The weather was warm, and the verdant bamboo outside swayed in the breeze, reflecting the ripples of the spring water. Grass grew tall, and orioles flew about, while fish leaped from the water.

Spring had arrived. Su He gently arched his back and released a grass turtle into the lake. This was his turtle mother in this life, who had always stayed by YaYa’s side. The White Spirit small world was teeming with exotic beasts, which made it unsuitable for releasing creatures into the wild.

However, Changyue Mansion was devoid of exotic beasts, and the surrounding areas were inhabited only by ordinary wild animals. This Turtle had feasted on heavenly and earthly treasures at YaYa’s place for two years, and now it was as big as a winnowing basket. Although not the overlord of this lake, it was certainly invincible and destined to live a hundred years without issue.

The moment Su He overcame the heavenly tribulation and became a Dragon Turtle, his bloodline connection with ordinary turtles was severed.

In terms of bloodline, Su He no longer had any connection with his turtle mother—Old Taoist Ge had helped Su He sever the bloodline connection once. Although it felt somewhat disloyal for a disciple to think this way, the truth was… the Old Taoist’s method of severing bloodlines was really poor. It didn’t seem apparent at the time, but looking back now, the technique was so crude it was unbearable to witness.

Watching the mother turtle wag her tail and swim away, she carefully surveyed her surroundings before quickly sinking to the bottom and then emerging in the distance. Su He lay motionless on the shore. Beside him, a toad lay on a golden lotus, sleeping soundly, exhausted from its recent endeavors. These days, the toad had actually created its own game in Qianjiang, opening a new round of betting.

No money was wagered, only time. The soul beasts that lost would sell themselves into servitude, serving for as many days as they had lost. The toad was quite cunning, leading several soul beasts that had sold themselves into servitude to search for treasures. Relying on the soul beasts’ ability to shift between corporeal and incorporeal states, immune to ordinary attacks, they managed to unearth three secret realms. Except for one that was empty and resulted in a loss, the other two brought in a fortune. Yet the toad only used the servitude time of other soul beasts, keeping all the treasures for itself.

But with the toad’s lifespan of several thousand years, it was quite adept at being a toad. Of the two secret realms, it monopolized one. The other was distributed as wealth. Everyone involved received a share of the profits, even the other soul beasts of Qianjiang. There were more than thirty people in Qianjiang, along with thirty soul beasts, and a few who were seldom seen. Not much was distributed, but the toad’s reputation soared. It even regained the fame it had lost when it opened the gambling house. The camel stayed far away, hiding on the side, chasing after the black dog with a dog-eat-dog attitude.

“Turtle Dad, are you unhappy?” YaYa lay on Su He’s turtle shell, with Little Turtle on top of Big Turtle, lightning flashing around her, constantly striking Su He. Recently, she had been over-nourished, and her lightning had grown rapidly. YaYa had a bit of trouble controlling it, and if she wasn’t careful, she would strike someone.

The camel no longer dared to approach her. Su Huanian turned her head to look over. These past few days, she had also noticed that Su He was preoccupied, but as a fairy, she didn’t know how to comfort others, so she just quietly stayed by Su He’s side. There were indeed worries, but they were unspeakable!

These days, every time he closed his eyes, he would unconsciously think of the Dragon Turtle that guarded the inheritance of the Dao Palace. Su He had made comparisons over and over again. That Dragon Turtle was not the giant Dragon Turtle in the sea of the Dao Palace’s inheritance, nor was it any of the Dragon Turtles on the back of the Dragon Turtle.

He had not left behind an inheritance shadow in the Dao Palace. Perhaps, at that time, the Dao Palace had not yet integrated into the bloodline inheritance, and the Dragon Turtles before that had not condensed an inheritance shadow? But in terms of combat power, that Dragon Turtle was very strong! Su He had asked Uncle Lei in the Mountain Sea Mysterious Realm what realm one had to reach for every drop of rain to be like the annihilation of a world. Uncle Lei said bluntly that the Ancestral Wild had reached this level a thousand years ago.

Qianjun was a divine ability of the water-attributed Dragon Turtles. Now, there were only two water-attributed Dragon Turtles, Su He and the Ancestral Wild. The Ancestral Wild was special, not black but almost transparent. The Ancestral Wild was the existing Dragon Turtle, with cultivation level only below that of the Great Ancestor, almost at the pinnacle of Dragon Turtles. Even such an existence was not invincible. The one-horned oxen were natural enemies of the Dragon Turtles and harbored malicious intentions towards him, even proclaiming that they would chase him into the next life.

These days, Su He often recalled the one-horned oxen who fought against the elder Dragon Turtles, the one-horned oxen who were beheaded with a single sword, and their eyes and expressions. He increasingly felt that the killing intent of the one-horned oxen towards him far exceeded that towards the Dragon Turtles! It was simply unreasonable!

Was it because of his identity as a transmigrator? Or something else? Su He truly did not know what had happened between the time he fell asleep in his previous life and when he hatched as a young turtle in this life. What merit did his mere mortal body possess? Why not just obliterate it? Why go through the trouble of sealing it with talismans and suppressing it with treasures? And there was the being who stole his corpse, surely a fairy, judging by the hand alone, the Fairy Sword was also sharp and carried a bit of elegance. It was narrower than the usual Fairy Swords by two parts and had a small snake engraved around it.

The toad on the golden lotus woke up, shook its head, leaped into the Mountain Sea Mysterious Realm, and then jumped back out a moment later, clutching a single horn in its paw. It was passed on by Uncle Lei.

The one-horned oxen, Feng Yiju’s horn, the horn of the Yuanzun clan. Just hearing it didn’t sound unrelated. Su He had inquired about the Yuanzun clan from Uncle Lei two days ago, but Uncle Lei didn’t know much about this clan, only asking him to wait two days before sending a horn through the Mysterious Realm. This horn was semi-transparent, a fragment of the primordial spirit. Its power had been erased by Uncle Lei. With just one glance, Su He instantly confirmed that this horn was related to the one-horned oxen!

The shape of the horn was different, but the patterns on it were identical. The one-horned oxen were likely the Yuanzun clan! Feng Si said the Yuanzun clan had already been exterminated. Su He didn’t believe it; otherwise, where did this horn come from? The Yuanzun clan, the Fenghuang Palace… were they the same thing? Or an inheritance?

Seeing that Su He did not answer, Su Huanian asked softly, “Is there an enemy?”

“Probably so!” Su He came back to his senses and smiled. The Four Spirits all originated from the Mysterious Wasteland, and although they seldom participated in the disputes of the Three Thousand Great Realms, they were originally not on the same path as the Fenghuang Palace. Now, there was one more cause and effect.

“Then cultivate diligently, and slay any enemy you encounter!” Su Huanian’s tone did not change in the slightest.

The thinking of a sword cultivator is simple: if there is an enemy, slay them with a sword. If that fails, then shatter the sword. But the simpler the thinking, the more likely it is to strike at the heart of the matter—encounter an enemy, slay the enemy!

Su He did not know how powerful the Yuanzun clan was, but he had a rough idea about the Fenghuang Palace. If it was the number one power in the heavens, capable of launching unscrupulous assassinations, or even war, the Dragon Turtles would likely be unable to withstand it. Dragon Turtles were too few—if the Dragon Turtle clan had thirty or forty adult Dragon Turtles, what would there be to fear in waging war across the heavens? But the Dragon Turtles had advanced!

If there were not enough Dragon Turtles, then Basalt! If the quantity was insufficient, improve the quality! If Basalt was not enough, then Rosefinch, White Tiger, Orient Loong God. The second body, the third body, the fourth body! No matter who the enemy was or where they came from, as long as one was invincible, what was there to fear? Su He suddenly felt a surge of fighting spirit.

He had never truly cultivated before. In the past, Su He would immerse himself in cultivation whenever he had time, but that was out of instinct, or simply because he enjoyed it. It was aimless. Now, for the first time, Su He felt a sense of urgency, and it was quite thrilling!

Consolidate his realm, enhance his inner world. Comprehend the Seven Stars of the North, and seek the path of cultivation for Basalt! And the Peacock True Body must not be neglected. There was no blood relation with the Rosefinch, so there was no reason why Feng Chaofei could walk the path of the Rosefinch, and he could not.

Of course, this was a matter for later. Right now, he had only just begun on the path of the Dragon Turtle. One cannot become fat with just one bite! Take it slow!

Su He’s mood, which had been depressed for several days, suddenly opened up. He let out a long howl to the sky, startling the little turtle on his back, who shivered and burst out with lightning. YaYa yelled out, leaping from Su He’s turtle shell, and spat out a thunderball in dissatisfaction, which exploded on Su He’s dragon head.

“YaYa! Watch out!” Su He shouted, and with a wave of his claw, the lake water formed a column, rushing towards the little turtle. The huge water dragon washed her into a water drift, spinning her shell downwards as she bounced away in the lake.

Away… away… until she was just a small black dot on the horizon.

Moments later, a clap of thunder sounded, and a small lightning turtle rushed back from the horizon, skimming the lake water, yelling as she approached, her roar filled with divine might, and another thunderball was spat out, which Su He easily dodged. The thunderball hit the bamboo house behind him and exploded with a bang.

The entire bamboo house instantly turned into debris. It was a bamboo house that Su Huanian had built by hand a few days ago, where she rested and cultivated. Su Huanian shook her head and smiled lightly, watching the two Dragon Turtles playing and frolicking. With a flick of her finger, a sword qi shot out. The fairy sat motionless, with sword qi flying behind her, cutting down countless bamboos, drawing water, air-drying, and in a moment, the bamboo turned into materials. With a gentle sweep of her palm, the bamboo materials fell in order, and a new bamboo house was formed on the ground. It was much more exquisite than the previous one. The original farmhouse had now become a bamboo house in the forest, with a touch of interest.

But at that moment, another water ball came flying and exploded in her newly built bamboo house. The water waves surged in all directions, and this time, Su Huanian didn’t need to deal with the debris, as the water waves directly washed the bamboo pieces away. A newly built bamboo house was gone. Su Huanian smiled bitterly and looked at the two Dragon Turtles. Su He was addicted to playing, flipping YaYa over and over. The little turtle yelled as she righted herself and rammed hard into the big turtle, knocking herself senseless for a long while. The collision of the two turtles sounded like a bell, long and lingering, with the sound waves rippling through the lake and forest. Su Huanian smiled lightly, extending her slender jade finger and pointing again in the middle of the forest. In a moment, another bamboo house appeared, not as exquisite as the last one, but with a sense of home. Outside the bamboo house, there was a stove and a chicken coop.

Then! Boom!

A bolt of lightning, a water ball, and the bamboo house disappeared again, this time even more thoroughly. The intense heat of the lightning meant that the bamboo house didn’t even burn; it turned into ash and was completely washed away by the water ball. Su Huanian’s smile froze slightly, and her Fairy Sword suddenly flew out of its sheath, turning into a sword light with a sharp sword cry, slashing towards the two Dragon Turtles. The two Dragon Turtles stared dumbfounded, fleeing left and right while shouting for mercy, and in a moment, their figures were gone. Su Huanian stood in place, watching the fleeing turtles, standing quietly. After a long time, she chuckled, with starlight flashing in the corners of her eyes.

With a wave of her hand, another bamboo house appeared, slightly larger than before. After thinking for a moment, she used the broken bamboo to build a fence around the bamboo house. She built a stable and a doghouse. The fence enclosed a small pond in the courtyard, and a toad nest was constructed from bamboo next to a large, indestructible bamboo tree, with a bird’s nest appearing on it. Su Huanian’s brow flashed with a green light, and a green bird flew out, tilting its head to look at the small courtyard and then at Su Huanian. It had been injured and unconscious in Su Huanian’s sea of consciousness since the battle with the soaring snake, and had just woken up. But it found that its master’s state of mind seemed to have changed completely.

The setting sun cast slanted rays on the lake, reflecting the bamboo house in shimmering light.

Before long, night fell.

In the distance on the lake, a large and a small Dragon Turtle cautiously slipped back. The little Dragon Turtle lay on the big Dragon Turtle’s shell, with shrimp shells still hanging from the corners of her mouth, looking at the distant bamboo house. Her eyelids slowly drooped, and her breathing became long and even. Even the electric light on her body quieted down, and the little Dragon Turtle fell into a deep sleep.

Su Huanian came over and gently lifted the little Dragon Turtle from Su He’s body. YaYa snuggled into her arms, finding a comfortable position. She could still be held now, but in a little while, when the little Dragon Turtle grew up, she would no longer be able to hold her. Su Huanian placed YaYa on her lap and gently stroked her shell. Su He lay beside her, looking up at the starry sky.

At this time of year, the Seven Stars of the North had not all appeared. But whether they appeared or not was part of the rules of the stars’ movement, and it was part of the comprehension of the Dao. Observing the heavens and the earth, the Dao itself comes from all things, and observing various phenomena is the foundation of cultivation, which is indispensable from reciting Daoist scriptures.

Su He knew many Daoist scriptures, including those from this life and those he had come across in his previous life. In his previous life, he had learned the Chinese language, and Buddhist and Daoist scriptures were essential readings. Just like the Three Thousand Virtues, although they were not cultivation techniques, they expounded the ultimate truths of heaven and earth, which were essential for understanding the Dao… As he pondered aimlessly, Su He suddenly froze.

After years of transmigration and a considerable time in cultivation, he had never contemplated the “Dao De Jing” or the “Huang Ting”…

It wasn’t that he couldn’t, but he simply hadn’t thought of it, as if he had deliberately ignored it! When he recalled his previous life’s memories several times as a transformed beast, the scriptures were in his mind, but he never paid attention to them. What went wrong?

How could a cultivator who could recite the “Dao De Jing” and “Huang Ting” not care about them for years?!

According to Su He’s memory, these scriptures were just written by sages in the mortal world of his previous life, but after transmigrating to this realm, when he truly encountered Basalt and Rosefinch, when he truly saw flying and escaping, how many people would still consider the myths and legends of immortals and cultivation from their previous lives as mere stories? Ordinary myths just happened to match the cultivation of this world? How could it be such a coincidence?!

Su He slowly closed his eyes and carefully felt it. After a moment, he opened his eyes again. It was the ashes of his previous life’s body that flew back, and these things that he had overlooked were brought to his attention again.

In the Evil-Suppressing Dao Palace, what suppressed the demons and evil spirits was not the body from his previous life, but the “Dao De Jing” and “Huang Ting” that remained in his body and could be recited?