Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
This time, Bai Ju’s entry into the sea wasn’t to watch schools of fish and bioluminescent creatures with Xiao Yao; so there was no need for such sentimentality or formality.
His slender, muscular body plunged into the deep water, like a torpedo, effortlessly descending the beach and penetrating the rocky seabed.
His fingers gripped the rock face, and scattered pebbles drifted between them; Bai Ju’s gaze followed the pebbles to the seabed, and suddenly his temples throbbed.
This wasn’t right.
A throbbing temple could only mean that what he was seeing was strange; it could be an illusion, or some kind of disguise.
Bai Ju frowned, turned around, and continued diving downwards.
Could it be that this sea area wasn’t as deep as it appeared?
His seaweed-like long hair swayed in the water, and in the blink of an eye, Bai Ju’s figure appeared on a relatively flat seabed, leaving only a [missing information] in place. A huge, crooked bubble, trembling, floated precariously to the surface, breaking into countless tiny fragments along the way, chased and dispersed by curious little fish.
Bai Ju knelt on the seabed, reaching out to feel the sand. With a couple of splashes, a murky current of water appeared.
The sand was quite deep; his fingers couldn’t reach the rocks beneath, but Bai Ju instinctively felt something was amiss.
Raising his head, Bai Ju followed his strange feeling, searching for a rock connecting to what lay beneath the sand. Without much effort, he found a stalagmite-like column of stone protruding from the flat sand, like a fang.
Turning and swimming towards the stalagmite, Bai Ju landed on the sand beneath it, hesitantly raising his hand to touch the rock face.
The touch… The rough, weathered stalagmite, seemingly having lingered on the seabed for an unknown amount of time, was covered with the remains of shells and corals. Tiny fish and insects lurked within its porous texture, scattering in panic at Bai Ju’s touch.
Bai Ju rubbed his fingers together, water flowing between them, carrying a faint trace of spiritual energy.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and Bai Ju tensed his hand, his fingers undergoing a subtle transformation. His knuckles lengthened, and sharp, white claws emerged from his fingertips, like five icy blades.
He carefully placed his fingers on the rock face, the blades easily piercing the calcareous surface with a soft sound. Bai Ju swallowed hard, guessing what lay beneath the stone shell.
A few fragments peeled away, layer after layer quickly falling off.
Bai Ju withdrew his claws, his fingertips tracing the remaining mottled stone shell, revealing a jade-like texture beneath.
He had essentially slapped the stalagmite open twice. A large window opened, and a thick layer of stone peeled away, revealing what was beneath— white jade-like bones.
The bones shed their disguise, and the swelling in his temples disappeared. This outer stone shell wasn’t simply a naturally formed structure; the innermost layer likely contained many illusions to bury these skeletons.
A powerful energy was enveloped by the jade-like bones, their cool surface smooth and lustrous. Even through the bone, one could feel the marrow flowing within… this stuff was incredibly nourishing. Bai Ju could even discern through the translucent bones that the marrow was golden, like flowing honey.
As mentioned earlier, most monster skeletons ultimately couldn’t be preserved; they were either used as magical artifacts or absorbed as nourishment by enemies or descendants.
Bai Ju’s judgment at this moment was almost instinctive. If he could just break open the jade bone before him, what lay inside would become his sustenance. The exquisite taste of the jade nectar was secondary; the most important thing was that its quality far surpassed that of his own, a wild white dog’s bone. If he used this as food, the marrow alone would be enough to sustain him for ten years.
It was truly… an irresistible temptation.
Bai Ju touched the jade bone, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t a thousand years ago. Back then, desperate to improve himself, he might have simply taken it and claimed it for himself; but now, few of his rivals were still alive, and he had no ambition to become a god. Although the marrow would be incredibly beneficial, he wouldn’t use it directly.
Someone needed the marrow more than he did, and he, in turn, needed something beyond the marrow— a core of the same nature as Turtle Valley Island. Power.
Regardless of the type of demon, the marrow and flesh of their direct ancestors were most effective for their descendants.
This was one point of contention between demon and human society. For demons, the absorption of their parents’ flesh and blood by their offspring was something to be proud of and celebrate, as it proved their descendants’ ability to protect what was rightfully theirs from those who coveted it; it also proved that the descendant had received the maximum inherited power and inherited the best bloodline.
However, from a human’s perspective, this method of absorption and inheritance was tantamount to devouring one’s own flesh and blood, something that was unsettling no matter how one thought about it.
Although Old Dog Bai was relatively close to humans, in this matter, he still retained his demonic instincts.
He could almost smell the fragrance of this bone through the flowing water… He swallowed hard, feeling his saliva almost seeping from between his teeth.
Calm and collected… Calm down.
This thing is so well preserved, it probably belongs to someone; however, the rightful owner hasn’t come to claim it all these years, proving that the owner must still be a cub, and the bones and marrow were actively protected and preserved by their parents; presumably for the purpose of nurturing the young.
Uninvited guests like Bai Ju must have appeared before, perhaps even the merfolk like A Song have had contact with this before… but none of them have been able to take the treasure from here.
Bai Ju looked at his claws, thinking that if he dug any deeper, his hand might break.
Composing himself, Bai Ju bent down and picked up the fragments of the inner shell that hadn’t disintegrated among the gravel, carefully smoothing and pasting them back into place in the small window, then piecing together a few decent pieces of the stone shell.
It wasn’t a complete loss.
Bai Ju straightened the stone shell, added a reinforced barrier, and thought, if Turtle Ridge Island still possessed a shred of consciousness, then just for protecting this skeleton, it should at least give him face and allow him some access to its core, instead of simply expelling him.
Bai Ju touched the skeleton beneath his hand, then swam towards the base connecting to the bottom of Turtle Ridge Island.
Turtle Ridge Island truly was a skeleton, and the purpose of skeletons is mostly for raising offspring. Therefore, Bai Ju boldly guessed that the core of Turtle Ridge Island’s power should be the cub.
In other words, beneath this island, there might be a genuine divine beast egg or cub, possibly a Western dragon, but Bai Ju felt it was more likely to be the Xuanwu[1] divine beast.
After all, the island’s power was primarily water-based, and the island was actually not close to the Chinese mainland, nor was it connected to anything beneath it. Yet, the island’s ownership had always been within China, without any major dispute, as if it were born part of China’s territory.
It could only be said that the island’s origins lied in China.
Among the monsters and mythical beasts of China, few possessed the water element, resembled a turtle, and were enormous in size. The most typical example was Xuanwu, standing in the northern part of China in the form of a turtle and snake, profound and thought-provoking.
Bai Ju finally understood where many of the inconsistencies came from.
Why was the suppressive power of the mountains so strong, even for an island with unstable bloodlines, that werewolves would choose to live there, seeking the suppressing aura on the night of the full moon? Similarly, why did the vampires and their backers choose Turtle Ridge Island, an island no less powerful than the Western mainland, to seal their inheritance? It was to utilize the suppressive power of this island and this mythical beast to stabilize their lineage.
Now it all seemed crystal clear.
Bai Ju followed the current to the island’s foundation, his heart pounding, an excitement etched into his blood, causing him to close his eyes.
The power to suppress the four seas and eight wastelands.
Yin in nature, steady, and extremely righteous.
Those behind the vampires might not necessarily want this power, but Bai Ju needed it.
Back then, suppressing the remnants in his eyes had taken so much effort…
Later, to ignite Xiao Yao’s imperial destiny, he knew his current power wasn’t enough. He would inevitably have to use a portion of the power he had isolated. That part was dangerous, violent, and could even corrupt his sanity.
Bai Ju hated the remnant within him, yet he had to admit that the damage from the past had now become his own power.
He had no reason to fear or run from his own power, but utilizing it was incredibly difficult; he needed to find a way to break through his limitations.
In the past, he resisted becoming stronger and didn’t want to become a god because it was unnecessary.
But now… he still longed for the mortal realm, still didn’t want to become a god, yet wanted to use the power he once hated.
It was because he had met his Yao Yao.
The author has something to say:
Turtle Island: Finally has a name???
I’ve revised the text and corrected some grammatical errors (:3」∠)_
Goodnight everyone, muah!
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron and access advance chapters on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents• Next
[1] Xuanwu is a Divine Beast. Xuanwu is one of the Four Gods, associated with the Water Phase.