Northern outskirts of the Sky Demon Bone Forest.
After several days of flying around this area, Wang Yu finally neared You Prefecture, territory of the Netherworld Spring Monastery.
However, due to the nature of cultivators, border blockades were not as perfect as one might imagine.
Given the vast length of a border, unless you had people standing shoulder-to-shoulder along the entire line, cultivators with their myriad of methods always found ways to bypass stationed guards. No matter how powerful a hegemon faction was, it was impossible to cover an entire prefecture with formations.
Therefore, even with only Foundation Establishment cultivation, if you flew high enough, smuggling across the border was never a difficult task.
The truly difficult borders were the North and South Severing Boundary Mountain Ranges.
Those places were special, inhabited by countless powerful demon beasts. Deeper within existed organized demon tribes with orderly legacies, no less formidable than any human hegemon faction.
The many wars between Taihu and Scarlet Luan were also fought around the middle, weaker sections of the North-South Severing Boundary Mountain Ranges.
Inside, restrictions, formations, and traps were too numerous to count. Predecessors had left too many pitfalls; even the righteous and demonic sides themselves weren't entirely clear about how many traps existed within.
And every time a major war erupted, new arrivals would continue adding various traps, piling layer upon layer, making those areas increasingly perilous.
In short.
Borders between factions were easy to cross; the border between the righteous and demonic paths was difficult to sneak across.
Wang Yu had attempted it once, relying on a relatively recent safe route explored by predecessors during the righteous-demonic war three hundred years ago. Its timeliness was still somewhat valid.
Without multiple intervals of major righteous-demonic wars, the traps inside wouldn't be updated. Even so, he had encountered many decoy-type traps.
Back to the main topic.
Wang Yu felt that him "accidentally" appearing in You Prefecture was also a method to delay Jin Miaoshan's suspicions.
Several days had passed.
Relying on his body's natural healing ability and the restorative effects of various top-grade spirit pills he had stockpiled over the years, he had already recovered to his peak condition.
This perhaps demonstrated the importance of having a good body. It could not only help reduce the difficulty of breaking through his foundational realm but also grant him greater strength and survivability.
Thinking of this, Wang Yu couldn't help but remember Long Yiran. Her methods weren't weak; she had survived a slap from the Blood Demon Ginseng. It was a pity her injuries were too severe, and she ultimately fell to the lethal poison affecting the area from the poison beast legion, missing survival by just a hair's breadth.
The importance of survivability was raised several notches in his heart.
"Hmm? Here again?"
At this moment.
This was not the first time he had encountered the true body of the Five Poisons Old Demon. Over the past few days, due to the gap in their cultivation realms, Wang Yu's speed, which could overwhelm peers, was nothing more than a turtle's crawl in the other's eyes.
Therefore, after the Five Poisons Old Demon's clone was destroyed, it took barely a day for him to catch up. After a brief exchange, Wang Yu realized it was another clone and forcibly restrained the urge to use the Grand Yin Corpse and the Thunder Corpse. That trump card had to be reserved for a critical moment.
After resolving this slightly stronger Five Poisons clone with the Yellow Spring Great Hand Seal, his injuries were mostly healed.
Then.
As if in an endless cycle, the Five Poisons Old Demon's clones attacked multiple times, all killed by him. This indicated it wasn't a true external incarnation technique, but rather a clone-type spell with a limited duration.
The Five Poisons Old Demon's true body was trailing behind, continuously sending clones to wear down his energy. Wang Yu hadn't rested for a second. He understood the other's thinking.
—A cornered beast will fight desperately!
This was because the old demon feared he might have some trump card for a last-ditch counterattack.
He was exercising caution to the extreme. In the Five Poisons Old Demon's simplistic reasoning, if Wang Yu had no time to rest, he had no time to heal his injuries.
According to common sense, injuries would worsen progressively until they became irreparable. Then it would be time for his true body to reap the fruits of victory.
This strategy wasn't particularly clever, even rather straightforward.
After all, Wang Yu had been wearing the Earthly Nether Ghost Mask the entire time, never exposing his true cultivation.
However, based on spiritual sense strength and spell power, one could determine he had reached the third rank. The Five Poisons Old Demon's caution was still quite necessary.
It was just a pity.
This war of attrition tactic happened to suit Wang Yu's intentions perfectly.
He knew well that even with the help of two early third-rank zombies, it would be difficult to kill a seasoned veteran like the Five Poisons Old Demon, who possessed decent combat power.
He had to find a way to thoroughly intimidate him in one go.
Only then could he escape safely. The Stainless Jade Toad's cocooning metamorphosis would likely take at least another half month. Only after it awoke could it erase this poisonous skull tracking mark.
This was the opportunity.
Presently.
A black-green cloud of smoke, emitting a sinister "jie jie" laughter, rolled towards him. The sharp, unpleasant sound attempted to exert greater pressure on Wang Yu.
However, when he saw Wang Yu—panting heavily, covered in dark green wounds, leaning on a staff—the corner of his mouth curled into a mocking arc.
"Brat... finally decided to give up? Hand over the treasure, and this venerable will give you a quick death."
"Heh—
"Five Poisons, you old dog has chased this master for so long, yet your courage is so small you only dare use clone spells. Even so... you aren't afraid of retaliation from the Netherworld Spring Monastery?"
The Five Poisons clone immediately hesitated. After pondering, it shook its head.
"This venerable does not believe you are from the Netherworld Spring Monastery."
Wang Yu reached up and wiped the "poisoned blood" from the corner of his mouth, speaking solemnly.
"I am under Lord Earth Store Demon Monarch. Have your true body come here to sign a Nether River Contract with me. The treasure can be yours. Let me live."
Then, Wang Yu truly took out a Nether River Contract from his storage ring. This scene made the Five Poisons Old Demon waver slightly.
Because the Nether River Contract was unique to the Netherworld Spring Monastery and the form of contract they trusted most.
"Take out the treasure. After this venerable sees it, I will naturally make a decision."
Hearing this.
Wang Yu fell silent, as if struggling internally for a long time, finally took out an ancient-looking jade slip.
To be honest, he really hadn't obtained any treasures. If he had, they were already consumed, and inherited knowledge didn't have physical carriers either.
What he produced now was the inheritance jade slip for **[Grand Yin Ghost Eye]**.
Inside, there were still two seals unresolved. The third layer required magic power and a perfected second-rank ocular power to unlock. Among all his collection, only this could be considered a treasure.
As expected, the other party immediately questioned.
"What do you mean by taking out a jade slip? Would this venerable need such a thing?!"
Wang Yu seemed to laugh in anger.
"You old ugly devil, what do you think that place was? It was the ruins of an ancient sect, accidentally sealed into spatial folds, forming a secret realm.
"This is a Nascent Soul inheritance, and my only gain. Believe it or not."
How could the Five Poisons Old Demon be willing to accept this? He suddenly roared.
"I don't believe it! Spirit medicines, magic treasures... you mean you didn't obtain a single one?"
"I fucking said no! Are you blind? Didn't you see those four Blood Demon Medicine Kings? You want to steal from their medicine garden? Idiot!"
After being cursed out by Wang Yu, the Five Poisons Old Demon also came to his senses.
He remained silent for a moment before saying.
"Throw the jade slip over. This venerable will verify it first, then have my true body come to sign the contract."
"You think I'm stupid? Now, come sign the contract immediately. Otherwise... so be it if I die. You can await Lord Earth Store Demon Monarch's retaliation."
The Five Poisons Old Demon wanted to argue further.
"You can kill this venerable's clones, yet you're not assured enough to let me inspect? Show some sincerity, brat."
—Silence.
Wang Yu closed his eyes, showing no intention of responding.
"You don't even dare let me inspect. Is there something fishy?"
"Hey."
"Say something."
"One stick of incense. I'll wait for your true body for the time it takes one stick of incense to burn. If you don't come, I'll destroy the inheritance jade slip. Do as you wish."
After saying this, Wang Yu once again fell silent.
During this time, the Five Poisons Old Demon attempted to say many things. Finding Wang Yu utterly unyielding, he also fell silent, as if compromising.
As time passed, one stick of incense's worth of time elapsed.
Just as Wang Yu was about to say something, a wisp of green smoke rose from the ground, transforming into the appearance of a second Five Poisons Old Demon.
"Brat, this is this venerable's true body. Take out the Nether River Contract."
Wang Yu's brow furrowed tightly.
Was it really this easy to lure him out? But the aura, vastly stronger than the clones, didn't seem fake.
Regardless, he had to test it first.
*Klang—*
In an instant, the Starfall Frost Cauldron—now somewhat dented—leaped from the ground, instantly enveloping Wang Yu. Simultaneously, a pitch-black pill flew from his hand.
Master River Sky's treasured collection, once used in a batch of a hundred to instantly kill multiple peak Core Formation death warriors—**[Heavenly Tribulation Pill]!**
The amount from one pill was somewhat insufficient to kill the Five Poisons Old Demon, but it wasn't something easily blocked either. Based on prior experience, none of his clones possessed Core Formation-level strength.
*Crackle crackle~*
As the Heavenly Tribulation Pill shattered, terrifying lightning serpents exploded in all directions, instantly covering an area of a thousand meters in radius. The lightning was so dense that not even a fly could escape.
The first Five Poisons Old Demon clone had no time to react, simply dissipating.
The one claiming to be the true body also spat out black-green poison smoke, actively blocking a large portion of the Heavenly Tribulation Pill's power, but was still struck quite badly, gaining many lightning scars on its body.
"It's real!"
Wang Yu, observing constantly, immediately took out the Heaven Thunder Talisman Treasure and activated it without hesitation.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky. In less than a second, a thunder pillar descended from the heavens, striking the Five Poisons Old Demon, who was busy resisting the Heavenly Tribulation Pill. His body instantly turned charred, his eyes filled with incredulity as he stared at the cauldron.
*Thud.* He collapsed to the ground.
Inside the cauldron, Wang Yu stepped out. Keeping his distance, he flung a ball of Frostscale Pill Flame towards the Five Poisons' corpse. There was no reaction.
Dead?
It felt unrealistic. He immediately heightened his vigilance, scanning his surroundings.
"Heh heh, good brat.
"To actually have a Talisman Treasure in hand. However, this aura doesn't resemble the thunder magic power of a demonic cultivator; it's more like a method from the Taihu side."
He had wasted two powerful attacks in succession.
Just to lure this guy's true body out. It felt like a huge loss, but given the other's nature, Wang Yu could only proceed this way.
Now that the true body had emerged, he still pretended to be in a weakened state.
He looked over with an "unbelievable" expression.
Sure enough, the Five Poisons Old Demon made a triumphant appearance. After displaying his own cunning, he pretended to feel regretful.
"This Illusionary Form Spider was not easy for this venerable to capture. You better have a treasure far exceeding its value on you. Otherwise... you will learn what pain means~"
"—I have no idea!"
With a tearing sound, Wang Yu unleashed without reservation the Wind Thunder Spirit Tattoos. This third-rank burst technique, whose thunder patterns he had forcibly perfected via a shortcut, erupted alongside his physical body.
The resulting speed was something the Five Poisons Old Demon simply couldn't follow.
*(End of Chapter)*