Chapter 280: Chapter 278: Moral Blackmail? I Think You’re Possessed by an Evil Cultivator (Part 1)
He raised a hand, his back to his father. "Dad... you think there’s any chance this mouth of mine has a mind of its own? That it has nothing to do with me at all?"
Hearing this, Javier Sinclair scoffed. "Heh... My hands have a few ideas of their own." As he spoke, he grabbed his son’s shoulder, hoisting him up and freezing him in mid-air.
Aaron watched his feet leave the ground as he hung suspended in the air.
Aaron Sinclair let out a dry laugh.
"Dad... Dad... I’m your own son!"
He smacked his immobilized son, sending him flying clean over the horizon.
"Who else would I hit but my own son?"
Aaron Sinclair was sent flying by a slap from his own father, his voice drifting down from the sky.
"I’ll be back! Mom, you just wait!"
Celeste Grant looked up and chuckled. "Come back soon, my dear son. I’m waiting to eat fish with you."
Celeste Grant had seen this sort of thing plenty of times over the years.
There was no need to worry about her son getting hurt, of course. Forgetting for a moment that her son was a powerful late-stage Divinity Transformation cultivator, there was no way his own father would actually harm him. Besides, Aaron’s defensive power was so high he could shatter a Magic Treasure just by running into it. Even a Void Refinement Realm master couldn’t break him.
So, watching the scene unfold, Celeste Grant calmly made a wish on the "shooting star." "I wish to be fabulously rich and gorgeous."
Javier Sinclair looked away from the sky and placed a hand on Celeste Grant’s shoulder. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "As your husband, I think you’re already as beautiful as can be. And as for being fabulously rich... My love, you’re already the wealthiest female cultivator in the entire Cultivation World."
Celeste Grant smiled faintly. "It’s not enough. Not nearly enough to meet my expectations."
Javier Sinclair: "..."
’His wife is completely obsessed with Spirit Stones.’
"Alright, you can make more Spirit Stones anytime. Let’s put that aside. We need to discuss something important."
"Huh? What ’important business’ could you possibly have?"
"I do! I heard what you and our son were saying. Celeste, do you really think I’m old and can’t perform anymore?"
’Old?’
’Old my ass!’
His face hadn’t changed one bit. He still looked like he was in his twenties—young, handsome, and with a roguish charm. Just like him, Celeste Grant’s appearance had remained frozen at eighteen or nineteen, completely unchanged by the passing years. This was exactly why everyone yearned to achieve immortality through Cultivation.
’As for not being able to perform anymore?’
’Heh... her lower back would have a thing or two to say about that.’
At that thought, Celeste Grant rolled her eyes at him. "If that’s what you call ’not performing,’ then I might as well say goodbye to my back."
The corners of Javier Sinclair’s lips curved up. He wrapped his arms around her waist and murmured, "So, were you satisfied with my ’service’ last night?"
It would have been fine if he hadn’t brought it up. But at his words, Celeste Grant’s mind immediately flashed to a few... subscription-only scenes. She cleared her throat, a blush creeping up her cheeks.
She held up a single finger.
"Say one more word, and you’re sleeping on the floor tonight."
"Fine, I’ll drop it."
’He definitely did not want to sleep on the floor.’
She looked at the man holding her and pinched his hand. "So *this* is your important business? Is it more important than me making money?"
"Isn’t it important? This is a matter of my pride!"
Celeste Grant’s lip twitched.
’So you can never, ever tell a man he can’t perform, is that it?’
"You’re being ridiculous. Let’s drop the subject."
Her thoughts turned to her son.
Celeste Grant glanced at him. "Right, I forgot to ask. Where did you send our son? Will he be back by tonight?"
Javier Sinclair glanced in the direction their son had vanished. "I sent him toward the Nulvar Sea. I heard a new Secret Realm just appeared there. It’s a good chance for him to get some real-world experience."
’Either way, that brat just annoys me when he’s got nothing to do. Better to let him go out and be a menace to someone else.’
Celeste Grant raised an eyebrow.
She murmured to herself.
"The Nulvar Sea... that name sounds familiar, like I’ve heard it somewhere before. Oh! I remember now. Isn’t that home to a maritime Cultivator Dynasty, a place called the Kingdom of Nulvar?"
Javier Sinclair nodded. "That’s the one."
"The Kingdom of Nulvar... the Kingdom of Nulvar..."
Celeste Grant muttered the name. She remembered this place being mentioned in the book.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her, and the word escaped her lips.
"The Black Tortoise..."
’Yes, that’s it.’
She remembered.
’If I remember the timeline correctly, it should be happening right about now. The book mentioned that an illusionary, snake-like figure had appeared, coiled around a giant tortoise, near the Nulvar Sea.’
’The apparition vanished in a flash and was regarded as an auspicious omen by the Cultivator Dynasty of Nulvar.’
’According to the plot of the book, Jocelyn Grant was passing through the Nulvar Sea with one of her paramours, Brother Young, when they heard the rumors. They guessed that the Divine Beast, the Black Tortoise, was about to be born and even stayed to search for half a month, but they never found it.’
’So, the Black Tortoise wasn’t Jocelyn Grant’s destined prize in the book. It never appeared again, right up to the very end of the story.’
’As for the present, Jocelyn Grant’s Brother Young has been dead for years now, so I’m curious if she’ll even show up. But whether she does or not, I have to go check it out.’
’The Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise—the Four Cardinal Beasts. If they exist, they must all exist. It’s impossible for there to be only one. So, even if the Black Tortoise isn’t in the Nulvar Sea, it has to be somewhere else.’
’But the book did mention the illusion of the snake and tortoise, so this is most likely the right place.’
At this thought.
She smiled.
Celeste Grant turned to Javier Sinclair, grabbing his hand. "My love, let’s go to the Kingdom of Nulvar. Right now."
’Talk about impulsive. Why the sudden urge to go to the Kingdom of Nulvar?’
Javier Sinclair grasped her wrist. "You mentioned the Black Tortoise just now. Does this mean a Divine Beast is about to appear in Nulvar?"
’That was the only possibility he could think of. Otherwise, why on earth would his wife want to run off to a place like that?’
Celeste Grant felt that she and the Archfiend were truly on the same wavelength. She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! It should be within the next few days. Barring any surprises, the Divine Beast, the Black Tortoise, will emerge there. I’m not a hundred percent certain, though."
She waved her hand dismissively. "Let’s not worry about that. We’ll go and see for ourselves. If there really is a Divine Beast, maybe we can even form a contract with it. And if not, no big deal. We can just treat it as a vacation. To be honest, I’ve always kind of wanted a pet tortoise."
Celeste Grant had raised little pet turtles back in her old world, mostly because they were so low-maintenance.
She could never keep anything like goldfish alive. It was always: change the water every three days, replace the fish every seven. But the turtles were different. She’d had several for many years, and none of them ever died.
’Now that I’m in the Cultivation World, raising a Divine Beast tortoise would be pretty great.’
’She wants to raise a tortoise?’
’If his wife wants a pet tortoise, then he’ll just have to catch one for her.’
At that thought, he nodded slightly.
"Alright, let’s go now."
With their level of Cultivation, they didn’t need any preparation. They could just up and leave.
"Use Sword Control to take me."
Javier Sinclair glanced at her. "That’s too slow. We can just go directly."
As he spoke, he brought two fingers to his eyes, and a Demon Pattern materialized on his forehead.
In the next instant, Demonic Qi flared to life around him.
