Chapter 39: The Truth

"Roar!"

A resonant dragon's cry echoed through the mountain forest. An arm-length, silvery-white treasure fish darted through the woods, skimming across the terrain like a stone skipping over water.

"Chase it!"

"Fellow Daoists, my Li family has been waiting here for over half a month. Please, grant me, Li Hansong, some shred of respect? I would be eternally grateful..."

"Who cares about Li Hansong? You're an old man who has only reached the First Ascension level; what is your face worth? Get lost!"

"The Wu family of Red Crow City is here! Our clan leader is a Second Ascension cultivator!"

"..."

Two or three dozen figures emerged from around Small Stone Lake, scrambling and vying with one another as they plunged into a frenzied chase after that streak of silver light.

Chen Xuan’s luck was not particularly good, as the treasure fish had emerged from the lake quite far from where he stood.

"Bang!"

A young Qi practitioner, who happened to be right in the path of the fish, lunged forward with ecstatic joy. The next moment, both of his palms exploded, leaving them a bloody, mangled mess. He collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony.

"A mere Red Qi refiner with a body as brittle as paper—why are you even joining the fray?"

As the other practitioners sped past him, someone sneered, "The fish’s spiritual consciousness is as small as a grain of rice; whether you use Red Qi or not makes no difference!"

Chen Xuan moved with the speed of lightning. White Qi surged within him, and a golden-white glow permeated his skin. He soon overtook the others, becoming one of the leaders in the pursuit.

Naturally cautious, he had spent several days in this area, carefully gauging the strength of the local practitioners. Only two were Second Ascension cultivators: the clan leader of the Wu family from Red Crow City, who practiced Red Qi, and an old Daoist from a certain temple who practiced water-attributed Black Qi.

"Whoosh!"

After a chase of over three miles, the lead old Daoist finally drew close to the treasure fish. With a wave of his broad sleeves, several chain-like streams of water flew out, binding the fish in mid-air.

"Roar!"

The treasure fish shrieked, struggling to break free, but suddenly its body stiffened. Blood welled up in its gem-like eyes, and thin threads of blood began to seep from between its scales.

Blood, after all, is also water!

"Boom!"

A ball of fire suddenly surged from behind the old Daoist, knocking him flying. A man in his fifties with eyes blazing like fire and palms wreathed in flames—the leader of the Wu clan—shouted, "You old Daoist, you’re supposed to abstain from meat and lust, so why are you fighting for this treasure fish? I’m going to eat it!"

He practiced Red Qi and found it difficult to catch the fish, but he could easily dispose of whoever did catch it!

The old Daoist, his back scorched black, grimaced in pain. He leaped up and cursed, "What the hell do you know? Abstain from meat and lust? The Rain Master sect has no such taboos! All the priestesses in my temple are my Daoist companions!"

As he cursed, the old Daoist launched a desperate counterattack against the Wu clan leader.

"Stop, you old Daoist! The treasure fish has been stolen!" the Wu clan leader roared, for he had caught a glimpse of the treasure fish being snatched away by a tall, sturdily built young man.

"Playing the mantis stalking the cicada, are you? Forget the fish—I just want to beat you up!"

The old Daoist was so furious that his beard and hair stood on end. He even resorted to sorcery; torrential green water rose up, and the phantom of a black-scaled python appeared, swallowing clouds and mist as it pressed down upon his opponent.

He could forgo the opportunity, but he would never let a sneak attack go unpunished!

"You practice the Black Qi of Water Virtue, so why is your temper even more explosive than mine?" The Wu clan leader’s head throbbed as he was forced to use his own sorcery to defend himself.

The Black Qi of Water Virtue sought to "command time and reach divinity through talismans." Practitioners of Black Qi usually preferred to plan before acting and never did anything without a clear benefit. But this old Daoist was clearly an anomaly.

"Beating you to a pulp to satisfy my heart—that is the benefit I want right now!" the old Daoist bellowed.

Chen Xuan watched in stunned silence, but as long as these two Second Ascension cultivators were fighting, no one would be able to spare a thought for him.

"Whoosh!"

Clutching the lifeless treasure fish, Chen Xuan took off running, disappearing into the darkness within a few breaths. Having embarked on the path of Ascension for the second time, he was in urgent need of rare treasures.

...

Deep within the Southern Wilderness.

On a mountain a thousand fathoms high, ripples stirred in a deep, secluded pond. A snow-white ancient tortoise blinked, its white jade-like eyes turning a few times before it slowly closed its "Dragon Gate" mouth.

"The old man's rations have been snatched again?"

He was displeased, as it had happened just a few days ago. The school of treasure fish in Small Stone Lake was something he had stocked himself. It took a long time for a single fish to mature, yet they had been stolen one after another recently.

The ancient white tortoise rose from the pool, his turbid eyes overlooking the undulating mountains beneath the night sky.

...

"Gurgle..."

Boiling water surged in a pot, cooking the treasure fish. Chen Xuan sat cross-legged nearby, a golden tea leaf in his mouth, having already begun practicing the first chapter of the "Yellow Millet True Scripture."

The leaves of the Buddha-Heart Tea tree from the Suspended Temple could increase one's strength by about a hundred pounds each. The benefit lay in their quantity; Chen Xuan had already consumed nearly half of them and estimated that once he finished the rest, he would have gained a total of about three thousand pounds of strength.

"Tsk, it smells delicious. Humans truly are different—they know how to enjoy themselves."

Suddenly, an aged, kindly voice echoed in Chen Xuan's ears, making him shudder with shock. Chen Xuan leaped to his feet instantly, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Back when he had killed Wang Chan, he had faintly heard a "Hmph" while cooking a treasure fish, and the tone was exactly the same.

The treasure fish of Small Stone Lake had an owner!

A snow-white ancient tortoise, with a constantly rotating Taiji Bagua pattern on its shell, stood half as tall as a man. It stretched its neck, sniffing the fishy aroma from the pot. Then, its head, which looked as if it had been molded from clay, turned to look at Chen Xuan with an expression of helplessness.

"Little thief, have you grown addicted to stealing an old man's rations?"

Chen Xuan was terrified, as he hadn't sensed the tortoise's presence at all before it appeared before him. This was horrifying; the old tortoise's power was far beyond his imagination.

Chen Xuan swallowed hard and said in a deep voice, "Senior, I don't want the fish anymore. I will leave now."

He was decisive, realizing that the ancient tortoise was not someone he could handle at his current level. It was absurd—behind the common flesh-and-blood medicine of the treasure fish on the outskirts of the Southern Wilderness, such a terrifying monster was hiding. It was unthinkable.

One had to realize that countless practitioners had recently flooded into the Southern Wilderness. Rare treasures were discovered daily, and the monsters they encountered were usually only at the Ascension level. No one dared to explore the truly dangerous depths of the Southern Wilderness.

The ancient white tortoise shook its head. "No need. This is your destiny... A treasure fish that can be caught by a Qi practitioner has no right to enter my belly."

"Ah?"

Chen Xuan was stunned, not expecting the old tortoise to be so reasonable and show no intention of holding his offense against him.

The ancient white tortoise clasped his hands behind his back like a frail old man and circled Chen Xuan slowly, examining him from head to toe as if admiring a delicious meal, which made Chen Xuan's scalp tingle.

Chen Xuan looked grave. Not understanding the tortoise's meaning, he asked, "Senior, what are you looking at?"

The ancient white tortoise chuckled. "Your natural aptitude is good, and your personality is to my liking. I felt the same when I saw you last time."

Then, he uttered a sentence that made Chen Xuan feel as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Qing Yazi of Green Deer Mountain was also present. You ruined his grand plan, and I believe that at the time, he must have harbored a desire to kill you..."

Qing Yazi!

Chen Xuan was horrified. Immediately, an irrepressible chill washed over him, and a massive, unforeseen shadow loomed over his head.

"I have become a pawn!"

At that moment, this terrifying thought rose in his mind.