CHAPTER 60: CHAPTER 59: OFFERING MYSELF IN GRATITUDE

In the sky of the Great Wilderness Domain, a bronze ancient sword sliced through the air.

At incredible speed, it arrived outside the Beast Taming Sect.

The powerful presence had many elders emerge from their caves, looking up.

They all looked towards the clouds, only to find a familiar figure aboard the ancient sword.

After slightly cupping his hands toward Ling Yue Sword Immortal, Lin Jing leapt down, intending to hurry and detoxify Senior Brother Ouyang.

"Pine Squirrel! Catch me!"

Lin Jing, who had leapt down, couldn’t fly and had no confidence in landing smoothly on his own. He could only summon the Pine Squirrel, layers of red leaves appeared beneath his feet, he stepped on the leaves, hands behind his back, robes fluttering, and landed step by step on Danxia Peak.

"Beast Taming Sect’s Saint Heir?"

After delivering Lin Jing, it seemed Ling Yue Sword Immortal had no intention of staying long at the Beast Taming Sect. Although the Ice Soul Gu was still inside Lin Jing, she judged that Lin Jing’s Guardian alone, even as an avatar, had Nascent Soul Cultivation, and the true body’s strength should be enough to control the Ice Soul Gu.

The main task of her visit to the Great Wilderness Domain was still to escort the unruly Gao Sheng back. The man relied on the fact that his maternal grandfather had some position in the Demon Extermination Bureau, and after being aimless for twenty years, suddenly wanted to prove himself, which stirred many people’s hearts.

...

"Elder Shen!" Lin Jing landed on Danxia Peak, stepped into the Veterinary Hall, and came to stand before Elder Shen who was watching over Senior Brother Ouyang.

Because the Beast Taming Sect had more demon beasts and disciples often had fights where pet beasts got injured, only the Veterinary Hall was built. But in fact, whether it was beast tamers or pet beasts inside, they all received treatment; the word "beast" referred to both "pet beasts" and "beast masters."

At the moment, aside from Elder Shen, there were also several unfamiliar doctors in the Veterinary Hall.

"Lin Jing?" Elder Shen looked toward Lin Jing and the Pine Squirrel, "It’s actually you who returned, just now that was..."

"It was a goddess from the Celestial Sword Sect who sent me back to the sect," Lin Jing said. "Fortunately, I have not failed in my mission. I have already found the source of the poison affecting Senior Brother Ouyang, and I kindly ask everyone to vacate the room so I can focus on detoxifying Senior Brother Ouyang."

This strange poison... The method to cure it was found? But why was it a Qi Cultivation disciple who brought it back? The doctors present were momentarily stunned and then cupped their hands to Elder Shen, saying, "Elder Shen, we will take our leave first."

Once everyone had left, Lin Jing immediately walked forward to check Senior Brother Ouyang’s condition and asked, "Elder Shen Song, what should I do next?"

"As for the sub-Gu’s poison, now with your True Qi, you can detoxify it. You have become the container for the Ice Soul Gu, and now not only are you immune to all poisons, but you can also eradicate various strange poisons. Next, I will unlock a trace of the Ice Soul Gu’s seal; you borrow its power to remove the Gu poison!" Divine Pine Dao spoke.

"Is it that simple?" Lin Jing nodded upon hearing this. Immediately afterward, the pine cone pattern on the back of his hand flashed, and he instantly felt an additional force within him.

Having experienced consuming the Purple Dragon Bone Flower, he quickly determined that the power of the Ice Soul Gu was similarly reshaping his Beast Taming True Qi.

He extended his hand, intending to release the newly formed Beast Taming True Qi, but unexpectedly, instead of the Qi being released, several white threads shot out from his fingertips.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle...

The white threads emitted an extreme cold aura and appeared extremely tough. Lin Jing felt as if he could control them as flexibly as his own hands and feet.

"..." Crap, I’ve turned into a Spider Demon.

"Insert the spider silk into their bodies," Divine Pine Dao instructed.

Though Lin Jing found it odd, he immediately followed the command, controlling the spider silk to pierce into Senior Brother Ouyang and Fox Demon Hong’Er’s bodies.

In the next instant, Lin Jing perceived the intangible Gu poison that had invaded their souls, and now he could seemingly absorb and command the toxins at will.

Meanwhile, seeing Lin Jing expelling toxins with the spider silk, Elder Shen was stunned beside him. What... is happening?

Before long, the toxins in Senior Brother Ouyang and the others were cleared by Lin Jing, and their complexions gradually returned to normal.

"Ugh..." Senior Brother Ouyang showed a pained expression, but he still hadn’t regained consciousness.

"The toxins are removed; now let Senior Brother Ouyang and them rest for a while, and they will wake up," Lin Jing withdrew the spider silk and had barely spoken when he himself felt dizzy and collapsed.

"Squeak?!"

The Pine Squirrel and Elder Shen were shocked, and at this time, Divine Pine once again gathered mana into an avatar and said, "Do not worry, he is merely exhausted. With his Qi Refining stage four cultivation, forcing the Gu King is too strenuous; he will be fine after a nap."

"Celestial Capital Guardian God!" Elder Shen saluted immediately upon seeing the mana avatar, and then reacted, "Wait a moment, Gu King? Using Gu King’s power? What do you mean?"

The Pine Squirrel looked at her, nodding slightly, yes, our Beast Taming Sect also has its own Demon Cultivators now.

...

Drip...

Drip...

Lin Jing’s consciousness was groggy. He opened his eyes, and a blast of icy cold air greeted him.

"This familiar feeling, it gives me a familiar feeling..."

He felt he had spoken nonsense; thankfully, right before him wasn’t some damp cell, but a kingdom of ice entirely built of snow and spider silk.

At the center of this icy kingdom crouched a spider entirely made of ice. It seemed to be the king of winter, with ice and snow as its flesh, cold air as its soul. Yet even this king of snow and ice was now bound by countless rising pine tree trunks. Faint golden-green patterns flickered on the trunks, forming a series of solid sealing arrays.

"Ice Soul Gu, this place is..." Lin Jing murmured to himself.

"Inside your body, at this moment, you are but a sliver of consciousness," Divine Pine appeared at the side, speaking.

"Elder Shen Song..."

"The Ice Soul Gu, known as the incarnation of ice and snow, your senior brother’s Ice Soul Sub-Gu poison is rarely curable, and its Gu poison is only more terrifying. The abilities of Gu worms are varied, but most have the talent to enchant people’s hearts. And it is the culmination of this domain," Divine Pine introduced the Ice Soul Gu.

"The Ice Soul Gu’s poison can completely freeze the Yin Spirit of a cultivator, making them into a puppet under its control."

"Even if the cultivator’s physical body completely dissipates, the Gu poison can freeze their Yin Spirit to make it immortal, continuing to control the soul."

"Of course, with the Ice Soul Gu poison’s coverage, even if an ordinary cultivator dies, the body can remain intact, almost impervious to decay."

"One could say that the Yin Corpse Sect’s Corpse Nurturing Technique, Nether Hall’s Soul Control Technique, are all within its competence."

"And even without using the Gu poison, its innate extreme cold far surpasses an ordinary Ice Spirit Body attribute spirit body, enough to instantly freeze to death an Ice Spirit Body of the same level."

"Hiss..." Lin Jing took a deep breath because it was truly cold inside.

"So, the abilities of this Ice Soul Gu, isn’t this seriously going the way of magic? Do I really need to form a contract with this thing?"

Divine Pine Dao said, "I told you, no need to worry. It is now in an infant stage and sealed by me, unable to absorb nutrients and grow in a short time nor awaken."

"During this time, all you need to do is quickly improve your cultivation and contract a bloodline-strong fire pet to balance it, and there will be no problem."

"As for now... I’ll teach you the ’Divine Wood Seal,’ so you can reinforce the seal yourself in the future, and... release some seals to borrow its power, but do not do so unless necessary."

"Such ease?" Lin Jing muttered.

"There’s no need to thank—just don’t forget our agreement about the Longevity Blood. Given your current cultivation, the Longevity Blood doesn’t serve me much, but given your promise, once your cultivation matures, be sure not to break our deal, or I will show you what the Demon Pine is all about."

Lin Jing: "I won’t..."

...

Who knows how long later, Lin Jing awoke from his stupor, cold chill rushed at him.

"This familiar feeling gives me a sense of familiarity..."

He realized he was uttering nonsense again. Thankfully, before him was not some dark, damp cell, but a kingdom made entirely of ice and spider silk.

At the center of this icy kingdom lay a spider made entirely of ice. It looked like the king of winter, of ice and snow as flesh, of cold air as the soul. Even so, this lord of ice and snow was now bound by countless soaring pine tree trunks. Faint golden-green patterns flickered on the trunks, creating firm sealing arrays.

"Ice Soul Gu, is this..." Lin Jing muttered to himself.

Unknown how much time passed, Lin Jing opened his eyes to icy cold air rushing at him.

"This familiar feeling gives me a familiar feeling..."

He realized he mumbled nonsense again, but luckily in front of him was no damp prison, but a kingdom of ice made entirely of snow and spider silk.

In the center of this ice kingdom lay a spider composed entirely of ice. It seemed like the king of winter, made of ice and snow, with cold air as its soul, but such a kingdom made of ice and snow was now bound by countless upthrust pine tree trunks, with faint glimmers of golden-green lines forming a series of strong sealing arrays.

"Ice Soul Gu, is this..." Lin Jing muttered to himself.

"Inside your body, and now you are merely a sliver of consciousness," Elder Shen Song said.

"The Ice Soul Gu, reputed as the incarnation of ice and snow, your senior brother’s Ice Soul Sub-Gu poison was seldom curable, and its Gu poison power is even more terrifying. Gu worms have various abilities, but most of them have the craft of beguiling the heart. And it is considered the consummate practitioner in this area," Divine Pine introduced the Ice Soul Gu.

"The Ice Soul Gu’s poison can perfectly preserve the Yin Spirit of any deceased, preventing decay or destruction, and allowing soul manipulation."

"Even if the physical form of the cultivator is completely destroyed, their Yin Spirit can still be frozen and preserved through Gu poison."

"On top of that, with its extreme cold properties, it far surpasses ordinary innate ice spirit bodies in its attributes, enough to instantly freeze an equal-realm ice spirit body."

"In this place, it is indeed freezing," Lin Jing commented, taking in a sharp breath against the cold.

"So then, aren’t the abilities of the Ice Soul Gu comparable to those of a Demon Cultivator? Do I truly have to master it?" he wondered aloud.

"Do not worry, it is now in an infant stage and is sealed by me, unable to absorb the nutrients and grow in a short time nor wake up," Divine Pine said.

"In this period, you only need to quickly improve your cultivation, and there will be no problem."

"Also, I’ll now teach you ’Divine Wood Seal,’ so in the future, you can perform seal reinforcement or unlock parts of the seal to leverage its power, but until the time is right, avoid unnecessary risks."

Lin Jing: "Won’t happen..."

...

Sometime later, Lin Jing opened his eyes drowsily, only to be met with a fox, a squirrel, and a frail figure keeping vigil at the side.

This figure saw Lin Jing wake up and immediately burst into tears, "Good brother, you’ve saved my life. I have nothing to repay you; if I am reborn in the next life as a woman, I will surely devote myself to you."

"Why are you still... repaying kindness with revenge..." Lin Jing said weakly.