Chapter 178

“Your turtle-type mechanical beast… is of dual water and wood attributes, right? If so, choosing a Wave Dragon Turtle would be more appropriate. After all, you already have that mecha as a defensive-type Mechanical Creation.” Mo Qianyi offered her advice.

Lin Jing shook his head. “Are there no others besides these two? Something more special.” He hadn’t taken a fancy to either of these two.

The Elders of Divine Machine Manor had their beards twitch; they felt that this kid Lin Jing had quite an appetite, looking down on even Nascent Soul Stage mechanical beasts! Did he want a Soul Transformation one instead?

A Soul Transformation mechanical beast—not to mention whether Lin Jing could gather the Materials, it would take forever for him to be able to control it. Most importantly, this was part of Divine Machine Manor’s foundation, so it was unlikely to be traded.

Mo Qianyi was silent for a moment. “There is a Golden Core Stage turtle-type mechanical beast. I wonder if you are interested? It is of the space attribute. Your other Pet Beast should also be Cultivating the Dao of Space, right? You should understand the power of the space attribute; its rarity is comparable to a Nascent Soul Stage mechanical beast.”

“However, relatively speaking, the creation and upgrading of this space Mechanism Turtle are even more difficult than a Nascent Soul Stage mechanical beast, and it is not good at combat.”

Space… Lin Jing’s interest was slightly piqued. “What abilities does this space Mechanism Turtle have?” Not being good at combat didn’t matter; he wasn’t lacking in combat power at the moment.

Mo Qianyi said, “Its name is the Longevity Treasure Turtle, and its ability is treasure hunting.”

“This space-attribute Mechanism Turtle has treasure-sensing capabilities and, like storage equipment, possesses a super-large internal space, larger than the space of any storage Magic Treasure in circulation.”

“Without needing a Mechanist to control it, it can leave the Mechanist, go out to explore for treasures on its own, store all the treasures it finds in its internal space, and then return to the Mechanist’s side.”

“Whether it’s a Spirit Stone, a discarded, broken Spiritual Artifact, or a Spiritual Plant, as long as it finds them, it will store them all in its internal space.”

“Furthermore, due to its space attribute, it possesses the same Void Concealment Physique as that Prodigy from the Blood Kill Tower; even Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators find it difficult to track its movements.”

“Additionally—because of its space attribute, it can even sneak into some Small Worlds, Secret Realms, and ruins to hunt for treasures, bringing back Advanced Magic Treasures.”

“It is indeed a treasure turtle, but why is it called the Longevity Treasure Turtle?” Lin Jing asked.

“Because it is most adept at finding treasures that extend Lifespan. The Mechanist who created it was an ancestor of our Divine Machine Manor whose limit was approaching. Deeply feeling the importance of Lifespan, he created this Longevity Treasure Turtle. The Longevity Treasure Turtle generally goes out to hunt for treasures and will only return when it finds Spiritual Plants or Spiritual Fruits that can extend Lifespan.”

The young woman sighed and said, “However, such treasures are very difficult to find. Later, someone in Divine Machine Manor also created a Longevity Treasure Turtle, and this Mechanism Turtle went out for twenty years before it successfully dug back a Spiritual Ginseng that could extend Lifespan by a hundred years.”

“The only good point is that as long as it is maintained, the Lifespan of a mechanical beast is almost ‘infinite,’ so it can always be engaged in treasure hunting, which is something ordinary Yao Beasts cannot compare to.” Mo Qianyi stated the advantages of Mechanical Creations.

“That is indeed true.” Lin Jing agreed. The Lifespan of a mechanical beast lies in the Lifespan of the Materials used to create it. Although ordinary mechanical Materials will wear down and decompose, as long as the Mechanist continues to maintain it and replace old parts, this situation can be avoided.

“Have you made your decision?” “Mm.”

A Mechanism Turtle that can find treasures to extend Lifespan… Lin Jing smiled, feeling that it was quite fated for him.

Although he himself did not need treasures to extend Lifespan, as a Longevity Physique, it was inevitable that he would see his friends grow old one by one in the future. Using the treasures found to extend Lifespan as gifts to give during festivals was a good choice.

The functionality was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that Lin Jing wanted his debut work to be born with intelligence, letting this Mechanism Turtle that had accompanied him for several years open its eyes to see this world.

“Then I will take the design blueprint for this Longevity Treasure Turtle.” Lin Jing said. Although it was more difficult to create and upgrade, Lin Jing estimated that the difficulty lay in the space Materials.

As it happened, the Pine Leaf Squirrel should be able to provide some in this regard. The Materials for the old version of the Mechanism Turtle were provided by the Pine Leaf Squirrel. This new version of the Mechanism Turtle would also be provided by the Pine Leaf Squirrel, which could be considered a consistent effort from beginning to end.

His own Pine Leaf Squirrel seemed to have a certain talent for treasure hunting; he wondered if the Longevity Treasure Turtle would be able to inherit it after it gained intelligence.

“The design blueprint for the Longevity Treasure Turtle? Then it’s settled.” “Then we will prepare separately and trade after the Heavenly Pride Battle ends, no problem right? How about using the Lotus Pavilion’s Contract document as the method of transaction?” Lin Jing said.

Divine Machine Manor had no problems, and Lin Jing naturally had no issues either. After the two sides finalized the agreement, they parted ways. Lin Jing and Mo Qianyi went off to start preparing for the next round of the Heavenly Pride Battle.

The small interlude with Divine Machine Manor did not hinder Lin Jing’s own pace. Under his commission, Xu Zhizhi had been sending a constant stream of Advanced Spiritual Plants over the past few days, consuming the Spirit Stones earned from auctioning the Rising Dragon Pill.

Inside the Beast Taming space, the Pine Leaf Squirrel, dressed in a Daoist robe, possessed an extraordinary Aura. It picked up a stalk of Advanced Spiritual Plant, absorbed it until it withered, and tossed it aside. It was hard to imagine that such a Cultivation Technique was passed down to it by a plant Spirit Monster.

The cultivation of the Azure Emperor Longevity Art was just that simple and brutal. After the Pine Leaf Squirrel absorbed it continuously for another five days, and after constant absorption and consolidation, its body finally underwent some changes.

The Pine Leaf Squirrel sat cross-legged on the ground, its vitality flowing like a spring, nurturing its body anew and allowing it to be reborn. Squirrels are not like long-lived creatures such as turtles or carp; their Lifespans are very short. Ordinary Squirrels have a Lifespan of less than ten years, and even a Squirrel Demon with some accomplishments does not live longer than a human Cultivator of the same level.

But now, Lin Jing’s Pine Leaf Squirrel was in a completely different situation. After the Azure Emperor Longevity Art reached Minor Achievement, it granted the Pine Leaf Squirrel an additional 500 years of Lifespan. Later, through the Longevity Foundation Establishment Pill, it evolved into a long-lived species, and it gained another 500 years of Lifespan due to its Breakthrough in Realm.

Calculated carefully, the Pine Leaf Squirrel at the Foundation Establishment Stage already possessed a Lifespan of a thousand years. It was almost comparable to the Lifespan of Lin Jing, a Longevity Physique, during the Qi Refinement Stage.

A Longevity Physique at the Qi Refinement Stage also possessed a Lifespan of just over a thousand years. Of course, Lin Jing’s Longevity Physique was quite special. Due to the parasitism of the Ice Soul Gu, Lin Jing’s life was passing very slowly. He sensed that he could probably live much longer now—not just a simple thousand years, but perhaps even two thousand years.

And now, the Pine Leaf Squirrel was not inferior. The Pine Leaf Squirrel’s Azure Emperor Longevity Art had finally reached Major Achievement, granting it another 1000 years of Lifespan. It was equivalent to suddenly possessing a 2000-year Lifespan. Although it was just a Squirrel, in terms of Lifespan potential, it now far exceeded those Yao King beasts of the Beast Taming Sect that had lived for thousands of years.

Those beasts lived so long because of their Nascent Soul Stage Realm combined with the fact that they were long-lived species like turtles, elephants, parrots, or dragons. But now, with the Pine Leaf Squirrel’s art reaching Major Achievement, its Lifespan had suddenly increased by units of a thousand!

“Congratulations.” Inside the inn, Lin Jing had been sensing the improvement of the Pine Leaf Squirrel’s Cultivation Technique Realm throughout the entire process and couldn’t help but feel genuinely excited. At the very least, he didn’t have to worry about the Pine Leaf Squirrel’s Lifespan ending too soon.

Lin Jing had always been worried that, as a Longevity Physique, he would eventually live longer than one Pet Beast after another, ending up alone.

Even if a Yao Beast ate the flesh and blood of a pure Longevity Physique, its own Lifespan increase would not exceed that of the Longevity Physique itself. Therefore, even if Lin Jing really used his flesh and blood to extend the Lifespan of his Pet Beasts, they would certainly not outlive him.

However, Lin Jing felt it was a bit too early to think about such things now. Perhaps he and his Pet Beasts could find an opportunity for Ascension and directly achieve Immortal Ascension, living as long as the heavens.

“Sigh!” Facing Lin Jing’s congratulations, the Pine Leaf Squirrel stood up, its Daoist robe fluttering, indicating that it still owed much thanks to Fellow Daoist Dragon Carp for working so hard at Alchemy over the past two years, exchanging for a large amount of plant resources; without that, it would definitely not have been able to bring the Longevity Art to Major Achievement.

The Pine Leaf Squirrel crossed its arms, determined to bet on the honor of the Pine Leaf Squirrel clan to win a massive amount of Luck power for Fellow Daoist Dragon Carp to help it transform into a Dragon. With the strong leading the strong, it felt that after the Longevity Art reached Major Achievement, it was terrifyingly strong, and its control over plants had reached an unimaginable level.

“It’s a pity that, held back by the Contract, you are still at the Foundation Establishment Initial Stage. But fortunately, you possess the supreme Yao King bloodline, so your mana is barely enough. Mm, when I reach Foundation Establishment, you will probably be able to break through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage immediately.”

Lin Jing analyzed the Pine Leaf Squirrel’s current situation. Theoretically, with the Azure Emperor Longevity Art at Major Achievement and the use of so many resources, it was not impossible for the Pine Leaf Squirrel to reach the Foundation Establishment Late Stage or Perfection.

But the current situation was that the Pine Leaf Squirrel would probably only have the opportunity to continue breaking through after Lin Jing reached Foundation Establishment. Breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage should be no problem, and there was a certain probability of continuous Breakthroughs, reaching the Foundation Establishment Late Stage in one go.

Seven days after the end of the second round, the third round of the Heavenly Pride Battle finally began.

“Heavenly Secrets Pavilion has written the names of the final eight Prodigies on bamboo slips. Next, one person will be randomly selected to serve as the King of the Ring. It is said to be random, but the vessel holding the bamboo slips is a Magic Treasure of Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, the Luck Bottle. Although it may not be absolutely accurate, the name that falls out is very likely the one with the best hope of winning the Heavenly Pride Battle, the one with the strongest Luck among the eight contestants.”

Tian Huihua stood in the sky, holding a white bottle.

Upon hearing this, the audience was in an uproar. They had thought it would be a completely random selection for the first King of the Ring, but they hadn’t expected something almost like a predetermined outcome.

Everyone naturally believed in the deductive level of Heavenly Secrets Pavilion; perhaps before the competition even started, Heavenly Secrets Pavilion already knew who the winner would be!

So—who would be the first King of the Ring? Would it be the Innate Dao Body, the number one Prodigy, Chen Chong? Perhaps he had the ability to withstand a wheel war against the other seven Prodigies and still remain standing at the end!

“This person will be the first King of the Ring for the upcoming ring battle. The remaining seven can all challenge him, or choose to give up the challenge!”

Finally, the name slip fell out. When the audience and contestants saw the name, they immediately fell silent; the scene was deathly quiet.

“Him?” What was written on it was not the number one Prodigy Chen Chong, nor the second Prodigy Mo Qianyi, nor those few new Prodigies who had just emerged. It was, surprisingly—Lin Jing of the Beast Taming Sect, who had previously defeated the third Prodigy using Mechanism Art and was thought by people to have had his trump cards destroyed!