Chapter 275: Longevity Treasure Turtle

Not long after.

The Demon Emperor’s gaze appeared outside Lin Jing’s Immortal Cave at the Third Holy Maiden Palace.

However, the Demon Emperor didn’t say anything this time; he simply dropped off the Candle Age Fire Origin and left.

Lin Jing thought the Demon Emperor was just too lazy to talk to him, but a moment after the gaze vanished, a voice echoed in his mind.

“It is indeed a good idea to burn your life force through the Candle Age Fire to comprehend the Heavenly Demon Body. I do not know if you will succeed, but the key to mastering the Heavenly Demon Body is a ‘determination to die,’ which you likely lack. If you still cannot master it,”

“then focus on performing Alchemy for the Demon Court and stop wasting your energy.”

A determination to die… Lin Jing was stunned. He hadn’t expected the Demon Emperor to have some understanding of the Heavenly Demon Body. Then again, the Demon Emperor had lived for so long and was of a similar generation to the First Generation Ancient Emperor, so he must have lived through the era of the Heavenly Devil Sect. It was normal for him to be familiar with the Heavenly Demon Body.

“As I thought.” Hearing the Demon Emperor’s description, Lin Jing knew that his failure to master the Heavenly Demon Body was indeed due to his mindset.

Thinking carefully, the demonic Cultivator Child Immortal mentioned who mastered the Heavenly Demon Body was being hunted by experts of the Righteous Path at the time and must have been driven into a corner.

Similarly, Gu Qianqiu had been tortured for a thousand years and had no lingering attachment to life; it was only with a determination to die that she mastered the Heavenly Demon Body.

In contrast, he simply wanted to master the Heavenly Demon Body for self-preservation and intimidation; he was nowhere near the kind of desperate situation they had faced.

Especially now, having become the Demon Court Holy Son and gaining the Demon Emperor’s protection, it might be even harder for him to encounter a desperate situation. Thus, he lacked that determination to die. When faced with danger, his first thought would surely be to seek protection rather than burning himself to reverse the situation.

“In other words, the Heavenly Demon Body can almost only be mastered in a desperate situation with a conviction to die.”

“…But even so, I have to try. I’ve worked hard for so long.” Lin Jing tossed the seed of the Candle Age Fire to the Dragon Carp. After the Heavenly Thunder Flame, it had obtained another top-tier exotic fire, and one with a time attribute at that!

“Refine this fire first. Once you’re done, we’ll continue researching the Thunder Refinement Method.” Lin Jing flicked his sleeve and left.

“Bo?” The Dragon Carp happily saw Lin Jing off and then began its secluded cultivation in the Immortal Cave. Lin Jing left the cave and went to his Eldest Senior Sister’s place to ask about the progress of gathering Materials for the Longevity Treasure Turtle.

While waiting for the Dragon Carp to refine the exotic fire, he planned to see if he could construct the Longevity Treasure Turtle.

“We’re missing one spatial material. Out of five spatial attribute Materials, only one hasn’t been found. This Void Concealment Stone is a specialty of the Ancient Kingdom and is very rare in Qingzhou. Even the Demon Court doesn’t have it in its collection. I’ve already sent someone to the Ancient Kingdom; can you wait a bit longer?”

Xu Qingyao took out the other four spatial attribute Materials and nine ordinary Materials. Lin Jing pondered for a moment and asked, “Only the Void Concealment Stone is missing?”

“Forget it, it doesn’t matter. I’ve studied the blueprints for the Longevity Treasure Turtle. The Void Concealment Stone isn’t a critical material; it just grants the Longevity Treasure Turtle spatial concealment, making it undetectable even to the Divine Sense of a Nascent Soul Cultivator, making it easier for it to steal things.”

“Even without the Void Concealment Stone for now, I can brand an Invisibility Illusion Art onto its body to achieve a similar effect. I’ll take these Materials first.”

“Alright,” Xu Qingyao nodded. “Once the Void Concealment Stone is found, I’ll send it to you, and you can upgrade the mechanical beast yourself.”

Lin Jing agreed with a smile, then returned to his Immortal Cave with a pile of mechanism Materials and began assembling the Longevity Treasure Turtle according to the blueprints.

A few days later.

Lin Jing dismantled the Mechanical Water Cannon Turtle, removed its Soul Core, and placed it into a new body.

Finally, he took out the most critical item.

A black iron plate.

According to Fairy Mo of the Divine Machine Manor, this item was the key to activating the Soul Core’s intelligence, allowing the mechanical beast to develop consciousness…

“Better not.” After some consideration, Lin Jing decided not to insert the black iron plate into the Soul Core to activate the Longevity Treasure Turtle’s intelligence just yet. He hadn’t reached the Core Formation Stage and had no Contract slots, so activating it would be pointless. Furthermore, he had built this Longevity Treasure Turtle entirely based on the blueprints provided by Fairy Mo, and he didn’t fully understand the nature of the black iron plate. Lin Jing wasn’t comfortable rashly creating a conscious being to keep by his side; one must always be wary of others. He decided to wait until he had studied Mechanism Art further.

There were also factions in Qingzhou that specialized in Mechanism Art. Though they might not compare to the Divine Machine Manor, they weren’t far off. With his current status as the Demon Court Holy Son, he could easily make contact with them to further his studies, which would be convenient for upgrading the Longevity Treasure Turtle in the future.

“Aside from lacking intelligence and spatial concealment, it already possesses all the other abilities of a Longevity Treasure Turtle. For now, this should be enough.”

Lin Jing summoned the Spell Spirit, Mushroom, and gently placed it onto the palm-sized turtle before him. The Longevity Treasure Turtle looked very ordinary, with a dull brown shell that wasn’t much different from most tortoises—it could be described as simple and unadorned.

However, beneath its plain exterior, its internal structure was incredibly complex. It wasn’t a body of flesh and blood; under the shell lay intricate mechanical structures and Formation patterns that drove the little turtle’s movements.

After applying an illusion that would last for a long time, Lin Jing gave his first command.

“Alright, go on your journey.”

He wasn’t worried about being unable to find the Longevity Treasure Turtle or it not being able to return after leaving, because he had refined the Soul Core. Within a short distance, he could sense the Treasure Turtle’s presence.

And if the Longevity Treasure Turtle left that range to search for treasure further away, Lin Jing could still find it through a wood-element Clone embryo condensed by the Pine Leaf Squirrel that he had placed inside its body.

Since he wasn’t in a hurry to try a Contract anyway, Lin Jing intended to see its capabilities first.

As long as there aren’t any bugs.

“Command received—Initiating…”

“Departing for treasure hunting soon—”

This was the sound produced by the sound recording Formation pattern inside the Mechanism Turtle. These were fixed, synthesized Formation sounds designed to make the mechanical beast seem more lively. While they could be removed if the noise was annoying, Lin Jing had included them according to the blueprints for fun. However, the sound recording Formation pattern was quite complex, and Lin Jing didn’t know all the preset voice lines.

“Go on.”

Lin Jing nodded, and in the next instant, the Mechanical Bamboo Turtle turned and left.

“Departing now. Wishing Master a long life of ten thousand years. You must stay alive and wait for my return—”

Lin Jing:???

Although there was nothing wrong with the blessing, why did it sound so much like a curse to him?

Forget it, as long as there are no bugs. At least it successfully left him to go treasure hunting.

A moment later.

The Longevity Treasure Turtle sneaked into Gu Qianqiu’s Immortal Cave and stared blankly at the Longevity Physique, unsure of how to take this life-prolonging object into its body.

“Why do I feel like someone is peeking?”

At the same time, the cultivating Gu Qianqiu opened her eyes. She found nothing, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that a pair of eyes was watching her. “Damn it, there really is a bug.” In his Immortal Cave, Lin Jing sensed the Longevity Treasure Turtle’s movements nearby and rubbed his head. Perhaps because he had refined the Soul Core, the fellow didn’t treat him as a life-prolonging object but as its master. However, it had ended up targeting Gu Qianqiu instead.

“It seems a mechanical beast without intelligence really is a retard. How could it target a living being? It seems the designer didn’t make it perfect enough. I really do need to further my studies in Mechanism Art to improve it…”