These three were, after all, merely Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even if they knew some information, it was far from complete.

The reason they dared to occupy Blackbone Mountain was largely because, in Maple Prefecture City, there was a late-stage Core Formation cultivator acting as their backer.

Blackbone Mountain had been seized in exactly this way, and the intelligence also came from that Core Formation cultivator in the prefectural city.

About three years ago, not long after Wang Yu had been teleported to the desolate city and entered seclusion, a great chaotic upheaval erupted at the Blood Reversal Sect’s main mountain. It was said that the sect master failed in an attempt to break through to the Spirit Transformation realm, lost control of his mind, and engaged in a battle with the Three Blood Nether Demons.

The outcome shocked everyone. Three top-tier demonic experts at the eighth level of the Nascent Soul realm were actually no match for the sect master. As for what truly happened, no one knew the details.

However, the result of the defeat spread completely.

After the Yellow Springs Monastery learned of the news, it immediately ignited war in Cloud Ridge Prefecture. Not only did it retake Chasing Moon Prefecture, it also took the opportunity to push deep into Cloud Ridge and seize vast tracts of territory.

The Heaven Refining Demonic Sect in the middle remained quiet for the time being.

But farther south, the Joyous Union Demonic Sect, an ally of the Blood Reversal Sect, also dispatched forces to attack Blood Abyss Prefecture, biting off a huge swath of the southern region in one move.

The encirclement by two great hegemonic powers instantly triggered a frenzy among countless factions. Aside from Maple Prefecture, even Night Jewel Prefecture saw the emergence of rebel forces.

Of course, these people did not act so openly. On the surface, they shouted slogans about pacifying chaos, but in secret they sent their own people to plunder everywhere. Resource sites at all levels of the Blood Reversal Sect were being lost one after another.

The Crimson Kite people were like mad dogs that had been suppressed for far too long, finally seizing the chance to unleash their true nature.

Maple Prefecture City itself was also under tremendous pressure.

Internally, many began supporting their own factions and seizing benefits amid the chaos. The so-called Blackbone Bandits were born precisely from this broader situation.

With only this much information, it was hard for Wang Yu not to feel confused.

How did they even dare to do this?!

From what he knew alone, there were two great cultivators at Heavenly Corpse Peak, two at Cold Blood Peak, one at Evil Sword Peak, three at Blood Nether Peak, and one Blood God Guard.

That alone made nine great cultivators, not to mention how many great cultivators were stationed within the Zhuo, Yu, and Zuoqiu clans.

It was understandable for the Yellow Springs Monastery and the Joyous Union Sect to come and take a bite.

But these small troublemakers were simply courting death.

Unfortunately, all the information obtained through soul-searching was still insufficient for Wang Yu to make an accurate judgment. The trip to Blackbone Mountain would have to be postponed. He needed to go to Maple Prefecture City first.

Only by grasping the overall situation could he make choices that would not go wrong.

And as the Blood Reversal Sect was the Crimson Kite side’s forward stronghold, once true chaos erupted, the Taihu Spiritual Domain would certainly learn of it. After more than four hundred years, they had only just cultivated two new generations. If war were to break out again, heads would literally be smashed apart.

Fortunately, Maple Prefecture was impoverished, so the flames of war would not spread here anytime soon. However, the Yellow Springs Monastery, the demon clans of the Northern Severed Boundary Mountains, and even the Biyun Sect on the opposite side would all dispatch scouting teams.

They would try to break in through Maple Prefecture, this weak point.

There was no doubt about that.

After a brief bout of mental storming, Wang Yu shifted his gaze back to the old man still kneeling on the ground and continued the previous topic.

“Foolish. Using my things to buy your life? You’ve got some nerve.”

Old man: “…Ah?”

He nearly failed to keep up with Wang Yu’s train of thought. Sweat poured down his face as he hurriedly opened his mouth to explain.

But he saw hundreds of ice chains burning with pale white flames suddenly shoot toward him. He tried to escape backward using an escape technique, only to discover that at some unknown moment, a large number of black ice crystals had formed on the ground, freezing his lower body in place.

That brief moment of hesitation caused his mind to completely stall.

Wang Yu formed seals with both hands.

The Ice Chi Pill Flame rapidly condensed into a flaming pill cauldron. In less than a moment, the old man, along with his Core Formation core and soul, was refined into a single spirit pill stamped with a twisted human face.

This was a secret alchemical technique of the human pill path, the Golden Core Formula.

The name was rather ordinary, but the effect was extremely domineering. Within just a few breaths, it could refine a Core Formation cultivator who had lost the ability to resist into a Human Pill. Because this was a quick-refinement version, the pill only possessed the effect of rapidly restoring spiritual power.

Whatever cultivation level the main ingredient had, that much spiritual power could be restored instantly. This gave it decisive value in prolonged battles.

If there were time to refine it slowly, the most valuable use would actually be to turn it into a spirit pill that increased cultivation. That was exactly what Wang Yu lacked.

For now, there was no rush. He would first test the method.

Once he reached Maple Prefecture City, there would be no shortage of materials for alchemy.

After sweeping away all the spoils of battle and harvesting every single Marrow-Cleansing Fruit, Wang Yu left this nameless mountain and fled toward the northeast.

That was the direction of the prefectural city.

Because Maple Prefecture was vast and sparsely populated, the distances between cities were extremely great. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators needed to fly for ten days to half a month to travel from one city to another.

Several days later, as he passed through a region called Chaishan City, Wang Yu swept his divine sense outward and discovered a large concentration of forces gathered near the city lord’s residence. It seemed they were about to go to war with another faction.

The city lord was only an early-stage Core Formation cultivator, but Chaishan City was already one of the larger cities in Maple Prefecture. Riding the clouds and mists, he led over a thousand cultivators flying toward the outskirts of the city.

There was another group on the opposite side.

Their numbers had just exceeded one hundred, yet they had three early-stage Core Formation cultivators among them. They perfunctorily covered their faces with black cloths and could not even be bothered to buy proper masks.

In less than half an incense stick of time, the two sides collided.

The Chaishan City lord pointed his sword at the three of them.

He shouted in rebuke, “Ziluo, Liuxing, Wushu, is this the clumsy method you three are using to hide your identities? Are you deliberately trying to humiliate this City Lord?!!”

The three of them replied calmly.

“You are destined to die. Whether we hide our identities or not makes little difference.”

“Brother Wu is right… City Lord of Chaishan! The Blood Reversal Sect has already lost its momentum. Why continue offering a million spirit stones every five years? Wouldn’t it be far better to use those resources for your own cultivation?”

The City Lord’s face turned ashen. He was different from these grassroots cultivators.

He had a family backing him, and his position as City Lord was obtained through family maneuvering. As one of the beneficiaries of the Blood Reversal Sect’s rule, he naturally had to defend its authority.

“How arrogant!

“Lowly insects daring to sit at the table and eat. Aren’t you afraid of choking to death?”

“Hmph!”

“Attack!”

With no room left for further words, the moment battle was about to erupt, Wang Yu suddenly appeared at the center of the battlefield.

A three-year-old child hovered in midair. This bizarre sight immediately caused both sides to freeze. Wushu could not help but ask,

“May I ask which fellow Daoist you are, and why you block our path?”

This person at least spoke with some sense, but his actions were anything but rational. Wang Yu revealed a sincere smile and pointed his small hand toward the crowd.

White jade-like arms bloomed with dense demonic curse patterns.

Pitch-black icy threads flashed past in an instant.

The City Lord of Chaishan stared with eyes wide open, unable to believe what he was seeing as the powerful enemies Ziluo, Wushu, Liuxing, along with the hundred-plus cultivators behind them, were all frozen into ice statues.

The Ice Chi Pill Flames surged upward, and pill rain immediately fell from the sky. All of them were first-rank and second-rank cultivators, casually refined by Wang Yu into human pills.

The only things left behind were three flaming pill cauldron as tall as a person. They silently drifted behind Wang Yu. He intended to refine them into human pills that increased mana, temporarily dragging them along with strands of mana.

Only then did he look at the City Lord of Chaishan. As the man began trembling uncontrollably, Wang Yu opened his mouth to speak, then swallowed his words back down.

He had originally planned to issue the order: Guard the city lord’s residence using its formations and wait for changes.

But after thinking it through carefully,

Saying that would too easily expose his connection to the Blood Reversal Sect.

After finally obtaining this child’s body, no one would associate Wang Yu with the child demon head, completely severing Nine Evil Sword Lord’s line of thought.

After all, his Innate Demonic Embryo was rather special.

Normally speaking, acquired demonic embryos were what Nine Evil Sword Lord understood. Wang Yu could even detach himself from the Blood Reversal Sect, and in the short term no one would notice.

At least until he grew up again.

It might sound strange, but it was the truth.

Thus, he said nothing at all. Dragging the three flaming pill cauldron behind him, he continued toward Maple Prefecture City.

Previously, he had judged that Maple Prefecture had not yet been affected by the flames of war.

That judgment turned out to be somewhat mistaken.

The Crimson Kite people themselves were the greatest source of instability. In the past, they kept their intentions hidden and rarely targeted Exalted Sect strongholds. Now, everything had turned into complete chaos.

Fighting broke out everywhere.

While traveling, Wang Yu was often drawn by the fragrance emitted by Core Formation cultivators. Without realizing it, he would deviate from his route. A journey that should not have been long ended up taking half a month, and he was still not even halfway there.

In contrast, The number of flaming frost cauldron floating behind him continued to increase. A large number of Core Formation cultivators died at his hands, and the number of cauldron exceeded one hundred.

“It’s just a pity that ninety percent of them are early Core Formation cultivators with exhausted potential. Too weak, and the numbers are still far too few…”

He muttered words that sent chills down the spine.

With a casual wave of his hand, the three earliest ignited flaming frost cauldron dissipated. After half a month of painstaking refinement, three cultivation human pills landed in his palm.

Each was about the size of a longan fruit, similar in appearance to a cultivator’s golden core, except covered in dense blood-red patterns.

He picked one up and chewed it before swallowing.

After closing his eyes to sense it for a moment, he spoke, “Thirty strands of mana… a bit too little. Calling early Core Formation cultivators trash was not wrong after all.”

Still, a single cultivation human pill was equivalent to nearly a month of his cultivation. Refining them one at a time was inefficient, but large-scale refinement like this yielded sufficient returns.

“And… human pills seem to have no pill resistance?”

Wang Yu raised his eyebrows slightly. He finally understood why the art of refining Human Pills had become such a sought-after alchemical inheritance among the Crimson Kite people. One could increase strength simply through killing.

This was something countless demonic cultivators dreamed of.

He glanced back at the floating pill cauldrons. Fortunately, his divine sense was strong enough, his Human Pill Art had reached perfection, and the Golden Core Formula for alchemy was simple and brutal in execution.

Otherwise, he truly would not have been able to sustain alchemy on such a massive scale.

Wang Yu estimated that his limit was around five hundred cauldrons. Even then, his mana was barely holding out, after all, the Ice Chi Pill Flame was a fourth-rank flame.

Over the past half month, he had been taking one supreme-grade third-rank mana pill every day just to keep going. He still had a little over thirty pills left in reserve.

That meant he could manage another round.

Next came the harvesting phase. The hundred Flame Ice cauldrons would one after another complete the final stage of pill nurturing, after which the pills would be refined and released from the cauldrons.

“Another round?”

As he muttered to himself, Wang Yu confirmed his resolve.

Opportunities to increase one’s mana were not easy to find. Chances to openly hunt rebellious cultivators were even rarer. He wanted to break free from his constraints as soon as possible, and doing this seemed like the better choice.

…

…

Several days later.

“Run!”

“The Ice Demon Child is here!”

“Ahhh! The Ice Demon Child is here to capture people and refine pills! Run!!!”

“There’s a Core Formation cultivator here! Ice Demon Senior, look over here! He’s Core Formation! He used a secret technique to hide his cultivation!”

In midair, the corner of Wang Yu’s mouth twitched.

This scene was no longer new to him.

Seeing that Core Formation cultivator glare murderously at the loudmouth who had exposed him, wishing he could grind the man’s bones to dust, he raised his hand and shot out an Ice Chi Sword.

It was one of the derivative applications that emerged after the Ice Binding Divine Chain Curse reached perfection.

This technique allowed the curse inscriptions of the Divine Binding Spell to be extended into the Flame Ice Cauldrons formed by the Ice Chi Pill Flame, refining these troublemakers alive.

This small combo was practically unstoppable when used to mow down enemies without restraint. Only late-stage Core Formation cultivators could put up any resistance at all, but such existences were exceedingly rare.

Anyone with even a shred of ambition had already gone to develop themselves in other prefectures.

At this moment, dense strands of mana ice threads extended from behind him, towing nearly two hundred Flame Ice Cauldrons along. His speed was inevitably slowed considerably.

Wherever he passed, terrified screams from cultivators could be heard.

“Ice Demon Child” was the first nickname in Wang Yu’s life to become widely known. It spread throughout the entire Maple Prefecture. Nearly everyone knew that a monster had appeared here who slaughtered Core Formation cultivators like dogs.

An Ice Demon Child obsessed with the Human Pill Path.

There were also rumors claiming that he feared the might of the Blood Reversal Sect and only dared to prey on poor rogue cultivators and bandit cultivators.

Such a reputation, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, too timid even to kick someone when they were down, completely separated the Ice Demon Child from the Blood Reversal Sect.

This was his own handiwork.

Once spread within a small circle, cultivators who resented him would naturally propagate the slander even further, allowing Wang Yu to act with even greater abandon.

Wearing an innocent face and body.

Doing the deeds of a true devil.

After slaughtering his way through White Tower City, another five or six Human Pills formed from cultivation were refined. Wang Yu made a rough calculation. This supply would last him for a very long time.

This location was already very close to Maple Prefecture City.

He decided not to continue killing. Because of him, conflicts in Maple Prefecture had noticeably decreased recently.

Dragging the sky-full of pill cauldrons away, the Qi Refining cultivators who had been screaming in panic, yet were never truly in danger, finally let out long sighs of relief.

“Good thing I’m smart. I hid under a woman’s skirt, that Ice Demon spared me.”

The surrounding people were instantly speechless.

Another half month passed. After dispersing all the Flame Ice Cauldrons, Wang Yu’s final harvest totaled 231 Human Cultivation Pills. Conservatively speaking, they were enough to push him to the peak of the ninth layer of Core Formation.

He picked one up, placed it in his mouth, and chewed it apart.

Feeling the dense, pure mana pour into his body and rapidly increase his cultivation, along with a faint sweetness and the sensation of growing stronger, Wang Yu felt deeply satisfied.

One pill was enough for him to digest over the course of an entire day.

Correcting his direction, he concealed his form and fully restrained the trailing aurora light effects of the Aurora Escape Technique, avoiding all eyes. In just two days, he arrived beneath the walls of Maple Prefectural City.

Although the strongest cultivators in this city were only at the peak of Core Formation, the scale of the city’s construction and its underground spirit veins had been built according to fourth-rank standards.

Because there were too many Core Formation cultivators here, a single lower-grade fourth-rank spirit vein was insufficient. Two additional upper-grade third-rank spirit veins were distributed across the southern and northern districts.

Wang Yu arrived at the southern city gate. As he suppressed his aura, the spiritual glow of his robes faded, and he immediately became utterly unremarkable.

Large, childlike eyes sparkled with curiosity as he observed his surroundings.

“Huh?”

“Why is there a child here? Where are your parents?”

Wang Yu looked up, his throat unconsciously bobbing.

So white. So big. He could not even see her face.