Chapter 255: Old Trickster

The bond forged through shared adversity was far more profound than a typical adventuring partnership. This special camaraderie was difficult to describe, like an innate, unconditional trust that bound them together.

Three days later, when Ling Qingshu opened her eyes again, a sensation of incredible clarity flooded her consciousness.

"Is this... the five senses that only powerful cultivators possess? My goodness, it's as if I've entered a completely new world; it's absolutely incredible!"

Ling Qingshu cheered with immense joy.

"The chameleon is inherently one of the most unique ancient high-grade spirit beasts. Its greatest enhancements for her will undoubtedly be her five senses and perception. As for any other special powers, you'll need to develop them yourself in the future. This lineage of spirit creatures is extremely rare; it's surprising to find one on the East Sea islands. Many details aren't even recorded in ancient texts, so you must cultivate and practice diligently to fully integrate with it."

The Empress offered her advice to Ling Qingshu, and the girl nodded repeatedly in gratitude.

"You've gone directly from the Cave Heaven Perfected realm to the Nascent Soul Grand Perfection realm; you shouldn't be far from the Divine Infant realm now. Sect Master Ling, you've truly risen!"

"Oh, stop it, don't tease me!"

With Ling Qingshu and Long Kun, those two lively characters, now together, the team was filled with much more cheer.

With this, aside from Long Kun, who had already secured a Primordial-level sacrifice, only Little Tuan Tuan and the Five Little Flowers of Cold Moon had yet to gain anything.

Tuan Tuan was too young, and her physical capacity was limited. As her current guardian, Xu Yang had no intention of letting her take risks. The girl, mature like a little adult, seemed unconcerned and showed no signs of unhappiness.

As for the Five Little Flowers of Cold Moon, their cultivation was at the initial stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and they already possessed considerable strength. However, among the sacrifice beasts, ancient beasts powerful in mental strength were rare. Furthermore, the illusionary techniques these five girls cultivated had a synergistic nature; if the attributes of the sacrifice beasts they obtained were vastly different, it would greatly interfere with their future joint cultivation.

They continued their search for over ten days, having almost traversed the entire outer islands, yet finding no better gains. After a discussion, they decided to head directly to the island's core to first deal with the Primordial Ancient Beast, the island's overlord.

However, even Xu Yang hadn't anticipated that this Primordial Ancient Beast would prove to be so formidable…

Firstly, this creature could completely ignore the Empress's top-tier aura detection.

It was important to note that the Empress now harbored a dragon soul, and her mental strength was almost comparable to that of a true dragon's true form! For a creature to evade detection even by a dragon, such instances were truly rare in this world.

Even more remarkably, whenever Xu Yang's team arrived at one of the Primordial Ancient Beast's suspected strongholds, the creature would immediately relocate. They searched the entire island, going back and forth, yet could never pinpoint its exact location.

"Sigh... never mind, let's just leave. That creature is too cunning, and wasting time going around in circles like this isn't a solution."

As Xu Yang spoke, everyone remained unusually quiet, offering no refutations. The spirit ship flashed with light, floated out, and the team swiftly disappeared from the island.

As dusk fell, a sudden sound emanated from the entrance of a cave at the island's core. A large pit abruptly appeared on the ground at the entrance, and a yellowish-brown circular outline wriggled a few times, revealing its true form.

"Phew... those plagues finally left. I almost got caught this time! That man and woman leading them are truly powerful, especially the woman; her perception seems to cover the entire island. It's absolutely terrifying…"

The creature that spoke human language was, surprisingly, an old yellowish-brown turtle. It appeared to be talking to the air. Moments later, several grayish-white birds landed around its body.

"You should be grateful. If it weren't for us brothers standing guard for you, you wouldn't be the old native of this island anymore."

"Heh heh, you're right. I've been here too long; I really want to go out and see the world. There's truly no fun in staying on this island all day!"

"Hmph, since you have this wish, then I shall grant it to you, old turtle!"

A sudden voice rang out, locking onto the old turtle's position. A golden-glowing whisk descended from the sky, pressing firmly onto the old turtle, trapping the several white bird-beasts around it as well.

"Old fellow, did you really think we would leave so easily?"

Xu Yang and the Empress descended from the sky, hovering above the old turtle's head, while the spirit ship quickly flew back into the air above them.

And the one who had locked onto their aura, contributing the most to this hunt, was none other than the chameleon!

"You damn chameleon, it was you!!"

The old turtle was filled with resentment. If it hadn't been betrayed by a creature on its own island, it wouldn't have ended up captured like this.

"Heh heh, old turtle, come with me and leave this place. Let's go see the outside world! I've lived here for five hundred thousand years; it's truly been long enough…"

As the chameleon spoke, it transformed into a beam of light and merged into Ling Qingshu's body.

"Heh heh, thanks, Big Sister Qingshu!"

Long Kun was about to ingratiatingly pat Ling Qingshu's shoulder, but the girl deftly dodged, preventing him from succeeding.

As the light from the Dao Heart Whisk continuously compressed, the old turtle's attributes became completely transparent under the Empress's perception.

"A 700,000-year-old Dragon Turtle! I'm unsure about its bloodline, but without a doubt, it's the most suitable type for Long Kun."

The moment the Empress spoke, Long Kun was so overjoyed he practically flew, darting to the front of the whisk's light.

"Heh heh, old man, your name is Dragon Turtle, and mine is Long Kun. Our fates must be intertwined."

As Long Kun spoke, a sudden flash of light erupted from his body, and the brilliant green light of the Black Tortoise True Art manifested.

"This is... the Black Tortoise True Art??"

To everyone's surprise, these words came directly from the old turtle itself.

"How do you know?" Long Kun couldn't help but retort. Very few people truly knew the origin of his cultivation method.

"Nonsense! The creator of the Black Tortoise True Art is my ancestor, Xuanwu, the only supreme being of the Dragon Turtle lineage to reach the Divine Beast level. This true art was created by him, and it's actually been passed down to your hands, kid; you're not simple at all!"

Realizing he had such a deep connection with the old turtle, Long Kun couldn't help but recount his childhood experience of being rescued and raised by an elder from the Phoenix clan.

The Dragon Turtle, while shocked, was also deeply moved by Long Kun's sincerity.

"Sigh, it seems this is destiny! All my companions have made sacrifices to your team members, and as their leader, it's time for me to leave as well. Besides, your team's talent is the most astonishing I've ever witnessed among humans, destined for boundless futures. I can feel your sincerity. Very well, I entrust the latter half of my life to you all!"

The Dragon Turtle was not a sentimental sort. Especially when he saw the chameleon depart – the old Dragon Turtle had once pursued that chameleon – he naturally couldn't suppress his emotions and finally chose to proactively sacrifice himself to Long Kun.