The One-Year Mark (Seeking Continued Reads, Seeking Votes)

After this day, Tantai Chan's medicine garden seemed to hold nothing else that could attract Yu Tang Tang. Wang Yu saw her only once, then never saw her again.

That instead made him breathe a sigh of relief.

He constantly reminded himself with the three words "low-key," "cautious," and "self-reflection," repeating over and over that this was the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect, not a kind-hearted place.

Things that looked beautiful might very well conceal deadly poison.

And just like that, a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Today marked his second year and first month in the Outer Sect!

After hiding in the medicine garden for a year, either Xu Jiao Jiao had given up, or she had switched to even darker methods. He still needed to remain vigilant.

During this period.

The Ice Coffin Spell and Illusionary Steps both reached completion. With his cultivation, he could only unleash them twice at full power, so he treated them as trump cards.

Cold Dragon Alchemy and the Cold Blood Pill were also successively placed until completion.

Two months ago, he personally refined two batches of Cold Blood Pills. Only three top-grade pills were produced in total, and his alchemy skill had reached the pinnacle of the Qi Refining Stage.

His technique was already highly accomplished. His only shortcomings lay in his Divine Sense and cultivation, both of which were still greatly lacking. Otherwise, under perfect conditions, there should have been six Top-Grade Cold Blood Pills.

A batch of top grade pills would only yield three. They perfectly absorbed all the medicinal efficacy of a set of spiritual herbs, leaving no surplus medicinal power to produce more Cold Blood Pills.

Of course, this was only the case for the Cold Blood Pill. He was not sure whether other first-tier pills worked the same way. He would find out after trying more in the future.

In terms of cultivation, two Placement Slots cultivating for a year had increased his spiritual power by seventy-two strands. Adding the effects of the Cold Blood Pills and the gains from his own cultivation.

His current spiritual power cultivation stood at one hundred and thirty strands. He was nearly halfway there; half still remained.

However, after taking Top-Grade Cold Blood Pills, his cultivation speed had increased further. Another year would surely let him break through to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. That speed was already not slow.

The Placement Slots took effect based on Wang Yu's aptitude. It was difficult to imagine how fast his cultivation would be if he possessed Heavenly Spiritual Roots. What a pity.

His current Placement Slots were as follows:

[Placement Slot 1: Cold Blood Art]

[Placement Slot 2: Cold Blood Art]

[Placement Slot 3: Cold Dragon Alchemy (Incomplete Art/Being Completed...)]

"Cold Dragon Alchemy (100/100): Eighteen refinements per day; can be completed in Thirty Years."

After his alchemy reached completion, the number of daily placed alchemy cycles increased by two, and the suffix for completion appeared. It required even longer than a Foundation Establishment cultivation method—an entire Thirty Years.

This proved that the Placement Slots truly had the effect of completing incomplete arts.

But another problem followed. Exactly how long would it take to complete a Nascent Soul Secret Art? With Wang Yu's current knowledge, it would take at least a hundred years.

An incomplete secret art that could be cultivated in three months meant he would have to become a "corpse" for over a hundred years. His little brother could not be used either. He had to be cautious.

Yet the feeling of missing an arm truly did not sit well with him, and it would also affect his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment. Placing the [Corpse Demon Secret Art] was almost inevitable!

How difficult—

Whenever he thought of this, he hated Steward Liu, who had caused him to lose an arm, to the very marrow of his bones. He held that grudge every day! If the man had not fled in fear of punishment, Wang Yu now had the ability to collect some old debts.

Once the one-year task period ended, he waited another seven days.

Tantai Chan returned with a glowing complexion. It seemed she had gained quite a few benefits. Upon seeing Wang Yu, she even revealed a rare smile.

"Did anything happen during this period?"

Wang Yu hurried forward and said nervously, "Senior Tantai, not long after you left, the Moonlight Fruit ripened. But a little white-haired girl picked all the fruit. Before this disciple could even finish a sentence, she disappeared..."

At those words, Tantai Chan's expression immediately cooled. She narrowed her eyes as she examined him. "Did she say anything?"

"She said nothing. It was as though... she was taking a stroll."

"It is nothing. You will not be held responsible for this matter."

Wang Yu pretended to let out a sigh of relief. He had deliberately concealed his contact with Yu Tang Tang.

He was afraid that Tantai Chan, so concerned with appearances, would feel shame and resentment upon learning that he knew of her identity as a "human slave and wet nurse." If she killed him for it, that would be entirely reasonable.

Concealing their conversation was the right course of action.

"This is your reward. Leave. You are not permitted to accept This Palace's tasks in the future."

"...This disciple obeys."

Four hundred Contribution Points and three stalks of Cold Ice Nine Leaf Grass—those were the gains from this year. It was a little less than expected, but he personally attended every transaction at the Alchemist Society, and he had earned no small number of Spirit Stones.

With money in his pocket, gathering the ingredients for Cold Blood Pills would no longer be so difficult. He could even consider refining the "Cold Dragon Pill." The Inverse Spirit Blood Sect's treasury surely contained Ice Attribute Demon Cores from second-tier python demons.

If he could cultivate the "Cold Dragon Pill Fire," he would not only gain another means of facing enemies, but his alchemy could also display its most fundamental effect. It would be greatly beneficial to him.

He could first investigate the situation. The Contribution Points in his possession were far from sufficient, and besides that, Wang Yu was also considering whether to leave the sect and undertake missions.

Though everything seemed to be going smoothly for him at present, many of the measures he had taken in the past had buried future troubles, along with unresolved problems.

He could hide for a time, but not for a lifetime.

One rather good method would be to find a Core Formation Elder and take them as his master, settling everything once and for all.

Unfortunately, that was unrealistic.

Undertaking missions outside the sect could at least help him safely pass through a period of danger. Furthermore, outside he would be freer than within the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect, less stifled, and would not need to weigh every side's reaction in everything he did.

Apart from resources and a somewhat inferior environment, every other aspect was better than remaining in the sect.

Now that he held a large number of Spirit Stones, he could prepare thoroughly in every respect, then find a suitable mission and leave the sect. He could stay away for ten or Twenty Years before returning.

By then, whether it was his cultivation realm or his alchemy, both could step out of the darkness and into the light, their origins washed clean.

Excuses for fortuitous opportunities were easy to find. He had remained in the sect ever since his days as a Spirit Slave, yet had displayed such strange characteristics. That was abnormal.

On the Demonic Path, a person with Useless Spiritual Roots performed better in every respect than someone with Dual Spiritual Roots. Was that not asking to be beaten?

With that in mind.

Using the Night Concealment Spell to hide his aura, Wang Yu left the medicine garden and headed straight for Ice Snow Tower. Cooperating with Zhao Shang would not only turn swords into plowshares, but also allow him to enjoy quite a few privileges through this.

Naturally, the necessary precautions remained. If an opportunity arose to completely eliminate this man, Wang Yu would not show mercy. He believed Zhao Shang felt the same way. Both found that the other knew far too much.

On the road, Wang Yu continually calculated what he needed to prepare.

All kinds of supplementary pills, such as Spirit Recovery Pills, Healing Pills, Blood-Stopping Powder, etc.

He needed to prepare at least ten Top-Grade Cold Blood Pills, enough to take until his body developed a Pill Barrier. After all, spiritual herbs would not be so easy to gather outside.

And most importantly, Magical Artifacts! When venturing outside, Magical Artifacts were essential. If he had spare money, he would also need to prepare a simple set of Formation Flags.

There was much to prepare.

Before long.

He arrived at Ice Snow Tower.

"Zhao Shang, do me a favor."

After a year apart, the other man's aura had grown again. But upon seeing Wang Yu, that jinx, Zhao Shang was extremely unwilling.

"Brother, I'm calling you brother—seriously, stop pulling this special-privilege nonsense."