Chapter 619: Dragon Pattern Black Gold Mysterious Crown, Ferryman Online

On this day, inside the Yin Heaven Hall at the Five Elements Corpse Workshop, a unique aura, unmistakably from a spiritual treasure, suddenly erupted. Its radiant light condensed into a pillar, scattering the white clouds for a thousand miles and clearly signaling the emergence of a powerful treasure.

The Thousand-Mile Arid Land, adjacent to the location, immediately sensed this. Hanba Qingqing emerged from its depths, gazing at the incredibly conspicuous pillar of radiant light. She couldn't help but murmur to herself: "Five years, a full five years... he hasn't sought me out even once. So, he was refining a treasure. I thought he no longer wished to dual cultivate." This had made Qingqing feel anxious for a while.

Her research into the Secret Method of Withering and Flourishing was now largely complete. To truly test it, she still needed to gather treasures rich in life force. Since Wang Yu had succeeded, she decided to congratulate him first. With that thought, she transformed into a streak of crimson light and headed directly into the Corpse Workshop.

Meanwhile, Wang Yu had found himself unable to stop ever since he comprehended the Dao of Natural Artifact Refinement, a profound yet simple method. He had initially only intended to craft a low-grade, fifth-tier magic robe. However, he ended up investing more and more materials. It seemed like he could always add a spiritual material here or a spiritual liquid there. Though it appeared chaotic, it perfectly utilized the inherent natural principles of spiritual objects as they were born from heaven and earth. He vaguely suspected this method was linked to the Dao principles of heaven and earth. However, due to his insufficient cultivation, he couldn't fully grasp its entirety, so he remained in the realm of speculation and inference. The method of natural artifact refinement was inseparable from geomancy and was currently just in its nascent stage. There was still significant room for further refinement in the future.

Rather than dwelling on that, he turned his thoughts to the spiritual treasure he had just finished refining. This magic robe had a deep black base. A myriad of golden, sand-like particles formed a blurred dragon pattern, resembling shimmering liquid gold. It swayed as if alive, exuding an undeniable sense of nobility. The back hem was quite long, with portions gracefully draping at the edges and cuffs. It evoked the aesthetic of traditional ink wash painting, appearing ethereal and misty, constantly in a state of flux. The entire ensemble—outer robe, trousers, belt, footwear, and inner lining—collectively formed this magic robe. Its sheer grandeur made naming it a challenge.

"I had initially intended to refine an ultimate magic robe primarily for 'mana amplification,' but this dragon-patterned black gold ended up stealing the show. Perhaps this is the drawback of natural artifact refinement: the difficulty in controlling the final product's effects." Rubbing his chin, he gazed at the exceptionally ostentatious magic robe. Wang Yu suddenly spoke, "I'll call you—the Dragon-Pattened Black Gold Xuanmian!"

The Xuanmian was the ceremonial attire of the Son of Heaven, symbolizing the pinnacle of the human realm. Refining such a magic robe could be seen as an act of usurpation, as it was believed that misfortune would befall those whose virtue did not match their station. However, cultivators paid no mind to such concepts. The robe perfectly complemented the Yama Emperor Sword, which held the prestige of an Infernal Emperor. Over the past five years, the sword had successfully advanced to top-grade fifth-tier. The World-Splitting Divine Boat had also been fully repaired. Upon emerging from seclusion, he could prepare to gather passengers and undertake the ferry service.

The Emotion Devouring Beast had also successfully hatched and perfectly integrated with the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Map. From now on, it would serve as the demon map's artifact spirit, its grade having instantly reached upper-grade fifth-tier. With an artifact spirit already present, and by continuously devouring more Six Desires Heavenly Demons according to the map's cultivation method, its advancement to sixth-tier as a Void Refinement spiritual treasure would be unimpeded. This was why Wang Yu greatly valued the refinement method for the Emotion Devouring Beast. The sixth-tier spiritual treasures he possessed were all incomplete, with severely damaged origins. Among them, the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Saint Armor and the Void Banner, the Saint Armor still retained a spirit and offered the possibility of repair. The Void Banner, however, was the intrinsic artifact of Zhong Ying, the Prison King Spirit Official. With Zhong Ying's death, even though his primordial spirit was forcibly rescued by Kongkongzi, the artifact spirit, intrinsically linked to its master's life, had long since perished. It could be re-refined, but repair was impossible. These were all Wang Yu's assets, which he could utilize once his cultivation realm advanced. This included his newly forged innate spiritual treasure, the Thirty-Six Grade Blood Lotus Furnace, which had also reached upper-grade fifth-tier. It had fully caught up to Wang Yu's cultivation realm, a result of his continuous feeding with spiritual flames and intensive cultivation using demon corpses as materials. It had nearly reached its complete form.

His combat power was now significantly stronger than when he first encountered Kongkongzi. In fact, given his profound foundation, very few beings could compel him to exert his full strength. However, against those with overwhelmingly superior cultivation, such as Kongkongzi, he remained utterly powerless. While he was indeed a strong practitioner, he wasn't insurmountable. This required particular vigilance: he needed to carefully consider who he could afford to provoke and who he could not.

As for the grade of the Dragon-Pattened Black Gold Xuanmian, Wang Yu was genuinely puzzled. This spiritual treasure hadn't developed a spirit, and it was the very first item he had forged using the natural artifact refinement method. While it bore similarities to known artifact refinement systems, its essence completely deviated from their techniques and the requirements of a refiner. To say Wang Yu refined it was less accurate than to say it was the result of natural selection. He had simply chosen a form.

At this thought, Wang Yu's eyebrow twitched. "Could it be that this also counts as a treasure formed by heaven and earth?" Aside from the widely known classifications of magic treasures in artifact refinement, there was also a category known as innate spiritual treasures, nurtured by heaven and earth, sometimes called Profound Heaven Supreme Treasures. These were not judged by conventional magic treasure classifications. Weaker ones might be comparable to third-tier magic treasures, while stronger ones could even surpass Sky-Reaching spiritual treasures. To label the Dragon-Pattened Black Gold Xuanmian as an innate spiritual treasure didn't quite feel right either. It seemed more like a wondrous state that existed between the two categories. This might be why it hadn't developed a spiritual essence.

Upon realizing this, Wang Yu instantly refined the Dragon-Pattened Black Gold Xuanmian with a mere thought. The treasure directly entered his primordial spirit, transforming into an outer robe draped over his Taiyin Star Soul. Whenever he wished, he could instantly wear it, enabling it to exert its full effects. The treasure had a limited number of effects. Firstly, it protected the soul from external demons. Secondly, it possessed exceptionally strong defensive capabilities: all divine abilities and spells could be reduced by fifty percent, and brute force impacts could have seventy percent of their power dispelled. It even had a full hundred percent effect against Void Refinement cultivators. It could be called the paramount defensive treasure in his possession. Furthermore, it possessed the miraculous ability to restore mana. Given his current capacity, he could recover thirty percent of his total mana in a single breath. This meant he could continuously fire the Sun-Piercing Demon Bow at its maximum power for extended periods. He could even fire the Taiyin Guanghan Arrow for seven days and seven nights without feeling a lack of mana. The increase in his endurance was staggering, as he previously felt drained after just three maximum-power shots. The boost to his combat power was not to be underestimated. Beyond these, there were no further effects; all were passive enhancements. This made it perfectly suited for a cultivator like him, who specialized in various powerful divine abilities. The synergy was perfect! It could even be further enhanced in the future, allowing it to function just as effectively during the Dao Integration and Mahayana stages. At that point, it would be a true supreme treasure. Currently, however, he had no idea how to enhance it further.

"Five years in seclusion," he thought, "it seems the Dragon-Pattened Black Gold Xuanmian is truly my greatest gain." This thought crossed his mind as he also checked his cultivation progress. Thanks to the Blood God Pill, mana accumulation was no longer an issue; in just five short years, he was on the verge of completing the accumulation for the seventh layer of Soul Transformation. Once he completed his first ferry service, he might even be able to attempt a breakthrough. The speed was simply astonishing. After mastering all the changes within himself, Wang Yu reverted the arrangement of his inventory to its pre-seclusion configuration. He then retrieved his communication artifact and notified the passengers to gather at the Minor Extreme Palace in one month. They would prepare to replicate the coordinates recorded by the ascension passage to avoid getting lost in the Cosmic Sea. With that, he officially emerged from seclusion.

He tidied his attire and sat waiting for Qingqing's arrival. He had sensed her unrestrained aura even while he was still reviewing his gains. It was a good opportunity to discuss matters of dual cultivation.

He didn't have to wait long. A streak of crimson light, like a wisp of green smoke, swiftly landed within the Yin Heaven Hall. The charming and alluring Lady Qingqing gazed at him with eager eyes.

"Why has your hair turned black?" Qingqing's first words upon seeing him were about his hair color. Wang Yu touched his casually flowing, smooth black hair, already aware of the change. His previous white hair had initially been caused by the rapid loss of life essence, much like someone with a hundred-year lifespan instantly having twenty years drained away. Their appearance would transform into that of an elderly person on the verge of death. This was a manifestation of severe damage to one's life origin. Did one truly believe he could still live for eighty years? —Wrong! In reality, living another twenty years would be fortunate. How could a loss of lifespan not have consequences? It was like a dam breaking, suffering continuous and compounding damage. His was an active burning, which he could still control. As his cultivation increased, it would slowly recover. Unfortunately, due to the Corpse Demon Secret Method, he had always maintained the appearance of a youthful individual with prematurely white hair. There was a period when his black hair returned because a breakthrough in body cultivation compensated for the lost life essence. Subsequently, due to factors like possessing a demonic embryo body and cultivating various demonic arts and secret methods, his hair color would fluctuate between white and black, constantly shifting. This time, too, it was due to body cultivation; he had completed six of the nine stages of the Nine Solidifications and Nine Dispersals cultivation. The abundant qi, blood, and vitality allowed his black hair to return. However, the 'Undying Nether Dragon Art' had a peculiar nature: once this positive qi and blood completely transformed into negative qi and blood, his hair would turn white again. Still, black hair had a distinct aura. It made him appear younger and more vibrant.

Seeing Qingqing continuously scrutinizing him, Wang Yu was rather amused and decided to bring up the main topic. "Five years ago, I promised you a free passenger slot to ascend to the True Spirit Realm. However, these five years of seclusion delayed our dual cultivation, and the first batch of passengers is about to depart. How about you wait a bit longer, and we dual cultivate until you reach the peak of Soul Transformation? Then we can cross the Cosmic Sea together and ascend to the True Spirit Realm. What do you think?"

Dual cultivation was a win-win situation. Both parties implicitly understood this. Otherwise, they wouldn't have agreed so readily. Moreover, Qingqing had already waited a thousand years without her turn. Waiting a few more decades to cultivate with him for a period might yield benefits no less than those gained from ascending to the Upper Realm.

However, while the reasoning was sound, it couldn't be expressed so directly. Wang Yu still had that much emotional intelligence. At this, Qingqing eyed him suspiciously for a moment. She pondered for a moment before responding, "It's not impossible... The ascension passage from the Mountain and Sea Realm leads to the True Spirit Realm. While the Demon Star Lineage has a presence there, it's merely a branch; its true headquarters are in the Demon Cultivation Realm! You are also a demonic cultivator. How about we both pass through the True Spirit Realm and use a cross-realm teleportation array to travel to the Demon Cultivation Realm? What do you think, Brother Wei?"

"The Demon Cultivation Realm..." Wang Yu genuinely wanted to go. As Qingqing mentioned, he was a demonic cultivator, and regardless of how cruel the Demon Cultivation Realm might be, he would have a grander future there, with a clear and stable path for advancement. The True Spirit Realm, however, was predominantly populated by orthodox immortal cultivators. While they verbally claimed not to discriminate against or target demonic cultivators, even the Immortal Palace rules explicitly forbade intentional targeting or discrimination based on a demonic cultivator's identity. But if such situations truly didn't occur, why would they specifically establish such rules? One should understand that every rule has a reason behind it. He believed that the upper echelons of the Vast Immortal Palace genuinely treated everyone equally, especially since one of the Human Race's Nine Immortals was a demonic path magnate who had reached the True Immortal realm. However, he couldn't truly ascertain the nature of the mid and low-level cultivator circles. Qingqing's words also implied an intention to bind herself more deeply with him. She even had the intention of drawing him into the Demon Star Lineage, and it was not impossible that they might eventually become true Dao companions. She had genuinely taken a liking to him.

However, whenever he recalled True Immortal Xuande's oral decree for him to join the Grand Profound Heaven lineage, it was clear he was destined for the True Spirit Realm. Wang Yu had little desire to resist. After all, the first Human Emperor from his homeland had also apprenticed under this very master, having already cultivated to the Mahayana realm. Both originating from the Ice Hell Realm, he, the First Human Emperor, and the current Azure Blood Dragon Lord were inherently of the same faction. If they could succeed, there was no reason Wang Yu couldn't. He was simply following the path of his predecessors and revered figures. With successful examples, there was no need to worry about his life being in danger. If they truly intended to harm him, he would have been eliminated the moment he activated the Moon-Returning Pupil Art to cross realms. Furthermore, True Immortal Xuande cultivated the Dao of Karma; there was no hiding from him.

With that thought, Wang Yu said, "I'm afraid I must decline Fellow Daoist Qingqing's kind offer. All my friends and family are in the True Spirit Realm, and the Demon Cultivation Realm is simply too perilous; I might not make it out alive. Therefore..."

"I understand, Brother Wei, no need to say more." Qingqing forced a smile. This was the first time she had truly opened her heart to a cultivator. Since there was no destiny between them, she would accept it. Such matters could not be forced. "Let's proceed according to Brother Wei's arrangements. However, I'd like to accompany you on this crossing of the Cosmic Sea to observe it. Then, we can return together, and Brother Wei won't be bored on the journey back."

Wang Yu paused, taken aback by her words. After a moment, he replied, "Alright."

The Cosmic Sea, anciently known as 'Guixu', was a place beyond all worlds, fraught with extreme peril. Only Void Refinement cultivators possessed the means to survive long-term in the Cosmic Sea; Soul Transformation cultivators could only operate there for short durations. This was because there was no spiritual energy within the Cosmic Sea! Furthermore, it was filled with various energy storms. Some were shockwaves formed by the constant diffusion of energy from destroyed worlds across the Cosmic Sea, while others were perilous zones created by serendipitous circumstances. Still others were fissures in the Great Dao caused by battles among powerful beings of various races. The reasons were myriad and complex, making it difficult to fully ascertain their origins.

The Vast Immortal Domain was essentially a 'floating landmass' upon the Cosmic Sea. It contained tens of thousands of living worlds, but most of the Cosmic Sea was a dead zone—endless darkness and void—where only the Ruin Beasts would wander. Whenever a new living world was discovered, the Immortal Palace would seize it, then employ immortal techniques to draw that world into the Vast Immortal Domain, continuously increasing the domain's size and elevating its potential. Its opponents were, naturally, the myriad races. There were hostile races, allies, and also foreign races bound by generations of marriage or enslavement. The demonic race was one of the forces hostile to humanity, and it also possessed a vast demonic domain.

This was Wang Yu's first time piloting the World-Splitting Divine Boat across the Cosmic Sea, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited. Despite his confident tone, this was merely ferrying within the relatively safe region of the Vast Immortal Domain. With the Divine Boat, problems typically wouldn't arise.

And so, a month later, the Minor Extreme Palace once again saw a grand gathering of distinguished individuals.