**Chapter 101: Surrounded**
And so, another three months passed.
By the end of the twelfth month, a heavy snowfall had blanketed the area around Spider Mountain in a sheet of pristine white, a silver-clad and enchantingly alluring landscape. The vast, monochrome whiteness between heaven and earth seemed to carry a particularly desolate and lonely air. People often spoke of autumn's melancholy and spring's joy, but winter, too, evoked a profound sense of solitude, a flavor of all things falling into silent stillness.
Wang Yu had been researching Foundation Establishment spiritual treasures for some time now.
He had discovered that the information given by that ill-intentioned disciple that day was, aside from the final part about the remnant map's opportunity, entirely true—a fact he had verified through his connection with Situ Hong. Although the ancient histories recorded by the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect held no precedent for a Waste Spiritual Root achieving Foundation Establishment, they were filled with stories and legends of those with unyielding determination defying the heavens to change their fate.
Just like the Supreme Grade Foundation Establishment Pill, spiritual treasures suitable for Wang Yu's use were equally rare and difficult to find. A treasure like the Icy Spring was not even sufficient; only a rare wonder like the **Heavenly Frost Spiritual Breath** would do. Clues were nonexistent, and aside from arduous cultivation, Wang Yu had no other methods at his disposal.
Day after day, due to the side effects of the Corpse Demon Secret Art, his "little brother" remained unresponsive year-round, leaving him no outlet for relaxation. To a certain extent, Wang Yu had almost entirely lost his desires. In this state, his obsession was a terrifying thing, enabling him to remain shut inside his room without stepping out for an entire year.
He could endure this, but others could not.
Such as the group that had been lying in wait for him for a very long time.
In a stone house conveniently positioned for surveillance, seven or eight people were huddled together, vocally condemning a certain individual named Wang.
"Damn it, does this man have no desires whatsoever?"
"To think he hasn't made a single trip beyond the mountain. His endurance is insane."
Eroding Heart City, located not far from Spider Mountain, wasn't a major spiritual site like a prefectural city, but it could still be considered prosperous. Whether they were disciples of the Cold Blood Peak or the Five Yin Peak, once their rotation ended, they would go to the city to seek pleasure among the flowers and willows. The spirit stones earned at Spider Mountain also needed channels for spending.
"Let's wait a little longer. One final half-month. If he still doesn't move, we'll find a way to lure him out."
"It seems that's our only option."
"How do we lure him?"
"Like this… and like this… It should have an eighty percent chance of success."
"Good! Then it's settled!"
With the leader's decision made, the others naturally had no objections.
Another ten days and a half passed.
A certain man's fingertips shimmered with spiritual light as a stream of transparent, greyish liquid, following the turn of his wrist, accurately fell onto the root of a Spiderheart Grass, watering a sunken hollow. It was Wang Yu, applying Ghost-Eye Spider blood. Later, he would still need to mix excrement with spider webs and limb fragments to cover the spirit field, achieving the effect of replenishing the fertilizer.
Right at that moment, two figures flying on sword rays descended from the sky, quickly landing near the spirit fields Wang Yu was responsible for. The two stepped onto the ridge and began speaking in soft tones.
Wang Yu glanced over, his ears twitching slightly.
"Hurry, let's go, let's go! Inform the boss. There's an auction happening over in Eroding Heart City."
"I heard there's a Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure up for auction. The boss has been waiting for a long time; who would have thought one would appear here in Eroding Heart City?"
These two short sentences struck right at the core of Wang Yu's concerns. Watching the two figures walk away, Wang Yu couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. This kind of bait was far too clumsy. However, as his spiritual sense swept over his own storage pouches, he realized he had accumulated nearly fifty thousand spirit stones. It was indeed time for a spending spree.
Now that he possessed the Cold Flame and no longer needed to borrow earthfire for alchemy, purchasing a suitable pill furnace was a necessity. On another note, depending on the force backing them, many auction houses had entry thresholds, requiring verification even for the lowest-tier events—things like proof of funds or identity verification.
Having remained secluded for so long, a trip to Eroding Heart City would serve multiple purposes: to deal with this lingering trouble, to see if there were any means to increase his cultivation speed, and, if he could acquire the essence blood of a dragon-lineage demon beast, he could free up a slot in his storage, allowing him to address his needs in spell techniques.
"Very well. Let them come."
.........
.........
Eroding Heart City was located three hundred *li* east of Spider Mountain, situated on a low-grade Tier 2 spiritual vein. A Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivator resided within the city.
Outside the city walls was a spiritual spring, whose produced, chillingly cold water was a spiritual material with wide-ranging applications—usable in tea brewing, alchemy, artifact forging, talisman ink, and more. The local garrison commander had built a market centered around this spiritual spring, called **Mountain Spring Market**. Loose cultivators from nearby or disciples from other sects could all set up shop here.
Within the city itself, there was also an inner market, protected by illusion arrays, even more prosperous than the Mountain Spring Market. It primarily served sect disciples from nearby resource points, such as Spider Mountain, Spirit Peach Mountain, and others. Centered around a single city, there were always at least two or three major resource points and several smaller ones.
The Mountain Spring Market belonged solely to the garrison commander himself, a means of amassing wealth he had created during his term. After investigation by this Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivator, those who met the standards could naturally also enter the inner market. A single city's territory was, evidently, quite complex.
Wang Yu's target was the inner market within the city. Many other forces also had established businesses there, making it effortless to meet the needs of a Qi Refining cultivator.
Leisurely piloting his flight artifact, the Black Silk, Wang Yu set out alone. Its speed was even slower than if he were traveling on foot.
When he was halfway through his journey, soaring over a deep gorge, several *swishing* sounds echoed as a group of black-robed figures surrounded him tightly. Four in front, three behind, with five or six more appearing above and below him. Counting them up, there were over ten. The leader radiated the aura of the ninth level of Qi Refining. There was one at the eighth level, three at the seventh, and the rest were all at the sixth level, with only a single cultivator at the fifth level.
"Kid, hand over your storage pouches, and we'll spare your life."
Hearing this, Wang Yu seemed somewhat surprised.
"You seek only wealth, not lives?"
As he spoke, he pulled open his robe, revealing the dozen or so storage pouches sewn onto the inner lining, and asked with keen interest:
"Which one do you want?"
The burly man with a thick beard showed surprise, his eyes glinting with greed. He waved a large hand and grinned ferociously.
"Hand them all over."
"Ah—*Choo!*"
Right then, someone suddenly sneezed, his whole body shivering. He whispered to the companion beside him:
"Do you feel like it's gotten colder? The temperature is dropping really fast."
"How could it— Wait! Boss, this kid is using some method!"
"Then attack!!!"
It was too late.
The fact that this group hadn't immediately rushed to kill him, opting instead for verbal threats, was somewhat beyond Wang Yu's expectations. They were already in the business of robbery, yet they still hesitated. So he simply seized the chance to delay, preparing his own methods. In a direct frontal assault, he was confident of victory, but achieving a complete annihilation would be difficult, and that would inevitably lead to his capabilities being exposed. Utterly eradicating the evil was the superior strategy.
With Wang Yu at the center, the temperature plummeted rapidly.
Beyond the encircling ring above, below, and on all sides, massive amounts of ice crystals were rapidly condensing. It was the Ice Coffin Curse! Today was different from the past. With his cultivation at the eighth level of Qi Refining and his mastery of the technique at the Perfection stage, modifying it proceeded with great smoothness.
Massive ice walls, each over ten meters high, rapidly converged.
In the blink of an eye, a cage of ice had formed high above the gorge, resembling an arena for beast fights.
Swiftly swallowing a top-grade Spirit-Returning Pill, Wang Yu raised his right hand, leveled it, and aimed at one of the figures, making a grasping motion in the void.
*Whoosh—*