224: Chapter 224 The old turtle was envious.

Chapter 224: Old Turtle Is Envious. In Wutong Garden.

The golden wutong leaves shimmered with a warm luster under the moonlight, shrouded in a dense spiritual mist.

The Phoenix hung from the highest branch of the wutong treasure tree. The reddish-gold light cocoon was slightly larger than before, and the runes on its surface flowed even more clearly, with the faint aura of Nirvana True Fire diffusing from within. It was clearly recovering well.

Shen Qingyuan returned to his soft couch, lying down lazily with his hands behind his head. Looking up at the golden wutong leaves above, he let out a comfortable sigh.

Luo Qingyue knelt beside him, her white robes as pure as snow. Her aura was as steady as a mountain, yet a sliver of pressure from the ninth level of the Asking Dao Realm still leaked out.

Old Turtle squatted in the corner of the courtyard, his cloudy old eyes half-open and half-closed. He seemed to be dozing off, but his ears were actually pricked up the entire time.

As soon as Luo Qingyue appeared, he detected the aura on her.

The ninth level of the Asking Dao Realm!

Luo Qingyue had actually leaped directly from the third level of the Asking Dao Realm to the ninth level. This speed of improvement made Old Turtle's teeth ache with jealousy.

Having lived for over three thousand years, he had seen countless geniuses and encountered many miraculous opportunities, but he had truly never seen anyone make such an unstoppable Breakthrough like Luo Qingyue.

What made him feel even more envious was that Luo Qingyue's good fortune was entirely because she stayed by the Sovereign's side.

From the Dharma Idol Realm to the Primal Chaos Realm, and from the Primal Chaos Realm to the Asking Dao Realm, in just a few short years, she had traversed a path that took others hundreds or even thousands of years to complete.

"Why wasn't this old man born a woman!" Old Turtle muttered to himself, only wishing he were female so he could win the Sovereign's favor.

After a moment, Old Turtle couldn't help but swallow his saliva. His cloudy old eyes stole a glance at Shen Qingyuan on the soft couch before quickly looking away.

With countless thoughts churning in his mind, he hesitated for a long while before finally being unable to resist. Hunching his back, he shuffled over to the side of the soft couch.

"Sovereign," he said, rubbing his hands together dryly.

Shen Qingyuan lay on the soft couch without even lifting his eyelids. "Hmm?"

"Sovereign, this servant made a special effort to look into the backgrounds of the Tiankui Sect and the Cangming Clan over the past few days, and I have some new information."

Shen Qingyuan lay on the soft couch, not even lifting his eyelids. He merely let out a lazy "hmm" to signal him to continue.

Old Turtle's spirits lifted. He quickly leaned closer and lowered his voice, "On the Tiankui Sect's side, besides the Grand Elders who can control Saint-Realm Puppets, it is said they also possess a Sect-protecting treasure—an ancient Puppet of the Great Saint level. It was retrieved from an immemorial ruin by their founding Ancestral Master. It has never been used for tens of thousands of years and will only be summoned in times of life-or-death crisis for the Sect."

"As for the Cangming Clan," Old Turtle paused, a sharp glint flashing in his cloudy old eyes, "the information this Junior gathered is that the reason the Cangming Clan's Puppet techniques are so profound is because they master an extremely ancient secret method. It can strip a Cultivator's Divine Soul and seal it into a Puppet, allowing the Puppet to retain a portion of its intelligence from when it was alive, thereby unleashing power far exceeding Puppets of the same tier. However..."

He changed his tone, which became a bit more solemn, "This secret method is said to be extremely sinister and harmful to the natural order. The Cangming Clan established an ancestral rule that it must not be used unless the Family is on the brink of destruction.

Furthermore, the Materials required to refine a corpse Puppet are extremely demanding. Especially for a Quasi-Emperor-level corpse Puppet, it not only requires the intact corpse of a Quasi-Emperor, but also a vast amount of spiritual Materials of the Saint Realm and above as auxiliary ingredients, as well as a powerhouse proficient in soul arts to guide the remnant soul.

"Because of this, although the Cangming Clan guards that secret technique, they have never actually refined a single Quasi-Emperor corpse Puppet."

After hearing this, Shen Qingyuan finally lifted his eyelids and cast a glance at him.

Old Turtle quickly straightened his back, his face covered in a fawning smile.

The corner of Shen Qingyuan's mouth curled slightly. "You are indeed attentive."

Old Turtle waved his hands repeatedly. "Sharing the Sovereign's burdens is this servant's duty."

Shen Qingyuan said no more. He simply took out the warm secret realm core from his sleeve and casually tossed it to Old Turtle.

"Take it and enter the Blood Pool once. How much you can absorb depends on your own fortune."

Old Turtle instinctively reached out to catch the secret realm core. Looking down at the crystal in his palm, which was as warm as jade, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, freezing in place.

His cloudy old eyes widened into perfect circles. His mouth opened and closed, closed and opened, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Finally... was it finally his turn?!

"So... Sovereign..." Old Turtle's voice trembled, and his hands holding the secret realm core shook uncontrollably. "You... you are letting this servant enter that Saint Blood Pool?!"

Shen Qingyuan glanced at him. "What, you don't want to go?"

"I want to go! I want to go! This servant has dreamed of it!" Old Turtle nodded repeatedly, his old face flushed red. He was so excited he almost jumped up. "This servant will go right now! Right now!"

He turned and ran out of the courtyard, his hunched body straightening a bit, his steps swift as the wind.

Running to the courtyard gate, he suddenly stopped, turned back, and bowed deeply to Shen Qingyuan. "Thank you, Sovereign! Thank you, Sovereign!"

Shen Qingyuan waved his hand, too lazy to look at him.

Old Turtle didn't mind either. Grinning, he turned and vanished out the courtyard gate in a flash.

A moment later, his figure appeared in the sky above the Xuantian Secret Realm.

Under the gray sky, the reddish-gold Blood Pool in the valley was still surging and boiling. Even after being absorbed by Luo Qingyue, Shen Yuanshan, and the others, it didn't seem to have decreased at all. The dense aura of Saint-Realm vital energy remained majestic.

Hovering in mid-air, Old Turtle gazed down at the surging reddish-gold Blood Pool below. A sharp light flickered in his cloudy old eyes, and he trembled all over with excitement.

Having lived for over three thousand years, ventured through countless ruins, and experienced endless life-and-death situations, he had never imagined that one day he would have the opportunity to soak in a pool filled with the vital energy essence of a Saint-Realm grand demon.

The ninth level of the Asking Dao Realm!

This time, he would definitely be able to charge for the ninth level of the Asking Dao Realm!

*Splash!*

Old Turtle plunged headfirst into the Blood Pool. The moment he entered the water, the reddish-gold liquid violently surged as if ignited. The vital energy force, so dense it had almost materialized, surged frantically into his body through his pores, washing through his Meridians, bones, and flesh.

He let out a muffled groan as fine golden lines instantly surfaced on his skin, which was the external manifestation of the vital energy force frantically washing through his demonic body.

On his aged face, the wrinkles were actually smoothing out at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his originally graying hair faintly gleamed with a dark golden luster!

His aura began to climb!

The sixth level of the Asking Dao Realm—

The seventh level of the Asking Dao Realm!

Breakthrough!

Closing his eyes, Old Turtle felt the majestic power within his body, his heart filled with wild joy.

He possessed the body of a Black Tortoise, so his Physical Body was naturally much more formidable than that of Human Race Cultivators of the same tier, and his efficiency in absorbing vital energy was also higher than theirs.

At this rate, within a month, it was entirely possible for him to charge for the ninth level of the Asking Dao Realm, or even... touch the threshold of the Saint Realm!

As long as he broke through to the Peak of the ninth level of the Asking Dao Realm and then found a way to trigger the Saint Tribulation, he too would have the possibility of becoming a Saint!

At this thought, he trembled all over with excitement.

He had lived for over three thousand years, cultivating step by step from a small demon in the Meridian Opening Realm to the Asking Dao Realm. How much hardship had he endured, and how much suffering had he gone through?

Now, the opportunity to become a Saint lay right before him; how could he let it slip away!

"The Sovereign's kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain!"

Old Turtle secretly vowed in his heart that after he became a Saint, he would definitely repay the Sovereign's kindness manifold!

The reddish-gold liquid in the Blood Pool continued to surge and boil, completely swallowing Old Turtle's figure.

The onlookers of Cultivators outside the valley, watching this scene, had already become completely numb.

Zhao Qiankun slumped on the ground, the shock on his face long gone, leaving only blank bewilderment.

Looking at the surging Blood Pool and the figures disappearing into it one after another, he suddenly felt that the most absurd things he had ever seen in his life had all occurred today.

"First it was Fairy Qingyue, then three Primal Chaos Realm Cultivators, and now even an Old Turtle has come..." he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse. "Just how many monsters does the Shen Family have?"

Chen Jiuzhou shook his head and remained silent.

He had already given up thinking, and even felt faintly that even if several Saints were to pop out of the Shen Family tomorrow, he wouldn't find it too strange.

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