Chapter 612: Li Chunyi, Tempering the Heart Amidst the World, Turning Enemies into Friends

Ordinarily, mastering a perfected fifth-tier divine ability already grants superior combat power within one's realm. If Soul Transformation cultivators didn't also possess the Law Manifestation ability, a single perfected divine ability would be enough to reign supreme.

Thus, clashing with divine abilities is merely a means. For Soul Transformation cultivators to truly decide victory or defeat, it largely depends on the power of their Law Manifestation. This only changes at the Void Refinement stage.

Venerable Xia truly didn't expect that she, a powerful fourth-level Soul Transformation cultivator and not weak in Yunzhou, would be ambushed by Wang Yu. Caught off guard for a moment, she met with an unforeseen disaster. How could she possibly tolerate this?

"You are utterly despicable! How can you be worthy of the title 'Venerable'?"

"Ridiculous!"

In reality, Wang Yu only then realized:

As the ascension hub for a dozen nearby minor realms, the Mountain and Sea Realm had long enjoyed peace, and its top cultivators had long since moved beyond needing to resolve problems through fighting and killing. After all, everyone had powerful backing, and their lives were precious. Before arriving at the Mountain and Sea Realm to join the queue for ascension, they might have been desperately earning resources and cultivating diligently. But after a long time queuing in the Mountain and Sea Realm, their combat skills gradually became rusty. Instead, resources were acquired through alliances and exchanges of benefits. This was a typical shift in mindset: after emerging from struggling at the bottom, they gradually became wielders of power. The saying "the dragon-slayer eventually becomes a dragon" might not perfectly fit here, but the core idea expressed is the same: this change in thinking is something they find difficult to control.

And this Venerable Xia had only broken through to the Soul Transformation realm by relying on the abundant resources of this realm and the methods passed down from the upper realm. Honestly, let alone Chi Tian, Yellow Springs Abbot, Blood Demon Palace Lord, Xie Xiean—among the people Wang Yu knew, any one of them was more outstanding than her. They were simply born in a dire place like the Ice Prison Realm. Even their inheritances were flawed. That's why they faltered and perished; it truly made one lament the tragic downfall of such heroes.

The Nascent Soul cultivators from the Ice Prison Realm were all highly capable. But the Mountain and Sea Realm... was too simplistic.

Wang Yu had previously thought this Venerable Xia was a shrewd and cunning person, which was why she dared to form a dao-companion relationship with a highly-ranked disciple of the Emotionless Dao. Now, it seemed she was merely deluding herself. She was likely still harboring some unrealistic fantasies.

"How dull."

Wang Yu, focusing his divine sense, casually molded the Soul-Destroying Light into a Soul-Crushing Great Handprint. Emitting wisps of dark smoke, it instantly gripped Venerable Xia's primordial spirit. He spoke disdainfully, "Such a thing as you, even if refined into a Soul Transformation Blood Pill, I would worry about it contaminating my intellect."

"—You!"

Having been subjected to repeated insults, and completely powerless to resist, besides anger, Venerable Xia felt utterly powerless for the first time. In her frantic struggle, she shrieked loudly, "Li Chunyi, save me!!!"

"Alas..."

A sigh resounded in the void, and a streak of sword light shot out like a bolt. Wang Yu, however, was not surprised. "I've been waiting."

With a thought, the Soul-Crushing Great Handprint, holding Venerable Xia's primordial spirit, quickly vanished into the void, appearing directly behind Wang Yu through spatial displacement. The seemingly powerful sword light was shattered by a flick of his finger. The Heartless Intent imbued within it was completely absorbed by Wang Yu, instantly refined by the Six Desires Demonic Diagram within him. Its radiance became significantly richer.

Seeing this, Wang Yu's eyes lit up. This kind of intent, which belonged to the path of emotions, was simply like food naturally prepared for the Demonic Diagram. If he could consume half of it, there would be a chance for it to advance to a mid-grade spiritual artifact.

"So nourishing!"

Greed arose. Wang Yu stared intently at a certain part of the void, and an invisible ripple spread, from which the figure of Emotionless Ancestor Li Chunyi emerged. His face was like sculpted jade, with white hair and white robes. His star-like eyes were cold and emotionless. In an instant, Wang Yu felt as if he was looking at another version of himself, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Li Chunyi likewise scrutinized Wang Yu. "Seventh-level Soul Transformation. Not bad. But compared to me, it's still far inferior. Release Xia'er, and your crime of causing trouble in Yunzhou will be forgiven."

Hearing this, Wang Yu merely smiled. The Moon Seal Divine Light flickered in his eyes. Just as he was about to teach this overly arrogant fellow a lesson, he discovered something even more interesting. He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Venerable Xia, his eyes filling with pity. "Tsk tsk, Fellow Daoist Li has quite the skill, to even deceive himself. No wonder he fancies such a low-quality item."

Li Chunyi's expression registered confusion, though his eyes remained utterly unperturbed. "Fellow Daoist Wei, if you insult my dao-companion again, do not blame my sword's mercilessness."

Wang Yu shook his head and directly exposed the truth: "The illusionary spell you cast on yourself is more like a mind-force secret art, creating memories of yourself loving her to deceive your own heart. This is how you could use the Emotionless Dao's secret art to choose this woman as your tribulation target, right? A good method, but unfortunately, you've gone astray."

Li Chunyi's expression flickered with a momentary daze. He recovered in an instant. The mental state cultivated by the Emotionless Dao is extremely powerful, making it difficult to be manipulated by illusions. When Wang Yu suddenly exposed the truth, those self-created memories naturally shattered like a reflection in water, a change that could not be reversed. Like a broken mirror, once cracks appeared, it was no longer possible to immerse oneself in false emotions.

Silence lingered for a long time. Even the captive Venerable Xia wore a look of utter disbelief. "How is this possible... How can this be fake, Chunyi, please don't be deceived by this villain! I am your Xia'er!!!"

Yet, no matter how she cried out, Li Chunyi remained impassive. Only the slight gloom between his brows indicated his foul mood. His pure white snow sword instantly inverted and pressed against his arm, and his chilling gaze, like ten thousand years of ice, pierced Wang Yu.

"Since you have seen through it, why did you obstruct my cultivation?"

Wang Yu, on the other hand, crossed his arms over his chest, and demonic energy intertwined behind him, forming a chair, which he casually sat upon. "You've taken the wrong path, Fellow Daoist. This isn't the first time you've used this illusionary method to overcome a love tribulation, is it? I see that half of your cultivation is derived from it. This Venerable Xia is the consumable you intended to use when you break through to Void Refinement, right? Certainly not for the final leap when achieving Dao Integration!"

Li Chunyi's silence precisely confirmed the truth of Wang Yu's words.

A moment later, "Fellow Daoist Wei has extraordinary insight and exceptional ability. May I ask which immortal palace lineage you have joined?"

"It's hard to say." Wang Yu had received the immortal's command to join the immortal palace and was certainly to enter the Grand Profound Heaven, but he had never actually been there and dared not masquerade under the name of the Grand Profound Heaven. One must know that this immortal cultivated the Dao of Karma—an entity Wang Yu feared the most.

Upon hearing this, Li Chunyi was not even angered. He put away his sword, clasped his hands, and said, "Since it cannot be said, Li will not ask further. Fellow Daoist has identified the problem; do you have a solution?" His demeanor shifted from dismissive to arrogant, then to one of equality. He was now almost performing the courtesy of a junior, seeking guidance from Wang Yu. The swiftness of the change was astounding.

Even Empress Qing Qing, who was secretly observing, felt that this Emotionless Ancestor was far softer than rumored. He was far too easy to talk to; when she had gone to arrange the ascension queue, he certainly hadn't displayed such an attitude. To think that she, a proud genius of the Demonic Star lineage, was suppressed by an Emotionless Ancestor to such an extent, what kind of background did that Ancestor Wei actually have? Was a millennium spent away from this realm truly a complete transformation?

"Hahahahaha, Fellow Daoist Li is indeed straightforward."

At this point, the other party's personality was already strikingly clear: nothing else mattered in his eyes but the Dao itself! He even cared not whether the method was deviant or evil; as long as it was useful, he had no taboos. He was an archetypal demonic cultivator. If he could obtain the endorsement of the Minor Extreme Palace, Wang Yu didn't necessarily need to oppose him. Everything is in flux, and Wang Yu's plans have never been rigid; he adapts to circumstances and makes changes as needed. As long as his ultimate goal could be achieved, he was quite amenable.

"I have a secret art called 'Boundless Mortal Dust.' If Fellow Daoist dares, take a journey through it, and your delusion will surely vanish!"

"What is there to fear? Fellow Daoist Wei, pray perform your art!"

"Excellent courage!"

Wang Yu pointed two fingers at his glabella, gently pulling outward, and a small boat wrapped in dense mortal dust aura appeared from within. It floated slowly towards Li Chunyi. The latter was truly unafraid; he even stepped forward to actively receive the Mortal Dust Boat into his heart lake.

"Excellent!" Wang Yu likewise praised.

The Mortal Dust Boat could protect one's mind from being utterly obscured by the mortal dust, and at crucial moments, it could pull a person back from the illusory mortal dust reincarnation of countless lifetimes. If Li Chunyi had been cautious, he would have lost this protection. Wang Yu's activation of those mortal dust energies could have also achieved the same effect. This alone indicated that Li Chunyi was no ordinary person. But to say he was naive or easily trusting would be ridiculous; precisely because he understood the situation clearly, he wasn't worried that Wang Yu would harm him.

The background of the Emotionless Dao lineage was one reason. The ascension channel controlled by the Minor Extreme Palace was another. And Wang Yu's swift capture of Venerable Xia, combined with his willingness to engage in prolonged conversation, indicated that he had something to ask; this was the third. These three reasons, coupled with his pursuit of the Dao, meant a small risk was worth taking. Even actively accepting the Mortal Dust Boat into his heart lake – this was his style and attitude, and this was precisely what Wang Yu admired about him. This Li Chunyi's strength was definitely inferior to extreme Soul Transformation cultivators like the Heaven Refinement Demonic Venerable, even by a lot, but this kind of mental state already showed the bearing of a powerful cultivator. This might also be the reason why the Emotionless Dao lineage kept him in the Minor Extreme Palace and had not yet permitted his ascension.

"Heart refinement... it is indeed arduous."

Sometime later, Empress Qing Qing appeared beside Wang Yu, looking at Li Chunyi, who was enveloped in dense mortal dust mist, his facial features constantly showing massive emotional changes, and sighed with profound emotion.

Wang Yu, however, found nothing remarkable about it. His Lapis Lazuli Heart Realm truly surpassed those of the same realm by far, but cultivation of the heart realm became increasingly difficult the further one progressed. Even with the aid of a supreme mind-force treasure like the Seven Hearts Treasure Wheel Marvelous Tree, its growth was extremely slow. At least another century was needed to even touch the edge of the Lapis Lazuli Heart Realm, and he had no clue how to reach the next level, 'Supreme Goodness Like Water.' He felt that he would need to fully cultivate the Prajna Heart Sutra to even glimpse it, and the time required for Heart Sutra cultivation had never shortened due to his improved comprehension. Initially, it required five hundred years, and now it was still three hundred years away. After all, he rarely used his 'idle cultivation' slot for the Heart Sutra. Apart from the very beginning, he had almost always cultivated it himself, occasionally gaining insights and making steady progress. Thus, he hadn't occupied a more valuable cultivation slot.

Hearing Empress Qing Qing's sigh, Wang Yu smiled. "Fellow Daoist, as a Drought Demon who attained the Dao, you must have also suffered from the torments of the desire for slaughter and blood, right? It is precisely by cultivating the heart realm that you can control yourself. Would you like to enter this mortal dust reincarnation to refine your heart?"

Empress Qing Qing immediately became wary, quietly moving much further away from Wang Yu: "I don't need it. Gaining spiritual intelligence is already a great fortune; there's no need to torture myself further."

"Fellow Daoist Qing Qing, you jest. This is an opportunity that others would beg for; are you truly unwilling to try?"

Wang Yu genuinely found it difficult to act against Li Chunyi. Given the other party's intelligence, he was a worthy individual to befriend. But as for Empress Qing Qing, honestly, he had considerable interest in a sentient Drought Demon. If he could thoroughly research the Drought Demon's body, it would greatly benefit his cultivation of the Undying Nether Dragon Art. Naturally, this kind of research was by no means malicious.

Rubbing his chin, Wang Yu suddenly proposed, "Fellow Daoist Qing Qing, would you be willing to dual cultivate with me? Your Drought Demon body has a solar aspect, yet is female, symbolizing Yin and Yang intermingling with infinite profundity, also incorporating a touch of the Fire Dao principle." Saying this, he subtly revealed a faint trace of Yin energy within his divine soul. "I am male, naturally representing Yang, yet I cultivate the path of ultimate Yin and purity, and have some comprehension of the Yin Dao principle. When Qian and Kun combine, and Yin and Yang converge, our dual cultivation aligns with the great principles of the Dao, bringing immeasurable benefits. What are your thoughts, Fellow Daoist?"

After two dual cultivations with Immortal Ice Soul and Star-Moon, he had realized that some matters didn't need to be hidden; he could directly and openly invite. After all, it was mutually beneficial and didn't involve emotions. There was nothing awkward about proposing it. However, while he had this foundation, Empress Qing Qing was caught off guard by him. They were just discussing heart refinement in the mortal dust, and he abruptly switched to dual cultivation. She inevitably flushed.

Just as she was about to get angry, she saw that Wang Yu's face held no desire, only a craving for the Dao and a yearning for cultivation advancement. Empress Qing Qing immediately grew silent. She then recalled the faint Yin energy Wang Yu had just displayed, and her brow slightly furrowed. One must know that she could only activate a very small portion of the Fire Dao principle through her innate spiritual treasure. Yet Wang Yu, at the Soul Transformation realm, already possessed some comprehension of a Dao principle—truly a rare genius. Everything he said was profoundly true, every point accurate. The thought of the extraordinary nourishing effect of the Yin Dao principle on the primordial spirit made her truly tempted, but without understanding Wang Yu, it was difficult to agree to such a private matter. Furthermore, she was over two meters tall. Although Wang Yu was also tall and robust, he was still shorter than her, which might make certain positions a bit awkward... As she pondered, the blush of anger on her face transformed into a blush of shyness.

"This matter benefits both of us, Fellow Daoist Qing Qing. You can consider it further. If one day we can establish a relationship of trust, dual cultivation with our primordial spirits would actually be the most optimal. I will wait here for your response." Wang Yu then added, and said no more.

If it came to pass, good; if not, it didn't matter. The cultivation of the Nine Condensations and Nine Dispersions had only just begun. With Venerable Xia now in his grasp, all the resources of Yunzhou could be utilized by him, and it would take time to digest these benefits, so he was not in a hurry.

Li Chunyi's initial heart refinement within the mortal dust lasted a full ten days. When he awoke, he was drenched in sweat. The coldness in his eyes was completely gone, replaced by truly complex and authentic emotions. His cultivation plummeted directly from the peak of Soul Transformation to the sixth level, and his Emotionless Intent also showed numerous deficiencies. Yet he felt it was entirely worth it.

"What an excellent secret art, what a profound divine ability!"