The new disciples were still ignorant. Ignorance bred fearlessness; they did not understand the grandeur, sanctity, and power of divine beasts...
They merely thought they sounded mighty.
In their eyes, divine beasts and exotic beasts were perhaps no different.
Ge Feng had cultivated for forty years and knew full well that the two were as different as clouds and mud—one was supreme above the nine heavens, the other a crawling worm in a mud pit.
They were fundamentally incomparable.
What was a Divine Beast?
Infinite wonders made it divine; ferocity and keen senses made it a beast.
Divine beasts were the closest to immortals and gods. There were even legends that adult divine beasts could slaughter gods and destroy immortals. Perhaps such tales were too illusory, and the stories passed down could not be trusted.
But reality was plain to see.
The greatest fighting force of the Profound Heaven Sect, one of the Ten Immortal Sects, was an Azure Dragon. The Vermilion Bird Sect had even been named after the Divine Beast Vermilion Bird within its ranks.
Combat power was not what made divine beasts most coveted. After ten thousand years of human inheritance, there would always be Sons of Heaven capable of subduing Azure Dragons and taming White Tigers. Yet when those monstrous geniuses who had subdued dragons and tigers had already vanished into the River of History, the Azure Dragons and White Tigers they had conquered still lived on!
Divine beasts possessed longevity! That was what truly made Ge Feng suffocate.
No matter how high or low their innate talent, adult divine beasts were at least in the Heaven-Treading Realm. An immortal Heaven-Treading Realm cultivator was enough to suppress a sect's fate and ensure its inheritance never ended!
Ge Feng's breathing quickened. With trembling hands, he walked toward Su He. Under Su He's startled, suspicious gaze, he extended a finger and lightly tapped the spot over his heart.
Projection of the heart aperture.
Within a hazy, mystic-yellow space, a Dragon Turtle raised its head and roared.
Majestic and sacred.
Ge Feng staggered several steps back and fell to the ground.
A Divine Beast!
It really was a Divine Beast! Though it was not an innate Divine Beast like those of the Profound Heaven Sect or Vermilion Bird Sect, its heart aperture contained a Divine Beast Dao Body.
A Dao Body meant that this turtle had a sliver of a chance to become a true Divine Beast! Perhaps that chance was countless times more remote than a mortal cultivating into a Heaven-Treading Realm powerhouse, but it was still a possibility!
Since it was not a pure-blooded Divine Beast, Ge Feng instead sighed in relief. Wonderful! If it had been pure-blooded, the destruction of the Azure Origin Sect would have been just around the corner.
The Azure Origin Sect might be able to Proclaim King within the Eastern Cloud Mountain Range, but compared to the Ten Immortal Sects, it was truly far too weak.
So weak that, several months ago, Madam Su had merely gained a slight upper hand in a clash with an elder of the Profound Heaven Sect, yet that alone had made every sect in Eastern Cloud Mountain shut their mouths and follow the Azure Origin Sect's lead.
They no longer dared harbor any second thoughts.
Even the Profound Heaven Sect occupied a somewhat awkward position among the ten great sects, because their supreme fighting force was a Divine Beast rather than a disciple cultivated through the sect's own inheritance.
A Divine Beast with Divine Beast Bloodline that was not yet truly a Divine Beast was the only one best suited to the Azure Origin Sect.
This matter was too great for Ge Feng to suppress. He had to tell the Sect Leader and the heads of every branch.
He Turned His Head toward the disciples. "No one is allowed to spread this news!"
Several disciples looked at him sheepishly.
Too late. Such a fine chance to boast had already led them to spread the news.
It had been two Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters from Beast Taming Valley who were auditing the class—disciples who had already graduated from Li Nan Courtyard but had returned to attend lessons again and reinforce their foundations.
They had already used their beast pets to spread the news outside.
Damn it! These half-baked disciples, who knew just enough to be dangerous, were the best at ruining things. They knew the status and preciousness of divine beasts, yet did not know what trouble spreading the news would bring! "Something has happened here. Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, return to the schoolhouse for now. You may leave only after receiving notice from an instructor!"
The many students vaguely sensed that something serious had happened. They did not dare linger, casting curious looks at Su He before filing out in orderly fashion.
The goat was merely envious and curious, but Green Snake was jealous to the point of madness. As she passed Su He, her tail viciously lashed him like a whip.
People were often like this: when someone beside them suddenly prospered, they felt even worse inside. But Green Snake had only recently gained intelligence and was still simple-minded, without much ugliness in her heart. She was merely jealous, nothing more.
Once the students had left, Ge Feng immediately took out several small swords and used Flying Sword Letter to report the matter to the various branch heads and the Sect Leader.
There was also Madam Su. This turtle was hers, but Madam Su probably did not know that it was truly a divine turtle possessing a Divine Beast Dao Body.
After all, Madam Su came from Sword Washing Pond and possessed Extreme Devotion to Sword. It was impossible for her to understand such matters as well as disciples of Beast Taming Valley.
More than ten Message Delivery Flying Swords shot out, but one clattered to the ground. It was the one meant for his Master.
Damn it! Master had cut off the Message Delivery Flying Sword channel between himself and me again!
Ge Feng gritted his teeth and complained before picking up the Message Delivery Flying Sword. With a tap and a push, he sent the letter toward his Junior Brother, asking him to pass it along.
Ge Feng wrote more than ten letters in succession. Once he finished, he excitedly looked towards Su He, his expression like that of a shareholder clutching a winning lottery ticket.
He turned back to look. The courtyard was empty. The enormous turtle was gone! Ge Feng: "!!!"
Beneath a small stream, Su He lurked underwater and swam at top speed.
Faster, faster! This had become a huge matter. Judging from Ge Feng's reaction, would he not soon have to meet the many branch heads and elders of the Azure Origin Sect? They might even inspect him thoroughly.
Su He did not care if his identity as a divine turtle was exposed, nor did he mind becoming the Azure Origin Sect's Guardian Divine Beast.
But ten vats of Medicinal Cuisine were currently stored inside Turtle Mountain! They were identical in every way, even down to the shape of the medicinal dregs and the patterns on the vats.
As long as they inspected him, it would definitely be exposed. A bug-like divine ability such as "this divine turtle can duplicate objects" was enough to make anyone's eyes burn with greed.
It might even eclipse their expectations for a divine turtle!
By then, what Su He faced would likely no longer be an established post like "Guardian Divine Beast."
Sliced apart for research? It was not impossible. After all, divine beasts possessed tremendous recovery abilities and were not afraid of being sliced apart.
Faster still. Before they arrived, he had to swim to Elephant Water. Elephant Water was bottomless; if he smashed the medicine vats and threw them in, no one would discover them.
Within a small courtyard of the Heavenly Mechanisms Pavilion, a woman looked at the letter in her hand, her expression gradually turning icy.
A Divine Beast...
Lu Ming had schemed against an actual Divine Beast! That worthless fool, incapable of success and more than capable of ruining everything! With a twist of her hands, the letter instantly burned to ashes.
Kill it!
The Divine Beast absolutely could not be allowed to live.
It was said that divine beasts all possessed normal intelligence, and this divine beast's status in the sect would certainly not be low. At the very least, it would receive the treatment of a branch head.
The higher its status, the more danger Lu Ming would be in—perhaps he would have no chance of survival at all.
Turtles held grudges!
But Lu Ming Cannot Die. He was tied to her Dao path. Their inheritances were bound together; if Lu Ming died, her Dao path would be severed.
Kill it! Immediately! Before the branch heads gathered around it.
The woman acted with thunderous decisiveness. Rising to her full height, she shouted outside, "junior sister Yulin."
A half-grown little girl poked her head in. "Senior Sister Qiao Ling, were you looking for me?"
The woman smiled gently. "I'm going to take a little nap. If master asks, you must cover for me. Don't let master come in and catch me sleeping, all right?"
The little girl nodded frantically. "Rest assured, Senior Sister. Master definitely won't get in!"
She withdrew, thoughtfully closing the door for Qiao Ling.
Qiao Ling sat down cross-legged. A hazy mist shrouded her face, and in moments, her appearance completely changed, becoming entirely different from before.
This was the Disguise Technique she and Lu Ming had obtained from a ruin they discovered together. It was the place where a pair of Ancient Dao Companions, mighty cultivators, had passed away. She and Lu Ming had each claimed one opportunity and received one inheritance; only by joining together could they open the ruin.
Qiao Ling flashed outside. At the same time, a swarm of bees flew out from her robes and scattered in all directions.
Qiao Ling came from the Heavenly Mechanisms Pavilion and excelled most at Artifact Refining. She also possessed a Special Inheritance. These bees were Mechanical Beasts designed specifically for scouting.
The bees spread out and swiftly occupied Li Nan Courtyard, yet they found no trace of the divine turtle.
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