The intelligence transmitted from the sect was, in truth, primarily meant to stabilize the hearts of people in places like Maple Prefecture City. Some portions had clearly been cosmetically modified.

Looking past the surface and into the essence of the matter, After organizing and summarizing all the intelligence he knew, Wang Yu concluded that the real situation should be as follows.

After obtaining Zhuo Yuanshen’s physical body, Zhuo Shouyun did not conceal this information at all. His intent to obtain a Blood Demon Body was obvious for all to see.

This directly stimulated the Young Sect Master who had been cultivating in seclusion within the Blood Pavilion.

If a second Blood Demon Body were to appear, although his position as Young Sect Master would be shaken, it would also mean there was now a substitute to die in his place.

He had long feared being set up and sacrificed by the Sect Master.

This fear weighed on him so heavily that he had delayed breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm for a long time. Now, with a sudden opening appearing from the heavens, the moment he received the news, the Young Sect Master immediately took action.

His method was simple and crude.

Hide.

The wider the news of Zhuo Shouyun forging a Blood Demon Body spread, the deeper he hid and the safer he would be. Thus, he vanished into the depths of the Blood Pavilion.

He would wait for Zhuo Shouyun to replace him.

Once everything was over, he would reappear, and he would still be the Young Sect Master.

This behavior caused Lu Chenzhou, who lived next to him and endured the same oppressive fear daily, to finally break down as well. However, Lu Chenzhou’s foundation was shallow. He had no reliable subordinates and no top-tier intelligence channels.

As a result, he misinterpreted this as a sign that the Sect Master was about to make his move.

Otherwise, why would the Young Sect Master run?

The logic was flawless.

All of the above was Wang Yu’s inference regarding the origin of the incident, based on intelligence and known facts. It felt accurate to at least eighty or ninety percent.

He himself had felt uneasy upon hearing news of Zhuo Shouyun, sensing that changes were coming within the sect. That was why he decided to act in advance, using the opportunity of eliminating Fu Xiao to leave the sect.

In the memories of Wan and Li, the official intelligence released by the sect stated that the Young Sect Master had been deceived by scoundrels from the Yellow Springs Monastery, tricked into leaving the sect, and lured into You Prefecture territory, where his life or death was unknown.

Lu Chenzhou played the role of a traitor, using heretical methods to interfere with the Sect Master’s closed-door cultivation, causing him to descend into madness.

He was “killed on the spot”.

The battle between the Blood Nether Three Demons and the Sect Master at the mountain gate was also explained as a result of the Sect Master being harmed and losing his rationality.

The transmitted intelligence claimed that the mountain gate would soon stabilize.

Maple Prefecture was instructed not to panic or disrupt itself, but to first focus on suppressing those who took advantage of the chaos to cause trouble. They were not advised to send personnel for support.

This information was extremely official in tone.

Lu Chenzhou’s death surprised Wang Yu. It felt more like a failed escape, after which he was directly devoured by the Sect Master, triggering further madness.

The root cause lay in the disappearance of the Young Sect Master.

If the Sect Master had truly decided to devour one Blood Demon Body and one innate Heavenly Blood Spirit Root, attempting to make up for his own deficiencies and gamble on the slim chance of breaking into the Spirit Transformation realm,

Then missing a key material would be absolutely fatal.

Moreover, neither Lu Chenzhou nor the Young Sect Master had formed a Nascent Soul yet. There was also a clear disparity in scale between them, making any outcome possible.

All of this Was the starting point of the events three years ago.

There were also many suspicious points.

Did the Yellow Springs Monastery truly play such a role? And furthermore, the defeat of the Sect Master at the hands of the Three Demons was confirmed. Even minor characters like the Blackbone Bandits knew about it.

Yet the transmitted intelligence and directives did not mention this at all.

No matter how one looked at it, something was off.

There were also several later intelligence reports, mainly describing the situations in the four prefectures and their corresponding countermeasures.

A great Nascent Soul cultivator from the Zuoqiu clan, known as the Evil Soul Patriarch, emerged from seclusion and led Elder Blueheart and Lord Lei Hou southward to suppress invading disciples of the Joyous Union demonic sect.

From the Yu clan, the Netherblade Demon Lord personally took action. This man was a long-famous great cultivator, having risen to prominence even earlier than the Blood Nether Three Demons.

He led the Ice Soul Fairy and the Three Corpse Daoist, both ruthless figures at the late Nascent Soul stage, and set out for Cloud Ridge Prefecture to confront the invasion of the Yellow Springs Monastery.

This was all the intelligence sent from the Exalted Sect’s mountain gate over the past three years.

Of the three clans, two had mobilized.

There was no reason for the Zhuo clan not to move. In fact, Elder Blueheart was from the Zhuo clan, which barely counted as action, but the scale was far too small compared to the massive mobilizations of the other two clans.

The three clans had always advanced and retreated together. This was the fundamental reason they were able to control the sect’s discourse.

Thus, Wang Yu could assume that the Zhuo clan had exerted force in places he could not see. For example, suppressing the crazed Sect Master, or capturing the fleeing Young Sect Master.

As for the Blood Demon Hall among the nine peaks and one hall of the Blood Reversal Sect, its lack of movement was understandable. After all, the situation had not yet reached the point of life and death.

The late Nascent Soul great cultivators of the nine peaks had basically all taken action, with the exception of newly advanced figures like Nine Evil Sword Lord. As for the remaining Nascent Soul ancestors, there was likewise no movement.

This indicated that the Blood Reversal Sect was likely aiming to quickly pacify the war, directly deploying its pillar-level combat power to suppress everything.

Wang Yu had essentially deduced the overall trend.

At present, there were only two possible outcomes.

The first was that the Blood Reversal Sect successfully suppressed everything, and all returned to the proper track.

The second was that the intensity of the war instantly skyrocketed, plunging the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain into raging flames of war.

With three of the five demonic sects already involved, and even late Nascent Soul great cultivators fighting each other, if he were a cultivator from the Taihu Spiritual Domain, he definitely would not miss such a once in a thousand years opportunity.

If action were to be taken, the best breakthrough point would be Maple Prefecture.

Wang Yu closed his eyes, his mind racing rapidly.

The situation had not yet reached its most critical stage. It all depended on whether the war could be brought under control in the next few years. If it could not, then the likelihood of the conflict escalating in intensity would become extremely high.

He himself was still fine, with no attachments holding him back. At worst, he could hide within the Endless Ice Plains. The perennial calamity blizzards there contained immense power of heaven and earth.

Even Nascent Soul cultivators found it extremely difficult to cross such a natural death zone.

No matter how much the war expanded, it would never spread to that place. Hiding deeper within was a perfectly reasonable choice.

Moreover,

There was another piece of information that formed the basis of Wang Yu’s speculation that the Taihu cultivators would make a move.

The Moluo Horde. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

This was a destroyed assassin organization, originating from a “discarded disciple” of Thunderfire Temple. When Wang Yu had been in the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest, he had once encountered a direct lineage successor of Thunderfire Temple.

That person had come precisely because of this discarded disciple, inheriting their will and attempting to save the Crimson Kite people who were living in “dire suffering”.

She had even invited Wang Yu to join and gifted him a token.

At that time, Wang Yu had not yet fully transformed. Perhaps the other party had taken a liking to some lingering trace of innocence in him, or perhaps some other trait.

In any case, When they parted, the other party had clearly stated that they would develop forces in the Black Mountain Demon Lands of the Southern Severed Boundary Mountains, rescuing women trapped within the Joyous Union Demonic Sect, and that Wang Yu would be welcome to join at any time.

That “discarded disciple” was also the senior sister of the one who inherited her will, and she had been violated to death by the Yin Yang Demon Lord. The Thunderfire Temple successor had once sworn vengeance.

Yet in the far north of the Crimson Kite Domain, in a bitterly cold region like Maple Prefecture, Within the memories of Wan and Li, there were records of Earth Net Ghost Mask wearers plundering mortals.

The intelligence had come from a border city in the southwest of Maple Prefecture, adjacent to a corner of the Northern Severed Boundary Mountains, Beast Suppressing City.

The organizational structure of the Moluo Horde was itself well suited for acting as spies.

With identity concealing treasures like the Earth Net Ghost Mask, hiding was even easier. Their appearance in Maple Prefecture perfectly corroborated the possibility that the Taihu cultivators intended to start a war.

After sorting through everything from beginning to end, Wang Yu finally gained a basic understanding of the situation. However, the ultimate direction it would take was not something he could change by himself.

Peaceful eras were certainly precious, but eras of war also contained opportunities.

Chaos was the ladder of ascent.

Nothing tempered talent or shattered class barriers more thoroughly than war.

If another righteous versus demonic great war were to erupt,

The outcome would truly be impossible to predict.

Fortunately, he had arrived early. If he had delayed a few more years and waited for results to emerge from the eastern and southern battlefields, it might have dragged the Blood Reversal Sect completely into the abyss.

Otherwise, he would probably still be foolishly collecting human pills in Maple Prefecture.

“I must speed things up.”

Wang Yu thought to himself.

It was time to investigate the opportunity site spoken of by Blood Axe, the underground palace beneath Blackbone Mountain.

His thoughts gradually returned to reality.

Looking at the two cultivators with pale faces and unfocused eyes, their souls clearly damaged, Wang Yu frowned.

The next instant, Wan and Li both shuddered simultaneously and forced smiles as they spoke.

“We are not stupid, not stupid.”

“The Ice Demon senior’s divine sense manipulation was exquisitely controlled and did not harm our foundations. We will recover after some time.”

“Very good. From now on, you are my dogs.”

As the ice chains dissipated, After sitting for a short while, Wang Zhenghong and the two men knelt to the ground together, prostrating themselves before Wang Yu with extreme docility.

As usual, two demonic thought seeds were flicked out and planted deep within their unopened heart lakes. This method was extremely well concealed, and unless they also cultivated the Path of the Mind, It was almost impossible to detect.

Ever since the Innate Demonic Embryo method was completed, the demonic seed method had undergone subtle changes. Wang Yu could now apply his attainments in the Path of the Mind to this secret art.

He sealed a single pure mental killing fist within each demonic seed.

With a single thought, their minds could be shattered, triggering the devouring reaction of the demonic seed and directly reducing them to fragile dried corpses, vanishing into smoke and dust.

This method was exceptionally ruthless.

However, it was difficult to use against those with ironclad willpower. Instead, it was perfectly suited for those with strong survival instincts, making them far easier to control.

“You two may return now. Remember to regularly transmit messages through this sound transmission jade talisman. Especially anything related to the Blood Reversal Sect. I want to know everything, no matter how small.”

“Wan understands.”

“Li will remember.”

Seeing the two of them sigh in relief and shakily head toward the exit, Wang Yu suddenly smiled.

The two froze on the spot, only to hear him say,

“Act more natural. Smile more. Finish drinking that wine. If anyone notices something wrong, you understand the consequences.”

“Yes, yes…”

The two of them could not wait any longer. They lifted their wine jugs and drank straight from the spouts, quickly growing dizzy again as color returned to their faces. Only then did they hurry away from the Wang family residence.

“You, get up.”

It was Wang Zhenghong’s turn. His heart was inevitably a little uneasy.

He saw Wang Yu hand him another sound-transmission jade talisman.

“All the information they sent back, record it in full into divine sense jade slips. Dispatch someone proficient in Earth Escape techniques to deliver them to this location and bury them a bit deeper.”

“This old one understands.”

Sound-transmission jade talismans had distance limitations. They were not all-purpose tools, and they also served as an extra layer of insurance. Wang Yu could retrieve them at any time, and it would not be easy for others to ambush him.

It might seem overly cautious, but it was a necessary measure.

In extraordinary times, no amount of caution was excessive.

“You may go.”

“Oh, right. These concubines of yours who accompanied us in drinking…”

“This old one will handle it immediately.”

As he spoke, Wang Zhenghong personally drew his sword and severed all their heads, then burned everything to ashes on the spot. This was the old man making his stance clear.

Success lies in secrecy. Failure comes from loose words.

That was how it was.

Wang Yu had deliberately allowed Tao Sixuan to witness this, so she would not be deceived by honeyed words later. The effect, however, was even stronger than he had anticipated.

Seeing those so-called fierce figures who had once humiliated her, now completely powerless and so easily slain by Wang Zhenghong, her understanding of power was raised another level.

Her own situation was not all that different from theirs.

Feeling empathy for those of the same kind, especially when they could so easily stand in for herself, the sense of immersion was extremely strong. Her impression of Wang Zhenghong shattered completely.

The kind-hearted and beautiful woman from the inner chambers openly showed closeness toward Wang Yu, not caring at all about Wang Zhenghong standing nearby.

That feeling was indescribably wonderful.

“Let’s go. There are still things to do tomorrow.”

Tao Sixuan took the initiative to hug Wang Yu and calmly walked out of the main hall, though Wang Yu could clearly feel how fast her heart was beating.

He could not help teasing her.

“What, nervous?”

“A little… With senior here, Sixuan feels at ease.”

“Oh?”

“If you do not believe me, feel it yourself.”

Seeing her clumsy and immature attempt, Wang Yu laughed helplessly.

He reached out without any restraint.

“Mmm~”

“I think you are lying.”

“Senior, feel again~”

The two laughed and talked as they walked away. Wang Zhenghong remained standing where he was, rubbing the nearly bald top of his head, only feeling that the vast heavens were truly unfair to him.

The next day.

At the entrance of Purple Wisteria Court.

Wang Zhenghong’s old face bloomed like a chrysanthemum as he accepted the Essence and Blood Replenishment Pill Wang Yu handed over, repeatedly offering his thanks.

“This old one will definitely complete my lord’s task!”

His weakness had been firmly grasped by Wang Yu.

Compared to yesterday’s childish idea, what Wang Yu took out today was an Essence and Blood Replenishment Pill refined using blood beast crystal cores and the Blood Pill Art, and it was even third-rank.

How could he not be grateful beyond measure?

One had to know that he was already seven hundred and eight years old this year. The probability of a cultivator living all the way to their lifespan limit was very low. Most died early.

The majority died at the hands of others.

A small portion reached old age, but their bodies were no longer as vigorous as in youth. Their qi and blood declined rapidly, and those hidden injuries or aftereffects left behind by severe wounds in the past would all erupt at once.

At that point, they would gradually bring a cultivator’s life to an end, leaving them increasingly frail. Even their willpower would dissipate, further increasing the chance of an early seated death.

So when Wang Zhenghong said he still had a hundred years left to live, with his frail body that had experienced the previous righteous and demonic war, living another fifty years would already be considered good. The old bird’s qi and blood had long since dried up, serving little more than as proof of identity.

The Essence and Blood Replenishment Pill Wang Yu produced could not extend lifespan.

However, it could allow him to regain vitality, resolving lifespan losses aside from the passage of time itself. It was equivalent to making the remainder of his life truly enjoyable.

As for Essence and Blood Replenishment Pills, Wang Yu still had tens of thousands of second-rank blood beast crystal cores as raw materials. After purification through the Blood Evil One-Origin Gourd and supplementing them with other vitality materials, with his level of alchemical skill, refining third-rank low-grade Essence and Blood Replenishment Pills to satisfy Wang Zhenghong’s needs was effortless.

The art of controlling people lay first in attacking the heart.

Next came the carrot-and-stick approach. After frightening him thoroughly, Wang Yu also offered some benefits to keep him motivated, so Old Man Wang would not slack off in his work.

As for the task he had been given, it was naturally to investigate the Blood Axe opportunity site.

While waiting, Wang Yu planned to remain in Maple Prefecture City for a month, preparing to break through to the ninth level of Core Formation before setting out for the Blackbone Mountain underground palace. At the same time, the two corpses that had already shown signs of advancement when he left the Blood Abyss years ago were estimated to be able to complete their progression within this month as well.

Leaving after that would not be too late.

...

[TL Notes (Just some interesting info on Moluo):-

Māra in Sanskrit or in Chinese: 魔罗 / Móluó) is the Buddhist personification of temptation, death, and all forces that hinder enlightenment.

Known as the "Evil One" or "Lord of Death," Móluó famously tried to prevent Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) from awakening by sending beautiful daughters to seduce him and armies of demons to attack—yet the Buddha remained unmoved, touching the earth as witness and achieving enlightenment.

In deeper teachings, Māra represents four aspects: sensual desires, death, defilements (like greed/hatred), and distorted views.]