Inside the ring of the Foundation Establishment cultivator were over a thousand small spirit crystals, more than three hundred medium ones, and fifty great spirit crystals. There were also several thousand blood essence crystals and a literal trove of perfectly preserved healing pills.
Among them was also a Foundation Pill.
A Foundation Pill was a rare and costly pill for someone of his strength. It significantly increased a Qi Refining cultivator's chance of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm and all of that without any side effects.
As Ye Wuji saw that, he suddenly became much more thrilled. After all, with this pill, he was sure that he would be able to breakthrough to the next major realm without any failure.
But that was just the beginning.
Soon, Ye Wuji discovered a jade slip, carefully wrapped in a protective talisman. He removed the seal, pressed the slip to his forehead, and instantly, a flood of information poured into his mind.
"Heaven Blood Sutra – Foundation Establishment Cultivation Technique of the Heaven Blood Sect."
Ye Wuji's eyes widened. His chest tightened with excitement.
Until now, he had only possessed a cultivation technique for the Qi Refining Realm. But nothing beyond that.
Back when he was still a disciple of the Scarlet Soul Sect—before it was destroyed—he had only received the first part of the Scarlet Soul Blood-Refining Cultivation Art, and that only reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm.
If everything went alright, he was supposed to receive the next part once he reached the late stage of Qi Refining… but the sect had been annihilated before that could even happen.
Ever since, he'd been left with no certain path forward.
His only options had been:
Either find a cultivation technique with a similar foundation, so he could continue his cultivation without having to start over from scratch...
Or track down one of the two rumored surviving elders who had supposedly escaped the massacre.
According to rumors, those two elders deserted the sect before the battles reached their final stages and during their escape, they had lured an enemy sects' elders who were pursuing them into a trap, wiped them all out, and then disappeared without a trace.
But those were only rumors.
The enemy sects never admitted their survival or even the deaths of their elders. Everything was tightly covered up. No confirmations. No certain truths.
So, he couldn't rely on that.
But now... he didn't need to worry about any of this.
The Heaven Blood Sutra was a demonic cultivation technique, just like the Scarlet Soul Blood-Refining Cultivation Art and it even had a similar nature. Both of them used blood essence crystals for cultivation, the exact same resource he'd already been absorbing for years.
This was the perfect substitute.
He could finally stop chasing ghosts and wasting time searching while worrying about his future. Instead, he could focus fully on cultivation and breaking through into the Foundation Establishment Realm.
And that wasn't even the best part.
The Heaven Blood Sutra wasn't just a suitable substitute; it was far superior in quality than his current Scarlet Soul Blood-Refining Cultivation Art.
It wasn't just that it reached into the higher major realm, Foundation Establishment Realm. The technique itself was more profound, more refined and more powerful.
His current Scarlet Soul Blood-Refining Cultivation Art was an Ultimate Grade cultivation technique—one of the highest ranks known in his world. But this?
This was actually an Earth Grade cultivation technique.
To put it simply, this technique would make him much stronger and even help him cultivate faster.
In terms of rank, cultivation techniques were generally divided as follows:
Mortal Grade, Common Grade, Superior Grade, Ultimate Grade, Earth Grade, Heaven Grade, and finally… Immortal Grade.
Though in his world, nothing above Earth Grade had ever been seen or found. Heaven and Immortal Grade techniques were more like legends… rumors passed down through stories and rumors.
In fact, in his world, only one sect was known to possess an Earth Grade cultivation technique… the righteous sect known as Golden Crow Palace Sect, sovereign among all of the sects in their world and ultimate overlord.
That technique had been their supreme treasure and they had guarded it extremely strictly, giving it only to the most loyal disciples in their sect.
But now… Ye Wuji was the only known person in his world to hold a second Earth Grade cultivation technique.
He closed his eyes briefly, calming the surge of excitement in his chest. This was a tremendous stroke of fortune. Once he broke through into Foundation Establishment, his future path would be firm and far stronger than before.
And yet… that still wasn't the end.
At the very bottom of the ring, he found one last item: a small plaque carved from an unknown dark material. Its surface was cold and ominous, and etched into it were two deep crimson characters:
"Spirit Blood."
Frowning, Ye Wuji sent a strand of Qi into it.
Immediately, a surge of information invaded his mind.
He learned that the Heaven Blood Sect, where the Heaven Blood Sutra came from was in truth only a low-ranked subordinate sect under the authority of a much greater force. They had once been a powerful sect in the Origin Spirit Realm, but had fallen during one of their sect wars.
And all of their techniques beyond Foundation Establishment Realm had been all seized. The sect was forced to kneel before their conquerors: the Spirit Blood Sect, a Nascent Soul Realm power.
And the zombie cultivator Ye Wuji had just killed… he wasn't just any zombie cultivator guarding the treasure vault.
He had been the current sect master of the Heaven Blood Sect.
"So even a sect master ended up like that... turned into a zombie guardian for his own treasure vault," Ye Wuji murmured.
He didn't feel pity. Not sympathy either. But he still sighed, because he understood.
This was the nature of the cultivation world.
One day, a cultivator might stand at the peak, admired and feared. The next, they'd fall—forgotten and replaced. That was the eternal cycle.
Nothing lasted.
Not power.
Not glory.
Not even the heavens themselves.
True immortals, worlds, even entire universes..., they would all one day wither and collapse.
Everything had a lifespan. Some were just longer than others.
Ye Wuji sighed again, eyes narrowing as they fell once more upon the dark plaque in his hand.
"Spirit Blood Sect…" he whispered under his breath.
He didn't learn much of them. Just a glimpse. But it was enough to know one thing:
They were terrifying.
A massive sect whose influence stretched over dozens of subordinate sects—each stronger than the last.
Once Ye Wuji advanced his cultivation, honed his strength, and completely secured this city...
His next destination would be clear.
The Spirit Blood Sect.