132: Chapter 132 Sublimation of Foundation, Old Turtle Devours Spirit

The night was deep and quiet.

Feiyun Island, the location of the main lineage Foundation of the Linghu Lin Clan.

Inside the quiet chamber of the ancestral hall's back hall.

The Old Patriarch, Patriarch Lin Zhenhai, sat withered on a red sandalwood armchair.

He had shed that Purple-Gold Python Robe stained with the blood of sea monsters, wearing only a thin inner shirt.

On his chest, several old wounds deep enough to show bone were seeping with Death Qi, a backlash left from his battle with a second-tier great demon in the Abyssal Trench.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Patriarch Lin Zhenhai covered his mouth with a white handkerchief; when he pulled it away, it was already stained with blood.

He was currently staring at two jade boxes placed on the long table in front of him.

In the jade box on the left lay a piece of jade.

In the jade box on the right, there was a white jade pure bottle.

This was the Foundation Establishment Stage Breakthrough holy item, Top Grade hundred spirit water, which he had exchanged from the Canghai Sect's "Battle Merit Exchange List" using the battle merits that the Lin Family's young men had traded their lives for in the Abyssal Trench.

"If this old man swallows these two treasures, even if my Dao Foundation is damaged, I can still forcibly suppress the hidden injuries in my body, and even use this power of creation to extend my Lifespan by another thirty to fifty years..."

Patriarch Lin Zhenhai stared at the jade boxes and murmured in a low voice.

In the cruel cultivation world, who does not covet longevity?

Who doesn't want to take a few more steps on this dead-end road of defying heaven?

But his withered fingers hovered over the jade boxes for a long time before finally clenching into a fist and drawing back.

"Extend my Lifespan by thirty years?"

"So what?"

"My Lin Family currently appears as prosperous as oil on a blazing fire, but in reality, we are surrounded by wolves.

"With the Canghai Sect high and mighty, and the greedy eyes of the various forces in the Shenlan Inner Sea upon us, any sudden wind or wave could capsize this broken ship of the Lin Family.

"Although Zeler is exceptionally brilliant, unmatched in both Formations and Artifact Refining, and is the future towering tree of my Lin Family,

"he only has the cultivation of the Qi Refining Stage after all. He needs time and an environment to grow.

"Even if this old man's old bones can extend my life for another thirty years, I would still only be a crippled Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"What my Lin Family needs is a long-lasting Foundation that can truly intimidate the periphery and protect the Family for hundreds of years."

Patriarch Lin Zhenhai suddenly stood up.

With a wave of his wide sleeves, he swept the two jade boxes into the storage ring close to his body.

Then, leaning on his cane, he pushed open a hidden door and walked toward the deepest part of Feiyun Island's Forbidden Ground.

...

In the back mountain of Feiyun Island, past the maze Formations and illusions, lay a natural underground cavern hidden behind a waterfall.

This was the restricted area of the Linghu Lin Clan. Except for successive Clan Chiefs, not even core Elders were permitted to take a single step inside.

The cavern was extremely deep, extending all the way down to a vast underground body of water in the deepest part of Feiyun Island's earth veins.

The air here was damp and sticky, filled with a fishy stench.

"Drip, drip..."

Patriarch Lin Zhenhai walked down the moss-covered stone steps, finally stopping in front of a deep underground pool.

"Old partner, are you awake?"

Patriarch Lin Zhenhai's voice echoed in the empty cavern, his tone carrying the familiarity of old friends reuniting.

"Splash..."

As his voice fell, the surface of the water suddenly began to churn.

Immediately after, a dark shadow floated up from the depths of the water.

It was a massive old turtle.

Its shell was dozens of zhang wide, covered in moss, barnacles, and countless shocking scars from sabers, axes, and swords.

Some of these scars had already formed thick bony calluses, while others still seemed to exude Evil Qi.

This was the "Sea-Swallowing Old Turtle," the clan-guarding Spirit Beast that the Linghu Lin Clan had protected for a full three hundred years.

Three hundred years ago, when the Lin ancestors first established themselves in the Yunmeng Marsh, they had accidentally saved this fatally injured baby spirit turtle.

Since then, this Sea-Swallowing Turtle had signed a blood covenant of generational protection with the Lin clan.

It had once carried the Lin ancestors to break through the beast tide, and during the encirclement by the Black Water Gang, it had used its indestructible shell to block the gap in Feiyun Island's protective Formation, enduring three days and three nights of relentless bombardment.

It could be said that without this old turtle, the Linghu Lin Clan would have been exterminated in the Family meat grinder a hundred years ago.

"Woo..."

The Sea-Swallowing Old Turtle poked its massive head out of the water and opened its eyes.

It swam to the shore and rested its massive, heavily scaled chin by Patriarch Lin Zhenhai's feet, letting out a whimper.

"Old partner, the Lin Family has recently produced an extraordinary Qilin child."

Patriarch Lin Zhenhai sat on the ground, his withered palm gently stroking the turtle's rough head.

Like a nagging old farmer, in this dark underwater depth, he recounted Lin Ze's rise on Reed Island over the past six months,

the bloody battle in the Abyssal Trench, and the life-and-death crisis facing the Family, telling everything to the old turtle in detail.

The Sea-Swallowing Old Turtle listened, occasionally snorting a blast of warm water vapor from its nostrils as if in response.

"My Lin Family has finally seen a glimmer of hope."

As Patriarch Lin Zhenhai spoke, his eyes couldn't help but grow moist.

"However, this old man's body won't last until the day the Lin Family completely dominates the Yunmeng Marsh."

The old turtle seemed to understand Patriarch Lin Zhenhai's words. A hint of sorrow appeared in its eyes, and it nudged Patriarch Lin Zhenhai's chest with its head, letting out a mournful cry.

"Stop wailing, this old man isn't dead yet."

Patriarch Lin Zhenhai laughed, but tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes.

He suddenly stood up.

"Old partner, you've been stuck at the Qi Refining Great Perfection (first-tier High Grade Peak) Realm for a full hundred and fifty years, haven't you?"

The Sea-Swallowing Turtle race has a long Lifespan and unparalleled defense, but the difficulty for them to break through their Bloodline shackles is a hundred times that of ordinary Yao Beasts.

Without a Heaven-Defying water-attribute creation, this old turtle would never be able to take that step from mortal to immortal even until its death.

With a wave of Patriarch Lin Zhenhai's wide sleeves, the two jade boxes hovered in mid-air.

With a crisp "click," the Seals broke.

The creative energy of the "water-nurturing ice jade," capable of freezing rivers, and the ocean-like life Origin of the "Top Grade hundred spirit water" exploded violently within the underground cavern.

"Roar!"

Stimulated by these two peerless spiritual items, the originally gentle Sea-Swallowing Old Turtle's pupils suddenly contracted. The primordial water spirit instinct dormant deep within its Bloodline for three hundred years was instantly ignited, and it let out a roar.

At this moment, the water level of the entire underground water system dropped by a full three feet because of its roar.

"Old partner, this is the Foundation that our entire Lin Family risked their lives to trade for."

Patriarch Lin Zhenhai's hands flew as he pushed the Foundation Establishment true essence in his body to the limit, lifting the two treasures and sending them toward the old turtle's wide-open maw.

"This old man won't live much longer. For the next three hundred years of the Lin Family, I can only entrust them to you.

"Swallow them.

"Enter Foundation Establishment for this old man!"

The Sea-Swallowing Old Turtle's massive mouth suddenly snapped shut, swallowing the water-nurturing ice jade and Top Grade hundred spirit water in one gulp.

"Boom!"

The moment the treasures entered its stomach, a Spiritual Pressure violently exploded from within the old turtle's body.

The water of the deep pool instantly boiled.

On the old turtle's originally grayish-brown shell, a deep blue divine light began to burst forth.

Every single scar from sabers and swords that had weathered the passage of time was now forcibly repaired by the dense water-attribute Origin.

A powerful pressure pierced through the rock layers, shooting straight into the high heavens.

...

At this very moment, on the surface of Feiyun Island.

The Lin Family disciples, who were performing their respective duties, suddenly felt a tremor from the ground beneath their feet.

"What is happening?"

"Is it an enemy attack?"

Just as everyone was thrown into a panic, the spiritual energy clouds above Feiyun Island, which normally never dispersed year-round, suddenly began to rotate frantically.

Water-attribute Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from dozens of miles around poured down frantically toward the Forbidden Ground of Feiyun Island's back mountain.

"This... this is the heavenly phenomenon of spiritual energy infusion."

Seventh Great-Uncle the Instructor Lin Zhenyuan, who had just dragged his sick body out of the discussion hall, stared at the spiritual energy vortex above the back mountain, and the dragon-headed cane in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

"This aura... it's the Sea-Swallowing Old Ancestor."

"It's the Old Ancestor attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment Great Realm."

Several core Elders of the Family took to the air on their flying swords one after another, kneeling down directly in mid-air.

"Heaven blesses my Lin clan.

"Heaven blesses my Lin clan indeed!"

"My Lin Family is about to welcome a second Foundation Establishment combat power."

The entire Feiyun Island instantly boiled with excitement. Countless clan members walked out of their homes, bowing frantically toward the back mountain.

In the cruel Yunmeng Marsh, a single Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator could establish a Family.

And if they possessed two Foundation Establishment combat powers, especially when one of them was a Foundation Establishment great demon with unparalleled defense and a long Lifespan,

it meant that the Foundation of the Linghu Lin Clan would be as solid as a rock for the next five hundred years, and no one would ever dare to easily shake it again.

The deep underground pool.

After swallowing such a Heaven-Defying creation, the Sea-Swallowing Old Turtle's body sank to the very bottom of the deep pool amidst the divine light.

Above the pool, countless extremely cold water-attribute spiritual energies intertwined, actually forming a cocoon of light underwater, completely wrapping the old turtle inside.

A long, Realm-breaking slumber began.

Once it broke out of its cocoon, it would surely be a true second-tier great demon.

Patriarch Lin Zhenhai stood by the shore, his originally tense nerves completely relaxing.

"Now, this old man can finally let go and have some fun with those bastards from the Canghai Sect."

The Old Patriarch turned around and strode out of the cavern.