Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation Chapter 20

Wang Yu pretended to speak casually.

"To tell you the truth, I, Wang, was born a Spirit Slave. My aptitude is nothing but Wasted Spiritual Roots. Forget Foundation Establishment—reaching the late stage of Qi Refining is already near impossible for me in this life."

"What True Disciple Su truly values isn’t my strength, but my brains. Killing me won’t prove anything. Why not make peace instead? You tell me who instigated you to come here, and we’ll pretend none of this ever happened."

His words were emotional and logical, hitting both reason and sentiment.

The other man was clearly moved, hesitating.

"Really?"

"Truly."

Wang Yu walked forward with a grin, speaking gently.

"As long as you tell me who’s behind this plot against me, we’ll be friends."

"It was Zhao Shang. He put up a secret bounty among the outer sect disciples. The room you're staying in—the Essense Qi Chamber—he listed it for 1,200 contribution points. Whoever kills you gets it."

A gleam of sharp light flashed in Wang Yu’s eyes. He hadn't expected Zhao Shang. There was no grievance between them. Clearly, only profit had driven such a decision.

1,200 contribution points—that was the price of his life?

"Thanks. May I ask your name, fellow Daoist?"

Wang Yu patted the man’s shoulder in a friendly gesture.

"My name is—"

Squelch—

An ice sword suddenly pierced through the man’s throat, emerging from the back of his skull. Wang Yu supported his head, his palm soaked in blood, and whispered softly.

"Relax. Dizziness is normal."

Don’t be fooled by how easily the man was persuaded. Wang Yu really was lifted from the ranks of Spirit Slaves by True Disciple Su, and everything he said had been the truth.

Zhao Shang had a higher cultivation level and strong backing, but all of his power came from True Disciple Su. If there was a confrontation, anyone with sense would side with the true disciple.

Moreover, Wang Yu's strength and decisiveness had already shaken the man. Without certainty of a swift kill, making peace was the safest route. Add in a little verbal manipulation, and resentment toward Zhao Shang took root.

All these factors led to this result.

Of course—

The most important reason was the man’s lack of worldly experience. His temperament wasn’t yet hardened or decisive. He still wasn’t a truly cunning or qualified demonic cultivator.

According to Wang Yu’s knowledge, there were four main channels through which the Blood Reversal Sect recruited new disciples:

First, from cultivation clans within the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain.

Second, a large-scale Disciple Recruitment Assembly held once every twenty years in a distant place called Tengfei City, presided over by five Nascent Soul powers and joined by many Core Formation demonic sects. It was a grand event drawing rogue cultivators and prodigies from all over the Crimson Kite Domain. It focused mainly on recruiting Qi Refining cultivators, though some rogue Foundation Establishment disciples were also taken in. Core Formation recruits were rare.

Third, by abducting or trading for qualified disciples from the righteous factions in the Taihu Spiritual Domain, turning those seedlings into demonic sect members.

Fourth, the practice of raising mortals was widespread in the Crimson Kite Domain. Every power controlled multiple cities dedicated to breeding mortals. Each year, the young were tested for talent and chosen as disciples.

Elderly mortals or those who had lost reproductive ability were used for other special purposes.

As a result, thousands of new disciples from both domains entered the Blood Reversal Sect every year. Usually, only those who reached the middle stage of Qi Refining were eligible for sect missions.

The same deceased fellow disciple just now had been a seedling traded from the Taihu Spiritual Domain. He had experienced too little of the cruel and scheming nature of demonic cultivation.

Wang Yu took the storage pouch, cleaned up the blood, collected the corpse, and exited from the other end of the alley.

Back at the Ice and 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. At that moment, Zhao Shang twitched his nose slightly, squinting as he spoke.

"Junior Brother Wang, you're injured?"

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Zhao. Just a minor wound, not worth mentioning."

Zhao Shang stood up and gestured politely for him to sit.

"The injury isn’t what matters. Corpses cultivated under the Cold Blood Peak legacy are valuable. Would Junior Brother Wang consider selling them? The Ice and Snow Pavilion runs a rather sizable business."

Wang Yu paused for a moment.

"Senior Brother Zhao is indeed perceptive. I happened to find two corpses on the street today. I was going to turn them in to the Law Enforcement Hall. But if the Pavilion wants them, I’ll leave them to you."

With a light tap on his storage pouch, two skinned corpses, bloody and mangled beyond recognition, were laid out on the table.

Zhao Shang’s eye twitched slightly as he looked at him with some surprise.

"Junior Brother, these corpses you picked up are rather... unique."

"They're not too bad," Wang Yu replied with a shy smile.

"How much are they worth in the building?" he asked.

After a brief inspection, Zhao Shang spoke.

"Both of these corpses cultivated the Ice Marrow Scripture. They can yield two portions of low-grade Ice Marrow, worth a total of one hundred spirit stones. How about that?"

"Agreed."

No matter the price offered, Wang Yu would have accepted. These external possessions were nothing compared to the value of stability. There would come a day to recover them all, so there was no rush to collect debts.

The deal was completed, and just as he was about to leave, Zhao Shang called out to him again.

"Junior Brother, nothing else to sell?"

Wang Yu paused, took a deep breath, and poured out everything from his two storage pouches, except for spirit stones and spirit sand, right in front of Zhao Shang.

Flying artifact: Black Silk ×2.

Quasi-spiritual weapon longsword ×1, standard-issue quasi-spiritual robes ×2 sets.

Low-grade Fasting Pills ×3, Low-grade Spirit Recovery Pill ×1, Mid-grade Talisman: Ghost Shadow Step ×1, Exotic Insect: Mind-Bewildering Butterfly ×1, miscellaneous items.

Zhao Shang flipped through the items and, with a trace of disdain, stuffed the mid-grade talisman and the small bottle containing the butterfly into his waist pouch. Pointing at the remaining items, he said:

"Fifty spirit stones. I’ll take them all."

"Fine."

Wang Yu felt resentful but was powerless. This bastard was bleeding him dry. He wondered how Su Qingshan had dealt with this situation.

After being stripped clean, Wang Yu carried his one hundred and fifty spirit stones upstairs and returned to Room 29 on the tenth floor.

Unless stated otherwise, items traded by Qi Refining cultivators were all rank 1 spiritual materials.

There was still a good amount of spirit sand in the two new storage pouches, roughly valued at around eighty spirit stones. Even though more than half had been taken, it was still equivalent to the reward from a completed mission.

A total of two hundred and thirty low-grade spirit stones was quite a windfall.

Killing and looting brought money like rain, pouring down in a clatter. It truly shocked Wang Yu’s once-pure heart. No wonder demonic cultivators were all adept at combat.

Farming, crafting techniques, none of that could compare to simply taking it.

After that day, Wang Yu didn’t leave his room and remained inside for four full days.

[Idle Slot 2: Compendium of Herbs: Qi Refining Volume (Perfected)]

[Compendium of Herbs (100/100): 12 hours session per day. Master in one month.]

"One month..."

Having experience with placing pure knowledge-type texts into idle slots, Wang Yu understood the pattern. After the first perfect cycle, he was in the rote memorization stage. Another month of Idle absorption would allow complete mastery and spontaneous application.

However, after the ambush in the dark alley, he was eager to improve his combat power. With the unpredictable and eerie nature of demonic techniques, he decisively switched to the Night Concealment Mantra.