Faced with this situation, Wang Yu had no choice. He had to let it continue occupying a placement slot. It would take another sixteen years to get the derived technique. There was no other way. If he wanted to speed it up, he could assign more slots to it, just like he had with the Cold Blood Art.
In just over a day, the injuries from his breakthrough had completely healed. Moving around the cavern, Wang Yu focused his mind.
The newly formed **[Nether Abyss Demonic Flood Dragon Spine]** was the marvel bestowed by his Body Refining Foundation Establishment, as instinctive to him as a normal Foundation Establishment cultivator's protective True Qi Armor or bodily flight.
Every punch he threw was accompanied by a dragon's roar. If he channeled spiritual power into it, he could even manifest the form of a demonic flood dragon. Every strike and kick was accompanied by a flood dragon's phantom, their power immense.
The breakthrough was over, but his gains were just beginning. A second-tier Body Refiner still couldn't fly—that was determined by the path itself—but his strength had reached a level of several hundred thousand jin, allowing him to easily crush iron and stone to dust. His every movement carried immense force.
His life level had also elevated, granting him a lifespan limit of three hundred years. He was only in his late thirties now, so his remaining lifespan was still plentiful.
"Twenty years on the path... I never expected the Body Refining path, which I picked up halfway, would be the first to reach Foundation Establishment," he mused internally, a touch of emotion in his heart.
He opened his placement slots to check the information.
**[Placement Slot 1: Cold Blood Spirit Ascension Art (Derivation Exhausted)]**
**[Placement Slot 2: Cold Blood Spirit Ascension Art (Derivation Exhausted)]**
* **Cold Blood Spirit Ascension Art (45/100): Forty-eight practices per day. Completion in five and a half years.**
**[Placement Slot 3: Profound Yin Hand]**
* **Profound Yin Hand (50/100): Nine practices per day. Completion in five years.**
**[Placement Slot 4: Flood Dragon Strength (Deriving... ↑)]**
* **Flood Dragon Strength (20/100): Ninety-six practices per day. Completion in sixteen years.**
**[Placement Slot 5: Empty]**
Wang Yu clenched his fist, his spirits lifting.
The fifth slot had arrived!
Without hesitation, he assigned the Corpse Demon Secret Art to it. The displayed information blurred momentarily before resolving into new text.
**[Placement Slot 5: Corpse Demon Secret Art (Restoring... ↑)]**
* **Corpse Demon Secret Art (20/100): One thousand four hundred and forty practices per day. Completion in fifteen years.**
And so, for the short term, these assignments wouldn't change. At this rate, by the time he reached late Foundation Establishment, he might even get seven placement slots. But he had a feeling this pattern wouldn't continue indefinitely. The number of placement slots probably wasn't infinite. Of course, this was just a预感 (premonition). It would be best if they were endless; he wouldn't complain about having more.
Having completed his breakthrough, Wang Yu could consider leaving the Black Mountain Demon Lands, perhaps even heading towards the Scarlet Kite Demon Domain. However, after some thought, he decided to wait a little longer. After all, his cultivation speed was now incredibly fast. In just another half a year, he could reach Qi Refining Great Perfection. It wouldn't be too late to set out after achieving dual-path Foundation Establishment, and he would feel more confident facing dangers.
......
......
**One month later. Black Mountain Demon Lands.**
This borderland forest, frequently visited by rogue cultivators, welcomed a group of cultivators dressed in fine robes, looking spirited and sharp. Their numbers reached a thousand. Each wore white robes with cloud patterns, a blue ribbon tied around their foreheads, carried a sword sheath on their back, and stood upon a flying sword. They exuded an aura of righteous integrity.
Apart from holding their heads about 15 degrees higher than everyone else, they didn't seem much different from ordinary people.
At the head of this thousand-strong contingent was a Core Formation cultivator with a profound aura, clearly no ordinary figure. Beside him were a few individuals whose attire clearly didn't match the group's color scheme. Their posture was extremely deferential, almost to the point of bowing and scraping. They guided the way from the side, constantly explaining something.
"Esteemed Sword Sect Senior, this is the Black Mountain Demon Lands. This is a map drawn by our Black Hero City. Besides the dangers from demon beasts, there are also many restriction traps left behind by demonic cultivators from the war years. Some have been dismantled, some haven't. The noteworthy ones are marked on the map. As for the place you wish to find... we don't know about it. Could you perhaps..."
*"Hmph—"*
The Core Formation cultivator from the Heavenly Void Sword Sect snorted coldly, looking somewhat displeased at the guides.
"You are the local powers in this area. Until the target is found, none of you are leaving."
"This..." A middle-aged male cultivator showed indignation and argued forcefully, "The Heavenly Void Sword Sect claims to be the leader of the righteous path. Is this how you treat the lives of us rogue cultivators?"
"Silence!" The Sword Sect Core Formation expert glared. "Don't think I don't know what you're scheming! The purges of these past few years weren't enough? What if you're in cahoots with those demonic cultivators and leak the news?! The Sword Sect has been merciful by not conducting a thorough purge, sparing your lives! Are you keeping your lives to argue with me?!"
The faces of the several rogue cultivators rapidly paled. They hurriedly pulled back the middle-aged cultivator who still wanted to retort.
"Fellow Daoist, say no more."
"Yes, it's just guiding the way. It's not a bad thing."
"Disaster comes from the mouth, Fellow Daoist!"
This dissuasion clearly had an effect. After a moment of silence, they spoke again, "Senior, regarding the place you wish to find, we roughly know a few locations with similar terrain features. Assuming you don't plan to cross the entire Black Mountain Demon Lands, there are five possible sites."
"Shall we search them one by one, or split into teams?"
"Split up."
The Sword Sect Core Formation expert immediately began arrangements. He divided the five Foundation Establishment cultivators he brought into five teams. He would lead one team, and the other four teams would each lead two hundred disciples to search the mountains and vanquish demons!
Within the ranks, Foundation Establishment cultivators could be heard discussing.
"These rogue cultivators are becoming increasingly ignorant of their place. The sect is still too merciful."
"Ah, Senior Brother Mo, that's a bit biased. All cultivators under heaven are equal. Life is only once. How can we distinguish between noble and base?"
"You... Forget it, I won't argue with you."
The large group of cultivators entered the mountains, making no effort to conceal their auras. This immediately stirred unrest among the many demon beasts, who instinctively rejected invaders entering their territories.
Battles broke out shortly after they entered the Black Mountain Demon Lands. These individuals were all disciples of the Heavenly Void Sword Sect. Their techniques, methods, and artifacts far surpassed those of the local rogue cultivators and ordinary demon beasts. Fighting opponents of the same level, the quick ones could behead the enemy leader in just a few moves; the slower ones could still achieve victory within fifty exchanges.
Therefore, these five teams progressed extremely rapidly. Even with the abundance of demon beasts in the periphery, they quickly broke through to the vicinity of the border between the outer and inner regions.
At this point, venturing further inward carried the risk of encountering Core Formation great demons. The five teams subdivided further, forming small squads of five to six members, dispersing into the forest, attempting to find terrain features matching the intelligence.
And Wang Yu was inside the Split Cliff cavern, acclimating to his surging power. His seclusion spot was already near the border between the inner and outer regions. With so many people suddenly arriving, creating such a commotion, it was impossible for him not to notice.
Detecting the disturbance outside, a sliver of doubt arose in his heart. He activated his Invisibility Art and slipped out, wanting to investigate what exactly was happening.
**(End of Chapter)**