What the Heck?

Hahaha!

Wahahaha! In a bizarre forest, Old Daoist Ge had gone mad, striking out with palm after palm. Mountains and rivers shattered beneath his blows; streams ran dry.

The mountains here were white, yet the trees were black. Even the water looked like burning oil.

This was a warped world.

A voice, neither male nor female, came from across the way. "Old Daoist Ge! Don't push people too far! Do you really think I'm afraid of you?!"

Old Daoist Ge burst out laughing. "A joyous occasion puts a spring in one's step! Madman Yao, come out and fight!"

Fatty Xia had just sent word via a Wooden Kite.

Talent Thunder Sound! This old daoist truly had a razor-sharp eye. Otherwise, why had he chosen to get drunk at Listening Sea Lake out of the vast Azure Origin Realm? And why had a whole lakeful of turtles and softshell turtles given a lecture precisely on the little fellow's island? Fate was Wonderful Beyond Words!

Perhaps that little fellow's awakening of a Divine Beast Bloodline had even come from this old daoist's lecture.

By the customs of the cultivation world, he had been the first to discover that turtle, and he had been the one to lead it onto the Dao. Su He had even cultivated his technique. By all rights, Su He was naturally Old Daoist Ge's disciple.

Only if Old Daoist Ge explicitly said he would not take him could anyone else get involved.

But only a fool would refuse!

A divine turtle with Dragon Turtle Bloodline, with Talent Thunder Sound to boot. Its temperament wasn't bad either. If he didn't take it as a disciple, did they take him for some junior like Feng Yi Ju, whose brain had gone haywire?

Thinking of Feng Yi Ju, Old Daoist Ge's fury rose.

Junior! This old daoist was risking his life for the sect in the Three Rivers Wasteland, while you bullied my disciple back home? Did you think no one was left in my lineage? When this old daoist returns, I'll turn your Eternal Life Hall upside down! The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He threw a punch, and a tiger's roar rang out. A Mountain Peak ten miles away collapsed, while that genderless voice came back in a flustered rage: "Ge Jian San! Does your Azure Origin Sect intend to monopolize the Three Rivers Wasteland?!"

The space within the Three Rivers Wasteland was unusual. The strange ores and spiritual plants it produced existed nowhere in the outside world.

The Azure Origin Sect had originally held no stake here. But over the past Three Hundred Years, as the sect had rapidly expanded, it had not only forced a foot into the door, but had even become the greatest beneficiary.

Now they were attacking without cause—did they want to swallow it all for themselves? Even if they could swallow it, could they keep it down? The wasteland was called a wasteland because it could not be developed. No one could develop it. Its mountains, rivers, and terrain changed constantly. A mountain seen today might vanish after a night's sleep, as though everyone had been transported elsewhere.

And who knew when some evil creature might be born? Could the Azure Origin Sect defend the place on its own? Would they be willing to throw several experts at the level of the Seven Veins Peak Master in here?

Old Daoist Ge laughed loudly. "Why so stingy? One hit won't kill you!"

The little Daoist boy cowered in a corner, trembling. The one who hit you was Grandmaster—if you want revenge, take it up with Grandmaster. Don't come looking for this little daoist...

Beside him, the camel nodded in agreement. Then, from who knew where, it produced Old Daoist Ge's Wine Gourd and secretly began glugging it down.

Old Daoist Ge flew into a rage and kicked it, making its humps quiver wildly.

"Why are you still loitering here? Get back to the sect! Even with this old daoist gone, people dare set their sights on my disciple. Go back and protect him!"

By his reckoning, it was long past time for turtles to hibernate. That little turtle ought to be hibernating too, right? He would have this silly camel return to stand guard, lest the little turtle be ambushed during its hibernation.

Master Zhuang wore a Face Full of Confusion. It pointed a hoof at its own head in disbelief. Me? I only got here yesterday, and I've already fallen out of favor? That turtle lives in water, okay? You want a camel to guard a turtle in the water—where's your conscience?

Master Zhuang disliked the environment of Azure Origin Mountain. There was too much water, too much dampness. It preferred the desert, but ever since it had followed Old Daoist Ge, it had never seen a desert again.

It missed home!

"After you get back, take a stroll through the Water Mansion. That stupid crocodile next door has gone mad for some reason and beats up my Turtle Bastard every day." The three-courtyard residence in Beast Taming Valley was merely Old Daoist Ge's temporary lodging. His true Daoist grounds lay beneath Elephant Water.

Old Daoist Ge's Second Body was a turtle, and he was more at ease underwater.

Old Daoist Ge took a token from his robes and tossed it into the camel's pack. This time, he truly meant to send the camel out of the Three Rivers Wasteland.

When the camel had left yesterday, it had not truly escaped the Three Rivers Wasteland. Though it had gone out, it was still wrapped in the spatial power of the Three Rivers Wasteland. That was why Su Hua Nian had been unable to sense it.

The Three Rivers Wasteland was special. It opened only once every three years; once one left, one could not enter again until three years later. Yesterday, the old daoist had used a special method to tear away a piece of the Three Rivers Wasteland's space, wrap the camel inside it, and throw it back to the Azure Origin Sect.

That was why the camel had suddenly vanished when it left. The spaces had fused, and the space enveloping it had been directly recalled by the Three Rivers Wasteland.

This time, leaving would not be so miraculous. The camel could not simply appear directly within the Azure Origin Sect after going out; it would have to run all the way back from the exit.

It was rather far.

Master Zhuang was sad for a moment, then immediately perked up. Bouncing and hopping without looking back, it raced toward the wasteland's exit.

It had had more than enough of this place. They would not even spare it a mouthful of wine! Once it got back, it would take Turtle Boy to Evergreen Peak to steal wine! Evergreen Peak excelled at spiritual plants, and the wine it brewed was peerless as well. It had gone months without a drink and was craving it badly.

Off it went!

It let out several snorting calls.

Little Daoist boy, I'm leaving. You stay here and serve that old man! Next time, put three handfuls of salt in his roast chicken and salt him to death!

At this moment, Listening Sea Lake was exceptionally lively.

Eighteen Yellow Turban Warriors, each two zhang tall, were Carrying Mountain, Dividing Water, Filling Ravines, Digging Canals... They were constructing a Daoist ground at Listening Sea Lake.

The Azure Origin Sect was not building Su He a palace or pavilions. Rather, it was transforming Listening Sea Lake into a geographical environment exceptionally suited to his cultivation.

Or rather, they were laying out a feng shui formation around Listening Sea Lake.

Su Hua Nian and Xia Da Li had personally drafted the formation diagram, while the materials consumed were more than three times what Feng Yi Ju had decided upon yesterday.

Outside Eternal Life Hall, Feng Yi Ju stood atop the Star Gazing Platform with his hands clasped behind his back. This was the highest point of the Azure Origin Mountain's Main Peak. A thousand-zhang mountain range lay beneath his feet, and from here he could see every part of the Azure Origin Sect.

Feng Yi Ju slowly exhaled.

He now somewhat regretted those words about "restrictions" that day. If Divine Beast Bloodline meant there was a chance of suppressing the Azure Origin Sect's fortune for several thousand years, then with Talent Thunder Sound added to the mix, it was all but set in stone.

Even if that turtle could not purify its bloodline and transform into a True Dragon Turtle, this talent gave it a chance to reach the Heaven-Treading Realm. It would be little inferior to a divine beast.

The moment Feng Yi Ju received the news this morning, he gave the order: Listening Sea Lake's dojo was not to be built to a Hall Master's standards. It was to be built however Su He required, with no consideration for material costs.

The formation diagrams had been made by Su Hua Nian and Xia Da Li. Su Hua Nian understood what his cultivation technique required, while Xia Da Li understood what a turtle needed to live.

Across the hundred-li Listening Sea Lake, there were twenty-eight Sunbathing Platforms alone, arranged according to the Twenty-Eight Mansions. Sand Ground for hibernation, ditches for raising shrimp... If Green Snake had not come pleading pitifully through the back door, Snake Valley would already have become Su He's villa.

Even Though that was the case, Snake Valley had still specially built him a Sunbathing Platform and a Rain Listening Corridor.

When the camel came charging murderously to Listening Sea Lake, it stared at the bustling construction site with a Face Full of Confusion. Hadn't they said its turtle brother was living in dire straits?

Hadn't they said he was trembling in fear, afraid someone would place restrictions on him? Wasn't he supposed to be starving one meal and stuffed the next, constantly worrying about being Schemed Against? The moment it left the Three Rivers Wasteland, it sensed that the camel hair it had given Su He had been activated. What kind of Mortal World Hell was he living in for the life-saving divine ability it had just given him to be used immediately? It had even thought breathing was a waste of time, sprinting more than a hundred thousand li in one go as it desperately Rushed Back to support its turtle brother—only to find that turtle sprawled atop a stone platform, enjoying an alligator's filial offerings while watching the Yellow Turban Warriors build his dojo with great interest.

What the hell was this?!