Proofreader&Editor: Lotas
Autumn winds swept through, sending withered leaves tumbling down to ripple the sea's surface.
Green Snake sighed, dispelling her magic.
This was her newly acquired legacy, Calm Winds and Waves. It could not only quell storms but at its most profound level, even solidify space—of course, Green Snake was far from achieving that, with no chance of doing so within a millennium.
She wasn't that freakish Dragon Turtle; she had only reached the third step of Transcend Mortality, the True Blood Realm, and hadn't even fully condensed her True Blood. The transformation into human form was still a distant dream, let alone solidifying space.
She couldn't even sense the existence of space!
To influence space at the Demon Subduing Realm was the mark of a top genius, secure in the position of a First Seat within the Qingyuan Sect.
Green Snake coiled atop Su He's shell, her tail tip tapping thoughtfully. She hadn't known Su He for long, just two years.
But what a difference those two years had made. The turtle she knew now was no longer the shameless, thick-skinned creature that had clung to her in Snake Valley.
Compared to then, aside from its color, it bore no resemblance. Back then, she could fight the turtle, but now, unless the turtle restrained its aura, she felt an overwhelming fear as if the sky were falling.
Another spirit snake on the shell mimicked her actions, coiling on the other side. It tilted its head, observing her, not missing a single scale.
Su He was determined to remember every detail about Green Snake. The most foolish method of cultivation was imitation: cultivators watched Divine Beasts to find their path, while Divine Beasts observed the heavens and earth to understand the world.
There was never any true invention or creation; it was merely transferring what belonged to others onto oneself.
This was true for Divine Beasts, cultivators, and mortals alike.
Like the Retrospection technique he was learning now, inspired by a Dragon Turtle who had gleaned the idea from the Spirit Race. The Spirit Race communicated with outsiders through language, but internally, they exchanged streams of information that played out scenes in the mind upon transmission.
Based on thought, led by spirit, Su He slowly opened his eyes.
Success!
Retrospection wasn't too difficult. Strictly speaking, it was only the second technique he had cultivated. He had stopped practicing the first, the Thunderbird, which was integrated into other techniques that Su He had yet to acquire.
Su He, in his serpent form, looked towards Green Snake, who seemed lost in thought.
Retrospection activated.
A scene projected before her: a small lake, a willow tree with Green Snake coiled around it, her tail lazily brushing against a pitch-black turtle shell below.
Peaceful times.
"Ah!" Green Snake jolted awake, exclaiming as she struck Su He's shell with her tail, the recoil painfully jarring her.
She knew Su He was practicing a memory-related technique but hadn't expected him to use it on her. The mere flash of a memory from two years ago was projected by him.
Su He laughed heartily, and Green Snake, grinding her teeth in irritation, bit down on his neck. A crisp snap followed, and she immediately recoiled, coiling her head in the center, trembling with pain.
Su He shook his head with a light chuckle, a stream of water soothing Green Snake's head. This was a new ability Su He discovered while healing from an injury; the water he conjured had healing properties.
Su He looked up and let out a long cry toward the shore, where Feng Yaya was running wildly with a camel. Su Huanian was preparing pills for Feng Yaya's next transformation, while Feng Yaya was slowly refining the Evergreen Stone Milk.
Hearing Su He's call, the camel flung Feng Yaya onto its back and trotted over water towards him. It snorted loudly before Su He, tilting its head curiously.
What's up? Want to play? You can play, but no cheating.
In the game of chase, the Dragon Turtle's use of divine teleportation was shamelessly unfair.
Feng Yaya nodded vigorously, raising both hands in agreement.
Su He chuckled and shook his head: "Recall the scene when you and your master parted."
The camel blinked, puzzled, but complied.
A scene formed before him.
A grassland, a sloppy Old Taoist clutching a wine jug, taking a big gulp. An additional sound of swallowing saliva came from the scene.
The cameraman was tempted.
The Old Taoist twirled a jade slip in his hand, snapping it crisply. He looked up at the scene—surely at the camel then.
"Turtle lad, I wanted to leave you a message on the jade slip, but feared others might get it. I'm leaving you this way, hoping you'll notice—surely you will! You're a Dragon Turtle, after all, extraordinary!"
Su He raised his head proudly.
He was merely using this method to check in, not expecting to see this scene.
The Old Taoist reached out, seemingly petting the camera, probably stroking the camel.
"During this time, I've asked around about Dragon Turtles. Rumor has it they can see memories, and I think you can too. I've decided to head north to the grasslands, to the Ancient Quiet Monastery."
"One reason is an opportunity for me to enter the Traverse Heaven Realm—I can't hold you back too much. Secondly, I want to retrace the path the Sect Leader once took."
He stared straight ahead as if looking directly at Su He: "Something's not right with the Sect Leader!"
Old Taoist Ge's brows furrowed, his expression cold: "After enduring in silence for three hundred years, the Suppression Prison Ghost, the Sealing of the Heavenly Realm, the occupation of Dongyun… All these actions are indeed within his capabilities. But the Sect Leader's talent in cultivation is only slightly above average; reaching Traverse Heaven in a thousand years is already his limit. He couldn't have achieved the third level of Traverse Heaven at the age of three hundred—nor could he have stolen Yaya's life essence!"
Old Taoist Ge was deadly serious. Feng Yiju, his Junior Brother, was his own flesh and blood; he had watched Feng Yiju grow from a bare-bottomed baby to the man he was now, and knew him inside out.
"After the Qingyuan War, Elder Qiao and I advised him to abandon Dongyun and leave. But Dongyun is no good place, even with Feng Yiju and Su Huanian of this generation able to stand firm against the Mysterious Heaven Sect, the risks between it and Yunmeng Marsh are too great. What about the next generation, or the one after that? Who can guarantee that every Sect Leader will be a genius?"
Old Taoist Ge fell silent for a moment: "But Feng Yiju refused, saying that as Sect Leader, he must plan for the long-term prosperity of the Sect. He wouldn't put the Sect through the crucible. Doesn't Feng Yiju understand this?"
He shook his head with a wry smile: "Even if the Sect cannot be easily moved, it's still possible to quietly establish a branch elsewhere to preserve the lineage, yet he still disagreed."
Old Taoist Ge slowly raised his head, looking at the scene with a mix of confusion and pain: "Compared to Qingyuan, the Sect Leader seems more intent on conquering Dongyun."
Meng Xuan had said Dongyun was special, forbidding her from entering under normal circumstances. Could this be the reason?
Su He wondered, planning to contact Meng Xuan later for details. He pondered while watching the camel's memory scene.
Old Taoist Ge looked at the camel: "Feng Yiju had an opportunity at Taibai Temple, once traveling north to visit the Ancient Quiet Monastery, the ancestral home of the Mysterious Wasteland's Buddhist sects. But he turned back before reaching it, and upon returning, he began to bide his time and lay out his plans. Something must have happened in between."
The Ancient Quiet Monastery was one of the ten great immortal sects of the Mysterious Wasteland, on par with the Daoist ancestral mountain Guwang Mountain. Quiet and unassuming, yet of lofty status.
In the scene, Old Taoist Ge continued: "The Great Ming King Demon Statue must have been brought back at that time."
He swallowed a mouthful of wine, looking earnestly at the scene: "Ge Hong and the others willingly used their bodies to refine the Great Ming King Demon Statue, which is full of doubts—they had already reached the limit of morphing into demons, so why refine the statue instead of entering Traverse Heaven themselves?
In the Qingyuan battle, the Sect Leader frequently used Traverse Heaven techniques, surely with a complete inheritance! Moreover, we at Qingyuan have it too; after Su Huanian opened the heavens, she passed down her Traverse Heaven experience. With their talents, Ge Hong and the others had a sixty to seventy percent chance of entering Traverse Heaven. At most, they would have to wait a few more decades."
After enduring in silence for three hundred years, they couldn't wait a few more decades for their Junior Brothers and Sisters to truly enter Traverse Heaven? Instead, they used their bodies to refine the Great Ming King Demon Statue, gaining Traverse Heaven strength decades earlier, but at the cost of their lives. What for?
The timing of the Qingyuan War was entirely in Feng Yiju's hands!
Old Taoist Ge looked at the scene, took another big gulp of wine, and then addressed Su He seriously: "Turtle lad, I've never seen a Dragon Turtle and don't know how capable they are. But remember, never attempt to assassinate Feng Yiju—in the battle between the two realms, he was killed once, but the Traverse Heaven powerhouse from the Sealing Emperor Great World who killed him is now inseparable from him, a close friend."
Old Taoist Ge pondered, then chuckled bitterly: "Not just a close friend, he's utterly subservient to Feng Yiju! Yet that man is clearly sane. Remember, if one day you oppose Feng Yiju, do not strike him down. Defeating and sealing him, or using someone else's hand, would be best!"
The second level of Traverse Heaven, the Star Destiny Realm, is the envy of all Divine Beasts. Entrusting one's life to the void, one can be resurrected after death.
After saying this, Old Taoist Ge fell silent for a long while, just drinking, and finally said: "If one day, I voluntarily refine the Great Ming King Demon Statue, kill me!"
With his temperament, he would never do such a thing. If he went ahead with it, then he was no longer himself.
The scene turned brutal as Old Taoist Ge caught the camel and beat it fiercely, driving it away.
But why he did so remained a mystery.