The Aloof Giant Tortoise

The aloof giant tortoise.

Xu Xian's eyes darted around. Clearly, this old fellow wanted to negotiate terms and get something out of him.

But what could he offer it?

Money?

Beauty?

Food?

It certainly wouldn't be anything so vulgar.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Then, Senior, what do you intend for me to give you in exchange?"

"You truly are a clever one," the old tortoise laughed. "If you can save me, I will produce one million tons for you."

Xu Xian let out a sharp laugh. "Ha..."

"What are you laughing at?"

Xu Xian said bitterly, "A turtle making a wish... that is certainly a novelty. Don't you find it funny, Senior?"

A turtle?

It shouldn't be an insult, the old tortoise thought. Could a mere mortal being at the sixth stage dare to curse it?

Obviously not.

Of course, even if it was an insult, the tortoise wouldn't care. However, what the youth said was indeed the truth.

Asking him to save it really was nothing more than a turtle's wishful thinking.

It spoke nonchalantly, "Fair enough. In that case, you should stay here and keep me company. I poop every day anyway, so you can just pick it up. I go once a day, producing about five to six tons. In five hundred years or so, you will have your million tons..."

Five hundred years?

Xu Xian was speechless. If it really took five hundred years, he would be better off going back to the Nether Capital and laying his cards on the table with the High Priest.

At worst, he could sell himself to the demon race. By gathering the Shadow Soul Stone reserves of the entire Demon Abyss, he could surely make up the amount.

Finding an opportunity to run away after that would be far less trouble than this.

Xu Xian curled his lip and complained, "Senior, you are being a bit unreasonable."

"How so?"

Xu Xian pointed at the chains filling the sky and said, "Look for yourself. With this kind of setup, even if I truly wanted to save you, my strength would fall short of my will. I only have a sixth-rank cultivation. You really think too highly of me."

The giant tortoise did not deny it, simply stating flatly, "I am not forcing you."

"Uh!"

"I do not know you well. If you cannot help me, why should I help you? Young mortal being, tell me, is that not how the world works?"

Xu Xian furrowed his brows. "Someone once told me a phrase. Today, I would like to give it to you."

"Oh?"

"Do good deeds and ask not of the future."

The massive corners of the giant tortoise's mouth curled up slightly, forming a strange arc as its voice rang out as expected.

"What you speak of is the conduct of a gentleman."

"Hmm?"

"And I am no gentleman."

Xu Xian was left speechless.

"Young man, trying to use moral blackmail on me? You are still too young."

Xu Xian shrugged. He had only said it in passing and never expected the tortoise to actually agree.

It was just like Xu Xian himself; even if he truly had the ability to save it, he would definitely never do so.

This fellow was so massive that even though its cultivation was sealed and its body had been imprisoned for so long, the Pupil of Insight of the little book spirit still could not see through it.

One could only imagine how terrifying it must be.

Do not be fooled by its current calm conversation; that was only because it had been locked up here for too long.

Since he was the first person to stumble in, it was being patient out of curiosity, boredom, and loneliness.

If he actually released it, there was no telling if it would crush him to death in the next second to seize his fortune.

Xu Xian did not dare to gamble on nature, especially since it was not even human.

Furthermore.

It had been sealed and imprisoned by someone for a reason.

Of course, being sealed did not necessarily mean it was a villain, but the vast majority of those imprisoned usually were.

Xu Xian did not know how to distinguish which snakes were venomous, but he knew that if he did not want to be bitten, he should stay far away from all snakes, regardless of whether they carried venom.

He casually stowed the mecha away and sat back down on the ground. Pulling out a jar of God-Demon Drunk, he tore off the seal and began to drink, not forgetting to say:

"Since you have made things so clear, Senior, fine. There is nothing to discuss, so we will not discuss it. I will just chat with you to help pass the time."

The giant tortoise narrowed its eyes slightly. "Interesting. How do you plan to pass the time, and what shall we chat about?"

Xu Xian shook the wine jar in his hand and said happily, "I have wine."

"I do not drink," the tortoise said.

Xu Xian was speechless, thinking to himself that he never said he would let it drink.

"What I mean is, you have stories and I have wine. Senior might as well tell me some of your tales."

Pausing for a moment, Xu Xian took a sip of wine and said expectantly, "I imagine your stories must be quite spectacular."

The giant tortoise laughed.

"Haha!"

Xu Xian waited quietly.

Unexpectedly, in the next second, the giant tortoise's head retracted toward the clouds. Then, the mist above began to churn again, becoming denser and thicker.

In the blink of an eye, the giant tortoise's form vanished into the sky, and the iron chains surrounding it disappeared as well.

When he looked up again, the sky was still a brilliant display of colors with ribbons of light blending into one another.

However, the figure of the giant tortoise was nowhere to be found, as if it had never appeared at all.

Only its final echo vibrated gently through the world.

"Those of the past know nothing of the present; why tell my past to a newcomer?"

"Young mortal being, knowing my story will bring you no good."

And then it was gone.

Everything was gone.

Xu Xian looked up at the sky and then down at his shadow. He knit his brows tightly, took a long swig of the strong wine, and muttered to himself, "That is it..."

"Tsk tsk, speaking so eloquently. This is a cultured tortoise; it is not easy to fool."

The little book spirit said with disdain, "Even if it were uncultured, it still would not be easy to fool. Who knows how long it has lived? It might even be from the same era as me."

Xu Xian continued to sip his wine as his thoughts became a tangled mess.

He subconsciously recalled some old matters: Senior Brother Yun's instructions that night, Lu Yuan's complaints in front of the mountain gate, and even some things Xiushe had mentioned before.

His master's disappearance.

The Sky Gate beneath the Wendao Sword Sect.

And now, the old tortoise suppressed beneath the Nether Pool, along with these chains that were identical to the ones in his Divine Sword Pool.

He sorted through them carefully, naturally weaving these events together as he tried to find the connection between them.

Why did his master seal the Sky Gate?

And what was that hidden chamber on the Sixth Floor of the Immortal Pavilion in the Wendao Sword Sect hinting at?

Was Fanzhou truly a cage?

And was this old tortoise the one imprisoned within this cage?

Just like the novels he had read, if Fanzhou was a cage, would the immortals from above descend once every certain period to perform some kind of liquidation?

That would explain why the ancestral demons were mysteriously wiped out without leaving any historical records.

It was as if their entire race had vanished into thin air, leaving only a pile of documents.

It would also explain why Xiushe was slain in the Northern Borders by an immortal from above tens of thousands of years ago.

And it was likely not just Xiushe.

It would explain why the demon immortals of the North Sea did not dare to cross the line; they were bound by certain rules set by the immortals of the Upper Realm.

Perhaps because a new cycle was approaching and the entire world was about to face a catastrophe, his master had sealed the Sky Gate.

Following this logic, everything seemed to fall into place.

But was the truth really that simple? Or rather, was it all so cliché?

Was he really that unlucky to have crossed over into a land of sin?

What was the end goal of working so hard at cultivation? Did he really have to fight against the heavens?

Did ascension equal death?

If so, his master had sealed the Sky Gate, but then why did he create that hidden chamber, as if he desired for someone in the sect to become an immortal?

Did Fanzhou also seal other monsters like this giant tortoise?

For instance.

Did the same secret hide beneath the Divine Moon Pool in the East Desolation?

It was complicated and chaotic.

Xu Xian could not find a clear lead and could only make wild guesses, but one thing was certain: Fanzhou held a secret that could not be shown to the world, and this old tortoise was definitely not simple.

He took one gulp of strong wine after another. The little book spirit urged, "Master, are we really going to wait here for five hundred years for it to poop?"