Wang Yu grew more and more satisfied as he listened. The Spirit Spring Cold Pool would enhance his innate talent. The fertile territory would generate resources. Once he reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, he even had a ticket for the path to Core Formation. As long as he had the ability, everything would be smooth sailing. The three investment conditions paved the way perfectly, even more so than his own plans.
However, Wang Yu quickly came to his senses and said calmly, "Then... what are the conditions? Or rather, what do I need to do?"
"Simple." Zuoqiu Ming extended three fingers. "Three resources, three times you help us when we need it. Quite reasonable, right?"
Without waiting for Wang Yu to ask, he continued, "Of course, we won't ask you to seek death, nor accept tasks beyond your capabilities, nor go against your principles and true nature. There's only one thing: when we encounter a life-or-death crisis, if you are present, you must save us, sparing no effort, even at the cost of your life. And you cannot refuse the distress jade talisman we send, under any circumstances. Three times! After three times, the favor is settled. How about it?"
Wang Yu fell silent. It wasn't that he found their conditions harsh. They were too lenient. Given their status, encountering fatal danger was quite difficult. And they insisted he couldn't refuse? How afraid of death were they? Or rather, how powerful were their enemies that they would offer such lenient conditions?
In the Demonic Path, it was a well-known fact: when the return and the investment are disproportionate, it often signifies a trap meant to kill and plunder.
*So are the enemies from within...*
Seeing Wang Yu's silence and that he didn't immediately agree as they had imagined, Yu Xing spoke up, adding more to the offer. "All of this is contingent upon you breaking through to Core Formation. If you are still at the Foundation Establishment stage, you can choose not to fulfill the obligation. This is our concession. If agreeable, we can sign a Styx Contract."
The so-called Styx Contract was a vow witnessed by the mythical River Styx, possessing powerful binding force. Those who broke the oath would have their souls forever fall into the Styx, suffering endless torment, never to attain liberation for eternity. As for where the Styx was, no one knew; it certainly wasn't within the territories of the righteous or demonic domains. This was a secret passed down since ancient times in the demonic path, verified by countless people, so its authenticity was not in doubt.
Wang Yu pondered for a long time. He realized one thing: three investments, three opportunities for help, coupled with the condition that he only needed to fulfill them after reaching Core Formation, meant he would definitely receive the benefits, even from the Profound Heaven Secret Realm. This proved it wasn't an empty promise. Furthermore, during the cooperation, long-term interpersonal relationships would develop between the four of them. While it seemed he only received three investments, if utilized properly, it could lead to countless resources and benefits.
*When others are greedy, I am fearful; when others are fearful, I am greedy.*
*All in!*
Finally, Wang Yu decided to agree. "Then it's settled. But I have one condition."
Upon hearing this, Zuoqiu Ming immediately showed a benevolent smile. "Speak quickly, Fourth Brother. If it's within your big brother's power, I promise to help you."
Wang Yu nodded. "I want a treasure that enhances comprehension. Whether it's temporary or has a weak but lasting effect, either is fine."
"This—" Treasures that enhanced comprehension were all priceless, even temporary ones were immensely valuable. The three of them looked at each other.
After a moment, Yu Xing gritted his teeth and took out an object. "This is the
"Sufficient." Wang Yu showed a satisfied smile. With this treasure, he could save a lot of time.
Zhuo Shouqing, seeing this, brought out the Styx Contract. The four discussed and wrote down all the conditions. Once everything was settled and the contract signed, Wang Yu became one of their own.
After he left, Zhuo Shouqing sighed. "Old Yu, that Heavenly Enlightenment Cushion was something your sister exchanged for you from the sect, right? How many years did it take?"
"Ten years."
"Tsk, tsk. And you're giving half of that away. Thank you."
Yu Xing forced a smile. "It's fine. Since we all recognize Wang Yu's potential, let's increase the investment. The more we give now, the greater the returns when we need his help in the future."
***
With the matter settled for now, Wang Yu quickly planned his time. The Spirit Spring Cold Pool could be visited anytime. He decided to first take out the legacy jade slip he had obtained years ago in the Profound Bone Mountain underground palace.
As a Nascent Soul level secret art, the Lunar Nether Pupils was definitely not simple. It had a tiered unlocking method; Wang Yu would only unlock subsequent content upon reaching the corresponding realm. Now, he was examining the Foundation Establishment stage cultivation method.
During the Qi Refining stage, the "Moon Gazing" perspective had helped him greatly. He was intensely curious about this second stage. Impatiently, he injected his spiritual sense, and new information flooded his mind.
"Second Stage — **[Illusory Moon]**!"
Soon, Wang Yu opened his eyes, very pleasantly surprised.
The so-called 'Illusory Moon' had two main effects. First, it endowed his eyes with the ability to see through illusions and perceive reality, granting not only superhuman insight against illusion arts but also the ability to see through some crude formations. This characteristic ability would grow stronger and stronger as his mastery of the Lunar Nether Pupils deepened; it was a growth-type ability.
The second effect was granting Wang Yu the ability to release an illusionary pupil technique. The spell condition was met simply by making eye contact with the target.
This pupil technique was called **[Illusory Moon Realm]!**
Those affected would find themselves on the surface of a calm, deep body of water, with the moon looming oppressively close. On the water's surface, they would see the thing they feared most in their heart, made real, constantly killing and tormenting them. It was an excellent means to shatter mental defenses.
If paired with the Profound Origin Demonic Womb, implanting demonic thoughts would become considerably easier for Wang Yu. He could implant and harvest almost immediately, just like he had done with Wang Wu back then. The essence was the same.
Since seizing the dual spiritual roots, if the Profound Origin Demonic Womb wanted to continue improving his aptitude, he could only target those with dual spiritual roots or better, which unintentionally added another layer of restriction. This was rather reasonable.
Besides the second-stage [Illusory Moon] ability, the previously mastered [Moon Gazing] effect also received a significant boost, especially the passive effect of drawing Lunar Essence to cleanse and temper the soul. Although this secret art was a pupil technique, it greatly benefited spiritual sense cultivation, helping Wang Yu lay an extremely solid foundation. Cultivating the "Ancient Soul Art" in the future should be easier.
Emerging from the ocean of knowledge, Wang Yu checked his placement slots. The current five slots were not yet perfectly optimized.
Slots 1 and 2, holding the "Cold Blood Spirit Ascension Art," couldn't be moved for now. Their aptitude-enhancing effects could be used in conjunction with the Cold Pool. He would replace them later.
Slot 5, holding the "Corpse Demon Secret Art," couldn't be moved.
Slot 4, holding the "Profound Yin Hand," also couldn't be moved. This technique was only five years away from perfection. Once mastered, Wang Yu would possess a supreme trump card! This was evident from his life-and-death struggle with Lan Boting from the Sword Sect; the combat power this art could unleash at the Foundation Establishment stage had already reached late Foundation Establishment level, and it was of the highest grade, worthy of being a core legacy of the Netherspring View. With the Profound Yin Hand, his combat power was actually quite secure; the cost-performance ratio was extremely high!
After much thought, the only slot that could be changed was Slot 3, holding the "Flood Dragon Force." Due to his 'Yin Nether Demonic Python Spine,' he could only rely on the placement slot's derivation effect to create a succeeding second-grade Body Cultivation method. It was actually one of the arts Wang Yu needed to place. But the daily feedback was too low, and there were still a full fifteen and a half years of placement time left, making its cost-performance ratio relatively low.
"Take it out first. The Body Cultivation realm was initially meant to compensate for the气血 (qìxuè - qi and blood) impact of losing an arm. In the short term, whether or not I have a follow-up method doesn't affect me that much."
Having reached this understanding, Wang Yu removed the "Flood Dragon Force." He then tested the placement times for his numerous other legacies, one by one.
**[Placement Slot 3: Lunar Nether Pupils (Second Grade)]**
`Lunar Nether Pupils (0/100): Twenty-four practices per day. Mastery achievable in five years.`
He tried another.
`Ancient Soul Art (0/100): Forty-eight practices per day. Mastery achievable in twenty years.`
"Twenty years..." Wang Yu frowned. Upon detailed inspection, he found the Ancient Soul Art extremely difficult to cultivate. It required absorbing three types of energy to temper spiritual sense: the Purple Qi from the East at dawn, the Essence of the Noonday Sun, and the Moonlight Essence at midnight. Upon ultimate mastery, the soul would obtain a marvelous talent called
"This technique is a bit troublesome~"
He tried another...
**[Placement Slot 3: Frost Moon Wings]**
`Frost Moon Wings (0/100): Forty-eight practices per day. Mastery achievable in ten years.`
A second-grade high-tier movement art, ten years. This time was half that of the Profound Yin Hand of the same grade. This wasn't because it was inferior, but because Wang Yu had become stronger. Cultivating a second-grade art during Qi Refining versus during Foundation Establishment had different foundations; the time required couldn't be the same. Frost Moon Wings required absorbing Frost Moon Qi and opening two new meridians in the back to control the art. If paired with the Cold Moon Pill from the recipe, cultivation would progress a thousand miles a day. Wang Yu was different; even without these resources, it wouldn't prevent him from learning it.
"Acceptable."
Next, Wang Yu tested all thirteen Soul-Music dual path legacies and the Cold Blood Peak legacy he had acquired recently. Only after trying them all did he make his decision.
"My tenure at the Enforcement Hall won't be very long. Once Zuoqiu Ming and the others select a suitable location, I can resign and depart, at most three to five years..." He calculated silently. For legacies that required a long time to perfect, he could develop them slowly after arriving at his new location. He would prioritize those that could take effect in the short term, especially those boosting combat strength.
"Lunar Nether Pupils!"
Decision made, Wang Yu replaced the "Flood Dragon Force." If the Lunar Nether Pupils could be perfected during this period, he would then place the Ancient Soul Art. Once it reached around 20% progress, he could switch to Frost Moon Wings. After all, cultivation methods could be practiced manually, but Frost Moon Wings couldn't; its prerequisite conditions were too many. Using the placement slot for initial mastery was more convenient.
After resolving the placement slot issue, he created a priority list, arranging the successor techniques for each slot according to his needs.
Then, he took out the newly acquired
The night passed without incident.
(End of Chapter)