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Chapter 616: The Profound Turtle's Birth (Bonus Chapter, Seeking Monthly Votes)

Chapter 616: The Profound Turtle's Birth (Bonus Chapter, Seeking Monthly Votes)

Time flows like water.

In the blink of an eye, several more decades passed.

Wang Family Valley.

Fang Xi held a watering can, tending to the potted Ancestor Demonic Tree.

After this spiritual root had advanced to the fifth-tier, its 'as-you-wish' divine ability became even more refined. Even though it maintained its miniature, carved-like form, Fang Xi could still feel it growing robustly.

The reason for keeping it outside, rather than in the Mountain Sea Pearl cave-heaven, was naturally to tap into the Wang Family's fifth-tier spirit vein.

The cave-heaven where the Wang Family Ancestor resided was the most spiritually abundant spot within this fifth-tier spirit vein.

Moreover, due to the 'Demonic Tree,' a massive guzzler, being present, the cultivators practicing in several high-tier cave-heavens near the Wang Family Ancestor's abode experienced a shortage of spiritual energy, hindering their cultivation.

He believed that the Wang Family Ancestor was in seclusion and required vast amounts of spiritual energy to recover from his injuries. . .

This intelligence, naturally, was gathered by the miniature puppets Fang Xi secretly disseminated.

Femtometer-level mechanism puppets were virtually undetectable by Nascent Soul divine consciousness, let alone Soul Transformation divine consciousness.

Now, Fang Xi could be said to understand the Wang Family even better than the Wang Family itself!

'Although the clansmen have some grievances, they also know that the ancestor's plight wasn't due to battle. . . they haven't been overly critical. Some even voluntarily donated spirit stones, hoping to help the family overcome this difficult period. '

'The prosperity and development of this family were due to the foundations laid by several generations before, and it possesses a vibrant, upward-striving vitality. . . difficult to break. '

Of course, Fang Xi merely sighed.

To truly break their backbone, merely spreading the news of the Wang Family Ancestor's demise would suffice. The Wang Family would naturally collapse, no matter how united they were. This was the iron rule of a world where power truly rests with the individual!

"Patriarch Peng lived for eight hundred years. . ."

Fang Xi finished watering, his expression complex: "Counting on my fingers, I'm also eight hundred years old. . ."

Eight hundred years!

In the mortal world, dynastic changes usually occurred every two or three hundred years. Eight hundred years was enough to live through three or four dynasties, outliving countless emperors. . .

Yet, for Soul Transformation cultivators in the Earthly Immortal World, whose lifespans often reached four or five thousand years, eight hundred years was quite young, truly in the prime of their lives!

Over these past decades, Fang Xi had maintained control over the Wang Family. First, he visited the ancestral hall and, without the slightest detection from the Wang Family's Third Uncle, replaced the Wang Family Ancestor's soul tablet.

Otherwise, if it remained dim, or even shattered in the future, it would become an issue. . .

Next, he took control of the Wang Family's various resources and channels to tally their income and extract the lion's share.

Although the Wang Family had lost Kungsang Market, many other smaller market towns and resource points still existed, and they still had to pay tribute to the Dragon Taming Sect annually!

Of course, Fang Xi was unabashed in handling this, collecting numerous spiritual items and having them transported back as 'True Blood Pills. '

This alone provided him with a considerable amount of spiritual pills from the Wang Family.

With the aid of these 'True Blood Pills,' his 'Celestial Demon Extermination Manual' cultivation progressed rapidly.

By now, he had gradually reached the peak of the early stage, just a sliver away from attempting to break through to the mid-stage of Soul Transformation!

'Fortunately, in the Earthly Immortal World, cultivators only face heavenly tribulations after breaking through the Return to Void realm. . . Breaking through to mid-stage Soul Transformation doesn't require a tribulation. . . '

'I've only fleeced the Dragon Taming Sect for about eighty years, and I'm already close to mid-stage Soul Transformation. If it were two hundred, four hundred, or eight hundred years. . . wouldn't I reach perfected Soul Transformation, or even directly Return to Void? '

Fang Xi's eyes glimmered slightly.

At this moment, he sensed something and calmly looked towards the sky.

Not long after, a streak of light descended, revealing a figure: none other than the Wang Family Patriarch, Wang Lingying!

"Ancestor. . . our family's fleet dispatched to the Profound Nether Abyss encountered the Organ Island from Kungsang Market. Without a word, the other party activated powerful spiritual tools, causing heavy losses to our cultivators. . . The Second Branch's Spirit Lord had his physical body destroyed; only his Nascent Soul escaped!"

Wang Lingying bowed deeply, his face filled with resentment: "That Qing Hezi has gone too far in bullying our Wang Family!"

'What nonsense are you spouting? Clearly, your Wang Family's team coveted their gains and initiated the robbery of the turtle-shell boat. . . And this was 'Taiyi' showing mercy according to my instructions, not using the 'Star Annihilation Cannon. ' Otherwise, that Wang Spirit Lord and the other Wang Family cultivators, every single one, wouldn't even leave ashes behind, I'd lose my bet. . . '

Fang Xi grumbled inwardly.

However, he also knew that in such a large family, with its bloated personnel, deceiving superiors and concealing from subordinates was almost the norm.

Even for the Wang Family Ancestor, there were descendants who, emboldened by favoritism, dared to act recklessly.

And cultivators mostly favored kin over justice; the existence of profligate scions in the cultivation world truly had some basis. And it was highly probable that if the younger ones were beaten, the older ones would come seeking revenge.

Fang Xi was already prepared to rectify the family's conduct. Although the Wang Family was considered a hegemon in this Profound Nether Abyss, if a descendant, many generations removed, provoked someone they shouldn't, and it implicated him, how wronged would he be!

But for now, he could only play his part. His face flushed slightly: "Qing Hezi. . ."

"The Ancestor has now fully recovered from his injuries, but to deal with that Qing Hezi, we still lack the strength. . . " Wang Lingying analyzed from the side: "Qing Hezi is skilled in the art of mechanism puppets. After creating Organ Island, his annual income from Dragon Lizards and spiritual herbs has increased by thirty to forty percent compared to usual. The pills and spiritual items he submits to the Dragon Taming Sect every ten years are twenty percent more than what our family previously submitted. . . Under such heavy profits, the Dragon Taming Sect will definitely not intervene on our behalf. . ."

"Our Wang Family is riddled with crises. To rise to power back then, we greatly offended the Black Water Sect. To this day, the Black Miao Venerable and the hidden Soul Transformation demon venerable remain unresolved. . ."

As the Wang Family Patriarch, Wang Lingying was certainly no hothead: "Lingying believes that to counter that Qing Hezi, we can only outwit him, not confront him with force. . ."

Speaking of which, Fang Xi had continuously indulged his external avatar in instigating conflicts, with small skirmishes occurring from time to time.

Initially, Kungsang Market, of course, suffered a huge loss, and even Zuo Xiaoxuan was almost captured alive.

Later, Fang Xi couldn't stand it and provided support with several fourth-tier puppets, barely maintaining a balance.

It was strange, despite such overt contention between the two factions, not even a single Nascent Soul cultivator had perished, indicating a clear bottom line and a certain tacit understanding between them.

Fang Xi asked with interest.

Discussing with outsiders how to deal with himself was quite amusing.

"Qing Hezi's foundation is shallow; he has no sect or disciples. . . Over the years, the Evergreen Pavilion has been widely recruiting guest elders, and I've also had a few cultivators infiltrate it. . . We learned that besides having a taste for fine food, Qing Hezi also has a fondness for beautiful women. . ."

Wang Lingying continued: "Among the 'spirit maidens' secretly cultivated by our family, there are quite a few with exceptional looks. Sending a few of them discreetly might yield unexpected results. . ."

Fang Xi tapped his forehead.

He had learned about the Wang Family's 'spirit maidens' from the Wang Family Ancestor's memories. They were exquisite, spiritually endowed women, selected at a young age and rigorously trained in charm arts. When they grew up, each was a captivating beauty, naturally alluring.

They were specifically used to be gifted to high-ranking officials of allied forces to foster relationships. Many were sent to the Black Water Sect in the past.

Secret intelligence regarding the production of 'True Blood Pills' was leaked this way.

And these 'spirit maidens' were usually responsible for serving with their beauty, but in critical moments, they could also secretly trigger internal restrictions to heavily wound enemies.

Although this method was almost infallibly effective in ambushing Nascent Soul cultivators, Wang Lingying was truly not confident against a Soul Transformation cultivator.

"The other party, after all, cultivates demonic arts. Ordinary charm techniques may not work. . ."

Fang Xi shook his head and sighed, lamenting the Wang Family's limited ingenuity: "Fine. . . Send a few over first, it might serve as a dormant move."

"Yes!"

Wang Lingying accepted the order with solemnity, then continued to report: "Our family recently tested mortals for spiritual roots and discovered two hundred and twenty-seven immortal sprouts, among which twenty-five possess Earth-grade spiritual roots or higher. . . and one Heaven-grade spiritual root."

"Good, cultivate them well."

Fang Xi nodded upon hearing this.

The probability of immortal sprouts appearing among mortals in the Earthly Immortal World seemed much higher than in the lower realms, and even the probability of superior-grade spiritual roots appearing had increased significantly.

"In addition, a member of the Third Branch, from the 'Zhi' generation, has passed away. . ."

Wang Lingying acted like a loyal butler, covering almost every detail: "Wang Xuanding of the Ninth Branch recently reached perfected Core Formation. His personal family merit points exceed three million, and he wishes to borrow an additional two million merit points from the family to exchange for that 'Nascent Condensing Pill' in the family treasury. . ."

"Young and not learning good, just wanting to reach heaven in a single step. . . Tell him the family can at most lend him one million merit points; he needs to find a way for the rest. . ."

Fang Xi playfully chastised him, seemingly in a good mood.

Suddenly!

His expression shifted slightly as he looked up at the sky.

The clear, cloudless sky abruptly became heavily overcast.

"Ancestor?"

Wang Lingying looked at the scene, feeling a little surprised: "This is. . ."

"No matter, I casually captured a spirit beast before. It seems it's about to advance to the fourth-tier now. . ."

Fang Xi waved his hand, dismissing Wang Lingying.

He then carried his potted plant and flew out of the Wang Family Valley, finding a secluded, open area.

Rumble!

The thunderclouds in the sky seemed to have eyes, following him to this spot.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A swirling, dark hurricane swept down, continuously scraping away layers of nearby rock and ground.

This was. . . a Transforming Heavenly Tribulation!

And its target was, astonishingly. . .

Fang Xi's expression was peculiar as he took out a Profound Turtle egg, the size of an ostrich egg, from the Mountain Sea Pearl.

The moment the egg appeared, the dark clouds in the sky grew even denser, with faint lightning flashing within!

The Profound Turtle egg had already shed its outer stony layer, revealing a pristine white shell, with a faint blue glow emanating from it.

"This is my first time seeing a demon beast egg undergoing tribulation. . ."

"It seems this little Profound Turtle truly has an extraordinary bloodline, achieving fourth-tier upon birth!"

Crack!

Under Fang Xi's gaze, a crack abruptly appeared on the eggshell!

Above the firmament, the countless wildly dancing lightning bolts seemed to have found their target, condensing into a single bolt of azure lightning that crashed down with a deafening roar!

Boom!

The lightning struck the eggshell directly, yet it merely caused purple-blue patterns to surface on it, and another crack to split open!

This Profound Turtle eggshell, unexpectedly, seemed even sturdier than many defensive spirit artifacts.