Delusion

Su He opened his eyes, confirmed the direction, and paddled through the water toward Jing Shui Mountain.

Azure Origin Mountain was exceptionally suited for aquatic beasts.

The great Elephant Water River flowed through it, only to be blocked by the mountains here and split into countless tributaries that linked together like a web. Mountains connected to water, water connected to mountains, and the waterways stretched throughout every corner of the Azure Origin Realm. Beneath practically every mountain peak ran a river. Where rivers met, there were lakes as well.

Jing Shui Mountain was far away, but fortunately, Su He's speed had multiplied severalfold—especially now that he could use spiritual power.

At that moment, a ribbon-like stream flowed beneath Su He, carrying him through the waves, while Su He himself paddled and swam within it.

It was like walking on a conveyor belt. His speed soared, yet he felt even more relaxed.

Su He split his attention three ways: paddling, controlling the water ribbon, and pondering the seventy-two silver needles Su Hua Nian had given him.

The silver needles were merely ordinary magical artifacts. Their advantage was their incomparable hardness and ease of control. He only needed to control one of them, and the rest would dance after it like a swarm of bees.

Su He's claws could not grip an embroidery needle, but his Water Manipulation Divine Power could.

After swallowing three Spirit Awakening Pills in a row, his mental strength had surged, and his control over water currents had become even more meticulous.

Especially the water streams condensed by his Water Manipulation Divine Power—they seemed like part of his own body, as responsive as his limbs. He could even channel spiritual power into them, causing their might to surge dramatically.

Then, if he embedded silver needles within them, he could kill without a trace.

About an hour later, Jing Shui Mountain came faintly into view.

Outside Jing Shui Mountain, Lu Ming sat cross-legged beside the river. A lone cup of wine stood at his side, and an ancient zither rested in his arms. When a piece ended, he called out brightly, "Since the divine turtle is here, why not show yourself?"

Su He had not arrived yet.

When no turtle appeared, Lu Ming was not disappointed. He drank a cup of wine and played another tune. When it ended, he smiled calmly. "An Esteemed Guest has come to my door, yet why do you not reveal yourself? Could it be that my zither music is too crude to enter your noble ears?"

Su He was still swimming his way over.

The bright moon shone overhead, the night like jade. Jing Shui Mountain lay quiet and serene, with only autumn insects responding to Lu Ming's calls.

Lu Ming had shouted at empty air for a long while without feeling embarrassed. Ever since his cultivation had been crippled and he had been thrown into Jing Shui Mountain that afternoon, he had known the divine turtle would surely come for revenge.

His cultivation was gone. He had no confidence in comparing physical bodies with a divine turtle.

After recovering a little, he had brought his wine pot and ancient zither here and played for most of the day. Every time he finished a piece, he would deliver some unfathomable remark, hoping to intimidate Su He out of thin air.

Since he might not be able to win, then he would rely on his silver tongue to make this divine turtle set aside its hatred—and perhaps even willingly serve at his command!

The divine turtle had yet to arrive, but the night was still long.

Lu Ming began to play again. The zither music flowed like water and seeped into the heart. When the tune ended, he sipped his fine wine and was just about to speak when the river suddenly erupted. A water column as thick as a bucket smashed toward his chest.

It was here!

Lu Ming was overjoyed, then immediately somewhat dejected. Damn it! It could have come early or late, but it had to come now. If it had waited just two more breaths for me to finish my lines, I could have cowed this turtle and seized the initiative.

What a pity.

Still, it did not matter. As long as it came.

He swung the ancient zither around and spun it, blocking the water column, then burst into laughter. "Turtle Fellow Daoist, we can be considered acquainted through a fight. Why must you repay every slight? Why such haste? I cannot run away anyway. Why not sit down and have a drink? You and I can speak freely, then have a decisive battle beneath the moon once the full moon rises. Would that not be wonderful?"

Su He said nothing. He opened his mouth, and a water sphere the size of a bushel basket thundered toward him, only for Lu Ming to swing up the zither and smash it apart.

Putting on airs! If you were truly refined, would you be using a zither to smash things around?

Where there was something abnormal, there had to be something sinister.

That son was pretending to be lofty; he definitely had another scheme. Ignore him, do not listen to him—just beat him to death.

Su He sent another water column rushing toward him, but Lu Ming lifted the zither and flicked it aside.

Lu Ming laughed heartily. "Turtle Fellow Daoist, though my cultivation is gone, the body I tempered for forty years remains. Fellow Daoist cannot harm me. Why waste your strength? Better to sit down and talk?"

Su He hurled another water sphere at him, and Lu Ming shattered it with a punch.

A beast was still a beast. Only evenly matched strength was the basis for negotiation. If he did not display some power, this turtle would never stop! A flash of ruthlessness crossed Lu Ming's eyes.

Seeing another water column charge toward him, Lu Ming tossed the ancient zither aside and thrust out his chest to meet it. The bucket-thick water column seemed to strike a massive boulder, exploding into spray across his chest, yet it could not injure him.

Beasts were simple-minded. Tools could only frighten them; only bare fists could tame them.

Lu Ming laughed loudly. Seeing that Su He still would not stop and another water column came charging over, he simply ripped open his clothes and bared his chest, letting the water column slam into him.

A turtle was just a turtle. Even its revenge was so cautious. If you relied on your bodily defense and strength to fight me hand-to-hand, I might be wary of you by three parts. But how was a water column any different from taking a bath?

Obediently submit to my taming!

Lu Ming's heroic spirit soared to the heavens. With his bare chest, he blocked the water column—and seventy-two silver needles pierced straight through his body.

A sharp pain flared through his chest and back. Lu Ming spat out a huge mouthful of blood, his expression changing drastically.

Magical artifacts!

Silver needles?

Despicable!

It had deliberately used several ordinary water columns to numb his vigilance, then launched the silver needles.

This turtle truly wanted to kill me! Terror instantly filled his face.

"No! You cannot kill me! If you kill me, you will never truly transform into a divine beast!" Lu Ming howled, turning and running toward Jing Shui Mountain's mountain-protecting formation.

The clear water from the Water Spheres and Water Columns he had shattered earlier, scattered all over the ground, suddenly churned violently. In an instant, it wrapped around him, forming a Water Sphere that enclosed him and spun him up into the air.

Then it came crashing down.

Lu Ming spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed on the ground, staring at Su He in terror. "Don't kill me! I have a Special Inheritance—I can help you purify your bloodline!"

Gasping for breath, he forced out the words in a rapid-fire rush:

"Your Divine Beast Bloodline was Activated by a Transformation Fruit, wasn't it?"

"The Transformation Fruit condensed a Dragon Turtle Dao Body within your heart aperture, didn't it?"

"I'm telling you, that Dao Body is incomplete!"

The Water Sphere wrapped around him paused slightly.

Lu Ming panted. "The Azure Origin Sect has never produced a Divine Beast. They don't understand! Only I know that an incomplete Dao Body cannot condense pure Divine Beast true blood. You'll never be able to transform into a True Dragon Turtle! Only a Divine Beast Dao Body condensed from an Azure Transformation Fruit can truly turn you into a Divine Beast—at the very least, it has to have a bluish tint!"

He looked at Su He. "This time, all eighteen Transformation Fruits from the Azure Origin Sect were colorless. Believe me, my inheritance has a way to help you make up for your Innate Deficiency!"

He wheezed at Su He, beads of blood oozing from all over his body.

It stopped. I knew those words would move this turtle!

Lu Ming tried to make his voice as gentle as possible. "As long as you help me escape the Azure Origin Realm and obtain the inheritance, I guarantee I'll restore what your Heart Aperture Dao Body lacks..."

Su He let out an "Ang!"

"Red? There are no Red Demon Transformation Fruits. Those are things of legend—but..." A flash of resolve passed through his eyes. "If you can help me obtain every inheritance, perhaps I can help raise it to the point of having a reddish tint..."

The inheritance Lu Ming had obtained was special. The greater his own potential, the higher-grade the inheritance he could receive.

He said softly, "As long as you're willing to become my Lifebound Beast..."

Splash!

The water suddenly surged, wrapping around him.

Lu Ming instantly turned pale with terror, shrieking, "Don't... glug glug... I don't want a Lifebound Beast anymore... glug glug... just send me away..."

Boom! The Water Sphere flipped over and smashed headfirst into the ground. With a crisp crack, Lu Ming's struggles came to an abrupt stop, his neck snapped at a grotesque angle.

Had this man lost his mind?! I'm fucking killing you, and you're asking me to help you get an inheritance?

Do I care about your inheritance? What inheritance could be Comparable To the dice?

I was too weak before to rob people without restraint. But things were different now. I should find some time to properly study the dice's patterns somewhere.

It was Su He's first time killing someone since crossing over two and a half years ago, yet he felt no discomfort whatsoever.

For the past two and a half years, he had struggled to survive every day—fearing hawks by day and snakes by night. He burrowed through mud, ate carrion, fought toads for food, and battled rats.

After two and a half bloody years, Su He had come to hold life in even greater awe, yet regard death as something ordinary.

Humans were no different from toads. Each struggled to live in their own way. Each desperately courted death in their own way.