The perfection of the Profound Origin Demon Embryo Secret Curse meant his goal of defying fate was finally within reach. Matters like Body Refining Foundation Establishment would have to wait.
"Finally complete."
At this moment, Wang Yu couldn't conceal his joy. He had nurtured Wang Wu for years, and now he was finally going to use him. He dared not imagine how high his cultivation speed would soar with a Dual Spiritual Root aptitude combined with the placement slots' effects.
Gathering his focus, he directed his spiritual sense inward to inspect his condition.
Indeed!
His spiritual roots, which had previously clumped together, were now completely covered in black-red demonic patterns. They no longer resembled root-like structures.
Instead—they had become the **Profound Origin Demon Embryo**!
A demonic path spiritual root aptitude, forged using his Crippled Five Element spiritual roots as the foundation.
The Five Element attributes were still present. Even his previously mutated Water spiritual root, which had gained Yin and Ice attributes, had reverted and was now housed within the Profound Origin Demon Embryo, as if transformed into the Five Qi within his chest, falling completely dormant but not vanishing.
The previous aptitude enhancements from the **Cold Blood Art** and the **Corpse Demon Secret Art**, along with the induced mutations, had not disappeared either. They manifested as two slightly incomplete sigils on the surface of the Demon Embryo—one icy blue, the other ash-gray. These sigils were gradually fading, transforming into nourishment for the embryo.
Upon closer observation, Wang Yu discovered the Profound Origin Demon Embryo had a unique form, remarkably similar to a crouching infant, reminiscent of the legendary Nascent Soul, except its face lacked any features.
Possessing it meant Wang Yu now had the aptitude to cover any demonic path method. It was completely different from a正统 (orthodox) "spiritual root."
The so-called 'seizing others' aptitude' involved absorbing their spiritual roots to nurture the Profound Origin Demon Embryo. The stronger the embryo, the higher his demonic path aptitude would be! Therefore, the attribute of the seized spiritual root didn't matter; the Profound Origin Demon Embryo would accept and consume them all.
"So that's how it works."
Contemplating this, Wang Yu entered the stone chamber. Wang Wu, bound by chains, knelt on the ground in tattered clothes. Hearing the footsteps, his entire body trembled uncontrollably, his eyes filled with terror. Seeing this, Wang Yu couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
To perfectly seize another's spiritual root, close blood relation was only the first requirement. The process also required implanting a "Demonic Thought" to constantly erode the target's reason until they were completely corrupted. It mimicked the method of a Heavenly Demon seizing a body to devour everything of the target.
The success of the Demonic Thought and the time required for corruption weren't short. After all, a living being's survival instinct was hard to override. Breaking their psychological defenses in advance made it much easier.
Therefore, for the past few years, he had done everything possible to torment Wang Wu, completely shattering his will, all for the sake of facilitating today's action. Of course, how much of it was purely personal vendetta, only he knew.
The closer Wang Yu got, the more Wang Wu trembled. When Wang Yu pinched his chin and forced his head up, he shook like a leaf in a storm. Fear was etched into his very bones!
"Good. Look into my eyes."
Wang Wu involuntarily looked up. The moment their eyes met, Wang Yu's pupils turned completely black. He uttered several bizarre, unnatural syllables.
An invisible Demonic Thought swiftly took root in Wang Wu's sea of consciousness, rapidly absorbing vast amounts of negative emotions to strengthen itself. Wang Yu didn't forget to whisper.
"Relax your body and mind. Do not resist."
"Relax... You will be free soon."
"No more suffering, no more torment. You can sleep peacefully. Just leave everything to me~"
Wang Wu's expression relaxed, but his eyes widened further and further. The black color representing the demon bloomed in his pupils, like a kaleidoscope, completely taking control of his body and mind.
The entire process took less time than it takes an incense stick to burn. Wang Wu, utterly broken, surrendered everything of himself, finally finding release from this boundless sea of suffering. The foundation laid in advance determined this efficiency.
Forming hand seals, Wang Yu took a deep breath and continued to utter those eerie, non-human syllables. A rustling, scratching sound seemed to echo in his ears, as if some multi-legged creature was crawling in the darkness.
Heavenly Demon Malice was not a power without side effects. For a human cultivator to utilize it, they must withstand the erosion of their own rationality. Previously, relying solely on the placement slots' feedback, Wang Yu had faced almost no pressure himself.
Now, personally executing the art, he couldn't avoid this influence. However, his Perfected mastery of the secret curse was sufficient to make him immune to this corruption. This showed the immense pressure others who cultivated this secret curse must bear. Using it recklessly before achieving Perfection made one highly susceptible to backlash.
A short while later, the illusory sounds in his consciousness reached their peak. In reality, Wang Wu's body withered at a visible rate. Thin black threads emerged from his pores, eventually converging to form a pill-like sphere that swiftly entered Wang Yu's body.
At the location of the spiritual root aptitude—present within his body yet untraceable in his flesh and blood—the inky black Profound Origin Demon Embryo received this delivered nourishment.
It instantly erupted with a black-red demonic light. The sigils on its body grew rapidly. Two new spiritual root sigils formed—one red, one green, representing the Fire and Wood spiritual roots. They were being visibly devoured by the Profound Origin Demon Embryo.
A long time passed.
Wang Yu's eyes snapped open. Although his aura hadn't changed, the feeling he gave off was completely different.
After carefully sensing for a moment, Wang Yu laughed, unrestrained.
"This is the Dual Spiritual Root! This is the High-Grade Spiritual Root! Finally... finally, I have obtained this ticket!"
Looking back at the desiccated corpse before him, it crumbled into dust at the slightest touch.
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The enmity between us... is over."
......
......
**Several days later.**
After experiencing the thrill of cultivation with a Dual Spiritual Root aptitude, he was practically euphoric. The speed was unimaginably fast.
Over the past four years, he had refined four improved, top-grade Cold Blood Pills, increasing his spiritual power by 60 strands.
His consumption of these pills had nearly reached its limit; his body had developed some pill resistance specific to the Cold Blood Pills.
The two placement slots contributed 115 strands of spiritual power. His own cultivation added 3 strands. Total spiritual power growth: 178 strands.
Added to his original 404 strands, he now had 582 strands.
This was truly advancing by leaps and bounds!
He was only 118 strands away from the 700 strands required for the ninth level of Qi Refining, which would have originally taken several more years.
But... everything was different now.
The high-grade aptitude represented by the Dual Spiritual Root caused the amount of spiritual power he could gain from daily cultivation to skyrocket, far surpassing previous gains—a earth-shaking change.
Foundation Establishment Perfected Method + High-Grade Aptitude + Never-resting Placement Slot Feedback.
The efficiency of a single placement slot increased to "50 wisps/day". Two slots meant "100 wisps/day". What was it before? It was "8 wisps/day".
This wasn't just a tenfold increase. Using 'wisps' isn't very intuitive. Converting it, it became "1 strand/day". This meant he only needed 118 days to advance to the ninth level of Qi Refining.
Just four months.
This speed surpassed that of a typical Dual Spiritual Root and was slightly inferior only to a Heaven-Grade Spiritual Root, as the gap between second and first also represented a qualitative change.
In comparison, his original cultivation speed seemed like a joke.
No wonder the cultivation world placed such importance on aptitude.
**(End of Chapter)**