After roughly estimating the height of this strange peak at a glance,

Wang Yu swept his gaze downward and, as expected, discovered a cave at a peculiar location. Following the method taught by Song Yun, he went deep inside.

In less than half a stick of incense, the view suddenly opened up.

A pool of red liquid exuded cold mist. On the elevated sides were bronze rings shaped like beast heads, from which blood colored droplets continuously fell, icy cold and bone piercing.

It was clearly arranged by human hands. Coupled with the Eight Trigram Step entry method, it was most likely prepared by members of the Song clan, and it was simply handed to him just like that.

Song Yun was truly lavish with his resources.

Snowjade, who had long been unable to hold back, suddenly dashed out of the spirit beast pouch and looked at Wang Yu with eager eyes.

“Go. Break through to the third rank.”

Wang Yu tossed Snowjade into the Ice Blood Pool, while he himself set up a furnace nearby to refine pills, preparing to fuse the special ice attribute Myriad Spirit Blood Essence he had collected after entering the Blood Prison Ice Plains.

With the Blood Evil One Origin Gourd, Wang Yu was spared the hardship of refinement.

He only needed to use the Condensing Core Seal to refine the blood essences of varying quality into a single fused blood pill. It did not take much effort, and he could also take advantage of the time while Snowjade was breaking through.

To test the effects of blood pills refined with ice blood attributes.

And indeed.

With the same quantity, blood pills refined in the Blood Demon Sea could at most increase his mana by one hundred strands, which could be cultivated in ten days.

The blood pills refined here in the Blood Prison Ice Plains could increase nearly two hundred strands of mana, a full twofold difference.

“In that case, I can break through to the eighth layer of Core Formation even faster.”

As the water level of the Ice Blood Pool gradually dropped, Wang Yu cultivated silently, while Snowjade’s aura steadily rose as well.

The third rank was also an extremely critical threshold for demonic beasts. Once crossed, they were truly considered spirits, possessing intelligence comparable to the human race.

Speaking of which, he had never touched Snowjade’s balls.

He did not even know whether it was a male fox or a female fox. He felt it seemed male.

Three months later.

At the peak of the strange mountain that looked like a Wangfu Stone, a patch of black clouds suddenly covered the blood clouds. Even within this Blood Abyss, it was a rare sight.

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck down, piercing through thick layers of rock.

It landed directly on a massive three tailed snow fox, over ten meters long, with snow white fur and ice blue runes across its body. The great fox immediately let out a miserable scream.

Its tolerance for pain was not very good.

But with Wang’s supreme grade spirit pills assisting it, two pills went down its throat, and its demonic power and injuries rapidly recovered. Layers of icy barriers rose to support it.

The second and third lightning tribulations followed in succession.

Amid the dazzling lightning, Wang Yu’s nostrils twitched as he smelled the aroma of roasted meat, making his mouth water.

Within the charred mass of flesh, white fur broke through.

Seizing the opportunity of cultivation breakthrough, Snowjade grasped the hidden fortune within its body. Its bloodline successfully advanced to earth grade, even if it was only the lower tier of earth grade.

It was still earth grade.

Two more tails grew behind it, becoming a five tailed snow fox. Following this pattern, advancing to heavenly grade bloodline would result in seven tails.

Above heavenly grade, only by touching true spirit bloodline could one grow nine tails.

Wang Yu could not help but feel regret. His ambition of raising a nine tailed fox was shattered.

Snowjade’s lightning tribulation was almost entirely endured by relying on its bloodline.

Its own strength was rather average, without any particularly outstanding aspects.

Of course.

That was in comparison to Wang Yu himself. Compared to ordinary rogue cultivators, it was still quite formidable, and it could already speak human language, allowing for true communication.

Its life-bound demonic treasure had also been successfully nurtured.

It was a very beautiful snow white fox robe, densely covered with blue runes representing ice path divine abilities, perfectly aligned with Snowjade’s awakened life-bound divine ability.

This type of demonic treasure was truly hard to describe.

Not bad, just extremely unconventional. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Most life-bound demonic treasures of the demonic race were formed from advantageous body parts they naturally possessed, such as a tiger demon’s claws, fangs, or tail. One had never heard of tiger skin becoming a demonic treasure.

“Truly bizarre.”

“Master.”

While Wang Yu was still sighing, Snowjade’s enormous body, now grown to thirty or forty meters, rapidly shrank as if returning to infancy, and it dove straight into his arms.

Its voice was soft and sticky, like that of a young girl.

A female fox.

However, Wang Yu still saw through her trick. He grabbed the loose flesh at the back of Snowjade’s neck and said bluntly.

“Stop acting cute. A fox over a hundred years old, pretending to be a little girl. Do you think all demonic beasts are like Yu Tangtang.”

“Heh.”

Snowjade revealed a fawning, human like expression. Her voice finally returned to normal, that of a mature older sister, carrying the innate charm of the fox clan.

It was especially effective against Wang Yu.

However, her beast form was still far too abstract. He was not that perverse. A shapeshifted great demon was equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator. Within two or three hundred years, she had no chance of transforming.

“Since you have broken through, tell me about the life-bound divine ability you awakened and the abilities of your demonic treasure.”

Snowjade thought for a moment and said.

“The demonic treasure is called Snow Fox Robe. Its main ability is transformation. The five tails represent five demonic treasure forms. At present they are sword, ribbon, mirror, sphere, and lamp.

“When combined with the life-bound divine ability Heavenly Fox Five Transformations, they can manifest different demonic race divine arts. The main attributes are ice and illusion.”

After gaining a general understanding, Wang Yu felt rather envious.

If he had such a versatile treasure, it could be matched with any of his divine abilities. Just thinking about it felt extremely convenient.

Moreover, the prototype of a demonic treasure was very suitable for cultivators to refine into a magic treasure, and the effects were mostly similar to the original, as long as the materials were used well and the refiner’s skill was not poor.

As he was thinking.

Snowjade suddenly yelped and quickly jumped out of Wang Yu’s arms. Having stayed by her master’s side since gaining intelligence, this was the first time she felt such a bone chilling sensation.

“Do not be afraid. Continue.”

Wang Yu’s smile faded. He then comfortably rubbed her for a while before sitting cross legged again on the Profound Ice Bed. The crimson cold liquid in the pool had basically been completely absorbed.

He stayed for a few more days to let Snowjade stabilize her realm.

Then they departed.

The next stop was Crimson Snow Mountain. The soul freezing wind that blew there year round was suitable for his cultivation, and along the way he could also sweep through gathering points of ice blood demonic thralls.

Additionally.

The spirit beast pouch in his hand was only second rank and could not accommodate third rank Snowjade. It had also been used for many years. He would have to buy a new one after leaving.

Fortunately, she could transform into a tiny form and be tucked into his clothes. With third rank cultivation, she was no longer afraid of being killed by stray battle aftershocks.

Along the way, they traveled while stopping intermittently.

The distance itself was not far. Most of the time was spent on gathering. Crimson Snow Mountain was a landmark of the Blood Prison Ice Plains and was easy to find.

One month later.

“So this is the famous Crimson Snow Mountain. Snowjade, how is the Heavenly Frost Secret Art I taught you progressing.”

“No problem. Do not worry, master.”

“If you get corpse spots from being blown by the soul freezing wind, do not blame me for being unable to save you.”

“I am a five tailed snow fox. It is not that easy to freeze me to death.”

With a companion who could speak, Wang Yu’s mood had been much better recently. After all, they knew each other inside out, and with the connection of the Spirit Taming Seal, they shared life and death.

The kind where if Wang Yu died, Snowjade would be buried with him.

If Snowjade died, Wang Yu would only suffer a minor injury. It still counted as sharing life and death.

Crimson Snow Mountain rose over ten thousand meters high, the most towering majestic mountain in the Blood Abyss. After exceeding three thousand meters, one could already feel the soul freezing wind blowing in.

For Wang Yu, soul freezing wind at this level was nothing more than a gentle breeze brushing his face. It could not shake his divine soul in the slightest. Only the cold energy itself had some effect.

After passing four thousand meters, Wang Yu slowed down.

This was to prevent charging upward too violently and failing to withstand it. At this altitude range, he saw several fellow disciples from Cold Blood Peak. When they had entered, there were only thirty to forty of them.

They had barely encountered anything in the Blood Demon Sea or the Corrosion Yin Hall.

Even when they did, they followed Yan Ling’s group, so their losses were minimal. Those he did not see were all gathered here at Crimson Snow Mountain. Their purpose was quite clear.

Most of them were early Core Formation cultivators training here. Some had even swallowed ice attribute Myriad Spirit Blood Essence, directly consuming it without refinement.

“What a pity.”

Shaking his head, Wang Yu continued upward.

Between five thousand and six thousand meters, the number of people increased noticeably, mainly mid Core Formation cultivators. They sat among pavilions and towers they had built themselves.

Most were in quiet cultivation, though some gathered to chat or play a few games of Go. Such elegant individuals were not unheard of within the Exalted Sect, but they were not common either.

Usually, it was the old fellows who preferred this kind of refinement.

After experiencing the soul freezing wind for a while, Wang Yu still felt it was not intense enough. He lowered his head and said to Snowjade.

“How does it feel?”

“Very comfortable. Let’s keep going up.”

“Alright.”

It seemed that the bloodline of the Five Tailed Snow Fox was even more mysterious than he had imagined. Although Snowjade was an ice attribute spirit beast, this soul freezing wind was not merely cold. It was especially effective on the soul.

It was said that the souls of demonic beasts were innately weaker than those of the human race.

That was why they needed to reach third rank to awaken intelligence. Now it seemed the rumors were wrong, or perhaps the Snow Fox clan was different from ordinary demonic beasts.

When the altitude exceeded eight thousand meters, the intensity of the soul freezing wind surged sharply. There were even fewer people here. Only a few vague figures could be seen sitting cross legged in the wind and snow.

Not sensing Yan Ling’s aura, Wang Yu had no interest in going over to greet anyone. He directly ascended in one breath to the summit, standing at the peak of a ten thousand meter mountain.

Standing atop the highest peak, all other mountains seemed small.

Here, the strange cold wind reached its extreme, almost forming a wind belt at the summit that continuously swept back and forth. Even Wang Yu felt the cold.

“This is the place.”

“Master, I will sleep for a while.”

“Alright.”

Snowjade stretched lazily and nestled into his arms, falling asleep. On the surface, she seemed unaffected, but in truth, every breath she took was absorbing the cold energy of heaven and earth.

This was greatly beneficial to her cultivation.

Seeing this, Wang Yu did not delay. He split his focus into two uses. Part of his divine sense controlled the Ice Chi Pill Flame. He refined pills as he should, relying on Blood Pills to sustain himself.

The other part of his divine sense spread to its utmost extent. The perfected Cold Absorption Art and the minor accomplishment Heavenly Frost Secret Art operated simultaneously.

Visible strands of cold energy drifted over from the wind.

They formed a vortex that wrapped around Wang Yu. From afar, he looked like an ice blue stone statue sitting cross legged on the mountain peak.

Wang Yu knew that these secret arts would be useful sooner or later, so after obtaining them, he had never stopped comprehending them.

He had long planned to make a trip to the Endless Ice Plains.

Encountering Crimson Snow Mountain this time was also a form of opportunity. As the cold energy within the soul freezing wind was absorbed and refined by Wang Yu, the black blue mana within his body further improved in quality.

The black grew darker, and the blue also showed signs of shifting toward black.

These two colors represented yin and ice attribute mana. The more cold energy absorbed, the higher the quality became.

Wang Yu still had energy to channel it into the Glazed Iceheart Pagoda. The twelve Guanghan Phases engraved on the exterior of the pagoda seemed to come alive, even though they had not been activated.

The wondrous scene of the twelve phases had already manifested outside the pagoda.

Ever since his cultivation broke through to late Core Formation, the Iceheart Pagoda had advanced to a high grade magic treasure. Wang Yu then refined the divine ability essence of Ice Soul Divine Light into the tower.

This allowed it to contain a third divine ability technique.

It had basically reached its limit. To contain a fourth would require waiting until he broke through to Nascent Soul.

The Aurora Escape Technique placed higher demands on comprehension. The soul freezing wind energy could only enhance the power of Ice Soul Divine Light and the Twelve Phases. As for the benefits gained by the Glazed Iceheart Pagoda, there was no need to elaborate.

Crimson Snow Mountain was absolutely a cultivation holy land for ice path cultivators.

The foresight of the seniors and ancestors was admirable. They had chosen an excellent place.

Maintaining a steady cultivation rhythm.

As soon as a Blood Pill was refined, he swallowed it directly, then continued absorbing soul freezing cold energy. Once the cultivation resources in his hands were exhausted, he would descend the mountain to hunt Frozen Blood Demons.

Days of peaceful cultivation passed swiftly and comfortably.

In the blink of an eye, another five years passed.

In the thirtieth year and first month of Wang Yu’s tenure as an elder, and the twenty second year since entering the Blood Abyss, his cultivation had yet to break through. However, other good news arrived one after another.

The Yellow Springs Great Hand Seal was finally perfected.

This divine ability that had accompanied him since early days was now complete. With his current cultivation, it was precisely the time when its maximum power could be unleashed.

If he continued to leave it in an Idle Slot, relying on the profundity of the Idle Slot, its power could naturally continue to increase. It might even advance to a fourth rank divine ability.

Divine abilities inherently contained limitless possibilities. Divine abilities that could increase their power by absorbing special forces were especially suited for placement in an Idle Slot.

But Wang Yu clearly had more suitable targets.

In addition, the Demonic Dragon Fist, this combat technique, was also completely perfected. This thing had no real growth potential and could only serve as part of his accumulated combat methods.

With this.

The seven Idle Slots could be re planned.

[Idle Slot 1: Ice Soul Holy Demonic Art (Major Accomplishment)]

[Idle Slot 2: Ice Soul...]

These two were basically unchanged.

[Idle Slot 3: Demonic Embryo Mysterious Origin Curse (Perfected, Upgrading, Deducing)]

[Idle Slot 4: Aurora Escape Technique, divine ability movement art (Minor Accomplishment)]

"Aurora Escape Technique (40/100): 72 practices per day. Forty years to perfection."

[Idle Slot 5: Guanghan Twelve Phases, life-bound divine ability (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Idle Slot 6: Ice Soul Divine Light, divine ability (Entry Level)]

[Idle Slot 7: Nascent Soul Pill Formula]

"Nascent Soul Pill Formula (0/100): One Batch every 23 days. Fifty years to perfection."

All Idle Slots had been updated by Wang Yu.

Especially Slot Seven. He already had a complete set of materials to refine the Nascent Soul Pill. It was time to fully master the formula.

As for fourth rank alchemy, it was not absolutely necessary to reach perfection.

Even with high grade or mid grade Nascent Soul Pills, Wang Yu was confident he could break through successfully. He had forged such a powerful foundation simply to reduce the difficulty of the breakthrough and increase the success rate.

The Cold Chi Alchemy Art still had the potential to advance to fourth rank.

Thus, Wang Yu calculated the timing. After leaving the Blood Abyss and deciding victory or defeat with Fu Xiao, he could then remove the Demonic Embryo Curse and place alchemy into an Idle Slot without issue.

In theory, as long as the deduction progress reached half.

His alchemy would already be sufficient. It did not need to be perfected, nor did it require supreme grade pills.

His previous extreme pursuit was only because the absorption problem of wasted spiritual roots was too severe. Only supreme grade spirit pills could be absorbed perfectly.

“It’s time to head out again.”