I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Chapter 150: Chapter 151: Ancient Tortoise Shell

The group of demons, upon hearing this, pondered carefully, sensing that there indeed might be such a possibility, as the buzz of discussion filled the air.

"This matter has already been reported to the Ancestor, and we have been instructed not to worry."

Ao Cang said, "Those human sects have a profound foundation, it is very likely that there are still Divinity Transformation experts alive, and they are protected by Sect-Protecting Spiritual Treasures. Even though Dan Ding Sect might claim to be the foremost sect, uniting the human race would be fraught with insurmountable dangers."

"A Living Heavenly Lord?"

Zhou Yi and the group of demons looked at each other in dismay, their eyes filled with shock—such existences were only recorded in ancient texts.

"Perhaps they are alive or perhaps dead, but we need not worry about such beings. Either they have sealed themselves away and dare not emerge, or they are using heretical methods to extend their lives and will not appear unless their sects face existential calamities."

Ao Cang said, "I'm not sure about other sects, but the Divinity Transformation expert of Dan Ding Sect must have perished, otherwise the Demon Lord would not have dared to brazenly annihilate Little Dan Mountain."

Zhou Yi curiously asked, "May I inquire of the Dragon Lord whether there are still any Demon Gods alive in our demon race?"

Ao Cang shook his head, looking dispirited, and said, "The decline of the demon race began with the passing of the Demon Gods. The Hundred Thousand Mountains are now our last stronghold; if we retreat further, we will have no choice but to leave the Nine Continents and seek Spirit Veins in the Four Seas to cultivate!"

As his words fell, the hall erupted with the indignation of the demons, cursing and rebuking the human cultivators.

Ever since Spiritual Energy came into existence in the world, the demon race had been present, starting their cultivation history countless years before humans. Some ancient texts even recorded that when the human forebears channeled Spiritual Energy into their bodies and refined Mana, they referred to the cultivation methods of the demon race.

Now that the human race is powerful, they continuously encroach upon the cultivation territories of the demon race.

Zhou Yi's gaze flickered as thoughts raced through his mind—Ao Cang seemed to be intentionally guiding them, as struggles for the continuation of a race and the contention for living space can best unite enemies in shared hatred.

"The Dragon race has a longevity, the Golden Core can live for nearly a thousand years, and the Dragon Emperor's lifespan is double that at the very least, over two thousand years. He probably could outlive Xuan Xiao, so what exactly is Ao Cang laying the groundwork for…"

After the clamor, Ao Cang motioned for the demons to quiet down.

"Let's not speak of these disheartening matters anymore. Today's banquet is to celebrate fellow Golden's successful tribulation."

As the banquet passed halfway, they finally came to the main topic. Ao Cang smiled and said, "Would you be willing to join Greenwave Pond, fellow? Only by uniting our hearts and strength can we survive a great calamity when it truly arrives!"

"That is indeed my wish."

Zhou Yi stood up and bowed deeply, his expression solemn, "I am willing to be dispatched by the Dragon Lord, to guard the Hundred Thousand Mountains and protect the demon race's cultivation territory. Born into an ordinary eagle clan with low innate talent, I am all the more aware of the demon race's difficulties and shall not allow the human race to encroach!"

Not to mention startling everyone present, Zhou Yi then drew a pattern in the air with his own blood essence and swore to the heavens.

"If I violate this oath, may my lifespan be shortened by five hundred years!"

Such resounding oaths left the group of demons speechless; they had only followed the Dragon Lord's lead in cursing a few times, but now, all of a sudden, it had become serious!

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!"

Ao Cang exclaimed in admiration, "Fellow, you truly are the backbone of our demon race. If every member of our race were like you, why would we worry about not being able to revive our glory?"

Zhou Yi kept waving his hands, saying, "The Dragon Lord flatters me. I am only contributing what little I can. Only by following the Dragon Palace and serving under the Dragon Lord do I have some meager opportunity to exert my martial skills."

"Hahaha! My friends, drink heartily!"

Ao Cang raised his glass and said, "I have visited Soup Valley, Qing Qiu, and White Tiger Ridge and learned that the four Ancestors all have lifespans exceeding a thousand years. Once the human Nascent Souls all wither away, we will have an advantage of four to one!"

"Drink heartily!"

The group of demons suddenly understood, no wonder Zhou Yi made such a solemn vow—they guessed the Dragon Lord's intentions.

This was not some cunning strategy, but an open and honest plan—without contention or struggle, they would wear down the human Nascent Souls with the longevity of their lives.

Even if the humans were forewarned, they would be powerless to stop this tide of events. With the Demon Emperor focused solely on hiding and fleeing, the Nascent Soul ancestors could do nothing.

"Another round!"

"Drink, drink, drink!"

"The revival of our demon race is imminent."

"It's only five or six hundred years, I too can wait until that day."

"…"

As they passed around the wine cups and congratulated each other, they had the Jiaoren and Clam Lady bring around four or five rounds of exquisite delicacies.

As the end of the banquet approached.

Ao Cang said, "Now that you are part of Greenwave Pond, it's only right that you have a place to stay. Knowing the deep bond you have with your brothers, I'll simply give you the southern part of Thorn Ridge, and Green Pine Demon King will move to a new territory."

"There is no need for that. Green Pine has a long lifespan and is destined to be a pillar of our demon race in the future. The Dragon Lord must take good care of him!"

Zhou Yi spoke earnestly, "I wish to guard the northern part of Thorn Ridge with the Buffalo Demon, monitoring the movements of the human race, training our demon soldiers to wait for the opportune time for our demon race's revival!"

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!"

Ao Cang felt as if he saw a fearless holy light emanating from Zhou Yi and said, "Since we are celebrating, how can we not have celebratory gifts? I will open the Dragon Palace Treasure Vault, and you may take one… two items, to celebrate for our demon race!"

Zhou Yi was moved to tears, "Thank you, Dragon Lord."

"Gentlemen, continue your feast, Fellow Taoist, follow me."

Ao Cang said as he stepped on a cloud, leading Zhou Yi deep into the Dragon Palace.

A moment later.

They landed outside a palace hall with tightly closed doors, on which hung a plaque that read: Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

Ao Cang opened his mouth to exhale a dragon ball, waved it in front of the door, and the restrictive spiritual glow shone brightly as the door opened on its own.

Zhou Yi followed him into the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, where he saw shelves that stretched as far as the eye could see, piled with all manner of items.

"The treasures collected by generations of Dragon Lords are all here, Fellow Taoist may freely choose two pieces."

Ao Cang said with a smile, "Each generation's Dragon Lord has different tastes, some favor the crystal clear, others the antiquity, which has led to the collection of many overpriced and useless items – truly a test of the Fellow Taoist's discernment."

Zhou Yi's divine sense swept across the room, noticing that the objects on the shelves were arranged by category, each labeled accordingly.

Metallic spirit ores, remains of magical beasts, wood attribute curios, thunder-affected spiritual objects...

"Dragon Lord, I too have a fondness for ancient spiritual objects, may I know in which area they might be?"

Ao Cang pointed to a corner, "Southwest corner."

The Treasure Gathering Pavilion was vast, covering at least a dozen acres. Zhou Yi used his escape skill to land in the ancient relics area, examining the spiritual objects on each shelf one by one.

"Ancient Tiger Demon fangs, old jade, broken ancient artifacts, ancient tomb coffins..." Experience tales with m v|l -NovelBin.net

The collectors' tastes were indeed peculiar – even a stone coffin had been sealed and collected in a storage container; whether dug up personally or presented by a vassal demon lord, who could say?

Zhou Yi had no expectation of uncovering secrets among the antiques, for after countless selections by Dragon Lords, any mystery indecipherable had long been removed from the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

——An Ancient Tortoise Shell with the Eight Trigrams pattern, from an ancient ruin.

The simple grey tortoise shell was roughly the size of an adult's palm with natural Eight Trigram markings formed on its back.

Zhou Yi showed a look of joy and played with the tortoise shell in his hands for a moment.

"This item is fated for me. Using it to perform the Minor Heaven Severing Art will surely divine more information!"

After browsing for a while longer, he took another ancient treasure fragment, named the Emerald Peak Seal. Its shape resembled a small mountain peak, emerald green throughout, but broken in half. When mana was applied, it could weigh a thousand catties.

This object had been in the Treasure Gathering Pavilion for a very long time, with annotations from several Dragon Lords beside it, verified to be part of an ancient hefty treasure.

Having selected his items, Zhou Yi bowed and said, "I am grateful for the Dragon Lord's gracious gifting."

Ao Cang was in charge of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, and a restriction would alert him whenever an item left its place. Seeing the two worthless antiques in Zhou Yi's hands, he shook his head with a smile.

"Fellow Taoist's loyalty is commendable, though a bit too modest with your choices. These two ancient pieces, while mystical, are only suitable for idle amusement!"

Ao Cang summoned a turtle demon servant and ordered it to fetch divine weapons and armor from the armory, bestowing further generosity.

"Many thanks, Dragon Lord."

Zhou Yi donned the chainmail, and his weapon was a pair of pure gold Dragan clubs, each weighing thousands of pounds.

The demon races rarely refine magical treasures, instead constantly sacrificing their physical bodies until they become as durable as treasures. Divine weapons, similar to treasured items of human cultivators, coupled with the formidable strength of demons, could devastate mountains and split the earth, and even a Golden Elixir True Monarch would not dare resist head-on.

The feast at the Dragon Palace was not for just one day.

Having determined that Zhou Yi was joining the ranks of Greenwave Pond, the Dragon Lord sent messages to the underling Demon Kings for them to come and get acquainted.

Days of eating, drinking, and merrymaking flew by.

And then, two months had passed.

Zhou Yi's escape light descended into Mo Cloud Cave, where he set up layers of formations for concealment and took out a fortune-telling cylinder to divine fortune or misfortune.

The fortune stick steadily landed on the ground.

An ordinary draw.

"How can it be so unremarkable?"

Zhou Yi's brow furrowed slightly as he took the Ancient Tortoise Shell out of his storage bag.

Since acquiring the two ancient items from the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, he had studied them for a long time in the Dragon Palace.

From the Emerald Peak Seal, he glimpsed a few of its restrictive patterns, and with long-term study, it might be possible to discover the incomplete art of treasure refinement.

An accident occurred during the divination of the heavenly secrets with the Ancient Tortoise Shell – the lifespan consumed by the Minor Heaven Severing Art was completely devoured by the tortoise shell, not divining even a hint of fortune for the day.

After consuming the lifespan, the Eight Trigrams pattern on the back of the tortoise shell became a trace clearer.

Zhou Yi, noticing the abnormal change in the tortoise shell, dared not continue his research in the Dragon Palace, waiting until he returned to Mo Cloud Cave.

"I shall see just how much lifespan this item can devour!"