Chapter 257: Old Friends

After helping Gu Qianqiu freeze her age, Lin Jing no longer disturbed her Cultivation.

Xu Qingyao’s palace was now the best place for Gu Qianqiu to Cultivate.

Although there were many Yao Beasts coming and going, given her current physical condition, she had completely lost her appeal to them.

As for their enemy, the Heavenly Lion Ancestor, it would have to weigh its options before coming to the Demon Court Saintess’s territory to snatch someone. Perhaps it could kill a Demon Court Demon Ancestor without anyone questioning it, but if it injured one of the only three and a half Half-Demon Saintesses who bore the burden of the Yao Race’s revival plan, it might be met with a slap from the Demon Emperor.

Over there, Gu Qianqiu began to Cultivate diligently, and Lin Jing was not to be outdone.

He first threw all the Spiritual Plants and vegetation he had snatched from the Heavenly Lion Clan to the Pine Leaf Squirrel, letting it select the useless ones for its own training.

Subsequently, he threw the Heavenly Thunder Flame Origin to the Dragon Carp, letting it refine another top-tier exotic flame.

As for the Ice Soul Gu, Lin Jing didn’t have any specific resources for it at the moment, so he let it fall back into a deep sleep.

Although it didn’t want to sleep.

He believed that by the time it woke up again, he would definitely be able to find top-tier resources suitable to help it achieve Core Formation.

After arranging for the three Pet Beasts, Lin Jing himself began to use the Potential Dragon Luck he had harvested during this period to deduce the Tree-Man Pill.

Some time later, Senior Sister finally brought the spiritual items for repairing the Golden Core/Yao Core.

“The things I promised you.”

“Many thanks, Senior Sister.” Lin Jing took the Storage Pouch from her.

Xu Qingyao asked: “How is Gu Qianqiu doing?”

“She’s doing alright. Her body has mostly recovered, and she has slowed the passage of her Lifespan through the Ice Soul Sub-Gu. She probably has about twenty years left to Cultivate.”

“Additionally, I inquired further. The Heavenly Lion Clan seems to have fed her many Lifespan-extending resources and Cultivation Techniques, which has caused her body to have a high resistance to such resources now. I estimate that it will be very difficult to extend her Lifespan further through external means.”

“Oh. I hope she can successfully achieve Nascent Soul, otherwise, all those resources will have been wasted.” Senior Sister shook her head; she had never used so many Spirit Stones to Cultivate so extravagantly.

“By the way, Senior Sister, you’ve come at just the right time. I have a few more things to ask of you.” Lin Jing also took out a Storage Pouch and said: “This contains the Yao Cores stored externally by the Heavenly Lion Clan, about ten thousand of them—”

“I want to refine them all into ‘Ascension Yuan Pills’ to increase cultivation for Gu Qianqiu, but I don’t have enough energy on my own. Could I borrow your Crane Cauldron alchemists for a while—”

Senior Sister interrupted: “They are still researching the Transformation Pill; how would they have time to be distracted by refining this?”

Lin Jing smiled and said: “They’ve been researching for another ten years without a shred of progress, haven’t they? A change of pace, clearing their heads, and refining some simple Ascension Yuan Pills wouldn’t be bad.”

“Just consider it giving them a break.”

Xu Qingyao’s mouth twitched: “Speaking of which, when will you start your research on the Transformation Pill?”

“Soon, soon.” Lin Jing explained: “Once my Squirrel achieves Core Formation, I will need to use it to Cultivate a new variety of Shapeshifting Grass. I’ll start with the Materials rather than the Alchemy theory; that has always been my style of Alchemy.”

“Fine, as you say. I’ll leave this task to the Crane Cauldron for now.” Senior Sister took the Yao Cores and then said: “Is there anything else? If not, I have something else to tell you.”

“Regarding the Gu Family that Gu Qianqiu asked us to investigate, I used the Demon Court’s intelligence network and found some things.”

“A thousand years ago, after the intelligence about Gu Qianqiu’s Longevity Physique was exposed, the entire Gu Family mysteriously disappeared shortly after. Because it was too long ago and the Gu Family was a small Family, we haven’t yet found out which power was responsible. There is only one clansman named ‘Gu Qiantong’ who, because he married into the Misty Immortal Clan, was not among the missing.”

“Calculating the Bloodline, this Gu Qiantong should still be considered Gu Qianqiu’s younger half-brother.”

“The Misty Immortal Clan?” Lin Jing heard this and said: “The number one clan of the Misty Dao. Senior Sister, you told me before that a Fairy from the Misty Immortal Clan is also getting married recently, right?”

“Yes. The members of the Misty Immortal Clan never marry outside; even if they are ordinary female cultivators with mediocre Aptitude, they will choose to have the man marry into the Family. This younger brother of Gu Qianqiu fell in love with an ordinary female member of the Misty Immortal Clan and married into it.”

“However, a thousand years have passed, and they, with their mediocre Aptitude, have long since turned into dust. They never managed to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage in their lifetime. But among their descendants, one had decent talent and has already cultivated to the Nascent Soul Stage; they are still alive today.”

Lin Jing nodded and said: “Understood. Continue the investigation. It’s nothing more than some power taking a fancy to the Gu Family’s Bloodline potential and wanting to research it. Don’t tell Gu Qianqiu for now. It won’t be too late to tell her once we have results and she has broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage.”

By then, in addition to the Heavenly Lion Clan, there would be another major power to serve as a target for revenge, Lin Jing chuckled.

The Heavenly Lion Clan’s treasures were too sweet; he still wanted to rob a few more places.

Having come from a country that loved peace in his previous life, his favorite idiom was: “A just cause makes one strong.”

“You guy.” Xu Qingyao discovered that Lin Jing had more violent tendencies than she did. Could it be that he was already thinking about how to goad Gu Qianqiu into taking revenge for her Family?

Just not knowing which power had made a move on the Gu Family. “I’m leaving.” Xu Qingyao left.

Leaving Lin Jing alone, he looked up at the sky slightly, intending to go out again.

This trip out was not to cause trouble, but to catch a few live Yao Beasts to test the effectiveness of the Ten Thousand Fires Cauldron. Shortly after, the Pine Leaf Squirrel, which was cultivating the Longevity Technique, was once again ravaged by Lin Jing for a year of its Lifespan, condensing an embryo of a vegetation Clone.

Lin Jing used this humanoid vegetation Clone as a Foundation and then used illusions to shape a Phantom Clone. However, this time it wasn’t a Lin Jing Clone, nor a Fire Dragon Pill Master Clone, nor the previous Yellow Universe image, but a brand-new identity.

Magnificent and heroic, with noble features. Teeth as white as silver, lips red and a square mouth. He wore a kasaya and held a Zen Staff; he was strikingly a bald monk.

“Let me see where there are Yao Beasts causing chaos among the people.” The phantom body hid the two Ten Thousand Beasts Circles and left the place alone, intending to go catch Yao Beasts.

He first came to the Loose Cultivator Alliance in the Twin Immortal City outside Cheng Hua Dao, one of the sixteen Dao of Qingzhou, which was closest to his main body. This hall was the intelligence exchange center for Loose Cultivators—gathering all kinds of news.

This time, Lin Jing planned to catch one Yao Beast each from the Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Yao Core, and Yao King Realms for comparative Alchemy experiments. In order not to catch the wrong Yao and accidentally injure brothers in the Demon Court, he chose to conduct background checks first.

As soon as the monk walked in, he saw several Loose Cultivators complaining there.

“What’s going on with those monsters on Soul-Swaying Mountain? They are everywhere, even Golden Core Stage cultivators are being sucked into mummies.”

“I don’t know. Where did these Mosquito Beasts come from?”

“I heard that a long time ago, someone saw a few Mosquito Beasts that hadn’t been seen before wandering on Soul-Swaying Mountain. Their cultivation was very low, and they didn’t seem to have any value, so no one paid attention. Who knew that a few years later they would multiply into such a terrifying swarm of mosquitoes? I’m afraid it will be very difficult to collect the Soul-Restoration Grass on Soul-Swaying Mountain from now on—”