Taking a deep breath, Jin Miaoshan suppressed all the goodwill she had felt towards Wang Yu. As expected! He was a profit-seeking individual through and through, helping her only when it involved his own interests, not out of active, genuine kindness.
Actually, this was normal. In Scarlet Kite, profit came first.
Before taking any action, one would always consider whether it was worthwhile. Having recently experienced major ups and downs, Jin Miaoshan was in a fragile state of mind and couldn't help but feel some goodwill towards Wang Yu.
This goodwill wasn't romantic attraction, but the loyalty of friendship. In this world, sentiment wasn't limited to that between men and women; it existed between parents and children, siblings, close friends, and so on.
After viewing the recording stone's contents, Jin Miaoshan nodded. "I understand your meaning, Daoist Friend. I will provide compensation and thanks."
"However... I wish to ask, why do you harbor such great malice towards the Golden Pavilion?"
"I harbor malice?"
Wang Yu raised an eyebrow. He knew Jin Miaoshan was referring to Ye Qing's betrayal and his introduction of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, which was somewhat underhanded. He already had a prepared response.
"Introducing the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was for the development of Guiding Spirit City. As the City Lord, this was my inescapable duty. The benefits of having two major merchant associations in Guiding Spirit for the city's prosperity, I believe, need no elaboration."
"Pavilion Master Ye Qing was merely a casualty in this matter. If one must blame someone, blame yourself for suddenly entering seclusion and being unable to protect or support him. His betrayal was due to practical circumstances. You are responsible, not I."
"Jin Lin has plotted against you not once, but twice—I personally experienced both instances. No matter how urgent your seclusion was, you should have been able to anticipate Jin Lin's reaction. Your inaction is the true root cause."
Wang Yu spoke three paragraphs in one breath, completely stunning Jin Miaoshan. Yet, there seemed to be some logic to it.
Jin Miaoshan sat down in the chair on the right, gently massaging her temples with her fair hand. She had a feeling the logic here was flawed.
But failing to make arrangements against Jin Lin was indeed her mistake. At the time, eroded by slaughterous intent, she couldn't maintain sound judgment.
Even now, she relied on spiritual items to maintain mental clarity.
Vast amounts of her thoughts were being encroached upon by the killing intent. Her hair, mixed black and white, was a result of this. If her hair turned completely white, she would lose herself entirely.
Becoming a demonic person controlled by slaughterous intent—the very thought made Jin Miaoshan lose interest in discussing these trivialities. At most, it would involve some material compensation, which she could afford.
The most important thing was the message Wang Yu had sent her during her seclusion.
She suddenly looked up at Wang Yu.
He was looking right at her.
"..."
"Daoist Friend Wang, let's discuss right and wrong later. Miaoshan wishes to know what exactly this method to save me that you mentioned is."
Wang Yu didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked a question he had long been curious about.
"Daoist Friend Jin, is the [Asura Slaughter Sacred Sutra] a Transformation Spirit inheritance of the mental path? Do you know who obtained the other text, the [Rakshasa True Demon Sutra]?"
Jin Miaoshan's brows furrowed. Given the previous transaction involving the Heavenly Soul Sect techniques, it was normal for him to guess her condition. But... if Wang Yu demanded it...
How should she refuse?
Top-tier Transformation Spirit inheritances almost always possessed uniqueness; it was difficult to master two. This was determined by the nature of the ancient demonic power behind them. Usually, after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, a cultivator had already chosen their own path.
The mental path was different. It could be cultivated concurrently!
To protect the [Asura Slaughter Sacred Sutra], the Golden Pavilion had also paid a certain price. Given she already possessed a profound inheritance, concurrently cultivating this sutra was also for greater power.
The sutra's contents were already imprinted in her mind. Unless she was killed, even soul-searching would find it difficult to glimpse anything.
As if sensing her thoughts, Wang Yu said, "I don't want your inheritance. Answer my question first."
Only then did Jin Miaoshan relax slightly. "Yes, the Asura Slaughter Sacred Sutra is indeed a mental-path inheritance. As for the other true sutra, although I didn't witness it personally, it was likely obtained by the True Disciple Ding Ming of your sect's Savage Nether Peak."
"It was actually him!"
This result was both unexpected and reasonable. He had thought Xie Xie'an, who possessed half of the Rakshasa True Demon Sutra, would have the advantage.
As for Ding Ming, with Wei Shanze's assistance, success was indeed possible, especially since Wang Yu had provided him with information and the correct token.
Xie Xie'an's failure in the competition would surely lead him to seek justice from the sect. But... the Malevolent Deity Peak was too weak, unable to field even a single Nascent Soul cultivator, with their strongest being only at the peak of Core Formation.
The gap with other peaks was too vast. Not only would they likely fail to obtain the other half of the Rakshasa True Demon Sutra, they might even have to surrender the half they already possessed.
Tragic! Truly tragic!
The Malevolent Deity Peak might be completely dissolved, while the Savage Nether Peak would experience a new wave of development. Wang Yu pondered the sect's internal situation.
Any change within the mountain gate could affect him; he had to be cautious. Moreover, he had connections with both Ding Ming and Wei Shanze.
Jin Miaoshan waited for him for a while before pressing, "Daoist Friend Wang, can you now tell me what exactly this thing that can help me is?"
"This... I have to start from the beginning."
Wang Yu recounted the events after the exploration wave ended.
"In short, after you all left, I entered the Eastern Extreme Capital ruins alone and gained quite a few clues and harvests."
"Venerable Asura and Venerable Rakshasa, the original recipients of these two inheritances, were both likely influenced and had their minds twisted."
"The two inheritances might even have originally been one. Based on my deductions, in the later stages of Venerable Asura's life, he was also twisted by this technique and was forced to try every method to pacify this state."
"He attempted self-mortification, self-binding, heart refinement, Buddhist methods... all to maintain his own sanity. Judging by your condition, the inheritance you obtained is likely the original version."
"Otherwise, you should also possess the methods Venerable Asura used for self-control. But the reality is, you've completely lost control, relying on the Golden Pavilion to maintain your current state."
Having said this much, the conclusion was already clear.
After obtaining the inheritance, to avoid being surrounded and killed, Jin Miaoshan and the others used special means to escape, having no time to investigate more secrets.
Her eyes widened, and she exclaimed, "After entering alone, you obtained Venerable Asura's mind-control methods?!"
"Yes and no."
Wang Yu sighed regretfully.
"Perhaps you damaged the Capital's Demon-Suppressing Prison too severely. I only obtained a certain Buddhist heart sutra, likely one of Venerable Asura's many mind-control methods."
"Whether it can have any effect, I don't know. After all, no one knows if Venerable Asura ultimately lost control."
Even so, for Jin Miaoshan, this was nothing less than a lifeline. Since cultivating the [Asura Slaughter Sacred Sutra], that surging, growing slaughterous intent had been driving her to kill every living being she encountered.
This was clearly abnormal. Initially, she thought her cultivation was insufficient, making self-control difficult.
So she entered seclusion to condense her Golden Core. After breaking through to the Core Formation stage, this erosion became even more terrifying, completely shattering her pride. She then began seeking help from within the Pavilion.
Various spiritual items to calm the mind and clarify the spiritual platform were used by her.
This matter inevitably leaked to other inheritance candidates.
Then came Jin Lin's schemes.
Buddhist inheritances had long been extinct; even within the Golden Pavilion, they were exceedingly rare. Those related to the mental path were completely nonexistent.
Such inheritances were scarce even in ancient times, let alone in this cultivation world, which had experienced several severances of lineage due to demonic calamities. Excavating ancient history was one of the ways for modern cultivators to grow stronger.
But situations like Jin Miaoshan's often occurred.
The inheritances granted by ancient demons were truly too dangerous... or rather, demonic path inheritances were inherently dangerous in their later stages. No one truly knew the origins of those sealed lands.
Contact with them required utmost caution.
The lifeline Wang Yu was now offering was far too important. Without a second thought, Jin Miaoshan named the highest price she could offer.
"I will exchange it for a top-grade Core Formation spiritual material of the Yin-Ice attribute. How about—"
Although Wang Yu already possessed top-grade Core Formation spiritual materials for the Fire and Wood paths—**[Molten Earth Heart Fruit]** and **[Ten-Thousand-Year Tree Heart]**—he still lacked those of the Yin and Ice attributes.
After the Alluring Scent Society's reputation was ruined, he had originally planned to trade for them through the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. With his connection to Han Jia, given enough time, an opportunity would arise.
But now Jin Miaoshan was offering proactively. He pretended dissatisfaction, "Daoist Friend Jin, are you making a fool of me? When I mentioned compensation last time, you said you had no Yin or Ice attribute Core Formation spiritual materials."
The implication was clear.
It had only been a little over a decade. You didn't have them before, but you do now? Are you playing with me?
Jin Miaoshan also realized her slip of the tongue and apologized, "That's not what I meant. Of course I don't have one now. But Miaoshan is willing to mobilize everyone in my faction to find the spiritual material for you, sparing no cost."
"No, no, no."
Wang Yu shook his head, refusing to be fed empty promises. He stated the condition he had long prepared.
"Miaoshan, I am not an unreasonable person. If you can produce a treasure capable of increasing the cultivation speed of a Core Formation cultivator, I can teach you the Prajna Heart Sutra."
"Note: This item must be something I can use, usable all the way to the peak of Core Formation. And I still want the top-grade Yin-Ice attribute Core Formation spiritual material."
Jin Miaoshan clenched her teeth, feeling Wang Yu's current expression resembled his blackmail from years ago.
"The Golden Pavilion possesses Spirit-Refining Talismans, top-grade cultivation elixirs, and the Great Thousand Spirit-Refining Array, all of which can meet your requirements. Which do you want?"
Hearing this, Wang Yu indeed became interested. He had exhaustively searched for treasures that could increase cultivation speed, but aside from ready-made natural treasures, he had found almost nothing.
He preferred something sustainable, like the method of top-grade spirit pills. He said, "Forget the elixirs. Introduce the other two."
"Spirit-Refining Talismans, when attached to the body, can increase a cultivator's efficiency in refining spiritual energy. Suitable for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators, improving efficiency by about fifty percent. Ineffective against Heavenly Spiritual Roots."
"The [Great Thousand Spirit-Refining Array] has a similar effect to the Spirit-Refining Talismans but is more suitable for Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators, also improving spiritual energy refinement efficiency by about fifty percent."
"These two methods address the issue of insufficient spiritual root aptitude. Unless one possesses a Heavenly Spiritual Root, which itself has reached the pinnacle of refining efficiency for heaven and earth's spiritual energy, these methods should be effective even for them."
After listening, Wang Yu surprisingly shook his head. "No, no. These won't do."
Jin Miaoshan was helpless. "You don't want this, you don't want that. What exactly do you want?"
"I told you..."
**(End of Chapter)**