“How so?”
Jin Miaoshan shrugged.
“This divine ability is best used as support. The stronger the target, the stronger the backlash. By the same logic, it can also affect the user. Think about it.
“If that old monkey were to say, ‘I am a Spirit Transformation venerable,’ what do you think would happen?”
Wang Yu’s pupils contracted.
“He would die from the backlash?”
“Exactly. One reason is that the old monkey’s physical body is too weak to withstand it. Another is that his realm in Words Bee Law is insufficient to truly realize it. Just watch how he uses it and you’ll understand.”
His gaze returned to the battlefield.
After the Demonic Light Relic was taken away, Nine Evil was pushed almost to the brink of despair. But as a late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivator, he still had more than one trump card in hand.
The familiar demonic patterns Wang Yu knew so well spread across Nine Evil’s body, bringing about flesh mutation and the decadent whispers of countless heavenly demon thoughts.
Rustle, rustle.
Like arthropods crawling in darkness, or eerie whispers from the abyss, strange sounds enveloped an area of three hundred li.
Demonic Embryo Body!
He was absolutely certain that what Nine Evil had activated was the Demonic Embryo Body’s ability: Myriad Transformations of Heavenly Demons!
Nine Evil had cultivated for longer than him, so it was natural that he had mastered this ability. The distance between them was still great, yet Wang Yu felt a long-lost sense of hunger being stirred.
Mutual devouring was the fate of those who cultivated the Demonic Embryo Mysterious Origin Curse. Sword Lord Nine Evil’s Demonic Embryo Body was not as plete as his. It had yet to undergo the process of returning from acquired to innate.
It was likely that the heavenly demon thoughts he had absorbed were neither pure enough nor numerous enough. When it came to cultivating high-difficulty secret arts, no one could pare to Wang Yu.
This was talent.
Moreover, the Demonic Embryo secret art had been forcibly deduced in the Idle Slot and pushed up by one entire rank. In this regard, Wang Yu held a clear advantage.
But that did not mean the opponent was weak. In terms of development, Nine Evil was obviously more advanced.
At this moment, as the Myriad Transformations of Heavenly Demons manifested, the flesh mutation was clearly heading toward demonic beast evolution. It not only pensated for the flaws in his physical body, but also allowed his injuries to rapidly recover.
At this early stage of transformation, it was still impossible to tell what kind of demonic beast bloodline it was.
True Word King coughed lightly, his eyes calm like an ancient well.
“You’re not wearing clothes.”
In an instant, Nine Evil’s garments shattered into pieces. He became a pletely naked demonic humanoid. Instinctively, he covered his crotch, then casually let go.
True Lord Jin Xiyuan widened her eyes, her aura being sharp and aggressive.
The Shadow Hound King, however, burst into loud laughter.
“Old monkey, you shameless bastard.”
Though it sounded like an insult, it was mostly teasing.
At the same time, his figure had already leaped behind Nine Evil. He lifted his leg and lashed out with a kick, while the old monkey cooperated at just the right moment.
“This kick is unstoppable.”
Amid a surge of violent air currents, Nine Evil had almost no ability to resist. He was kicked into an inverted V shape, his spine clearly snapped.
However, the demonic beast bloodline brought by Myriad Transformations of Heavenly Demons allowed him to recover rapidly. The Sacred Evil Sword carried him as he lunged forward, his target clearly being True Word King.
True Lady Jin Xiyuan flicked her horsetail whisk. It transformed into countless golden threads that tightly bound Nine Evil. Like swatting a fly, she slammed him left and right into the ground, further devastating the already shattered terrain.
It was clear that Nine Evil was resisting with all his strength.
But the raw power of three late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivators was simply overwhelming. Their rapid yet relentless assault left him unable to harm a single one of them. He was toyed with at will, like a plaything.
Moreover, aside from the Shadow Hound King having used his Dao Intent, none of the others had gone all out yet. Their life-bound divine abilities, life-bound treasures, and other trump cards had not even been deployed.
“Old monkey, finish it quickly so we can head back. Stop playing around.”
The Hound King cut in and said to True Word King.
Then he suddenly revealed his true form.
This time, it was no longer a giant hound projection, but the genuine late-stage fourth-rank Demon King body. The massive hound exceeded three hundred meters in length, its feet stepping on pitch-black flames.
The black flames burning on its shoulders formed cloud-like patterns, resembling shoulder armor while also symbolizing a certain power.
Endless dark flames gathered in its mouth, condensing into a black sphere of light.
This was the Hound King’s life-bound divine ability, Nether Shadow Flame Ray. It condensed power within its mouth and fired a beam of light. This was merely one of its manifestations, and also the method that concentrated its power the most.
After charging for less than half a second, Lady Jin Xiyuan flung Nine Evils into its path. The old monkey spoke once more.
“Thirty zhang ahead. Escape techniques are forbidden.”
“Boom!”
This time, they were serious.
Within the Nether Shadow beam, Nine Evils let out a shrill scream. No matter how astonishing his strength was, he could not break free from the three-man encirclement.
The bloodline power obtained through Heavenly Demon Myriad Transformations ultimately had its limits. His flesh, meridians, and bones melted within the beam. Bloody buds writhed, yet his body could no longer return to its original state.
Three seconds later, the beam dissipated.
Nine Evils’ shattered body fell weakly to the ground. His breathing and heartbeat ceased pletely. A gray Nascent Soul carrying the Sacred Evil Sword escaped from his body.
Although it looked like an infant, its expression was inparably ferocious. It glared viciously at the three of them, as if engraving their faces into memory.
Gritting his teeth, he forcefully activated a teleportation technique.
However…
Ripples spread through space, yet he was not sent three thousand li away. A purple-gold seal hovered in the void, pressing space tightly.
If normal space was like sand, then the current space was like steel. Trying to pry steel apart with the strength used to dig sand would be impossible for an entire lifetime.
“Spatial Suppression Seal!”
As a legacy secret treasure of the Jin Clan of Heavenly Pool, Sword Lord Nine Evils had naturally heard of it. He simply had not expected it to be used on himself one day.
“The demon race… Golden Abundance Tower…”
The helpers Wang Yu had invited were far too powerful. Three against one, and they had even sealed his escape route. Thinking back on the long pursuit, Nine Evils let out an unwilling roar toward the heavens.
“Ahhh!
“Wang Yu, you despicable and shameless villain! If you have guts, e out and face me!”
Wang Yu, who was observing in secret, had no intention of moving.
The price he had paid to invite demon race helpers was not small, and he still owed Jin Miaoshan a favor. If he exposed himself just to vent his anger and ended up being captured, it would be disastrous.
It was better to wait until everything was settled.
Nine Evils’ Nascent Soul raged in helpless fury. Seeing this, Lord Jin Xiyuan brought out a golden cauldron-shaped magic treasure and smashed it down on him.
The Old Monkey spoke again.
“Loss of Reason, One Instant.”
In his hands, the power of Words Bee Law was displayed in an utterly unreasonable manner. The golden cauldron instantly swallowed Nine Evils. At the same time, the Nether Shadow Hound King cooperated by spewing out black flames.
Amid piercing screams, Nine Evils gradually lost all vitality.
His soul scattered, his spirit extinguished.
There was no chance of rebirth.
Throughout the entire battle, he had barely managed any decent resistance. Speaking honestly, even if Wang Yu had been in his place, he would not have had any good solutions either.
He could only have relied on his physique to endure it head-on.
“Truly impressive.”
Jin Miaoshan murmured softly as she stepped out together with Wang Yu from the protection of the Golden Light Concealment Technique. Seeing him approach, the Nether Shadow Hound King cupped its fists and said, “Alchemist Wang, this matter is settled. I hope you will not forget your promise.”
“Of course.”
Wang Yu nodded firmly, then shifted his gaze to the Old Monkey.
With the battle over, True Word King’s aura had fallen by an entire realm. His face was much paler, and his frail body showed numerous cracks like porcelain.
This was the side effect of Words Bee Law.
And this was with him restraining himself as much as possible. If he exaggerated too much and overdid it, he could easily destroy himself.
Even so, this divine ability had countless applications, and its practicality was immeasurable.
After pondering for a moment, Wang Yu could not help asking, “Senior True Word King, may I ask whether your Words Bee Law can be taught to outsiders?”
The Old Monkey looked at him in surprise.
“You want to learn it?”
“Of course.”
“You can’t learn it.”
He waved his hand. Feeling that this explanation was somewhat perfunctory, he added more seriously,
“Words Bee Law es from the inheritance of upper-realm immortals.
“It must be used in conjunction with the Nine-Character True Mantra Art. Without the protection of true-word power cultivated through that method, backlash alone would be enough to shatter your Dao path.
“Moreover, before cultivating this divine ability, one must remain silent for twenty years, observe precepts for twenty years, and finally refine a Mouth of Heavenly Law, also called ‘Holding Heaven’s Edict in the Mouth’. Only then can one reshape order through speech.”
So that was how it was.
Wang Yu had already condensed a demonic-path Nascent Soul. His cultivation foundation was firmly set. Even if he switched techniques, he could only choose within this general framework.
The Nine-Character True Mantra Art was clearly impossible for him to cultivate.
If it were merely about absorbing words power, that would be fine. But this technique was meant to withstand backlash. Even the Idle Slot could not solve that problem.
One had to maintain silence and observe strict precepts for forty years before achieving even initial success.
It truly did not suit him.
Wang Yu could not help feeling some regret, but he did not force the matter.
“Very well. Many thanks to Senior True Word for clearing up my doubts. May I ask whether the corpse of Nine Evil can be given to me?”
According to the unwritten rules of the cultivation world, spoils of war naturally belonged to the one who made the kill. Even for hired cultivators, whoever killed it claimed it.
Hearing this, the Hound King nodded in agreement.
“Fine. Just help me refine pills once.”
The old monkey also nodded repeatedly.
“That’s what I mean as well.”
The two demons then looked toward True Lady Jin Xiyuan. This female cultivator was confused at first, until Jin Miaoshan tugged lightly at her sleeve. Only then did she go along and nod.
Nine Evil’s storage rings were divided among the three of them. Wang Yu did not get a share.
Being able to obtain this Demonic Embryo body was already more than enough for him. There was no need to ask for more.
After the loot was divided, the two demons hurriedly departed and returned to the Northern Severed Boundary Mountains.
As for the agreement on pill refinement, they would naturally e to him when the need arose.
After this incident, Wang Yu’s true identity was pletely exposed. Both sides could now contact each other through the Blood-Eyed Demonic Flood Dragon as an intermediary, which was fairly convenient.
Wang Yu and the other two then flew southward.
With this major hidden danger resolved, it was time to return to the sect.
He first needed to obtain the Nascent Soul inheritance of Cold Blood Peak. Only with that could he use the Idle Slot’s function to deduce cultivation methods for the Spirit Transformation stage.
According to the remnant will of the Beast God, the Spirit Transformation inheritances passed down from ancient demons were not flawed in themselves. The problem was that ancient demons were simply too high-level.
The unconscious demonic contamination they emitted caused cultivators to lose themselves.
This could be resisted through one’s mental realm. As long as one’s Dao Heart was firm enough, resisting demonic corruption was not an issue.
Only…What level of mental cultivation was required remained unclear.
This led to another path.
Creating one’s own Spirit Transformation cultivation method.
With that, everything would be resolved. As long as one’s talent was sufficient, one could cultivate smoothly to that realm.
On the Taihu side, the foremost righteous Sword Sect followed this path. They did not cultivate ancient demon inheritances at all. The reason lay in their origins.
The source of cultivation methods in the Ice Prison Realm originally came from immortals who descended from the Immortal Palace, along with their divine generals. After the realm was transformed and the first Ancient Demon was sealed, the demonic path was born.
The original purpose of transmitting cultivation methods was to cultivate jailers.
As the native race of this realm, the Ice Clan were the first to receive these inheritances.
The rise of the human race came later, after the divine generals’ descendants had multiplied. When the Ancient Immortal Dynasty was established, some of these people stayed behind, while others followed the immortals back to the upper realms.
The Ice Clan then began to be slaughtered and purged.
The frozen lands gradually receded, eventually giving rise to a flourishing ancient era.
Because the upper limit of the Ice Prison Realm was Spirit Transformation, anyone who wished to advance further had to leave this cage.
For ease of control, the upper limit of transmitted cultivation methods was set at the Nascent Soul stage.
The origins of Taihu’s sects lay along this line.
Many astonishing geniuses had emerged among their predecessors. Generation after generation continued deducing higher realms, which was how Spirit Transformation cultivation methods were eventually created.
Even so, there were only three.
The Sword Dao, the Taiyin Dao, and the Void-Form Dao.
They respectively originated from the current era’s Void Heaven Sword Sect, and the ancient Taiyin Sect and Void Illusory Form Sacred Sect.
It was said that Moon Gazing Palace, one of the Seven Righteous Sects, was deeply connected to the Taiyin Sect. The reason Void Heaven Sword Sect possessed multiple Spirit Transformation venerables lay in this connection.
On the Crimson Kite side, constrained by the nature of demonic inheritances, aside from Heaven-Refining Demonic Sect, which avoided demonic contamination, the strongest among the dominant sects were only at half-step Spirit Transformation. None dared to break through.
They all understood the hidden reasons clearly.
In this light, the Blood Reversal Sect’s experiments using Xie Xie’an as material made perfect sense. And it was not even the first time.
Seeking the Dao, pursuing the Dao…
One general’s success is built upon ten thousand corpses.
That was the truth.
Once Wang Yu returned to the sect and obtained the proper inheritance, pleted his cultivation, and then deduced another advancement stage, the Spirit Transformation path would be perfectly resolved.
He would truly deviate from the Ancient Demon framework and carve out a new road within the effective structure of the demonic path.
Of course, he could also return to the Frost Demon Sealing Ground and try to obtain the Frost Demon’s inheritance. He might even forcibly deduce sixth-rank Void Refinement methods after reaching Spirit Transformation.
The Idle Slot had no limits.
At least, none had been discovered yet.
As they traveled south, the three soon reached Night Jewel Prefecture. Here, Jin Miaoshan and the others needed to head east to Cloud Ridge Prefecture to manage the situation of Golden Abundance Tower there.
“Brother Wang, next time we meet, Miaoshan will surely greet you as a Nascent Soul cultivator.”
“Then I wish you good luck. Cloud Ridge’s situation is dangerous. If possible, please help keep an eye on Yellow Springs Monastery, especially the Dizang lineage.”
Before Jin Miaoshan could answer, Lady Jin Xiyuan frowned.
“Participating in Fellow Daoist Wang’s private matters already violated the rules. Why involve Miaoshan in such things again?”
It was clear that this meticulous True Lady Jin Xiyuan was somewhat inflexible.
“In times of great upheaval, no one can remain detached.
“If Jin Miaoshan does not do it, other heirs certainly will.”
Lady Jin Xiyuan fell silent. After pondering for a long while, she said, “Then use that pill-refining opportunity as pensation. Do not let Miaoshan violate the tower’s rules.”
Hearing this, Wang Yu raised his eyebrows.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
“Very well. I hope you won’t regret it.”
Wang Yu gave Lady Jin Xiyuan a deep look, secretly transmitted a message to Jin Miaoshan, and when they parted, the two exchanged a knowing blink.
He continued south toward his sect.
The two headed east toward Cloud Ridge.
Suddenly, True Lady Jin Xiyuan asked, “What did you two talk about through voice transmission just now?”
Jin Miaoshan replied with a grin, “Nothing. We were talking about Jin Lin.”
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