Six Points

Su Hua Nian watched her daughter teasing the turtle, her face gradually turning pale.

She fully supported her daughter finding a turtle as a friend. Even if it was not a sprite, a turtle's lifespan was long enough.

Ya Ya was too special. She had been born amid the Thunder Tribulation while Su Hua Nian was undergoing it. The tribulation entering her body had caused Ya Ya to mutate, slowing her development to more than ten times that of ordinary people.

Sixty Years after her birth, she was still like a three- or four-year-old child.

Only Demonic Race could grow at the same pace as her and truly become her companions. Even if this turtle could not transform into a demon, it could still accompany her for a long time as a pet.

But Turtle Daddy...

Su Hua Nian held two fingers together like a blade and quietly watched Su He.

Perhaps because she had been born amid the Thunder Tribulation and was innately close to heaven and earth, Feng Ya Ya had been extraordinary since birth. Often, her casual words struck straight at the truth.

Everything she said offhand somehow became reality.

She said she disliked Senior Brother Gu and that he deserved to be struck by lightning, and he really was struck dead by lightning. She said Elder An looked kind and would surely make a good mother, and Elder An, who had been single for eight hundred years, truly gave birth at the age of eight hundred. She said she envied the ruins at Profound Purity Temple and wished her own sect had some too, and within three months, the Azure Origin Sect discovered Ancient Ruins beneath its own feet...

There were as many similar incidents as hairs on an ox.

And now she said she wanted to find a turtle to be her daddy...

Fairy Su only felt it becoming difficult to breathe, as if two Big Stones were weighing down her chest. Her mana unconsciously flowed into her finger blade, and the way she looked at Su He grew colder and colder.

A sudden chill ran down his spine. Su He abruptly sensed a tremendous danger descending upon him, the kind with no chance of survival, as though he were about to face a slaughter even more terrifying than the Wolf Pack and Crocodile Pack.

He instinctively retracted into his shell, his eyes darting around as he searched for the source of the danger.

Feng Ya Ya knocked on his shell. "Hey, hey, is Big Turtle home? What's wrong with you? Did something scare you? You're so timid—how are you going to save me in the future? If I get eaten someday, you have to come save me!"

Su He: "???"

Is this how children think? What wild flights of fancy. Why would you get eaten?

The sword light flickering from Su Hua Nian's fingers paused, then withdrew.

She had become fixated on appearances. She gave a self-mocking laugh. The moment she heard Ya Ya say she wanted a turtle for a dad, she had instinctively wanted to kill this turtle. But how could it possibly be this turtle?

A turtle capable of forcing her would at the very least have passed the Thunder Tribulation and possessed towering mana. It might even be a mighty expert beyond the fifth step of the Heaven-Treading Realm. Otherwise, how could it suppress her?

Suppressing the doubts in her Bottom of Heart, Su Hua Nian focused on operating the formation.

The road ahead was still unknown. She only needed to cultivate wholeheartedly. If her realm was high enough, who would dare harbor filthy thoughts? The hostility had come quickly and gone just as quickly. Su He had been terrified, thinking death was certain, but that hostility vanished without explanation.

The mountain breeze drifted softly. The last light of summer shone upon the mountaintop, and the pool water scattered seven-colored radiance beneath the Setting Sun.

Feng Ya Ya tapped Su He's shell as she painted a picture of the wonderful life they would lead after he came to join her.

"Let me tell you, Grandpa Ge is a good Old Man, but he's too stingy. He created a Breathing Technique for his turtle, but when I asked him for it, he refused to give it to me. He's out doing something now. When you come find me, I'll take you to steal that Breathing Technique!"

Su He's eyes lit up.

"And the Life Nourishing Porridge from Tranquil Peace Hall, the Ginseng Fruit from Qi Cloud Peak, the Water Essence Stone from Sword Valley... so many things are useful for turtles. We'll steal them all! If we can't steal them, we'll cover our faces and rob them! Don't worry, they can't beat me. Even if we get caught, it'll be fine. Mother is the Sect Leader's Wife, so they won't dare punish me."

The way Su He looked at Feng Ya Ya had completely Changed. He placed one turtle claw on the little girl's shoulder and gave it a solemn pat.

Very good. This is a friend I'm definitely making.

With only a few words, one child and one turtle forged a deep friendship. The two creatures conducted a full, cordial discussion and made plans for their bandit activities a hundred days from now.

It was not until night began to fall that Feng Ya Ya and Su Hua Nian had to leave.

They did not depart by Sword Control. Instead, they held hands and walked down the mountain, the little girl looking back from time to time and waving.

Su He stood at the corner of the pavilion and nodded in farewell.

Watching the two of them grow farther and farther away, Su He suddenly came to his senses.

That's not right! In a hundred days, the Demon Transformation Fruit opportunity will trigger Hundred Beasts Contention. This Fairy doesn't want me to miss it, but... damn it, I'm the opportunity being contested! If I don't follow them and leave, am I supposed to stay here and wait for the hundred beasts to rip me open and seize the Demon Transformation Fruit I haven't even digested yet? Especially since the fruit I ate was a Red Fruit after Quality Improvement, with an even stronger aura. A turtle living alone on a high Mountain Ridge—am I not a beacon?

Brothers, wait for me!

Su He wanted to shout, but turtles were mute. They had no vocal cords and could not make sounds, except when in Estrus State.

He practically jumped down from the pavilion corner and crawled at top speed after Feng Ya Ya and Su Hua Nian. Feng Ya Ya stared with wide eyes, while Su Hua Nian's robes fluttered around her.

Feng Ya Ya's eyes brimmed with delight. "Big Turtle, are you Reluctant to Part With me?"

Su Hua Nian smiled. How could there be so many intelligent, affectionate turtles? Elder Ge had encountered one, and Ya Ya had encountered one too. Had the entire Turtle Clan of Azure Origin Mountain become enlightened? This turtle probably wanted to go down the mountain as well. After all, there was only a small pool on the mountain, with no food...

Then she saw the Ink Turtle race over, clamp its jaws onto the hem of her daughter's clothes, and refuse to let go.

Su Hua Nian was stunned. Feng Ya Ya cried out and bounced about excitedly. Hugging Su He, she stared at her mother with wide, adorable eyes.

Fairy Su shook her head. "The patriarch's teachings state that no beast pets may be accepted during the Demon Transformation competition."

The contest for the Demon Transformation Fruit was both an opportunity and a selection, choosing the Beasts most suited to transform into demons. Natural selection—the strongest survived.

Not accepting beast pets during this period also meant sect members could not participate in the Beasts' contest over the Demon Transformation Fruit. No one in the Azure Origin Sect dared disobey the patriarch's admonitions, unless they were someone as unconstrained as Elder Ge.

The little girl's face instantly fell, and she puffed out her cheeks. "All right..."

Reluctantly, she set Su He down.

Su He: ???

She gave up? Su He was Stunned. No, wait, aren't you going to fight for it at all? He Looked Towards Su Hua Nian in shock. Fairy, I have something to say! Give me a spell—the kind where you tap a beast on the neck and it can speak!

Last year, he had seen the Slovenly Old Daoist tap a crane once, and the crane had immediately begun speaking human language.

Fairy Su did not understand his gaze. Instead, she felt that this turtle was remarkably spiritual. This was not the kind of intelligence that could be attained by swallowing a Demon Transformation Fruit in recent days and having its mind newly opened. It must have been born this way.

It was not surprising. Turtles were also a species favored by heaven. True divine turtles stood alongside dragons and phoenixes as one of the Four Spirits.

After some thought, she tapped Su He between the brows with her Fair Jade Fingers, leaving behind another mark. This mark would not show itself, but if someone caught Su He and tried to place a mark on him to subdue him, it would warn the Incoming Person: This Turtle Has An Owner.

Feng Ya Ya squatted down sheepishly and stroked Su He's shell. Then, reluctant to part with him, she was pulled up by Fairy Su. With a light tap of her dainty feet, the Fairy rose on her sword.

The immortal sword carried the two leisurely into the clouds. Amid the mist, their robes fluttered gracefully, truly like fairies descending into the mortal world.

Not taking me...

Su He paused for a moment, then looked down the mountain. The Wolf Pack and Crocodile Pack had long since scattered, leaving behind seven or eight corpses. No one dared approach.

There was also half a swimming snake, with a die settled upon it: Six Points!

This counted as food Su He had seized from the goshawk. The die had already settled, but he had gone off to fight the wolves and had not collected it.

He carefully crawled over and clamped the snake's tail In His Mouth. The die vanished, but the snake did not become larger. This was Quality Improvement.

With the snake's tail in his mouth, Su He crawled back up the mountain. At his fastest speed, he returned to the pool atop the mountain, dragged the tail into the bottom of the pool, and felt his heart pound wildly.

Six Points of Quality Improvement—this was the first time in history.

This half of the snake had been severed seven inches below the head. The gallbladder and heart were both on this side. It was roughly one and a half meters long and as thick as a walnut. It was not fragrant at the entrance, but carried a faint spiciness.

Turtles and humans did not share the same sense of taste. The snake's fishy stench, in Su He's mouth, felt like spicy strips that were not spicy enough.

He tore it apart and Swallowed.

The Snake Flesh was chewy, but he did not dare waste time grinding it with his teeth. It was Six Points-quality Snake Flesh; until it was in his stomach, he could not feel at ease.

He gulped it down whole as quickly as possible, then let out a long, satisfied burp.

The Sky Color darkened. Rustling insect chirps rose, along with distant wolf howls and Beast Roar Sound. Lying on the mountaintop, Advance Further toward the sky, Su He watched the stars across the heavens compete to sparkle.

Su He lurked at the bottom of the pool. The entire sky rippled with the water, and amid the stars, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.