My Scales Can Make Equivalent Exchange
Chapter 819 - 685: The Bizarre Clan

Chapter 819: Chapter 685: The Bizarre Clan

The only oddity is that, among the two clans nurtured by such a bamboo sea, not one possesses even a hint of gentlemanly ethos.

Let alone a sword cultivation family with modest gentlemen, there are hardly any within the two families practicing wood cultivation techniques.

The two clans – one clan indulges entirely in poison, while the other is even more peculiar, known for their escaping technique and thievery!!!

In the Eastern Dai Family, the main practice is poison skills, a standard of the Heterodox Dao.

The Western Liu Family, on the other hand, does not belong to the Heterodox Dao, but they can’t be considered part of the Profound Sect Orthodox School either.

They are famous for their escape and transformation skills and are adept at rodents’ transformations, with many disciples moonlighting as thieves.

The Ancestor of the Liu Family is even a renowned Great Cultivator, who managed to condense ground-escaping divine ability at the Tribulation Crossing Peak and qualified as an Earth Immortal in his cultivation!

However, it’s unknown whether it’s due to lack of Spiritual Objects or too much specialization in one skill, that he only had his escaping ability to rely on, and thus dared not to go through the process of Becoming Immortal, halting at the Tribulation Crossing Peak for several thousand years already.

He is an old antique that’s about to be buried!

The fine Qingling Bamboo Sea – tarnished by one clan’s ruthless and sinister poison and another’s sleazy, rat-like demeanor – both carry a bit of miasma.

Moreover, logically, these two clans sharing the same bamboo sea should be mortal enemies, even entwined with all sorts of generational hatreds, fighting to the bitter end.

Yet, strangely, the two families actually have a decent relationship!

When Wang Zijia learned the detailed information about these two families, he had a feeling it was a case of ’birds of a feather flock together’.

Looking at the misty bamboo sea below, Wang Zijia thought about the information of the two families and felt that it was a bit of a waste to have such a Treasure Land!

······

Gazing at the vast expanse of the bamboo sea, Wang Zijia slightly slowed his Escape Light.

"It’s quite spectacular, truly a Treasure Land," Wang Zijia said, turning to Dai Jianjun and asking, "I heard that this bamboo sea was grown by your two families?"

Dai Jianjun also looked at the bamboo sea with some emotion and replied, "Yes, our two families didn’t have any ancient inheritance back in the day. At the beginning of the great change of heaven and earth many years ago, we came here to recuperate and started planting bamboo."

"We never expected that such a long period of cultivation by generation after generation would create the Qingling Bamboo Sea."

"If not for this land, our insignificant unknown clan probably wouldn’t have been able to hold on to such a Treasure Land."

This bamboo sea is indeed a Treasure Land, yet not many people come to compete for it.

Inferior clans do not dare, and superior clans find no need.

Because this place has been operated by a family generation after generation, countless contingencies must have been left beneath, and in the end, even if truly conquered, the bamboo grove would likely be ruined.

Why seize a waste land in the end?

To plant anew?

Then why bother to expend the effort to conquer it?

Could you not find a place to plant on your own?

As a result, the Dai and Liu families possess such a Treasure Land.

It’s a pity that despite the land being well-managed, the clan’s name has remained obscure, not seeking fame or revealing strength, barely even making it as a second-rate power in the East Wilderness.

······

As they talked, guided by Dai Jianjun, they headed deeper into the bamboo sea.

Along the way, one could see various monks living, planting, and cultivating Spirit Bamboo within the endless bamboo sea.

Their houses were mostly made of bamboo, and there were even quite a few made from living bamboo, quite an original idea.

When they reached a deeper part of the bamboo grove, Wang Zijia suddenly felt a sensation of being watched and a slight threat. He stopped his Escape Light abruptly and looked to one side.

As Wang Zijia went on alert, a large part of the bamboo sea writhed momentarily, as if a giant creature several dozen feet long was swimming inside.

But until it completely stilled, it did not show itself. Wang Zijia could only roughly sense that it seemed to be a giant python?

Because of Wang Zijia’s reaction, Dai Jianjun looked at him deeply, then said, "Fellow Daoist Yun Zhongzi need not be alarmed, that is the spiritual guardian of my family."

"Your family has a guardian Spiritual Beast?" Wang Zijia asked in surprise.

To know that in this age, raising a Spiritual Beast is extremely difficult, and an average clan cannot afford it, especially in the initial growth spanning thousands to tens of thousands of years.

Plus, if Wang Zijia’s senses weren’t wrong, that was actually a Tribulation Crossing Great Demon on the verge of Becoming Immortal!

"It’s not what you are thinking!" said Dai Jianjun hesitantly.

Wang Zijia kept quiet, just looking at Dai Jianjun.

Choosing his words carefully, Dai Jianjun explained, "Fellow Daoist knows that my family primarily cultivates with poison, right?"

Wang Zijia nodded slightly but still kept silent.

"Because of this, my family can be considered half a Gu Cultivator since Gu and poison are inherently intertwined."

"However, compared to standard Gu Cultivators, most of us will choose to cultivate with only one Poisonous Gu in our lifetime, which is also known as mutual cultivation."

"During this process, the mutual cultivating Poisonous Gu will rapidly increase its cultivation just like a monk. The consequence is generally a shared life and death, especially concerning the lifespan, which ends up being just as short as the cultivator’s."

"However, this isn’t an absolute rule. Sometimes, unexpected situations occur, such as deliberately reversing the primary and secondary, taking the Gu as the main and the person as the auxiliary, which won’t affect the lifespan of the Poisonous Gu. It will not perish with the death of the person either."

"Instead, because of the mutual cultivation with the cultivator, the Gu can rapidly improve its cultivation. But such existence is too rare. The spiritual ancestor you saw belongs to this category."

"It’s essentially the true Patriarch of my family."

Wang Zijia was dumbstruck for a moment and said, "You’re serving the Gu as the servant?"

"Why not?" Dai Jianjun calmly retorted, "Both human and Gu are raised from infancy, and even share the bloodline of my Dai Family. As long as the Talent is sufficient, why can’t it be the master?"

Upon hearing the words, Wang Zijia instantly thought of Gui Ling’er’s two turtle sons!

"We monks are straightforward. What’s wrong with being a snake tamer?"

After all, there are those who play with turtles and practice the Divine Dragon Nine Transformations, so being a snake tamer is quite normal, right?!

Clearly, the Dai Family has an expert, at least one comparable to the legendary ’Xu Xian’!!!

······

In a moment, the two of them had already reached the deepest part of the bamboo sea, where there was a small city with an odd shape.

The entire city seemed to be embedded within the bamboo grove.

Most of it was built on living bamboo as the foundation, with many bamboo houses that were still alive, as if the poles naturally sprouted into verdant cottages.

Classical and natural, with an exotic flair, it was like the elf world of legends.

Ultimately, the two arrived at the heart of the small city, at the very core of the bamboo sea.

They stopped in a bamboo courtyard.

"Clan head!"

"Patriarch!"

"Greetings to the elder Yun Zhongzi!"

"······"

In the courtyard, a large group of people had long been waiting and immediately surrounded Dai Jianjun and Wang Zijia as they arrived.

A faint sadness permeated the entire courtyard.

The Dai Family members mostly had a somewhat gloomy air about them, with chilly auras, likely due to the influence of tong can involving mostly snakes in their cultivation.

This gave the whole courtyard a rather eerie atmosphere, being surrounded by such sorrowful, shadowy figures felt like stepping into a den of ghosts.

This caused Wang Zijia to subconsciously furrow his brow.

Seeing this, Dai Jianjun’s expression turned stern as he scolded, "What’s with all this wailing? Don’t make Elder Yun Zhongzi think we’re a joke."

While speaking, he turned to Wang Zijia and said, "My apologies for our humble clan’s lack of decorum, Fellow Daoist."

"No matter, I see your clan getting along well, which is quite rare," replied Wang Zijia.

Wang Zijia wasn’t just being polite, it was indeed strange that such a close-knit and harmonious atmosphere could exist among a group accustomed to snake handling, where each member had a somewhat sinister nature.

Dai Jianjun smiled upon hearing that and gestured to Wang Zijia as the crowd parted to let them through.

Wang Zijia nodded slightly, and the two of them made their way through the courtyard to the innermost part, where they arrived in front of a large hall constructed of living bamboo, presumably a Cultivation Room.

Even though Dai Jianjun was prepared, when he led Wang Zijia into the Great Hall and saw the target, he was still somewhat taken aback...

It was a person who resembled a severely obese patient, either lying or sitting erect in the center of the room, like a mound of pure fat.

Beneath them was a huge bamboo bed woven from numerous strange bamboo roots, many of which, like jade, had pierced into the obese person’s body, seemingly supplying them with energy.

What was even more unsettling, centered in the massive lump of fat was a strange, white, scale-less abomination of a snake weaving its way through, akin to a threadworm swimming within fat!

And this serpent-like entity had neither head nor tail and truly shared the same aura as the obese person.

The worm-like wriggling serpent within the fat appeared to be a limb, akin to an arm, and not some parasitic worm.

This made the already nauseating visual even more unbearable.

Even the head of the obese figure, which was currently in a state of slumber with eyes closed, was somewhat bloated, occasionally sticking out a half-meter long snake tongue instinctively, flickering relentlessly.

Deformed and peculiar!

Indeed, the monks of this era, in their old age, often became quite abnormal due to various accumulations of pollution.

Especially those heretic and small clans of loose cultivators, many showed signs of detrimental mutations.

Observing this scene, Wang Zijia fell slightly silent.

"The Ming Ancestor’s condition does seem a bit poor," said Dai Jianjun seeing Wang Zijia’s silence.

Wang Zijia came back to his senses slightly and said, "I’ve seen worse."

A spark of hope flashed in Dai Jianjun’s eyes as he asked, "So you believe you can help?"

Wang Zijia responded, "I need to take a closer look to know for certain. Before that, I need to know, do you intend to condense an inheritance magical tool, or extract the inheritance to condense into classics?"

"If possible, we’d prefer to condense an inheritance magical tool. The younger generation has not been very promising in recent years, and we’re not in need of more inheritance classics at the moment," replied Dai Jianjun decisively having thought it through beforehand.

"Then please wake him up, so I can understand the specifics, and then I can finalize a concrete plan," said Wang Zijia as he nodded in response.

Dai Jianjun didn’t hesitate upon hearing this.

After all, although the person seemed in a dreadful state, he was not exactly on his deathbed, certainly better off than Zhu Qi. If he wished to cling to life, he might not have hundreds of years but should be able to manage several decades.

More to the point, this person probably no longer wished to live.

As Dai Jianjun’s mana fluctuated slightly, a phantasmal snake shadow emerged.

"Sssss..."

A faint hissing arose, echoing throughout the Great Hall.

In an instant, it was as if countless snakes were hissing in the hall, and Wang Zijia felt as though he had entered a snake den.