Mystic Turtle Takes Human Form

Han Xi landed on the ice again and chiseled open another small hole, keeping it from freezing over. Han Li released her magic power and began searching for the source of the Law of Water.

"What are you two doing?"

Seeing their strange behavior, Xuan Qing and the others could not help gathering around.

"Brother, Sister and I sensed the aura of the Law of Water. There's something beneath the ice."

Han Li was intently searching for traces and ignored everyone, so Han Xi explained it to Xuan Qing.

"A living being is coming!"

Han Li suddenly spoke. She had been sensing the traces of the law when a living being suddenly entered her Sea of Consciousness.

"We can all see it, you know!"

A continent in the distance slowly drifted toward them, stopping just before it reached the ice.

"Master, isn't that the Mystic Turtle from earlier? Didn't it run away?"

"Whether it ran or not doesn't matter. The Dragon Clan won't attack it anymore anyway. But why has it come here? Is it looking for us?"

"Maybe it came to thank you, Old Brother."

Han Xi looked eagerly at the enormous thing before them, itching to climb up and take a look.

"Let's stop discussing it. We'll go meet it together."

After saying that, Xuan Qing went with the others to the Mystic Turtle.

"Hey, big guy, can you say something?"

Han Xi shouted toward the Mystic Turtle's head, but they were far too small. The Mystic Turtle was like an entire world pressing down above them.

"Hm?"

Han Xi shouted for a long time, but the Mystic Turtle gave no response.

"Big guy, the Dragon Clan is back. Aren't you running?"

Han Xi called out again.

This time, the Mystic Turtle suddenly shuddered and prepared to flee. Yet after waiting for a long while and seeing no one arrive, it extended its head and looked at Han Xi in confusion.

"Enough, stop teasing it. It probably can't speak. Let's communicate with it through Divine Sense."

"Mystic Turtle, Fellow Daoist, can you communicate?"

Xuan Qing sent a message to the Mystic Turtle through his Divine Sense.

"Fellow Daoist? What is a Fellow Daoist?"

Damn, this Mystic Turtle seemed muddle-headed. Even basic communication was difficult. Could its intelligence be so weak that it had no Great Dao inheritance?

"Mystic Turtle, why did you come looking for us?"

Seeing how difficult it was to communicate with it, Xuan Qing got straight to the point.

"Th-thank you... I feel like no one... no one is disturbing my sleep anymore."

The message sent by the Mystic Turtle came in fragments. If one did not listen carefully, it was impossible to understand what it was saying.

"Big guy, what's wrong with you? Even sending a message is hard for you. And why do you always want to sleep?"

Han Xi could not understand the Mystic Turtle's condition. How could it be so powerful yet possess such low intelligence, with its consciousness so hazy and confused?

Xuan Qing's Divine Sense began approaching the Mystic Turtle's body. When it showed no reaction, he grew bolder and began scanning its entire body.

"Hey, why is there still Chaos power inside your physical body? You aren't a Prehistoric Era being?"

Xuan Qing's Divine Sense swept through the Mystic Turtle's entire body. Its flesh contained immense Chaos Qi, while its four limbs each held a cluster of Origin corresponding to Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water.

No wonder Tongtian would come to chop off the Mystic Turtle's four limbs to hold up the heavens. Those limbs corresponded exactly to the four great Origins and could not have been more suitable for stabilizing the Four Pillars of the Prehistoric Era.

After waiting for a long time, the Mystic Turtle still did not answer Xuan Qing's question.

"Brother, could this be some Chaos Demon God?"

"No. I've seen most Chaos Demon Gods, and it doesn't resemble one. It does look like a Chaos Giant Turtle, though."

The Chaos Giant Turtle was one of the 129,600 Chaos Beings. Ever since it was born from Chaos, it had loved sleeping and spent most of its time slumbering. It had not even paid attention to the Heaven-Opening Tribulation, and no one knew what became of it in the end.

However, this Mystic Turtle was very likely part of that Chaos Giant Turtle. Perhaps it had accidentally been caught up in the great battle while asleep, causing part of its Origin to be shattered.

Because this Mystic Turtle's body contained too much Chaos Qi, it could not develop complete intelligence. It could only rely on instinct to absorb Innate Spiritual Qi, causing its body to grow larger and larger.

Once the Heavenly Dao emerged, it would surely be unable to tolerate a being like this that made no contribution and only absorbed enormous amounts of spiritual qi. It would definitely eliminate it.

"Mystic Turtle, if this continues, you won't be far from death."

"What?"

The Mystic Turtle's consciousness was no longer muddled, as though an immense crisis had descended upon it.

"Brother, why isn't it far from death?"

"It's nearly a Primordial Golden Immortal and still hasn't taken human form. It keeps frantically absorbing the spiritual qi between heaven and earth. If you were the Heavenly Dao of the Prehistoric Era, could you tolerate that?"

Upon hearing Xuan Qing's words, the Mystic Turtle immediately sobered up.

"Fellow Daoist, does Fellow Daoist have a way to save me?"

The Mystic Turtle actually spoke aloud now. Xuan Qing's words had likely stimulated it.

"Hey, big guy, you can speak! Why did you ignore me earlier?"

Han Xi seemed to have caught the Mystic Turtle by the tail. Now she intended to interrogate it properly.

"This Fellow Daoist, it wasn't that I refused to speak. It's just that I have no choice but to remain asleep most of the time. The energy within my body nearly tears my consciousness apart, and I must recover through sleep. But Fellow Daoist, you still haven't said whether you can save me."

"It's simple. Just take human form. As long as you stop absorbing spiritual qi like this, it'll be fine."

After hearing Xuan Qing's explanation, the Mystic Turtle panicked and hurriedly said, "Fellow Daoist, it isn't that I refuse to take human form. The energy in my body prevents me from doing so. I have no way around it!"

"Then just abandon this body. Separate your Origin and condense a new body."

"But what about the living beings on my back? Must I let them die?"

The Mystic Turtle was quite kind-hearted. Abandoning its body would cause the continent to lose its source of energy. Those living beings were too weak to survive in the Prehistoric Era.

Upon hearing this, Xuan Qing found that the Mystic Turtle had decent character and decided to think of a solution for it. He immediately began studying the Formation on its shell.

A Water Element Conversion Grand Array had been constructed upon the Mystic Turtle's shell. Countless strands of Innate Spiritual Qi were converted into Water Element spiritual qi, forming a Water Element World.

The entire continent was a Water Element World. Since it had not merged with the Prehistoric Era, it could only maintain its operation by drawing upon the Prehistoric Era's spiritual qi.

Half the spiritual qi absorbed by the Mystic Turtle was used to sustain this world. No wonder it absorbed so much that even the Dragon Clan wanted to kill it.

If this world could merge into the Prehistoric Era and stop sucking the Prehistoric Era dry, then the Mystic Turtle could naturally shed this body and escape the Heavenly Dao's reckoning.

"Mystic Turtle, there is a method, though I don't know if it will work. Are you willing to try?" Xuan Qing then told the Mystic Turtle his deduction.

The Mystic Turtle had long wanted to escape its current state. Upon hearing Xuan Qing's method, it no longer hesitated and immediately began preparing. This sea region happened to be devoid of living beings, so it did not need to worry about creating excessive Karma.

"Great Dao above, today Mystic Turtle is willing to abandon this Dao body and merge into the Prehistoric Era, fulfilling all living beings in this Water Element World. I pray that the Great Dao permits it!"

A Dao Sound spread throughout the entire North Sea. Countless living beings erupted into an uproar, all thinking the Mystic Turtle was a fool. Without its body, how would it resist the Dragon Clan in the future?

"Granted!"

The Great Dao answered the Mystic Turtle. A faint golden radiance enveloped it, and the continent upon its back slowly descended into the North Sea of the Prehistoric Era, merging with the ice.

Its physical body transformed into mountains and rivers. Its four limbs separated from its body, their four Origins evolving into Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water to form the world's pillars. They merged into the continent, while the Chaos Qi was absorbed by the world pillars and transformed into Innate Spiritual Qi.

The tortoise shell melted away, becoming an enormous World Barrier that enveloped the entire continent and gradually formed a World Fetal Membrane. A Greater Thousand World had thus appeared.

Great Dao Merit descended. Thirty percent fell into this world, accelerating its evolution. Sixty percent wrapped around the Mystic Turtle's True Spirit, while ten percent flew toward Xuan Qing.

The Mystic Turtle's True Spirit was enveloped by Great Dao Merit as strands of Innate Spiritual Qi began gathering toward it. In an instant, a kindly Old Man dressed in a long robe and holding a Jade Cane appeared.

The aura of a perfected Grand Luo Golden Immortal pressed down upon the entire sea region. The Mystic Turtle had successfully taken human form.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for the grace of helping me achieve the Dao. Mystic Turtle will surely repay you generously!"

The Mystic Turtle gave Xuan Qing a deep bow, then took out twelve Treasured Pearls filled with Water Element power and a piece of tortoise shell, offering them to Xuan Qing.

"Fellow Daoist, these are the only two items I have that are worth offering. I hope Fellow Daoist will not disdain them and will accept them."

"Very well. Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on successfully taking human form. You will surely attain the Great Dao in the future."

Xuan Qing accepted the gifts from the Mystic Turtle. If he did not, the Mystic Turtle would have no way to repay even part of the Karma, and its Dao Heart would remain unsettled.

"Big guy, why did you turn into an old man? You're not pretty at all!"

Qing Ling saw that the Mystic Turtle had turned into an old man. Although strength and appearance were unrelated in the Prehistoric Era, Qing Ling cared deeply about appearances.

"Please do not mock me, Fellow Daoist. This was determined by the Great Dao. I have no way to change it."

Perhaps the Mystic Turtle had truly lived too long. The Great Dao apparently did not want it to look young and directly fixed its appearance.

"Grandpa Mystic Turtle, can your body really become a world? Doesn't that make you like Great God Pangu?" Qing Ling had witnessed the birth of a new world with her own eyes and found it incredibly miraculous.

"Ah! Do not speak nonsense, do not speak nonsense! How could I possibly compare to Great God Pangu? I merely borrowed the Great Dao's assistance, and this world cannot compare with the Prehistoric Era at all."

The Mystic Turtle jumped in fright. This girl's words were far too vicious; she had nearly caused his Dao Heart to shatter.

"That is indeed true. When Great God Pangu opened the Prehistoric Era, the sight was so astounding that it remains unforgettable even now."

"Ah! Brother, you saw Great God Pangu open the Prehistoric Era?"

Han Xi's words plunged everyone around them into silence. They had never expected Xuan Qing to possess such an experience. Just what was his origin?

Everyone, including the Mystic Turtle, stared at Xuan Qing in stunned disbelief, hoping for an explanation.

"Uh... that cannot be spoken of, cannot be spoken of. Be careful, or you might lose your lives!"

Xuan Qing wished he could slap himself. Why did he let every word slip out? His greatest secret had nearly been exposed. Such things could not be spoken of carelessly, or their Dao Hearts would be unable to bear it.