Mystic Tortoise Shell

The Old Toad found a large yellow cloth bag, wrapped the Treasure Fish in it, and swung it behind him.

It pushed open the door and turned to gaze at the six-story grotto.

The vines emitted a faint glow, climbing from the ground and covering the entire rooftop, casting shadows on the stone walls.

The bells and tripods are displayed, and the Huazhu shimmer with precious light under the reflection of the water. There are about a hundred Treasure Fish in the cave, all of which seem to be swimming in the air without anything to rely on.

"We'll have to tighten our belts again."

Bubbles rose and fell, Old Toad sighed leisurely. After finishing his thought, he made up his mind, jumped out of the cave, landed on the Green Skin Frog, and hopped up and down, stomping on its belly, creating a wave, and urging the Da Pang to get up and continue on its way.

Da Pang struggled to his feet and looked up to see the yellow cloth bag behind Old Toad.

The creature leaped and struggled, revealing its fish form. The surrounding water surged powerfully, clearly indicating that it was a high-quality Treasure Fish!

Good heavens! The Elder is serious!

Something's wrong! Something's definitely not right! The Da Pang's eyes were filled with worry as he asked with concern, "Elder, are you feeling unwell?"

"Uncomfortable? Very uncomfortable."

Upon hearing this, the Old Toad wrinkled its old face, as if it were truly in pain.

It clutched its chest, swayed, and collapsed onto the belly of the Green Skin Frog, its body hunched over into a small ball.

It hurts, it hurts so much.

It's been so long since the Great King has given the frog anything since it grew up.

It has truly sacrificed so much for the Frog Clan, and all its tears can only be shed alone at night.

The Green Skin Frog was terrified.

"The Elder must have eaten something bad. Quickly throw up! My mom taught me that if you have food poisoning, just vomit out your stomach and clean it out!"

As he spoke, the Da Pang grabbed the Old Toad and tried to pry open its mouth.

"You treacherous minister!" The Old Toad suddenly opened its eyes, spread its Da Pang webbed feet, grabbed the Green Skin Frog's head, and gave it a big headbutt, pointing into the distance. "You stupid frog, I'm heartbroken! It's not that I ate something bad! Now, immediately, right now, go to the Great King!"

The Da Pang's head sank, and he dared not speak again. He hurriedly carried the Elder back to the Great King's cave.

"The Frog Duke spits out its food to feed its mate, and the world's hearts turn to it!"

The Toad and the Er Pang Da Pang men just stared at the Old Toad, let out a strange cry, and jumped into the dark current with their yellow cloth bags on their backs, disappearing from sight.

The three frogs stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Who is the Frog Duke?

At the entrance to the underground river, aquatic plants sway in the crevices.

Cannot Move, it lies motionless among the rocks, blending into its surroundings.

It looked up and saw the Old Toad leaping past, and sent a message to Liang Qu through Mental Link.

"The Old Toad is here! Everyone, get ready!"

Liang Qu relayed the message to the Fat Catfish, Fat Catfish slapped the water's surface, overjoyed that the pond had immediately returned to order.

Some are working, some are sunbathing, and some are blowing bubbles.

The Old Toad climbed out of the water, shook off the water stains, and saw everyone working hard, feeling that the Frog Clan was thriving.

It lowered the yellow cloth bag from behind, grabbed the opening of the bag, and raised its head.

"Today, I'll show you the treasures of the Deep Water Area! So that you, little frog, will know that I, Frog Grand Duke, never mistreat a frog that has rendered a service!"

The Fat Catfish approached the shore, full of anticipation.

The Old Toad opened the bag, reached in with its claws, rummaged around, and pulled out a Treasure Fish, which it held high.

Bathed in sunlight, the Treasure Fish shimmered with iridescent colors, resembling a pearl oyster. Wave-like patterns spread along its sides, and long whiskers extended from the corners of its mouth. It was nearly a meter long and was lively and energetic.

The Treasure Fish that the Toad had given it last time had captivated the Fat Catfish. Looking at the seven-colored Treasure Fish in front of it, it seemed to smell the aroma, and its stomach began to rumble.

The River Otter that had been crawling around on the boat stopped what they were doing, stood up straight, and drooled.

"Take it!"

The Old Toad felt a pang of regret, but maintained a nonchalant demeanor, moving the Treasure Fish out of his sight and handing it to the Great Beaver.

The Great Beaver reached out its paws and grabbed the fish, not even caring that its fur was being ruffled by the fish's tail.

The Fat Catfish looked at the yellow bag again; it was bulging inside, clearly containing something good.

The Old Toad pretended to be profound and rummaged around inside for a while. Judging from its appearance, there really seemed to be a lot of things inside. However, with the appearance of an entire tortoise shell, the yellow cloth bag completely shrank.

Fat Catfish: "?"

It patted the bag with its fins and then stuck its head inside to see if there was anything flat and hidden there.

Seeing this, the Old Toad removed the yellow cloth bag and held the tortoise shell in his hand even higher. "Look!"

The Fat Catfish couldn't catch the cloth bag, so it could only look at the tortoise shell.

That thing is often seen in Great Marsh. It's hard, tough, and has no meat. What's the use of it?

"Divination by Black Tortoise shell?"

The Old Toad was about to explain when he heard the voice and was startled.

It looked around, then finally looked at the Old Giant Clam in the pool, slightly surprised, and raised its frog head.

"I didn't realize you were such a knowledgeable person, qualified to be my Frog Grand Duke's servant!"

Old Giant Clam: "..."

I dare not say anything else, but in terms of age, I guarantee it is much older than the wrinkled Toad in front of me.

The Fat Catfish waved its whiskers, asking if the turtle shell was edible.

"It's divination! It can predict good or bad fortune!" The Old Toad sat cross-legged, extending its webbed claws. "Do you have any copper coins?"

The Fat Catfish shook its head and looked at the Great Beaver.

The Great Beaver understood immediately and ran on all fours to the inner hall.

Liang Qu had been waiting there for a long time. He handed the Great Beaver a large string of copper coins and asked it to pass them on to the Old Toad.

Once the Old Toad got the copper coins, it broke the string holding the coins together, counted out six coins, put them into the tortoise shell, hugged the shell, and shook it up and down with a clanging sound. Finally, it turned the shell upside down and poured them all out.

The copper coin landed on the stone curtain ground with a tinkling sound, then lay steadily on the ground.

Four positives and two negatives.

Little evil.

"Huh?"

The Old Toad was astonished.

Four positives and two negatives signify a balance of stability and a touch of misfortune, usually indicating some bad luck...

Today is clearly a great day for the Frog Clan.

The Old Giant Clam was also quite surprised. According to its understanding, shouldn't three copper coins be used for divination? Why was this old thing using six, and simply looking at heads and tails? As for the Fat Catfish, it had no idea what was going on.

"No, let's try again."

The Old Toad wouldn't give up. It grabbed a copper coin from the ground, put it into the tortoise shell, shook it again, and then it fell to the ground.

It remains four positives and two negatives.

The Old Toad was furious.

"Bring some firewood!"

The Great Beaver hurriedly ran out, and when it came back, it was carrying a pile of dry firewood, a handful of dry straw, and a tinderbox in its mouth.

The Old Toad lit a fire, igniting the firewood. Once the flames were blazing, he threw the tortoise shell into the fire.

When the tortoise shell comes into contact with fire, it crackles and pops.

Wait until the tortoise shell stops making noise.

The Old Toad spat out the fire and then picked up the tortoise shell.

Numerous fine cracks were visible on the intact turtle shell, with the center line pointing downwards, seven on the left and three on the right.

The results were almost identical to those obtained through divination with copper coins.

This means that the Old Toad's recent fortunes have indeed been stable but with a slight hint of bad luck.

This divination left the Old Toad completely baffled.

Wait a minute, where's the bad luck? It's all good news.

The Great King has acquired a new divine weapon, and his claws are about to slay the Flood Dragon. As the Frog Grand Duke, he will soon move into the Dragon Palace to enjoy the Beautiful Frog.

On land, they have established an unprecedented stronghold for the Frog Clan, achieving success both underwater and on land.

Under the leadership of its Frog Grand Duke, the Frog Clan experienced unprecedented growth and expansion, leaving a significant mark on history.

It should be perfectly correct and auspicious, right?

The Fat Catfish stared at the cracked turtle shell, wondering if the thing could still be used.

"It can be used. Soak it in water for half a month and it will heal."

The Old Toad studied the tortoise shell, waving its claws. It had burned several of them and was quite experienced.

"It's just that the divination result is wrong..."

Fat Catfish swimming by the pond, and River Otter and other animals were drooling over the Treasure Fish. Old Toad was holding a tortoise shell, stroking and counting it with its webbed fingers. More than a quarter of an hour later...

The Old Toad suddenly realized.

Damn it, the Mystic Tortoise Shell is broken! No way.

Just as the Old Toad was about to throw out the tortoise shell, it looked at the group of Water Beast around it, and suddenly it shouted, "I understand!"

The Fat Catfish and other beasts came to their senses.

Once he had attracted the attention of the beasts, the Old Toad stood up, put his hands behind his back, and looked up at the sky.

"It must be that Your Great King's strength is unfathomable, shielding you from the secrets of heaven! As Your Great King's trusted advisor and a minister who speaks frankly, my future is also shrouded in an unfathomable fog."

Even a rare and wondrous item like the Mystic Tortoise Shell cannot affect me!

Seeing this, the Old Toad stroked its whiskers in the air.

As expected of its Frog Grand Duke, it was born a high-ranking official and died a divine frog!

In the blink of an eye, waste was turned into treasure.

However, the Fat Catfish used its whiskers to lift the yellow cloth bag on the ground and poured it out; it was empty. It then looked at the Old Toad.

Grandfather of the Frog Clan, is that all? Does he think it's some ignorant little frog?

The Old Toad was enraged by the stares.

"A fish and a turtle, of considerable value, were saved by me through frugality for the sake of the Frog Clan. You little frog, don't be ungrateful and greedy!"

The Fat Catfish pursed its lips, reluctantly accepting the offer.

Getting something for free is a good deal.

The Old Toad paced back and forth in the pond, and when it saw the entrance to the three-courtyard house, it peeked out and looked back at the Fat Catfish.

"You said you obtained this stronghold through negotiations with the human race. So, let me meet the person who brought it here."