Chapter 488
Toad, White Snake, and Slug
Chapter 488 Toad, White Snake, and Slug
Yun Shi stretched out his hand and gave the old tortoise a loose grasp.
Without using Chuck, the turtle paused slightly, enveloped by an invisible and gentle natural energy, its four claws lifted off the ground, and it flew steadily into Yun Shi's hands.
The turtle shrank its head in his cool palm, but its tiny, beady eyes looked up at that face without the slightest struggle or fear, as if it had returned to its most peaceful home.
Yun looked down at it, extended her index finger in front of it, and a tiny crack appeared on the skin at the tip of her finger.
A drop of bright red, crystal-clear blood slowly seeped out, its interior seemingly shimmering with light and emitting a strange fragrance, hovering on the fingertip, about to fall.
The faint scent emanating from that single drop of blood was enough to make the animals that had stopped to watch involuntarily take a half-step forward, letting out longing growls in their throats.
Ōtsutsuki Kumoshiki was about to place the drop of blood on the turtle's forehead.
However, as if he had thought of something, he paused slightly and turned his gaze to a brownish-yellow toad squatting on a rock not far from the wooden house, its cheeks puffed out.
He said nothing, and flicked the blood from his finger at the toad.
call out!
The glistening blood droplets transformed into streams of light and instantly disappeared into the toad's body.
"Gurgle?!" The toad's body suddenly stiffened, and its bulging cheeks stopped moving.
Bang!
A dull thud, as if a water bag had burst.
Before the toad could even utter a mournful cry, it exploded on the spot, its flesh, bones, and internal organs scattering in all directions.
The closest creatures were a slug slowly crawling beside the rock and a small white snake coiled in a tree, both of which were drenched in a large amount of warm blood and flesh.
The moment the little white snake and the slug came into contact with the flesh and blood, they tensed up, trembled, and swelled, then burst open with a "poof," just like the toad.
Further afield, the monkeys, ostriches, koalas, hippos, pangolins, and other animals that had gathered to watch were not entirely spared either.
Splattered bits of flesh and blood stuck to their fur, feathers, or shells.
"..."
The animals froze on the spot, their blood freezing, trembling and staring with terrified eyes, not daring to utter a single whimper.
But the few remaining bits of flesh and blood did not kill them; instead, their size began to increase, and a clear look appeared in their eyes.
"That's a bit too much, this amount is enough."
Yun Shi withdrew his gaze, lowered his head again, and looked at the unsuspecting turtle in his palm, blood seeping from his fingertips once more.
It was no longer a complete drop, but a thin thread of blood, finer than a strand of hair, containing energy and aura a hundred times weaker than the previous drop of blood, which was placed on the turtle's forehead.
hum!
The instant the blood vessels touched the tortoise, the natural energy within a radius of several hundred meters, centered on the cloud-shaped tortoise in the palm, suddenly converged like a tide!
The sea breeze quickened, the sound of the forest echoed, and visible vortexes appeared in the air, howling as they poured into the palm-sized turtle's body!
Its size began to expand at a visible rate.
Yun Shi stopped lifting it and casually tossed it gently. The turtle drew an arc and landed on the calm blue sea not far away.
The size of a washbasin... the size of a millstone... the size of a house...
Rumble!
A muffled sound came from beneath the sea. The turtle's body was still growing, and its increasingly huge carapace emerged from the sea, growing broad and dense spikes like mountain peaks.
Even the aquatic plants and moss growing in the crevices of the carapace, now nourished by the infusion of natural energy and the traces of blood, have transformed into a lush, tall, and vibrant forest.
An ordinary turtle transforms into a giant turtle in an instant, just like an island floating on the sea.
Boom!
The sea ahead gradually rose up, then crashed down like a curtain of azure water.
From the surging waves, the enormous turtle head, comparable to a small hill, slowly rose from beneath the sea surface.
The giant tortoise stretched its neck, raised its head, and let out a deep, long roar towards the sky.
"hold head high!!"
The roar was incredibly deep, the sound waves were visible to the naked eye in the air, and ripples spread across the sea. The surrounding forest was also swept up by the gale, swaying and rustling, and fallen leaves were swirling into the sky.
A large flock of birds that had flown into the forest were startled and took flight in panic, scattering in all directions and their cries filling the air.
The roar gradually subsided, its echoes reverberating between the sea and the sky.
The beach was deathly silent.
Chuanshi's fingers trembled, startling the little bird on his fingertip, which chirped and flew away.
what is this?
To enlighten living beings?
He slowly lowered his hand, looking at the giant tortoise and Yun Shi's back, his eyes filled with shock.
Otsutsuki Kumoshiki gazed silently at the creation before him, his eyes remaining calm and undisturbed. He slowly raised his arm, extending a palm towards the giant tortoise.
The island-like giant tortoise no longer roared; its enormous head slowly drooped downwards.
Its movements were slow and gentle, cautious, with an almost devout docility, as if afraid that it might offend the figure in front of it if it were not careful.
A huge shadow fell over Yunshi and the beach in front of the wooden house. The cold, hard tip of his nose touched Yunshi's outstretched palm with the gentlest touch.
Yun Shi tilted her head slightly, her gaze sweeping over Chuan Shi, who had a blank expression behind her, and then over the animals that were still frozen in place.
Although their eyes still held lingering fear, they also possessed clarity and spirituality.
"Let's go," Yun Shi said calmly, withdrawing his hand from the giant tortoise.
As soon as the words were spoken, the enormous turtle head obediently lowered, its neck bent, and its head rested at the boundary between the beach and the shallow sea, forming a broad arch leading to its broad back.
Yun Shi said no more, stepped onto the giant tortoise's rough head, and slowly walked upwards, her long blue and white hair and clothes fluttering in the sea breeze.
Fluttering!
Just then, the little bird that had been scared away earlier suddenly emerged from the nearby tree canopy, circled Chuan Shi twice, and flew with him to the back of the giant tortoise.
Chuanshi, who had been lost in thought, suddenly snapped out of it and saw Yunshi already on the turtle's back. He quickly followed. The animals behind him exchanged glances and then stepped onto the giant turtle's lowered head.
A moment later, the giant tortoise's massive body slowly turned around, breaking through the azure sea surface, carrying Otsutsuki Kumoshiki and the other two, as well as the animals, and swam towards the boundless depths of the ocean.
Sunlight shines on the turtle's back, gilding it with a golden edge. From a distance, it truly resembles a moving island gradually disappearing into the distance, leaving a long wake behind it.
But shortly after they left, a strange change quietly occurred on that quiet beach.
The bits of flesh, mucus, and even bone fragments belonging to toads, white snakes, and slugs that stuck to the sand, stones, and grass did not dry out over time.
Instead, drawn by that drop of blood, they began to tremble slightly, as if natural energy was attracted and spontaneously began to converge towards these pools of flesh and blood.
Immediately afterwards, the scattered flesh and blood began to converge as if time had reversed.
Fragments of a toad seek out fragments of a toad, remnants of a white snake attract remnants of a white snake, and the slime of a slug gathers the slime of a slug, re-bonding and healing.
Flesh and blood grow back, bones remodel, internal organs return to their original positions...
Moments later, the three pools of disgusting blood on the beach disappeared.
Instead, three unharmed creatures lay bewildered on the spot, their bodies even appearing slightly larger.
It was that toad, that white snake, and that slug that no longer held only ignorance in their eyes. "Gurgle...I..."
The toad was the first to move, puffing out its cheeks and instinctively opening its mouth to let out its usual croak.
However, what came out of its throat was not a frog's croak, but an indistinct human voice.
The toad was startled by the sound, and its beady eyes widened suddenly.
what happened?
How could I have made such a sound?
It turned its head blankly and looked around, and the world seemed to have changed.
The air was no longer nothingness; it could see wisps of faint "airflow" slowly moving and converging towards it.
It could sense that its body seemed to crave to absorb these air currents, hoping to feel comfortable and become more powerful.
Just as the toad was immersed in this sudden perception...
"Hiss!" A sharp hiss suddenly rang out from behind.
It was that white snake. Its slender body suddenly sprang forward, as fast as a white lightning bolt, and it opened its sharp teeth to pounce on the toad, who was still in a daze.
Its speed far exceeded that of snakes, and a foul stench instantly assaulted the toad.
However, just as the snake's kiss was about to touch the toad, the toad, which had just gained intelligence, underwent a physical transformation and enhancement, displaying an astonishing reaction speed.
boom!
The powerful hind leg kicked out almost instinctively, landing solidly on the white snake's face with a dull thud.
"Hiss!" The white snake hissed in pain as its head was kicked to the side, and its body flew backward in a sorry state, crashing into a tree.
Using the recoil from the kick, the toad traced an arc in the air and leaped into the nearby lake with a "plop," instantly disappearing from sight and leaving only ripples behind.
The white snake shook its head, which was a little dizzy from being kicked, and as if it remembered something, it quickly turned its head to look at the spot where the slug had been.
There, it was empty, with only a trace of dampness remaining.
Just as it attacked the toad, the seemingly slow and clumsy slug slipped away silently!
"Damn it!"
A human-like annoyance appeared in the white snake's eyes, and its scarlet tongue flickered, emitting a human-like sound.
Its instincts, those of a cold-blooded predator, were amplified infinitely by its newly awakened intelligence.
It could sense that the toad that received the blood, and the slug, contained power similar to its own.
Its intuition told it that by eating them, it could become stronger and smarter.
Actually, it should have attacked the weaker-looking slug first.
It was absolutely confident in dealing with that guy.
However, the snake's greedy nature led it to instinctively choose the more nutritious toad. As a result, it not only failed to eat the toad but was also kicked so hard that it saw stars, and the slug escaped!
Thinking of this, the white snake twisted its slender body in anger, but it did not give up. Its newly acquired wisdom gave it great patience.
So it began to slowly roam along the edge of the lake, its cold, vertical pupils scanning the water and the shore, trying to find any trace of the toad hiding or the slime left by the slug.
The lake was calm and still, reflecting the setting sun, as if nothing had happened.
A moment later, it even began to deceive, deliberately feigning giving up, slowly swimming away and disappearing into the dense grass not far away, perfectly concealing its body.
The white snake remained motionless in the grass, only its cold eyes visible, fixed on the direction of the lake, waiting for its prey to lower its guard and reappear.
Time passed slowly, the setting sun dyed the sky orange-red, the lake remained calm, with only ripples from the breeze and the buzzing of mosquitoes in the grass.
However, the toads and slugs seemed to have vanished completely and never reappeared.
Only when the last ray of daylight was swallowed by the night did the white snake reluctantly emerge from its hiding place. It took one last look at the calm lake surface shimmering in the moonlight before wriggling away.
Night passed, and dawn broke in the east.
As the first rays of dawn pierced the darkness and shone upon the shimmering lake, ripples finally spread across the once tranquil surface.
A wet head cautiously poked its head out of the water.
Its beady eyes darted around until it was certain the white snake had truly left, then the toad leaped out of the lake and onto a rock.
It saw the air currents again, and the mucus flowing from its body seemed to help it absorb them more easily, making its body feel warm and strong.
"These are natural energies..."
The toad uttered a few syllables intermittently.
The word, along with its vague concept, naturally surfaced from the depths of his mind.
It doesn't fully understand the full meaning of the word, but the unfamiliar memories in its mind, the air currents that make it feel comfortable and powerful, are "natural energy".
Subsequently, more chaotic and bizarre fragments of memory emerged from the depths of its still-unconscious mind.
These memories are not its short life as a toad, but rather images it could not comprehend.
There were magnificent and unique buildings, square and upright, completely different from the human tribes it had seen before, and people dressed in strange and complicated clothing...
These memories are complex, like a jigsaw puzzle in disarray. It is the language-related parts of these fragments that taught it to speak, albeit still very awkwardly.
But many more memories are buried deep within the consciousness, as if shrouded in a thick veil of mist, blurry and difficult to reach.
These are actually the scenes that Yun Shi saw when he swept across the dragon vein.
Thanks to that drop of blood, the toad now possesses the power of the Cloud Style.
They gained the ability to absorb natural energy and a glimpse into the future.
Is that... the future?
The toad blinked, but it couldn't yet grasp the concept of time. It turned its head to look towards the sea, towards the being that had given it new life and power.
There, a vast, gentle yet profound aura was gradually fading away.
The toad gazed in that direction and mumbled indistinctly, "So strong, so powerful."
Various thoughts began to take root in the lucky toad's mind: awe for the figure and a yearning for power and strength.
After a moment's thought, it murmured in a daze, "My name is, Gamamaru?"
Yes, that's right.
From today onwards, my name will be Gamamaru, and I am no less than those humans.
With that thought in mind, Gamamaru leaped back into the water, leaving only tiny bubbles, and the lake returned to calm.
(End of this chapter)