Chapter 499 495: I Will Make You All Stronger

Arrays were mentioned extensively, whether in the myths of ancient times from Qin Li's previous life or during the Celestial Essence Continent's Primordial Era. Even today, the application of Arrays can still be seen everywhere on the Celestial Essence Continent. For instance, the most famous examples are the various Mysterious Lands scattered across the continent. Their very existence is due to a world-shaking Grand Array, forged by the combined power of countless Great Mages in the Primordial Era.

This includes the Void Crossing Arrays currently mastered by a few Sects in the Land of the Far West. As long as they have precise coordinates, they can be used for teleportation at speeds many times faster than what a Martial Artist could normally achieve!

However, the study of Arrays has fallen into decline in the present day. Even if some Sects that survived from the Primordial Era still possess Secret Manuals for Arrays, many of the required materials have gone extinct. Those Secret Manuals, much like Qin Li's own Ancient Pill Formula, were full of things they knew could be made and how to make them, but they simply couldn't create them!

The Arrays still in use today are basically the Illusion Arrays at the entrances to many Mysterious Lands. If one cannot break them, they will become lost within. While they won't be attacked, it is incredibly difficult to escape!

'If I can set up a huge Illusion Array here to conceal this mountain,' he thought, 'then the next time an external enemy invades, they at least won't be able to find this place so easily.'

After all, for a family as large as the Qin Family, relocating once would take many years to recover from. Some things can't be measured by wealth.

For example, the branch families left behind on Profound Island also had immense wealth, but now that they have all been massacred by the Iron-blooded Hall, that wealth has amounted to nothing.

Besides, the Qin Family's current strength was far from the weak family it once was. With all sorts of Elixirs, plus the Cold Holy Water and Dragon Whip Grass in the castle complex, and with someone at the level of an Alchemy Grandmaster like Leng Yao around, the Qin Family disciples and everyone else would feel embarrassed if their cultivation progress was too slow.

Since that was the case, the Qin Family no longer feared battle. And although every battle brought casualties, the surviving Qin Family disciples saw immense improvements in their overall strength—including their mentality, Combat Power, and combat skills. This rate of growth was several times faster than cultivating in seclusion!

This proved the saying: True warriors are forged in blood and fire!

But this group of Qin Family disciples still needed time. They had not yet reached the point where they could face their enemies openly, and there was still a gap between them and the Sects of the Land of the Far West.

Therefore, Qin Li decided to set up a massive Illusion Array right here. Among all types of Arrays, Illusion Arrays were one of the most widely used and also the simplest.

All it required were Spirit Stones!

The Qin Family's current reserve of Spirit Stones had reached an astonishing amount. At the very least, maintaining an Illusion Array would be no problem at all.

After making his decision, Qin Li led everyone into the Mysterious Land and returned to the castle complex.

After a long separation, everyone was naturally chatting animatedly. After a while, Qin Li called the eagle, the two hawks, the three monkeys, and She She into a room by themselves.

Looking at the seven of them—or rather, seven Spirit Beasts—an interesting thought suddenly crossed Qin Li's mind. 'I'm the fulfillment of the Celestial Essence Continent's Divine Temple prophecy spoken of by Third Elder Jiang Heng of the Hongyan Sect and many others. I'm also the new King acknowledged by many in the Purple-eyed Race. And now, I've gathered so many powerful Spirit Beasts around me…'

'It's a really strange feeling. It seems no one else in this world has ever managed to establish connections with so many different factions like I have.'

Never mind the others; just the kindness shown to him by that pure-blooded Ancient Strange Beast, the Hou that guarded the mountain for the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, was enough to make Qin Li feel both moved and a little bewildered.

'Was I really born into this world to fulfill some destiny?'

She She blinked her incredibly beautiful eyes. Seeing Qin Li just standing there daydreaming, she couldn't help but ask, "Young Master, you called us all here, but now you're just daydreaming..."

"Ah, my apologies." Qin Li snapped out of it with an apologetic look. Internally, however, his mind had cleared. 'Why worry about all that? As long as I and the people around me can live well, that's all that matters!'

"What are all your cultivation levels now? Mr. Bai, you first." Qin Li looked at the Old Ape, Bai Zhongshan. Because he had become one of the instructors for the Qin Family's disciples, the Old Ape was respectfully addressed as Mr. Bai. Bai Zhongshan was also very fond of this title; it was what had allowed him to truly integrate into the human world. Watching the Qin Family disciples he had trained fearlessly charge forward to kill enemies, Bai Zhongshan felt a great sense of pride.

This wasn't pride in himself, but pride in his disciples.

Everyone in the room was considered one of their own, and they all knew each other well, so Bai Zhongshan had nothing to hide. He said directly, "I'm at the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation realm now. I've just stabilized it. It's all thanks to you, Young Master. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would never have had the chance to break through to this realm in my entire life."

Qin Li smiled. "That's the result of your own accumulation over thousands of years; it has little to do with me. However, since you're already at the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation realm, you won't be needing this!"

When the Old Ape, Bai Zhongshan, heard this, his eyes went wide. "Young Master, you can't play favorites!" he said.

Qin Li was struck speechless for a moment before laughing. 'This old monkey has such an interesting side to him,' he thought. 'Play favorites? When did he learn that phrase?'

Qin Li smiled and waved his hand. "I do have something good, but even I haven't taken it. It's not very effective for those at the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation realm."

Hearing that the Young Master hadn't even taken it himself, the Old Ape shook his head in disappointment. Still, he remained seated, wanting to see what this item was.

Qin Li turned to Bai Zhonghuo. "What realm are you at now?"

"Young Master, I've reached the Middle Stage of the Shattered Void realm," Bai Zhonghuo said, looking at Qin Li with excitement. Ever since they started following Qin Li, their strength had increased tremendously—something they could never have imagined before.

"Good, you qualify!" As Qin Li spoke, three fruits that looked like sapphires appeared in his hand. They shimmered with a deep blue luster and looked extremely tempting.

"Take all three of these Blue Dream Fruits at once, then go into seclusion to cultivate. It should allow your Pill Core to directly undergo Nascent Soul Transformation and push you into the next realm!"

"Really!" Bai Zhonghuo immediately took the three Blue Dream Fruits from Qin Li's hand, his face alight with excitement.

Before Qin Li could speak, Bai Zhongxue hurriedly said, "Young Master, I... I've also reached the initial stage of the Shattered Void realm..."

"Haha, of course I wouldn't forget you!" Qin Li handed Bai Zhongxue three Blue Dream Fruits as well.

The Golden Eagle had just broken through to the Shattered Void realm. This was also because the Qin Family's current Elixirs were simply too potent. Such a rate of improvement was something that even the families and Sects of the Land of the Far West would find unimaginable!

Thus, the Golden Eagle was also lucky enough to receive three Blue Dream Fruits.

Next was She She, who was at the peak of the Shattered Void realm. It was almost certain that even without the Blue Dream Fruits, it wouldn't be long before she broke through to the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation realm.

But since such a miraculous treasure was available, She She naturally accepted it gladly.

Only the Spiritual Eagle and the Ink Eagle were left. They looked at Qin Li with pitiful expressions. The two of them were a bit weaker, currently only at the peak of the Celestial Venerable realm, though their progress was already incredibly fast!

Qin Li thought for a moment, glanced at the Golden Eagle who looked like he wanted to say something but held back, and still gave the Spiritual Eagle and the Ink Eagle three Blue Dream Fruits each. However, he also warned them not to take them yet. They were to wait until they reached the Middle Stage of the Shattered Void realm before consuming them, to try and break through to Pill Nascent Soul Transformation in one go.

Upon his return, Qin Li had immediately distributed such precious items to these six Spirit Beasts, not even giving them to his two wives, Shangguan Shiyu and Leng Yao, first. Bai Zhongshan, She She, and the others saw this and were deeply grateful in their hearts.

They were Spirit Beasts, born and raised in the great mountains. Blessed by the world's Creation, they were able to cultivate until they could take human form. After long millennia, they all possessed enviable strength and an intelligence no less than that of humans.

But they had always felt a deep loneliness. An innate animosity made it difficult for them to truly integrate into human society. The Old Ape, Bai Zhongshan, had once entered the human world, even venturing into the Mortal Realm. Having seen too much of humanity's scheming and deceit, his thinking had become extremely radical, and he came to believe that all humans were selfish, cruel, and cold-hearted.

She She had also entered the Mortal Realm in the past and was even noticed by the emperor of a nation, who wanted to make her a Consort. At the time, She She thought it would be amusing, so every night she used her Illusion Skill to enchant the emperor, causing him to neglect his morning court sessions. This eventually led to the nation's downfall. What She She had not expected, however, was that all the blame would fall on her. They called her a demoness who had bewitched the King and demanded she be killed...

Back then, She She's strength was not as formidable as it was now; she was only at the Celestial Integration Realm. However, in that mortal nation, she was already an invincible existence. After killing a great number of people, She She returned to Black Tortoise Peak and sealed herself away, never venturing out again.

It was only after meeting Qin Li that Spirit Beasts like Bai Zhongshan and She She, who had truly experienced human society, suddenly understood that among humans, there were also those worthy of their loyalty.

And it was because of Qin Li that they obtained the breakthroughs they had always dreamed of. Although they were still a long way from the true peak of the Celestial Essence Continent, they all believed that as long as they could stay by the Young Master's side, sooner or later, they too would have their day to stand at the summit!

"Young Master, thank you!" She She gracefully bowed to Qin Li.

The Old Ape Bai Zhongshan, Bai Zhongxue, Bai Zhonghuo, the Golden Eagle, the Spiritual Eagle, and the Ink Eagle all stood up and gave Qin Li a deep, respectful bow.

Qin Li smiled and waved his hand. "Since you follow me, I am obligated to make you stronger than others! Now, go on and do what you need to do!"

Next, Qin Li called Cao Hong in. Without saying much, he directly gave Cao Hong three Blue Dream Fruits.

---------------

Going out for walks every day has made my back sore and my legs ache... But, I have to persevere. I believe I can definitely lose weight, ha... Everyone, please cast a few recommendation votes! (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com for more chapters, and to support the author and legitimate reading!)