Don't Mess with that Turtle

"Woohoo!" Feng Yaya jumped three feet in the air, patting Su He as she shouted, "Big Turtle, to the Heavenly Secret Pavilion!"

The Heavenly Secret Pavilion is one of Qingyuan Gate's Seven Veins, specializing in Artifact Refining.

Having no clue where the Heavenly Secret Pavilion was, Su He simply followed Feng Yaya's directions, plunging into the Elephant Water and forging ahead through the waves.

Upon reaching the foothills of Qingyuan Mountain, they turned into a tributary, meandering their way through and entering a marketplace.

Uncharacteristic of the other six veins, which carried themselves aloof as immortals in the clouds, the disciples of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion were more like common vendors and porters, each busily engaged in their own trade.

Those skilled with their hands opened shops while those with average craftsmanship or no business savvy set up streetside stalls—some even placing their stalls on the backs of Exotic Beasts, ready to move to the heart of the crowds at a moment's notice.

Feng Yaya led Su He to a small courtyard in the eastern part of the market, and before they even arrived, she began shouting, "Stinky uncle, Ya Ya's here to see you!"

In the courtyard, an old man dressed as a farmer who was busy blacksmithing dropped his hammer with a clang and failed to catch it; he dove into the house, whispering urgently inside, "Quick, quick! Hide my newly acquired Qiming Pure Gold, don't let that little tyrant see it!"

This could be the death of him!

A fireball-like flash of yellow light zipped past, and Feng Yaya had already burst in.

By the time Su He crashed into the courtyard, the little girl had already dragged the old farmer out by his beard, "Stinky uncle, can you make a storage tool for my Big Turtle?"

Feng Yaya pointed at Su He.

"Ow, ow, ow, good girl, let go!" The old farmer swatted away Feng Yaya's tiny hand, willing to agree to anything else as long as she wasn't after his Qiming Pure Gold.

Circling around Su He, he clicked his tongue and said, "This turtle's not bad, what do you have in mind? A saddle? I can set up a space underneath it; you can carry quite a lot in it."

Feng Yaya balled her fists and shouted, "No way! Big Turtle is my friend, not a mount!"

"Then, a collar? It's handy to have around your neck...ow, ow, ow! Stop pulling my beard!"

"Big Turtle is not a Beast Pet!" Ya Ya yelled.

"Alright, alright!" The old man put up his hands in surrender, examining Su He seriously.

The ball of water Su He had been rolling in his mouth slowly disappeared—since his latest evolution, his Water Control Divine Power wasn't just about Condensing Lake and River Water; Su He could now create water balls out of thin air and hurl them.

The force...depended on the water ball's weight.

Although it wouldn't harm anyone, if the old man dared to mention 'Beast Pet' again, he was sure to drench him from head to toe.

Observing Su He and pondering for a moment, the old man's eyes suddenly lit up, "I've got it! Since it's a turtle, how could it not carry something? I have a mountain here, initially custom-made for a lone cultivator's residence, but he was killed before its completion. It's not even half-finished; it'll be perfect for your Big Turtle."

He rummaged through his warehouse for a while and found a basketball-sized artificial mountain, looking no different from those ornamented mini-hills in fish tanks.

"Look here!" The old man pointed to a cave on the artificial mountain.

"This was originally designed as the lone cultivator's sanctuary, and it's not fully enshrined yet, with unexpanded space. When opened up, there's room of about ten paces inside; just right for you two. How's that? Doesn't your uncle treat you well?"

Feng Yaya seemed satisfied, nodding non-stop. She saw a nest-shaped structure on the mountain, probably where the lone cultivator kept his Beast Pet.

If it were enlarged and placed on Big Turtle's back, the nest would be perfect for her to sleep in.

The old man was skilled in his craft and, in just half a day, modified the little mountain so that it fit snugly on Su He's back, neither too big nor too small, just right.

Su He's lip was pricked by Feng Yaya, and a drop of blood fell onto the mountain for ownership registration. Then, glowing with excitement, she clambered up the artificial mountain and curled up in the nest.

In gratitude, as they passed a fruit tree in the courtyard, Su He applied some fertilizer to it. Yet, the old man wailed, threatening to hammer his shell.

Luckily, Feng Yaya was fiercer.

He can't appreciate a good deed! Since emerging from his shell, Su He ate only high-quality food and rarely excreted. His excrement was superb manure when used for plants.

Carrying her on his back, Su He returned to Su Huanian's pool.

Su He felt his own inadequacies; this small mountain could at most be considered a storage tool, easily used by any Qingyuan disciple whose Mind Orifice had condensed Divine God Objects, but he had difficulty when connecting to the small mountain's caves.

Was the turtle in his Mind Orifice not a Divine God Object? Or did he need to solidify the turtle like the Demon Species solidified the Heart Orifice Human Shadow?

But how should he go about it?

He was just a turtle without any inheritance, having gotten this far solely by the grace of the dice roll.

He knew far too little and lacked far too much.

He was even inferior to the Green Snake.

Returning to the pool, he wondered if Su Huanian would show him a clear path.

Feng Yaya lay curled up in the bird's nest, swaying as she said, "Big Turtle, you're so dumb, even putting a stone into the cave is hard for you. Let's go back and steal mother's token, I'll take you to the Scripture Library to steal secret books, then with the secret books to start your cultivation, you'll become powerful. You won't be afraid of other Exotic Beasts anymore."

Su He raised his four limbs in agreement.

He crawled slowly; the days grew colder, especially on Qingyuan Mountain where the high altitude meant lower temperatures, and Su He felt the urge to hibernate.

Turtles had a naturally long hibernation period anyway.

Feng Yaya tapped her little feet, then suddenly had an idea: "Why don't we go to Grandpa Ge's courtyard first? Grandpa Ge created a cultivation technique especially for his turtle friend! We can steal it."

"Don't worry, you won't be scared. Grandpa Ge's turtle is definitely a good turtle, it won't mind. I'll introduce you later—even though I haven't seen it myself and don't know it."

She chuckled at her own words and giggled uncontrollably. Eventually, she laughed herself to sleep.

When Su He crawled back to the pool, Su Huanian had just emerged from the water not long ago, her slightly damp hair falling elegantly over her shoulders, lightly resting on her chest. Due to the humidity, it did not float as the Fairy leaped onto the Turtle's back, but was instead tossed high by the trembling mountains and scattered as it fell back down.

Su He remained still as Su Huanian, holding Feng Yaya, descended. The little girl, sensing her mother's presence, curled up tightly in her arms, squishing the mountains together.

Su Huanian flicked her finger, and a light shot into Su He's brow before she carried her daughter into the Grass Residence.

The light burst in Su He's mind, revealing various Water Control techniques, the sum of Su Huanian's centuries of experience.

There was no inheritance of cultivation techniques, just clever maneuvers of Water Control.

For instance, Su He's water sphere was too weak, likely only able to harm ordinary people, but if the water sphere was made to rotate at high speeds, its lethality would jump a notch. Adding Golden Sand to the rotating water sphere would peel layers off an ordinary Exotic Beast on impact.

How to increase water velocity with Water Control, how to condense water into Armor...

Su He treasured these revelations, watching with utmost attentiveness as the moonlight bathed the Grass Residence, where a beauty stayed awake, reading by candlelight at night.

The night passed without words, and dawn broke bright; Feng Yaya had not awakened.

Su He cocked his head to look inside the house; Su Huanian had also stayed awake all night, which was inconsequential at her Boundary Status.

She held a book in one hand and twirled her daughter's hair with the other. Noticing Su He looking, she smiled, "Ya Ya is special, she needs to sleep for six or seven days; you may go on your own for now."

Whether human or beast, if anyone truly cared for Ya Ya, Su Huanian would harbor goodwill. After thinking for a moment, she wrote the character "Su" on Su He's mountain.

Seeing the character was as good as seeing the person; with this mark, events like those with Lu Ming should not happen again.

Su He understood; had Ya Ya not gotten enough sleep the day before? No wonder she was dozy during the Formation class. He turned and left the pool, crawling down the mountain.

Since Ya Ya was not going to attend classes, he could not steal skills. It was time to forage for food.

Even though his cold resistance had evolved this year, hibernation was approaching. It was time to eat more to store Energy. It would be even better if he could store enough energy for another evolution before hibernation.

There were many beasts on the mountain, but most had owners, so he could not simply take food. Su He thought for a moment and then headed towards Jing'an Hall.

The medicinal meals there were excellent. By rolling a three in Quality, he felt warm in his belly all day. If he could steal a vat marked with Quality points every day, he wouldn't have to worry about food in the future.