Ten years passed in a blink.
It was now the 15th year and 11th month of Wang Yu's tenure as steward. The weather: heavy snow.
Inside the secluded chamber of the City Lord's Manor in Spiritridge—
"Whoosh—"
A narrow stream of white breath shot from Wang Yu's throat like a blade, carving a dent into the solid wall. The shirtless youth sat cross-legged, a black dragon tattoo coiling across his back—now tinged with crimson.
After a long silence, he opened his eyes and murmured:
"Even without a matching cultivation method, the dragonblood elixir refined from the [Blood Dragon Essence] has pushed me further. My body refinement has reached early second-tier peak—equivalent to Foundation Establishment third layer."
He clenched his fist and donned his raven-blue embroidered crane robe.
"But that's the limit. Without a corresponding technique, I can't break into mid-tier body refinement. And the [Flood Dragon Force] still needs 14 more years of placement time."
He smiled bitterly.
The placement panel was too limited.
The [Blood Dragon Essence], a gemstone condensed from the lifeblood of an ancient flood dragon, had taken him ten years to acquire. The body refinement boost was just a side effect.
A closer look at the [Nether Serpent Spine]—the blood-forged tattoo on his back—revealed its transformation. It now resembled a pure-blood flood dragon.
His physical "dragon force" had surged. Even if others cultivated the same technique, without this rare treasure, their bodies couldn't compare.
Among body cultivators of his realm, Wang Yu's physique was top-tier. The fusion of [Flood Dragon Spine], [Dark Yin Blood], and [Corpse Demon Bone] had reached its current peak.
And he still had half the [Blood Dragon Essence] unused. The dragonblood elixir within him had reached saturation. He needed live combat to stimulate absorption.
But that could wait. First, he had to extrapolate the second-tier version of [Flood Dragon Force].
Ten years of cultivation had yielded immense gains.
His high-grade movement technique [Frostmoon Wings] reached perfection. His dual-path soul techniques [Heart-Control Demon Melody] and [Soul-Eating Ghost Crow Melody] were both perfected. His [Ancient Soul Codex] reached minor mastery, further enhancing his spiritual sense. The fierce spirits bound to his [Black Fiend Armor] had been fully drained and entered dormancy.
Other techniques had progressed, though not as dramatically:
[Ice Wheel Technique], [Mountain-Seeking Demon], [Heavenly Soul Qi], [Wailing Heart Severing Slash]—all hovered around minor mastery +2.
Once a technique reached perfection, it freed up a placement slot. Wang Yu assigned the open slot to [Heavenly Soul Qi], a spiritual sense technique. The sooner it reached perfection, the better he could leverage the "Soul-Eating Possession" effect to boost his spiritual sense.
As for alchemy—
He had placed it after perfecting [Dark Yin Palm]. Due to delays in acquiring the [Hongyin Marrow Elixir] from Master Situ, it was still a few months from reaching second-tier perfection.
His [Corpse Demon Secret Art] was two years from completion. He had swapped it out repeatedly while tackling bottlenecks in other techniques. The cumulative delay added up.
But he remained calm. According to the art's description, once it reached second-tier, he could attempt to reconstruct his left arm.
Of course, third-tier completion would be ideal.
Fortunately, the fusion of [Dark Yin Blood] and [Corpse Demon Bone] had enhanced and mutated his physique, boosting his vitality. It was helping him.
Reconstructing his left arm… was within reach.
Finally, his cultivation base.
Over ten years and five months:
Placement panel: +187.5 drops of true essence Personal cultivation: +25 drops Original reserve: 132 drops
Total: 344.5 drops of true essence.
Over two years ago—
He had broken through to Foundation Establishment third layer.
In another 8–10 years, he would reach 500 drops—the threshold for his first condensation attempt. His pace was fast.
Once he reached mid-stage Foundation Establishment, his sixth cultivation engine would activate. That would be a true leap forward.
Spiritridge's new alliance was rock-solid. Annual revenue grew steadily at 4–5%, a healthy curve.
At the Goldfull Pavilion's Spiritridge branch, Wang Yu had cultivated his own network. He could now leverage their vast resources to acquire optimal cultivation materials.
Compared to ascetic cultivators, his advantage was a rich spiritual environment. He hadn't yet reached his maximum cultivation speed.
He estimated that the rare ice-element materials he'd commissioned were about to arrive. Wang Yu preferred to prepare his own pills—he didn't trust external sources.
Even Goldfull Pavilion's reputation wasn't enough.
But preparing third-tier materials in advance was well within his reach.
Most cultivators exhaust their wealth upon reaching Core Formation. It often takes a decade or more to gather materials for their natal artifact.
Wang Yu, wealthy and focused, could collect everything early and undergo a complete transformation upon breakthrough.
Having a natal artifact was the hallmark of a true Core Formation cultivator. As for the natal divine ability—that knowledge was still hidden from him. He'd need to reach late Foundation Establishment to access those texts.
Currently, he held two third-tier yin-element treasures. Combined with the [Bloodgold of Living Souls], he could easily forge two artifacts.
Investing spirit stones wasn't a loss. They only had value when spent.
Spiritridge's underground spiritual vein also produced spirit stones.
But after years of mining, it had reached its limit. Further excavation would damage its integrity. It could only be mined every 10–20 years.
Spiritual veins were formed from condensed ambient energy—akin to earth veins, but with spiritual mutation.
Over time, they spawned new spirit stone deposits. After each recovery cycle, a fresh harvest emerged.
Spiritridge's mid-grade third-tier vein could even produce high-grade spirit stones—the hard currency of elite cultivators.
For Nascent Soul cultivators, ambient energy was inferior to their own spiritual power. They had to refine external energy before absorbing it.
But with high-grade spirit stones and a [Multi-Layer Spirit Gathering Array], that step could be skipped.
The higher one climbed, the harder cultivation became. Even heaven and earth became obstacles.
Stockpiling now would pay off later.
Wang Yu reviewed past records.
After each recovery cycle, the vein produced 500–1000 high-grade spirit stones. With 300 years of stewardship, and one harvest every 20 years—
He could accumulate 7,500–15,000 high-grade spirit stones.
A fortune.
The mid- and low-grade stones were minor. Their total value hovered around one million low-grade stones—all his personal profit.
Currently, Spiritridge's five-year cycle yielded:
After expenses and tribute: 600,000 low-grade stones in net profit.
Two cycles in ten years, plus the vein's bonus, had made him richer than ever—even after recent spending.
The Offering Hall now had three early Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Wang Yu assigned them as temporary commanders of the city guard and patrol squads. Once his own disciples reached Foundation Establishment, they would return to the manor.
Each Foundation Establishment retainer cost a hefty sum. His expenses were rising.
"It's time to generate revenue, Snow Jade."
The three-tailed snow fox had grown slightly. Though Wang Yu's alchemy wasn't yet perfected, he could already craft second-tier pills.
He couldn't make top-grade ones yet. Even with his custom-made [Snow Fox Pill], Snow Jade had only reached Foundation Establishment second layer.
Its cultivation speed was far slower than his.
The [Snow Fox Pill] was an advanced beast pill. Wang Yu often produced high-grade versions.
He had purchased the formula and ingredients from Goldfull Pavilion. The recipe was said to originate from the mysterious Northern Tower, designed for snow beasts of the far north.
After modification via the placement panel, it became tailored to Snow Jade—activating its latent bloodline.
Over time, this built its foundation. If Wang Yu could acquire a rare spiritual site like the Cold Spring Spirit Pool, it might trigger further evolution.
…
After a long seclusion—
Snowflakes drifted from the sky. The temperature hovered just above freezing.
Standing at the main hall's entrance, Wang Yu gazed over Spiritridge. He had faced many minor troubles—but resolved them all.
Occasionally, Core Formation cultivators appeared. The three sects outside the city would jointly repel them—unless they were unaffiliated rogues.
Those were welcomed, even invited to exhibitions.
But affiliated Core Formation cultivators were unwelcome.
Who knew their intentions?
Over the years, Wang Yu had only met one. He claimed to be from the Ocean-Suppressing Sect, a Core Formation sect near the Chaotic Ancient Sea to the north.
He passed through Spiritridge for supplies. His true destination: the Yanluo Ghost Market, south of the 3,000-li Reed Marsh.
Their relationship was in a tentative phase.
Wang Yu occasionally left the city—but never ventured far. The City Lord's Manor was his safest haven. Few could breach it.
Just as he pondered how to expand his influence—
Two fragrant breezes swept in.
It was Guan Yingdong and Guan Yingxue, now grown into graceful young women. Beautiful from childhood, they had matured into stunning cultivators.
Whenever Wang Yu was pleased, he gifted them top-grade first-tier cultivation pills.
As a result, they had both reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining. Their progress, aided by their three-root talent and Wang Yu's frequent gifts of top-grade first-tier cultivation pills, was several times faster than average.
At this pace, they would likely touch the threshold of Foundation Establishment by their sixties or seventies, with at least two chances to attempt the breakthrough. Their odds of success were quite high.
Naturally, their visit today wasn't just for pleasantries.
The elder sister, Guan Yingdong, stepped forward with a composed expression and reported, "Master, a senior from Inkveil Gate has come to visit. He's already been received in the guest hall."
"Inkveil Gate?" Wang Yu nodded. "Understood."
He didn't say more.
The younger sister, Guan Yingxue, hesitated, then added cautiously, "Master, the visitor is likely here regarding the ancient ruins. There's been a surge of rumors lately—apparently, a new cluster of ancient relic sites has been discovered."
"Other factions may also be arriving in the coming days."
"Mm. Let's go take a look."
Wang Yu reached out and gently ruffled Yingxue's hair. Compared to her sister, she was more perceptive and proactive—traits Wang Yu appreciated. She often received extra rewards for her attentiveness.
As he turned toward the guest hall, snowflakes continued to drift from the sky, blanketing Spiritridge in a serene white veil.
But beneath that calm, the winds of change were stirring once again.
(End of Chapter)
POWER STONE !!!!