Four Directions Trading House headquarters.
This was a city of massive scale, with squads of armed personnel patrolling both inside and outside the walls.
These were all people belonging to the various major forces of Central Divine Land!
The Four Directions Trading House headquarters had already been occupied for two days!
Inside the headquarters, in a square, dozens of thick stone pillars stood erected. Bound to each pillar was a bloodied person.
The one tied to the foremost pillar was none other than Lü Yugang, the chief master of the Four Directions Trading House.
All the others tied up were high-level members of the Trading House.
"Lü Yugang, immediately reveal your daughter's whereabouts. Perhaps then, you may still have a sliver of life.
Otherwise, I will make your spirit and soul scatter to the wind, vanish forever from this world, without even a chance to be reborn in the next."
An elder with a sinister and cruel expression stood before Lü Yugang, speaking in a tone full of condescension.
Several other elders with terrifying auras stood beside him.
All around the square stood numerous troops, guarding the area tightly. These were all forces belonging to the major powers of Central Divine Land.
"You beasts! Go to hell!"
Lü Yugang glared at these Central Divine Land experts before him, his eyes blazing with fury.
Two days earlier, these Central Divine Land forces had breached the Four Directions Trading House headquarters and slaughtered many of its members.
In the chaos, Lü Yugang had ordered his daughter, Lü Dandan, to take all the valuables from the Trading House's treasury and use a Teleportation Formation that Ye Yunfei had helped set up previously to teleport away from the headquarters, barely escaping.
Lü Yugang had stayed behind with a group of high-ranking members to protect the headquarters, only to be captured, tied to these pillars in the square, and subjected to endless torment.
The Central Divine Land experts, knowing the Four Directions Trading House was the wealthiest force in the Eastern Barrens, thought storming its headquarters would bring them a great windfall. However, they discovered the treasury had been completely emptied.
Finally, they tortured one high-ranking member into revealing that most of the Trading House's assets had been taken away by Lü Yugang's daughter. They immediately dispatched troops throughout the Eastern Barrens to hunt down Lü Dandan.
"Hmph! You really are the type to turn down the honor and ask for punishment!
But even if you refuse to speak, your daughter will not escape our grasp in the end.
At that time, we will acquire both the wealth and the person. I hear your daughter is quite beautiful. Heh, the dignified young mistress of the Four Directions Trading House of the Eastern Barrens will become our slave, serving us obediently."
Another elder revealed a malicious sneer.
"You beast! If you dare lay a single finger on my daughter, I will never let you go!"
Lü Yugang had always treated his daughter as his pride and joy; how could he allow others to speak of her like this? Rage erupted within him.
"Not only will I lay a finger on her, I'll touch every hair on her body. And I'll do it right in front of you! What can you do about it?
Hit them! Beat them soundly!"
The elder's face darkened as he barked the order.
Immediately, a group of burly men armed with thorn-covered whips charged into the square and began lashing the high-ranking Trading House members tied to the pillars.
Including Lü Yugang, all their cultivation had been sealed. They were no different from ordinary people, and their tolerance for pain was the same. The thorny lashes landing on their bodies caused extreme agony.
At this moment, a giant turtle suddenly appeared in the sky above the Four Directions Trading House headquarters.
"As I thought, something has happened at the Trading House.
I hope that fellow Lü Yugang is alright. Otherwise, this trip will have been for nothing."
The Mysterious Turtle looked down at the city below and shook its head.
"A giant turtle!"
Just then, many of the patrols inside and outside the city noticed the sudden appearance of a turtle high in the air and cried out in surprise.
"Go check it out!"
Immediately, many martial artists soared into the sky, charging towards the Mysterious Turtle.
"What are you doing here!" someone shouted at it.
"I'm here to wipe out you brats!"
The Mysterious Turtle retorted irritably.
As soon as the words left its mouth, a thick tortoise tail swept out like lightning, fast and powerful, causing the space around it to tremble violently.
*Thwack! Thwack!...*
Wherever the tail passed, the Central Divine Land troops were sent flying far away.
*Boom...*
The Mysterious Turtle unleashed a torrential wave of energy pressure, shaking the city below until it wobbled. Those with weaker cultivation directly collapsed to the ground.
"Oh?
That Lü Yugang fellow is still alive."
At this moment, the Mysterious Turtle suddenly sensed Lü Yugang's aura and couldn't help but feel pleased.
Just then.
"How dare you!
A mere demon turtle dares to challenge the majesty of our Central Divine Land!"
Figures with sharp auras shot into the sky, surrounding the Mysterious Turtle.
These were all experts who had come from Central Divine Land. The strongest among them were two Mind Star Realm experts. The others included Tribulation Birth Realm, Elemental Creation Realm, and Primordial Chaos Realm cultivators. Any single one of them could become a figure powerful enough to dominate a region in the Eastern Barrens. With so many arriving at once, it was no wonder the Four Directions Trading House headquarters had fallen so quickly.
"What 'majesty' does Central Divine Land have? In the old days, so-called strong ones from Central Divine Land would come crawling to the Eastern Barrens, respectfully visiting our Ziwei Sect."
The Mysterious Turtle curled its lip, showing a disdainful expression.
"You're from the Ziwei Sect?"
The Central Divine Land experts around it were taken aback.
"Correct. This old turtle is from Ziwei Sect.
I came specifically to teach you lot from Central Divine Land a lesson."
The Mysterious Turtle replied.
"Your Ziwei Sect is surrounded by a heavy army and is on the brink of annihilation. What are you doing here, demon turtle? Come to die?"
A Tribulation Birth Realm expert sneered.
As the Mysterious Turtle practiced a tortoise-breath concealment technique, these Central Divine Land experts were completely unable to perceive its true strength.
In their eyes, a small demon turtle could only be so powerful.
"Surrounded by a heavy army?
You're thinking too much.
Those guys surrounding Ziwei Sect have already been wiped out. Not a single one escaped.
I came directly from Ziwei Sect headquarters. I'm not here to die; I'm here to kill you."
The Mysterious Turtle gave a faint smile.
"Nonsense!
The forces surrounding Ziwei Sect included six Mind Star Realm and nine Tribulation Birth Realm experts. Dealing with a tiny Ziwei Sect was akin to using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken—it would be destroyed in an instant!"
An elder immediately berated it.
"It seems this demon turtle's head isn't working right. Just smash it with one palm. No need to waste our time."
Another elder shook his head with a cold laugh.
In the minds of these Central Divine Land experts, forget six Mind Star Realm experts; even one was enough to wipe out Ziwei Sect.
They were sure this demon turtle before them was spouting nonsense.
"Die."
A Tribulation Birth Realm expert sent a palm strike towards the Mysterious Turtle. A gigantic palm imprint materialized, rumbling towards the turtle like a divine mountain.
For the martial artists of the Eastern Barrens, a casual attack from a Tribulation Birth Realm expert would have cataclysmic, earth-shattering effects.
"Destroy me with one palm?
Do you really think this old turtle is easy to bully?"
The Mysterious Turtle grew somewhat angry.
*BOOM...*
The enormous shell on the Mysterious Turtle's back suddenly rose into the air, rapidly expanding until, in the blink of an eye, it covered a vast stretch of the sky, descending to suppress the elder who had attacked.
Mighty, terrifying demonic power erupted from the shell, transforming into rolling energy hurricanes that filled the space between heaven and earth.
Sensing the formidable demonic power released by the Mysterious Turtle, the surrounding Central Divine Land experts were secretly shocked.
"Fine! Let me test just how capable you are, demon turtle!"
The attacking elder roared.
*BOOM!*
The colossal tortoise shell collided with the elder's massive palm.
Time seemed to freeze for an instant.
The next moment.
*Poof!*
The elder's palm exploded directly into a cloud of blood mist, followed by his arm being shattered.
"Ah!"
The tortoise shell, heavy as a divine mountain, slammed forward, smashing the elder's body into a bloody pulp.
This Mysterious Turtle was once the guardian divine beast of the ancient Ziwei Sect, once feared throughout the Primordial Continent. Its true strength was naturally formidable!
"How is this possible?
A demon turtle from the Eastern Barrens can instantly kill one of our Tribulation Birth Realm experts from Central Divine Land!
I thought the Eastern Barrens was a remote, backward place with weak strength?"
The Central Divine Land experts around were somewhat dumbfounded.
"Hahaha…
Senior Mysterious Turtle, you are truly mighty and imposing!"
Just at that moment, a young man suddenly appeared beside the Mysterious Turtle.
It was Ye Yunfei.
"So it's you, kid. You've returned.
You certainly know how to stir up trouble. You merely took a trip to Central Divine Land and managed to attract so much hardship.
You really are a born troublemaker."
The Mysterious Turtle swept a glance at Ye Yunfei and spoke helplessly.