The true opportunity lay not with the Teng Snakes, but with the words "Elder Moon." The two Teng Snakes were merely vessels nurturing "Elder Moon."
Just like the spirit from the Bailings' tomb who merged with the locust tree, simply aiding Su He in carrying the eternal hexagram for thousands of years.
On the Flying Boat, Green Snake lay limp on the floor, twisting as if intoxicated by realgar wine.
With Elder Moon entering her body, along with a mass of Teng Snake essence blood, her entire body felt as if pricked by needles, as if tiny knives were slicing her flesh and marrow bit by bit.
Green Snake's blood oozed from her scales onto the deck of the Flying Boat.
Su Huanian frowned slightly, "Opportunity?"
Su He nodded.
The Fairy chuckled lightly. While slaying enemies was satisfying, it was even more fulfilling if one could enhance their own side in the process.
Both the man and the Dragon Turtle showed delight, and even the camel on the Flying Boat began to happily tap its feet. Beasts were keenly sensitive to aura, and in an instant, they understood what Green Snake was experiencing. The camel had grown quite fond of Green Snake recently.
The Toad puffed on his cigarette, also in good spirits, but while happy, he was calculating how to vie for power with the snake in the future. The snake was evolving, but the frog was not.
The difficulty suddenly increased.
Joy filled the air all around, except for the Teng Snake lying on the ground.
When Elder Moon left, the Teng Snake's eyes became hollow, and it took a while to come to its senses. Upon awakening, it heard the camel congratulating Green Snake with panting breaths.
It was grating to the ears.
The Teng Snake was slightly dazed. Without the words "Elder Moon," memories flashed through its mind like a carousel: being imprisoned by Bailings thousands of years ago, repeatedly used as an experimental subject…
Bailings perished, and it wanted to destroy the Seven Extremes Secret Realm time and again, but the memories mysteriously vanished. It had even witnessed Bailings refining a snake on the back of a Teng Snake, but it had never recalled this event even once.
Teng Snake Elder Moon…
Their existence was a joke! They were originally meant to preserve opportunities for the Dragon Turtle before them!
It looked at the Spirit Snake hissing on Su He's back, which had swallowed two mouthfuls of its flesh and blood, and in just a moment, had condensed quite a bit. The sight of the snake and the turtle was all too familiar.
Bailings had been in this state!
The Teng Snake panted heavily, air bypassing its nostrils and entering through a hole in its neck, stirring its blood and making eerie sounds.
It looked at Su He with eyes full of hatred, wishing it could devour him, but its Divine Sense conveyed a different meaning: "Swallow my heart to neutralize the snake poison. Feng Yiju has plans against you at my place, spare the Teng Snake clan a path to life. You may now kill or tame the remaining Teng Snakes. For the newly Tribulation Crossed Teng Snakes, cut off the hatred and leave them a path to life. I'll reveal all of Feng Yiju's schemes!"
Its Divine Sense carried a gritted determination, yet every word was sincere.
As the snake faced death, was it considering the long-term survival of its clan?
Indeed, the first priority in the hearts of Divine Beasts was still their own kind! It was their nature.
Just like Su He, who in his spare time first mastered not combat skills, but the Dragon Turtle heritage, the methods to condense turtle pearls and bloodlines.
He had even considered whether to hatch the turtle egg left by Bailings, but feared failure. Moreover, Su He had a vague feeling that if he really hatched it, something unexpected might pop out of the egg.
A lively Bailings?
Given the capricious nature of that mother turtle, it wasn't impossible.
Su He looked at the Teng Snake, wondering how a Divine Beast that protected its clan could have given rise to a traitor like the one from the phoenix clan.
Su He shook his head slightly, "I disdain deceit. The future of the Teng Snake clan should be decided by the clan's elders. Even if I agreed, I might not be able to fulfill it. However, there are few Dragon Turtles, and they won't need many Teng Snakes. If the new Teng Snakes don't seek death, the Dragon Turtles will probably ignore them."
Of course, his words were sugarcoated. Although the Dragon Turtles hadn't bothered with the Teng Snakes for three hundred thousand years, this time the Teng Snakes were truly annihilated by the Dragon Turtles. Only the one before him was free; the rest were captured and imprisoned.
They were to be reserve food for future Dragon Turtles.
The annihilation of a clan was not a matter to be taken lightly. In the future, there would be precautions against new Teng Snakes. It was possible to keep one imprisoned for every one allowed out, or even to maintain the Teng Snakes at a very low number.
The brutal, unreasonable nature of beastly survival was such.
Divine Beasts were also beasts.
And Su He didn't know how the Teng Snake had incurred the Dragon Turtle's enmity, so how could he easily promise anything?
The Teng Snake fell silent, its gaze growing more scattered. After closing its eyes for a long time, it slowly opened them again, and a weak Divine Sense came through, this time devoid of emotion, as if merely trying to earn a merit for the Teng Snake clan before dying: "Feng Yiju has a Dust-Free Cover, capable of imprisoning Dragon Turtles—he dares not provoke Dragon Turtles and wants to imprison you, then plot against that girl."
"Hmm?" Su He's eyes narrowed.
The Teng Snake's extremely weak Divine Sense continued: "The Dust-Free Cover is specifically designed for Dragon Turtles. It couldn't have been made by mere Qing Yuan; it must be from Fenghuang Palace. Do you really think the experts of Fenghuang Palace are so easily overcome? Fenghuang Palace is merely using him to test the Dust-Free Cover."
"Six thousand years ago, Dragon Turtles trampled Fenghuang Palace. How could the number one power in the myriad realms allow such an event to happen again? They must have analyzed the Dragon Turtles, even all four Divine Beasts. The Dust-Free Cover targets Dragon Turtles. I had a responsive bug, and seeing you summon it, the Dust-Free Cover would come."
Su He's Divine Sense burst forth, enveloping the Teng Snake while he looked up, sensing carefully, but he detected no danger.
"You didn't use the responsive bug right away?" Su He asked. If the Dust-Free Cover targeting Dragon Turtles—if what the Teng Snake said was true—Fenghuang Palace was courting death, and so was Feng Yiju!
In terms of overall strength, the Dragon Turtle clan indeed couldn't compare to Fenghuang Palace, which had too many people and was clouded with powerful beings. Even the top thirty on the Hakutaku List were not absent.
Just seven Dragon Turtles—Su He didn't count himself. No matter what, this handful of Dragon Turtles couldn't possibly win a war against Fenghuang Palace.
But if seven top-tier Dragon Turtles descended upon the Fenghuang Great World and a great battle ensued, regardless of who won or lost, Fenghuang Great World would definitely drop several ranks in the myriad realms after the battle. It would be impressive if they could still make the top hundred, given their profound heritage.
If the Mysterious Wasteland took the opportunity to rise, the effect would be even better.
The Dragon Turtles couldn't afford to gamble, and Fenghuang Palace even less so. More importantly, not a single Dragon Turtle had any integrity; ambushing and backstabbing the isolated were them.
Which Dragon Turtle wasn't upgraded from an ordinary turtle? Ambush tactics were ingrained in their bones.
The Teng Snake twitched the corners of its mouth, managing a weak cold smile, its Divine Sense growing weaker, but its tone and intentions were not soft at all; it was conceding, not submitting: "Because I wanted to kill you!"
I thought I could defeat you!
Who knew the Dragon Turtle would be so dishonorable, launching a sneak attack from the start. Later… when it was forced to the bottom of the domain river, it had just taken out the responsive bug when it was slain by a random blade.
Such a useless thing, even ranked on the list of extraordinary bugs.
Su He nodded, "Since you didn't notify Feng Yiju, then it's fine. And even if you had, I wouldn't be afraid. Meng Xuan in Qian River has already contacted me. She has inquired with her senior Qing Cang, and right now, the Xuantian Sect Leader is playing games with Feng Yiju."
It seems he has discovered something interesting about Feng Yiju and has become engrossed, wanting to thoroughly study it.
Feng Yiju should be too busy to care about this side. If he does… he'll be killed!
The Teng Snake's lower body twitched uncontrollably, its heart damaged by a sneak attack from the Mountain God Seal, its head repeatedly smashed, shaken by Divine Might, its spine brutally pulled out by the Spirit Snake, its throat torn. At this moment, its head and body were only connected by two strips of flesh, with sword qi still raging inside.
Such injuries would have killed any non-Divine Beast species long ago. Even a Traverse Heaven cultivator would have already fled and reincarnated.
Only a Divine Beast had such tenacious life.
But even so, it was at the end of its strength. Even if Su He didn't kill it, it was uncertain if it would survive—the Glutton's method of consumption tore at the origin, leaving no chance of rebirth.
The main artery of the throat, the center of the spine, missing these parts, there was no chance of reaching the pinnacle of strength again.
The Teng Snake could feel its life force slipping away.
It forced its blurry eyes to focus, baring two broken fangs at Su He: "If I could do it over, I would slay Bailings first, then you!"
A sharp chill flashed across its body, condensing mist into a knife, and it carved out its own heart. The mist knife then transformed into a large hand, brutally smashing the heart into Su He's mouth.
Gritting its teeth, the snake's head let out a sole roar: "Give the new Teng Snakes a chance to live!"
As it roared, its scattered gaze suddenly focused, staring straight at Su He, then gradually faded.
Several dice fell from the sky, spinning and landing on the Teng Snake's body.
Su He's domain instantly enveloped the area, preventing outsiders from observing.
***
The dark clouds above dispersed, the bright moon shone like a mirror, and despite it being the dead of winter, a heavy rain fell, as if the world mourned the fall of a Divine Beast.
The world didn't care whether the Divine Beast was good or evil, right or wrong. That was for living beings to judge. The world only knew that it had lost a long-lived being capable of refining chaos, and it mourned.
What a pity for the Flame Crow, dying after the Dragon Gate, not even receiving the world's mourning.
The Teng Snake died, and its storage space burst open. Dice fell one after another, and the treasures exploded from the Teng Snake multiplied two, three, even four or five times.
Some items didn't increase in number, but their quality suddenly improved. The specifics were not immediately discernible, but there was at least a two or threefold increase.
This was connected to Su He hastily deploying his domain.
Su Huanian instantly understood; this was a secret of the Dragon Turtles, and it wasn't a skill of the Dragon Turtle clan, but Su He's own, otherwise there was no need for concealment.
Was the enhanced treasure that Yaya had eaten before obtained this way?
Su Huanian formed a seal and made a decision: "This matter, I have seen and will conceal, and if leaked, heaven forsake!"
She actually connected with heaven and earth, establishing an oath witnessed by the heavens.
Su He was dumbfounded, unable to intervene in time, and looked at the woman with a solemn and righteous expression, smiling bitterly without knowing what to say.
"Sister, this isn't a secret, it's just unknown to outsiders. The Dragon Turtles in the clan all know."
Su Huanian chuckled and shook her head: "I am different from the Dragon Turtles."
"The same!" Su He emphasized.
Su Huanian shook her head again: "Dragon Turtles are powerful, no one can probe their memories, but I am too weak." She had a method to turn the oath into a protective mark, hidden in this memory, unafraid of being inspected.
Su Huanian seemed unwilling to elaborate on this matter, gently shaking her head: "You collect the treasures, I'll go take care of Green Snake."
She leaped up, exited the domain, and landed on the Flying Boat.
Su He chuckled, his gaze falling on the items exploded from the Teng Snake. Most were materials and not too precious, with fewer origin stones than the Flame Crow had.
However, a gray mist, topped with a dice, floated out, the dice settling on three points.
The mist suddenly expanded threefold and zipped into Su He's body.
An enlightenment arose: Underworld.
Summoning Underworld ghosts for battle.
Su He hadn't had time to inspect it when, the moment the Underworld mist drifted out, the Teng Snake's corpse seemed to trigger a mechanism, and a green light shot straight into the sky.
Fool!
"Retreat!" Su He shouted urgently, his mind racing. But at that moment, a giant bowl descended from above.
It pierced through space and landed on Su He's head, forming a net-like cover, sealing him within.
Far away, Su Huanian heard Su He's urgent shout, but instead of leaving, she stuffed Feng Yaya under the Toad's feet and shot over, her sword touching the net. The net absorbed the sword qi, further solidifying its strength.
"Don't attack, take Yaya to Yunmeng Marsh immediately, seek refuge in Yunmeng Dragon Palace. If you encounter Feng Yiju, flee. Once I break free, I will slay him!"
Su Huanian looked at Su He, then at the net she had touched with her sword, nodded, and turned to leave, boarding the Flying Boat.
A cold voice rang in Su He's ear: "Today, if anything happens to you or Yaya, for ten thousand, a hundred thousand years, I will annihilate Fenghuang Palace!"
The net was made of icy chains, almost as if Fenghuang Palace's name was engraved on them.
Tsk tsk, has Fenghuang Palace caught the attention of a Celestial Sovereign?
A Celestial Sovereign from a past life, returning to her rightful place this life, wouldn't be too much, right?
Su He turned to look at the Teng Snake's corpse, laughing out of anger. Was this fool unaware that someone had tampered with its body? He'd let go of Bailings' "Elder Moon" words, but what about Feng Yiju's subordinates? Could they even accomplish this?
Did Elder Moon's entry also bring a reduction in intelligence?
Someone had tampered with the Teng Snake, not just the responsive bug that could summon the Dust-Free Cover, but its death was also a message.
If it wasn't Feng Yiju, then it was Fenghuang Palace.
The Xuantian Sect Leader wouldn't speak nonsense; Feng Yiju and Fenghuang Palace were connected.
Su He searched his external space for a moment and pulled out a dark bead, a realm-breaking bead. He channeled a stream of true essence into it, directing the bead's power at the Dust-Free Cover.
The net on the Dust-Free Cover shook as if about to open, but after trembling, it solidified even more.
Intriguing!
Was there really a seal that even a realm-breaking bead couldn't open?
Su He didn't believe in such things. This time, he aimed at the ground, and a realm-breaking bead's power struck, the ground writhed, and the power vanished.
The Dust-Free Cover wasn't just a cover; the moment it descended, it had formed a sphere, sealed in all directions.
"Turtle lad! How's it going?" The Toad's voice came from the depths of his heart.
This Dust-Free Cover apparently didn't restrain soul beasts, which was disappointing. If Su He had made it, cutting off the connection between the soul beast and its master, as well as with the Xuan realm, would be essential.
"Quite an intriguing spatial sealing technique, I probably can't get out for now," Su He replied.
"I've sought help in Qian River," the Toad responded: "Battle Cultivators, Can-Chen Daoist, Nanming Zhenren, and several other friends have crossed realms to come, but they're not in the Mysterious Wasteland, it will take some time to get here."
Su He nodded: "Thank these seniors for me, I will be sure to repay this favor after the matter is resolved! How are you all?"
The Toad was silent for a moment before replying: "Not so good, the Flying Boat had just taken off when Yaya woke up. Right now, lightning is coursing through her body, her origin is leaking, but we haven't found the source of the leak."
Su He took a deep breath. Aside from methods like the Glutton's consumption that directly harmed, only parents could stealthily steal the origin.
Feng Yiju was courting death!
"Contact Meng Xuan in Qian River, ask her to try contacting the Kylin clan or the phoenix clan, seek a senior to come and help."
Adult Four Divine Beasts could travel long distances through space, arriving instantly even across great worlds. Now was the time to show off connections.
Su He didn't know many people, but he was a Dragon Turtle, with a big face!
Proofreader&Editor: Lotas