Northern Sea Black Tortoise

Deep within the Northern Sea.

Absolute silence reigned outside the Ruins Sea Eye.

No sunlight ever reached this place through the endless years.

Countless aquatic beings of the Northern Sea regarded this area as a forbidden zone.

Yet right in the deepest part of this forbidden zone, a figure so colossal it nearly pushed apart the undersea mountain ranges slowly opened its eyes.

That was a black tortoise.

Its shell was like a continent, its four legs like pillars of heaven.

Every single breath stirred the tides of the Northern Sea.

Lu Chen stared at the characters floating before him and remained silent for a long time.

Detected that host awakens on the eve of the Dragon-Han Cataclysm.
Myriad Tribulations Guixu Selection System successfully bound.
Please choose.
One: Immediately take human form and emerge into the world, head to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, present the Guixu Sea Map to Ancestral Dragon, and join the Dragon Clan faction. Reward: one drop of Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood, top-grade innate spiritual treasure Sea-Covering Halberd.
Two: Inhale and exhale Northern Sea water fortune, manifest the Black Tortoise True Form, and declare the emergence of the Northern Sea Black Tortoise Tribe. Reward: thirty percent of Northern Sea water fortune, innate divine ability Lawful Heaven and Earth.
Three: Conceal aura, sink into the Ruins Sea Eye, and seclude oneself for ten thousand years. Reward: Chaos Tortoise Breathing Method, one layer of Guixu Womb Membrane.

After reading through them, Lu Chen's eyelids twitched.

This choice looks a bit familiar.

Every single option looks more tempting than the last.

Every single option looks more lethal than the last.

Join the Dragon Clan?

The Dragon Clan right now was indeed powerful.

Ancestral Dragon ruled the Four Seas, and true dragons rampaged across the Primordial World.

Any random true dragon with pure bloodlines flying out could make the myriad tribes lower their heads.

Yet however strong the Dragon Clan was now, that was how miserable they would be in the Dragon-Han Cataclysm.

Ancestral Dragon suppressed the sea eye, and the Dragon Clan shouldered karmic retribution.

Those true dragons of later days: the glamorous ones worked for the Heavenly Court, while the down-and-out ones pulled carts for the Buddhist School.

If he joined the Dragon Clan at this time, what was he playing for?

To pay off debts together in the future?

The second choice was even scarier.

Manifest the true form and declare the emergence of the Northern Sea Black Tortoise.

It sounded majestic.

The problem was that majesty in the Primordial World always had to be paid for with one's life.

Right now, as long as he dared to shout "The Northern Sea belongs to me," before long, Ancestral Dragon, Yuanfeng, and Primordial Qilin would likely take turns coming over to drink tea.

After they finished drinking tea.

This big pot of his would probably be ready to be served at the table.

As for the third choice.

Seclude himself, hunker down, and sink into Guixu.

The rewards even came with cultivation methods for concealing his presence.

Lu Chen did not hesitate at all.

"I choose three!"

Congratulations to the host for making a choice.
Obtained Chaos Tortoise Breathing Method.
Obtained one layer of Guixu Womb Membrane.

Boom!

Countless profound methods flooded into Lu Chen's primordial spirit.

Gray-fog-like chaos aura slowly circulated out from the gaps in his tortoise shell.

The innate divine saint aura, which had originally been so vast it covered half the Northern Sea, began to converge bit by bit.

After a few breaths.

The seafloor returned to silence.

A few aquatic beings fleeing in the distance froze.

The terrifying pressure that had just felt like an ancient fierce beast awakening suddenly vanished without a trace.

They looked around in a daze, and then ran even faster.

Lu Chen let out a breath of relief.

Safe.

This technique is not bad.

As long as I don't jump out myself, no one should be able to discover me in the short term.

The effect of the Chaos Tortoise Breathing Method was extremely simple.

It restrained aura, concealed karma, and blocked heavenly secrets.

It did not sound overbearing, but it suited Lu Chen's wishes perfectly.

What he needed most right now was for others not to see him.

After all, his identity was truly too dangerous.

The Northern Sea Black Tortoise.

This name did not appear many times in Primordial World stories, but its ending was quite tragic.

Gonggong angrily crashed into Buzhou Mountain.

The heavenly pillars collapsed.

The Primordial World shattered.

When Nuwa patched the sky, she decapitated the Northern Sea Black Tortoise and took its four legs to prop up the four extreme ends of heaven and earth.

Lu Chen lowered his head to take a look at his four legs.

They were thick, very stable, and at a glance looked suited for propping up the sky.

Damn it.

These four legs of mine haven't even started being used, and they've already been reserved by a Saint?

The more Lu Chen thought about it, the more his scalp tingled.

When other people transmigrated to the Primordial World, they either had Three Pure Ones origins, Ancestral Witches bloodlines, or were reincarnations of Chaos Demon Gods.

He, on the other hand, had it quite special.

His opening move was becoming future sky-patching material.

All four legs had a purpose.

Even his method of death was arranged as clear as day.

The Great Tribulation cannot be touched.

Saints cannot be provoked.

Buzhou Mountain cannot be visited.

Nuwa even less can be seen.

Lu Chen quickly established his survival principles for the Primordial World.

He did not seek hegemony.

He did not seek to be called emperor.

He did not seek the kneeling worship of ten thousand clans.

He only wanted to keep these four legs safe.

As long as he could survive until after Journey to the West, finding any random place to bask in the sun would still be more comfortable than being chopped up to prop up the sky.

Immediately after, the Womb Membrane of the Guixu merged into the tortoise shell.

Lu Chen's consciousness smoothly entered the interior of the tortoise shell.

A gray and hazy space appeared before his eyes.

The space was ten thousand miles in radius.

At the center was a barren island.

The spiritual energy on the island was thin, earth, water, fire, and wind had not yet completely settled, and the edges were still filled with the Guixu Power.

It was crude, desolate, and entirely devoid of vitality.

Yet Lu Chen looked at it with great satisfaction.

A good place.

Outside they fight to the death, inside it's quiet and peaceful.

From now on, this place will be called the Guixu Inner Realm.

The Womb Membrane of the Guixu could expand along with the growth of Lu Chen's cultivation.

As long as he continuously went into seclusion and kept avoiding the Great Tribulation, this inner realm would sooner or later grow into a true minor world.

When that time came, the turtle shell would close.

No one would ever think to disturb him.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen felt much more cheerful.

His massive Black Tortoise True Form slowly sank downward.

Finally, his entire body plunged into the undercurrents near the Ruins Sea Eye.

Gray mist covered the turtle shell.

The undersea mountain range closed up accordingly.

Lu Chen quieted down completely.

Year one.

He grew familiar with the Black Tortoise True Form.

Year thirty.

He gained mastery over the Guixu Womb Membrane.

Year one hundred.

He used his turtle shell to draw upon the spiritual Qi of the Northern Sea, beginning to nourish the barren island in the inner realm.

Year five hundred.

The first tiny spiritual vein was born on the barren island.

Year nine hundred.

The first patch of cyan spiritual grass grew on the island.

Lu Chen was extremely satisfied.

Developing at this speed, if he holed up for another few kalpas, he would be able to forge his turtle shell into the safest calamity-avoidance grotto-heaven in the Primordial World.

What Dragon-Han Cataclysm.

What Witch-Demon War.

What Conferment of Gods and Journey to the West.

None of it had anything to do with him.

Pity.

The Primordial World never let anyone stay at peace for too long.

Year one thousand three hundred.

A violent roar suddenly came from above the Northern Sea.

Dozens of faint auras tumbled and stumbled as they rushed into the deep sea.

Behind them, a fierce dragon might pursued relentlessly.

Lu Chen snapped his eyes open.

"The Dragon Clan?"

"I'm already hiding right next to the Ruins Sea Eye, and I still run into the Dragon Clan?"

The system's voice sounded accordingly.

"Sea Spirit Clan detected suffering pursuit by the Dragon Clan, please make a choice."

"One, leave Guixu, slay the Dragon Clan pursuers, and subjugate the Sea Spirit Clan. Reward: Ancestral Dragon divine ability, Myriad Dragons Sea-Quelling Fist."

"Two, open the Guixu Inner Realm, allowing the Sea Spirit Clan to temporarily take refuge for a hundred years. Reward: Black Tortoise Sea-Calming Formation."

"Three, hand the Sea Spirit Clan over to the Dragon Clan, gaining the favor of the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan. Reward: lower-grade Xiantian spiritual treasure Water-Repelling Pearl."

Lu Chen looked at the three options, the corners of his eyes twitching slightly.

The first one was out of the question.

Leaving Guixu to kill dragons.

No matter how good the reward was, it was too easy to draw out Ancestral Dragon.

The third one was out of the question too.

Things like Dragon Clan favor were completely worthless in the Dragon Clan Cataclysm.

Accepting Dragon Clan favor now meant sharing karmic debt together in the future?

Lu Chen's divine sense quietly reached out.

He saw dozens of battered living beings.

Their figures resembled the human race, but they bore light blue scale patterns, and their bodies were rich with water-element spiritual Qi.

The silver-haired woman at the lead had her right shoulder torn open by a dragon claw, and she clutched an unconscious child in her arms.

The rest of the clansmen were also mostly heavily wounded.

Among them were even a dozen or so toddlers without any cultivation.

Behind them, a thousand-zhang flood dragon opened its bloody maw, and black seawater condensed into huge waves behind it.

Lu Chen fell silent for a moment.

"Choose two."

"Only take them in for a hundred years."

"They must leave after a hundred years."