A Flying Boat pierced through the sky, speeding northward with such velocity that its afterimage vanished. Atop the vessel, a Dragon Turtle wore an icy expression. To its left, Green Snake flicked her tongue, while on the right, a Camel tapped its hooves.
Their moods were somber, both deeply attached to Feng Yaya.
Su He had pondered long whether to bring Green Snake, given her low cultivation level.
In battle with Teng Snake, she couldn't withstand even the slightest residual might, but Teng Snake bore an opportunity for her, and bringing her might yield unexpected results.
Perhaps she could subdue the snake without a fight!
If not, she could temporarily hide in Su Huanian's pocket universe.
Su He's own inner world was not yet stable enough to admit external objects.
As the Flying Boat raced on, Su He activated his Qian River consciousness and urgently messaged in the chat area: "Is Seventh Sister around?"
Moments later, Meng Xuan responded: "Here! Pah! Where did that Toad run off to today? Not gambling makes for a dull day!"
She, a majestic Golden Dragon, was thoroughly enjoying a fierce battle with a group of soul beast tanks.
Su He sent an urgent emoji and asked hastily: "Seventh Sister, where is your true body? Can you make a trip to the north of Dongyun Mountains? Yaya has transformed, attacked by Teng Snake."
Meng Xuan: "!!! My true body is at the Dragon clan ancestral land! I can't leave. You've gone, but our Dragon God Sacrifice isn't over yet, and my consciousness is here in Qian River thanks to some backdoor connections."
Su He: "……"
Teng Snake, an elder of the Hakutaku, was ranked over twenty thousand on the Hakutaku List. Su He wasn't sure if he could defeat him.
Now, Teng Snake wasn't in the Seven Extremes Secret Realm, uninjured and without any debuffs.
The Hakutaku List rankings were only a reference, not entirely reliable. For instance, Su He's rank hadn't changed yet; it would only update after a public battle recorded by the Hakutaku Tower.
His battle with Flame Crow within the Dragon Gate went unrecorded by the Hakutaku Tower, so his ranking remained the same.
Su He asked in the chat area: "Which senior is near Dongyun Mountains? Help me with a fight, and I'll be greatly indebted."
Su He was shaking people down.
Qian Qianzi: "I'm at Tianxing Palace, it'll take me two days at full speed to reach Dongyun Mountains, wait for me!"
Su He was overjoyed. Qian Qianzi's cultivation level in Qian River wasn't very high, but with her Traverse Heaven third-level cultivation, teaming up to fight Teng Snake shouldn't be too problematic.
Qian Qianzi, with an embarrassed emoji: "I've never fought a Divine Beast before, not sure what it's like."
There were very few cultivators in the world who had fought a Divine Beast!
Meng Xuan interjected: "Qian Qianzi, you'll be my gang's third boss. Next time we meet, I'll let you have a go!"
Isn't fighting a dragon more thrilling than fighting Teng Snake?
Qian Qianzi: "……"
Meng Xuan sent a laughing emoji, then said to Su He: "He-brother, where's Yaya's true body? Teng Snake's appearance is too coincidental, how did it find Yaya's transformed body?"
She had helped advise Gu Luo on the Subdue Demons section and knew the details, so she reminded him.
Su He: "Seventh Sister, rest assured! I've made arrangements for the true body."
***
In Bailings' small world, heavy snow fell, and a Dragon Turtle lay prostrate in the snow, blending in so well it didn't need to hide; it was one with the snow, undetectable to the common eye.
This was a domain avatar left by Su He.
The avatar was formed from the domain, retaining consciousness, and its appearance and aura were indistinguishable from the true body, though its combat strength was much weaker. Su He's true self could smash a dozen such avatars with a single slap.
It also had a time limit, dissipating after two days at most.
Currently, the treehouse palace was enveloped by a barrier, with Thunder Apes patrolling around, allowing no one near.
This was an order from the Dragon Turtle itself, and no Thunder Ape dared to be negligent.
The snow flew, the sea froze over, and everything was draped in silver.
Only the treehouse palace was protected by a barrier, maintaining a comfortable temperature and a hint of spring.
As the day hurried by and night fell, thick clouds obscured the moon.
At that moment, a silent collapse of space occurred, and a man in dark robes emerged from the collapse, landing on the ice and looking up at the treehouse shrouded in the barrier.
The barrier made it difficult to see clearly, but the aura was unmistakable; Feng Yaya was inside.
The man stealthily approached the barrier and tapped it, frowning at the world's power it contained.
He couldn't break through!
Was the world's power mastered by the Dragon Turtle? Or had Su Huanian set it up before leaving?
The man pondered for a moment, his brows furrowed.
"Why not try the realm-breaking bead?" a voice suggested nearby. The man had entered Bailings' small world using a realm-breaking bead.
The realm-breaking bead was no ordinary item; it was a true treasure.
Su He had never owned one before; the only two he had came from Flame Crow.
The man was shocked; there was another expert in this small world! He spun around to see a Dragon Turtle quietly lying behind a flurry of snow.
He looked at Su He, his initial shock turning into terror: "You didn't leave!"
His voice broke.
He had observed the Flying Boat in the morning; the Dragon Turtle on it couldn't be fake! But the one before him was just as real!
Identifying a true Dragon Turtle was simple; one look, and the name of the Dragon Turtle would come to mind, confirming its authenticity.
An avatar?
The Dragon Turtle had fooled them with an avatar, flying away and then stealthily returning! Was the one heading to the transformation site just an avatar?!
Trouble! That blockhead Teng Snake was about to be duped! The arrangements at Teng Snake's location were the real focus!
"Where is Feng Yiju?" Su He asked.
The only one who couldn't forget Feng Yaya was Feng Yiju. Su Huanian's encounter with Teng Snake was no coincidence.
After the initial shock, the man quickly calmed down, taking a few steps back and eyeing Su He.
Moments later, he erupted with a defiant aura.
"Rumor has it, the Dragon Turtle is the king among Divine Beasts, even daring to wreak havoc in Fenghuang Palace. Today, Feng Gu will witness your Divine Ability!"
He waved his hand, and a black, icy chain shot out from his palm, a natural ability of the royal lineage of the Fenghuang Great World.
Suppress! Seal! Imprison!
Old Taoist Ge said Feng Yiju had crossed over to the Fenghuang Great World to become an expert, but it couldn't be this man before him; his aura was just stepping into the first level of Traverse Heaven, Feng Yiju wouldn't die once for such a person.
Su He took a step forward, and the surrounding snowflakes suddenly swirled, turning into blades and pressing towards Feng Gu. The great snow was already the domain of the vast sea, simply changing the heavy rain into heavy snow.
But Feng Gu swung his chain, shouting as he charged at Su He with a righteous, death-defying demeanor.
Su He frowned, concentrating all the domain's power into the avatar.
Suddenly, there was a snap. The chain wrapped around not to strike him but to encircle Feng Gu himself.
Imprison! Seal!
Two laws flashed, not mastered by Feng Gu, but inherent to the chain.
A triumphant sneer crossed his eyes. The chain blocked Su He's snowflakes, and Feng Gu took out a bronze mirror, smeared it with blood, and shouted: "Elder Moon! The Dragon Turtle heading your way is just an avatar!"
After speaking, he crushed the mirror, planted three sandalwood sticks into the ground, and with a crazed look, glanced at Su He with a sinister smile.
He prepared to self-immolate, looking up at Su He with pride: "Demon Crossing!"
Flames erupted from his body.
Feng Gu's eyes gleamed with madness, grinning at Su He.
What did it matter how powerful the Dragon Turtle was? If he couldn't steal Feng Yaya's body, he'd pave the way for the grand plan!
His body was consumed by flames in an instant, and the fire roared towards the barrier, burning away most of it and squeezing a spark into the barrier, heading for the treehouse palace.
Then, he screamed in shock: "The origin?! Where's Feng Yaya's body?!"
Inside the treehouse palace, there was only a mass of origin energy that Su Huanian had cut from Feng Yiju, constantly emitting Feng Yaya's aura.
The spark screamed in panic, desperately trying to escape, but snowflakes danced towards it, extinguishing it in an instant.
***
On the Flying Boat, Su He slowly opened his eyes. Multitasking was indeed exhausting.
And there wasn't much gain; Feng Yiju had only sent a sacrificial pawn to Bailings' small world, and the prepared gifts went unused.
The further north they traveled, the colder it got. After flying tens of thousands of miles, a suffocating pressure came from the sky, and the clouds turned dark and roiled with thunder.
Crack!
A winter thunderclap illuminated the clouds, revealing a Teng Snake twisting through them. Su Huanian stood alone in the air with her sword, lightning coursing along its blade.
She was injured, a streak of crimson at her waist.
Beside her, a Toad stood on a canoe, bow drawn and arrow nocked, intermittently shooting to disrupt.
Without looking back, it knew Su He had arrived.
It shouted: "Damn it! Damn it! You're finally here, if not, your Toad lord would've been done for today!"
It leaped onto Su He's Flying Boat, pointing at Teng Snake: "Beat that grandson! It wants to use a special method to destroy Yaya's consciousness."
"It wants Yaya to be trapped in eternal slumber."
Su He looked over and saw a small White Ape unconscious, protected behind Su Huanian, its tiny face still showing traces of terror. Before falling unconscious, it must have experienced great fear.
"Did it succeed?" Su He asked.
"No! Su Huanian desperately stopped it."
That's good.
Su He looked up at Teng Snake.
Teng Snake, too, hissed furiously at him, its eyes blazing with malice.
It was this turtle and woman who, by some vile means in the Seven Extremes Secret Realm, had killed one of his kin and brought disaster upon the Teng Snake clan.
Seeing an enemy, his blood boiled with rage.
"Take them and hide." Su He commanded as waves churned beneath him, leaving the Flying Boat. Green Snake and the Camel were already struggling to breathe under the overwhelming aura.
Toad was confused: "Fight, and you're taking them with you?" Against a Divine Beast, they were even less useful than a Toad. At least the Toad had treasures in its belly!
Su He remained silent. He had hoped Green Snake would achieve a feat, but it seemed not to be.
He soared into the sky, silent, and then let out a roar.
"Roar!"
The sound was like thunder, filled with murderous intent.
Divine Might! Teng Snake's eyes narrowed. Damn Dragon Turtle, always starting with Divine Might, always looking to take advantage while you're dazed.
Teng Snake's tail coiled instantly, its wings spread, concentrating its Divine Sense, ready to withstand the Dragon Turtle's Divine Might.
As the Dragon Turtle's roar subsided, the expected dizziness didn't come, but the small White Ape behind the woman bled from all orifices and died instantly.
Su Huanian turned in shock, looking at Su He with a heartrending gaze.
Su He shook his head and transmitted: "Don't think nonsense, I'm not Feng Yiju, I wouldn't harm Yaya. Teng Snake is a trap, Feng Yiju's people used a realm-breaking bead to enter the small world, plotting against Yaya's body. We don't know what we'll face next, let Yaya's consciousness return to her body. We'll settle this later."
They couldn't afford to have a White Ape as a weakness in the upcoming battle.
Su He's roar didn't employ Divine Might; it was a simple shock that killed the White Ape, causing no harm to Feng Yaya's consciousness.
Su Huanian's eyes showed relief, she breathed a sigh of relief, nodded slightly, and with a flick of true essence, sent the White Ape's body to the ground, to be buried in the earth.
Teng Snake, seeing the dead White Ape, was momentarily stunned, then roared with fury, charging at Su He.
A mere avatar, easily destroyed by a flick of the tail, dared to spoil its plans!
It had already received Feng Gu's message; the one before it was just a blinding avatar!
Proofreader&Editor: Lotas