Chapter 35

Plans, after all, always change due to all kinds of unexpected situations and sudden inspirations. Wang Yu decided to switch out a few more spell arts and arm himself more comprehensively.

An ice sword for offense, an ice shield for defense.

What he still lacked was a movement-type or utility-type technique. The harder it was to master, the better. After all, with the Idle Slot, there was virtually no spell art, divine ability, or cultivation method he couldn't eventually master.

Even if the prerequisites weren’t met, the idle slot would resolve that on its own.

That’s best proven by the [Corpse Demon Secret Technique].

That day, after finishing his routine cultivation and refining a batch of pills, Wang Yu prepared to head to the Ice and Snow Pavilion.

Even though it was nighttime, he didn’t find it unusual. Things weren’t as they used to be. After reaching mastery in his techniques, both his combat power and cultivation speed had increased significantly.

He believed that, among mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, he was already among the elite.

Naturally, he relaxed a bit.

Leaving the Evil God Market, he headed toward the Cold Blood Market, taking a narrow shortcut. The alley was pitch black, with no sign of anyone.

Wang Yu quickly entered, and the moment he did, trouble struck.

Countless thin threads had been strung across the alley up ahead.

It was like a trap set to catch someone unsuspecting. Looking back, he saw two shadowy figures had blocked off the path behind him as well.

Wang Yu narrowed his eyes, silently cursing himself for being careless.

Smooth sailing always invites ambush. It was time to stay alert again, or he might fall even harder next time.

"Who are you people?"

As he asked, two more figures appeared behind the thread trap, making four in total: two at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and two at the sixth.

A bit troublesome, but still manageable.

"Don't move. Put your hands up, or don’t blame us for being ruthless."

There was no killing intent.

So... just a robbery?

Wang Yu raised one hand over his head. But the four of them all froze for a moment, then barked harshly: "I said put your hands up! What’s that other hand doing?!"

Wang Yu’s eyes darkened. What kind of sick joke was this?

"Fellow cultivator, look closely. I only have one hand."

"Oh... didn’t notice that."

That playful tone confirmed they knew who he was. They were clearly mocking him.

Couldn’t tolerate that at all.

His perfected Ice Sword Art had already transcended the need for incantations. With a single thought, he could unleash it, with no delay. If there was any preparation time at all, it was just the moment needed for spiritual energy to circulate through his meridians.

"Go."

In an instant, ten ice swords shot out simultaneously, aimed directly forward. The countless threads were instantly shredded under the barrage of swords.

Of the two blocking the front, the fourth-layer Qi Refining cultivator was hit in both shoulders and pinned to the ground. The sixth-layer one reacted in time, dodging with nimble movement techniques.

He was about to smirk and throw out a mocking comment when—

Puchi.

Puchi.

Puchi.

Three more swords came around like a returning strike, piercing his head and both sides of his chest. He didn’t even get a word out before falling dead under the Ice Sword Art.

Perfected spell arts are filled with endless marvels, capable of catching opponents off guard.

With the initiative in hand, unless they had perfected techniques of the same level, the enemy could only dodge, not retaliate.

With the path ahead now clear, the remaining two behind turned pale in shock and quickly began to cast spells.

"Evil Spirit Art, go!"

A ghost-controlling technique? Wang Yu’s eyes lit up as he saw a shrieking, black smoke-like ghost head rushing toward him. He raised a hand.

A rhombus-shaped ice shield blocked the attack. With a swift step and lizard-like agility, he scaled the wall and leapt onto the rooftop.

"Not good, he's trying to escape, chase him!"

Just as the words left their mouth, they saw another flurry of dense ice swords rushing toward them. The fourth-layer cultivator, who hadn’t made a single move so far, was instantly turned into a human sieve. Utterly tragic.

Three down out of four, Wang Yu soared down like a great roc spreading its wings.

The man clenched his teeth and spat out a mouthful of essence blood. From within his body, another ghostly skull shot out, crashing forward with eerie blood-red threads trailing behind it.

Wang Yu drew his right hand back in front of him and once again used the Guardian Seal to cast Ice Shield Technique. This time, it was slightly different: the originally massive, diamond-shaped ice shield split into ten pieces like flying knives, completely surrounding the blood-threaded ghost skull.

Seizing the opportunity, he dashed forward and launched an upward kick.

As if born with divine strength, he shattered half the man’s teeth in one blow. The Cold Blood Technique had a mild body-forging effect. While it was far inferior to cultivators specialized in body refinement, it was still much stronger than this blood-nourishing, qi-deficient man with wasted vitality.

With a thought, Wang Yu acted during the gap as the first ghost skull returned to defend.

The Ice Sword directly beheaded the man.

Once the host died, the two life-bound ghost creatures also perished. Frowning, Wang Yu surveyed the mess on the ground.

“Disciples of Five Yin Peak…”

He couldn’t recall ever offending them. Most likely, they had been hired as thugs.

Zhao Shang? Impossible. Their cooperation was still in its honeymoon phase.

Looking over at the one pinned to the ground by the Ice Sword, Wang Yu’s lips curved into a slight smile.

A stick of incense later.

The narrow alley returned to its usual appearance, with no traces left behind.

After a somewhat clumsy interrogation, Wang Yu got the information he wanted. These disciples had been hired to do dirty work. Expecting them to keep their mouths shut was hopeless.

Thus, with a bit of intimidation, he didn’t even have to lift a finger—they spilled everything. As for the reason, the man didn’t know, only giving Wang Yu a single name.

“Xu Jiaojiao.”

They had been stalking him for more than half a month, and only today managed to ambush him.

If he remembered correctly, Xu Jiaojiao was the daughter of Deacon Xu, and also the young mistress of the Xu Family’s Pill shop. There was only one possible grudge between them.

But still, it shouldn’t have escalated to this level.

“Could it be that something major happened to Deacon Xu?”

Wang Yu pondered as he continued heading toward Ice and Snow Pavilion.

...

...

Bang~

Zhao Shang twitched at the corners of his mouth as he looked at the four fresh corpses on the table. After a moment of silence, he gave his price.

“Corpses from Five Yin Peak are worth less. Only one hundred spirit stones.”

Only one hundred for four? Pathetic.

Wang Yu tossed over four more pre-screened storage pouches. The spirit stones and spirit sand had already been taken out. The rest of the items weren’t worth much, so he sold them all to Zhao Shang at a low price. The total income: five hundred spirit stones.

Not bad.

“You came this late just for this?”

Wang Yu shook his head.

“True Disciple Su left quite a few spell inheritances at Ice and Snow Pavilion, right? Take them out and let me pick.”

Zhao Shang sighed helplessly and took out a jade slip.

“If you weren’t someone from Ice and Snow Pavilion, you wouldn’t be allowed to see these.”

“I obviously am.” Using his divine sense to scan it, Wang Yu quickly selected two targets. “These two.”

Zhao Shang glanced at the selection and also reached out his hand.

“One thousand three hundred.”

Wang Yu widened his eyes.

“That expensive?”

“You think high-grade spells are cheap? You’re lucky to be able to buy them with spirit stones at all.”

Wang Yu fell silent. “Give me the biggest discount.”

“One thousand.”

“Eight hundred.”

“What, you think this is a marketplace where you can haggle?”

Seeing Wang Yu’s expression and knowing he couldn’t squeeze more out of him, Zhao Shang silently turned to fetch the jade slips containing the techniques.

“Goodbye, friend.”

Wang Yu said casually.