The Nether Tortoise

Xu Xian pulled his thoughts back, looked up at the little book spirit, and corrected it, "No, to be precise, we only need to wait 405 years."

Little Book was stunned for a moment.

Xu Xian reminded it, "We already have over 200,000 tons in the bag."

Little Book rolled its eyes, utterly speechless.

"I am truly impressed."

"It is a fact," Xu Xian said with a shrug.

Little Book did not want to talk anymore.

Xu Xian changed the subject, asking in confusion, "There is one thing I do not understand. Why could your Pupil of Insight not see through its cultivation?"

Little Book pursed its small lips and said as if it were obvious, "Because its realm is high."

Xu Xian shook his head. "That is not right."

"What is not right about it?"

Xu Xian analyzed, "You said before that Fanzhou is a lower realm. Logically, the laws of heaven and earth in Fanzhou do not allow anything above the ninth stage to remain. Why is it an exception?"

"Master, you are thinking too much. This old tortoise has been sealed here for who knows how long. The Ruoshui in this Nether Pool comes from the Thirty-Third Heaven above the heavens, which can evade the detection of the Heavenly Dao in Fanzhou. It is not strange. Besides, did your senior brothers and sisters not tell you that there are real demon immortals in the North Sea? Furthermore, Xiushe also said that the one who slew it was an immortal who descended from above," Little Book explained.

Xu Xian did not argue but rubbed his chin, still feeling that something was off.

"What you said is correct, but that old tortoise is bound by so many chains, and there should still be some kind of restriction within its body. It said so itself that its cultivation was sealed, so it needs to rely on its physical body to breathe in this demon qi to sustain its life. Because it has no cultivation, it cannot filter the impurities and simply breathes them out, which is why it poops and produces Shadow Soul Stones."

Pausing for a moment, Xu Xian continued his analysis, "Think about it. Since it has no cultivation, how does it absorb the demon qi? Since it can absorb it, why can it not breathe it out? Does that make sense?"

"Moreover, its cultivation is already sealed, so how does it manage to appear and disappear at will? And those chains were hidden along with it. Even if its cultivation cannot be detected, can it not be seen with the naked eye when it is so massive?"

Xu Xian raised a flurry of questions in one breath, leaving even Little Book dazed.

Indeed!

Thinking carefully, there truly seemed to be many irrationalities.

Much of what the old tortoise said was self-contradictory.

Even if it really pooped, for something that massive, its backside must be enormous. How could it come out in such small, individual lumps?

It asked in a daze, "What are you trying to say, Master?"

Xu Xian rubbed the tip of his nose and speculated, "I think either it is truly incredible, or it is lying and we have been deceived."

Little Book was confused and instinctively looked up, purple light converging in its eyes as it activated the Pupil of Insight again, trying to see the truth before them.

However, it found that everything was the same as before.

Xu Xian took a sip of wine, surveyed the surroundings, and proposed a bold hypothesis, "Perhaps the world we see before us is not real."

Little Book said weakly, "That cannot be. If it were truly an illusion, my Pupil of Insight should not be unable to see through it?"

"The Pupil of Insight is not omnipotent. For every spear, there is a shield. Perhaps it also has a remarkable divine ability that can deceive your eyes? Can you not still see through it now?"

Little Book suddenly fell silent, its small brow furrowing tightly.

Indeed, its Pupil of Insight could not see the tortoise, so how could it guarantee that it could see through this illusion?

Furthermore, this space was inherently similar to the Cloud Sea World of the Sword Tower or the Heaven Beyond the Sword in the Sword Mound.

If this old tortoise was the master of this Nether Pool itself, or a spirit similar to Little Book, it could dominate this particular world.

Even if its cultivation was imprisoned and it could not move, as long as a single breath of its divine sense remained, it could still make the beings within see whatever it wanted them to see.

It was complicated to explain, but the possibility could not be ruled out.

Perhaps the giant tortoise from just now was merely its projection or an illusion and was not real at all.

After a moment of deep thought, Little Book suddenly said, "I might know who it is."

Xu Xian immediately perked up, and even the wine in his hand lost its appeal.

"Who?"

Little Book looked directly into the youth's eyes and asked instead of answering, "Do you remember me mentioning that the Nine Void Nether Fire is the life fire of an old turtle..."

Xu Xian naturally remembered and instinctively uttered two words.

"Xuanwu?"

Of course, this was his guess. After all, aside from the turtles in wishing ponds, the only impressive tortoise Xu Xian knew of was Xuanwu.

Unexpectedly, Little Book's eyes lit up, and it said in surprise, "How did you know, Master?"

Xu Xian was also stunned by this reaction. He actually guessed correctly?

He said with some disbelief, "It really is Xuanwu."

"Yes!" Little Book nodded and continued to ask, "How did you know, Master?"

Xu Xian still did not answer its question but said with some horror, "You are not saying that the old turtle just now was Xuanwu, are you?"

If it really was Xuanwu, Xu Xian felt that it should be a good tortoise!

Xuanwu was a holy beast; how could a holy beast be a villain?

That would be a complete reversal of the natural order.

He had been wondering why its temper was so good; the case was solved—this was a true senior.

Little Book shook its head. "No, no, no. It is true that the Nine Void Nether Fire is the life fire of Xuanwu, but that old tortoise just now was definitely not Xuanwu."

"You are that certain?"

Little Book said with a serious face, "Of course. During the battle at the Boundary Sea years ago, Xuanwu also came. I saw it with my own eyes. Although it was just a distant glance, that fellow was much larger than the old tortoise just now. When it manifested its true form, it was as massive as a star, its body a fusion of tortoise and snake, covered in black-scaled armor that could withstand the power of the firmament."

"It was very strong, a genuine Immortal Emperor and a giant of the starry sky. Its wrath could change the colors of heaven and earth, its thunder could shake the world, and its nether fire could set the plains ablaze and burn the void. It even controlled the water fortune and qi veins of the entire Cangming Realm, a true god beyond doubt. I cannot imagine who in Cangming could seal it in this obscure lower realm of Fanzhou after the battle at the Boundary Sea."

"Oh!"

Xu Xian nodded, half-understanding. He knew it couldn't be such a coincidence.

The Heaven-Burning Sparrow in his hand was forged using the divine soul of a Zhuque, and now he had run into Xuanwu.

Was it reasonable for him to encounter two of the four celestial spirits from mythology?

He had wondered why it was so stingy; Xuanwu certainly would not be so petty.

"Wait, if it is not Xuanwu, why did you bring up Xuanwu?"

Little Book stared with wide eyes, feeling exhausted. It thought to itself that it hadn't mentioned Xuanwu first; had Master not said it himself?

It did not want to dwell on it and got back to the point. "I never said it was Xuanwu. Years ago, Xuanwu had three direct disciples under its seat: a tortoise, a snake, and a frog."

"The snake was called Thunder Snake, the frog was called Mysterious Frog, and the tortoise was called Nether Tortoise."

"It is also called the Nine Ruins Nether Turtle."