Vol 6 Chapter 17: Choose One
"Stop staring."
"Don't worry, you won't be left out."
Afterwards, of course Lin Jing would awaken potential for his parents and Lin Lan. He didn't know whether his parents wanted to cultivate, but with Lin Lan, he was determined to make her invincible on Earth.
Once he left, his parents would still rely on Lin Lan to take care of things.
Lin Lan blinked in a daze and nodded, still not understanding what had happened to her cousin.
"Fine, I'll give you a hand right now."
"Lean your head over."
Lin Jing placed a hand on Lin Lan's head, but he did not rush to fully activate her Longevity Body...
Having a Longevity Body has both advantages and disadvantages.Take the Mount Lu Recluse for example—he hadn't let her fully become a Longevity Body either; he only extended her lifespan by a few hundred years.
Becoming a Longevity Body certainly grants a very long life, but... cultivation speed slows down.
If Earth were still the ancient Immortal Realm where immortals and Buddhas were everywhere, that would be fine. But the current Earth cannot support the birth of true Longevity Bodies.
As for Lin Lan, she was very young now and didn't need many extra years of lifespan yet. Lin Jing simply took what he was best at and transmitted it into her mind in a didactic way.
The Beast Taming Art.
Three big characters appeared in Lin Lan's mind.
At the same time, she felt her blood surge and boil.
Her carefully cultivated true qi seemed to dissipate in an instant.
In its place, a brand-new, different kind of true qi appeared within her body.
As that qi circulated, two drops of golden blood were born.
Buzz.
Lin Lan's cultivation rose rapidly: Qi Refinement level one, level two... level eight, level nine... all the way to Qi Refinement level ten.
As cousins, Lin Jing and Lin Lan's bloodlines resonated to some extent. Using the power borrowed from his pet beasts, Lin Jing helped Lin Lan activate a "Beast-Taming Body," giving her an additional physique besides the Heavenly Spirit Physique.
When a demonic beast's bloodline reaches the ancestral tier, it can bless related beasts. Lin Jing now was using a similar divine method.
"What is this..." Lin Lan couldn't believe the power surging through her. She sensed it and looked utterly bewildered.
A total... of ten layers of qi seas?
"This is Qi Refinement level ten—the ultimate boundary of the Qi Refinement stage. Unfortunately my ability is limited; I could only push you to Qi Refinement level ten. Whether you want to establish Foundation after this, or pursue an even higher Qi refinement extreme, will depend on you."
"Qi Refinement level ten? There's more above it?"
"Mm. I broke through to Foundation by reaching Qi Refinement level thirteen."
"Ah?" The Mount Lu Recluse and Lin Lan both continued to stare in astonishment.
Qi Refinement level eighteen?
At that moment, the Ice Soul Gu had already left Porcelain City and headed for Spring City to hunt down that missed target.
Lin Jing also suggested that the Mount Lu Recluse and Lin Lan go into seclusion to digest their gains.
Not long after, the Ice Soul Gu returned, extremely frustrated and unwilling. During this outing it still hadn't managed to find that False Core cultivator.
"Don't blame yourself." Lin Jing comforted Gu Grandma, knowing the responsibility was not the Ice Soul Gu's. After it left, he and Star Longevity Crane had also set up a grand stellar array to extrapolate the person's trajectory.
But the result was like fog—nothing could be deduced.
With the divination power of Lin Jing and Star Longevity Crane, they could extrapolate a trail even for a Dao Inquiry cultivator, let alone a False Core cultivator.
Yet for this person, there was no reward at all.
If it had been Zhu Yan or the other two world-travelers, that would have been one thing—they all carried great karmic ties to the Eastern Glorious Immortal Emperor, and Lin Jing would not have dared to divinely probe them recklessly. But for a native cultivator to achieve this level, unless they carried a supreme treasure, Lin Jing couldn't think of any other possibility.
"No problem. If we can't find him, we'll let him come to us." Lin Jing said calmly. "Ice Soul Gu, have your offspring and grand-offspring Gu spread the word for me: the ones who exterminated the Ten Thousand Poison sect will attend the upcoming Jiangnan practitioners' gathering. I believe he will go there."
Although they couldn't find the man, Lin Jing could easily guess his purpose.
Report deeds to a sect?
A sect with such a corrupt sect style wouldn't have a good ancestor.
Heh... the Ice Soul Gu's way of extermination was also through Gu poison.
If the Ten Thousand Poison sect cultivated Gu poisons as well, this False Core ancestor would surely see that the poison which killed an entire sect was not ordinary.
Most likely he coveted the Ice Soul Gu's toxin and planned to use this rare poison to further himself; that was why he was crazily searching for the exterminator.
Once the man revealed his location, he would probably follow.
Then all he would need to do was display the strange poison and disguise his realm as late Foundation. The other party would most likely be unable to resist and walk right into the trap.
Soon, the Ice Soul Gu successfully released the message. Once the news broke, the cultivation world in China erupted at once.
Immediately, a group of people who had originally intended to go to Purple-Gold Mountain for the practitioners' gathering backed out. After all, if a ruthless person capable of wiping out the Ten Thousand Poison sect was said to be going, or a False Core-tier big villain might show up, the gathering would become extremely dangerous.
If either of those two decided to kill, most of the cultivators present would have virtually no chance to fight back.
Fortunately, when the Dao Alliance learned of this, they convened a meeting quickly and declared that the security at the gathering was unprecedentedly strong—no one would be allowed to cause trouble. With the Dao Alliance's guarantee, the gathering could go on as planned.
"Haven't found the person from the portrait yet?"
At Dao Alliance Headquarters, Hu Yousong had absorbed his junior disciple's words. After returning, he personally sketched an image of Lin Jing and ordered his intelligence division to search for him, intending to give Lin Jing an official identity.
As for the Jiangnan practitioners' gathering matter, Hu Yousong was too lazy to bother with it. A False Core villain was just that; with the many treasures his junior disciple had provided, a random Foundation cultivator could be assigned to handle it and it would be easily dealt with.
The urgent task now was to find this great immortal—Lin Jing.
"We already have one lead, but..." Hu Yousong's disciple said.
"But what?"
"The person similar to the portrait we found had actually died three years ago."
"Died? That's right, it's him." Hu Yousong said anxiously—if he was dead, then it fit: his junior disciple had also been taken by an immortal only after death.
"This person's name is Lin Jing. Three years ago he died of illness. His ancestral home is Porcelain City... according to the records, he also has a cousin, who is one of the registered cultivators in the Dao Alliance. Her master is the Mount Lu Recluse."
"Porcelain City? I'll go see for myself."
At the same time, Lin Jing had already brought the Mount Lu Recluse and Lin Lan to Purple-Gold Mountain, where the practitioners' gathering would be held, to stake out and wait for the Ten Thousand Poison sect's ancestor to show.
It was the perfect chance to see what treasure that fellow carried.
"Brother, I feel my realm is pretty stable now. For this Beast Taming Art, do I have to contract a demonic beast? Should I find a demonic beast to contract?" Lin Lan had never sparred with other cultivators before, and this was her first time at such a gathering. She was eager to try her new skill and challenge others.
Lin Jing shot her a warning glance and said, "If you're looking for a ready-made one, choose among mosquito, pine tree, or Gu insect."