Chapter 152

The lakeshore beat against the waves, sending up puffs of white spray.

Bang!

Gazing at the lake surface ablaze with azure flames, Yunhe smacked his lips.

"As a turtle, is using fire a bit inappropriate?"

The flames burning on the lake surface are precisely the "Profound Demon Purifying Fire" learned from the "Profound Demon Sever Immortal Strategy," a special demon fire capable of igniting even water.

After a long period of sleep, Yunhe gained a deeper understanding of his current self.

Especially regarding his current bloodline.

That bout of sleep not only let him smoothly break through to the late Second Stage, but also let him trace from his bloodline the reason he would become this odd form—neither a true profound turtle nor a proper dragon turtle.

He was originally just a turtle, and as part of the turtles' mixed bloodline he unquestionably carried extremely dilute profound turtle, dragon turtle, and giant turtle bloodlines—so faint they could be ignored.

Afterward, he ate that golden carp, and indeed ate the golden carp of the Blood-Tracing Lotus.

Only now did Yunhe finally figure out what that golden carp was—it was a dragon carp!

The dragon carp inherently contains dragon bloodline, and thanks to the Blood-Tracing Lotus its dragon blood was further strengthened; then, by a fortunate coincidence, Yunhe ate this whole dragon carp carrying the Blood-Tracing Lotus, causing his dragon turtle bloodline to begin awakening.

Later, Yunhe fortuitously obtained the giant turtle's skull and learned the Mountain-Bearing Secret, one of the demonic beast arts best suited for turtles, thereby loosening his giant turtle bloodline as well.

Finally, he even obtained a strand of profound turtle essence blood, causing him not only to grow profound turtle scales but also to further awaken his dragon turtle and giant turtle bloodlines, sprouting horns and a giant turtle's mountain-like carapace.

Originally.

In this transformation process, he will ultimately choose a path to become himself—whether profound turtle, dragon turtle, or giant turtle are possible; he will pick one, and can only pick one.

However, while his bloodline was still in the process of continual awakening, he entered the secret realm of the Demon-Washing Pool, underwent trials of will and ability, and finally entered the Demon-Washing Pool.

The most important point has arrived.

As the azure jade phoenix bird said, other demonic beasts can at most endure two months in the Demon-Washing Pool, regardless of their talent or will; two months is the limit.

But Yunhe, relying on the will-switching of his two bodies, stubbornly stayed there for a full two years!

From two months to two years!

If the Demon-Washing Pool had self‑consciousness, it would probably complain, not knowing which of Yunhe's bloodlines to cleanse or which direction of bloodline ability to awaken.

Ultimately, this led to the three intertwined awakening bloodlines not making a choice but instead advancing side by side, strengthening together!

Profound turtle, dragon turtle, and giant turtle—the three bloodline forces in his body vie for essence blood, mana, and inheritance.

Thus his current situation arose.

Three inner elixirs!

Moreover, it is not that profound turtle, dragon turtle, and giant turtle each represent one inner elixir; rather, each inner elixir contains the power of all three bloodlines.

In other words, each inner elixir serves the same function for it.

Even considering an exaggerated scenario, if Yunhe were destroyed and had one inner elixir taken away, at most it would only affect his Cultivation Base, not cost him his life.

This also means it can indeed cultivate three demonic beast arts simultaneously without conflict.

"I suppose this counts as a congenital oddity, right? No, 'oddity' doesn't even begin to describe me."

Yunhe, chin resting on his hand, muttered to himself.

Even now he is still unsure what kind of turtle he belongs to, what kind of demonic beast.

He only knows that, judging by appearance alone, he most resembles a profound turtle, but also bears the dragon turtle's horn-like features, while the giant turtle's traits remain most hidden.

"It's like the monsters in the Classic of Mountains and Seas—if you put it nicely, it's a rare and wondrous beast, a primordial giant beast; if you put it badly, it's just a mongrel."

He let out a long sigh.

No matter how you say it, these bloodlines grant it greater strength and ability.

As for what future effects they might have on him, only time will tell.

"In the Northern Abyss there is a turtle, its color is profound."

Sighing, Yunhe slowly rose to his feet.

His body emitted a crisp crackling sound like frying beans.

"However, the 'Profound Demon Sever Immortal Strategy' is indeed a very interesting demonic beast art." Yunhe muttered.

During his slumber, it also allowed him to further read and understand the art 'Profound Demon Sever Immortal Strategy' inherited from his bloodline.

For demonic beasts, there is nothing a nap can't solve; if there is, then take two naps.

For cultivators, sleeping might be a waste of time—the higher the Cultivation Base, the less they sleep; but for demonic beasts, sleep is a necessary process for their growth and evolution.

Of course, the 'sleep' spoken of here does not refer to pure sleep; although the outward appearance is similar, it is actually worlds apart.

This is one way demonic beasts adapt and change themselves, akin to a cultivator's closed‑door retreat, or even more so, a sudden enlightenment.

Nor is it something you can simply have if you want it.

"To cultivate the 'Profound Demon Sever Immortal Strategy,' one must first possess the 'Sever Immortal Strategy' as one's natal magic treasure, because the vast majority of this art's techniques and secret arts originate from the 'Sever Immortal Strategy.'

According to the art.

"The 'Sever Immortal Strategy' can seize and record the essence blood of various demonic beasts, thereby enabling the practitioner, via the 'Sever Immortal Strategy,' to gain the abilities of the demonic beasts whose essence blood has been recorded!

As for the strength of this seizure ability, it depends on the practitioner's mastery of the art, his Cultivation Base, and the material and power of the 'Sever Immortal Strategy' treasure.

No matter how you say it.

Yunhe also realized the might of this art.

It lives up to the name 'Sever Immortal'.

"It is worthy of being a bloodline‑inherited art, and it is worthy of being the harvest I gained from enduring so long in the Demon‑Washing Pool."

"As for the materials to forge the 'Sever Immortal Strategy,' the primary component is high‑rank demonic beast skeletons, followed by some metals and spiritual materials as auxiliary ingredients."

He turned his head toward the northwest of Huanhu Dao.

Although it's hard to find, he already has a goal.

But just like cultivators, a Second Stage demonic beast, even if it manages to forge a magic treasure, finds it hard to refine it, let alone absorb it into its body; therefore the 'Profound Demon Sever Immortal Strategy' is actually an art that requires at least a Third Stage demonic beast level to cultivate.

Woo—

The snow-white little fox flashed over, a few light leaps landing before him, its face showing a little excitement.

The monkey is about to break through.

Hearing that, Yunhe's eyebrows twitched slightly.

That wasn't too surprising.

After all, the White Ape King was the one with the highest cultivation base among his subordinates, and over the years following him it had obtained quite a few "nurturing elixirs" and spiritual plants off and on.

It's about time to break through, let's go.

Roar!!

The White Ape King raised its head and roared, its huge fists pounding its chest repeatedly, making a "thump-thump-thump" sound.

Its aura kept rising with each pound.

Boom! Boom! Boom——!!

The ground exploded with a boom, and its aura surged to its peak at that moment.

Second Stage early-stage demon beast!

The White Ape King's overall size swelled nearly double, its already exaggerated muscles bulging even more, the fur on its body seeming to cover less area and also shorter, making it look more spirited and excited.

King!

Having just finished its breakthrough, the White Ape King was excited, but upon seeing Yunhe and the little fox smiling at it, it hastily dropped to one knee and shouted respectfully.

Yunhe lifted his chin.

Not bad.

Frankly, Yunhe was quite pleased about being the first of his subordinates to break through to Second Stage on its own.

He lightly tapped his storage bag, and a "nurturing elixir" flew out, landing in the White Ape King's hands under its delighted gaze.

This is a top-grade Second Stage nurturing elixir, which the White Ape King had never consumed before.

Go consolidate your cultivation base.

Yes!

The White Ape King was also the highest in spiritual intelligence among Yunhe's subordinates, aside from the little fox.

Now that it has broken through to Second Stage, its spiritual intelligence will likely be even higher.

As a half‑manager of Huanhu Dao, its increased spiritual intelligence is clearly a good thing for Yunhe.

However, the White Ape King's successful breakthrough also reminded Yunhe of something.

"Should we find a way to get them a beast cultivation manual?"

If there's no cultivation manual and they just take elixirs, it would indeed be quite wasteful.

Huh?

Seeing Yunhe lost in thought, the little fox couldn't help but ask curiously.

Nothing much, just thinking about cultivation manuals.

Yunhe gave a casual explanation in two sentences.

After hearing that, the little fox tilted its head, blinked its bright eyes, and asked:

"Why not create one yourself?"

Huh?

Hearing that, Yunhe froze for a moment.

Create one's own cultivation manual?

Is that possible?

"No, I don't need to conjure up a cultivation manual for myself from nothing; what I really need is just a simple manual that lets the White Ape King and the others cultivate."

It was only then that he realized that, having been exposed to top‑level cultivation manuals like the "Great Longevity Five Elements True Scripture", "Thousand Poisons Myriad Insects Scripture", "Eight Transformations Spirit Fox Technique", "Profound Beast Sever Immortal Strategy", and "Phoenix and Mandarin Duck Twelve Refinements", his standards had risen sharply, making him think that anything less than top‑tier was hardly worth noting.

But the White Ape King and the others aren't him—they don't even have a single cultivation manual they can practice.

For them, any cultivation manual that works is enough, even if it's the most ordinary.

"I have so many top‑level manuals; creating a simplified version isn't impossible."

Creating a manual that one cannot even use oneself is hardly a waste of time.

This is far harder than reading, comprehending, and contemplating cultivation manuals.

One is copying someone else's work verbatim; the other is creating something of one's own—that's the difference between mere use and true mastery.

Not only does it deepen his understanding of the cultivation manual he practices, it also aids his grasp of the Dao of cultivation, greatly benefiting his own practice.

In fact, Yunhe's nominal master, Hua Xin, has been soaking in the Scripture Pavilion all along, essentially doing the same thing.

Of course, this is difficult.

"Unfortunately, the reference samples are still too few; how about using the 'Carrying Mountain Scripture'—a relatively low‑difficulty manual—as a basis after simplifying it?"

Whine?

Having come to his senses, Yunhe smiled, patted the little fox's head, and praised:

"That's a great idea; I think it's feasible."

Whine!!

Having received Yunhe's approval, the little guy was undoubtedly delighted.

"But this is bound to be a time‑consuming endeavor; before that, you should prepare yourself and come with me to a place."

"A place?" the little fox blinked its eyes.

Yunhe pressed his lips together without saying more.

To be frank, he doesn't really want to go for now, but in order to cultivate the "Profound Beast Sever Immortal Strategy" and refine the treasure "Sever Immortal Strategy", he has no choice.

Abyss Ravine.

Above the sheer cliff.

"This?!"

The little fox lowered its head to look at the rolling black water below, drawing its neck in.

Its spiritual sense was stronger than Yunhe's, and it could instinctively feel an inexplicable fear.

Last time it followed Yunhe to the vicinity, but then it was only to replenish the beast souls in the Beast Soul Banner, and it did not approach the Abyss Ravine.

But this time, as it stood on the cliff and looked down, it felt as if something terrifying down there was also gazing back at it; the bottomless gorge seemed like a torn mouth, waiting for it to walk right in.

"This time the goal is merely exploration, not seeking to obtain anything."

Yunhe said, pulling out the Beast Soul Banner, and with its rolling beast soul ghostly qi enveloping him and the little fox, he isolated the aura seeping from the Abyss Ravine, instantly feeling much better.

Refining the "Sever Immortal Strategy" requires beast bones, and the stronger the better; aside from the Abyss Ravine, Yunhe really couldn't think of anywhere else he could obtain formidable demon beast bones.

Back when he looked down from the opening where the wood spirit essence emerged in the horned viper's nest, he saw many white bones.

But last time he was only at the early Second Stage, and he also lacked the protection of this top-grade Beast Soul Banner, a supreme spiritual artifact, so he dared not go deeper.

Now he is stronger than before by more than tenfold; even if he encountered a third-stage demon beast, as long as it wasn't late third stage, he believed he could still escape safely.

Moreover, this time he also has the little fox, whose illusionary concealment is one of his reliance.

"Let's go."

Yunhe took the lead heading down into the Abyss Ravine.

"Whoa!"

The little fox puffed its cheeks; although reluctant, seeing Yunhe go down, it hurriedly followed.

Plunk—

Fell into the water.

The icy, bone-chilling black water made the little fox shiver violently; it hurriedly ran to Yunhe's side, lay on his back, and shielded itself from the current.

Yunhe furrowed his brows.

"This water is colder than last time."

————

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(End of chapter)