Before Hibernation

Old Daoist gritted his teeth. Da Zhuang shot out with a whoosh and smashed the green crocodile to the ground with one hoof, killing it on the spot.

A Three-Star Exotic Beast was on the same level as Lu Ming's white tiger, yet it could not even withstand a single hoof from Da Zhuang.

Having landed the blow, Da Zhuang did not return. Instead, he went downstream with the current and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Old Daoist snorted twice. "More than three hundred li downstream from here is green crocodile territory. There's a Seven-Star Crocodile King there. It was the beast pet of a former elder from Beast Taming Valley. After that elder passed away, the Crocodile King took up residence there. Out of consideration for my old friend, I never bothered with it, yet it has repeatedly harassed my turtle beasts."

Su He blinked. From Old Daoist's tone, was there going to be Seven-Star Crocodile King meat today? That would be a tremendous tonic before hibernation.

Old Daoist bared his teeth. "That crocodile has never been able to evolve into the Profound Moon Realm, so it can no longer hold onto its position as Crocodile King.

"Crocodiles used to follow the rules. If they wanted to seize the Crocodile King's position, they would come challenge it. But a few months ago, some little scheming bastard appeared from who knew where. Instead of challenging it, he secretly tamed crocodiles, and even slaughtered a whole group of green crocodiles under its command."

"For some reason, that Crocodile King has gone mad. It not only targets the crocodiles threatening its position, but also drives crocodiles into my territory every day to hunt and kill turtles."

Su He sheepishly drew in his neck. The more he listened, the more familiar this story sounded. This shouldn't be his fault, right? Listening Sea Lake shouldn't be able to affect the bottom of Elephant Water.

Old Daoist waved a hand. "Ignore it. Its hide is itching; Da Zhuang only needs to go beat it up. If not for the sake of my deceased old friend, I'd have slaughtered it long ago and had it with wine. I called you here today for something else. Circulate the Turtle Longevity Breathing Art, and let me take a look."

This was the real reason Old Daoist had gathered his spiritual sense and sent it back with the camel from a hundred thousand li away. The thought he had left in the small courtyard at Beast Taming Valley was merely a mechanical program.

Only this stone statue at the bottom of Elephant Water could bear Old Daoist's Spiritual Sense Power.

Strictly speaking, this was Old Daoist's true Dao grounds. There were no palaces or quiet rooms, only a stretch of pristine water. Old Daoist's Second Body cultivated here.

The turtles' hibernation period was approaching. Quite a few had already gone into hibernation; otherwise, there would have been even more turtles here.

Before Su He went into hibernation, he had to correct his cultivation method. Su He's Turtle Longevity Breathing Art took a demon star as its core, but divine beasts had no demon stars.

Su He blinked, unsure how to respond.

"What are you standing around for? My time is limited—circulate it at once!"

Could this dumb turtle have failed to learn it? That shouldn't be possible. His talent was exceptionally high, and his comprehension was not poor either. Had he simply been too lazy to learn? Under Old Daoist's suspicious gaze, Su He obediently lowered himself, closed his eyes, focused his mind, and breathed long and steadily, drawing spiritual energy into his body and moving it through a Great Circulation.

The stone-statue Old Daoist pressed himself against the turtle shell, his spiritual sense penetrating within for a careful observation.

Then he opened his eyes with a face full of confusion.

This was Old Daoist's Turtle Longevity Breathing Art? Why didn't he recognize it? He stood stunned for a long while, then sent his spiritual sense inside again.

After only a moment, he withdrew it once more.

Sitting atop the turtle shell, he fell silent again for a long time.

He did not recognize this cultivation method, but he recognized its father. Some expert must have altered Old Daoist's Turtle Longevity Breathing Art specifically for this turtle.

The person who had modified the method was at an extremely high realm. If Old Daoist himself were to do it, it would take at least several decades.

And behind this turtle, the only true expert was Su Hua Nian.

That spoiled little girl from Three Hundred Years Ago had already become this formidable?

Old Daoist felt an inexplicable gloom. He was proud that his sect possessed such a pillar, yet also saddened for himself.

In the end, he was old. The next generation had already surpassed him by far.

After one Great Circulation was complete, Su He slowly woke. The camel had yet to return, while the stone-statue Old Daoist stood quietly, seemingly lost in thought.

A crocodile sprang out from somewhere and seized a turtle, tearing and biting at it viciously.

A fish had slipped through the camel's net.

With a sweep of his four limbs, Su He used Water Manipulation Divine Power. His enormous body crashed through the river water and charged forward.

He was familiar with fighting crocodiles! This crocodile was also Three-Star.

Su He had condensed the Heart Aperture Dao Body, putting him at the level of a Two-Star Exotic Beast in terms of realm. But once beasts grew large enough, realm was often no longer the sole measure of strength.

A turtle whose shell alone was one zhang across was already a colossal creature.

Su He moved as fast as a flying stone. He withdrew his head, and his turtle shell crashed thunderously into the green crocodile.

His massive body, combined with the weight of Turtle Mountain, instantly sent the Three-Star Green Crocodile flying. The crocodile's entire snout collapsed inward, making for a somewhat familiar sight.

Yet the green crocodile seemed not to feel pain at all. Shaking its dizzy head, it abandoned the turtle it had been pursuing and charged towards Su He.

The green crocodile opened its mouth, and a mass of ice crystals condensed within—an Ice Cone, spear-like, incomparably sharp, and chilling to the bone.

It was about to fire when the pitch-black giant turtle opposite it let out a roar, and a Water Sphere smashed directly into its mouth. The Water Sphere spun, pinning the Ice Cone and driving it straight down its throat and into its belly.

Seventy-two Silver Needles became like a meat grinder. In an instant, blood mixed with intestines and entrails sprayed from the green crocodile's mouth.

Before a Three-Star Green Crocodile could even unleash its skill, Su He had pinned it to death beneath the water.

For a time, the scene was exceptionally bloody.

Su He flicked his head and tossed the Crocodile Corpse into the Turtle Mountain Cave Mansion. After some thought, he threw in the camel's crocodile as well. One piece of dice spun after them into the Turtle Mountain cave.

Su He did not check either the Quality Points or the quantity points.

There was enough food for this hibernation.

Hibernation was coming. All that remained was to wait for the Dao grounds to be completed.

Su He looked forward to it. After hibernation, what kind of divine powers would his turtle shell and Turtle Scale gain?