Chapter 96: Falling Ill

Until the end of the Dragon Phoenix Cave Heaven, neither Lin Jing nor the Pine Leaf Squirrel had managed to break through to the Qi Refining Eleventh Layer. Instead, it was the Ice Soul Gu that had reached the Qi Refining Eleventh Layer one step ahead of them both.

This situation indicated that the talent of the Ice Soul Gu far exceeded that of Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Squirrel.

For the Longevity Physique, breaking through was still too difficult. If he possessed any other Physique, perhaps he would have already reached the Qi Refining Eleventh or even Twelfth Layer by now. However, there was still an Opportunity—

Having walked out of the Dragon Phoenix Cave Heaven, Lin Jing speculated that since he was now under Contract with both the Ice Soul Gu and the Pine Leaf Squirrel, as long as the two Pet Beasts achieved Foundation Establishment before him, their spiritual power feedback after Foundation Establishment would help him break through.

At that time, perhaps he could advance even further.

After coming out, Lin Jing did not hide his cultivation base, openly displaying the Realms of both himself and the Pine Leaf Squirrel. These were all opportunities to Cultivate the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique!

“To think that even the Pet Beast… has also reached the Qi Refining Tenth Layer…” The Cultivators present were quite astonished, having completely failed to anticipate such a situation.

Xu Zhizhi and Gao Sheng looked at Lin Jing in shock. No way, how did this guy Lin Jing reach the Qi Refining Tenth Layer!

Wang Xiao and Chen Lingxi were even more shaken, their originally imposing Aura now overshadowed by Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Squirrel.

Even the Wang-surname Cultivator and the Divine Symbol Sect woman, these two experts who had reached Nascent Soul Perfection, were observing Lin Jing with great seriousness at this moment.

“Who exactly is this youth?”

“Could it be…” Only Gao Sheng suddenly thought of something, somewhat grasping what was going on.

Facing the shock and confusion of the crowd, after coming out, Lin Jing said to Cao Ziwei, “Chief Examiner, I used a secret technique in the Secret Realm and the consumption was too great. I may be unable to continue presiding over the assessment for the time being and need to return to my Immortal Cave to recuperate.”

Cao Ziwei nodded, noticing the abnormality in Lin Jing; the burden was indeed severe. Given the Realm of both Lin Jing and his beast, it was indeed only possible to achieve this by using special methods to forcibly hunt down numerous Dragon Phoenix projections.

“You may go.”

Having obtained Cao Ziwei’s consent, Lin Jing cupped his hands at the crowd, then flew off using Qi towards his Immortal Cave. With the reputation of both the Beast Master and Pet Beast having stepped into the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, there was no need to continue this assessment.

After returning to the Immortal Cave, Lin Jing immediately jumped into the furnace, giving the dozing Dragon Carp inside a fright.

Seeing Lin Jing finally return after several days, the Dragon Carp was certainly happy, but also very confused.

Had the Beast Master caught some terrible illness? Why was he diving into its fish tank? Was he not afraid of being scalded!!

“Much more comfortable.” Having jumped into the furnace, Lin Jing immediately felt his body warm up. After the Ice Soul Gu broke through to the Eleventh Layer, the feedback of Ice-attribute spiritual power was too overpowering; although it increased his cultivation base significantly, it also made his Ice Soul Body even colder.

Coupled with the frequent use of cold energy over these past few days, the moment Lin Jing came out, he couldn’t stay any longer. He had no desire to continue fighting at all, wanting only to comfortably dive into the warm furnace in this cold weather.

The Dragon Scale Fire was worthy of being a top-tier beast fire. Although the Dragon Carp’s cultivation Realm was not yet high, it could already alleviate the burden on Lin Jing’s Ice Soul Body.

Once Lin Jing dove in, he lay in the Hundred Beast Cauldron for a week, falling into a deep sleep during which he slowly digested what he had gained.

As for the Dragon Carp, which had lost its fish tank, it had already learned from the Pine Leaf Squirrel the terrifying news that it had missed the Cave Heaven, and that Lin Jing’s second Contract slot had already been occupied by the Ice Soul Gu.

“Bo!!!!” The Dragon Carp was extremely aggrieved, feeling as if struck by a bolt from the blue. It had clearly come first!!

“Zhi—.” The Pine Leaf Squirrel comforted it, though it seemed the Ice Soul Gu had indeed come first. Besides, you thick-browed, big-eyed flaming Dragon Carp, it seemed you were specifically picked up to better facilitate the future Contract of the Ice Soul Gu…

Upon hearing this consolation, the Dragon Carp went straight to the dark side. Ghostly flames swirled around its body. Although it had not yet seen the Ice Soul Gu, it had already become hostile towards it. Following the suggestion of the Pine Leaf Squirrel, it ran off to bitterly practice its fire control abilities, determined to prove to Lin Jing that it was superior to the Ice Soul Gu.

It, and only it, was the second.

Watching the Dragon Carp working hard to Cultivate, the Pine Leaf Squirrel nodded with satisfaction, feeling that it had done a very meaningful thing for its Beast Master.

One week later. Lin Jing awoke.

“Awake?” When Lin Jing regained consciousness, laughter reached his ears.

“Not bad gains, kid.”

“Senior Divine Pine?” Lin Jing recognized who the owner of the voice was and couldn’t help but ask, “Why have you come to the academy?”

“The Cave Heaven appeared, how could I not pay attention?!” Divine Pine replied irritably, “Qi Refining Tenth Layer, and you even Contracted the Ice Soul Gu beforehand. You’ve got something, kid.”

Lin Jing said, “I had no choice. The Opportunity of the Cave Heaven is rare, and this Disciple truly did not want to miss it.”

“Well done!” Divine Pine said with satisfaction, “Right now, the outside world only has rumors circulating that you and your Pet Beast, along with Chen Lingxi and Wang Xiao, have broken through to the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, which has already made you famous. If they were to find out that you have also Contracted a Gu that is at the Qi Refining Eleventh Layer, I dare not imagine what their expressions would be!”

“However, it’s not very meaningful. That no one knows about your Ice Soul Gu right now is a good thing; you must always keep some trump cards for yourself. Rest assured, unless a Soul Transformation Cultivator who specializes in Divine Sense immorally and forcibly breaks through the Seal within your body as a Qi Refining junior to investigate, ordinary people will not be able to see that you have sealed the Ice Soul Gu inside you.”

After Divine Pine finished speaking, Lin Jing looked at the back of his hand. The color of the Luck young dragon had already turned into a purple-gold color, reaching the Perfection of the first layer. It was not far from becoming a golden young dragon, achieving Minor Achievement in the secret technique.

Perhaps if the news spreads for a few more days, he would succeed immediately.

“Although you did not experience the complete academy assessment and did not defeat that Heavenly God Body on the spot, the news that the three of you reached the Qi Refining Tenth Layer through the Cave Heaven is far more eye-catching than any academy assessment.”

“After that Heavenly God Body came out, he continued the assessment with his Qi Refining Tenth Layer cultivation, defeating a Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator by leaping Realms, spreading his prestige far and wide. Yet your fame is no worse than his; not only did you previously defeat Chen Lingxi, who had also crossed into the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, but both you and your Pet Beast have simultaneously reached the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, something ordinary people wouldn’t even dare to imagine.”

“Now the outside world is discussing who is stronger between you and the Heavenly God Body Wang Xiao. Hehe, let it ferment a bit more. Don’t be in a rush to fight him. Wait until his fame is even greater, then defeat him; you will be able to harvest fame better. Your current fame is already enough to satisfy your Cultivation.”

“Many thanks, Senior Divine Pine.” Lin Jing expressed his gratitude, thinking that Senior Divine Pine must have been guarding him these past few days.

Divine Pine said, “Enough talk! It seems someone has come to look for you. This time I won’t stop them!”

After speaking, Divine Pine escaped the academy, and outside the Immortal Cave was a young man in black.

“Brother Lin!” Gao Sheng walked to the outside of the Immortal Cave and said, “I brought you some immortal delicacies from Xiankelai, cooked from Yang-attribute and Fire-attribute Advanced Spirit Beasts. I came specially to visit. Are you alright? May I see you?”

The door of the Immortal Cave was opened. Gao Sheng entered and saw Lin Jing just crawling out of the furnace.

“Brother Lin!” Outsiders might not know what was going on with Lin Jing, but could Gao Sheng not know? He laughed, “Congratulations, Qi Refining Tenth Layer! In the Cave Heaven, you must have borrowed the power of that thing, right?”

“Mm.” Lin Jing did not deny it, saying, “If it weren’t for it, I wouldn’t have been able to kill so many Dragon Phoenix projections.”

“Really good.” Gao Sheng said with an envious face, “Although I was ‘prepared’ sufficiently, I am still a bit short of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer. This trash Mortal Body is holding me back—I just want to achieve Foundation Establishment as soon as possible and Cultivate an Acquired immortal Physique.”

Lin Jing smiled, and Gao Sheng continued, “Right, my maternal grandfather sent me a message from ten thousand miles away, telling me that the doors of the Demon Subduing Division are always open for you. Regarding the Ice Soul Gu, you don’t need to worry. Within the Demon Subduing Division, currently only my grandfather, Sister Feng, and I know about it.”

“Even the Snow Moon City Lord has had his memory regarding the Ice Soul Gu wiped away by my grandfather. The Snow Moon City incident was treated as just an ordinary disturbance by a Cultivator of the Gu God Sect Legacy.”

“Also, this is for you.” He took out a black token and said, “This is a specially made token of the Demon Subduing Division. Holding this token, even if you use the Ice Soul Gu in the future, it will be considered as permitted by the Demon Subduing Division and you will not be treated as a demonic Cultivator. If you encounter pursuit from Righteous Path members—just take out the token.”

“Thanks—” Lin Jing took the token, looking surprised.

“What are you thanking me for? Now that the assessment has ended and I have successfully entered the academy, once we complete our Foundation Establishment, it will be the day we team up to solve cases!” Gao Sheng laughed, taking a table full of good food and wine out from his Storage Pouch.

“I also don’t want you to solve cases using the Ice Soul Gu at that time, leading to me being misunderstood along with you.”

Lin Jing was speechless. How could this guy still be obsessed with this matter?

“Fine.” Seeing the table full of good wine and food, as well as the special token from the Demon Subduing Division, Lin Jing said, “Wait until I complete Foundation Establishment.”

Although he had agreed, Lin Jing felt that it might still be a very, very long time before he achieved Foundation Establishment.

Before he was fully prepared, he was in no rush to achieve Foundation Establishment. Now that his lifespan had been extended, he planned to study steadily in this academy for ten years before considering the matter of Foundation Establishment.

“Eat, drink!” Lin Jing picked up a chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth, but the next moment, a wave of nausea hit him, and he spat the chicken leg onto Gao Sheng’s face opposite him.

“What is this? It tastes so bad!” He was stunned.

“Ah?” Gao Sheng wasn’t angry either, looking astonished, “Impossible! This was all cooked by a top chef I spent a lot of money to hire at Xiankelai for you. It’s a delicacy that can absolutely suppress the power of the Ice Soul Gu!”

He also picked up a chicken leg and tasted it, saying, “It’s not that bad, is it?”

Lin Jing took another bite and vomited it out again, feeling that it tasted terrible and was simply impossible to swallow.

“I must be sick.” Lin Jing felt a wave of nausea; cold and hot really couldn’t be mixed.

“It’s over, I know what’s going on.” Gao Sheng sighed regretfully, “It must be that you perceived the taste of dragon liver and phoenix marrow too many times in the Dragon Phoenix Cave Heaven, causing your sense of taste to mutate!!! I have been eating delicacies since I was young, so I am fine and not deeply affected, but as for you—”

Lin Jing’s vision went dark. How could this Cave Heaven have such a crappy side effect? Was it the same for the Pine Leaf Squirrel?

Although he could already abstain from eating, enjoying good food was one of the great pleasures of his life; how could it be erased!

“Is Fellow Daoist Lin Jing here?”

“It is I, Wang Xiao of the Wang family.” Just at this moment, although Lin Jing intended to fatten Wang Xiao up before killing him, Wang Xiao remained obsessed with the pressure he felt when he locked eyes with Lin Jing, and thus came specifically to challenge him.