Chapter 459

Although the two had reached a cooperation, their fundamental relationship had not changed. They were both competitors and mutual enemies.

It was one thing to jointly deal with the Crimson Heaven Demon Venerable, but if they fought over a Spirit Transformation opportunity, neither would hold back.

If they seized even the slightest chance, they would fight to the death.

In this regard, Scorching Sun Old Demon was clearly at a disadvantage, and whether he could even break through remained unknown.

For demonic cultivators, the lack of a “reliable” Spirit Transformation inheritance was the real problem. Otherwise, the demonic path would not have remained the overlord for over ten thousand years without producing a single Spirit Transformation cultivator.

Taihu had inherited legacies from the ancient sages and had even created its own sword dao Spirit Transformation technique in the current era. The demonic path’s source came from the ancient Demons.

Once someone broke through to Spirit Transformation, they were destined to be corrupted by demonic influence.

Unless their mind realm was high enough to resist that invisible demonic intent erosion, or they used the Heaven-Refining Demonic Sect’s secret method to refine and even absorb that demonic intent for their own use.

Exactly what method the Yellow Springs Monastery Lord and Scorching Sun Old Demon planned to employ.

Wang Yu had no way of knowing for now.

However, the method to enter the Longevity Medicine Vault was not something he had deliberately sabotaged. It truly could not be entered directly.

This place was far larger than the Immortal Officials’ Medicine Vault, and without a full overview, the only option was to proceed with extreme caution.

After a moment of hesitation.

Scorching Sun Old Demon, who knew he was at a disadvantage, spoke first.

“Then let me go first. This old man has great confidence in little friend Wang’s abilities. You definitely will not disappoint us.”

The Yellow Springs Monastery Lord naturally had no objections. With a smile full of meaning, he said:

“Please!”

Old fox.

Wang Yu immediately flew to the bottom of the massive hole and pressed the hand wearing the Coiling Dragon Ring against it. He turned to Scorching Sun Old Demon and said:

“Senior, do not activate any mana or divine sense. Simply try walking straight through.”

“Ignore the restrictions?”

“Ignore them.”

“Very well…”

Scorching Sun Old Demon hesitated for a moment, flew past Wang Yu, gave him a deep look, gritted his teeth, and charged straight inside.

Instantly, the restriction light screen rippled like water.

In the blink of an eye, Scorching Sun Old Demon vanished. Before Wang Yu could speak, the Yellow Springs Monastery Lord quickly arrived beside him, his expression hiding excitement and anticipation as he said eagerly: “Quickly send this Monastery Lord inside.”

“Understood. Monastery Lord, you may attempt to enter directly.”

The Yellow Springs Monastery Lord’s advancing figure paused. He suddenly grabbed Wang Yu’s wrist and slammed both of them toward the restriction light screen.

Clearly, even with the opportunity right in front of him, he had not forgotten Wang Yu’s importance. He would not do something stupid like rushing in alone and leaving Wang Yu outside.

He still needed this ability to get out, and assassinating the Crimson Heaven Demon Venerable would also require Wang Yu to activate that Yin-Yang Killing Formation.

The view changed.

A similar layout appeared before his eyes, but the Longevity Medicine Vault was more than a hundred times larger than the Immortal Officials’ Medicine Vault. In the primordial era, the Ice Prison Realm had only recently transformed from an eternal frozen land into a normal world.

It was precisely the special period when all kinds of heavenly materials and earthly treasures erupted.

It could be said that treasures littered the ground, even a random blade of grass was a spiritual object.

The ancient Immortal Dynasty that ruled that era had gathered resources from an entire realm. Just imagining how rich the ancient Human Emperor’s private medicine vault was made it impossible to estimate.

Inside the Longevity Medicine Vault, there were no large-scale medicine cabinets. Instead, it used a compartmentalized layout similar to the ninth floor of the Immortal Officials’ Medicine Vault.

On separate restrictions and offering-table-like platforms.

There was a jade-colored treasure box, inside which were placed supreme pills or spiritual herbs. Almost all had reached fifth-rank, and because the preservation methods were exceptionally good.

Combined with it being the Human Emperor’s private vault, both the quantity and efficacy fully met Scorching Sun Old Demon and the Yellow Springs Monastery Lord’s psychological expectations.

At their realm, even if they were not alchemists, they had still studied secret methods to appraise pills. They hurriedly chose a compartment each.

They immediately began working on the restrictions. In this aspect, the Yellow Springs Monastery Lord held a huge advantage. Although the Yellow Springs Turbid Current specialized in countering magic treasures, when dealing with inert objects.

Its extremely strong corrosive ability could still display considerable effect. Scorching Sun Old Demon’s methods were very powerful, but when facing small and delicate targets, he felt somewhat helpless.

Surprisingly, even in this situation.

Neither of them asked Wang Yu to help break the restrictions.

Standing behind them, Wang Yu quickly understood. Throughout history, benefits had always been the fundamental driving force behind cooperation, betrayal, marriage alliances, and all other interactions between factions.

Now that they had entered the Longevity Medicine Vault with treasures everywhere, before anyone picked them up, they were still friendly cooperators.

But the moment one picked up more than the other.

A great battle would be inevitable. Even if they knew it might trigger terrible consequences, they still could not restrain themselves.

That was why they simply did not ask Wang Yu, this “cheat,” for help.

They would pick for themselves!

Wang Yu had the exact same personality. Otherwise, he would not have decisively given up the opportunities inside the palace earlier, precisely because he was afraid that once he saw them, his greedy heart would run wild and he would be unable to control his own hands.

Just like now.

So many fifth-rank supreme pills were within reach. If he did not take any, then what was the point of cultivating? He might as well have practiced demonic arts straight into a dog’s stomach!

Wang Yu was an honest person, but he occasionally liked to tell small lies.

Although the Longevity Medicine Vault was the Human Emperor’s private vault.

There were still people who could enter — the Empress, the Crown Prince, important court ministers, grandmaster alchemists… and so on.

In places where too many people could enter, it was not suitable to store privacy-sensitive items. According to the Coiling Dragon Ring’s feedback, there should still be a secret vault inside the Longevity Medicine Vault.

That was where the Human Emperor’s true little secrets were hidden.

Wang Yu pondered for a moment and said:

“Two seniors, since this junior has entered, may I also take three supreme pills?”

There were extremely many fifth-rank supreme pills here. Wang Yu was the one who had enabled them to enter, so they naturally would not be stingy.

The Yellow Springs Monastery Lord was the first to respond.

“Little friend may take them as you wish. If you see any supreme pills that can help with breaking through to Spirit Transformation, please leave them for this Monastery Lord.”

“Naturally.”

Scorching Sun Old Demon also nodded in agreement. He did not speak a word, simply continuing to attack the restriction as if he were completely immersed in it.

Seeing this, Wang Yu began wandering around the medicine vault by himself.

The two old demons split off portions of their divine sense to keep a close eye on him. Although they said nothing, the necessary tacit understanding still existed. They continued to remain vigilant and watchful toward Wang Yu.

Wang Yu paid it no mind.

With the Coiling Dragon Ring in hand, his judgment of the precious pills inside the restrictions became far more accurate. The total number of known fifth-rank treasure pills in the entire Longevity Medicine Vault exceeded one hundred.

There were also more than a hundred stalks of fifth-rank spiritual herbs. However, those that truly reached upper fifth-rank were extremely few, making up only about 5%. This was definitely not the entirety of a Human Emperor’s private vault.

While walking, Wang Yu suddenly stopped in front of a restriction light screen.

He reached out and directly pulled out the treasure box containing the pill. This scene caused both old demons’ eyes to widen. Although they already knew about Wang Yu’s extremely high authority, seeing him do it so effortlessly still left a bad taste in their hearts.

It was simply too uncomfortable.

The Yellow Springs Monastery Lord stared fixedly at the treasure pill. He discovered that it was blood-colored and glassy in appearance, with a small blood-colored flood dragon curled up inside. Rich and abundant qi and blood power rose from it.

This was a treasure pill focused on strengthening the body.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it was not a pill that helped with breaking through to the Spirit Transformation realm, nothing else mattered. Wang Yu could take whatever he wanted.

Wang Yu also raised the pill and shook it toward the two of them.

He reminded them:

“First one.”

His face remained calm, but his heart was surging with excitement. He had seen this treasure pill in ancient texts, not from the Scripture Pavilion, but from demonic beast clan records.

This pill had reached upper fifth-rank.

Its name was [Blood Abyss Glazed Treasure Pill]!

It was a breakthrough spirit pill used to assist in breaking through to fifth-rank Body Refinement. It was equivalent to a Spirit Transformation-rank breakthrough treasure, but it only took effect on the Body Refinement path. Both demon beasts and humans could use it.

It possessed the divine effect of flesh and blood rebirth, breaking through after destruction.

Even if the breakthrough failed, this pill could still preserve one’s life and grant a second chance to attempt the breakthrough.

However, the pill’s effect was relatively difficult to trigger.

It was not the type that worked simply by swallowing and refining. Instead, it hid a secret power within the body. Only when one was severely injured and on the verge of death would this secret power activate, allowing one to break and then rebuild.

To achieve this, one needed to possess peak fourth-rank Body Refinement cultivation. Otherwise, it would merely heal injuries and provide a moderate increase in physical cultivation.

After obtaining the treasure pill, Wang Yu swallowed it directly without the slightest hesitation.

After all, he was currently in a dangerous situation. Even if he could not trigger its maximum effect, using it to save his life was still worth it.

Next.

For the second treasure pill, he chose the [Demonic Blood Origin-Reversing Treasure Pill], a mid fifth-rank pill. It could assist demon beasts with bloodlines below heavenly-grade to raise their bloodline rank by one level.

Its most powerful effect was allowing demon beasts with upper earth-grade bloodlines to possess lower heavenly-grade bloodlines. Who it was prepared for needed no further explanation.

He chose this because the two old demons were watching him too closely. If he took something too precious, they would definitely feel unwilling in their hearts.

He could only pick some side items that could still be useful to him.

Although the little fox was not by his side, she would still receive her share of fortune.

Following the right person really was very important.

The third treasure pill Wang Yu chose affected divine sense. It was a mid fifth-rank pill called the [Pagoda Illusion Spirit Origin Pill]!

Its effect was simple and crude. As long as he swallowed and refined it, the powerful medicinal strength would be enough to give Wang Yu divine sense power approaching the peak of Nascent Soul, equivalent to someone who had just entered the ninth layer of Nascent Soul.

After he finished selecting the three treasure pills, the two old demons had also successfully broken through the first restriction and obtained their first harvest. They immediately moved on to choose their second target in high spirits.

The Yellow Springs Monastery Lord was significantly faster than Scorching Sun Old Demon. By the time the latter was selecting his second target, the former had already unlocked half of his second target.

The gap was clearly visible and would only grow larger as time passed. Eventually, one of them would definitely lose patience.

Besides asking Wang Yu for help, the other option was to strike first and gain the advantage.

Which choice would he make?

Wang Yu leaned against a vermilion coiling dragon pillar and quietly watched the two of them race against each other. Surprisingly, he did not move again. Was he really going to honestly take only three pills and no longer covet any others?

Anyone familiar with Wang Yu knew that was impossible.

Seeking wealth in the midst of danger was often the prelude to him suffering losses, but no matter how many times he had eaten defeat, he had never given up on this principle.

When it was time to act, he would still act.

His most prominent trait was stubbornness.

Moreover, after refining the Rainbow Feather Strange Stone, the Aurora Escape Technique had reached upper fourth-rank. The illusory phantom bodies were now even more realistic. With Wang Yu’s perfected realm, temporarily fooling the two old demons was not impossible.

However, timing was extremely important. He needed the exact moment when their minds were shaken and their attention toward him momentarily slipped.

The coiling dragon pillar he was leaning against had not been chosen randomly.

Through observation and secret probing, Wang Yu was very certain that this was the entrance to the Human Emperor’s secret vault. Now he was simply waiting for the right moment.

…

…

Eastern Extreme Capital, in front of the imperial palace gates.

The Crimson Heaven Demon Venerable’s ancient war chariot was parked here. Three fourth-rank black flood dragons had transformed into human form and stood together with two child attendants, silently waiting.

On the soft couch behind the curtains, ever since devouring Master Youming’s Nascent Soul, the Crimson Heaven Demon Venerable had been focused on refining that fifth-rank medicinal power.

The difficulty of refinement was greater than he had imagined.

But after just a few days, it was nearly complete. After all, it had already been preliminarily swallowed and refined by Master Youming, so the medicinal power had yet to fully take effect.

It would not take much more time.

However, the reason he had not taken action yet was out of caution. He was currently “chewing slowly” through the memory information hidden within the Nascent Soul.

A cultivator’s Nascent Soul contained a portion of the soul, so it could also be forcibly searched for memories using soul-searching secret techniques.

Upon seeing this, he found it strange.

He watched Master Youming’s entire experience inside the Celestial Star Tower and finally confirmed that a Spirit Transformation opportunity truly existed. The problem was that when the other party sat down to refine, he had specifically asked the tower spirit.

Using the reason of breaking through realms, he had applied for the breakthrough protection mechanism that paused challenges. In theory, the tower spirit would ensure no one could disturb him until he either succeeded or failed in breaking through.

But comparing it to what had actually happened.

Wang Yu had used a single token to reverse the Celestial Star Tower spirit’s rules. This was fundamentally impossible.

The Crimson Heaven Demon Venerable narrowed his eyes and suddenly stood up.

A mere ant had dared to deceive him. He already deserved death!

However, the imperial palace opportunity was right before his eyes. There was no need to make a big fuss over an ant. Once he obtained the harvest here, he would naturally send people to settle the score. There were countless Nascent Soul experts willing to work for him.

“Hmph!”

He walked straight into the imperial palace.

The three black flood dragons and two child attendants exchanged glances, not knowing what had happened to suddenly sour the Demon Venerable’s mood. However, they did not dare ask.

They could only follow closely behind him.

Relying on his powerful strength, the Crimson Heaven Demon Venerable’s first target was one of the most eye-catching buildings in the imperial palace, the Golden Luan Hall!

This was the location where the ancient Immortal Dynasty held court assemblies.

When exploring ruins, such places were indeed large and held sufficiently high status. The problem was that locations like this generally did not contain heavy treasures.

Even the imperial seal would not be placed in such a spot.

This was the cognitive bias formed from a lack of understanding of the Immortal Dynasty’s system. The Crimson Heaven Demon Venerable’s arrogance would sooner or later make him taste bitter fruit.

At the same time.

The Yellow Springs Monastery Lord, who had just broken through the fourth restriction, and Scorching Sun Old Demon, who had just broken through the third, both revealed delighted smiles on their faces.

Their hearts surged with excitement as they looked forward to the wonderful future ahead.

The former had obtained a treasure pill that assisted in breaking through to Spirit Transformation. Although its effect was not as domineering as a true breakthrough spiritual item, it could still increase the success rate by twenty percent.

The latter had obtained a stalk of spiritual herb.

The specific effect was unknown, but it was definitely excellent. Otherwise, Scorching Sun Old Demon would not be so overjoyed.

Seeing this, Wang Yu seized the opportunity. The body leaning against the pillar suddenly withdrew, smoothly merging into the coiling dragon pillar.

Both old demons looked over at the same time.

The illusory Wang Yu stared at their harvests with burning eyes. The slight unease in their hearts instantly calmed.

They continued working!