A Turtle

Set a small goal first: live for a hundred days!

In a pond deep within the old-growth mountains, a dinner-plate-sized turtle made up his mind.

He was Su He. In his previous life, he had been an ordinary young man in China on Earth. In this life, he had reincarnated as an ordinary turtle in the Profound Wilderness Realm. Fortunately, he had not suffered the confusion of the womb and still retained the memories and wisdom of his past life.

At this moment, most of Su He's turtle body was buried in silt, with only his two nostrils exposed, slowly blowing bubbles.

More than twenty wild wolves patrolled back and forth around the pond. On a nearby mountain ridge, the Wolf King narrowed his eyes as he looked down over the entire pond.

They were all looking for the turtle.

Its eyes were filled with fury and killing intent, as though Su He had dug up its ancestral grave.

Su He had not done much—he had merely stolen the Wolf King's chance to Transform into Human...

So petty! The Profound Wilderness Realm had immortals and ghosts, gods and demons, but the demons here were unlike those in the legends of Su He's previous life.

Not just any beast had the chance to cultivate a human body and become a demon.

Beasts could only advance into exotic beasts; cultivation alone could not grant them human forms.

Every sixty years, the Profound Wilderness Realm experienced a "Starfall," much like a meteor shower, when light scattered across the land. Afterwards, Demon Transformation Fruits would grow from the earth. The fruits took three days to grow, three days to blossom, and three days to bear fruit. Once ripe, they resembled sweet dates—wrinkled and semi-translucent.

Only by swallowing a Demon Transformation Fruit, digesting and absorbing it, could one Transform Into Human Form and become a demon.

Demon Transformation Fruits held a fatal attraction for beasts.

Half a month ago, a Starfall had occurred. A Demon Transformation Fruit had grown from the muddy bank beside the pond. The Wolf King had led its pack to drive away every powerful enemy in the area, waiting only for the fruit to ripen.

Yet in the very instant it ripened, a turtle in the mud suddenly stretched out its neck, plucked the fruit, and dove headfirst into the pond, never to emerge again.

The Wolf King was utterly bewildered, watching helplessly as the turtle fled.

Then the entire wolf pack exploded. Like madmen, they charged into the pond, dog-paddling wildly and howling like wolves.

Luckily, Su He knew how to dive and sank to the bottom. Otherwise, he would have been torn to pieces long ago.

These sons of dogs could swim pretty well!

For the next seven days, the entire wolf pack did not even hunt. They all surrounded the pond, and from time to time, wild wolves entered the water, dog-paddling through the pond again and again in search of him.

The wolf pack knew that the shelled reptile had not escaped. The scent of the Demon Transformation Fruit still pervaded the area.

Unless they found him, they would never rest! Su He lay in ambush at the bottom, utterly motionless, as every second ticked by.

At last, unable to hold his breath any longer, he gently moved his limbs and slid out of the mud. With a slight flick, he swam to the surface and poked his nostrils out between the lotus leaves.

Inhale—

Exhale—

Inhale—

Exhale—

Run! The breath he exhaled carried the scent of the Demon Transformation Fruit, instantly alerting the wolf pack. The Wolf King howled and led the wild wolves charging into the pond again.

Su He plunged straight toward the bottom. But instead of burrowing into the mud, he withdrew into his shell and remained perfectly still.

Wolves had excellent dynamic vision. If he burrowed into the mud this time and stirred up the water, he would surely be discovered. Better to hide within his shell and use the natural camouflage of the algae growing on it to conceal himself.

The wolf pack dog-paddled around for a long while without finding anything, then reluctantly returned to shore one after another.

Su He quietly swam back to the surface for air. The wild wolves, who had just shaken the water from their fur, howled and rushed into the pond again.

After going back and forth five or six times, Su He finally finished breathing. The suffocating sensation from lack of oxygen completely receded.

Having filled his belly with air, he lightly paddled with his four turtle claws and sank back to the bottom.

Wait a little longer. In ten days at most, the summer lotus leaves would cover the pond, and then he would be much safer. Besides, each additional day meant Su He absorbed a little more of the Demon Transformation Fruit, and its scent would grow fainter and fainter.

At the bottom of the pond, a Giant Salamander was hunting a crucian carp. The Giant Salamander was immovable as a mountain, like a slab of bluestone. The instant the crucian carp passed by, he bit down on it, raised his head, and prepared to swallow it whole.

Su He paddled with all four claws and charged over. He bit the crucian carp, did a backflip, paddled with his foreclaws and kicked with both hind feet, knocking the Giant Salamander over and stealing the fish.

The Giant Salamander rolled several times underwater. After much difficulty, he steadied himself and looked at Su He with a face full of confusion.

This turtle thing stole my food? Isn't it on my menu too?

Su He bit the crucian carp to death, flung it aside, and stared at it without blinking. As for the Giant Salamander behind him—who was prey and who was hunter? Didn't that depend on size?

If I were as big as a millstone, those wolves outside would be snacks in minutes.

Su He stared at the crucian carp. Before long, a fist-sized die abruptly appeared, landing atop the fish and spinning briskly.

Three points!

One crucian carp suddenly became three.

What rotten luck!

Su He casually pushed the crucian carp aside.

This die was the Golden Finger he had received when he crossed over.

Whenever Su He snatched something that belonged to someone else, it would appear, multiplying whatever he had stolen several times over.

Su He had not yet fully grasped the precise rules of its multiplication. Sometimes it multiplied quantity, sometimes weight, and sometimes volume.

A few times, it had not even multiplied—it had exponentiated!

There was even a tiny chance that it would not multiply quantity, but quality!

Just like the Demon Transformation Fruit he had taken from the Wolf King. It had originally been nothing more than a jelly-like, translucent sweet date. After the die rolled five points, the Demon Transformation Fruit had not increased in number. Instead, it had changed from transparent to blood-red, bright scarlet and glistening, plump and round.

It had directly raised the quality of the Demon Transformation Fruit! This was also why, even though Su He had already eaten the fruit, its scent alone had kept the wolf pack from leaving.

Today, Su He wanted to improve the quality of the crucian carp.

He had already swallowed the Demon Transformation Fruit. He was now like a fetus being nurtured in a womb, at the best possible stage of development. He could improve his potential and talent without restraint. Once a hundred days passed and the Demon Transformation Fruit was fully digested, his talent would take shape, and he would never again have such a good opportunity.

But chances to improve quality were too rare. It would already be good if one appeared once every five or six rolls.

The three crucian carp drifted into the distance with the current. The Giant Salamander did not dare scavenge them. He remembered that this shelled fellow had beaten him up just yesterday! He shook his head, changed direction, and resumed hunting.

About two hours later, he caught a red carp. Just as he was about to swallow it, that damned turtle charged over again. One bite, one kick, one paddle—and it stole his carp and disappeared.

The Giant Salamander cried, wailing like an infant.

Su He huddled off to one side as the die popped out, spun briskly, and landed on four points.

The carp did not multiply, but the ordinary red carp suddenly gave off an alluring fragrance, stirring up half the pond.

Quality ×4. The Giant Salamander, who had been wailing nearby, froze for an instant, and the look in his eyes abruptly changed. Like a hungry tiger, he lunged forward, charging straight at the red carp with his jaws wide open.

Smack! Su He slapped him aside. Before he could put on a vicious expression over the stolen food, Su He twisted his turtle head and tore off a huge mouthful of fish.

It was fragrant upon entering his mouth, incomparably fresh and tender.

The Giant Salamander charged again. Su He held the red carp in his mouth, rolled over, and used his shell to block the Giant Salamander as he feasted heartily.

The wolves on shore were beside themselves with fury, their howls utterly miserable.

There was another treasure beneath the water, but wolves could not dive.

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