34: Chapter 34 Spirit Turtle Island

Spirit Turtle Island is located about three thousand li southeast of the Colorful Coral Sea and is a relatively safe resting point in the Secret Realm.

The island is not large, only about a hundred li in circumference, shaped like a crawling giant turtle. In the center, there is a low spiritual mountain. Within the mountain's belly, a rare "Life-Force Spring" is nurtured. The spring water contains pure life essence, which has excellent nourishing and repairing effects for external injuries, internal damage, and even Divine Soul hidden wounds. It is one of the Holy Lands for healing in the Secret Realm.

Feng Yushu and the others brought the unconscious and severely injured Elder Lin, moving cautiously all the way, avoiding several waves of Cultivators and Yao Beasts. After a day of effort, they finally arrived at Spirit Turtle Island.

There were no powerful Restrictions on the outskirts of the island, only some low-level Yao Beasts, which were easily driven away by the group. They headed straight to the foot of the spiritual mountain, found a hidden cave, and simply set up concealment and defensive Formations at the cave entrance before settling Elder Lin on a flat, dry stone platform in the deepest part of the cave.

Deep inside the cave, it connected with the earth vein of the "Life-Force Spring," making it rich in Spiritual Qi and carrying a reassuring, vibrant vitality.

Feng Yushu gently placed Elder Lin on the stone platform, immediately took out the spring water he had fetched from that spiritual spring, carefully fed him a few mouthfuls, and used the spring water to clean and wipe the terrifying wounds on his body.

As the spiritual spring entered his abdomen, it turned into a gentle, warm current that dispersed into his limbs and bones. The deep, charred wounds on Elder Lin's body that were visible to the bone actually began to grow tender new granulation tissue at a speed visible to the naked eye! His broken bones also emitted weak, teeth-aching creaking sounds under the nourishment of the spring water, slowly realigning and healing. His breath, which had been so weak it was almost cut off, finally stopped its downward trend and stabilized a little.

"The Life-Force Spring truly lives up to its reputation!" A clan elder sighed in relief upon seeing this.

"But Elder Lin's injuries are too severe. The spiritual spring can only stabilize his condition and repair the surface of his Physical Body. His Meridians are broken, his Golden Core is on the verge of destruction, and his Divine Soul is damaged; these cannot be cured by the spiritual spring alone. Moreover..." Feng Yushu investigated the condition inside Elder Lin's body, his brows tightly locked, his eyes full of worry. "It seems there is still a type of extremely domineering, sharp, and space-annihilating foreign energy remaining in his body, constantly destroying his newly formed Meridians and flesh. This is likely the power of the spatial turbulence remaining from that Void Realm vortex. If it is not removed, his injuries may relapse at any time, or even worsen."

"Then what should we do? Our cultivation is low, and we are helpless against this kind of spatial power," another clan elder said anxiously.

"For now, we can only rely on Elder Lin himself. What we can do is protect him, provide enough spiritual spring water and Medicinal Pills, and help him recover a sliver of Origin Qi to awaken his own will to live and repair ability," Feng Yushu said in a deep voice. He took out a jade bottle, carefully poured the spiritual spring water into it, took out several "Spirit-Nourishing Pills" specifically for treating Divine Soul injuries, dissolved them into the spring water, and fed them to Elder Lin little by little.

Time passed slowly in silence and worry.

Inside the cave, the Spiritual Qi was dense, and the spiritual spring bubbled. Elder Lin seemed to have fallen into the deepest nightmare, completely unaware of everything in the outside world.

His consciousness seemed to be drowning in boundless darkness, coldness, and intense pain. The pain from his Physical Body, the torment of his Divine Soul being torn apart, and the space-annihilating power in his body that was destroying everything like maggots on a tarsal bone, constantly tortured him, trying to drag him into eternal slumber.

However, in the depths of this extreme pain and darkness, there was a weak but unextinguished light flickering tenaciously.

That was the Foundation derived from the Great Five Elements True Scripture, the last trace of immortal spirituality of the five elements sword core, the faint resonance from the guixu sword, and even more so, the strange spatial fluctuations produced by the void five elements token and the void crystal essence in his arms, which seemed to be repairing and reshaping something.

In a trance, Elder Lin's consciousness seemed to be divided into two parts. One part was sinking in boundless pain, while the other part, from a strange, almost bystander perspective, "watched" the changes happening inside his body.

He saw that his five elements sword core, which was full of cracks and dim, was being nourished by the Life-Force Spring and the medicinal power of the Spirit-Nourishing Pills. The weak Five Elements spiritual light at its core had not been completely extinguished; instead, it was slowly and arduously attempting to rotate and breathe again. Every weak rotation absorbed a sliver of thin Spiritual Qi from the outside world, converting it into more condensed and pure Five Elements core energy, attempting to repair the cracks on the Golden Core.

He saw that his broken and withered Meridians, under the nourishment of the spiritual spring, were growing hair-thin, five-colored tender buds at the broken ends, attempting to reconnect. But that residual space-annihilating power, like the most vicious virus, kept destroying the newly born buds, making the repair process extremely slow and painful.

He also saw that deep in his Dantian, the guixu sword was floating quietly. The sword body was dim, but it still emitted a faint yet tenacious grayish-white light, faintly resonating with the pigeon-egg-sized void crystal essence. From within the crystal essence, strands of pure, gentle, yet profound silver energy containing the Dao of space were constantly escaping, slowly merging into his damaged Meridians, flesh, and even... his Divine Soul.

This silver energy was not repairing, but rather... branding, reshaping. Wherever it passed, those cells and tissues destroyed by the space-annihilating power did not return to their original state but were replaced by a structure that was tougher and closer to the essence of the "Void Realm." Although the process was equally painful and full of unknowns, Elder Lin could feel that this newly born "tissue" seemed to have a stronger resistance to spatial power, and even... a faint affinity.

Was the void crystal essence transforming his body to adapt to and accommodate spatial power? Or was the guixu sword guiding the void crystal essence to try and repair its Revered Master?

Elder Lin did not know. But he could feel that in this painful torment and slow transformation, his perception of "space" and his understanding of "guixu" seemed to have a tiny, extremely weak improvement. Although this improvement seemed insignificant under his severe injuries, it was like a spark in the darkness, giving him a glimmer of hope.

"Cannot die... I still have things left unfinished..."

"Ruyan... Qing Yao... Jingyun..."

"Senior Mo Xuan's entrustment... Five Elements Returning to Ruins..."

"Sect... Revered Master... Senior Brother..."

Obsessions, like undying stars, lit up in the depths of his consciousness that was about to sink, supporting him as he resisted the boundless pain and darkness.

Time, no one knew how long it had passed.

Inside the cave, Feng Yushu and the others took turns keeping watch, feeding Elder Lin spiritual spring water and Medicinal Pills, and carefully helping him channel the medicinal power and protect his heart pulse with their own gentle spiritual power. They could feel that although Elder Lin's breath was still weak, it was no longer worsening. Even the chaotic and violent space-annihilating power seemed to have been suppressed and worn down a little. This was a good sign.

This day, it was the turn of a Late Stage Foundation Establishment disciple named Feng He to keep watch. He sat cross-legged near the cave entrance, keeping guard while cultivating silently. Suddenly, his ears moved, and he seemed to hear a slight sound of breaking through the air from far outside the cave, different from the wind and waves.

"Someone is coming!" Feng He's heart tightened, and he immediately issued a warning.

Everyone in the cave woke up instantly, gripped their Magic Treasures, came to the cave entrance, and looked out through the gaps in the Formation.

They saw three streaks of light at the end of the sky, flying rapidly toward Spirit Turtle Island! The light was crimson, carrying a scorching and explosive aura, undisguisedly radiating hostility and killing intent.

"It's the Huo Family! They've tracked us here!" Feng Yushu's expression changed. He didn't expect Elder Huo Yan to be so persistent, actually tracking them here! Moreover, looking at the number of light streaks, there seemed to be only three people, but the leading light streak had a powerful aura, undoubtedly Elder Huo Yan at the Mid-stage Golden Core!

"How did they find this place?" a clan elder asked in surprise.

"They must have followed Elder Lin's residual aura, or encountered other Cultivators nearby and inquired about the news. This place is not safe for long; we must take Elder Lin and evacuate immediately!" Feng Yushu made a decisive decision.

However, it was already too late.

"Hahaha! Feng Yushu! Come out! This old man knows you are hiding on this Spirit Turtle Island! Hand over that Lin fellow, and the treasures he obtained from the Void Realm vortex, and this old man might spare your dog lives! Otherwise, today will be the day your Feng Family is exterminated!"

Elder Huo Yan's arrogant and domineering voice exploded like thunder over Spirit Turtle Island, rolling in. The three crimson light streaks had stopped above the cave, and the powerful Golden Core Spiritual Pressure ruthlessly pressed down toward the cave below, causing the defensive Formation to fluctuate violently.

"It's Elder Huo Yan! And two Early Stage Golden Core elders from the Huo Family! We are blocked!" Another clan elder's face turned pale. The opponent had three Golden Core Cultivators, while on their side, only Feng Yushu was an Early Stage Golden Core, plus two Late Stage Foundation Establishment clan elders; the difference in strength was huge. Moreover, Elder Lin was severely injured and unconscious, a burden.

"Activate the Formation, defend with all your might! I will go negotiate with them and stall for time!" Feng Yushu gritted his teeth and ordered the others, then took a deep breath and said loudly, "Elder Huo Yan! This is a resting place in the Secret Realm, protected by the rules of the Thousand Islands Alliance! Do you dare to act here?"

"Rules? Rules are set by the strong! What is your Feng Family, that you deserve to talk about rules with this old man?" Elder Huo Yan sneered, looking down at the cave from above, "Stop talking nonsense! I will give you three breaths of time to hand over Elder Lin and the treasures; otherwise, this old man will raze this turtle shell to the ground and grind you to dust!"

"One!"

"Two!"

Terrifying Spiritual Pressure was condensing. In Elder Huo Yan's hand, a giant sword, red as blood and burning with raging flames, had appeared, its tip pointing far toward the cave, and a destructive aura was brewing.

Inside the cave, the atmosphere was heavy to the extreme. Everyone looked at Elder Lin, who was still unconscious and had a weak breath, and then at the three figures outside the cave like demon gods, their eyes full of despair.

Could it be that they were really going to be buried here today?

Just as Feng Yushu gritted his teeth, preparing to fight to the death to win a glimmer of survival for the others—

Deep inside the cave, on that stone platform, Elder Lin, who had been unconscious all along, suddenly twitched his eyelids extremely slightly.

Immediately after, his tightly closed eyes slowly opened a slit.

In his eyes, there was no spirit, only emptiness, as if he had lost all brilliance, leaving only a bottomless, gray darkness like the Void Realm. But in the depths of this gray darkness, there was a weak yet extremely condensed sword-shaped starlight that seemed capable of devouring all light... flashing and disappearing.

An indescribable, weak, yet terrifying coldness, dead silence, and supreme sharpness that made everyone in the cave feel palpitations, like a sleeping ancient Vicious Beast, slowly awakened and quietly permeated from Elder Lin.

He was awake.

Or rather, it was that sleeping will, under the threat of death, that was forcibly awakened.