The little turtle felt utterly pitiful.
It had finally managed to escape from that bastard surnamed Gu, happily setting off to find its sister, only to be targeted not far along the way. At first, it didn't pay much mind, casually treating the few cultivators who tried to capture it as snacks to go with its drinks.
On the road, when hungry, it ate spirit pills; when thirsty, it drank fine wine. Occasionally, it would run into some foolhardy fellows, allowing it to have a meaty meal. Not only could it eat some flesh, but it could also devour a Golden Core. With good luck, it might even get a Nascent Soul—a truly rare delicacy that made it reluctant to leave.
All along, the little turtle's life had been one of carefree and unrestrained joy.
Until it met a person.
A wretched old man!
The old man's cultivation was extremely high.
The little turtle exhausted every trick it had but couldn't even get a bite on the old man. Not only did it fail to bite him, but it also ended up in a sorry state because of him.
What to do when you can't bite?
The little turtle could only run.
But it was just running.
It couldn't shake the old man at all. The only thing the little turtle felt fortunate about was that its shell was hard enough; that old man couldn't do anything to it.
And so, the little turtle ran while getting beaten. Thankfully, its shell was tough, or it would have long met the King of Hell.
But what the little turtle never expected was that, while fleeing, it encountered several others just as formidable as that old man. Those people fought and scrambled to capture it. The little turtle ran with all its might, fleeing all the way to this godforsaken place. Now, it couldn't run anymore.
It had no strength left.
It was very hungry.
And also very scared!
It now deeply regretted, regretted running out alone to find its sister.
Previously, when that fellow surnamed Gu said the outside world was dangerous, the little turtle didn't believe it. Now it finally believed. The outside world wasn't just dangerous; it was downright terrifying. On its escape, it had witnessed and endured all sorts of terrifying attacks. It had been struck by streaks of violet-gold lightning, crushed by massive mountains, burned by various flames, stuffed into cauldrons for refinement, sealed into a Violet Palace for smelting, crammed into various magical treasures, and slashed by numerous flying swords.
Thinking back now, the little turtle's tiny heart couldn't help but tremble!
It swore that if it could survive this, it would never run around recklessly again...
Wah wah wah...
But was there an 'if'?
Could it survive?
It didn't know.
The more the little turtle thought, the more afraid it became; the more it thought, the more terrified it grew. Unable to hold back, it cried out, "Surnamed Gu...
This young master really should have listened to you back then...
Wah wah wah...
This young master dares not run around recklessly anymore!
Wah wah wah...
Surnamed Gu, can you hear me...
If you can hear, come save this young master quickly!
Wah wah wah...
This young master is so scared right now...
Surnamed Gu!
No!
Elder Gu! Ancestor Gu!
Won't you come out and save this young master!
Wah wah wah..."
Standing amidst the mountain forest, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but chuckle, finding it quite amusing when he heard the little turtle's cries.
However, he did not intervene, nor did he have any intention of saving it. Instead, he sat on a large tree, sipping his wine, watching the spectacle.
Save?
It wasn't that he wouldn't save it, but the time wasn't right yet.
The little fellow still had the mood to munch on pills and drink wine at a time like this. If he saved it now, it would just get cocky again later.
Gu Qingfeng reckoned he had to let the little creature truly understand what fear and despair meant, so it would learn its lesson.
In the distance.
Six or seven people stood near the little turtle.
There was a mysterious woman clad in black, her face veiled with black gauze, holding a black cat in her arms.
Beside her was a beautiful yet dignified woman, dressed in holy, magnificent robes, standing in the void, her brows slightly furrowed as she gazed at the little turtle trapped within the formation.
Apart from the two women, there was also a rather slovenly-looking old man, with disheveled hair, carrying a gourd of wine and drinking from it.
Next to the old man stood a middle-aged man with a stern, imposing expression, and an elderly woman with white hair, leaning on a cane.
There were two others.
However, these two exuded an aura of evil, likely demonic cultivators.
Indeed, they were not only demonic cultivators but also notorious demonic experts in the Great Northwest Frontier—Black Tiger and Black Lion, collectively known as the Hei Feng Twin Fiends, experts from Hei Feng Cave. Both were thousand-year Daozuns whose Nascent Souls had long undergone the eighty-one transformations. Additionally, having absorbed evil spiritual energy for many years and refined various spirit treasures, their strength was absolutely unfathomable.
Their eyes now shone with a fierce light, fixed intently on the little turtle trapped in the formation, looking as if they had seen some incredible treasure.
Indeed.
In this world, spirit beasts possessing sentience were already rare.
And a spirit beast that could speak human language was even rarer.
But that wasn't the important part.
The important part was that this little turtle's shell was indestructible.
This probably wasn't just a spirit beast anymore, but a Profound Beast!
And an extraordinary Profound Beast at that!
A Profound Beast was an absolutely rare and precious existence.
If one could make it their own, eat its flesh, drink its blood, and use it to refine their Nascent Soul... it was simply...
Unimaginable.
The Hei Feng Twin Fiends grew more and more excited the more they thought about it, yet neither made a move. Because chasing it all the way here, they had personally witnessed several Nascent Soul Daozuns being brutally maimed by this little turtle's bites.
Of course.
That was only one reason for not acting.
The real reason that gave them pause was the other people present.
Having roamed the Great Northwest Frontier for many years, the Hei Feng Twin Fiends naturally knew the situation here like the back of their hand. They might not have dealt with all the top experts of the Great Northwest, but they knew their identities.
The elderly woman with the cane was none other than the Qinghua Granny of the Hunyuan Sect, also a highly renowned expert in the Great Northwest Frontier, a Daozun whose Nascent Soul had undergone the eighty-one transformations, considered a Great Perfection Nascent Soul Daozun.
That stern-faced, righteous middle-aged man was the famed Xuanxin Daozun, one of the Eighteen Swords of the Five Colors Mountain.
As for the disheveled old man with the wine gourd, he was even more formidable. He was a Supreme Elder of the Yaoyue Palace, also the Fenglie Old Freak, a figure whose fame had spread across the Great Northwest Frontier since the Ancient Era!
This man had already been a Great Perfection Nascent Soul Daozun a thousand years ago and had been in seclusion ever since. Who knew what terrifying realm his cultivation had reached by now.
Whether it was the Hunyuan Sect's Qinghua Granny, the Five Colors Mountain's Xuanxin Daozun, or the Yaoyue Palace's Fenglie Old Freak who had disappeared for years and suddenly reappeared—while the Hei Feng Twin Fiends were wary of them, they at least had a grasp of their backgrounds. If a real fight broke out, they weren't exactly afraid.
But those two women opposite them were unfathomable to the Hei Feng Twin Fiends.
They knew the beautiful, dignified woman standing in the void was from the Immortal Mansion, named Anran.
But that was all.
Apart from knowing her name and that she was from the Immortal Mansion, they knew nothing else—not even who she was in the Immortal Mansion or what her status was.
PS: The first update of the day is here!
Rolling around begging for monthly tickets!
Begging for recommendation tickets!
Begging for tips!
Begging for everything, wanting everything!