Beast Tamer Ascension

Vol 3 Chapter 63: Gu Qianqiu

The Holy Maiden Tea Ceremony had ended, and the three factions returned to their respective domains.

With the Kirin Clan choosing its side and committing to fully supporting the Third Holy Maiden in her bid for the Demon Emperor’s direct disciple position, they spared no effort in publicizing Xu Qingyao’s victory and the potential of her top general, the Fire Dragon Alchemist, as they reported the tea ceremony results to other major demon beast clans.

“The Third Holy Maiden, Xu Qingyao, easily defeated the First and Second Holy Maidens... Her combat strength is terrifying.”

“Her follower, the Fire Dragon Alchemist, has contracted a quasi-ancestral-blood Fire Kirin and an ancestral-blood Zhuyan... He single-handedly fought all the followers of the First and Second Holy Maidens and won with ease…”

The various demon beast clans of the Demon Court were stunned.

The Third Holy Maiden had performed flawlessly in this tea ceremony. Apart from the fact that none of the three Holy Maidens had made any progress in the Demon Race Revival Project, Xu Qingyao had achieved an overwhelming victory in every other aspect.

Among them, the Fire Dragon Alchemist, who had contracted a quasi-ancestral-blood Fire Kirin and an ancestral-blood Zhuyan, began to gain recognition across the Demon Court.

Meanwhile, deep within Xu Qingyao’s palace…

Having burned twenty thousand years of her lifespan, she was now in an extremely weakened state, continuously meditating to recuperate.

Seeing her like this, Lin Jing immediately realized that in her current condition, she likely couldn't handle any potent medicinal resources directly.

"You’re here." Deep inside the cave dwelling, Gu Qianqiu slowly opened her eyes and looked at Lin Jing, her face pale.

"With your condition, cultivating normally would be extremely slow. It would be best to spend some time recuperating first." Lin Jing said, then turned to Senior Sister and added, "Senior Sister, send her more nourishing spiritual pills and medicines."

Xu Qingyao rolled her eyes at Lin Jing and said, "I've already sent some… Anyway, Gu Qianqiu, now that this guy is here, you can finally tell us what exactly you managed to loot from the Sky Lion Clan, right?"

Gu Qianqiu finally retrieved a spatial treasure fused within her body. She lifted her hand, and a pearl-shaped artifact floated toward Lin Jing.

"Everything is in here."

"The core treasure vault of the Sky Lion Clan was hidden within an isolated dimension, heavily sealed, accessible only to the Clan Leader and the Ancestor…

"I used a secret technique to temporarily push my cultivation to the peak of the Void Mystical Stage, but I lack advanced spatial mastery and couldn't open it normally. I captured the Sky Lion Clan Leader, but even in death, he refused to unlock the vault. In the end, fearing the Sky Lion Ancestor might return, I brute-forced it, shattering the dimension completely. The ultimate treasures were scattered into the void..."

"In the end, I could only take all the ordinary resources the Sky Lion Clan had placed outside the vault." She sighed with deep regret.

Xu Qingyao also felt a deep sense of loss after hearing this.

"At least none of it was left for the Sky Lion Clan!"

Lin Jing chuckled as he took the spatial treasure and inspected it. "As expected of the Sky Lion Clan. Even their external resources are this vast. Not many magical artifacts, but just the low, mid, and high-grade spirit stones alone could pile into a mountain."

"Beyond that, there are tons of spiritual plants… A large number of monster cores, though unfortunately, none above the fifth grade."

"But it's still more than enough…

"Next, we’ll use these spirit stones to set up a top-tier Spirit Gathering Formation here, entirely dedicated to helping you break through to the Nascent Soul Stage."

"As for the spiritual plants and monster cores, I’ll take them for alchemy. If I refine any suitable pills, I’ll provide them to you—it’ll be far more efficient than you consuming them raw. What do you think?"

Gu Qianqiu nodded slightly and said, "I don't mind. My life was saved by you—I'll do whatever you decide."

"Since that's settled, your main focus moving forward should be to recuperate first, then cultivate as much as possible. Soon, Senior Sister will give you something to slow down your life depletion. You only have about ten years left, but with this, you might last longer."

"Alright…" Gu Qianqiu replied. "My only remaining purpose in life is the complete destruction of the Sky Lion Clan. Once that is done, my life is yours to command."

"Good." Lin Jing had no objections to repaying kindness with kindness.

"When the time comes, I plan to form a ‘Demon Hunting Squad’, tasked with capturing and exterminating these ruthless demon beasts, refining them into pills. You'll be the captain. Ensuring your success in reaching Nascent Soul is not just your goal—it’s your mission. No objections, right?"

Xu Qingyao: ?

"No objections." Gu Qianqiu nodded.

If her future was to hunt down and eradicate brutal demon beasts, then such a future was exactly what she wanted.

A thousand years of resentment and darkness had been suppressed within her heart. Destroying the Sky Lion Clan alone would not be enough.

Though…

Wasn’t this the Demon Court?

Gu Qianqiu remained silent. During her time in the Sky Lion Clan, she had heard that while they were violent and powerful, there were three even stronger and more savage demon beast forces nearby.

The Demon Court was one of them.

"...Say..."

Just as Lin Jing and Xu Qingyao were about to leave, Gu Qianqiu suddenly hesitated.

"Hm? Do you have another request? Speak freely." Lin Jing turned back to look at her.

Gu Qianqiu’s gaze was distant.

"I was born into the Gu Family, a cultivation family in Spring Autumn City, Piao Miao Dao, Qingzhou. After my Longevity Body was exposed, I was imprisoned by the Sky Lion Clan. Now, a thousand years have passed… I don’t know what happened to my parents, or my family…"

"I understand." Lin Jing said. "I’ll have someone investigate your family’s situation."

"However…"

"Mm, I know. I won’t hold out too much hope." Gu Qianqiu lowered her head.

The strongest cultivator in the Gu Family had only reached the Nascent Soul Stage—far too weak to have rescued her from the Sky Lion Clan.

She didn’t blame them.

What she feared, however, was whether her existence as a Longevity Body had dragged her family down.

Although rare physiques were difficult to pass down through bloodlines, a single Longevity Body appearing in a family could mark them as a ‘Longevity Clan’, inviting persecution.

Outside Gu Qianqiu’s chamber…

"The Gu Family issue—I’ll have someone look into it. But… what’s with this ‘Demon Hunting Squad’?"

Senior Sister shot a skeptical look at Lin Jing after they left.

"You, of all people, are from the Beast Taming Sect, which advocates harmony between humans and demon beasts, and you’re in the Demon Court, where demon beasts make up the majority. Now you want to form a Demon Hunting Squad? Are you trying to rebel?"

Lin Jing grinned and said, "This squad will be extremely useful in the future. There are countless demon beasts out there, and not all of them align with the Demon Court or the Beast Taming Sect. We’ll just hunt those ones—like the Sky Lion Clan."

"Speaking of which, Senior Sister, don’t forget the spiritual items needed for repairing monster cores and golden cores, and what exactly was the ‘additional reward’ you promised from the Kirin Clan?"

With the Kirin Clan's allegiance, Xu Qingyao was in a great mood. She casually said, "No problem. You’ll get them soon. As for the additional reward—I’ll lend you my Holy Maiden Token for a while. How about that?"

"Uh?"

"The Holy Maiden Token contains a trace of the Demon Emperor’s will. Since you cultivate the Illusionary Path, you should know exactly what that means. But I think it’s best if you wait until you reach the Golden Core or Nascent Soul Stage before borrowing it."

Lin Jing took a deep breath.

"Senior Sister, you’re too damn generous!!! If there’s ever a deal like this again, please, count me in!"