Profound Bone Mountain.
Wang Yu returned to his temporary residence on the third Profound Bone Mountain. Since the late-stage Qi Refining cultivators had all ventured out, only small fry remained on the three mountains.
From his perspective, both Si Tu Hong and Liu Jinxian had left a significant number of people behind. A few were digesting the benefits brought by the Profound Essence Flowers.
Most were busy repairing dwellings or patrolling the Bonewood forests.
No one noticed his sudden return.
Gu Zhengshun's base, meanwhile, remained shrouded in black mist, its interior unclear.
After setting up the [Blood Mist Spirit Concealment Formation], he immediately began circulating his technique to recover from his injuries. Particularly, the large amount of Yin spiritual power obtained from cultivating the Corpse Demon Secret Art was channeled into his left arm, promoting gradual healing at the break.
The speed was just a bit slow.
The subsequent killings of six people had also netted him an income of around three thousand spirit stones, along with a large quantity of low-grade first-rank pills and spiritual materials.
Few were useful to him, primarily in the area of magical instruments.
He selected two from the pile to refine. One was Senior Brother Yuan's [Golden Blade Whip], which could replace the function of the Nether Spirit Iron Chains for now.
The other was 'generously provided' by one of the three who had guarded the retreat path—also a high-grade instrument called the [Black Scale Shield]. Its defensive effect was even better than the bronze bell's, though its protective angle was somewhat limited.
It couldn't provide all-around protection, but that was a minor issue.
The most important financial gain was still the Profound Essence Flowers. The number of first-grade flowers exceeded a thousand, even approaching two thousand.
The number of second-grade flowers was close to two hundred.
With such a vast quantity, even with his Waste Spiritual Root aptitude, he could use resources to achieve a state of "semi-liquefied spiritual power."
Additionally, his personal assets surpassed ten thousand spirit stones for the first time. If he could process the corpses and miscellaneous items, he might gain another three thousand.
He had been outside for such a short time, yet amassed such wealth.
Of course, this was also related to the fact that he had killed late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. Those who reached this realm, to varying degrees, harbored aspirations for Foundation Establishment and would unconsciously save and accumulate resources.
Killing mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators wouldn't yield such returns.
For those cultivators, their most valuable possessions were their bodies!
After three days of rest and recovery,
there was still no movement from underground, and no one had returned. Wang Yu activated the Night Concealment Charm and left Profound Bone Mountain. He found a natural cave to hide in at the edge of the spiritual vein.
This was a precaution against Liu Jinxian and the others suddenly emerging from underground while he was engrossed in cultivation and failed to notice immediately.
If surrounded by hundreds of people, and given his lack of speed, his life would be in danger. Therefore, staying away from the mountain and keeping watch from the edge while cultivating in seclusion was the best course.
Only after breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Refining, and then leveraging the Profound Essence Flowers to break through to the late Qi Refining stage, would it be the right time for him to venture into the underground palace again.
The placement slots cultivated automatically, with no environmental requirements.
Wang Yu's own cultivation speed was dreadfully slow, almost meaningless.
Therefore, apart from the daily need to circulate his technique when refining the top-grade Coldblooded Pills, his dependence on the spiritual vein was quite low.
The rest of his time was spent using the 「Yin Marrow Liquid」 to cultivate the [Mysterious Yin Hand], a second-grade high-grade spell. Cultivating it was extremely difficult.
Fortunately, he had the treasure to assist him, and the physical transformation from the [Corpse Demon Secret Art] had somewhat increased his talent for Yin-cold attributes.
Cultivating this technique was divided into three stages.
The first stage: Only allowed the condensation of a fist about a *zhang* long based on his own arm, unable to exist separately from his body.
The second stage: Could condense two gray-black giant fists, which could also detach from the body and be controlled freely within a hundred meters.
Su Qingshan had been at this second stage, what was called "Minor Achievement"!
The third stage: The Mysterious Yin Hand truly reached Major Achievement. It wasn't just fists; it could condense forearms as well. The size could be as small as a *zhang* or as large as three *zhang*. It could be condensed and used anywhere within spiritual sense range, with great flexibility.
Conventionally, reaching the "Major Achievement" stage meant the cultivation of a technique was considered complete.
Achieving Perfection, rivaling the creator's realm, was difficult without exceptional comprehension!
Wang Yu knew the benefits and convenience of Perfected spells.
That feeling of seamless smoothness, even allowing for secondary development and lateral derivation of various practical applications, was truly wonderful.
He placed great importance on this technique, but unfortunately, he had no available placement slots.
Then came the second major acquisition.
The spiritual sense jade slip seized from the Foundation Establishment Corpse Demon contained the legacy of a rather profound pupil technique secret art.
—[Lunar Nether Pupils]!
Like the [Corpse Demon Secret Art], it was also a body-transformation type secret art, but more focused, only affecting the eyes.
Moreover, it was a legacy jade slip containing four layers.
With his current cultivation realm, Wang Yu could only unlock the content of the first layer.
Without hesitation, after examining it, he directly tossed it into a placement slot to check.
**[Placement Slot 3: Lunar Nether Pupils]**
`Lunar Nether Pupils (0/100): Twenty-four cycles per day. Estimated completion in one year.`
One year wasn't short.
Among all the first-grade techniques Wang Yu had practiced, this required the longest time. Cultivating this pupil technique essentially involved transforming the eyes.
It required the assistance of a special treasure called [Vast Cold Dew], one drop per month. Furthermore, it necessitated drawing upon genuine 〈Lunar Essence〉 to nurture the pupils.
The Lunar Essence scattered by the Lunar Star upon the mortal world was also a high-grade essence of heaven and earth. Simply absorbing it through meditation wouldn't work unless one had a corresponding technique or used a special formation for assistance.
Therefore, Wang Yu could only rely on the placement slot to cultivate it.
On the other hand, even the Corpse Demon Secret Art could only attract Yin spiritual power, suggesting this secret art might be superior to it! And this was only the first layer. With four layers, it likely corresponded to the four major realms of cultivation.
It was guaranteed to be at least a Nascent Soul level secret art. Obtaining it for the price of a Strength Corpse arm was an absolute steal!
Currently, the Corpse Demon Secret Art, starting from Perfection, had been repairing in the placement slot for one year and one month. It still needed nineteen years to complete a portion.
After a moment's hesitation, Wang Yu felt he wouldn't need his 'second brother' for the time being. He decided to place the [Lunar Nether Pupils] in the third slot for now.
This pupil technique was compatible with him. Its effects were described quite mystically; only by experiencing it personally could he truly understand.
Thus, Wang Yu entered a state of secluded cultivation.
Refining the power of the pills, cultivating the Mysterious Yin Hand, and contemplating his own daily changes.
Six months later, marking the end of the first year at Profound Bone Mountain.
It was the 11th month of his third year as an outer disciple. The remaining half of the top-grade Coldblooded Pill was fully refined, increasing his spiritual power by fifty strands. The placement slot effect contributed sixty strands.
His own cultivation added three strands. This minor gain seemed to stem from the short period of high-frequency combat, which slightly accelerated his cultivation speed—better than nothing.
His accumulated spiritual power now reached 536 strands.
After taking a new top-grade Coldblooded Pill, he estimated another two and a half years of hard work to reach the breakthrough threshold.
The task was arduous and the road long.
He could take a third top-grade Coldblooded Pill during this period. A second estimate suggested about two years. This speed wasn't slow.
But considering the situation at Profound Bone Mountain, his strength was indeed becoming somewhat insufficient.
**(End of Chapter)**