light work. The cultivation world could essentially be viewed as a society.
Masters of the various paths were production companies.
Rogue cultivators were like self-employed individuals in modern society. Starting out was difficult, and satisfying every need was even harder. Unless one learned the skills personally, one could only rely on others.
Thus, relationship networks naturally emerged.
Talismans and formations were used less frequently, and the latter could be temporarily replaced with fengshui techniques. Alchemy and artifact refinement, however, could not be ignored. He might consider learning artifact refinement himself.
The existence of the Idle Slot could already save him an immeasurable amount of time, guiding him toward a path of comprehensive mastery.
This path might not necessarily be correct.
But when he wanted to learn more techniques, it was an indispensable and exceptional assistant. He remembered that the ancient art Demon Refining Art contained a chapter on artifact refinement.
Perhaps it was worth deducing and perfecting it.
The third item was a fragmentary map.
The Thunderfire Fragment Map.
This object originated from the first-generation master of Thunderfire Temple. It was said to record locations of various heavenly thunder and earthly fire phenomena encountered during his travels.
Because the map was extremely incomplete, only parts of the locations could be vaguely identified. Moreover, due to the immense passage of time, landscapes had changed dramatically, making it very difficult to search for these places.
It was also uncertain whether the thunder and fire recorded within had already been taken. The shapeshifted demon who brought it out merely did so on a whim.
He had not expected Wang Yu to actually exchange for it.
This fragment map was acquired primarily for cultivating the secret art Swallowing Thunder and Spitting Lightning. On the other hand, the future fifth-rank path of the Ice Chi Pill Flame might also be completed by devouring the origins of other spiritual flames.
Cultivating a powerful pill flame from nothing brought an immensely satisfying sense of achievement. That perfect harmony and complete compatibility belonging solely to oneself was no less refreshing than breaking through a cultivation realm.
At this point, exchanges were exchanged, pills were refined, and the assets of three Nascent Soul cultivators were all converted into items useful to Wang Yu. From this alone, the Demon King Banquet had not been attended in vain.
After the exchanges concluded, Wang Yu spoke.
“This lord is currently challenging the Ancient Beast Ancestral God Mountain. After finishing, I will temporarily reside with the Demon Cat Clan. Any friends interested in alchemy are welcome to seek me out.”
Leaving behind a hook for continued transactions, Wang Yu returned to Brother Black’s side and was immediately met with those watery, tear-filled eyes. His mouth twitched involuntarily.
“Brother Black, what are you doing?”
“Virtuous brother, your great kindness. With your words spread today, my Demon Cat Clan will surely become the most sought-after clan among the northern demon tribes. Who knows how many demon kings will beg you to refine pills for them.”
Wang Yu shook his head lightly.
“This is both an opportunity and a danger. Whether I can cultivate in peace and conduct normal trade with the demon race depends on what kind of backing Brother Black manages to secure.”
After hearing this, Brother Black immediately recalled the envoy he had sent to the Giant Strength Ant Clan. The Giant Strength Demon King ranked seventh among the Nine Demon Kings.
Strong, but not strong enough.
Since Wang Yu was willing to trade alchemy pills, Brother Black decided to seek out the strongest possible patron instead.
The Heavenly Roc King.
Yes.
He had always felt that the Five-Colored Holy Lord’s situation was somewhat off. Trusting his instincts, he chose the Heavenly Roc King, the one who radiated the greatest aura of kingship. That was simply the keen intuition of a cat spirit.
After Wang Yu stepped down from the platform, he had already traded away most of the exchangeable treasures in his possession. All that remained were two Nascent Soul Condensation Pills. One was reserved for Snowjade, and the other was kept as a contingency.
Whether to sell it or give it away had not yet been decided.
Among those close to him, whether Yu Tangtang, Yan Ling, or Lei Yao, none required his help. Each had overwhelming backing that could secure Nascent Soul spiritual items on their own.
The only one who truly needed his assistance was Tantai Chan.
This item had a market but no price. It was scarce everywhere, often unavailable even with spirit stones. Most exchanges were conducted through barter.
Giving it away for free was out of the question, but sealing the pill for several hundred years was feasible.
Granting Tantai Chan a priority purchase right was already considered extremely generous in the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain.
Those who appear the coldest are often the ones who once possessed the deepest emotions.
They are also the most stubborn.
Before long, as the third participant stepped forward to present their spiritual items, the treasure exchange gathering resumed. Wang Yu had already traded away everything expendable, leaving only items of real value.
To avoid developing the mindset of “this treasure has destiny with me,” he decided to leave and continue his ascent of the Ancient Beast Ancestral God Mountain.
Just then, many demon cultivators took initiative to approached him.
“Master, would you honor my Wind Wolf Clan with a visit? We will serve you with utmost sincerity and revere you as our clan mentor…”
“Get lost. Since when does the Wind Wolf Clan get to speak here? Master, why not visit my Sky-Horned Bull Clan instead?”
“Ridiculous. Master should visit our Mountain-Opening Beast Clan!”
Once the clans under the Nine Demon Kings spoke, the other demon cultivators, though displeased, immediately fell silent and did not dare offend them.
Times had changed.
With the Holy Lord newly established, this was a period where authority needed to be asserted. The Nine Demon Kings also wanted to display their power and recruit more demon clans as subordinate races.
Wang Yu’s appearance had placed him at the very center of the vortex.
A fourth-rank early-stage shapeshifted great demon sent by the Dragon Python King finally forced his way through the crowd, presenting the damaged and now powerless version of the Celestial Enlightenment Dao Platform.
He spoke loudly.
“Master, this is our apology gift. The Dragon Python Clan wishes to engage in spirit pill trade. When you have time, could we discuss this in detail?”
Upon hearing this, Wang Yu felt displeased, but profit came first. There was no need to reject the Celestial Enlightenment Dao Platform. Ever since using it, he had practically been thinking about it day and night.
Even if it could not permanently enhance comprehension like the Exquisite Inner Pill, it remained one of the best tools for accelerating deduction and insight. Regardless of his feelings toward the Dragon Python Clan, there was no reason to refuse.
“After the Demon King Banquet ends, you may visit the Demon Cat Clan territory. We can discuss matters in detail then.”
“Excellent, excellent. We will speak then.”
The Dragon Python envoy left overjoyed, relieved that he had not failed his mission. Nearby demon clans, however, misunderstood the situation.
They immediately began throwing money.
“Ah, it was our oversight to neglect Master. This is a token of apology from the Bloodthirsty Demon Tree Clan. Master, what do you think?”
“You can also wait at the Demon Cat Clan territory.”
Wang Yu’s eyelid twitched as he accepted wave after wave of gifts.
Only after quite some time did things finally settle.
Brother Black could not help saying, “Bai Ling, go back and instruct the clan to prepare. Temporarily construct a proper conference hall.”
“I understand,” she replied.
There were simply too many high-profile guests to receive. Proper preparation was necessary. Brother Black also needed to personally negotiate with the Heavenly Roc King. Otherwise, he would not be able to meet the demands of all these Demon Kings.
If mishandled, cooperation could easily turn into competition.
Wang Yu was only one person. He could not split himself nor grow extra arms. His efficiency alone could not satisfy every demon clan, especially when even a single clan’s demand was enormous.
How to proceed would require careful deliberation.
“Brother Black, I will first head to the Ancient Beast Ancestral God Mountain. If I can obtain the Beast God inheritance at the summit, this matter should proceed far more smoothly.”
“I understand. Go and do what you must, Brother.”
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