Wayfarer

Chapter 171: The Ancient Turtle's Objective

Xiao Nanfeng, Croak, Warble, and the ancient turtle stood in a giant valley on the Isle of Nalan, drenched by the pouring rain.

"Elder, will this suffice?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"It'll do. Where's the Immortal's Destruction?"

Xiao Nanfeng reached for his storage ring and pulled out the Immortal's Destruction, whose base was a circular platform about thirty meters in diameter, with nine steps leading up. Countless arcane runes floated above its surface, with four coiling dragon pillars in each of the four cardinal directions. A pool of golden light brimmed in its center, manifesting in the form of talismans with which the artifact could be controlled.

The turtle flew up to the Immortal's Destruction and smiled in satisfaction. "Indeed, it's that relic from my youth."

"Elder, please extract the draconic veins quickly in case the elders of Taiqing Island make their way over," Xiao Nanfeng urged.

The turtle nodded.

As it murmured an incantation, white spiritual serpents snaked out from its back and shot toward the eyes of the four coiling dragons on the relic. Golden chains suddenly spat out of their mouths, and the turtle directed them deep into the ground.

With a loud thud, the four golden chains snaked deep into the ground. The Isle of Nalan began to shake.

The mountain peaks on the island began to collapse one after another as Xiao Nanfeng wove around the falling boulders.

Suddenly, a dragon's cry came from deep underground.

The loud cry shook heaven and earth, and the seawater in the vicinity of the island began to roil, forming huge waves like those of a tsunami. Much of the buildings on the island were struck and crushed.

Just then, the four golden chains retracted from underground, dragging a translucent golden dragon, radiant with light, along with it. The dragon had to be at least six hundred meters long, and its massive body came with overwhelming strength. As it whipped its body around, howling gales and yawning waves formed in its vicinity.

"The draconic vein!" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes lit up.

He had seen a draconic vein back in Emperor Wei's tomb, but all the energy had been drained out of that one. How could it compare to this draconic vein, which still possessed the vitality of a living dragon?

The golden dragon furiously twisted its body as it attempted to flee, but the four golden chains trapped it completely.

"Come!" the turtle shouted.

The golden dragon shrieked as the four chains dragged it toward the Immortal's Destruction and pinned it down. It roared in agony.

"Elder, how can the Immortal's Destruction be so strong?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"These four draconic chains are formed from the draconic veins' energy. It's equivalent to using its own energy against itself."

"I see. Thank you, elder. Let's divide up the draconic vein, then." Xiao Nanfeng stepped forward.

The ancient turtle suddenly smirked. "Divide? Did I say I would divide the vein with you?"

Xiao Nanfeng suddenly stopped short and blanched. "What? Are you planning on betraying us? Croak, Warble, attack the turtle quickly!"

Croak and Warble shot out their tongues, but the turtle's smile only grew wider. It activated the Immortal's Destruction, sending three more golden chains out of the coiling dragons toward the young man and the two spirits. Croak and Warble's tongues were deflected as the chains wrapped around them like living serpents.

The third chain coiled around Xiao Nanfeng so quickly that he couldn't resist it.

Xiao Nanfeng and the two toad spirits were immediately restrained.

"Elder, do you intend on swallowing up this draconic vein all by yourself?!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.

The turtle sneered. "If not for the fact that I was worried about the potency of the Immortal's Destruction, I'd long since have struck. In the end, I had to wait all this time for you to get ready.

"You've been acting all this time? Your goal is to snatch my Immortal's Destruction?" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.

"That's right. The Immortal's Destruction of the divine empire of Great Wei is an incredible treasure that can easily extract draconic veins from deep underground. Even within the draconic palace of the Eastern Sea, it was one of the highest-grade treasures. You really didn't know how strong it was, did you? I didn't have the right to obtain the Immortal's Destruction back then—but now, to think it would have landed in my hands so many years later! Very good, very good. With the Immortal's Destruction, all of the draconic veins around the Eastern Sea shall be mine. I'll be able to recover from my wounds in no time!"

"This is how you repay us for saving you?" Xiao Nanfeng called out coldly.

"That's right. What can you do about it? Blame yourself for being fools. Now, this draconic vein is mine, and the Immortal's Destruction is mine too. I do have to thank you all, haha!" the turtle laughed.

"You piece of trash! We shouldn't have saved you," Warble warbled angrily.

"Let me go! Fight me one on one if you dare!" Croak croaked.

The two toad spirits heaved and struggled, but they were unable to free themselves from the golden chains.

"Don't struggle, Croak, Warble. These Immortal-binding chains grow tighter the more you do so. Stay still and all they'll do is bind you without exerting much force," Xiao Nanfeng informed them.

"Hmm? I never told you the name of these chains. How would you know what they are?" The ancient turtle narrowed its eyes.

"That's because—" Xiao Nanfeng began.

Suddenly, a bright burst of purple light shot out from his back and encapsulated him and the turtle.

The turtle's eyes widened as it attempted to retreat, but as it did so, it found itself in another location entirely. The storm vanished, leaving flecks of purple light and thick fog.

"This is—the Talisman of Phantasmagoria? This is an illusion?!" the turtle cried out.

Xiao Nanfeng walked out from the fog. "That's right. To ensure that there would be no complications, I prepared ten such talismans to form this illusory realm, thinking that it would be stable enough to hold you. I was going to share this draconic vein with you, turtle, but you were intending to steal my Immortal's Destruction!"

Xiao Nanfeng belatedly realized to his surprise that the ancient turtle's spiritual body wasn't completely like its physical one. Its spiritual body boasted a pair of draconic horns and was of tremendous size. Even so, it was pitted with holes and perforations, old wounds from a previous era.

The turtle stared at Xiao Nanfeng fiercely. "You prepared ten such talismans, and you claim that you were going to share the draconic vein with me? More like you planned to betray me too!"

"I was simply being on guard. If you had fulfilled your promise and taught me how to use the Immortal's Destruction, I would have shared the draconic vein with you. However, you've set your sights on stealing everything I have. In that case, I have no choice but to enact a different plan. Your spiritual body is filled with wounds, and I doubt you can do much of anything," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"I've more than enough strength to get rid of you. I do want everything you possess—your Immortal's Destruction, your draconic vein, and the formation of red fog on the Isle of Xiao! Die!" the turtle shouted fiercely, leaping forward as Xiao Nanfeng retaliated with a fist.

A storm of energy formed around the two combatants, who were surprised to see themselves equals in strength.

"Lunar Deluge? Your physical cultivation's only at Ascension. How could your spiritual cultivation be at Lunar Deluge?!" the turtle cried out.

"There's much more you don't know. Again!" Xiao Nanfeng shot forward.

The turtle and Xiao Nanfeng clashed against each other. Both were at Lunar Deluge, and the frightening strength that they gave off sent storms raging through the illusory realm.

Back in physical reality, the old turtle and Xiao Nanfeng's bodies were shrouded in purple light. Croak and Warble, still trapped within the Immortal-binding chains, couldn't move. They fretted as they waited.

Just then, a figure appeared not far away: You Jiu.

"You Jiu? What are you doing on the Isle of Nalan? Save us and kill that turtle!" Croak cried out.

"Hold on a moment. Others will rescue you shortly."

"What?"

You Jiu hurriedly released a signal flare into the air.

"No one's going to be able to see anything in this storm! Who are you trying to reach?" Croak asked in confusion.

"Don't say anything. Regardless of who shows up later, say nothing, got it?" You Jiu vanished into the valley.

Croak and Warble stared at each other in confusion. Xiao Nanfeng hadn't revealed the full plan to them, worried that they would be unable to keep a secret.

At the same time, not far away at sea, a ship was being buffeted on all fronts. As wave after wave surged underneath it, the ship shook and rocked, as though it could be overwhelmed at any moment.

A group of Taiqing disciples stood on deck and watched Zhao Yuanjiao anxiously.

"Elder, have you found it?" one Taiqing disciple asked.

"I'm searching. Don't be anxious. In this storm, with such low visibility, it'll take me longer to find my way," Zhao Yuanjiao replied, frowning.

Zheng Qian bowed to the gathered Taiqing disciples. "Honored cultivators, thank you for being willing to assist us even in such inclement weather."

"Of course, Mr. Zheng! Our cultivation has all grown rapidly thanks to Senior Brother Xiao's pointers. He invited us to celebrate on the Isle of Xiao tonight—only to have a situation like this occur! Will you explain what happened to the junior disciples while we have the time?" one Taiqing disciple asked.

"This evening, a sea turtle suddenly barged into our formation while an entryway was cleared. It snatched away the Immortal's Destruction, and Sir Xiao gave chase immediately after noticing the theft," Zheng Qian recollected.

"A sea turtle? Where from?"

"I don't know either. Sir Xiao has two spiritbeast friends who have been helping him protect the Immortal's Destruction. However, they were weaker than the sea turtle and injured by it. They've chased after the turtle along with Sir Xiao, and I don't know what has happened to them." Zheng Qian seemed very worried.

"Senior Brother Xiao will be fine. The heavens will bless him, I'm sure of it!"

"But he's being attacked by a sea turtle spiritbeast! They're innately strong, and they have a decisive advantage at sea. I'm worried that Sir Xiao will suffer. All the guards on patrol on the island have all chased after the turtle. I don't know if they've managed to find him," Zheng Qian fretted.

"Look, a signal! Quick, steer the ship over there!" Zhao Yuanjiao suddenly cried out.

Everyone saw a flash of light from afar, barely visible beyond the fog. The outline of an island came into view.

"It's the Isle of Nalan!" someone cried out.

"Full speed ahead!" Zhao Yuanjiao commanded.

The ship shot forward as quickly as it could. By the time they landed, five more ships had joined them: reinforcements led by Ye Dafu and Ye Sanshui, numbering almost three thousand fighters from the Isle of Xiao in all.

"Quick, that's Senior Brother Xiao's signal! We'll head over there together!" Ye Dafu cried out.

As the disciples disembarked, they were stunned by the sight before them. The Isle of Nalan had undergone a tremendous change. All the buildings had collapsed, along with countless peaks. All those on the island had fainted, and it looked as though a flood had ravaged the area.

"Xiao Nanfeng's over there!" Zhao Yuanjiao shouted, flying toward a valley at the center of the destruction.

Everyone rushed over to see Xiao Nanfeng, two toad spirits, and a giant golden dragon all chained up. Beside them, a sea turtle spirit seemed to have been manipulating the Immortal's Destruction but it had itself been trapped in an illusory realm from Xiao Nanfeng's use of the Talisman of Phantasmagoria.

"It's this sea turtle!" Zheng Qian cried out angrily.

"How dare this bastard!" the disciples thundered.