Not long after.
Jiang Ning returned home.
After briefly explaining things to Lü Yi, he fished Old Softshell out of the pond in his courtyard.
Old Softshell was only palm-sized at the moment. Its head and limbs had all retracted into its shell, clearly unlike an ordinary softshell turtle.
Because an ordinary softshell turtle could not do that at all.
Only turtles could draw their limbs and heads into their shells.
"Still sleeping, are you?!"
After Jiang Ning fished it out of the water, Old Softshell remained completely motionless.
Seeing this, Jiang Ning smiled and instantly condensed a flame.
He roasted the flame beneath Old Softshell's belly.
"Fire—"
Old Softshell sprang up in an instant, leaping several yards into the air.
It poked out its head in midair, only then seeing Jiang Ning's half-smiling expression.
"Lord!" Old Softshell's tone brimmed with ingratiation.
"How much has your cultivation increased?"
"A year and a half!!" Old Softshell landed in Jiang Ning's palm, its face full of excitement.
"A year and a half?" Jiang Ning muttered, then nodded. "Not bad!"
Then he asked, "Does a thousand years of cultivation make one a great demon?"
Old Softshell nodded repeatedly. "Yes, Lord! With a thousand years of cultivation, one can condense a demon core. Once the demon core is formed, one is a great demon."
"Are there any great demons in Luo Water Lake?" Jiang Ning asked casually upon hearing that.
"Yes!"
"There are?"
"Yes, Lord! At least one great demon lives in the lake. I have seen it twice!" Old Softshell spoke with sudden solemnity.
Hearing this, a flicker of surprise flashed through Jiang Ning's eyes.
He had only asked that question casually.
Yet he had not expected to receive an affirmative answer from Old Softshell.
A great demon.
That was no trifling creature.