Chapter 296: Tree Ancestor

“Are you leaving???”

“Why didn’t you call for your big sister?”

When Lin Jing was about to leave, there was another person in the Eldest Senior Sister’s palace who wanted to leave with him.

The Old Ancestor of Thousand Illusion Mountain, Huan Li.

This Soul Transformation phantom Cultivator had been imprisoned here and forbidden from moving about because she had seen through Lin Jing’s identity.

Lin Jing glanced at her.

“Just joking, Holy Child, take me with you.”

Old Ancestor Huan Li chuckled and said, “As the Demon Court Holy Son, it’s not appropriate for you to not have a single decent powerhouse by your side.”

Lin Jing said, “You are free. Now that my identity is no longer a secret, you should return to Thousand Illusion Mountain.”

“Considering that Senior has taught me a lot of experience in the Illusion Dao during this time—”

He took out a drop of Demon Ancestor blood, the blood of the Heavenly Lion Ancestor, and tossed it to Old Ancestor Huan Li, saying, “This is the blood of the Heavenly Lion Clan’s ancestor.”

“It is for Senior to use in cultivating the Phantom Beast Technique.”

Taking the blood and putting it into her Storage Pouch, Old Ancestor Huan Li wept piteously like pear blossoms in the rain, saying, “I’m not leaving, I’m not leaving! Your Illusion Dao Origin Spirit hasn’t even gained intelligence yet; how can I rest easy? I want to stay by your side and continue teaching you all of my Illusion Dao insights—”

Lin Jing chuckled.

Having reached Perfection in the Great Demonic Divine Sense Technique, how could he not see through the thoughts of the Thousand Illusion Mountain Old Ancestor?

Although this person bore no ill will toward him, her true intentions were not hard to see.

【I heard five Demon Ancestors died in Tongtian City, yet he’s only giving me one type of blood? Is he trying to brush off a beggar?】

【Furthermore, now that the Yao Race is reviving and the Demon Court’s rise is unstoppable, this kid’s future as the Demon Court Holy Son is immeasurable.】

【I must hug this thigh tightly to ensure that Thousand Illusion Mountain remains safe during the upcoming turmoil in Qingzhou.】

【Plus, this kid has the Longevity Physique; outliving a Demon Emperor would be no problem for him. When he and Xu Qingyao inherit the Demon Court, I, as the mentor who bestowed the ‘grace of teaching’ upon his Illusion Dao Domain, will surely leave my name in history. I can’t leave, I can’t leave.】

Old Ancestor Huan Li shook her head, determined not to leave.

“You’re not leaving?”

“I can’t leave. The Holy Child is currently in need of manpower.”

“A new territory always needs a mountain-protecting grand array. I know how to do it; my phantom arrays are the most suitable.”

Lin Jing also shook his head. Forget it; he really was in need of manpower.

Although the mosquito swarm also possessed Soul Transformation combat power, they weren’t a single entity after all, and there were many ways to counter them.

In comparison, Huan Li, whose cultivation had reached the Middle Stage of Soul Transformation and whose attainments in the Illusion Dao were staggering, was clearly more useful—perhaps even more so than some at the Peak of Soul Transformation.

Of course, she certainly wasn’t as useful as Senior Divine Pine, who could not only protect the mountain but also help ripen Spiritual Plants.

“With such a huge commotion, and even the Cultivators from the Ancient Kingdom’s Beast Taming Sect having arrived in Qingzhou, where is Senior Divine Pine?”

“He couldn’t have been teleported to some dangerous place and died, right?”

He felt worried and thought he should use the Demon Court’s power to help him look for Senior Divine Pine.

After taking a group of people with him, Lin Jing and the Eldest Senior Sister parted ways.

At the time of parting, the two of them conducted one last experiment: the Eldest Senior Sister found a True Disciple of the Beast Taming Sect who was willing to take a gamble and gave his Pet Beast a Transformation Pill.

As for the result, although the Pet Beast endured the Transformation Heavenly Tribulation, the Beast Taming Contract between the two parties kept tearing during the transformation process, proving one thing: the Beast Taming Art is not compatible with the Yao Race.

If the Pet Beast wanted to continue transforming, the Beast Taming Contract would inevitably break; if they wanted to maintain the Contract, the transformation would fail.

Ultimately, between the two options of keeping the Contract or keeping a Yao Race wife, this Beast Taming Sect Disciple chose to keep the Contract. Nevertheless, in the process, both the Beast Master and the Pet Beast suffered a great loss of Origin Qi and would likely need to recuperate for a long time.

“Your guess was correct; it really doesn’t work,” Xu Qingyao said with great regret.

The Yao Race is already considered a different species from Yao Beasts and cannot be contracted.

“Actually, the experiment can be considered a success. It shows that as long as the Sect Master and Senior Brother Ouyang are willing to dissolve their Beast Taming Contracts with the Sect Master’s Wife and Hong’er, they will both be able to transform successfully later,” Lin Jing said.

“That’s true,” the Eldest Senior Sister mused. “But I suspect they would still prefer to complete the transformation while maintaining the Contract.”

Lin Jing had no solution either and said, “It’s hard to have both. It will likely require effort in improving the Beast Taming Art. After I leave, I will research Transformation Pills that can be used by the Core Formation and Nascent Soul Stages. I don’t know if the Sect Master and Senior Brother Ouyang will come out of seclusion first, or if I will succeed in refining them first.”

“When the two of them emerge, please trouble Eldest Senior Sister to tell them not to be in a hurry.”

“Mhm, I’ve already left messages for them outside their Immortal Caves. Once they discover them, they should come out on their own.” Qingzhou had been turned upside down, yet the Sect Master and Senior Brother Ouyang were still in seclusion. In such matters, it wasn’t easy for outsiders to intrude, so she could only leave messages outside the Immortal Caves and wait for them to notice.

Beyond the Sixteen Provinces of Qingzhou lay the paradise of Yao Beasts.

Every great Yao clan with a Demon Ancestor presiding over it possessed very rich territory and resources.

A total of five Demon Ancestors died in Tongtian City this time, and their territories were naturally taken over by the Demon Court.

Among the territories of the five Demon Ancestor forces, Lin Jing took a fancy to the territory of the Wood Dragon Clan.

This Wood Dragon Ancestor was a wood-attribute giant dragon and a sworn brother of the Heavenly Lion Ancestor. It was said he also had some connection with the Senhai Dragon Emperor in the Mist Forest. However, regardless of his background, the Lord of the Demon Court had killed him directly.

The Wood Dragon Clan’s ancestral land was named Immortal Prison Mountain. It was located at the junction of Qingzhou’s Sixteen Provinces and the East Sea. The area was rich in water and wood attributes, with several top-grade Spiritual Veins underground connecting the sea and land, making it very suitable for the growth of plants.

In addition, this mountain was said to have been bathed in the blood of an immortal dragon that fell during an ancient war, and it produced Dragon Blood Crystals, a mineral that could enhance dragon-type Bloodlines. It was truly blessed by nature.

After the Demon Court wiped out the Wood Dragon Clan, Lin Jing directly took over the place. However, due to the great war, Immortal Prison Mountain currently looked dilapidated, and resources other than the Spiritual Veins had been plundered by other Yao Beast races of the Demon Court. Nevertheless, the foundation was still there; as long as the place was allowed to recover naturally for a while, it would soon regain its former scenery. Now, with Lin Jing’s arrival, a billion-strong mosquito swarm descended upon various parts of Immortal Prison Mountain, forming the first barrier. Mouse Child led several plant mice to begin afforestation, planting Earth Vein Spirit Trees to strengthen the Spiritual Qi, while Gu Qianqiu was sent by Lin Jing to the depths of the Spiritual Veins,

opening an Immortal Cave for her to Cultivate.

As for the Thousand Illusion Mountain Old Ancestor, Lin Jing ordered her to set up a mountain-protecting phantom array as the second barrier. With her using the local Spiritual Veins to set the array, even a Kong Xuan Realm expert wouldn’t dream of breaking through it in a short time.

While Lin Jing was transforming the territory, in the Void Realm of the Tianyuan Gap, a soaring Kong Xuan fluctuation permeated the air. Thick tree roots were inserted into spatial cracks, sucking nutrients from the void.

“Hahahaha! This old man truly is the child of destiny. Thanks to those resources I picked up, I’ve broken through to the Kong Xuan Realm ahead of schedule.”

“Changsheng kid, wait for me! Don’t be afraid. Now that I, the Kong Xuan Tree Ancestor, am here, no one will dare bully you! To hell with that Nine Infant Demon Lord; just wait until this old man comes to settle the score with you!”