Vol 5 Chapter 87: Successor
"It's like this..."
After Lin Jing explained the arrival of Demon Emperor Tianchou and their agreement to Divine Pine, the ancient sentient tree's vision darkened.
"How could this be!" Divine Pine felt his scalp tingle. "She even left a sword formation sealing the Tianyuan Realm. Even if I wanted to leave now, it would be impossible."
"That sword formation must contain her sword spirit's connection. If any living being tries to escape Tianyuan, she'll detect it immediately."
"Old Pine, you still want to leave Tianyuan? Just retire peacefully here." Lin Jing curled his lips. "Don't worry about Demon Emperor Tianchou. A thousand years from now, I'll settle things with her myself."
"Lucky for you it was Tianchou you met - that eccentric loner among demon emperors. Anyone else would have obliterated you on the spot." Divine Pine sighed. "Never mind. Since the outside is safe now, I'll take them back to Immortal Prison Mountain."
"No problem, but..." Lin Jing gave Divine Pine a strange look. "Senior, did you change your cultivation method?"
"Indeed." Divine Pine nodded. "I've switched to the 'Heavenly Demon Scripture'!"
"This demonic technique has higher potential. The 'Green Emperor Longevity Art' can be passed down by your little squirrel!""Perfect timing." Lin Jing smiled. "Last time my gifts were meager. Let me make it up to you now."
"How about... a Heaven Refining Immortal Physique?"
"Though the Heaven Refining Demon Ancestor's body is halfway in the coffin, through soul usurpation with the Heavenly Demon Scripture, we can extract some of his immortal physique essence to obtain the Heaven Refining Immortal Physique!"
"Of course, this body won't last long."
"After obtaining the immortal physique essence, we can perform a second soul usurpation on another vessel."
"Heaven Refining Immortal Physique!" Divine Pine's eyes lit up. "Sounds excellent. That old bastard Demon Ancestor wasted such a physique. Had I possessed it back then, I wouldn't have ended up so pathetic."
"Screw refining living ghosts - I'd have refined the entire cultivation world! Become a realm lord, and even Tianchou would find him hard to kill."
"Good." Lin Jing chuckled. After extracting the Demon Ancestor's Dao Fruit, whether killing him directly or refining him into pills would be wasteful.
The Heaven Refining Immortal Physique was excellent, but Mo Yu couldn't perform the soul usurpation quickly.
In that case, giving it to Senior Mo Pine seemed ideal.
"Gu..." Lin Jing turned to Gu Qianqiu standing nearby. Before he could finish calling her name, she spoke first: "Do you want me to guard the Origin Realm for you in a thousand years?"
"How did you know?" Lin Jing was surprised.
"If you're fighting Tianchou in a millennium, you'll need to leave the Origin Realm to reach the Dao Inquiry realm. Yet you won't want to abandon everything there. Having another Longevity Body hold the fort would be perfect."
Lin Jing nodded. "Exactly."
"In Tianyuan, there's another Longevity Body - Yu Xun'er. But her heart belongs to the Ancient Kingdom, being groomed by the First Ancient Emperor to possibly become the Third Ancient Emperor, competing with Gu Xinghe and Gu Youran. Her ambitions lie elsewhere."
"I have no objections, but with my current strength..." Gu Qianqiu looked at Lin Jing. Though she owed him her life and didn't mind guarding the Origin Realm for millennia, she had concerns. "In the Origin Realm, without your Heavenly Demon Physique advantages, I might not even match some Nascent Soul prodigies with divine bodies."
"Would be rock bottom there. How could I compete for Immortal Sources with such strength?"
"No worries." Lin Jing reassured her. "We have time. I'll gather enough Dao Fruits for you..."
"Dao Fruits?"
"Yes." Lin Jing smiled. "With a Void Mystical cultivator's spatial mastery and Dao Inquiry-level insights, even an ordinary physique would be formidable."
"Moreover, cultivating a Postnatal Immortal Physique using Immortal Sources isn't difficult."
"Though you might still struggle against true monsters, if you learn the Beast Taming Art, I can cultivate powerful spirit beasts for you."
"If you see no issues, then there are none." Gu Qianqiu shrugged.
Lin Jing agreed. With Emperor Hu eliminated, Gu Qianqiu could inherit his Dao attainments, especially his Household Dao mastery at the Dao Inquiry level. Combined with the Celestial Beast remains he'd leave her, her strength might not reach Four Heavenly Kings tier initially, but would firmly place her in the second echelon.
And this was just the beginning. The Longevity Body's advantages would compound over time. Besides, they had a thousand years.
"Let's return now."
............
After reuniting with his allies at Immortal Prison Mountain, Lin Jing released the Mechanized Turtle and began intensive cultivation. Meanwhile, Tianyuan Continent's Beast Taming prodigies fiercely competed for the twenty special slots to accompany Lin Jing to the Origin Realm two decades later.
Three more years passed.
Lin Jing received joyous news - after seventy years, the Demon Emperor had finally cultivated an immortal-blooded lineage using Premium Immortal Sources, bringing another surprise:
"After becoming a Celestial Beast, my Rare Beast Divine Abilities evolved tremendously, especially when powered by immortal energy!!!"
"My Saint, do you know Tianming Realm's coordinates? I want to spar with Tianchou!" The tiger-headed Demon Emperor boasted arrogantly in the Demon Court.
"Don't be reckless." Lin Jing quickly cooled his enthusiasm. "Immortal-blooded lineage barely matches weaker top-tier immortal physiques. Even with Rare Beast Divine Abilities and Premium Immortal Sources, you'd only surpass the Heaven Refining Demon Ancestor by one or two tiers - still far from Tianchou. Keep cultivating - we'll face her in a millennium!"
"Fine." The Demon Emperor sighed. Did he really have to practice those song-and-dance techniques Lin Jing brought?
"Your Majesty, what about the Spirit of the Divine Pill?"
"Returned it. We exceeded the ten-year loan by several years."
"Any Premium Immortal Sources left?"
"Plenty!"
"I'll take some. The Wood-attribute Pine Leaf Mouse hit a bottleneck approaching immortal-blooded evolution. Maybe premium immortal energy can break through."
As Lin Jing prepared to collect the sources, the Mechanized Turtle sent word:
It had discovered an ancient ruin with an inscribed stele:
[Ascension Secret Realm]
For testing Dao Inquiry cultivators from lower realms. Five entrants per realm per cycle. Successful candidates receive treasures from the Immortal Palace Lord, becoming core disciples upon ascension. Requires both Tianyuan and Tianming Realms to activate their realm gates.
Tianyuan Realm: Inactive.
Tianming Realm: Active.