Chapter 619 - 51: Mystic Turtle Shedding, Third Layer of Divine Power
After receiving Zhang Yan’s command, the Mirror Spirit dared not delay in the slightest. It immediately bound Xiao He’s entire body with the Cloud Golden Lock and affixed a talisman to his crown. Fearing he might escape through some Secret Technique, it still felt insufficient, so it sealed his seven orifices with white clay. Only then did it feel secure enough to drag him to the palace’s prison chamber to await Xiao Yi’s arrival to claim him.
The act of Body Seizing is fraught with immense peril. A single misstep could result in soul scattering, and even with thorough preparation, success is far from guaranteed.
Back when Zhang Yan agreed to Xiao Yi’s plan, it was to see just how far the man could ultimately go.
However, even if Xiao Yi succeeded by sheer luck, he would still need to start over, spending centuries rebuilding his cultivation. Only then would he have the qualifications to converse with Zhang Yan on equal footing. With this in mind, after giving his instructions, Zhang Yan refrained from further inquiries.
Standing with his hands clasped behind his back in the grand hall, his gaze fell on a stone-carved circular plate directly facing him, slanted toward the dome. This artifact was called the Carriage Plate, used in the Cave Temple for Qi Observation. It displayed the cycles of the heavenly stems and earthly branches, the changes of the twelve hours, weather movements, and seasonal omens.
Zhang Yan only needed a glance to discern that in thirty-one days, the sect’s grand competition would begin.
He paced back and forth in his Cave Mansion, deep in thought. While his progress in the two strands of Supreme Mysterious True Light was promising and he believed himself capable of contending with any of the Top Ten Disciples, he still felt a lingering sense of inadequacy. Privately, he mused, "Each of the Top Ten Disciples is truly formidable. If I am to face them in battle, I cannot afford even a moment’s hesitation—I must give it my all..."
His eyes flickered slightly. He murmured to himself, "It seems the time has come to use that particular item."
Having made his decision, he swept his sleeve and stepped into the Little Pot Mirror.
As ripples spread across the mirror’s surface like water, he entered its Inner Heaven and Earth.
This realm differed from the outside world, lacking seasonal changes or shifts in temperature. Everywhere, there were verdant willows, blossoming peach trees, vibrant spring flowers, and fragrances so rich they were intoxicating. As he treaded the cobbled paths, peach petals danced and fluttered around him in the air, settling gracefully—a scene of breathtaking beauty.
But he had no time to enjoy the view, heading straight to the edge of a water pond where he finally stopped.
Gazing into the water for a moment, he lifted his sleeve and pointed a finger. The calm surface of the pond began to boil and churn as if it had turned into seething water. Before long, an enormous, grotesque Mystical Turtle emerged from below.
This Mystical Turtle had a long, majestic neck and a hunchbacked head, protruding crocodilian limbs, tiger-like claws, and thick, webbed toes. Layered across its body were rigid scales, its back supporting a colossal shell that rose like a burial mound or an overturned great bowl. Strange markings and mysterious patterns adorned the shell. Yet its eyes were tightly shut, and it gave no sound, clearly long dead.
This was the remnant of the ancient Great Demon Gui Congyao. After all, it was the body of a demon who cultivated for millennia, making its remains incredibly precious. If he could invite an Artifact Refining Expert to conduct Sacrificial Refinement, it would undoubtedly yield an exceptional Dharma Treasure.
Years ago, Gui Congyao had made a pact with Zhang Yan: if Zhang Yan could aid in freeing him, he would offer his body as a gift. Fearing that other elder demons would covet his corpse after death, Gui Congyao had prepared a token talisman beforehand. After Zhang Yan’s sword aided in Gui Congyao’s ritual dissolution, his body was sent into the Little Pot Mirror through the talisman and had been stored there ever since.
Initially, Zhang Yan had intended to use this remnant to craft a Dharma Treasure. However, as he currently lacked a need for one, he saw no pressing purpose for it. Rather than let it gather dust here, he decided it would be better used to assist in completing his Mysterious Skill.
As he focused his mind, a clear Immortal Sound chimed through the air. A radiant Jade Scroll, crystalline and glimmering like liquid Jade Dew, soared into view. At the sight of the Mystical Turtle corpse, it reacted like a mosquito drawn to blood, utterly elated. It emitted an ecstatic cry, circled once in the air as a streak of vibrant light, and then darted into the massive corpse through its nostrils.
Zhang Yan sat down silently on a rock by the pond’s edge, watching motionlessly.
In the blink of an eye, a day and night passed. Seeing that the Mystical Turtle corpse had only slightly withered, Zhang Yan sighed in his heart. Truly, the body of a Great Demon was extraordinary; not even the Nine Capturing Demon Scroll could drain it of its Essence Blood with ease.
Since this would clearly take time, he decided to leave it alone, closing his eyes to focus on breathing and adjusting his Qi.
Another full eighteen days passed, and only then did the Demon Scroll finish consuming all the flesh and blood of the Mystical Turtle. All that remained was the turtle shell, which resisted every attempt by the scroll to act upon it, leaving the artifact helpless.
Circling it a few more times in frustration, the Demon Scroll finally veered toward Zhang Yan, flying in an unsteady, wobbling manner, as though it had overindulged and grown sluggish from its feast, no longer possessing its prior agility.