The Wind is Tight, Let's Scram

"The centipede demon... is dead?!"

Inside the water manor, the Star-Backed Black Turtle, which had been controlling the Starlight Water Wall Formation and preparing to seize the moment when the Thousand-Legged Centipede ambushed the sword-bearing youth to strike with the formation's killing move—Thousand Star Cold Light—was instantly horrified out of its wits.

Its pair of lantern-sized turtle eyes bulged wide, while its great mouth fell open involuntarily and remained agape for a long while.

Ten Thousand Reverence Ridge was not far from Longevity Pool, and the Thousand-Legged Centipede was practically a neighbor. Old Turtle knew it quite well. It knew that, in terms of magical power cultivation alone, the centipede surpassed it and was already comparable to a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator.

On top of that, it had awakened its innate talent, possessed strange venom, and was covered from head to toe in an exceptionally sturdy shell. Ordinary magical artifacts could scarcely harm it.

If they truly fought, even ordinary Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators would not be its match.

Yet the sword-bearing youth had clearly been sitting cross-legged, breathing and regulating his qi. How had the Thousand-Legged Centipede been directly slain by that streak of azure sword light?!

Old Turtle could not make sense of it, and panic welled up in its heart.

"Could it be... this boy is a disciple of some legendary great sect, bearing a supreme inheritance?"

The Star-Backed Black Turtle suddenly thought of a possibility, and its heart grew even more frantic. It knew perfectly well that if the other party truly had such a background, how could a wild demon beast like itself possibly afford to provoke him?

What should it do?

Old Turtle knew that with the Thousand-Legged Centipede dead, the other great demons would never dare come again. Even if they had already reached the pool's edge, the moment they sensed the centipede's corpse, they would likely flee in panic at once.

Most demon beasts were merely reckless, not truly stupid. Besides, demon beasts that had cultivated to the second rank were all top-tier among the top-tier. There was no way they would throw away their lives by coming here to die.

"In that case, there is only one path left."

The Star-Backed Black Turtle's massive body moved out of the water manor. It went straight beyond the range of the Starlight Water Wall Formation and stopped more than a hundred zhang away from Ye Shaochen.

Then, it actually withdrew into its shell at the bottom of the pool, wearing the appearance of one awaiting slaughter.

[After two years of bitter cultivation, you are no longer far from the peak of the transcendent mastery realm.

These long two years of cultivation have deepened your understanding of the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm. You vaguely feel that this intent realm may be able to advance still further, yet you do not know where to begin.]

[Three months later, you vaguely gain an idea and begin contemplating the changes in water day and night.

You discover that merely controlling water is a lesser path. You begin trying to integrate the "Subtle Ripple Intent Realm" into every circulation of magical power, attempting to find a more fundamental "momentum."]

[Four months later, you gain nothing. However, the Clear Ripple Water Control Art has already reached the peak of the transcendent mastery realm.

You do not feel delighted, because you cannot see the road ahead. It seems that this is the ultimate boundary of your attainments in this path.]

The cultivation information automatically stopped here. He Sheng hurriedly checked the relevant information within the water droplet.

[Clear Billows Water Control Art (Transcendent Mastery): 1000/1000]

(Total cultivation time: thirteen years, two months, fourteen days)

As for his remaining general cultivation time, he still had quite a bit left.

[Current total available cultivation time: five years, nine months, twenty-four days]

"The system stopping automatically... perhaps it's reminding me that continuing to invest general cultivation time into this will not yield much benefit?"

The transcendent mastery realm was already a level beyond the reach of ordinary people. Though the total cultivation time was only a little over thirteen years, if it were converted to cultivating one shichen each day, that would be equivalent to cultivating for nearly one hundred and sixty years without interruption every single day!

Very few Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators could achieve this, and now that He Sheng wanted to take another step forward, it was naturally harder still.

"But at least the system hasn't denied it!"

He Sheng carefully examined the information for the Clear Ripple Water Control Art. The plus sign behind it was still there, meaning he could continue investing general cultivation time.

All in again!

He Sheng was utterly determined to become a build-abusing monster.

In any case, he could turn back time, so he had no fear of sunk costs.

[One year passes, and you still gain nothing. Yet, as though your heart had turned to iron, you are determined to blaze new trails in the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm.]

[Another half year passes. Because you continuously contemplate the changes in water, a thought finally dawns upon you.

You believe that "water" is not a form. You attempt to strip away the outward appearance of "water" and understand its essence.

You no longer control "water"; instead, you are communicating with "water."]

[Another year passes. During this time, you gather all kinds of different "water"—river water, lake water, pond water, marsh water, water from low-lying hollows, and more. As you contemplate their essences one by one, you gain greatly.

You discover that different waters possess different essences. You call this essence affinity.

Communicating with "water" is, in truth, communicating with a certain affinity. Therefore, you must first choose one rather than comprehend them in a disorderly jumble.

You choose to communicate with the affinity represented by "river water," because you discover that the affinities represented by river water, lake water, and pond water are largely similar. It should be a relatively common affinity, and not too difficult to comprehend.]

[Eight months later, you finally gain something. Using your understanding of river water's affinity to drive the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm, you vaguely touch upon the existence of a power with an exceedingly high rank.]

[Half a year later, you fail to comprehend that high-ranking power. You vaguely sense that you seem to lack something. Without this thing, a barrier always remains between you and that high-ranking power.

But it is not as though you gain nothing. You comprehend a method more profound than water control, called "the law follows the heart's intent; when intent stirs, water becomes real."]

[Three months later, you discover that your understanding was not wrong. You truly lack something necessary, preventing you from building a bridge of communication with that high-ranking power.]

This was a problem that "techniques" could not solve; its source lay in the "method."

Having thoroughly recognized the essence of the problem, you began to shift your focus, studying how to use the means of "the method follows the heart's intent, and intent stirs water's truth" to forge a transcendent technique of your own!]

[Just one month later, drawing upon the insights and understanding you had gained over the past several years, you successfully created a transcendent technique. You named it "Water-Gathering Break."

The power of this transcendent technique rivaled that of an ordinary talisman treasure, with even further potential for improvement. The key lay in whether you could sense even tinier traces of water.

This was another new path, one that required the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm to advance further. Brimming with enthusiasm, you continued exploring down this path.]

[Two months later, your Subtle Ripple Intent Realm had not changed noticeably, but you had already grasped the heart of the issue!

You needed more powerful divine sense to support the further advancement of your Subtle Ripple Intent Realm, allowing you to perceive even tinier traces of water. Then, through that finer perception, you could further elevate your Subtle Ripple Intent Realm.

This was a cycle, and the critical point was divine sense.]

The system automatically stopped once more. This time, He Sheng did not force the issue.

He could see it clearly enough. After investing another four-plus years, it was indeed possible for the Clear Ripple Water Control Art to advance further and for the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm to rise to another level—but unfortunately, his hardware was insufficient.

"That path of communicating with water is clearly a cultivation art issue. It's practically telling me outright that the Clear Billows Water Origin Art is some roadside trash, incapable of touching higher-order power.

"The advancement of the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm requires more powerful divine sense to perceive the microscopic world. That's also a hardware requirement."

After more than four years, all he had gained was a so-called transcendent technique, and its power was not particularly impressive.

From this, it was clear that the time-to-results ratio for cultivating spells was abysmal. Especially when trying to create something from nothing and blaze a new trail—one could easily pour in a vast amount of time and come away with nothing worthwhile.

"According to Brother Piao's memories, talisman treasures are special talismans made by Core Formation cultivators at the cost of consuming the origin of their natal magic treasures.

"Depending on the quality of the talisman treasure, their power generally reaches ten to twenty percent of the original magic treasure's power.

"Ordinary talisman treasures usually possess around fifteen percent of a magic treasure's power.

"They are far more powerful than top-grade magic artifacts, but compared to a partially refined embryonic magic treasure, they still fall short by a degree or two."

Talisman treasures were devastating weapons against cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage and below, but for Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators—especially those at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection—they were somewhat of a tasteless morsel.

"In short, if this Water-Gathering Break cannot be further enhanced, it too will merely be a tasteless morsel.

"Still, I have yet to refine an embryonic magic treasure, so Water-Gathering Break counts as a powerful method for now.

"And the key to taking it further lies in divine sense.

"So, I need to find and cultivate a secret art that can enhance divine sense..."

As He Sheng pondered this, he suddenly sensed something. His mind stirred at once, and an image perceived through his divine sense surfaced in his mind—it was the Thousand-Legged Centipede being cut down by that streak of azure sword light!

"That's the move!"

He Sheng recognized at a glance that the azure sword light that slew the Thousand-Legged Centipede was identical to the sword strike that had instantly killed Brother Piao before!

"It ignores spiritual power defenses again!

"And this sword strike seems even stronger...

"That's right!

"This strike actually has the flying sword's true body behind it."

He Sheng saw the key point at once, and a chill ran through his heart.

"This flying sword is that sharp? Even a demonic beast's sturdy body can't withstand it.

"A mighty second-rank great demon was slain in a single stroke—how the hell am I supposed to play this game?!"

He Sheng had originally harbored a few thoughts of his own. Once his cultivation reached Foundation Establishment Great Perfection, perhaps he could join forces with the Star-Backed Black Turtle and trade a few moves with the sword-bearing youth.

But seeing a great demon like the Thousand-Legged Centipede cut down in one strike, his heart instantly turned ice-cold.

"I can't stay any longer. I don't want to take another sword strike later!"

He Sheng abruptly opened his eyes and beckoned, drawing the stone box the green snake had placed at the cave entrance into his palm. He did not inspect it, merely stuffed it into his storage bag before preparing to make a hasty retreat.

However, just as he was about to enter the hidden waterway leading directly to the underground river, He Sheng hesitated slightly.

"This time, I've implicated the Star-Backed Black Turtle. Should I at least say something before I leave?"

With a thought, He Sheng extended his divine sense toward the main hall, only to discover that the Star-Backed Black Turtle had actually left the water manor.

"What is Old Turtle planning? Is he going up there to fight head-on?"

To He Sheng's astonished senses, the Star-Backed Black Turtle did indeed go up—but not to risk its life. Instead, it crawled forward and shrank into its shell a hundred zhang away from the sword-bearing youth.

How could He Sheng fail to understand upon seeing this? The Star-Backed Black Turtle was not planning to fight head-on at all. Having discovered that the other party was in an entirely different league, it was clearly preparing to surrender at six-tenths speed!

"This Old Turtle... he's really got something."

Even the master of this place had given up resisting, so how could He Sheng spare a thought for anything else? He immediately activated Subtle Ripple Water Escape and headed out through the hidden waterway.