"Under normal circumstances, that's true."
Yu Nan changed tack, his tone turning playful.
"But this old turtle is currently at its weakest point in its entire life."
"Oh? How so?"
Dugu Bo's eyes lit up.
Yu Nan slowly revealed the secret, something he had only just unearthed from the depths of his memories.
"This Golden Hawksbill Turtle is extremely greedy by nature, and it treasures its life above all else.
"Back then, Di Tian, the ruler of the Star Dou Forest, captured a million-year Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and imprisoned it in the Lake of Life to absorb its energy.
"Relying on its long lifespan and seniority, this old turtle snuck over too, and siphoned off some of the energy spilling from the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm."
At this, Yu Nan gave a derisive chuckle.
"But the old thing was greedy enough to swallow an elephant.
"At the bottom of the Lake of Life, it stumbled upon a piece of Gold of Life."
"Gold of Life?
What is that?"
Dugu Yan asked curiously.
"It's a treasure born from the life force gathered between heaven and earth, containing an endless wellspring of vitality," Yu Nan explained.
"That old turtle thought it had struck gold. It wanted to devour the Gold of Life to speed up its cultivation, and even dreamed of using it to break through its bottleneck.
"But it never imagined that, despite the Gold of Life's immense vitality, it wouldn't be easy for it to digest.
"Now, instead of being refined, the Gold of Life is stuck inside its body, frantically draining its own life force!"
"To fight back against the Gold of Life's devouring, it's been reduced to less than a tenth of its strength. It can barely even move.
"It's hiding beneath a secluded marsh at the