Chapter 152: Thunder Pine

Although the Ice Soul Gu was strong, it was currently far from being a match for the Dragon Carp and the Pine Leaf Squirrel.

Even though the Dragon Carp’s own Bloodline strength was inferior to the Ice Soul Gu’s, it had joined the team specifically to counter it.

Utilizing its Alchemy talent, it had long since stockpiled many Medicinal Pills to suppress the Ice Soul Gu.

As for the Pine Leaf Squirrel—its current Bloodline strength was not at all inferior to the Ice Soul Gu’s, and its cultivation far exceeded it. If they clashed, the Ice Soul Gu would be doomed.

Of course, this did not mean the Ice Soul Gu was weak.

After all, Gu insects were man-made products; they could only unleash their greatest power when cooperating with a Gu Master.

Among the three pet beasts—the Pine Leaf Squirrel, the Dragon Carp, and the Ice Soul Gu—only the Ice Soul Gu’s power could perfectly fuse with Lin Jing’s True Qi, transforming into a new power and achieving a qualitative change where one plus one was greater than two.

Furthermore, a Gu insect at the Qi Condensation stage could not yet perfectly display its abilities.

Once the Ice Soul Gu reached Foundation Establishment and its Bloodline ascended to Gu Emperor, its strength would surely undergo a terrifying increase. However, the other two Pet Beasts would also be able to keep pace with it.

The Dragon Carp had also not yet reached Foundation Establishment.

After it reached Foundation Establishment and transformed into a dragon, the scale of its strength increase would not be much worse than the Ice Soul Gu’s.

And the Pine Leaf Squirrel, with the Azure Emperor Longevity Art and Divine Wood Seal inherited from the Demon Pine, plus the several warehouses of sealed divine wood it had stockpiled in advance, was more than enough to give the Ice Soul Gu a hard time.

This was not even counting the Blood Mosquito Legion controlled by the Pine Leaf Squirrel, nor the Demon King True Body talent that was comparable to a Demon Emperor’s Bloodline—both of which possessed extremely high growth potential.

So, it wasn’t that the Ice Soul Gu wasn’t strong enough; it was just that the other Pet Beasts were all freaks.

With these two monster Pet Beasts cooperating with Lin Jing to give the Ice Soul Gu some “early education,” he believed the Ice Soul Gu would soon recognize the situation.

Lin Jing settled his mind, sat cross-legged in the ice cave, and began to Cultivate the Moulting Technique.

He also sent a telepathic message to the Pine Leaf Squirrel: “Don’t mess around for too long. Let the Ice Soul Gu come back to Cultivate in a bit. Its main task now is Foundation Establishment—”

Lin Jing believed that after being ordered around by the Pine Leaf Squirrel, the Fridge Gu should honestly come out to absorb the extreme cold Qi and reach Foundation Establishment first.

After all, with its current strength, its status in this team could be described as miserable. The pride originating from its Bloodline when it was first born was likely almost non-existent now.

The Divine Pine, guarding above the cold pool, also became aware of the Ice Soul Gu’s awakening.

‘Fortunately, I was a step ahead and cultivated this Longevity Physique well. Otherwise, if it were any other vessel, the Ice Soul Gu would have already taken control.’

“Alright, next is to wait for that old monster from the Yin Corpse Sect.”

“I wonder if that fellow can find his way here, and if he’ll dare to show up—”

“I can’t let my preparation of this great gift go to waste!”

Time flew by. Lin Jing and the others had been cultivating in the underground world of the cold pool for over half a month, and the Divine Pine had been guarding outside the cold pool the entire time.

Half a month later, an anomaly finally appeared, causing the Divine Pine—who had transformed into a Pine Cone and was floating in mid-air—to perk up and look at the cloud-covered sky.

Under the black sky, a coffin floated there. Upon the phantom of the coffin stood a small figure in black robes, staring down at the cold pool with deathly eyes.

“It seems the Longevity Physique is indeed here.”

“Those useless fools found the Longevity Physique but failed to successfully capture and bring it back to headquarters. At the critical moment, I still have to come and find it myself.”

“Hmm? There’s actually a plant Soul Transformation Cultivator guarding him. No wonder he dared to leave the Academy.”

“Begone!” His Primordial Spirit pressure flooded out, attempting to make the Divine Pine guarding outside leave.

Although this Yin Corpse Sect Old Ancestor’s Physical Body had been destroyed, leaving only his Primordial Spirit, he was still at the Void Profound stage. Against a Soul Transformation Cultivator, he still possessed an overwhelming combat advantage.

“I do not wish to waste my Primordial Spirit power. I will give you three breaths of time to leave immediately, and I shall spare your life.”

The Divine Pine observed the “Primordial Spirit” in the sky and let out a chuckling laugh. “Brat from the Yin Corpse Sect, are you talking to me? Although your cultivation is higher, I am definitely older than you. Do you not understand how to respect a Senior of the Demonic Path? You’re the one who should get lost! I haven’t even brought myself to eat this Longevity Physique yet; is it your turn?”

“You seek death!” The old man from the Yin Corpse Sect had not expected a mere Soul Transformation Cultivator to dare to be so insolent before him.

“Then I’ll just refine you along with him!” The small Primordial Spirit figure flicked his arm, and the coffin phantom beneath him immediately released a sky-covering Death Qi.

However, with a “crackling” sound, the Yin Corpse Sect old man’s pupils suddenly constricted.

Beside the Pine Cone, a massive pine tree appeared out of nowhere. This pine tree was also only at the Soul Transformation stage, but compared to the Tiandu Divine Pine in the memories of Lin Jing and the Beast Taming Sect Cultivators, this pine tree, while still radiating a golden-green light, had a gold that was now the brilliance of lightning.

Golden lightning slithered over the Divine Pine’s body like heavenly snakes, quickly causing a ripple in the sky and condensing a larger vortex of dark clouds, within which the lightning was terrifying.

“Void Profound brat, you must have encountered a Heavenly Tribulation before!”

“I’m much more miserable than you human cultivators; it’s extremely easy for me to attract a Heavenly Tribulation. I wonder if you’ll like the Heavenly Tribulation brought about by the Breakthrough of this Thunder Pine Incarnation!”

The Divine Pine gave a sly laugh. He had long since refined the Spiritual Plant obtained from the Beast Taming Sect into a Clone, and now he had even made this Clone his primary Magic Treasure for dealing with the Yin Corpse Sect Cultivator.

“Heavenly Tribulation!” A trace of fear flashed across the Yin Corpse Sect old man’s expression. Heavenly Tribulations were inherently the bane of Yin Corpses. Coupled with his current poor state, if he were caught in the other’s Heavenly Tribulation, even if he didn’t die, he would lose a layer of skin.

“I will remember you!” He was about to turn and flee when, in just a few short moments, countless Thunder Pines grew upon the snowy mountain, instantly forming a plant sealing array that trapped the Yin Corpse Sect old man within.

“One must be willing to lose the bait to catch the fish. Although this Clone hasn’t been refined for long, trading it for a Void Profound Yin Spirit can be considered a profit. Besides, with the insights from the Clone being struck down by the Heavenly Tribulation, this Clone of mine hasn’t been refined in vain!”

Although the Yin Corpse Sect old man easily broke through the Thunder Pine Array, at such a moment, even a delay of a few seconds was fatal. Because he was too deeply entangled with the Thunder Pine Clone, he had already been locked onto by the Heavenly Tribulation.

Also locked onto was the Divine Pine’s Thunder Pine Clone. Because it had used all its power to obstruct the Yin Corpse Sect old man, the Thunder Pine Clone no longer had the strength to resist the Heavenly Tribulation and was destroyed almost instantly.

Even though the Clone was destroyed, the Divine Pine did not feel the slightest bit of sadness. He now wanted to know more if this Yin Corpse Sect old man had brought enough treasures with him.

Rumble.

Watching the Yin Corpse Sect old man struggle against the increasingly powerful Heavenly Tribulation, the Divine Pine, in his Pine Cone form, covered the traces of his true body to avoid being caught in the tribulation while sending a telepathic message into the void.

“Fellow Daoist hiding in the void, you’re from the Demon Subduing Division, right? This person is mine; don’t you dare interfere.”

“I’ve wasted a Clone and risked my true body being caught in the Heavenly Tribulation; I can’t work for your Demon Subduing Division for nothing!”

“Hehe, you little pine tree, you certainly have a lot of nerve. Do you know who I am?” A voice also drifted out from the void.