Chapter 627
The Azure Turtle's Human Form is Too Handsome
"But it happens to be the only known and relatively 'stable' exit from this hellish place. I have tried countless times to break through the 'domain' of the ruins from other places, but I have failed every time."
Only here, on this dead end, is there a glimmer of hope… or rather, a glimmer of hope to escape. This great king has been trapped here for eight hundred years!
Jiang Xuan nodded silently.
He had personally experienced the terror of that vortex; had it not been for the Heavenly Water Sacred Pearl, he would have been reduced to ashes long ago.
He also understood why the blue turtle was so eager for him to take it away—for the blue turtle, this whirlpool was a dead end, but also its only way out.
"So, Your Majesty hopes that, with the help of that treasure I possess... which might be able to withstand the void turbulence, we can overcome this vortex together and return to the outside world?"
Jiang Xuan confirmed.
"That's right!"
The green turtle turned around, its gaze fixed intently on Jiang Xuan, filled with undisguised anticipation and a hint of nervousness.
"This is your only chance! Boy, the fact that you managed to get in here alive proves that your treasure can protect you. Take me with you, and let's rush out together! Once we're out of this ruin, the world is vast and open. I have my own way of locating you and taking you back to your human territory! What do you say?"
Jiang Xuan looked at the hopeful eyes of the Azure Turtle, then at the small Sumeru Ring in his hand—containing dozens of rare and precious treasures that the other party had "generously" gifted him. He had no reason to refuse, whether out of sentiment, reason, public duty, or private considerations.
"it is good!"
Jiang Xuan nodded emphatically, his tone firm.
"I promise Your Majesty. We'll do it now..."
"and many more!"
The green turtle suddenly interrupted him, its anxious expression fading, replaced by a slightly hesitant yet expectant look.
"Hey... kid, do you... have any alcohol on you?"
"what?"
Jiang Xuan was taken aback by this sudden turn of events.
"Alcohol! The kind you humans drink, spicy stuff that makes you dizzy!"
The blue turtle gestured, seemingly a little embarrassed.
"I've been trapped at the bottom of this sea for eight hundred years, and my mouth is practically tasteless! I did find a few gourds among the belongings of some unfortunate cultivators before, but I drank them all eight hundred years ago! If you have any with you, take them out, and let's have a drink before we continue our journey! Consider it... consider it a farewell ceremony to this eight-hundred-year imprisonment!"
Jiang Xuan chuckled, surprised that this Heavenly Rank spirit beast was also a drunkard. However, he did indeed have some. Back in Huanglong City, for social occasions or occasional relaxation, he had kept several jars of decent spirit grain wine in his storage ring. While not top-tier, it was still quite robust and potent.
"Yes, I brought some, but the quality is ordinary and I'm afraid it won't suit Your Majesty's taste."
As Jiang Xuan spoke, he took out two unopened jars of wine from his Sumeru Ring, broke the mud seal, and the rich aroma of the wine immediately filled the air, forming strings of tiny bubbles on the seabed.
"Okay! As long as it exists! Who cares if it's ordinary or not!"
The blue turtle's eyes lit up, and it immediately came closer, sniffing the air with a look of rapture.
It stretched out its claws, scooped up a jar of wine in mid-air, and it flew steadily to its front.
It doesn't use a bowl; it directly manipulates the water flow to swirl up a stream of wine and puts it into the mouth.
"Gulp... Hah—!"
The blue turtle swallowed the wine, let out a satisfied sigh, and narrowed its large eyes into slits.
"That's it! That's the taste! I've been craving it for eight hundred years!"
Jiang Xuan picked up another jar and took a big gulp. The spicy and mellow liquor went down his throat and turned into a warm current that spread out, offering a unique taste in this deep sea.
The man and the turtle, on the seabed not far from the raging whirlpool, drank from a wine jar, taking turns sip by sip. Slightly tipsy, the atmosphere relaxed considerably.
After a few sips of strong liquor, the blue turtle seemed to have opened its mouth. It hugged the wine jar, its eyes somewhat glazed, gazing at the magnificent yet desolate ruins in the distance, its voice lowered.
"Boy, do you know why I love hearing your flattery, and why you have such a...unconventional personality?"
Jiang Xuan shook his head, indicating that he did not know.
"Hey."
The blue turtle chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"I, the Great King, was born in the depths of the Annihilation Sea, in a blessed land called 'Azure Light Island'. I was born to be the overlord of that sea, ruling over aquatic creatures for thousands of miles, able to command the wind and rain at will, and very powerful."
Eight hundred years ago, my cultivation reached a bottleneck. In order to break through to a higher realm, I pursued a wisp of rare 'Nine Nether Profound Qi,' but I inadvertently triggered an ancient restriction on this seabed and was pulled into this hellish place, where I've been trapped for eight hundred years.
It took another big gulp of wine.
"According to your human race's calculation method, this king is... about two thousand six hundred years old this year."
Jiang Xuan was slightly surprised. Over 2,600 years old, this was definitely an ancient artifact.
"However..."
The green turtle changed the subject, its tone carrying a hint of smugness mixed with a touch of helplessness.
"In our Azure Turtle clan, two thousand six hundred years old is only a short time after we've left our infancy, which is equivalent to a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy in your human race! So, although I, the Great King, have lived for thousands of years, my temperament... hehe, in your words, is not yet 'mature and steady'!"
"I love hearing compliments, I'm a little vain, and I'm a bit proud—isn't that normal? Being trapped in this dark, sunless seabed for eight hundred years, without even a single peer to talk to properly, has really been driving this great king crazy!"
"So that's how it is!" Jiang Xuan suddenly understood. No wonder the Azure Turtle King sometimes acted unfathomable, and at other times seemed a bit childish and frivolous, liked to hear flattery, and often referred to himself as "this Great King," with a kind of youthful boastfulness.
It turns out that in their long life cycle, it really is a "teenager"!
"Azure Island...that must be a good place."
Jiang Xuan followed its words.
"Of course!"
The blue turtle's eyes lit up again, filled with memories and longing.
"Azure Light Island, that is the real paradise of immortals! The spiritual energy is a hundred times richer than this dilapidated ruin! The island is full of exotic flowers and rare herbs, countless spiritual springs and waterfalls, and many fun places! Your Purple Radiance Empire... Hmph, I'm not bragging, but compared to Azure Light Island, it's just a remote and tiny place!"
"Boy, once we get out of here, if there's a chance, I, the Great King, will take you to Azure Island to broaden your horizons and show you what real 'worldliness' is like!"
It spoke these words with a heartfelt pride and a deep longing for its hometown.
A sense of longing arose in Jiang Xuan's heart, and he raised the wine jar. "Alright! It's a deal then! If I have the opportunity in the future, I will definitely go to Azure Light Island and trouble Your Majesty!"
"Haha! That's great! Let's do it!"
The green turtle laughed loudly, manipulated the wine jar to clink with Jiang Xuanxu's, and then tilted its head back to drink the remaining wine in one gulp.
The wine was gone, the jar was empty.
The slight tipsiness and melancholy from before quickly faded from Qingyuan's eyes, replaced by a sharpness and determination.
It tossed aside the empty wine jar and looked at the void vortex that was still spinning wildly.
"We've had our drinks and chatted. Kid, it's time!"
The blue turtle's voice regained its composure.
"Stay close to me, and unleash the full power of your treasure to protect us! This void turbulence is no joke; a single misstep could mean annihilation!"
Jiang Xuan's expression also turned solemn, and he nodded emphatically.
He focused his mind on his dantian, communicating with the quietly floating golden bead—the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead. Buzz!
A soft yet incredibly resilient, shimmering blue light shield instantly unfolded around him, enveloping him completely. It then rapidly expanded according to his will, accommodating the blue turtle beside him as well.
The moment the light shield formed, the blue turtle's body visibly trembled, and its large eyes burst forth with an extremely surprised light.
"Great! Such powerful protective energy! The level is indeed extremely high! We have a chance! Let's go!"
It let out a low roar, and a surge of powerful demonic energy coursed through its body. However, it did not use this power to attack or defend, but instead completely contained it, using it only to provide power for its upcoming sprint.
Because it knew that its demonic power was no match for the chaotic void, and its only reliance was the light shield of the mysterious treasure on Jiang Xuan's body.
"rush!"
Without further ado, the Azure Turtle moved, transforming into a streak of dark blue light, and charged headlong into the center of the enormous void vortex that seemed capable of swallowing everything! Jiang Xuan followed closely behind, pushing his own spiritual power to its limit, staying close to the Azure Turtle's side to ensure that both of them remained within the protective range of the dark blue light shield.
boom!!!
As if sensing the approach of living beings, the enormous vortex spun even more violently, and the terrifying suction suddenly increased several times, like countless invisible hands trying to drag them into the endless abyss of darkness!
This time, protected by the protective barrier of the Heavenly Water Sacred Pearl, Jiang Xuan no longer felt the excruciating pain of his body being torn apart as before. However, the terrifying pressure that was heart-palpitating, as if the heavens and earth were about to be turned upside down and shattered, still faintly emanated through the barrier, causing his soul to tremble.
The light before my eyes instantly distorted and shattered, transforming into countless bizarre and colorful blocks and lines, spinning and tearing wildly. In my ears were sharp buzzing sounds that seemed to tear at the soul, exceeding all limits, and the deafening roar of space shattering.
A feeling of weightlessness, dizziness, and a sense of fear of being thrown into endless nothingness all came at once.
In the last moment before his consciousness was about to dissipate due to the violent spatial force, Jiang Xuan used the last bit of clarity to glance at the green turtle beside him out of the corner of his eye.
With a flash of blue light, the millstone-sized, turtle-bodied, dragon-headed blue turtle suddenly shrank and transformed! In the blink of an eye, it turned into a human boy who looked about sixteen or seventeen years old!
The young man wore a simple blue robe, stood tall and straight, had an extremely handsome face, red lips and white teeth, and still had a touch of childishness and liveliness in his eyes.
But at this moment, his lips were tightly pursed, his eyes sharp, and he was staring intently at the center of the vortex. If it weren't for the faint demonic aura swirling around him, which shared the same origin as the Azure Turtle, and that unique soul fluctuation, Jiang Xuan would hardly have recognized him!
It turns out it had already cultivated to the point where it could transform into human form! A 2,600-year-old... Azure Turtle youth!
The thought had barely crossed his mind when boundless darkness and chaos completely engulfed Jiang Xuan's consciousness...
...
Splash... splash...
It was the sound of flowing water, gentle, familiar, the sound of river water carrying the scent of earth and vegetation.
Jiang Xuan suddenly opened his eyes, his consciousness struggling to rise from a state of chaos. The first thing he felt was the somewhat cold river water surrounding him, and the faint starlight shining through the water's surface.
He didn't die! He's back!
He immediately began paddling with his hands and feet, and his body quickly floated upwards.
With a splash, Jiang Xuan's head broke the surface of the water.
He took deep breaths of the long-lost air, which was filled with the fragrance of grass and trees, shook the water droplets off his face, and looked around eagerly.
The night sky was deep and the stars were dazzling, like a piece of black velvet studded with diamonds, hanging low overhead.
On both sides of the river are familiar, undulating silhouettes of black mountains, their outlines stretched out under the starlight. In the distance, from the forests, the sharp cries of unknown, fierce birds and the deep roars of beasts can be faintly heard, full of wild vitality.
This is... the great river outside Huanglong City! He's back! He really came back from the depths of the Annihilation Sea, tens of thousands of miles away, through that terrifying void vortex!
Jiang Xuan suppressed his excitement, swam to the shore, climbed onto a huge, smooth rock that had been washed by the river, and sat down. The night breeze blew through his soaked clothes, bringing a chill, but also making him more alert.
He looked down at his hands, then touched his cheeks; everything felt incredibly real. But the magnificent underwater ruins, the eccentric Azure Turtle King, and the mountains of ancient treasures in his mind... all seemed like a bizarre and fantastical dream.
Was it a dream?
His mind was absorbed in the small Sumeru ring on his finger.
The next moment, his consciousness "saw" the space inside the ring.
Dozens of silver frost sword grass light clusters enveloped in pale blue glow, twenty-four True Yang Dragon Marrow Fruits like small suns placed in a cold jade bottle, Purple Elf Iron the size of copper coins but incredibly heavy, Snow Infant Jade Ginseng Roots, Nine-Bend Danxin Iron, Thirty-Six-Leaf Pure Void Spirit Flower, Thunder Yuan Treasure Crystal... and more than ten other kinds whose names I don't know.
But the various materials, full of vitality, were piled up to one side.
Not a dream.
Everything is real.
It was that mysterious and unpredictable void vortex, that power that connected distant spaces, that brought him from outside Huanglong City to the ancient ruins deep within the Annihilation Sea, and then brought him back.
This experience in such a short period of time is as bizarre as a legend.
"King of the Green Turtle..."
Jiang Xuan looked up at the night sky, towards the east, as if he could see through endless distances and reach the vast Sea of Annihilation.
Did that stubborn, soft-hearted, flattering "young" celestial spirit beast, who was trapped for eight hundred years, manage to escape safely and return to the Azure Light Island it spoke of?
"Take care of yourself."
Jiang Xuan silently said something to himself.
Immediately, his gaze sharpened, all his dazedness and emotions vanishing in an instant, replaced by calm and resolve. The Forbidden City was still far away. He had wasted so much time; he wondered what the situation was like there.
Without further hesitation, he circulated his spiritual energy to evaporate the moisture from his body and changed into a clean set of black, fitted clothing. After determining his direction, he moved swiftly, like a wisp of smoke blending into the night, heading towards the Forbidden City.
Under the cover of night, the boy's figure quickly disappeared among the rolling mountains and forests, leaving only the babbling river, which continued to flow tirelessly into the distance.
Half a month passed quickly amidst tireless travel day and night. (End of Chapter)