Chapter One Thousand Three Hundred and Fifty-Nine: Thunder Turtle
Although Han Li's eyes were half-closed, he was naturally not truly lost in meditative cultivation. Instead, he turned certain cultivation techniques he had yet to fully comprehend over and over in his mind, while simultaneously projecting a portion of his spiritual sense outward to monitor the surroundings of the spirit boat at all times, lest any ancient beasts launch another sudden attack on the vessel.
Over the next seven or eight days, the spirit boat, concealed beneath its enormous cloud veil, encountered several more flocks of aerial beasts along the way but passed through them all without serious incident. These beast herds clearly did not possess the ability to see through the Spirit Cloud Boat's restrictions, unlike those four-winged strange birds they had encountered the first time.
Thus, the ninth day of Han Li's rotation arrived in the blink of an eye. At midday, when he stood up to replace the spirit stones on the boat with a fresh batch and was about to return to his original meditation spot, he suddenly halted mid-step. His head snapped to the front of the Spirit Cloud Boat, a look of surprise crossing his face.
"How is this possible? What is something like this doing here?" Han Li seemed to have sensed something, his expression turning extremely grim. He muttered a couple of times before letting out a long, piercing whistle.
Though not particularly loud, it was enough to wake the other four, who were meditating in their private chambers.
Moments later, several streaks of fleeing light shot out from within the boat and, after a few flashes, arrived at Han Li's side.
"What's happened? Brother Han, why did you summon us? Has some new danger appeared?"
"What is that—could it be…?"
The young woman in black and Long Dong spoke one after the other as soon as they materialized. Xiao Hong's voice was filled with confusion, while Long Dong had already noticed something and let out a cry of shock.
The white-browed young man and the white-robed girl released their spiritual sense at the same moment.
"What is that—is it a True Spirit-level being?" the young man blurted out.
The white-robed girl said nothing, but the look of horror in her eyes spoke volumes.
Han Li, however, had already regained his composure. Hundreds of miles away in the high sky, as perceived through his spiritual sense, an enormous dark shadow hovered, large enough to blot out more than half the sky.
Around the shadow, black clouds churned and rolled, with flashes of lightning flickering and thunder rumbling within. Beneath the dark clouds, countless gray tornadoes rose from the ground like colossal pillars connecting earth to sky. Occasionally, a small patch of the shadow's body—covered in gray scales—would become visible through gaps in the clouds, only deepening the sense of awe at its staggering size while making it impossible to determine the creature's true identity.
From a distance, though, the shadow appeared roughly circular. Such an immense body and the terrifying spectacle it produced bore a strong resemblance to the legendary True Spirit-level beings, said to be as large as mountains.
No wonder everyone aboard the jade boat had gone pale at the sight.
Just as all of them stood frozen with dread, a strange, bellowing cry echoed from the distant horizon, reminiscent of a bull's roar. Then came a deafening rumble, as though countless titanic thunderbolts were detonating in the distance. Even from so far away, the rolling peals of thunder continued without cease, strikingly clear.
"That's not a True Spirit—it's an ancient beast called the Thunder Turtle," the white-robed girl said, visibly relaxing after hearing that bizarre cry and letting out a long breath. "The Thunder Turtle is said to be one of the largest species among all the ancient beasts of the primordial wastes. Generally, it only absorbs lightning from the atmosphere through its body and won't actively attack other living beings. Of course, if one truly provokes it, it becomes an exceedingly terrifying creature—at minimum, a Body Integration stage cultivator would be needed to face it head-on."
"The Thunder Turtle? The ancient beast said to be born from heavenly lightning? I've heard that as long as it has a supply of lightning, this colossal creature can expand its body indefinitely—a truly wondrous celestial anomaly. They say the enormous 'Can Ling' turtle in the Xuanwu Territory of the human realm, which has the power to carry entire cities on its back, may well be a Thunder Turtle. The one before us now is no small thing, but compared to it, this one is like a firefly next to the moon," the young woman in black remarked, somewhat reassured after learning it was not a True Spirit. She clicked her tongue in amazement.
"Whether Can Ling is truly a Thunder Turtle, none of us can say for certain. If it is, then the Thunder Turtle before us is probably less than one ten-thousandth its size. But even so, if we were to anger this beast, our lives would still be forfeit. We'd best avoid it!" Long Dong chimed in with a laugh.
"That's true. And in a way, this is quite the stroke of fortune for us. Thunder Turtles usually lurk underground and rarely surface—ordinary people could never hope to see one. Typically, when one surfaces, it means… oh no! If this turtle has appeared here, there must be a terrible thunderstorm coming! Brother Long, get the spirit boat out of this area immediately!" Xiao Hong nodded at first, but then something dreadful occurred to her. Her face drained of all color, and she cried out in alarm.
"A thunderstorm?" At these words, everyone, Han Li included, turned deathly pale.
Long Dong's face went green. His figure flickered, and he vanished from his spot, only to reappear an instant later at the bow of the boat, some ten-odd zhang away. With a flip of his hand, a command token-shaped magical tool appeared in his palm.
He rubbed the token between both hands, and the clouds of white mist surrounding the boat instantly dissipated and vanished. The spirit boat then lurched to a sudden halt before abruptly changing direction and hurtling forward at a speed more than half again faster than before, transforming into a streak of white radiance that shot straight toward the horizon.
But the boat had not traveled even a few dozen miles when, above the dark shadow in the distance, a layer of brilliant blue light suddenly materialized. The shimmering veil then began surging outward in all directions, spreading at a speed that defied belief.