17: Chapter 17 Taking a Bath

Su Mo's voice was muffled and booming, the gusts of wind it created blowing against Old Turtle's face and making his white hair flutter in all directions.

"Little friend, once your cultivation reaches Rank 3, you will naturally refine the transverse bone in your throat and be able to speak human tongue; at Rank 4, you can transform into human form."

"Oh, so that's how it is."

"By the way, what did Senior mean by Rank 3 just now?"

He still wasn't clear on where his current strength stood.

Old Turtle stroked his disheveled white beard and looked up to explain:

"The beast race's Realm divisions go from Rank 1 to Rank 9, corresponding respectively to the Qi Refinement Stage, Foundation Establishment Stage, Golden Core Stage, Nascent Soul Stage, Soul Transformation Stage, Void Refining Stage, Body Integration Stage, Mahayana Stage, and Tribulation Crossing Stage of Human Race Cultivators. Each Realm is further divided into Early, Mid, and Late stages."

Su Mo nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly remembered something:

"Then, Senior, you..."

"Ahem..." Old Turtle cleared his throat, placing one hand behind his back with an air of profound mystery. "This old man has cultivated for over five thousand years and is only one step away from advancing to Rank 5."

"Holy crap! A Late Nascent Soul Stage powerhouse!"

Wondering if this Nascent Soul Stage turtle shell could withstand one of his current punches, Su Mo looked at Old Turtle's shell with an eager expression.

Old Turtle felt a bit uneasy under that burning gaze and quickly changed the subject.

"Little friend, you've grown so tall; could it be that you possess some Ancient Giant Beast Bloodline within you?"

Su Mo was startled upon hearing this.

"What on earth is an Ancient Giant Beast Bloodline?"

"I rely purely on my own talent!"

"Senior, I don't know either."

"But why don't I have a Spell like Hearts Eye's?"

Old Turtle twirled his beard and circled around Su Mo's massive body.

"Logically speaking, any Spirit Beast is born able to absorb Spiritual Qi and undergo an Awakening of their innate talent."

"But you can't absorb Spiritual Qi like a Spirit Beast, yet you aren't low-intelligence like a Yao Beast..."

"Could it be that you are some kind of Ancient Exotic Beast?"

Su Mo rubbed his chin, estimating that since he wasn't a Spirit Beast or some Ancient Exotic Beast, he could only be a Yao Beast.

To confirm, he still asked the Old Turtle.

"Senior, is there a distinction between Yao Beasts and Spirit Beasts?"

Being asked question after question, Old Turtle started to get annoyed and rolled his eyes.

"Spirit Beasts are those that possess Divine Beast Bloodline. No matter how little they have, they can absorb Spiritual Qi to Cultivate. Their cultivation speed is very fast, and they can also awaken innate talents."

"Conversely, Yao Beasts have not a trace of Divine Beast Bloodline in them. Most are just wild beasts that happened to gain sapience by chance. They can only rely on devouring things containing Spiritual Qi to increase their strength, and their intelligence only grows as their strength increases."

Hearing Old Turtle's words, Su Mo suddenly understood.

Hearts Eye and Su Su should be Spirit Beasts, while he was a Yao Beast, so it was normal not to have an innate talent.

After figuring it out, Su Mo felt a bit depressed.

The parents Old Turtle mentioned should have been quite impressive, so how could the two children they produced be worlds apart?

It was like a father being a god and a mother being a demon; after they united and had two children, one was an even more impressive Genius, while the other's divine and demonic powers perfectly canceled each other out, making them a Mortal.

"Gurgle~"

Su Mo rubbed his belly sheepishly. Having grown so large, the energy he consumed had also become terrifying.

"Senior, if you have any Spiritual Fruits or Spiritual Plants, bring some out for me to tide over my hunger."

Old Turtle seemed quite generous; he had already shared so much spiritual wine, so a few Spiritual Fruits should be a small matter.

Old Turtle's mouth twitched at the request, and he rolled his eyes.

'You brat really have no shame. You drank my three-hundred-year-old vintage until only the dregs were left, and you still have the face to ask me for Spiritual Fruits?!'

But when asking for a favor, one has to be humble. Old Turtle took a long breath and, with a look of extreme heartache, took out three fist-sized Spiritual Fruits from his shell.

Su Mo reached out to take them and tossed them into his mouth in one go, finally easing the hunger in his stomach.

Seeing Old Turtle take out so many things from his shell, Su Mo's eyes grew hot with envy; maybe he had some things he didn't use.

"Senior..."

Before he could finish, Old Turtle's figure suddenly vanished.

Su Mo quickly changed his words:

"Senior, when will you come back?"

"I will come looking for you when the time is right..."

Old Turtle's voice drifted, sounding close to his ear one moment and far away the next.

But Su Mo highly suspected that this Old Turtle might be hiding somewhere, secretly watching him.

He shook his head to clear the stray thoughts and looked at the ten-meter-high cave entrance, unable to help but laugh bitterly.

Who would have thought that in less than a day, he wouldn't be able to enter the new home he had just found.

"Forget it, if I can't get in, I can't get in."

"With my terrifying growth speed, it's only normal to have the sky as my blanket and the earth as my bed."

Savage Growth was indeed quite savage; Su Mo felt both the pain and the pleasure... Hearts Eye slept for a full three days before walking out of the cave, though she still didn't seem fully awake, her gait wobbly.

"Yo!"

As soon as she walked out of the cave, Hearts Eye let out a cry of terror and turned around, crashing straight into the mountain wall next to the cave.

It was a hard hit. Su Mo couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air at the sight, causing the temperature near the cave to drop several degrees.

"What's the panic? Don't you recognize me?"

Su Su wasn't like her at all. Seeing Su Mo grow so tall, she was very excited, climbing up and down his body and even making a nest on top of his head.

Hearing the familiar voice, Hearts Eye finally turned her head, her eyes filled with tears, clearly from the pain.

She tremblingly raised a paw, pointing at Su Mo's body, which was over ten meters tall even while crouching, and then pointed at herself.

"Yo?"

"I grew a bit fast..."

"Haven't you reached Rank 3 yet?"

Hearts Eye plopped down on the ground and shook her head.

"I'm going to take a bath. Do you want to come?"

Hearing this, Hearts Eye looked up blankly, a hint of resentment flashing in her eyes.

It was as if she were saying, "I'm already so miserable, and you're not even going to comfort me?"

Immediately, she shook her head in protest.

"Not going?"

"That's not up to you!"

"It's just the right time to give you a bath and help you sober up."

Su Mo reached out and gently grabbed Hearts Eye, placing her on his head, regardless of whether she agreed.

Hearts Eye could only huddle on his head in fear, clutching Su Mo's ear tightly.

With the excited Su Su and the trembling Hearts Eye on his head, Su Mo walked toward the lake with earth-shaking strides.

Being tall had one advantage: he could see far, and the scenery for a hundred miles around was all within his sight.

But there was also a disadvantage: he couldn't see what was right under his feet, occasionally knocking down a tree and startling the birds and beasts into fleeing.

Moments later, he reached the lake where the Ink Flood Dragon resided. Su Mo took Su Su and Hearts Eye off his head and told them to stay back and hide well.

Then he crouched by the lake and dipped his broad palm into the water to stir it; this simple movement set off a wave.

After the waves subsided, he waited for a moment, but the Ink Flood Dragon was nowhere to be seen.

"Not home?"

Su Mo's movements became even more reckless. He sat on the shore and stuck his feet into the water, splashing vigorously. Several fat fish flew out of the water and landed on the ground, twitching.

Just as Su Mo was having a great time, a series of huge bubbles suddenly rose from the center of the lake, and the water's surface began to churn unnaturally.