Sea Cultivation: Giant Ships and Heavy Artillery Knock on the Door to All Races

Chapter 268 The Binding of Infant Spirits: Last Wish or Curse? (Third Update)

"Don't try to act innocent after getting the advantage! You're only at the fourth level of Foundation Establishment, yet you managed to catch up with me with just this one move. That's practically defying the heavens!"

"How can I compare to you? This ability is borrowed, and I can only use it for a moment. It doesn't count as my own skill."

"Wrong! Being able to borrow external help is a skill in itself!"

Although the Divine Realm Eyes allowed Lin Qianfan's soul detection ability to leapfrog a major level in a short period of time, the range was not large enough, making it feel slightly useless; otherwise, he wouldn't have had to make several trips back and forth.

"Stop being silly, let's go!"

At the front of the Demon King's cave,

Everything went smoothly; there was no danger.

The Black Fang Demon King's true form should be some kind of fish demon. Because he was contracted by the Cao family patriarch after he reached the Golden Core stage, he did not develop into a race, so the female cultivator surnamed Cao did not know the specific species.

However, based on the aura and traces he left behind, combined with the memories of the female cultivator surnamed Cao, it was deduced that he should be of the black fish spirit type.

"It's blocked, is it possible to break through? I feel it's a bit difficult!"

The Demon King's cave is located in a third-tier underwater spiritual vein. Because the spiritual vein is very small, the Black Fang Demon King concentrated and locked it in the latter half of the cave for his cultivation. However, the latter half has now been sealed off by a third-tier restriction, and the two of them cannot enter.

The so-called restriction is an imperfect array that still functions. Although Lin Qianfan has been studying this recently, he is currently only at the level of an ordinary second-tier array master. Breaking this third-tier restriction silently is still quite challenging.

"Let me try, but I'll need your help!"

These techniques like artifacts, runes, and arrays are not exclusive to humans; other powerful clans also possess them, but humans simply excel at them. Xiao Xinglan naturally understands them as well, otherwise, her monotonous days would be difficult to endure.

"Cooperate with me..."

The two then began to slowly break the restrictions on the Demon King's cave.

This restriction was clearly left behind by a Golden Core cultivator. It wasn't particularly difficult, but the time it was placed at definitely doesn't match the time when the Cao family patriarch passed away. It must have been left behind during the incident ten years ago.

Two days later,
Under Xiao Xinglan's guidance and with Lin Qianfan's assistance, they finally managed to open the cave without causing any disturbance.

"Done! I feel like I'm one of the top-tier second-tier array masters you guys talk about! Impressive, right? Now that's what you call a true genius!"

"It's alright. I'll copy down a few more books on third-tier formation techniques for you later. Studying more about this will benefit you!"

"What's the benefit?"

"...In the future, assist me, and we will build our own Tier 3 ships."

"That's it? That's a bit of a waste of my talent!"

"Oh? You still want the magic weapon? Or should we go back?"

"Learn, learn, learn! We must learn formations! You can never have too much knowledge!"

The interior of the demon king's cave, which had not been artificially modified, was very rough. But what was strange was that the latter half of the cave no longer had any trace of the Black Fang Demon King, which meant that it had been deliberately cleaned up.

At this moment, Xiao Xinglan no longer stayed in Lin Qianfan's sea of ​​consciousness, but took the initiative to lead the way. She even activated three second-tier puppets at the forefront to clear the way and ensure that the risks were reduced.

However, the group encountered no danger along the way. Instead, at the deepest part of the cave, they found the corpse of a middle-aged male cultivator sitting cross-legged. The body was incorruptible, and the face remained unchanged.
Clearly, he was a Golden Core expert in life, and even ten years after his death, he has not yet fully entered the corruption stage, which is quite impressive.

"Ten years ago, he killed the Black Fang Demon King? How could he, so severely injured, still manage to silently and instantly kill a demon king?"

Lin Qianfan did not rush to touch the corpse. Although it was difficult for the soul of a Golden Core cultivator to survive for a long time, what if it was possible?
The puppet examined his injuries and found many fatal wounds, including internal organ slashes caused by swords, head injuries caused by magical artifacts, and tainted wounds left by demonic methods. But the most fatal wound was the arrow that shattered his dantian.

"It must be him! His injuries were clearly not caused by the Demon King, but entirely by humans. Humans are indeed the most skilled creatures at fighting amongst themselves; they can kill someone at the ninth level of the Golden Core stage so easily!"

"Ninth level of the Golden Core stage? How did you confirm that?"

A ninth-level Golden Core cultivator is a top-tier figure. In the entire Thousand Star City, apart from a dozen or so Nascent Soul cultivators who rarely show their faces, the ninth-level Golden Core cultivator is the most powerful, and there are probably only a few dozen of them.

It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of some small Golden Core forces is not as valuable as a single word from a Golden Core level nine expert.

"Yes, I determined it by the size of his Golden Core!"

The audacious Xiao Xinglan directly dissected the corpse's shattered dantian, pulled out the cracked golden core, and displayed the fragmented core, whose magical power had almost completely dissipated, to Lin Qianfan.

The higher the cultivation level of a Golden Core cultivator, the larger their Golden Core becomes. Although there may be some differences in the Golden Core of different cultivators, the overall rules are roughly the same: the larger the Golden Core, the easier it is to nurture a Nascent Soul.

There was a noticeable arrow mark on this golden core, the arrowhead had pierced it and created several cracks, which would be a fatal injury to a golden core cultivator and would be almost impossible to repair.

At the same time, there are seven spiraling golden Dao patterns on this golden pill, which means that it is a seventh-stage golden pill.

"A seventh-stage Golden Core cultivator at the ninth level, a top-tier expert! Dead like this? Died here? Isn't that a bit hasty? This kind of person should be a renowned hero! Just like that..."

"Being besieged is normal. Those who besieged him must be very powerful. After all, in front of such a strong person, the sheer number of weaklings is meaningless. He kills ordinary Golden Core cultivators as easily as kicking a stray dog ​​to death. Look, this black fish demon..."

As she spoke, Xiao Xinglan threw out a black fish demon from the corpse's storage ring. The size of the black fish demon was about the same as when the Blood Hunter Demon King was promoted. This was obviously the Black Fang Demon King who guarded the Cao family, but there were no obvious wounds on its corpse. It must have been killed instantly.

"Get rich!"

Xiao Xinglan's spiritual strength was very high, and her perception of danger was naturally more acute. If she was sure there was no danger, then there really was no danger, and she was already fiddling with the relics in her storage ring.

"What else! Huh? Are these his last words?" This storage ring has a large interior space, but contains very few items. There are no spirit stones, no pills, only three very high-grade jade boxes, one jade-colored, one blood-red, and one green.

In addition, there were five discarded, intact, and unclaimed high-grade magic treasures, as well as a jade slip specifically left for the person who obtained this storage ring.

"Look, this is his last wish!"

After reading the jade slip, Xiao Xinglan solemnly handed it to Lin Qianfan. Clearly, it contained important information that Lin Qianfan needed to make a decision about.

Lin Qianfan took the jade slip and immediately read it:
It turns out that this expert at the ninth level of the Golden Core stage was not a local of Thousand Star City, but came from Lingying City, a fourth-tier immortal city a million miles to the northwest. He was not only the president of the Five Blessings Chamber of Commerce in Lingying City, but also the head of the Qiu family, one of the owners of the Chamber of Commerce.

Ten years ago, when he was far away in Lingying City, he heard that the Yunjin Forest Sea outside the Thousand Star City had opened. At that time, he was at the ninth level of the Golden Core stage and felt that this was a great opportunity arranged by heaven for him to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, and also a good opportunity to find the lost heirloom of his Qiu family.

He immediately left a suicide note and hurriedly sent it over.

Yun Jin Forest is a top-tier secret realm within the jurisdiction of several fourth-tier immortal cities in the vicinity. In addition, this time, it overlapped with the millennium tide, resulting in an unusually high intensity of growth. He successfully found the treasure he had been longing for, the [Three Lives Stone Marrow], which could help him overcome his inner demon tribulation.

But how could such a top-tier spiritual item not be sought after?
The Heart Demon Tribulation is the most deadly of the three tribulations of the Nascent Soul stage. It is a chasm that everyone, regardless of whether they have a Heavenly Spiritual Root or a special spiritual body, must face. Naturally, there are many people who want to compete for the Three Lives Stone Marrow, including many well-known late-stage Golden Core experts.

The path to Nascent Soul is a narrow bridge, with no turning back. If he gives up the Three Lives Stone Marrow Heart Demon Tribulation, he will surely die under the tribulation. He cannot give up!

Unfortunately, he was outnumbered. Even with his ninth-level Golden Core and awakened domain, he still couldn't hold his own and could only fight and run, trying to stall until the Cloud Brocade Forest Secret Realm ended before he could come out.

Despite being severely injured, he managed to break through the powerful enemies and escape, but unfortunately, he was ambushed by demonic cultivators and further injured, forcing him to find a place to hide and heal, and he didn't even dare to return to Thousand Star City.

Actually, even at this point, he wasn't completely cornered. After recovering, he still had a considerable chance of condensing his Nascent Soul. The most fatal flaw was the final arrow wound, inflicted by a treacherous villain who had been tracking him all along after he left the secret realm.
The timing and angle of that sneak attack were extremely tricky, leaving him no time to dodge. It not only brought him to the brink of death but also shattered his Dao heart, leaving him powerless to recover and everything broken!
Even so, he still managed to kill the enemy!
"Impressive! Impressive! Absolutely amazing! To kill five late-stage Golden Core experts in a row, this Senior Qiu is truly remarkable!"

The five magical treasures in this storage ring were all top-grade magical treasures, the main weapons of five powerful enemies in the late Golden Core stage. The demonic cultivator who ambushed him overseas and the rogue cultivator who followed him all the way were not among them.

These five were all late-stage Golden Core cultivators who were brutally killed within the secret realm!
As for spirit stones and pills, he had already used them all up. He would take any pills he could find, otherwise he wouldn't be able to sustain himself in the battle.

The three most eye-catching jade boxes all contained fourth-tier spiritual items!

Among them, the jade box with a captivating color contains the Three Lives Jade Marrow that he found himself. This item can increase the success rate of overcoming the inner demon tribulation when forming a Nascent Soul. It is a top-level Nascent Soul spiritual item. It is not difficult to exchange it for a Nascent Soul Pill from a large Nascent Soul power.

Among them, the blood-red jade box, which could stir one's blood with just a glance, contained the [Yin-Yang Blood Bone], which came from the Golden Core Level 6 demonic cultivator who ambushed him after he emerged. This was a piece of blood bone that a fourth-tier demon emperor had deliberately fused with his remaining blood and qi to condense when he passed away.
Its fellow demon cultivators can use it to comprehend the clan's heritage, while demon cultivators who are not of the same clan can directly consume it to help condense a demon infant. It can be considered an alternative spiritual object for condensing an infant in the demon race. However, it is currently unknown what race this bone belongs to.
The last item, a calming green jade box, contained a complete fourth-tier spiritual herb called [Mysterious Harmony Grass], which came from the mid-stage Golden Core cultivator who had ambushed him last time.
This is the most important ingredient in refining the fourth-tier breakthrough pill, the Yin-Yang Profound Unity Pill, without exception.

This Yin-Yang Mystic Pill can help cultivators who are stuck at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage break through to the middle Nascent Soul stage. Its value is immeasurable, and in some ways it is even more valuable than the Three Lives Stone Marrow.

"This...time...is...really...successful..."

Lin Qianfan couldn't help but tremble.

This should have been the behavior of an ordinary person who couldn't control their body when extremely excited, and it shouldn't have happened to a Golden Core seed with a firm Dao heart, but it happened to Lin Qianfan, which shows how agitated he was at this moment.

However, this was only the first part of the jade slip, explaining the cause and effect of the events. The second half was the will. Lin Qianfan immediately recited the Heart-Cleansing Mantra to calm himself down and continued reading:

Even though this senior surnamed Qiu's Golden Core had already shattered, he could still instantly kill the Black Fang Demon King, his residual power still lingering. Even as his life was about to end, he was capable of setting up a deadly trap here, ensnaring and killing those below the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

But he eventually gave up!

He divided his remaining valuables into two parts.

One part was the storage ring Lin Qianfan was holding, the most precious item among all his possessions—a huge fortune that would make even a Nascent Soul cultivator rich.
He gave me this ring for free!

After all, he could have been completely destroyed!

The other part consisted of the remaining, less valuable spoils, all third-tier items. Although there were quite a few, they couldn't compare to the ring. After all, those who participated in the attack on him hadn't really competed for other spiritual items, and their gains were also limited.
He integrated these items, along with the Qiu family's legacy that he had found in the Yun Jin Forest, into another storage ring, which he then hid away.

He hoped that the person who received his first ring would help him return his remains and the second ring to the Qiu family!

As for the location of that ring, Lin Qianfan needs to take the jade box containing the Three Lives Stone Marrow and make a vow to the Heavenly Dao to find it!

"Isn't he afraid I'll eat them all?"

"This jade box is quite mysterious. It cannot be opened without a vow, and it will destroy itself if you try to force it open."
If an oath is made, it will be immediately fulfilled. Even if he dies, this oath of Heaven will still be valid. This should be one of his secret techniques, which can last for a thousand years. After a thousand years, the spell will dissipate, and this jade box can be opened.

However, you certainly can't wait a thousand years!

This is an open conspiracy!
I'm betting on my moral principles!
In fact, this hastily crafted will is riddled with flaws and can be easily circumvented; it can even be ignored.

But as long as I pick up this jade slip containing the will, as long as I possess the heart of a Nascent Soul cultivator, I essentially have no other choice!

"Yes! He was certain that the person who found this place couldn't be a Nascent Soul cultivator; they were most likely a Golden Core cultivator. As long as they were Golden Core cultivators, they wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of the Three Lives Stone Marrow and wouldn't be able to break their vow to him. No matter what they did, their inner demons would be established!"

“If it were someone else, there might be some explanation, but since it's me, then he won the bet!”

Lin Qianfan smiled, and without any hesitation, immediately grasped the jade box and swore an oath to the Heavenly Dao:

"I swear a solemn oath that since I have received this treasure from my predecessor today, I will surely return his belongings to the Qiu family in the future. May Heaven bear witness to this!"

A vow of faith can be elaborate or rudimentary. In fact, whether you say it or not is often unimportant, because you have the most complete vow in your heart. When you try to find loopholes, you have already fallen into them.

Immediately, a mysterious and indescribable power was bestowed upon Lin Qianfan, but after an internal inspection, there was no reaction. Then, the secret technique binding the three jade boxes naturally disappeared.

(End of this chapter)