Nothing More Than Food, Clothing, Shelter, and Travel

Su He spun around sharply and saw several water snakes drifting lightly toward him.

The one in front was clearly the Snake King, at least twenty feet long and as thick as a calf. Her body was emerald green and extraordinarily graceful. Su He actually sensed a kind of "seductiveness" from a snake.

She had eaten a Demon Transformation Fruit too! Turtle and snake simultaneously confirmed each other's identity.

The aura of a Demon Transformation Fruit simply could not be concealed. The two sides stood quietly opposed, guarding against one another. Neither made the first move.

The water snakes following the Snake King swiftly swam forward, surrounding her protectively.

Clearly, this was not the first time. The Snake King's ability to protect her Demon Transformation Fruit owed much to the snake swarm beneath her command.

This was nature.

In the struggle for Demon Transformation Fruits, pack animals always held an advantage over solitary creatures. During the nine days the fruit grew, no solitary animal could guard it alone.

If Su He had not swooped in and snatched the Demon Transformation Fruit from the little pond, it would certainly have belonged to the Wolf King. That wolf pack had more than twenty wolves and could face any threat.

Except Old Six.

Su He and the Snake King stared quietly at each other, then slowly retreated at the same time. Neither intended to fight. After sizing up each other's build and level of threat, they tacitly crossed the other off their menus.

After retreating several dozen feet, the Green Snake suddenly opened her mouth and spat out a cloud of mist, instantly shrouding the snake swarm. Startled, Su He swiftly dove beneath the surface. Fighting snakes underwater was always better than fighting them above it.

Looking up from below, Su He saw the Green Snake envelop the swarm in thick fog, then use the cover to dive below the surface and rapidly swim away.

She tossed out a smoke bomb and retreated.

She had some IQ, but not much.

But she could spit mist! Only Exotic Beasts and demons could wield supernatural abilities—swallowing clouds, breathing fire, summoning wind, calling lightning...

Exotic Beasts could not transform into demons and had no interest in Demon Transformation Fruits. They might even reject them. This Green Snake could only have been an ordinary snake that had eaten one.

She had only eaten the fruit a few days ago, and she already had a divine ability?

Why don't I have one?

Su He swam toward Listening Sea Lake, feeling indignant on his own behalf.

After several days of Heavy Rain, the sky had only just cleared. Swimming Fish, Shrimp and Crab had all risen to the upper waters to breathe, and he frequently encountered all sorts of creatures. Old Crocodile swam back and forth hunting prey, startling up countless splashes.

This area was Crocodile Beach.

Several crocodiles spotted Su He and were Eager to Try, wanting to approach. But when they saw his size, they hesitated.

After this period of Deep Sleep, the aura of the Demon Transformation Fruit had faded greatly, while his body had grown far larger. The crocodiles Could Not Do Anything About him now. If he had still been as he was before, these Old Crocodiles would have lunged at him without a second thought.

Su He paddled quietly through the water, seeking a place where he could settle for the long term.

Wolves had wolf packs, and snakes had snake swarms. Su He wanted to find a small island and see whether he could tame a turtle colony. They would not need to do anything else—even giving him a warning while he slept would be wonderful.

One crocodile was still unwilling to give up and wanted to cut Su He open to seize the Demon Transformation Fruit.

It followed behind him.

Su He adjusted his state and swam forward at an unhurried pace. Several Lotus Flowers drifted past on the water's surface. Though battered and withered by wind and rain, they looked as if they had once bloomed.

He had slept Too Long. The lotus flowers had already blossomed.

The day he had agreed upon with the Slovenly Old Daoist had already arrived.

Su He swam toward the appointed island from memory.

The crocodile following Behind Her finally could not restrain itself. The leading one abruptly accelerated toward Su He, opened its jaws, and fiercely bit at Su He's Hind Claw.

The stench rushed into his nostrils, and Su He withdrew into his shell.

Crack!

The crocodile bit down on the serrated rim of his shell and snapped two pointed teeth. The impact made its mind buzz. At a Loss, it did not know what to do, when Su He turned and bit its foreleg, then yanked backward and flipped it over.

Crack!

Its entire claw was twisted off and torn away.

Blood Pushed Aside through the lake water. The bloody sight did not frighten away the other two crocodiles. Instead, it stirred their ferocity, and they roared as they charged forward.

Su He swiftly withdrew into his shell, letting them bite and gnaw at him, Immovable as a Mountain.

After this Deep Sleep, his shell had become even harder. The crocodiles' bites struck with bang after bang, jolting his Internal Organs until they ached, but his shell showed no sign of damage.

Bang! One crocodile bit down on his shell. Rather than crushing it, its upper and lower jaws clamped together and launched Su He like a bullet, sending him crashing toward another crocodile.

Seizing the momentum, Su He bit the crocodile's hind leg. He kicked fiercely against its belly with his back foot, tearing off a large chunk of leg meat. At the same time, his Hind Claw dug into its stomach, ripping open the crocodile's soft belly.

Its intestines spilled out through the wound.

The crocodile rolled and struggled, then whipped its tail and sent Su He flying. Yet it did not dare pursue. Bleeding heavily, it thrashed its tail and fled as though escaping for its life.

Two of the three crocodiles were gone.

The remaining crocodile no longer dared approach. It slowly swayed its tail and quietly slipped away.

Su He remained still in the water for a moment, calming his throbbing organs. Once he was certain all three crocodiles had fled, a swell of pride rose within him.

The crocodiles Could Not Do Anything About him. There were not many species in this lake that could threaten him now.

He raised his turtle head and swam proudly toward the appointed island.

After the Heavy Rain, Listening Sea Lake had Changed completely. Most of the small island from Su He's memories had vanished.

It took Su He an entire day to find the island. Now, only a bare hilltop remained, standing lonely above the water.

Su He circled the island once. He did not see the Slovenly Old Daoist, only a Stone Turtle statue submerged in the water, showing that the Old Daoist had once come here.

Su He had broken the appointment.

Su He lay beside the Stone Turtle in a daze for A Long While before finally smiling helplessly. He carried stones from the island and arranged them beside the Stone Turtle into the shape of a Daoist drinking wine.

I came to keep our appointment, but I was late. If we are Destined, we shall meet again.

To gain it is my fortune; to lose it is my fate.

He had already swallowed the Demon Transformation Fruit. In the future, opportunities to seek the Dao would come naturally, so there was no need to care too much about gain and loss.

After being a turtle for two years, Su He had learned nothing else, but he had long since taken gain and loss lightly. Especially when he had been a Young Turtle—there was no need to rejoice over finding food, because perhaps a predator lurked Behind Her. Nor was there any need to grieve when prey escaped. Better to hurry and search for food again.

A beast Immersed in gain and loss, unable to pull itself free, could not survive.

To survive in the wild, one needed to be alert and cautious, but one also had to learn how to be heartless and carefree.

Outside the Azure Origin Realm, within a peculiar region, the Slovenly Old Daoist was gnawing on a chicken rump with his mouth slick with grease when he suddenly stopped and looked up. "Boy, it seems your Patriarch has made a mistake!"

The boy did not understand.

The Old Daoist looked somewhat grave. "If that little turtle swallowed the Demon Transformation Fruit, it would naturally receive an inheritance suited to it from within the fruit. If it did not swallow it, it should walk the Exotic Beast Dao Path. Either way, the Breathing Technique is unsuitable for it. I should not have left that Stone Turtle behind."

Hopefully, the little turtle had truly missed the appointment. Or perhaps the earth would shake and a volcano would erupt, cracking the Stone Turtle? Failing that, a flood could submerge it. The Stone Turtle contained the Breathing Technique; it was useful only in the wind. Once sunk at the bottom of the water, it was nothing more than an ordinary statue.

This region was unusual, utterly out of place with the outside world, like a Special Space. The Old Daoist still knew nothing of Qing Yuan's Heavy Rain.

At that moment, Su He was rather excited. His luck was not bad. Not long after leaving the island, he found a truly suitable "Water Mansion."

It was a damaged pill furnace. The pill chamber on top was gone, leaving only the three-legged furnace overturned on the lakebed. Its body was coated in a thick layer of rock-like rust, with shellfish clinging to it. Water Grass swayed around it in the current.

The furnace was huge, at least fifty or sixty feet across.

If he dug a concave entrance into the lakebed and crawled into the pill furnace, then sealed the entrance with pebbles, it would make an excellent place for hibernation.

Su He decided to make his home here.

What cultivators sought was nothing more than food, clothing, shelter, and travel—Wealth, Companions, Techniques, Location. Su He's demands were lower. Food and shelter were enough. What he desired now was merely companions: a group of tamed turtles he could put to use.

This was not something that could be accomplished in a day or two. The most urgent problem was food.

Having arrived at Listening Sea Lake, there were Swimming Fish, Shrimp and Crab everywhere, yet Su He discovered that he no longer had a source of food.

Perhaps because their living environment differed, the fish in Listening Sea Lake were more cunning. At Su He's size, it was difficult to steal their food.

Turtles as large as Su He generally hunted by lying in wait, motionless as a dead thing, then launching a sudden attack when prey passed by.

But Su He needed to steal and throw points around, so he could not use that method.

He rather missed the Giant Salamander.

Su He crawled out of the pill furnace and swam toward Crocodile Beach.

At his current size, Even Though he found the Giant Salamander, it would no longer be suitable for teaming up with Su He.

Unless something unexpected happened, the dining hall would have to move to Crocodile Beach.