The aftermath of the incident did cause some damage to Wang Yu's reputation—but only in the eyes of outsiders.
For the long-established powers within Spiritridge, City Lord Wang's ability to stir clouds and summon rain with a flip of his hand was suffocatingly overwhelming. Who knew what trump cards he might suddenly reveal next?
In fact, it had a stabilizing effect on his alliance of interests.
Though the crowd harbored resentment, it was mostly among Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators. That level of backlash, Wang Yu could easily shoulder.
As for Core Formation cultivators—Wang Yu's [Mountain-Seeking Demon] technique was nearing perfection. From now on, he would routinely scan the city. If any Core Formation cultivators were present, he simply wouldn't leave the City Lord's Manor.
"You need to take responsibility."
Just as Jin Miaoshan arrived at the manor to discuss the aftermath in detail, Wang Yu cut her off with a single sentence.
"You… what do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. Because of you, I won't be leaving the manor for a long time. All my cultivation resources must now be delivered to me by Goldfull Pavilion."
"This…"
"Of course, I'll still pay the spirit stones."
Jin Miaoshan gritted her teeth. She'd lost count of how many times she'd been forced to concede today. Her teeth itched with frustration… she couldn't hold it in.
"Fine. Here's a Goldfull Pavilion VIP token. It grants you the same privileges as a Core Formation cultivator. Even if I leave the Spiritridge branch, the new branch master will treat you accordingly."
"Much appreciated."
Wang Yu took the token without hesitation and held out his hands.
"My treasures."
"…Give me a year."
"A whole year?"
"What, do you think I'm a wishing star? You want it, it appears?"
"Fair enough."
Wang Yu didn't press further. He understood the difficulty. With the Nether River Contract in place, the deadline couldn't exceed ten years—otherwise, it would count as a breach.
One year was acceptable. He could wait.
With the matter settled, the two stared at each other in silence for a while. Eventually, Jin Miaoshan asked:
"Did you plan all this from the beginning?"
"How could I have?"
Wang Yu rolled his eyes.
"It was your subordinate who wouldn't let me leave. What could I do? A late-stage Core Formation cultivator wanted to kill me, and I wasn't allowed to run? Lady Jin, you're taking yourself too seriously."
"Sigh—
"I understand."
She let out a long sigh, her eyes flickering. Then she suddenly asked, "Would Brother Wang be interested in exploring Eastern Polaris with me?"
"Hmm?"
This time, Wang Yu was genuinely surprised. Even with the Nether River Contract ensuring neither could harm the other for a hundred years, such an invitation was far too bold.
Did she really not realize?
"You'd best stay out of it. Go back. Once word of today's events spreads, you'll definitely be held accountable. Lady Jin, you'd do better to think about how to clear your name.
"As for Eastern Polaris… there are countless people waiting for you there~"
With that, Wang Yu turned and walked toward the main hall of the City Lord's Manor. He also took the Core Formation elder's corpse, which had been hanging for a while. Unfortunately, the storage ring had already been taken by Jin Miaoshan.
Thus ended the day's events—abruptly and without flourish. But for Yunling Prefecture, the Spiritridge Incident would become a textbook case in crisis management, aided by the timely anomaly of Eastern Polaris.
Without that anomaly, it would've been difficult to rally everyone. After all, they knew they couldn't break in. But with Core Formation cultivators involved, everything changed.
And the only reason it ended without disaster was also because of those Core Formation cultivators. Their goals were clearer, and they understood the weight of Nascent Soul backers.
Under these layered factors, they chose to retreat. There were countless fascinating details worth discussing. Some even began treating City Lord Wang's words as sacred scripture.
They read them daily, analyzing the meaning behind every character.
Reading comprehension practice, indeed.
Of course, while the Spiritridge affair was over, Goldfull Pavilion's troubles were far from finished. Expecting demonic cultivators to keep quiet? Wishful thinking.
All they had left was their mouths—and they wouldn't shut up. In fact, the farther the story traveled, the more exaggerated it became.
Especially since the sky above Spiritridge had broadcast the entire scene. Some opportunists even recorded it and secretly sold it to Tianbao Pavilion.
As expected, Tianbao Pavilion paid handsomely to acquire it. Then they mass-produced copies of the projection and audio, spreading the evidence across the entire Crimson Kite Territory.
It dealt a massive blow to Goldfull Pavilion's business. Never before had they suffered such a defeat in the commercial arena.
In response, Wang Yu and Jin Miaoshan recorded a new projection together.
They claimed the previous footage was fabricated—someone had impersonated Wang Yu to slander Goldfull Pavilion and provoke conflict between major powers.
Surprisingly, this conspiracy theory gained even more traction.
Goldfull Pavilion also activated their high-level spies embedded in Tianbao Pavilion. Identical smear footage was soon circulating across the Crimson Kite Territory, infuriating Tianbao Pavilion.
Barring surprises, the coming months—or even years—would see both sides launching wave after wave of blackmail and slander.
As for Wang Yu—
He was temporarily out of the crossfire, though not untouched.
For example, he could forget about entering Tianbao Pavilion with his real face.
"Well, nothing pressing for now. Time to cultivate. Disciples… go fetch some alchemy herbs for your master."
…
Three months later—Wang Yu's 16th year as steward, second month.
Morning light filtered in gently.
Golden sunlight spilled through the window onto the cross-legged figure. Spring was budding, and the chill in the air was beginning to fade.
[Placement Slot 3: Cold Flood Alchemy Arts / Tier Two ↑]
「Cold Flood Alchemy Arts (0/100): Forty-eight refinements per day. 120 years to perfection.」
"One hundred and twenty years…"
Wang Yu's pupils contracted slightly. Then again, it made sense. The next level would be tier-three perfection. Most people couldn't achieve that in 120 years.
The higher the grade, the rarer the top-grade pills—and the more valuable their auxiliary effects. Even a common tier-three top-grade healing pill could help a tier-three alchemist refine their craft.
An alchemist capable of crafting tier-three top-grade pills could likely produce tier-four pills for Nascent Soul cultivators—though perhaps not of the highest quality.
Such skill was exceedingly rare. In the production-averse demonic path, such talent was even scarcer.
The Cold Flood Alchemy Arts was originally a tier-three inheritance, though heavily fragmented. The placement panel couldn't restore every pill recipe from scratch.
From beginning to end, it included fire control techniques, refinement methods, pill infusion chants… Wang Yu had steadily completed it all.
It felt like leveling up in a game. The only attached recipe, [Cold Flood Pill], had changed significantly—adding several new herbs that enhanced the effect of cold flames during alchemy.
It was especially effective for crafting ice-element pills.
"Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice, Rare Cold Jade, tier-three demon cores… tsk tsk, not cheap at all."
If he could acquire a tier-three cold flame in advance, it would be a powerful trump card—no weaker than his perfected [Dark Yin Palm]. His [Flame Shaping Technique] was already perfected.
For offensive techniques like this, flame quality was paramount.
Now that Cold Flood Alchemy Arts had advanced, Wang Yu placed the [Ice Spirit Pill Recipe] into the panel. As a tier-two cultivation pill, its placement time was much shorter than techniques or spells.
Possibly due to its simplicity, the Ice Spirit Pill would reach perfection in just one year.
Of course, even without perfection, Wang Yu could attempt to craft top-grade Ice Spirit Pills. The success rate was just uncertain for now.
With both alchemy technique and recipe perfected, success rate would reach 90%. With only one perfected, it was still worth trying—just costlier in spirit stones.
And Wang Yu had no shortage of those. His reserves still exceeded three million—plenty.
He summoned his errand-running disciples and tossed the Goldfull Pavilion VIP token to Jiang Li and Jiang Chuan, speaking kindly:
"Go on. Take this list to the Pavilion and have them deliver the herbs."
Jiang Li and Jiang Chuan: "…"
A master's orders must be obeyed.
Their clans had already briefed them. Their expectations for Wang Yu were low. Occasional guidance and pill rewards were already more than they'd hoped for.
Besides, they could cultivate using the City Lord's Manor's resources—better than anything their clans could offer. No competition, either.
Over time, their cultivation progressed rapidly.
Wang Yu estimated they'd reach late-stage Qi Refining within five years. Watching them, he remembered something.
Once Goldfull Pavilion delivered ten sets of Ice Spirit Pill ingredients, Wang Yu summoned the Guan sisters, Yingdong and Yingxue. All four disciples were now grown.
"In recent months, the spirit vein's auxiliary mineral deposits have nearly recovered. Return to your clans and summon your patriarchs."
The spirit vein was critical. The City Lord's formation core was located within. During extraction, Wang Yu would personally oversee the process to prevent accidents.
Within a year, the newly spawned spirit stones would be reduced to a thin layer through extraction, requiring another 10–20 years of recovery.
This kind of operation was best handled by veterans. The City Lord's Manor was staffed mostly with newcomers—clumsy hands prone to accidents. It was safer to let the Guan and Jiang Clans manage it.
With that arranged, Wang Yu instructed Goldfull Pavilion to continue preparing more herbs for crafting Ice Spirit Pills. Since he planned to enter the spirit vein for secluded cultivation, he needed ample supplies.
He also commissioned them to acquire a tier-three corpse-refining technique.
The corpse of Elder Liu still retained considerable vitality and life force. Wang Yu had sealed it in an ice coffin and stored it in the manor's treasury.
This was premium material for crafting a zombie.
Wang Yu had sold many corpses to Corpse Demon Peak in the past. But this late-stage Core Formation "living corpse"—he intended to keep and refine himself.
According to his plan, his current combat partner was the three-tailed snow fox, Snow Jade. Their attributes matched perfectly, and their synergy was excellent.
Unfortunately, his enemies were increasingly formidable, and Snow Jade's cultivation was lagging. Its progress was slow.
During his alchemy seclusion, Wang Yu would craft a batch of top-grade Snow Fox Pills. He also planned to gather more beast-nurturing pills.
He refused to believe that feeding Snow Jade a rotating menu of top-grade pills wouldn't boost its strength.
This round of preparations—
Combined with the Guan and Jiang Clans recruiting experienced miners—took nearly a month and a half to complete.
City Lord's Manor — Underground
Heaven and earth had veins. Heavenly veins were rare—almost mythical. Earth veins were common, and from them emerged spirit veins, dragon veins, and elemental veins—all mutations of the earth vein.
Volcanic terrain often birthed fire veins. Rivers and lakes yielded water veins. Famous mountains and great rivers gave rise to dragon veins. Ancient forests bred wood veins. Metal-rich mountains spawned gold veins.
These elemental earth veins often came with multiple spirit veins. Occasionally, they even produced spirit vein treasures—condensed by heaven and earth.
Such treasures most often emerged from dragon veins.
(End of Chapter)