Turtle Ancestor's Secret Talk

As the winter solstice draws closer, the red lanterns under the eaves of shops begin to sway from side to side, casting flickering light.

A few withered leaves flew in from afar and landed in various parts of the courtyard, adding a touch of desolation to the blue bricks and black tiles.

Ye Jingcheng pushed open the door, feeling the wind on his face, but his eyes showed a hint of joy.

Five days have passed since he went into seclusion to refine pills. In these few days, he has refined two batches of Bone-Transforming Pill, each with three pills successfully formed, and two of them even have pill patterns, which can be considered exceptionally smooth.

Besides the elixir, he also inspected the Stone Spirit Grotto-Heaven.

Based on the Five Poison Bee's situation, he estimated that the Stone Spirit's absorption of external energy for one day would be enough to sustain it for more than ten days within the Grotto-Heaven. Even if he and the Golden-Scaled Beast entered together, the energy expenditure wouldn't increase too much.

He did consume a lot of Spiritual Qi, but this situation improved greatly after he buried a lot of Spirit Stone.

Within the Grotto-Heaven, the Golden-Scaled Beast is constantly using the Earth Spike Technique, firstly to hone its Law Technique application, and secondly to test the strength of the Grotto-Heaven.

He can also spot any problems in time.

At the same time, he opened the Grotto-Heaven in the room and was absorbing Spiritual Qi and air with all his might. He estimated that once he had absorbed enough, he could hide inside for several days or half a month without any problem.

The only thing to worry about is that Stone Spirit might be picked up by someone.

Although there is no fluctuation of Spiritual Qi when the Stone Spirit is closed, Stone Spirit body is extremely hard and made of extraordinary material, making it relatively easy to detect.

Of course, it's a very good option if you're looking to hide from the dangers of Demon Beast.

"Jingcheng, you've emerged from seclusion." Ye Jingli happened to come out of his room at that moment.

At this moment, he appeared more composed and less impulsive, holding a new Law Artifact in his hand, which seemed to have just been crafted and still retained some warmth from the Demon Fire.

"Sixth Brother, where are Third Uncle and Fourth Brother?" Ye Jingcheng asked.

"My third uncle is on the second floor of the shop; he's personally selling second-tier spirit pills now," Ye Jingli in reply.

He then walked to Ye Jingcheng's side, glanced around, and then transmitted his voice to Ye Jingcheng.

"Jingcheng, I think there's something wrong with Fourth Brother. Keep a close eye on him these next few days. I've already spoken to Third Uncle, but he hasn't paid any attention. Even Second Brother hasn't said anything."

Ye Jingli speaking, he took out a mirror and handed it to Ye Jingcheng to check.

"This is a mirror I recently crafted. It can detect a cultivator's Spiritual Qi fluctuations. Fourth Brother's Spiritual Qi has improved considerably."

"Sixth Brother, you've done a great job. I'll go and tell Third Uncle about this," Ye Jingcheng said, taking the mirror with him.

He then told Ye Jingli not to make a fuss.

Ye Jingcheng crossed the courtyard and came to the front yard. Unlike the back yard, which had several wooden houses, the front yard had many stone tables for the Ye Family members to rest.

Of course, many more people were helping out at the pill shop. As the winter solstice approached, more and more people were buying elixirs at the Chu-Ye Pavilion.

Among them were Lineage cultivators, as well as many Rogue Cultivators.

During each large-scale expansion, some Rogue Cultivator would join the Lineage's cultivators under the guise of temporary offerings, so that they could also get a share of the spoils.

After all, this time when we entered the Taihang Mountain Range, it wasn't like the last time we entered Jade Dragon Valley, where we only stayed on the outskirts and the resources weren't very abundant.

This time, we are heading to the vicinity of the Crimson Cloud Peak, where the Three-Eyed Demon King. The area is rich in resources spirit medicine, and even without entering the secret realm, there are still plenty of various spirit medicine herbs and treasures.

Therefore, almost all cultivators in Taichang Market who believe they have some strength will participate.

Besides selling elixirs, the Ye Family also recruits some people. However, the Ye Family is not well-known in Taichang Market, and Ye Haicheng is a newly promoted Purple Mansion cultivator, so not many people come.

On the contrary, the Chu Family next door had a much smoother recruitment process.

In the courtyard, Ye Jingyu walked around the room in a seemingly proper manner, occasionally greeting other members of the Ye Family. However, if a real member of the Ye Family were present, they would notice that Ye Jingyu was still somewhat unnatural at this moment.

He always wore Spirit-Isolating Robe, revealing only his eyes and a blank face.

"Fourth Brother, how have you been adjusting lately?" Ye Jingcheng asked.

"Adapt, Jingcheng, if you have something to say, just say it." Ye Jingyu's eyes showed a hint of doubt.

This 'Ye Jingyu' is naturally a fellow cultivator from the Heavenly Corpse Sect. Long before Ye Jingcheng's Stone Spirit awakened, he took the Bone-Transforming Pill and transformed into the appearance of Ye Jingyu, thus infiltrating the Ye Family's cultivators.

The disguise can only be used before the expedition begins. Once they reach the Taihang Mountain Range, the True Person will be constantly monitoring the entire cultivator team.

They will notice even the slightest unusual movement.

Of course, what Ye Jingyu hesitated about at this moment was Ye Jingcheng's attitude.

Ye Jingcheng was too confident at that moment, which made him feel uneasy.

But he simply didn't know where this unease came from.

He chose the Ye Family for one reason: the Ye Family was not particularly strong, with only one newly promoted Purple Mansion cultivator and three other Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Secondly, Ye Jingcheng has something on him that he can use against him.

Even when he used his clone to meet Ye Jingcheng last time, the latter didn't feel this way.

"Nothing's wrong, it's just that I feel Fourth Brother's cultivation has improved again." Ye Jingcheng took out a mirror and showed it to Ye Jingyu.

It was a subtle reminder to the latter.

Although other cultivators don't know much about Ye Jingyu, if his cultivation level changes too drastically, it will still arouse suspicion.

Cooperating with the Heavenly Corpse Sect is like dancing on the edge of a boiling oil pot.

The latter nodded repeatedly, Ye Jingcheng then left the courtyard and headed towards the second floor of the shop.

Upon entering the second floor, Ye Xingliu was explaining Pill Formula to another Foundation Establishment cultivator. Ye Jingcheng didn't disturb him, simply watching from the side. Only after the other person left did Ye Jingcheng call out:

"Third Uncle."

He took out a bottle of pills and handed it to Ye Xingliu with both hands.

Inside the round jade bottle were three second-tier Bone-Transforming Pill.

With these three Bone-Transforming Pills, their physical appearance can be changed twice.

Ye Xingliu looked at the pills and examined them carefully. After a while, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Truly worthy of being the Ye Family's number one Alchemist."

"Third Uncle, you flatter me. I am not worthy of being number one." Ye Jingcheng shook his head. He would not admit it. There were many Alchemists in the Lineage's Hidden Peak, such as Ye Xuefu, whose alchemy skills were superior to his.

He even suspected that there were third-tier Alchemist.

However, within the Ye Family, unless you reach the highest level of strength, you will never know how much the Lineage is hiding.

"You've come out of seclusion at just the right time. You'll be setting off in three days. There's also a Foundation Establishment exchange meeting tomorrow. Jin Golden Jade Hall, your elder brother, and Chu Yanqing have all sent you an invitation." Ye Xingliu took out three palm-sized jade invitations and handed them to Ye Jingcheng.

"If anything is spent, you can use the Spirit Stone from the shop!" he added after saying that.

"Thank you, Third Uncle. You're not attending?" Ye Jingcheng accepted Yu Shu's invitation, but he only took two, leaving the remaining one for Ye Xingliu.

As he spoke, he took out some spiritual tea from the table on the second floor of the shop and poured a cup for Ye Xingliu.

"No, I have to attend a secret meeting to discuss the division of territories. Many people only see the benefits of the secret realm in this attack on the Crimson Cloud Peak region of the Three-Eyed Demon King, but in reality, it's not certain that we can conquer it," Ye Xingliu said with a wry smile.

The reason why the Demon Race of the Taihang Mountain Range are so famous is not because the Taiyi Sect raises demons to enhance its own prestige.

Rather, it's because many Demon King within the Taihang Mountain Range possess extremely terrifying strength and bloodlines.

That will inevitably lead to a bloodbath.

Otherwise, the Taiyi Sect might not have allowed so many cultivation Lineage to participate.

"By the way, Mo Hongwen from the Mo Family is also participating this time. His personality is quite different from his name, so you can get to know him beforehand!" Ye Xingliu reminded him again.

"You should also keep an eye on the Xu Family. They sent more than ten people this time, which is almost all of their hidden Foundation Establishment cultivators."

Upon hearing this, Ye Jingcheng nodded. The Mo Family's future troubles were basically resolved. However, to be on the safe side, it would be best to eliminate Mo Hongwen as well. That way, not only would no one in the Mo Family remember the Beast Tide, but they would also gradually decline.

Whether the Taiyi Sect will support a new Purple Mansion or Foundation Establishment Lineage in Taihang Commandery is none of the Ye Family's business.

"Third Uncle, I'd like to know more about the Turtle Ancestor." At the end, Ye Jingcheng whispered to Ye Xingliu.

As he said this, his eyes also showed great interest.

After all, the Turtle Ancestor's Grotto-Heaven must have existed for a very long time.

Ye Haiyi frequently used it, so Ye Xingliu naturally knew quite a bit about it as well.

However, Ye Xingliu was extremely puzzled at this moment.

It was unclear what Ye Jingcheng meant by mentioning the Turtle Ancestor, but after a pause, Ye Xingliu generously took out the Spirit Beast pouch from his waist and hung it on Ye Jingcheng's waist.

"The Turtle Ancestor is right here. You can ask him anything, and Turtle Ancestor can answer you," Ye Xingliu said.

Ye Jingcheng was overjoyed upon seeing this, took the Spirit Beast bag, and headed towards his house.

Upon entering the house, he carefully patted the Spirit Beast pouch, channeling some spiritual energy into it.

The next moment, a white-haired Mystic Turtle the size of a basin emerged from inside.

"Turtle Ancestor, this junior Jingcheng, greets Turtle Ancestor." Ye Jingcheng cupped his hands in greeting.

He held this Vast Azure Turtle in high esteem.

After all, it is the Lineage's Spirit Beast, and a powerful demon of the Purple Mansion.

"Little one, what is it?" Turtle Ancestor's voice sounded very old, but Ye Jingcheng could detect a hint of deliberate effort, as if he had tightened his throat.

Of course, Ye Jingcheng remained outwardly calm and composed.

"Turtle Ancestor, this junior has obtained a Grotto-Heaven Stone. May I ask, Turtle Ancestor, is there any flaw in this kind of Grotto-Heaven?" Ye Jingcheng pointed to a huge rock in the room next to him.

He didn't want to hide the matter of the Stone Spirit, nor could he. Now, he only wanted to figure out the flaws in the Grotto-Heaven.

Ye Jingcheng had previously searched for this kind of information within his Lineage, but there were very few records of it.

The Supreme Mystery Turtle originally had a dignified and old-fashioned appearance, but upon seeing the Stone Spirit beside it, it became much more cheerful, and its head stretched out a bit more, looking the Stone Spirit up, down, left, and right.

This made Ye Jingcheng even more certain of his suspicions; the Turtle Ancestor before him was probably quite young for a tortoise!

This puzzled him. If the Turtle Ancestor wasn't big, then why wasn't his Treasure Book lighting up now?

Turtle Ancestor's talent is absolutely outstanding.

And if he remembers correctly, it had been lit up before.

Perhaps even Spirit Beast that have signed Blood Pact cannot be included in the Treasure Book.

Ye Jingcheng made a certain guess in his heart.