The old tortoise thought Xu Xian would pilot that mecha and dive into the water with it to salvage the object.
It even thought that when the time came, it would drag him all over the place to vent its pent-up frustration.
Little did it know that the youth before it possessed certain means; he could actually ignore the mark left by the stele's former master and take control of the monument.
The chains on the stele could change their length and size according to his will, and the tortoise's own body could also fluctuate in size for a short time using the spirit qi he infused.
It was very impressive.
It admitted that this kid had something special, having certainly encountered an extraordinary opportunity. If it could just steal it...
Well, that would have to wait for later.
It obediently dove into the watery depths to search for that jade seal for Xu Xian.
As for Xu Xian, he sat cross-legged atop the stone stele, constantly monitoring the old tortoise's movements through the connection of the chains.
Even though the little book spirit had said more than once that the old tortoise could not escape the stele and wouldn't be able to cause any trouble, Xu Xian still felt a bit uneasy.
These old monsters always had the deepest schemes.
As the old tortoise swam through the Nether Pool, its mutterings never ceased for a moment.
"You little brat, just you wait for Grandpa Tortoise. Thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west—don't mock a poor tortoise!"
"Just wait thirty years, and I'll show you why the flowers are so red!"
...
Xu Xian saw through the old tortoise's thoughts as clearly as a mirror; it wanted to play the part of King Gou Jian, enduring humiliation to plot revenge, but Xu Xian was no King Fu Chai.
He would let it work first, and once the job was done, he'd toss it into the Spirit Sword Pool and tie it to those nine divine swords.
He'd let it cry all it wanted then.
As for the day when the twelve divine swords were all present, the old tortoise wouldn't mean a thing. He would definitely have to put a hole in its skull then.
As for why he didn't throw it in first to knock some sense into it, the reason was simple: if it really knew what was coming, it would surely stall and who knew how long the salvaging would take.
The tortoise had plenty of time, but Xu Xian didn't have that much leisure.
The old tortoise swam through the Nether Pool, ignoring the Ruoshui as it searched every inch of the lakebed.
Xu Xian waited patiently.
Whenever he found the chains weren't long enough, he would move the stone stele.
Outside, the Nether Pool grew restless.
After a whole afternoon, it finally calmed down. The demons in the Nether Capital simply treated it as a passing storm.
Once it subsided, naturally, no one cared anymore.
Only the demon gods felt a faint sense of unease.
The Small Priest followed the High Priest back to the Nether River Hall, grumbling to her sister about Bai Mang.
He had been gone for seven or eight days without returning, and she feared he wouldn't come back at all. She called him an ungrateful wolf who took the money and turned his back on them.
Jin Qing, however, appeared exceptionally calm. She felt that Bai Mang wouldn't just leave like that.
Moreover, she didn't think there was anywhere else he could go besides the Demon Abyss.
They had an agreement.
Bai Mang had said he was very sincere.
However, she thought that when Bai Mang returned, she should have him light a soul lamp for her, just so she would know whether he was dead or alive.
It would save her from worrying blindly like this.
Inside the Nether River Hall, Chi Ji and Huang Xiao hadn't smiled for days; they felt as though they were becoming depressed.
They had been here for so many days, yet they had only seen him once on that first day.
Then, there was nothing.
No one knew where Bai Mang had run off to, or if he would even return.
They wanted to cultivate, but they weren't in the mood. They didn't want to cultivate, but it was truly boring.
Even though the sky here had a unique charm, they eventually grew tired of it. It was quite dull.
Huang Xiao would tirelessly ask Chi Ji, "You're familiar with the Young Lord. Based on what you know of him, will he come back?"
Sometimes Chi Ji ignored him.
Sometimes she was very annoyed by him.
Sometimes she would snap, "You're annoying!"
"Shut up!"
"I already said I don't know!"
But honestly, based on her understanding of Xu Xian, he probably wouldn't return.
After all, he had the money.
Why come back?
Yet she would also think that things were different now; surely Bai Mang wouldn't leave without saying goodbye...
It was very frustrating.
Her heart was uneasy, her thoughts as a young girl seemingly becoming both purer and more complex.
Outside the Demon Abyss, after the world shook, great powers came to investigate but found nothing. Observing the stars at night, the world seemed normal, yet that Heavenly Star flickered once again.
In the span of just ten years or so, similar situations had occurred three times already.
The cause was difficult to guess. Perhaps only the ancestors of the Wendao Sect no longer panicked over it.
The High Priest saw it too.
Unlike the previous two times, she boldly speculated that the Heavenly Star flickered because of the Demon Abyss...
This might be an opportunity for the Demon Abyss.
She once again used that divine ability to deduce the future. After an entire night, the situation remained as usual.
In the predicted future, the catastrophe still arrived as expected.
But the difference was that this time, she saw a sliver of light within that catastrophe.
It was like the spark of a firefly amidst the endless darkness, flickering.
It was very weak, but it was the first time such a thing had happened. She had glimpsed hope.
She was so excited that she performed the deduction again and again, afraid she had seen it wrong.
Yes. Within the deathly desolation, a thread of new life was quietly being nurtured.
And she was equally certain that this spark of new life and faint light must have been born because of Bai Mang.
She didn't believe in gods, yet this time, she devoutly prayed in her heart to the Supreme Demon Lord above the heavens.
"Thank you, Demon Lord, for your protection."
"Thank you for granting us the Young Lord Bai Mang!"
She was right. This time, she was truly right, and being right was very important.
All the grievances from the past, including that battle, vanished in an instant.
They were so insignificant.
In the heart of the East Desolation, seeing the disturbance in the Divine Moon Pool, the long-destitute Bai Ze risked worsening his injuries to once again attempt to predict the future.
He wanted to see what the future held.
He wanted to see if this disturbance was an opportunity.
He had been defeated, and because of that defeat, he yearned even more for the appearance of a variable.
When he woke, he spat out a mouthful of murky blood. His face was as pale as paper, and his breath was as thin as a thread.
He muttered to himself, appearing almost maddened.
"How can it be like this..."
"Why is it still like this..."
He didn't understand. Clearly, the East Desolation's fortune had been severed for five thousand years. Clearly, the eight great tribes had fled far into the wilds.
Clearly, he had already gone into seclusion in the mountains.
But why did he still see that youth in the predicted images, amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, surrounded by the smoke and fires of war?
He was still stepping on four swords: one was Heaven-Burning, one was Yellow Spring, another was dark blue, and one was azure.
He was coming.
He was still coming.
Behind him was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
But everything had clearly changed, yet why was the ending so difficult to alter?
Had he seen it wrong, or was Xu Xian truly intent on a complete extermination?
"We have clearly lost."
"Is he truly going to hunt us to the very end?"
"What should I do?"
"What can I do?"
He murmured silently, looking up at the sky in sorrow.
"...What else can I possibly do?"
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