Immortal Martial Emperor

Green mountains and clear waters were surrounded by emerald grass.

It was a mountain stream scenic enough to be from a painting, filled with the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers. A small creek babbled, and several fish swam idly within it.

Amidst the lush grass on the bank, a disc-shaped figure about ten meters long and six meters wide was struggling.

Looking closer, it was an old turtle!

The old turtle was on its back, its four legs flailing desperately, looking utterly exhausted.

In the air above.

Hong Yu was flying rapidly on his Divine Demon Wings. As he passed over the mountain stream, he couldn't help but stare, spotting the bizarre scene by the creek. 'Good heavens,' he thought, 'a turtle this size must be some kind of spirit, right?'

He then descended from the sky and landed beside the old turtle.

The old turtle didn't seem to notice Hong Yu's arrival and continued its life-or-death struggle. But its shell was simply too large and its legs too short; it couldn't flip itself over no matter how hard it tried.

Hong Yu crouched down next to the old turtle.

He rested his hands casually on his knees, tilted his head, and sized up the turtle. "Hey, need a hand?"

"Huh?"

The old turtle froze, its whole body going stiff.

Then...

Its date-like eyes swiveled around to stare intently at Hong Yu.

A moment later.

With the speed of a lightning strike, WHOOSH, the old turtle retracted its head and legs into its shell. It became completely still, as if it had died.

Hong Yu was speechless.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Tapping the shell with his finger, Hong Yu said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I just saw you were stuck and thought I'd ask if you needed help..." He paused. When the turtle didn't respond, Hong Yu shrugged. "Not talking? Alright, I'm leaving then!"

The old turtle still didn't react.

Hong Yu shrugged again and stood up to leave.

Just then...

The old turtle suddenly spoke in a rather shifty voice, "O, young human, do you truly wish to help me?"

"Huh?"

Hong Yu started, looking down at the turtle.

It had, at some point, stuck its head out halfway. Its eyes, filled with the vicissitudes of time, were sizing up Hong Yu.

Hong Yu said in astonishment, "You can freaking talk?"

Hong Yu had every reason to be shocked!

Generally, aside from a few exceptionally gifted High Tier Desolate Beasts, a creature had to reach Tier Seven before it could speak human language.

But if this old turtle was Tier Seven, it should have been able to take human form long ago. How could it be unable to even flip itself over?

The old turtle seemed to see Hong Yu's confusion and explained in its shifty voice, "O, young human, do not be alarmed, do not be afraid. This old turtle is not a Desolate Beast, just an ordinary turtle that has lived a rather long time. By a stroke of luck, I ate a Heaven and Earth Spirit Treasure, which gave me the ability to speak."

"So that's how it is!"

Hong Yu nodded.

The world was vast, and there were indeed many fortuitous encounters to be had, not just for humans, but for all manner of living creatures.

Hong Yu smiled. "Then shall I help you flip over?"

"I'll have to trouble you, then!"

The old turtle nodded.

However...

As it nodded, its neck extended and retracted in a way that was so shifty it was hard to look at.

The corner of Hong Yu's eye twitched. He carefully took hold of the turtle's shell and gave it a light test. He was secretly astonished to find it weighed at least ten thousand jin.

He then exerted his strength and flipped it over.

THUD!

The old turtle rolled twice on the ground before finally getting its footing.

It extended its four legs, shook its body, and tilted its head to look at Hong Yu gratefully. "O, young human, thank you for saving this old turtle's life!"

"It was nothing. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way," Hong Yu said.

But the old turtle said, "O, young human, seeing as you saved this old turtle's life, how about I tell your fortune?"

"Tell my fortune? You can do that?"

Hong Yu's eyes went wide.

This old turtle was just too bizarre.

'Who the hell has ever seen a fortune-telling turtle?'

The old turtle nodded proudly. "This old turtle may not have other skills, but I have lived for several thousand years. I have witnessed the rise of one Celestial Pride Son after another and seen the fall of one Gai Shi figure after another. I have a unique grasp of the fates that lie in the unseen world. Do you want me to read your fortune?"

Hong Yu's interest was piqued.

He nodded. "Alright then, go ahead!"

"Very well!"

The thousand-year-old turtle shook its body, then retracted its head and legs again.

Immediately after, a strange scene unfolded.

The old turtle actually began to slowly back out from the tail-end of its shell. A bizarre, scrawny, shell-less creature appeared before Hong Yu.

It was still the same old turtle, but without its shell, it looked incredibly awkward.

What was even more bizarre was that its lower body was wrapped in a pair of large boxer shorts.

The shell-less turtle plopped down on the ground. Its large turtle head swayed from side to side out of habit, its date-like eyes darting about. Under Hong Yu's dumbfounded gaze, it pulled three large copper coins from its shorts. It then tossed the copper coins into the empty shell and threw its scrawny body on top of it.

SHAKE, SHAKE!

The old turtle shook its large rear end, the shorts that hadn't been washed in who-knows-how-long swaying back and forth. The copper coins clattered crisply inside the shell.

"Hah!"

The old turtle suddenly exerted its strength and stood the shell upright.

CLATTER!

Three large copper coins fell out.

The coins landed in a triangle formation. Two of them were mostly overlapping, with two heads-up and one tails-up.

The old turtle's eyes showed a look of surprise. It studied Hong Yu deeply, then continued in its shifty voice, "O, young human, you will face a great calamity within the True Dragon Battlefield this time. However, if you can survive this calamity, you will be like a hidden dragon soaring to the heavens, unstoppable as you roam the universe. If you cannot overcome it, then what awaits you is death!"

"A great calamity? What kind of calamity?"

Hong Yu asked with a frown.

Although the old turtle was bizarre, Hong Yu's intuition told him that its words were credible!

The old turtle said, "The secrets of heaven must not be revealed! I cannot say, I cannot say! However, since you saved this old turtle, I can tell you a way to resolve it!"

"I'm all ears!"

Hong Yu cupped his fists.

The old turtle spoke with confidence, "The solution is right beside you. As long as you carefully observe the things around you, you will find the way to overcome it. Aiya, if I say any more, I'll be leaking heavenly secrets. O, young human, you must do your best. This old turtle is very much looking forward to you surviving this great calamity!"

The old turtle squinted and patted Hong Yu's shoulder with a withered claw. "By the way, if you trust this old turtle, you can try heading west. You might find something there!"

The old turtle then slowly crawled back into its shell.

Carrying the heavy shell on its back, it slowly crawled away.

Hong Yu gave the old turtle a deep look, bowed respectfully, and then soared into the air once more, heading in the direction the turtle had indicated: west.

The speed of his Divine Demon Wings was incredible, and Hong Yu's figure quickly vanished from sight.

The old turtle suddenly stopped, raised its head to look in the direction Hong Yu had left, and squinted. It took out the three copper coins again, a contemplative look on its face. 'It was clearly a hexagram of certain death, yet it also concealed a sliver of life. What a strange reading! Ai, living too long is so boring. I hope this little fellow can give me a surprise!'

It paused, then said with some frustration, 'I only get this little bit of time every hundred years to come out and play. I have to make the most of it and wander around. This True Dragon War seems to have a lot of interesting little guys!'

Then, the old turtle continued its slow crawl.

It might have taken a dozen breaths for it to move a single leg, but its speed was unbelievably fast.

With just one step, it covered several thousand meters.

This old turtle, it seemed, was anything but simple.

However...

Hong Yu knew nothing of all this.

At this moment, Hong Yu was flying high in the sky, the old turtle's words echoing in his mind.

A thousand-year-old turtle that could climb out of its own shell and then use it for divination was bizarre, but for some reason, Hong Yu felt its words were incredibly trustworthy.

Thinking of the so-called "great calamity," even Hong Yu himself felt a trace of pressure.

But he wasn't afraid. He muttered to himself, 'A great calamity? Perhaps it's referring to Venerable Xiahuang! Still, so what if it's a great trial? As long as I have enough strength, any trial will just become a stepping stone for me. But before that, I need to increase my strength as quickly as possible.'

The only problem was that the True Dragon Battlefield was immense, and Hong Yu didn't even know its basic layout.

If he just flew around aimlessly, he would be like a headless fly.

Because of this, he decided to trust the old turtle's guidance and flew west.

He flew for a full day and night.

Along the way, Hong Yu encountered a number of scattered experts, but upon seeing him, they clearly knew how formidable he was and fled from a distance.

Hong Yu, for his part, had no intention of attacking others proactively.

He already had enough enemies at the moment; there was no need to stir up more trouble.

On the morning of the second day, Hong Yu, who was feeling a bit weary from the continuous high-speed flight, suddenly froze. He felt a powerful fluctuation of energy.

"What is going on?"

Hong Yu was stunned.

Gazing into the distance, he saw that several hundred kilometers to the west, the horizon had suddenly erupted in a red and blue glow.

'Could this be the opportunity the old turtle spoke of?' Hong Yu was overjoyed.

He increased his flying speed.

「Meanwhile...」

On a mountain peak about a thousand li from Hong Yu, a young man sitting cross-legged suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the red and blue glow. 'Such a powerful fluctuation! To be able to sense it so clearly from this distance... a great Treasure must have appeared. Haha, I, Mo Tianxuan, am truly a Celestial Pride Son! My great fortune is at hand!'

Mo Tianxuan then sped toward the location.

Elsewhere, a young man holding a War Axe had just slain a snake-like Desolate Beast. He cut open its belly, took out the gallbladder, and swallowed it, licking the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly, he sensed something and looked up at the sky.

A sharp light flickered in his eyes. 'Could a great Treasure have appeared? Haha, my, Tuoba Ye's, opportunity has arrived!'

Tuoba Ye slung the War Axe onto his back and soared into the air.

「At the same time.」

In the outside world, many people were spending fortunes to exchange for mirror projections to watch the movements of those they were following.

The Mo Family Patriarch, Mo Qun, entered the name "Mo Tianxuan." The projection showed Mo Tianxuan rushing toward the icy blue light, and he was overjoyed. "My son Tianxuan is exceptionally talented and powerful. He must have discovered some incredible Treasure. Hehe, the Mo Family is going to strike it rich this time!"

On another side, the Clan Leader of the Tuoba Clan also entered the name "Tuoba Ye."

He saw Tuoba Ye rushing toward the icy blue light.

He was ecstatic. "This should be the legendary Ice and Fire Origin Pool! This is a massive opportunity! Tuoba Ye, you absolutely must seize it!"

「Within the True Dragon Battlefield.」

Hong Yu, however, didn't know that two other great experts had also been drawn by the red and blue light and would arrive shortly after him. He rushed toward the red and blue glow at his top speed.

As he looked at the true form of the red and blue light before him, he couldn't help but gulp frantically...