Wasted Spiritual Root to Embark on Demonic Cultivation

Chapter 199

Facing a powerful corpse fiend specialized in killing Foundation Establishment cultivators, with a recorded battle win rate of ninety percent, he needed to carefully evaluate the opponent’s true combat power in order to avoid any misjudgment.

Of course, if he could directly kill it, that would be the best outcome.

This would mean that within this underground ruin, apart from the Six-Eyed Corpse Infant, he could guarantee his own safety. Those prohibitions and formations already investigated would not pose any threat.

“Gululu—”

The corpse fiend possessed a cunning and cruel nature. It would kill any living creature it encountered, its temperament belonging to the essence of demonic beings.

Playing with the skulls of prey had become a meaningless pastime over the years, a way to pass the time.

It spun the skull endlessly between its fingers, making strange gurgling sounds, completely immersed in its own world.

At the moment the skull stopped spinning, the vertical golden pupils of the corpse fiend abruptly turned to one side. Its broad hand exerted slight pressure, crushing the oily skull into fragments.

It had smelled the scent of flesh.

The black-furred figure, like a terrifying giant ape, vanished instantly without a sound. Even the wind stirred by its movement was silent.
It saw him.

A man in a black robe leaned against the broken wall, the strong fragrance coming directly from his body.

Retreating into darkness, circling around silently to the back of the broken wall, its sharp claws pierced through the rubble. It should have touched warm flesh, yet only grasped empty air.

The corpse fiend froze for a moment.

Suddenly, cold yet scorching flames erupted. Under the profundity of Flame Form Technique, two icy serpents formed of frigid fire coiled upward, binding the corpse fiend tightly.

Cold and heat appeared on its body simultaneously, as if it would be both burned and frozen.

The man leaning against the wall gradually faded away.

Illusory Form step - True phantom

As a first-rank high-grade movement art, its use should have ended at the Qi Refining stage. But Wang Yu, at the great perfection realm, fused ten phantom bodies into one.

Combined with the human-scented medicinal powder he prepared, it perfectly deceived the corpse fiend’s senses.

As the fiend struggled violently, a melodious flute tune rose, gentle and soothing, causing it to unconsciously relax. Even the searing pain of icy flames was ignored.

Demonic-Heart Sound Manipulation at the sublime level of proficiency.

This control lasted until its entire body was charred black, its fur burned away, its shell emitting waves of flesh aroma. Only then did it regain awareness.

“Roar—”

Its demonic nature finally erupted. Its body swelled to five meters tall, like a berserk gorilla with knotted muscles. It tore apart the serpents of cold flame with rage.

Each heavy stomp of its feet left deep pits in the ground, yet it still could not find its enemy.

In its fury.

“Caw caw caw—”

Ominous crow cries echoed. Red-eyed crows, only three feet long, swarmed forward, passing through its massive body, carrying away large strands of soul threads.

The pain of soul-devouring was like the cruelest punishment.

The corpse fiend fell to its knees, its control over its body plummeting, limbs powerless, unable to lift its head.

At last, footsteps approached from the darkness.

Wang Yu twirled a black jade flute in his right hand, gazing at the fiend before him and murmuring.

“Low resistance to soul-path secret arts and illusions, but once its demonic nature erupts it becomes almost completely immune. Coupled with this powerful, undying body… such a terrifying monster.”

The undying of the corpse fiend was not regenerative ability, but that no injuries reduced its combat power. It had no conventional fatal weak points, like a corpse already long dead.

Even if its arm were severed, the severed limb would still instinctively attack living creatures with full strength. Wang Yu believed this was the remnant demonic soul at work.

Therefore, all of his probing attacks targeted the fiend’s soul.

When they were but one step apart, the fiend’s drooping head suddenly revealed a cunning gleam. Its wedge-like claws pierced toward Wang Yu’s chest.

In an instant, Wang Yu’s eyes lit with the pattern of a waning moon.

Moon Illusion Realm.

The immunity of the fiend’s demonic soul was never absolute. After the Devouring Crows had attacked it, more than half its soul was damaged, greatly reducing its immunity.

The soul is the master of the body. A soul too weak cannot command such a strong body. That was why its limbs felt powerless, not from physical exhaustion but from spiritual weakness.

Looking at the frozen corpse fiend before him, a glint of heat flashed in Wang Yu’s eyes.

He pointed with two fingers.

Soul Shattering Finger.

Like the last straw breaking the camel’s back, the fiend’s demonic soul shattered. Black smoke rose from the crown of its head as it fell silent forever.

A same top-tier material, like the Lunar Yin Fiend Corpse.

Because of its undying demonic nature, the corpse of the Mountain Fiend could be refined into an extremely rare demonic corpse.

This was a special type of zombie, not belonging to the orthodox categories of Yin Corpse or Armored Corpse. Even among variant zombies, it was unique. Properly cultivated, it would give Wang Yu a second trump card-class refined corpse.

Demonic corpses were very powerful, but their side effects were equally great.

This thing could give birth to a new demonic soul at any time, gaining self-awareness, so the risk of backlash was great. After Wang Yu stored it inside the Lunar Yin Corpse-Nurturing Coffin, he continued to ponder in his heart.

“During the last exploration craze, perhaps the Protector Guardian of the Nether Mountain Sect came here for the corpse fiend. After all, before the information was made public, few knew that corpse fiends still existed here.”

Corpse Dao inheritances were a major branch within the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain. Almost every sect possessed a unique transmission. Even the Joyous Union Sect was no exception. They possessed a powerful inheritance called Yin-Yang Demonic Corpse, regarded as an advanced variant within the corpse demonic category, reaching the peak of power in this world.

Unconsciously, Wang Yu’s foundation in Corpse Dao had already become something that even cultivators who specialized in this path at the same realm would envy.

Returning to the territory of the corpse fiend from earlier, Wang Yu carefully picked up the Bloodstained Shackles from a distance, immediately sealed them with ice crystals, and tossed them into a storage pouch.

At the same time, he thought about catching another corpse demon. Such things were rarely seen outside, generally only existing in underground palaces, burial grounds, or ruins, where dead corpses gained spirit and transformed into demons.

They could be refined into several special varieties. Even if he did not refine them himself, selling them would still bring a huge amount of spirit stones. Since he was already here, how could he let the chance slip by?

“Hm?”

Just as Wang Yu prepared to use his secret art of Mountain Searching and Hunting Demon, the storage pouch holding the Bloodstained Shackles suddenly emitted a burst of crimson light. This pouch was one he specially used to store foul things.

He was about to throw it away, but the pouch tore open. The shackles and manacles floated out, automatically combining and embedding into each other. The broken spatial secret power within them was restored to completeness.

The power then enveloped him. Wang Yu instantly understood how Ding Ming had appeared within the pillar of inheritance light. It turned out this was a kind of ticket.

There was no time for frustration. As soon as he instinctively raised his True Essence protective shield, his figure disappeared from the ruins at the inner edge of the outskirts.

……

……

The Suppressing Evil Prison of Jingzhao Town.

Even though it was his first time here, the moment Wang Yu opened his eyes he could immediately tell. All around was the sight of collapsed walls and broken ruins. Among the scattered fragments of shattered bricks lay decayed instruments of torture.

The variety of designs and the strange forms made Wang Yu inwardly sigh that he had broadened his knowledge.

The air here was filled with the heavy stench of rot and blood. There was also the musty scent of age in this sealed place, like the odor emitted from a dying old man. Not unbearable, but certainly unpleasant, and instinctively repulsive.

What truly made Wang Yu’s scalp go numb, however, was the shackle that had unknowingly clasped itself onto his neck. His four limbs and throat were all tightly bound by manacles meticulously selected by the strictest standards of the Guan Clan Patriarch.

His True Essence was suppressed. His divine sense was sealed inside his Niwan Palace by a barrier of murderous will. If he tried to touch it, he would see visions of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, as if countless bodies were all his own tragic deaths.

“But…”

The sensation of confusion never came. On the contrary, because all other powers were suppressed, the strength of Wang Yu’s physical body became abnormally active. As long as he willed it, a single arm could unleash the force of millions of jin, enough to completely shatter these shackles.

He quietly let out a breath of relief.

“My judgment was correct. This really is the ticket into the Suppressing Evil Prison. It is only direct contact that causes harmful effects.”

This prison, established in the imperial capital, could not possibly be limited to what he now saw. Wang Yu sensed that he was standing only in the entrance hall after just passing through the main gate.

The True Prison was likely still deeper below.

After surveying the area, Wang Yu judged the direction and walked toward a place where the collapse was most severe. Where the underground was hollow, the terrain would sink noticeably, which was easy to identify. And Wang Yu had always possessed excellent adventurous spirit, his curiosity toward the sole immortal dynasty of ancient times even stronger.

He kicked aside obstructing boulders. If they were too large, he blasted them apart with a single kick. The noise he made was considerable, yet this whole section seemed like an absolute safe zone.

He saw no trace of monsters, no corpses, nothing but rocks and dust.

After spending most of the day clearing a path, Wang Yu finally descended into the deeper levels of the Suppressing Evil Prison.

As cold flames transformed into thin serpents of ice, their pale light illuminated the area.

His Taiyin Nether Eyes allowed vision in darkness, but not very far, since the ability was only an auxiliary effect. To see the night as clearly as day, he would still need to cultivate further.

He discovered himself standing upon a circular platform with three steps, very low, only about a foot off the ground. Around him were four pitch black passageways. Each black stone was carved with restrictive patterns, but they were all dim and many crucial nodes had been erased.

“This was done by human hands. By Jin Miaoshan and Ding Ming?”

“Most likely.”

Answering his own question, Wang Yu followed the traces. This both ensured greater safety and offered the chance to pick up overlooked treasures.

He walked into the eastern passage. After only a few dozen steps, he found prison cells lined up on both sides. Inside were humanoid stains, most likely the remains of corpses that had rotted and fully merged with the ground during decay.

In the end, Wang Yu safely arrived at a vast hall.

Here stood a faceless statue of a sword cultivator, twenty-one meters tall, holding a sword. There was no need to guess its identity.

“The sword cultivator of the Immortal Dynasty, founder of the first generation Suppressing Evil Prison.”