...

"Congratulations, Shouzhe..." Ancestor Long Yan approached with delight, gently touching Wang Zongteng. "Our family has gained another child. With its potential, as long as it's nurtured well, it will surely achieve great things in the future. I hope when it grows up, it can protect the family and the human race."

Ancestor Long Yan had always considered protecting the family her primary mission.

She diligently cultivated, even infiltrating the Yinsha Sect to obtain the Yinsha Compendium, not for power or influence, but simply to better protect her family.

As for protecting the human race, that was just a secondary matter.

"Rest assured, Ancestor," Wang Shouzhe said solemnly, "I will protect our family with my life."

"You shouldn't overwork yourself," Ancestor Long Yan, who doted on Wang Shouzhe, advised, "The children in the family have grown up. You can delegate some tasks to them and let them shoulder some responsibilities."

Wang Anxin, standing nearby, twitched his cheek.

Isn't our great-grandfather already idle enough? He's so idle that he "gave birth" to a grandfather of the Zong generation for himself!

"Rest assured, Ancestor," Wang Shouzhe replied with a smile, "I've already been delegating tasks to the children. Zong An, Shi Zhao, An Ye, and Fugui are all excellent, and Ningxi is also a top-notch genius who has helped me solve many problems."

Wang Anxin's face twitched again.

Great-grandfather, I'm standing right here in front of you, can't you at least praise me a little?

Does his son Wang Ningxi hold a more important place in great-grandfather's heart than he does?

Thinking about this, Wang Anxin felt a wave of sadness.

He, Wang Anxin, as the deputy leader of the Wang Clan's militia, had a bloodline aptitude that was considered powerful. In a first-class family of the Immortal Dynasty, he would be a top genius that might not appear in thousands of years, a core member of the younger generation.

But in the Wang Clan...

No matter how you rank it, horizontally or vertically, he was just ordinary, unremarkable. No, to be precise, he did have a feature.

After all, he fathered Wang Ningxi, the monstrous figure who single-handedly pioneered the puppet master profession!

But this also led to others seeing him and immediately thinking, "Wang Ningxi's dad."

"Great-grandfather, could you take another look at these crystals? I think they resemble demonic marrow crystals. Could you check them again?" After a moment of self-pity, Wang Anxin quickly regained his composure, trying to gain some presence beside Wang Shouzhe, claiming credit, "I dug these out with great difficulty."

Wang Shouzhe had to exert a lot of effort to stop himself from kicking Wang Anxin out.

Are you trying to embarrass me endlessly?

How could he recognize these crystals formed by exotic creatures? Does Wang Shouzhe not care about face!?

"Anxin, your great-grandfather doesn't understand these things." Senior Sister Lu Wei, seeing Wang Shouzhe's embarrassment, laughed and picked up the crystals, explaining, "This is the specialty of the energy-devouring demonic vine I cultivated. It can absorb various miscellaneous energies, store them within, and then compress and condense them, gradually transforming them into primordial energy crystals. This black crystal full of demonic energy is indeed a rare demonic marrow crystal."

"However, this demonic marrow crystal is a product formed after it absorbed a large amount of demonic energy. If such a treasure falls into the hands of outer region demons, they would treat it as a treasure. Unfortunately, our constitutions are more inclined towards positive energy, and using this demonic marrow crystal to stimulate and improve bloodlines would only have negative effects."

Wang Shouzhe's spirit lifted: "Then are these demonic marrow crystals effective for Ancestor? She currently has an ice fiend bloodline and has switched to cultivating the Yinsha Compendium."

Yin Fiend is essentially a manifestation of negative energy.

"Yin Fiend is a byproduct of demonic energy, so it should be useful. Moreover, demonic arts like the Yinsha Compendium were originally created by humans learning from the cultivation methods of outer region demons. Of course, this cultivation method has been fully localized and is quite different from outer region demons now," Senior Sister Lu Wei explained, "The quality of these demonic marrow crystals is decent. Just about three of them can elevate a Purple Mansion Realm peerless prodigy demon cultivator from grade D to grade C."

The effect of one is already stronger than a Rebirth Immortal Pill.

"However, be aware that the effects of these crystals are very domineering and will cause significant impact on the body, so it's not recommended for those below the Purple Mansion Realm to use them," Senior Sister Lu Wei added, "Additionally, using too many will weaken the effect. I haven't tested it specifically, so you can try it yourselves."

"Then give me five, since no one in the family can use them anyway." Ancestor Long Yan, with a thought, took the five demonic marrow crystals and stored them away.

She didn't explain that she was already at the Heavenly Daughter level, and this little improvement was just a drop in the bucket.

"Then I'll keep the remaining five for now; maybe they'll come in handy later," Wang Shouzhe also stored the remaining demonic marrow crystals.

After dealing with the demonic marrow crystals, everyone's attention turned to the other crystals that looked crystal-clear and full of immortal energy.

Especially Wang Anxin, whose breathing became rapid.

"These should be the Heaven and Earth Essence Crystals, right?" Wang Shouzhe said, "I've used some Heaven and Earth Essence before, but I've never seen the crystallized form."

"They are called Heaven and Earth Essence, but they are actually positive energy crystals like spiritual energy," Senior Sister Lu Wei, who understood the situation best, explained again, "In our world, positive energies like spiritual energy and immortal energy are predominant, so we habitually regard this type of energy as Heaven and Earth Essence. If it were in a world filled with demonic energy and fiendish energy, their Heaven and Earth Essence would be demonic energy and fiendish energy."

"Does that mean we can use these crystals to nourish and improve bloodline aptitude?" Wang Anxin was practically drooling.

His bloodline talent was too ordinary, just barely reaching the peerless level. There were too many freaks in the family, and if he didn't strive for it, he'd only fall further behind.

Especially his freakish son, who had to figure out and modify his own cultivation methods, yet seemed to breeze through cultivation while modifying them, even gaining experience from it, with his cultivation speed increasing as if he were cheating. If he didn't fight for it, he might be surpassed by his son one day.

"Senior Sister Lu Wei, you should take a share first to push your bloodline further and make the path to True Immortal smoother in the future," Wang Shouzhe suggested.

Although the title of Demon Plant Venerable had the word "demon" in it, Senior Sister Lu Wei was undoubtedly an immortal cultivator. The Green Emperor Codex she cultivated was a very orthodox immortal cultivation codex.

"I don't need it. After awakening part of my memory, the shackles in my body have been broken," Senior Sister Lu Wei waved her hand casually, "Now my bloodline talent has awakened, and my body is gradually transforming under the influence of primordial energy. Over time, it will slowly return to an innate dao body."

"......"

Wang Shouzhe looked at her with a complex expression.

He, Wang Shouzhe, had struggled for half his life, consuming countless treasures and spiritual pills, yet he hadn't reached the level of an innate dao body. And here she was, awakening her memory and heading straight for an innate dao body.

Comparisons really are infuriating.

"Don't look at me like that," Senior Sister Lu Wei gave him a sidelong glance, her tone proud, "This is a rebirth of my original body, so my aptitude remains the same as before, unlike those True Immortals who can only barely store bloodline information in their true spirit. Even if they successfully awaken after reincarnation, they can only start with an innate spiritual body. I'm telling you, my research on rebirth technology is amazing. Junior Brother Shouzhe, do you want to invest early? Just give me your life factor, and you'll have a share in the future."

"Well... let me think about it first."

The temptation of rebirth was too great, and Wang Shouzhe was very tempted.

"Shouzhe, you're still at the innate spiritual body grade B, right?" Ancestor Long Yan suggested, "Do you want to use these Heaven and Earth Essence Crystals to push for an innate dao body?"

Wang Shouzhe hesitated for a moment but ultimately refused: "Not for now. Pushing for an innate dao body is too costly, and these ten or so crystals might not be enough. Besides, I haven't even found a codex yet."

The family still had a military academy instance to explore, so the matter of pushing for an innate dao body could wait until after exploring the military academy instance.

Who knows, maybe they could find some top-grade bloodline aptitude improvement liquid in the military academy~

He considered for a moment: "I'll keep some of these for myself, and the rest will go to the family treasury for the children to exchange. For example, Anxin here has just barely reached the peerless level... his bloodline is too low."

Wang Anxin began to tear up.

Great-grandfather, you finally thought of me?

But the tone was really not pleasant, what do you mean by "barely peerless"?

But it's understandable, great-grandfather and Ancestor are already talking about pushing for an innate dao body, while he's just entering the peerless level, so he can only be considered as...

After dealing with this series of spoils.

Wang Shouzhe pondered: "Since that relic island was left by Senior Sister back in the day, and it contains many precious research materials, equipment, and results, we can't just leave it in the Demon Dynasty's territory. I suggest we have all the big shots lend a hand, separate the island from the seabed, extract the spiritual veins, and then set up some weight-reducing formations to turn it into a floating island. Then we can trouble the Dragon Whale and Yuan Shui Azure Dragon groups to tow it back to our Wang Clan."

"Are you planning to move the entire island back?" Ancestor Long Yan was stunned by this grand gesture, her usually cold face showing rare astonishment.

"Rest assured, Ancestor, our Wang Clan has experience with this," Wang Shouzhe nodded, "Many hands make light work, it's not too much trouble."

Is this really about experience?

Ancestor Long Yan was speechless.

Shouzhe is indeed Shouzhe, never missing any usable resource in any instance he tackles.

In fact, during the time waiting for Wang Shouzhe to join them, she had heard about Fugui's exploits in the Demon Yan Kingdom, knowing he almost emptied the capital.

At first, she was shocked, but now she realized that Fugui probably inherited Shouzhe's nature, never leaving anything behind.

"Sigh~" Wang Shouzhe sighed deeply, "Our Wang Clan is too poor, with too many outstanding children waiting to be fed. As the head of the family, I have to be frugal, right? Ancestor, you don't know the cost of living."

"But isn't the Green Demon Institute left by Weiwei?" Ancestor Long Yan's mouth twitched slightly, "You should at least ask her opinion."

"If Junior Brother Shouzhe wants it, he can take it," Senior Sister Lu Wei said generously, "If it weren't for Junior Brother Shouzhe bringing me to sponge off resources, who knows when my memory would have recovered."

"I actually thought about it long ago," Wang Shouzhe stroked the small vine wrapped around his hand, looking calm and composed, "Since Senior Sister now has a codex, and it's a 'half-step Immortal Scripture' level codex, once we bring the Green Immortal Island back, we can supplement it with spiritual veins and establish a 'Green Immortal Holy Land.' At that time, Senior Sister can start as the Holy Master, and if she becomes a True Immortal, we can raise the specifications to become a new Immortal Palace. By then, our Immortal Dynasty faction will have two Immortal Palaces, crushing the Demon Dynasty in strength."

"Shouzhe, you're really thinking far ahead," Ancestor Long Yan sighed, her tone somewhat helpless, "Establishing a Holy Land is not that simple, it requires a lot of manpower and resources."

"Don't worry, Ancestor, Shouzhe has a plan for this," Wang Shouzhe took a sip of tea and began to elaborate, "Now that the Immortal Palace is large and prosperous, we can temporarily affiliate the Holy Land with the Immortal Palace, then apply to allocate some resources, and raise some resources ourselves. Once we get rich, we can repay the Immortal Palace, right?"

"Rest assured, Ancestor, Shouzhe is not someone who takes money without doing anything. Now that the outer region battlefield is getting tighter, I'm already planning how to shoulder some of the burden for the entire human race."

"I object," Senior Sister Lu Wei raised her hand, "I want to be a researcher, not a Holy Master."

"Objection overruled, Senior Sister, you can be the Holy Master and a researcher," Wang Shouzhe's tone was firm, "If Senior Sister is worried about the hassle of managing the Holy Land, our Wang Clan has many elites, we can form a team to systematically manage the Holy Land, ensuring you don't have to worry."

"Then, I request life factors for research projects," Senior Sister Lu Wei's eyes rolled.

"Senior Sister, we are establishing the Holy Land to enhance the human race's foundation and increase resistance, this is a noble cause!" Wang Shouzhe sternly criticized, "You can't use public resources for personal gain."

"You annoying person! You're stingier than the old Holy Emperor!" Senior Sister Lu Wei puffed her cheeks in anger, "Fine, I'll go ask Ruolan..."

Wang Shouzhe's hand shook, almost dropping his teacup, cold sweat forming on his forehead.

What kind of logic is this?

Ancestor Long Yan couldn't bear to watch any longer and quickly intervened: "No more arguing. Since things here are settled, I must leave too."

"Ancestor, we haven't seen each other for a long time, why not stay a little longer?" Wang Shouzhe was somewhat reluctant.

He had deep feelings for Ancestor Long Yan, as she had risked her life to bring stability to the family when it was weak.

"I still have to deal with matters on Shentu Jingming's side. Besides, the longer you stay here, the more dangerous it becomes," Ancestor Long Yan was also reluctant but advised, "Shouzhe, don't be too sentimental, we have long lifespans and plenty of time to spend together."

"Ancestor's advice is right, it's Shouzhe being sentimental," Wang Shouzhe bowed deeply, then took out an Immortal Emperor Order and handed it over, "Ancestor, please keep this Immortal Emperor Order for your protection."

Immortal Emperor Order?

Ancestor Long Yan was startled: "Shouzhe, where did you get an Immortal Emperor Order? You should keep it for your protection, your safety is more important."

"Rest assured, Ancestor, after this risky venture, I'll likely stay at home for a long time. This Immortal Emperor Order is of no use to me," Wang Shouzhe said with a relaxed smile, "But Ancestor, your situation is more dangerous. With this Immortal Emperor Order, in case of emergency, you can summon the Immortal Emperor's projection to help."

This tone clearly regarded the Immortal Emperor's projection as a consumable.

"Do not disrespect the Immortal Emperor," Ancestor Long Yan glared at him with her cold eyes, hesitated for a moment, then accepted it, "Since that's the case, I won't refuse your filial piety."

"Senior Sister Long Yan," Senior Sister Lu Wei also casually summoned over a dozen top-grade spiritual stones and a large pile of high-grade spiritual stones, handing them to Ancestor Long Yan, "Keep these spiritual stones for yourself. Don't refuse, if it weren't for your help, I wouldn't have found this shared space treasury."

Ancestor Long Yan thought for a moment and accepted the numerous spiritual stones, advising Lu Wei: "Weiwei, Shouzhe is a slow person, don't push him too hard. If he dares to bully you in the future, tell me, and I'll teach him a lesson."

"Thank you, Senior Sister," Senior Sister Lu Wei giggled, "Aside from that condition, Junior Brother Shouzhe treats me very well."

After a round of farewells.

Ancestor Long Yan quietly left with the Qinghuang Demon Emperor.

Meanwhile, Wang Shouzhe forcibly ended the big shots' card game and began the demolition work of the Green Immortal Island.

As for the name Green Immortal Island, it was naturally something Wang Shouzhe casually came up with. Since they were bringing it back, they couldn't continue calling it Green Demon Island, right?

On Green Immortal Island, sensing the actions of the big shots, Spirit Artifact Lanshan was in a bad state, its voice shrill and screaming: "What are you old fellows doing? Don't sever the island's foundation... Wuwu~ Robbers~"

"Venerable, you asked to move, didn't you? No, no, I think you've been charmed by that pretty boy!"

Despite Spirit Artifact Lanshan's firm opposition and desperate resistance, it couldn't stop the demolition work.

With the aid of formations and the control of numerous Lingxu Realm big shots, the island was half-submerged and half-floating on the sea, being towed by the Dragon Whale group, Yuan Shui Azure Dragon, and various warships, slowly heading towards the Great Qian.

Meanwhile.

In a northern port island near the border of the Red Moon Continent, Wang Long Yan and the Qinghuang Demon Emperor, following the signs, reunited with Third Prince Shentu Jingming and Zhuo Lao.

"Ruobing, it's great that you're okay," the Third Prince was overjoyed.

In just a few days, his condition had worsened, and he seemed quite haggard.

"Miss Ruobing," Zhuo Lao also cupped his hands and sighed, "It's fortunate you're okay, otherwise Jingming would have gone crazy. These days, he's been clamoring to rescue you, and I, Old Zhuo, could barely control him."

"I told you not to cause trouble," Wang Long Yan glared at him, "Can't you just stay quiet?"

"Yes, yes! As long as Ruobing is safe, I'll listen to you," the Third Prince, relieved, returned to his playful demeanor.

"Zhemei used strategy to deal with that demonic vine, the matter is resolved," Wang Long Yan briefly summarized the situation and then asked, "How is your bloodline talent now? At what level of peerless?"

When it came to bloodline talent, the Third Prince became proud and smug: "It's alright, this prince has now reached peerless grade C."

"Peerless grade C?" Wang Long Yan frowned slightly, "Isn't that a bit low?"

"What? Low?"

The Third Prince's face fell.

He never expected that his once-proud aptitude would be looked down upon.

He explained, feeling wronged: "Ruobing, I'm still young, there's room for growth. The old man at home said that if I'm willing to turn over a new leaf and do things properly, he'll use the ancestral treasure to help me advance to peerless grade B! Then, with a codex boost, I'll easily break into grade A!"

"Even so, even if you inherit your family's 'Red Lotus True Demon Codex,' you'll at most reach innate dao body grade C, maybe even fall short," Wang Long Yan glanced at him, feeling his aptitude was lower than she estimated, not enough to compete for the Demon Emperor's position.

Heavenly Son grade C is still low?

The Third Prince felt disheartened, his tone turning resentful: "Ruobing, my aptitude is considered quite good among past Demon Emperors, not worse than that boastful Little Demon Lord~"

If it weren't for his decent aptitude, given how often he angered the Demon Emperor, he would have been beaten to the point of being unable to care for himself.

Of course, he still got beaten a lot now.

"What you mentioned is all in the future, and whether you can use the ancestral treasure is still uncertain. Here, take these spoils," Wang Long Yan ignored his resentful gaze and handed him five demonic marrow crystals, "These are demonic marrow crystals extracted from the demonic vine, said to awaken a demon cultivator's bloodline talent again. With five, you can likely advance from peerless grade C to grade B."

"Demonic marrow crystals?" The Third Prince was stunned, becoming dazed, "These, these demonic marrow crystals... Ruobing, you, you..."

"This is what you deserve, as you discovered the relic first," Wang Long Yan said seriously, "Don't worry, I have my own share, this is extra."

"Ruobing, you're so good to me," Third Prince Shentu Jingming was moved to tears, taking the demonic marrow crystals while promising, "From now on, I, Shentu Jingming, am yours..."

"Shut up!" Wang Long Yan's mouth twitched, "This is what you deserve. Don't make me hit you."

"Alright, alright~ I'll shut up, I understand Ruobing's intentions," the Third Prince wiped his tears and put away the five demonic marrow crystals, his expression turning serious, "I know you don't like that arrogant Little Demon Lord. Rest assured, with these demonic marrow crystals, I'll sweet-talk the old man at home, bluff some ancestral resources, and inherit a codex, then I can almost directly reach the innate dao body. Hehe, without inheriting the True Demon Codex, I'm already a Heavenly Son, I'm amazing~~"

"In this way, I'll definitely be much stronger than that Little Demon Lord, and I'll help you teach him a lesson."

"No need, I'll handle the Little Demon Lord myself," Wang Long Yan waved her hand, "Let's part ways here, we'll meet again if fate allows."

The Third Prince wanted to keep her, but swallowed his words.

He realized Ruobing was a career-oriented woman, and if he didn't achieve something, she wouldn't care for him.

Thinking of the demonic marrow crystals in his storage ring, he secretly resolved.

He wouldn't disappoint Ruobing's expectations, he'd definitely sweet-talk the old man at home and dig out the ancestral resources.

Before parting.

Third Prince Shentu Jingming, with a rare serious expression, cupped his hands: "Miss Ruobing, farewell. But please accept this."

Saying this, he took out a Demon Emperor's Order and handed it to Wang Long Yan, his tone domineering and leaving no room for refusal: "Don't refuse. I know you're strong-willed. But I, Shentu Jingming, also have pride. This thing is useless to me, keep it to protect yourself."

Before Wang Long Yan could respond, he decisively used his escape technique, turning into a streak of light and disappearing into the sky.

His voice echoed from the sky: "Ruobing, I won't disappoint you~~~ I'll be back~~~"

Zhuo Lao bowed to Wang Long Yan and silently followed with his escape light.

In a moment, the two escape lights vanished over the horizon.

On the port island, only Wang Long Yan and the Qinghuang Demon Emperor were left standing alone.

"Uh..."

Wang Long Yan looked at the Demon Emperor's Order in her hand, her cold face showing rare distress.

This is a Demon Emperor's Order, putting it together with the Immortal Emperor's Order, won't they fight?

What if, in a critical moment, she accidentally used both the Demon Emperor's Order and the Immortal Emperor's Order simultaneously, that would be quite the spectacle.

...