134: seclusion and intensive study

To prevent accidents, they did not linger at the Flower Burial Plain. The group of demons immediately returned to the Qianjiao Cliff Water Mansion. Gao De dismissed everyone except for core subordinates like Turtle Three Thousand, Green Edge, and Iron Pincer.

He briefly recounted his encounter with the Pureblood Mysterious Tortoise and the process of it preying on the unknown terrifying existence that had caused celestial phenomena.

Even just the retelling, the oppressive feeling brought by the scene made the atmosphere inside the hall so heavy it could almost drip water.

Turtle Three Thousand stroked his long beard, his tortoise face filled with shock and lingering fear: "Lord, you are blessed with great fortune; to return safely is a tremendous blessing! A Pureblood Great Desolation Remnant Species, and one belonging to the upper echelon like the Mysterious Tortoise... Such an existence, I, this Old Tortoise, have only heard snippets of in extremely ancient legends."

Its Lifespan is so immense it is nearly eternal, its strength is unfathomable, and it usually falls into a ten-thousand-year slumber, only Awakening due to a great cosmic change or a special Opportunity.

They themselves are living ancient histories. Where they exist, a unique 'Law Domain' often forms. No wonder the creatures in that water region are ignorant..."

Green Edge was also filled with lingering fear. He had personally felt the world-destroying pressure and knew that in front of such beings, they were no different from ants.

Gao De sat upright on the main seat, Purple Lightning flashing in his vertical pupils. He had completely calmed down from the initial shock, replaced by an unprecedented sense of clarity and urgency.

“Fortune hides disaster; disaster rests upon fortune.”

He spoke slowly, his voice steady. "This encounter allowed us to recognize our own insignificance. It is a calamity, yet also a blessing. At the very least, we now know in advance what kind of terrifying existence slumbers beneath this water region, preventing a potential catastrophe caused by ignorance in the future."

He glanced over his generals: "The previous plans need adjustment. The Yunhe Sect clues and the intelligence on the Old Mountain Demon still need to be investigated, but they can be temporarily set aside and not treated as primary objectives. All actions must prioritize not disturbing that Mysterious Tortoise!"

“Lord is wise.”

Turtle Three Thousand bowed and said, "This old man suggests that all external explorations in the near future, especially attempts to delve deeper north into the Yunmeng Marsh, should be suspended. The urgent priority is to consolidate our existing Foundation and enhance our strength."

Gao De nodded: "Exactly. I, This King, need to enter Closed-Door Cultivation for a period to fully stabilize the gains from this Breakthrough and deeply comprehend the newly acquired Divine Ability, Heaven-Confusing Illusionary Miasma.

Turtle Three Thousand, you will oversee all affairs of the Water Mansion and Qianjiao Cliff, maintaining the status quo and developing discreetly. Green Edge and Iron Pincer, you two are responsible for external vigilance and strict patrols. Report immediately if there is any anomaly."

“Understood!” The three demons replied in unison.

“Furthermore,” Gao De pondered for a moment before continuing, “Turtle Three Thousand, you are knowledgeable. Do you know if the appearance of this Mysterious Tortoise, besides its deterrent effect, might also bring forth certain... Opportunities?”

Turtle Three Thousand thought for a long time and replied cautiously: "Reporting to Lord, according to ancient records, when such beings are asleep, their aura suppresses the area and binds the spiritual vitality, causing all things to be 'ignorant' or 'undeveloped'.

“But when they awaken and become active, especially after a violent predation like this time, the scattered Origin aura, or even certain ancient sediments brought up from the deep water during their movement... might have unpredictable effects on specific Bloodlines or spiritual objects. However, the risk of getting close to investigate...”

“I, This King, understand.”

Gao De interrupted him, "I am not asking you to take risks. I only want you to pay attention to whether there is any abnormal growth of spiritual plants, unusual movements in mineral veins, or any special sensitivity in the Bloodlines of our subordinates, either within our sphere of influence or in relatively safe surrounding areas, over the coming period. If there is, record and research it carefully, but do not act rashly."

“This old man understands and will certainly keep an eye out.”

After making the arrangements, Gao De returned to the Flower Burial Plain and entered deep Closed-Door Cultivation once again.

This time, his mindset was completely different from ten years ago. He was no longer merely pursuing an increase in strength, but also held a greater sense of awe toward the mighty power of heaven and earth, along with a clearer understanding of his own path (Dao).

He first spent a significant amount of time thoroughly refining his Demonic Power after the Breakthrough, making his Third Order Mid-Stage Realm incredibly solid.

Following that, he focused his main energy on the newly Awakened Divine Ability, Heaven-Confusing Illusionary Miasma.

His consciousness sank into his Sea of Consciousness, where the complex Talisman representing the Heaven-Confusing Illusionary Miasma quietly floated, emitting a hazy, dreamlike luster.

Gao De communicated with it using his spiritual sense, meticulously comprehending the power of the Mirage Dragon contained within—how to more skillfully distort light and perception, how to more deeply incite the opponent's inner fears and desires to weave illusions, and how to perfectly achieve the Fusion of his own aura with the illusionary miasma, reaching the state of "body is illusion, illusion is body."

During his Closed-Door Cultivation, he would occasionally draw out a wisp of the miasma scattered by the sleeping Flower Spirit to verify against his own Heaven-Confusing Illusionary Miasma.

The Flower Spirit's miasma leaned toward hypnosis and dreams, while his illusionary miasma focused more on confusion and trapping enemies, but his Divine Ability was originally Awakened due to the stimulation from the Flower Spirit's miasma.

Although the two originated from the same source yet followed different paths (Dao), comparing them allowed his understanding of the power of illusion and dreams to deepen further.

He even began to attempt to input a trace of the Power of Thunder into it, not to integrate it into the illusionary miasma itself, but to hide it 'behind' the miasma, serving as a counterattack if the illusion was forcefully broken.

This was not Fusion, but nesting, preserving the purity of the Heaven-Confusing Illusionary Miasma while increasing tactical variability and danger, striving to achieve an effect where one plus one is greater than two.

Time slowly flowed by during his Cultivation.

Gao De's aura became increasingly restrained, but the light and shadows of illusion and dreams in the depths of his vertical pupils, which occasionally opened, grew deeper and more inscrutable.

He seemed to have transformed into an Illusionary Dream Flood Dragon lying dormant beneath a deep pool; if he did not move, that was fine, but once he moved, he would surely raise a sky-covering fog.

While Gao De was in Closed-Door Cultivation, his subordinate forces continued to operate smoothly under Turtle Three Thousand’s management, but some subtle changes also began to quietly appear in the periphery of the Yunmeng Marsh where the Mysterious Tortoise had been active.

Firstly, some Demon Soldiers reported that in the marginal areas near the northern waters, the growth of certain ordinary aquatic plants had suddenly become unusually vigorous, even producing berries containing faint Spiritual Qi.

The Human Cultivators responsible for the Spirit Medicine garden also discovered that a few rare Spirit Medicine plants recently transplanted from the Yunmeng Marsh seemed to have enhanced vitality.

What drew Turtle Three Thousand's attention even more was that a Demon Soldier possessing a faint trace of the "Moon-Gazing Clam" Bloodline vaguely felt that the thin trace of Bloodline within him seemed about to Awaken after a routine patrol. Although the change was minute, it was unprecedented for him.

Turtle Three Thousand cautiously recorded all these anomalies and did not publicize them, merely strengthening monitoring in these areas while strictly forbidding the information from being spread externally.

All these signs seemed to subtly confirm Gao De's conjecture—the Awakening and activity of that Mysterious Tortoise was like throwing a giant rock into a calm lake; the ripples were slowly spreading, affecting the ecology and rules of the surrounding areas.

Although the core region was extremely dangerous, these spreading, highly diluted "ripples" might truly conceal some unspeakable Opportunity for those beings living on the periphery.

Qianjiao Cliff, like a seed quietly accumulating strength on the edge of a storm, waited in awe and anticipation for the moment to break through the soil once more.

And all of this required waiting for their King to conclude this crucial Closed-Door Cultivation.