I am Xu Mu, chief guardian of Great Xia's Cultivation Administration. Greetings, fellow Daoist!
"It's become a spirit... the turtle has become a spirit!"
"Monster! Run!"
"Monster! Monster!"
A huge panic spread through the crowd.
Screams and howls rose and fell.
Even though that Aldabra giant tortoise wasn't very big.
However, the other party's bizarre behavior and extraordinary abilities still caused panic among ordinary people.
The tour guide froze on the spot.
She could even read a hint of farewell in the old tortoise's gaze as it looked back.
Yes, she's been working at this zoo since she graduated.
It's been several years now, so it's only natural that this Aldabra giant tortoise would remember her.
But that look was so human that she couldn't come to her senses for a long time.
The other children, however, were not afraid at all; on the contrary, they were overjoyed.
Even worse, some people took out their smartwatches and started filming while shouting.
"I knew it! I knew cultivating immortality was real!"
"Look! This old tortoise has even started cultivating immortality!"
"My mom insists I watch too much TV!"
"Mom! Look! A monster is cultivating immortality!"
"..."
Amidst excited shouts, several elementary school students all pulled out their smartwatches.
He took pictures of everything he saw and sent them to all his contacts.
It has been uploaded online.
In just a few minutes, countless videos flooded the internet.
On the outskirts of Beijing, within the headquarters of the Cultivation Administration Bureau.
Xu Mu, who serves as the Chief Guard guard, is studying martial Cultivation Method in the training room.
A series of urgent knocks suddenly sounded on the door.
"Knock knock knock!"
"Knock knock knock!"
Hearing the voice, Xu Mu slowly opened his eyes and said calmly, "Go in."
" Chief Guard! Something terrible has happened!"
"It seems that an old tortoise in Jing City has entered the Qi Refinement Middle-to-Late Stage!"
"Um?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Mu's pupils constricted sharply.
He could hardly believe his ears, but he knew now was not the time to ask any more questions.
He immediately grabbed the clothes beside him and ran outside while giving orders.
"Pass on my order: First-Class Garrison Commanders, assemble!"
"Target: The location of the incident!"
"Yes!"
Following Xu Mu's order, the only four Qi Refining Middle Stage in the Repair and Management Bureau, led by Xu Mu, boarded a high-speed helicopter.
They rushed towards the target animal kingdom.
On the helicopter, a bespectacled guard, barely in his thirties and already at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, was holding a tablet and reporting the details.
" The Chief Guard is an Aldabra giant tortoise, reportedly the oldest Aldabra giant tortoise in the zoo."
"It seems to have been alive since the founding of the People's Republic of China; it's almost two hundred years old now!"
"Nation-building? That's been so long!"
Xu Mu was taken aback by the information he had so urgently gathered.
He was wondering how an ordinary animal, without any methods or guidance, could cultivate to the suspected Qi Refining Middle Stage with such meager spiritual Spiritual Power.
After all that, it turns out this old tortoise is anything but ordinary!
Having lived for nearly two hundred years, even without Spiritual Power, it's practically become a spirit.
but...
"This old tortoise is no ordinary creature. Since the resurgence of Spiritual Qi, although many animals have exhibited the phenomenon of breathing Qi Introduction..."
"Let alone being able to stand or control objects, very few people can even successfully Qi Introduction."
"This old tortoise... it's got something!"
Xu Mu's mind raced, and he couldn't help but wonder how the old tortoise had managed to do that.
The high-speed helicopter then sped towards the zoo.
The online buzz is growing ever stronger.
Almost everyone is sharing and commenting on the related video content.
[Look! Look, even monsters have come out, and you still insist I'm just having a stroke!]
[I'm so frustrated, guys! I spent three months cultivating my Golden Core and it got shattered. Even turtles can control objects now!]
[Ahem, well... is it possible that this is a new high-tech interactive project at the zoo?]
[Holy crap! It's confirmed, folks! All that official buildup was just waiting for the animals to become sentient first!]
[I'm 50, let me tell you, the monkeys on the neighboring monkey mountain started meditating cross-legged last night too.]
[Master Turtle! Master Turtle! Are you still taking apprentices? I can take a beating, I don't eat much, and I can shout "666!"]
[I want to cultivate with a turtle...]
Netizens are always like this; they can turn even the biggest things into memes.
While the topic was being discussed across the internet, some people naturally connected it to the changes that had taken place in Great Xia over the past two years.
While people were joking and shocked, they began to take a serious look at the little things in life for the first time.
Cultivation-themed films, TV dramas, songs, and promotional materials; breathing methods inside a university building?
Are all of these things really true?
As the thoughts raced through their minds, the Great Xia was in an uproar.
Xu Mu, accompanied by the four top members of the Xu Management Bureau, arrived at the Jing City Zoo.
That Aldabra giant tortoise has long since left the zoo.
Judging from the direction they were heading, it seemed they wanted to go to the outskirts of Beijing and into the mountains.
Xu Mu certainly wouldn't let the other party leave just like that.
If it was a joke before that supernatural beings were not allowed after the founding of the People's Republic of China, now it's a law.
It's not that they can't become sentient.
It is forbidden for them to become spirits in human settlements.
No threat to the country is allowed.
Moreover, this old tortoise is so extraordinary, having cultivated to this level without a teacher or any other guidance.
He undoubtedly has some skill, which is very important to the country.
"Get ready, let's negotiate first."
"Being able to manipulate objects suggests he's likely more than just Qi Refining Middle Stage."
"Evacuate the crowd, pinpoint the location, and talk first."
The order was given briefly.
Xu Mu slowly stood up from the helicopter.
He glanced down at the old tortoise walking alone down the street.
His body suddenly leaped down.
"Whoosh!"
As he free-falls, the cloth bag at his waist flashes with a magical light.
A flying sword, about the length of an arm, suddenly appeared beneath his feet, lifting him up.
They sped off toward the old tortoise.
The sharp sound of a sword slicing through the air occurred almost the instant Xu Mu appeared.
The old tortoise sensed an aura similar to that of its kind.
This "kind" is not of the same kind as other animals, but rather a... very abundant, subtle aura.
That's right, those mysterious specks floating in the air that it sees in the dead of night or under a full moon.
"Bass!"
The flying sword was extremely fast, arriving in the blink of an eye.
Before the old tortoise could think further, a man dressed in a modern stand-up collar uniform suddenly appeared before him.
"I am Xu Mu, Chief Guard of the Great Xia Dynasty. Greetings, fellow Daoist."
Xu Mu's voice lacked the youthful quality it once had, sounding slightly weathered.
The flying sword floated beside him, and he turned to look at the old tortoise.
The two, one human and one tortoise, face off, their gazes locked in a tense standoff, hinting at a multitude of emotions.
Xu Mu understood from the other man's eyes that the old tortoise understood what he was saying, but didn't understand the meaning behind it.
Elder Yu...
Hmm, it can tell that the person who came is very powerful. If it doesn't have a proper conversation with them, it probably won't live to see its 200th birthday.