Vol 6 Chapter 37: Striking It Rich
Through the sea of recollections of the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog, Frog Aunt witnessed its entire life.
First being raised by a weasel, then later being guided onto the immortal path by a human cultivator.
This human cultivator should be the one plotting against the Emperor's Tomb.
Anyone who could think of using descendants of the Heavenly Emperor's bloodline to scheme against the Emperor's Tomb was certainly no ordinary person.
But Frog Aunt never expected the other party to be so extraordinary—actually blessed with Heaven's Mandate.
No matter what era it is, anyone capable of fusing with Heaven's Mandate could absolutely be called the pillar of their generation...
"I originally thought this person used a honey trap to lure my descendant here to beg for food, but I never expected it was actually my own descendant's problem!"
Frog Aunt was speechless. If the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog had taken a liking to a frog clan member, she would have believed it was carefully designed by Lin Jing. Yet instead, it actually fell for a Star Longevity Crane.
She could only say that her descendant had rather unique tastes."Moreover, while there are elements of exploitation, it doesn't seem like complete utilization."
With Frog Aunt's level of insight, just a slightly deeper investigation revealed this wasn't an enslavement contract.
Rather, it was a contract where both parties prospered and suffered together.
If either party died, the other would suffer severe backlash—lightly damaging their vitality and cultivation regression, heavily leading to qi deviation, death, and destruction of the Dao.
Just from this contract alone, it was clear the other party didn't treat the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog's life as insignificant, still caring about its safety in the Emperor's Tomb rather than treating it as a mere tomb-raiding tool.
"A beast tamer cultivator holding Heaven's Mandate..."
Frog Aunt originally intended to follow the contract connection to punish the one scheming against the Emperor's Tomb, but after some thought, she gave up.
Those blessed with Heaven's Mandate all carried great fortune, and she was now just a remnant weak consciousness. If she attacked a Mandated One, she probably couldn't withstand the backlash of that fortune.
After contemplation, Frog Aunt decided to gamble.
The human who contracted the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog was absolutely extraordinary, and by the looks of it, her descendant hadn't suffered losses with the other party either.
It was only through the other party's dedicated cultivation that it rapidly advanced to Nascent Soul.
Earlier, she had indeed taken the other person's words to heart.
As Earth's rules continued to perfect, the current Earth that could only support cultivators below immortal realm would eventually be able to sustain higher realms, allowing True Immortals to freely enter and leave this world.
When that time came, those who left Earth would return and inevitably set their sights on the damaged Emperor's Tomb.
So she had indeed just considered giving her descendant some opportunities to help it grow, making it easier to guard their ancestor's tomb in the future.
And now, although there were some unexpected developments with her descendant being contracted by someone, it didn't seem like a bad thing either. The other party's existence could completely assist the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog in growing even faster.
Since that was the case, why not make a trade?
Boom.
Following the contract connection, she directly sought out the mastermind behind it all, Lin Jing.
The Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog waiting in the tomb quickly changed expression, sensing its consciousness sea being invaded.
As a strangely dressed frog demon's spiritual body appeared in its mind, Lin Jing fell silent for a moment.
"Might I ask, senior, are you the ancestor of that frog?"
Lin Jing wasn't stupid either, naturally understanding that this change was probably brought about by the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog entering the tomb. This seemingly powerful frog demon was eighty percent likely to have some connection with the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog.
Recalling that the remnant soul of an immortal had mentioned a group of imperial concubines being buried together, then this... was very likely the consciousness body of the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog's ancestor.
"Youngster, so you're the one who seduced my descendant? Speak, what are your intentions?"
"Senior misunderstands. I previously had no knowledge of the Heavenly Emperor's Tomb's existence, so how could I have any malicious intent? It's purely that this junior encountered an ancient remnant soul some time ago and heard from him that he once obtained benefits from the Heavenly Emperor's Tomb—an immortal pill—which made me bold enough to come try my luck, to see if I could obtain similar opportunities."
Lin Jing knew what the other party was worried about. After all, the Emperor's Tomb wasn't just the Heavenly Emperor's burial site—it also suppressed and sealed the skeletons of four alien Immortal Emperors. If evil individuals caused trouble, some unfortunate situations could indeed occur.
He shifted the blame to the remnant soul of an immortal... everything had indeed started because of the other party. After hearing this, Frog Aunt fell silent for a while—it was indeed that bad precedent set by Consort Ling's lineage long ago.
"So it's you?" Seeing Lin Jing still pulling out that remnant soul, Frog Aunt gradually believed him. When the remnant soul of an immortal saw Frog Aunt, he looked completely bewildered.
"Senior, spare me! Ancestor, spare me!" He was immediately grabbed by Frog Aunt to investigate his memories. After confirming it was indeed true, she narrowed her eyes.
"So it really was you who brought outsiders here. No punishment would be too severe for you." She dragged away the remnant soul of an immortal, not returning him to Lin Jing but storing him away somewhere unknown.
Seeing this, Lin Jing slightly cupped his fists and said, "I apologize for disturbing you, seniors. I'll take my leave now."
As he spoke, he prepared to recall the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog.
But just then, Frog Aunt spoke: "Forget it. Since you've already reached this place and contracted with my descendant, it can be considered fate. How about making a trade?"
"Please speak, senior." Hearing the other party say this, Lin Jing knew this trip might not end empty-handed.
"Since you've contracted with my descendant, properly cultivate it. When it grows to 'immortal realm,' I hope you can have it return here to guard the Emperor's Tomb."
"And I won't have you cultivate it for nothing either. I will take some offerings from the myriad races to the Heavenly Emperor that suit you both and give them to you for use, to facilitate better cultivation."
"When that time comes, if you're willing to guard the Emperor's Tomb together too, it wouldn't be impossible to grant you some treasures from the deeper layers of the Emperor's Tomb. Isn't this what you came for anyway?"
Lin Jing took a deep breath. So that's how it was... He looked at the frog demon and nodded.
"This junior can agree to these terms."
"Besides, it currently has a contract with me. No matter what, I will carefully cultivate it."
"Good, I hope you keep your word." Frog Aunt nodded satisfactorily, not making Lin Jing swear any oaths or anything. These were meaningless for a Mandated One anyway. The things offered were all insignificant items for the Emperor's Tomb anyway. Trading them for a potential stock that might help guard the tomb in the future—Frog Aunt felt it was worth it.
She still trusted her own judgment fairly well. Back then, it was because she brought her entire clan to invest early in the Heavenly Emperor that they achieved their current status.
Besides, knowing Lin Jing's extraordinary potential didn't require much judgment—the current era's Heaven's Mandate was on him. No matter how bad the future got, it couldn't be that terrible.
As for what Lin Jing said about cultivating the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog no matter what... she could only believe half of it at most.
Even among concubines, the love received by someone bringing a huge dowry versus someone arriving empty-handed or even needing to support their entire clan—could it be the same?
Meanwhile.
The Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog, still kowtowing, suddenly froze.
Because around it... five statues abruptly cracked simultaneously!
"Your wish, your ancestor has heard it. Take these five things away."