Xiao Hei

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Origins and the Pursuit of Longevity

Xiao Hei was bound to Chen Jianghe from birth. Chen initially believed that they shared Xiao Hei’s naturally long lifespan, but later discovered that their lifespans had actually been exchanged 1 35.

Among Black Crystal Mystic Tortoises, Xiao Hei was considered defective because his shell had only eight sections rather than the usual twenty-four. His father interpreted this as an eighty-year lifespan—one-third of their kind’s usual 240 years. Xiao Hei therefore regarded cultivation as his only hope of living longer 25.

His father tried to arrange a breeding partnership with Black Rose, but Xiao Hei refused to abandon fish farming and cultivation. Black Rose left after seeing his shell markings, and his father eventually stopped arguing. Xiao Hei returned immediately to caring for the fish, trusting that Chen Jianghe would help him enter the Immortal Dao 25.

Move to the Inner Waters

When Chen Jianghe became a Senior Fisher-Farmer, Xiao Hei initially remained hidden near Five-One-Two Waters. He excitedly told his father that he was moving to the legendary “Immortal Domain,” but kept Chen Jianghe’s existence secret 31.

Chen subsequently brought him into the Inner Waters to care for Small Blue Fish. Xiao Hei learned the feeding routine within a month, leaving Chen free to practice the Water Escape Technique. The richer spiritual environment also preceded his successful first-tier breakthrough 33 34.

Developing the Fishery

The first Small Blue Fish batch produced no ranked spirit beasts, although its reduced average weight earned enough to purchase Xiao Hei’s promised Qi-Nourishing Pill. A later batch produced three spirit-beast Small Blue Fish, demonstrating his improving husbandry skills 39.

As Chen’s talisman-making income improved, he proposed replacing some pill rewards with ten-year-old clear spirit herbs. The new arrangement promised a reward after two years, with one additional herb for every spirit-beast Small Blue Fish produced beyond a baseline of three 50.

Appearance

Xiao Hei is an inky-black tortoise with a glossy, jade-like shell, short limbs, a large head, and small green-shining eyes 7.

• Size: Initially comparable to a washbasin; grew to millstone size during his first-tier breakthrough 7 34.
• Original shell markings: Two horizontal and two vertical lines forming eight sections, distinguishing him from ordinary members of his species 25.
• Post-breakthrough markings: Three horizontal and two vertical lines forming twelve sections 34.
• Petrified form: His shell turns deep blue-green, giving him the appearance of a tortoise statue carved from ancient jade 39.

Personality

Xiao Hei’s strongest motivation is survival. Faced with his father’s insistence on breeding and his kind’s contempt for his shell markings, he remains determined to cultivate rather than accept a shortened life. He works diligently because he believes Chen Jianghe is his opportunity to achieve that goal 25.

He is affectionate toward Chen, circling him, playing with him underwater, and expressing gratitude for bringing him onto the immortal path. After gaining direct speech, however, he becomes increasingly cheeky: he calls Chen a “two-legged beast,” questions his memory, and readily talks back 19 25 35 38 39.

Rewards strongly influence his behavior. Before becoming a spirit beast, distant promises interest him less than a definite pill reward. Later, he actively asks Chen to “bring on the pie”—inviting another promise of future benefits. His enthusiasm for cultivation resources also makes him fiercely protective of his food, despite his species’ reputation for gentleness 19 33 49 50.

Abilities & Skills

Fish Husbandry

Xiao Hei supplies much of the practical skill behind Chen Jianghe’s reputation as a talented fisher-farmer 1 13.

• Suppresses aggression among Big Blue Fish fry, reducing fighting and cannibalism 1 25.
• Before entering first tier, cannot reliably control fully grown Big Blue Fish 13.
• Learns to feed and supervise Small Blue Fish, promptly separating biting fry and preventing deaths 34.
• Eventually raises three Small Blue Fish into ranked spirit beasts in a single batch 39.
• Handles daily fish care, freeing Chen to cultivate, practice spells, and draw talismans 13 33 45.

Spiritual Platform Bond and Lifespan Exchange

Xiao Hei carries a mark resembling Chen Jianghe on his Spiritual Platform; Chen carries a corresponding Spirit-Turtle Mark 34 35.

• Communication: Chen can send signals and instructions through his mark before Xiao Hei becomes ranked. After the breakthrough, they can converse directly through their Spiritual Platforms without a Spirit Beast Ring 7 35.
• Reciprocal longevity: Xiao Hei’s advancement raises Chen’s lifespan limit. Chen concludes that his own future Foundation Establishment would likewise increase Xiao Hei’s lifespan 35.
• Recorded limits: Following Xiao Hei’s breakthrough, Xiao Hei has a 120-year limit while Chen has a 360-year limit 34 35.
• Unequal knowledge: Xiao Hei cannot see Chen’s lifespan and does not know that their lifespans were exchanged 35.
• Unresolved risk: Chen does not know what would happen to the bond or his lifespan if Xiao Hei died prematurely 35.

Three-Turn Demon Ascension Art

Xiao Hei receives this cultivation art upon condensing his Spirit Core. Chen later attributes its appearance to the Spiritual Platform Mark rather than an ordinary Black Crystal Mystic Tortoise inheritance 35 38.

• Doubles Xiao Hei’s magical power, according to his own report 46.
• Accompanies cultivation much faster than Chen expects from a low-bloodline spirit beast 46.
• Cannot be transmitted to Chen: attempts to convey it produce only a blank 35.
• Its ability to improve bloodline purity, innate aptitude, or permit a second-tier breakthrough remains Chen’s hypothesis rather than a demonstrated result 38 46.

Petrification

A defensive divine ability awakened after entering first tier 39.

• Changes his body’s appearance to deep blue-green jade and strengthens physical defense 39.
• Xiao Hei claims Chen Jianghe could not hurt him in this state; no combat test is shown 39.
• Distinguishes him from ordinary cultivated Black Crystal Mystic Tortoises, which the Spirit Beast Pavilion shopkeeper says cannot awaken divine abilities 37 39.

Resource Absorption and Aquatic Communication

• Refines a Qi-Nourishing Pill with almost no wasted medicinal power; during a later feeding, pale blue radiance encloses his body and retains the medicine within his flesh 19 49.
• Can communicate with Azure-Scaled Fish and other aquatic creatures even before gaining direct conversation with Chen 39.
• Drives away competing Small Blue Fish with tail strikes and threats when they approach his pill 49.

Relationships

• Chen Jianghe — Master, cultivation benefactor, and lifespan-exchange partner. Xiao Hei regards him as his “immortal opportunity,” while Chen depends on Xiao Hei’s advancement for further longevity 35.
• Father — An unnamed, millstone-sized Black Crystal Mystic Tortoise. Pressures Xiao Hei to reproduce because of his supposedly shortened lifespan and doubts that cultivation is possible; Xiao Hei nevertheless promises to return after succeeding in the Inner Waters 25 31.
• Black Rose — A prospective breeding partner selected by his father. Leaves after noticing Xiao Hei’s unusual shell markings; Xiao Hei shows no interest in pursuing her 25.

Notable Quotes

“My lifespan is only a third of the others’, so I want to live. I want a lifespan of two hundred and forty years too. Cultivating immortality is my only option.” 25

“The two-legged beast is my immortal opportunity, and my immortal opportunity is you!” 35

“Master, bring on the pie.” 49