### **Chapter 69: Soul-Devouring Evil Armor Art**
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**[Placement Slot 4: Soul-Devouring Evil Armor Art]**
`Soul-Devouring Evil Armor Art (0/100): Thirty-six cycles per day. Estimated completion in five years.`
As the placement slot took effect, without any conscious thought on his part, relevant insights flooded his mind. His understanding of this art became comprehensive.
"So it is this art."
Wang Yu remembered when he had crossed paths with Xu Jiaojiao; she had used a ghost-devouring technique. After using it, a layer of black armor with considerable defensive power appeared on her body.
She had indeed also cultivated something from the mysterious silk manuscript.
Looking at it now, this should be a secret art that existed even in ancient times. Judged by modern standards, it was at most a Foundation Establishment level secret art.
But after careful consideration, Wang Yu felt something was off.
"This might be... a Strange Art!"
Back in his spirit slave days, he had briefly learned about the various spells and supernatural abilities in the cultivation world. So far, he had only encountered secret arts and standard spells.
Among them were [Treasure Arts], which were techniques recorded on the treasure bones of powerful demonic beasts after their death, hence also called "Bone Arts." These were a major category in the cultivation world.
Legend had it that techniques left on the treasure bones of beings with True Spirit bloodlines were called [True Spirit Treasure Arts], powers that surpassed the Nascent Soul stage, existing only in myths.
As for [Strange Arts], they were considered shortcuts. Their effects were often very powerful and highly specific, not very universal, and came with strong side effects.
The barrier to cultivating them was also relatively high. Lower-level Strange Arts often involved unorthodox and left-path methods, more extreme and shortcut-seeking than even the demonic path, and were despised by the world.
Higher-level Strange Arts included esoteric arts like Qimen Dunjia, Feng Shui formations, divining the secrets of heaven, defying fate to change one's destiny... and so on.
The [Soul-Devouring Evil Armor Art] was a mid-to-high-level Strange Art. It used the souls of all living beings as fuel, devouring Yin spirits to outline a set of [Black Baleful Armor Patterns] on the user's body. It specialized in defense and was particularly effective against spiritual sense attacks.
The more and the more powerful the Yin spirits devoured and refined, the stronger the defense of the Black Baleful Armor. Correspondingly, at regular intervals, the cultivator would need to withstand an impact from the Yin spirits.
Failure to resist could result in the terrifying punishment of having one's soul devoured by the Yin spirits. If one could not hold on, the consequences ranged from soul damage to instant death.
A very standard Demonic Path Strange Art.
Xu Jiaojiao had likely practiced it incorrectly. This art prioritized spiritual sense, with physical defense being secondary. She seemed to have reversed the focus, emphasizing the physical body instead. No wonder her physique had become as massive as a mountain of flesh.
Wang Yu was currently at the three Profound Bone Mountains. The "Earthbound Spirits" here—the ghost farmers—were excellent cultivation materials for this art. However, even without these necessary conditions,
the placement slot could force it to completion.
Just like now, every forty minutes, a wave of feedback arrived. Besides the intangible cultivation experience and insights, a trace of extremely pure Yin spirit energy flowed into his body.
Centered around his navel, black patterns were gradually forming—the [Black Baleful Armor Patterns]. Once they spread over his entire body and submerged beneath the skin, it would signify Major Achievement!
He could achieve completion without devouring external spirits. The backlash of the Soul-Devouring Evil Armor Art originated precisely from these foreign Yin spirits. If he never devoured any, where would the backlash come from?
This situation delighted him. This was a Strange Art that could be placed long-term. Even after reaching Perfection, it could continuously upgrade the defensive power of the Black Baleful Armor.
This patched another one of Wang Yu's shortcomings. In terms of defense, he only had a mid-grade spell, the Ice Shield Technique. It was sufficient before, but now it could not keep up with the intensity of combat.
Having experienced the profundity of this art, Wang Yu did not replace it.
After all, the Mysterious Yin Hand required a very long time and he had already grasped its basics. He could progress slowly with experience even without the Yin Marrow Liquid; there was no rush.
Thus, Wang Yu became even more curious about the Demonic Script stele in the underground palace. For now, cultivation was still the priority.
But pulling Si Tu Hong and the others down for another trip would not be bad either. The content recorded on the stele might be even more valuable than the [Lunar Nether Pupils].
For a while, his heart itched with curiosity, like a cat scratching at it, before he finally managed to calm down after a long time.
Ten days later, Wang Yu took his fourth top-grade Coldblooded Pill.
......
......
It was the 1st month of his sixth year as an outer disciple. Two years remained until the guard duty at Profound Bone Mountain ended.
On this day, driven by rampant curiosity, Wang Yu, unable to resist any longer, went out again to find Si Tu Hong, intending to discuss a second exploration of the underground palace.
However, danger often strikes when one is most relaxed. Just when he thought the outcome of this trip to Profound Bone Mountain was settled, waiting only for the return journey,
an unexpected person attacked abruptly.
"Wang Yu!!!"
The voice thundered, echoing through the three Profound Bone Mountains.
A terrifying aura shot straight into the sky. Wang Yu's body stiffened instantly. Based on the sensed aura, he immediately understood who had come.
Xu Jiaojiao's father, Steward Xu, a first-generation Foundation Establishment cultivator at the third level!
"How could this be—"
Logically, even if Steward Xu had been released by the Enforcement Hall, he should not have come looking for trouble immediately. After all, only Gu Zhengshun and Su Qingshan knew the details.
The former was still hiding within his formation. When they came to Profound Bone Mountain together, they were in the honeymoon phase of cooperation; there was no reason for him to inform.
The latter had been killed by his own hand, leaving no whole corpse behind. There should be no leaks.
Obviously, Wang Yu did not know that after Su Qingshan looted the Xu residence, he had left a letter behind in the house containing information about Wang Yu, to avoid future trouble for himself.
Faced with this sudden development, he was quite passive.
Fortunately, the three Profound Bone Mountains were now deserted. After being occupied by the second-grade early-stage Direbone Lion King, all four of them had retreated to the edges, only harvesting enough Bonewood for a few people and even abandoning the Profound Essence Flowers.
Steward Xu's arrival was sudden. Wang Yu activated the Night Concealment Charm and quietly retreated.
Elsewhere.
The first to react was the Direbone Lion King. As if provoked, it roared at the sky, its body shrouded in murky white spiritual power, and charged out directly.
Steward Xu clearly had not anticipated the situation at Profound Bone Mountain either.
Seeing a Foundation Establishment demonic beast attacking, he cursed and summoned a crimson red pill furnace in his right hand. Infused with his True Essence, it spun rapidly, and the lid on the furnace mouth opened.
A fierce, blazing tongue of fire shot out, its extreme heat distorting the very air.
The Direbone Lion King growled, the bone armor covering its body rapidly proliferating. The vicious spikes on its spine shot forth, piercing through the flames.
As an alchemist, Steward Xu excelled at pill refining; his combat skills were merely passable. Influenced by his rage, he was actually being pressured by a rootless demonic beast of the same level.
It was a disgrace to Foundation Establishment cultivators.
From a distance, Wang Yu glanced back. The two had already exchanged several more moves.
After summoning a second-grade low-grade flying sword, Steward Xu finally gained the upper hand. He would likely subdue the Lion King within a hundred exchanges or so. Such wildly grown demonic beasts were simply too weak.
They were no match for a same-level cultivator from the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect.
From this initial observation, Wang Yu could conclude that this person was not adept at spells, relying on magical instruments for combat. This was not necessarily bad.
**(End of Chapter)**