Vol 5 Chapter 97: Out of the Demon's Maw, Into...
The Celestial Radiance Protection Talisman was an item that could completely block three attacks in the lower realms, regardless of their power. After all, cultivators in the lower realms could hardly unleash force comparable to an Immortal King's. Used properly, this talisman could save one's life three times.
"I'll take the protection talisman."
"As for the remaining two items, I'll send someone to collect them later."
"I'll prepare several times the mechanical materials you need today."
The Mechanized Turtle's voice responded: "Acceptable. However, the Ascension Secret Realm only opens once every hundred years. After this session concludes, you'll have to wait another century before returning."
"Understood." Lin Jing nodded, though his current concern was whether the Tianming Realm could maintain the secret realm's activation state after a hundred years... No matter. He'd take the protection talisman first and leave the Ascension Elixir and Celestial Beast egg to fate.
..........
Not long after, Lin Jing also departed from the Ascension Secret Realm. Outside, the Demon Emperor's round eyes were fixed intently on the realm gate. The moment Lin Jing emerged, she urgently asked: "Did you obtain the Immortal King's treasures?!"
"I did." Upon hearing this, the Demon Emperor nearly had a heart attack, suspecting Lin Jing might be the Immortal Palace Lord's illegitimate child. In all her long life, this was the first time she'd witnessed such blatantly rigged secret realm trials—no pretense whatsoever, with the words "preordained" practically written across the secret realm's grand hall."Lack of oversight leads to situations like this. Special times call for special procedures—the Secret Realm Spirit is just securing its own future." Lin Jing chuckled.
"Whatever. Since we've obtained what we came for, this expedition can be considered successful. Take this and go cultivate." The Demon Emperor sighed and tossed the remaining Premium Immortal Source to Lin Jing. Catching it, Lin Jing suddenly remembered his original purpose for seeking out the Demon Emperor—to use premium immortal energy to help the Pine Leaf Mouse break through to immortal-blooded status!
"Then until we meet again, Your Majesty." Lin Jing clasped his fists in farewell and departed, knowing he needed to act quickly. He had to fully consume the Heaven Refining Demon Ancestor within these coming dozen years.
Soon after.
Lin Jing returned to Immortal Prison Mountain. This time, besides nurturing the Pine Leaf Mouse, he had an additional mission—to raise the newly contracted Star Longevity Crane. For someone like Lin Jing who now possessed abundant golden core cultivation and immortal energy, raising a spirit beast had become much easier. Both cultivation advancement and bloodline elevation could be achieved effortlessly.
Moreover, this Star Longevity Crane's innate talent wasn't poor. Though it hadn't inherited its parents' bloodline rank, being born from the union of two Celestial Beasts guaranteed its potential couldn't be ordinary.
"Premium immortal energy truly is more potent."
Before using the premium immortal energy, Lin Jing discovered his Living Synthesis ability had weakened—he could no longer synthesize Nascent Soul-level lifeforms. Each synthesis now wasted a strand of precious immortal energy, an extravagance he could hardly afford. Yet the benefit was that this process had genuinely produced clearer changes to the Pine Leaf Mouse's bloodline bottleneck.
"One more attempt might..."
"But wasting premium immortal energy on ordinary demonic beasts is too extravagant."
"You wanted power, didn't you? Rather than squandering immortal energy elsewhere, now that we have a successful case study, why not use you as the next test subject?"
Lin Jing summoned the Star Longevity Crane. After returning to Immortal Prison Mountain, the crane had actually begun feeling regret and fear. It felt completely out of place here. Since Lin Jing hadn't restricted its movements, the crane had witnessed many terrifying sights.
For instance, a seemingly harmless squirrel with perpetually glowing green eyes conducting live experiments on captured demonic beasts, transforming them into grotesque chimeric monsters with just a glance. Or the Dragon Carp constantly tossing live demonic beasts into a pill furnace to refine them into pills—pills that suspiciously resembled the ones Lin Jing had given the crane for cultivation. Then there was the spider constantly shuttling in and out of prison cells, torturing the inmates. The agonized screams, despite the prison's soundproofing arrays, occasionally leaked out, proving the tortured prisoners possessed considerable cultivation.
Only the Mechanized Turtle, seen just once on the first day before leaving the mountain again, appeared relatively normal—though the crane suspected the tortured demonic beasts might have been captured by that very turtle. Even in the Star Crane Realm, Heavenly Demon cultivators would simply devour Star Longevity Cranes directly, never subjecting them to such treatment.
And now...
This senior seemed about to conduct experiments on it.
"R-really no problems?" The crane shuddered, unable to imagine itself fused with dozens of other species.
"Relax, I won't merge you with other lifeforms in ways that would affect your consciousness."
"Your innate foundation is weak, so I'm just using synthesis to strengthen your base." Lin Jing chuckled. The Pine Leaf Mouse nodded beside him, though the crane found this particularly unsettling.
But soon, the crane adjusted its mindset. It hadn't followed the wrong person! To deal with monsters like the Blood Prison Demon God and Heavenly Demon cultivators... one had to be even more ruthless than them to stand a chance.
"Alright then..."
"Don't worry." To compensate for the crane's weak foundation, Lin Jing prepared premium materials—all seventh-grade spiritual treasures. Normally, the Pine Leaf Mouse couldn't synthesize items of this level, but propelled by premium immortal energy, its Glazed Immortal Eye could now synthesize up to Nascent Soul-level lifeforms and seventh-grade resources equivalent to the Questioning Dao realm for inanimate objects.
"This is..." The crane gulped as Lin Jing carefully produced a bottle, pouring out a handful of extremely rare powder.
Lin Jing smiled. "Powder I scraped from a sentient immortal pill. Using these pill dust to rebuild your foundation will be more than sufficient."
"Wait a—" The crane suddenly realized something. "You're not having me ingest this dust, but 'fuse' with it? Wouldn't that make me as tempting as an immortal pill?" It panicked.
After some thought, Lin Jing produced another pill. "Good point. Take this Divine Physique Pill too—it'll make you even more enticing."
"In a few years we'll visit a place called the Origin Realm. With your allure, you'll probably attract many enemies—perfect for growth through combat." Lin Jing recalled those villains who had wanted to use his Longevity Body as bait. Now he could finally use others as bait instead—far more convenient than being the lure himself.