Crow Immortal: I Can Duplicate Infinite Resources

Chapter 228: Seeking the Demon Star

Over the course of two months, Han Yu’s cultivation progress was remarkably swift for someone with Three Spirit Roots aptitude.

At his current pace, he estimated he would advance from the first layer to the second layer of Foundation Establishment in roughly two years. To most cultivators, this speed would be considered impressive.

However, Han Yu was young and ambitious. Deep down, he didn’t accept this pace as a given; he believed there had to be a way to cultivate even faster.

During these past two months, Han Yu focused primarily on familiarizing himself with every aspect of the Foundation Establishment realm.

Practicing the Green Wood Foundation Establishment Technique daily had become second nature. Similarly, his routines for the Green Wood Protection Technique, Wood Spirit Body Refining Art, and Star Luo Traction Technique had adapted to the potent flow of Foundation Establishment Qi, replacing the weaker Qi Refining Spirit Breath.

He also practiced the Blood Refining Technique daily. However, after breaking through, the manual provided by Old Daoist Li was no longer sufficient. The Daoist had been truthful—the technique could indeed be cultivated up to Foundation Establishment, but that was where it ended. Han Yu would need to find a solution for continuing its practice in this new realm.

In addition to his cultivation, Han Yu mastered six basic Foundation Establishment techniques: Lightning Bolt, Geng Metal, Protection, Blazing Flame, Frostbite, and Illusion.

Although he possessed talismans for the first five techniques, he insisted on mastering them personally. If he couldn’t control the techniques himself, relying solely on talismans would leave him vulnerable.

The final technique, the Illusion Technique, integrated seamlessly into his Thousand Illusions Secret Art, enhancing its transformation, concealment, and misdirection capabilities significantly.

Beyond his personal training, Han Yu’s greatest gain came from his access to the Technique Pavilion. With the explicit support of Sect Leader Qi and Elder Lü, he openly copied every Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Jade Slip onto blank slates. Secretly, he also duplicated the thirteen Golden Core Jade Slips and everything else in the archives.

Thanks to the Sect’s special permission, in just two months, Han Yu had created a complete backup of the Technique Pavilion in his Storage Bag. He no longer needed to visit the pavilion or worry about lacking knowledge while traveling. As long as he wanted to learn, the library was at his fingertips.

During this period, Han Yu also replicated batches of Hundred Flowers Poison and began experimenting with refining the Thousand-Year Sunkwood Heart he had previously used.

His initial craftsmanship was inevitably rough, but as long as the resulting Magical Artifact could hold the poison and be detonated via the Object Explosion Technique, it was sufficient. Refinement could come later.

He also stockpiled replicas of Gathering Essence Pills, Returning Essence Pills, Body Protection Pills, Spirit Spring Pills, Foundation Establishment talismans, Purple Sun Fruits, and Spirit Vine seeds.

However, he chose not to replicate the defensive artifacts and armor gifted by the elders. Such items consumed vast amounts of replication energy for relatively little practical gain.

Instead, Han Yu focused his energy on replicating the Talisman Treasure and the Green Wood Thunder Pill—two items with Golden Core-level power.

As for the “Teleportation Stone Slab” gifted by Elder Lü, its composition remained a mystery. Even after accumulating twenty days’ worth of energy, Han Yu couldn’t produce a single copy. It was truly the most precious item he had encountered so far. He resigned himself to waiting until his strength—and replication capacity—increased further.

As his preparations neared completion, Han Yu felt ready to leave the Sect. However, two unexpected events delayed him.

First, the traveling merchant returned. Sect Leader Qi attempted to trade the Spirit Condensing Golden Pill for other goods. Whether the merchant lacked the channels to offload it or simply distrusted items from the Little Sky Net Sect, he refused the deal.

Han Yu considered approaching the merchant privately to trade for the subsequent manuals of the Blood Refining Technique, but knowing his elders would disapprove, he abandoned the idea. He tried contacting Old Daoist Li via the Sound Transmission Shell, but there was no response.

Second, the Little Sky Net Sect requested a formal visit to Wanchun Valley, proposing a disciple exchange competition.

Clearly, the Myriad Phenomena Sect and Little Sky Net Sect were confused. They had confirmed Han Yu was in the Valley, yet the “Southern Demon Star” in the sky remained stationary near the border. Bewildered, they devised this visit to test whether the Han Yu in the Valley was real and to pinpoint the Demon Star’s true location.

After a brief discussion full of knowing smiles, Sect Leader Qi and the elders flatly refused the visit.

We know you are enemies. Did you really think we’d let you waltz in to spy on us? Keep dreaming!

The Little Sky Net Sect’s actions validated Wanchun Valley’s suspicions: the Myriad Phenomena Sect’s method for tracking the Demon Star matched the seven stars Han Yu saw perfectly.

Though weak, Wanchun Valley had completely anticipated their enemy’s moves. However, one mystery remained: even the Valley couldn’t explain why the Southern Demon Star hovered at the border.

Scouts had confirmed there were no Demonic Cultivators in the East Sea Kingdom. While cultivators were present, they seemed to be agents of the Myriad Phenomena and Little Sky Net Sects, scouring the border nations—Great Desert, East Sea, and Boyi—for the Demon Star based on the celestial signs.

Logically, Lu Yun should not be there.

So, who exactly was the Demon Star?

Rebuffed by Wanchun Valley, the Little Sky Net Sect—acting as the Myriad Phenomena Sect’s desperate lapdog—escalated. A Golden Core cultivator led a delegation to the edge of the Valley’s Guardian Formation, demanding a duel with Han Yu.

They even offered a Foundation Establishment Pill as a prize if Han Yu won.

Having already achieved Foundation Establishment, Han Yu naturally scoffed at the “reward.” Wanchun Valley ignored them, issuing a stark warning: leave immediately, or face war.

The leader of the delegation was none other than Qin Ting, accompanied by Lin Lingxiu and several other Myriad Phenomena disciples. Upon hearing the threat of war, Qin Ting conferred with the “Upper Sect” envoys.

“Should we force a battle? Test if Wanchun Valley is bluffing and drag Han Yu out?”

The Myriad Phenomena disciples shook their heads in unison. “No! This is not the time to provoke the Demon Star!”

“But the celestial signs show the Demon Star isn’t in the Valley,” Qin Ting argued. “If we attack while he’s absent, we can verify if this Han Yu is real or fake, and if the Demon Star is truly him or someone else—”

“Not without orders from the Sect elders,” the envoys insisted. “We cannot act rashly.”

Qin Ting was at a loss. “Then how do we force him out?”

“Coerce him. Bribe him. Just get him to show his face—”

One Foundation Establishment disciple from the Myriad Phenomena Sect interrupted, smiling faintly after a moment of concentration. “Perhaps we don’t need to see him to know.”

“We already have people inside Wanchun Valley.”

“They should sense our arrival and send a signal.”

Qin Ting was surprised but asked no questions, silently admiring the reach of the Central Heaven Domain’s great sects.

Half a day passed. No message came from the “infiltrators.”

Instead, Sect Leader Qi, Elder Yan, and Elder Mu—three Golden Core cultivators—surged out of the Guardian Formation and attacked.

Qin Ting and his group fled in disarray.

They retreated without confirming if Han Yu was the Demon Star or even seeing him. The identity of Wanchun Valley’s Demon Star remained shrouded in mystery.

For Han Yu, with these distractions resolved, his preparations for descent were essentially complete.

Only one task remained: the large crow was ready for Foundation Establishment.