Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
The seawater flowed past his ears, the dull and silent sound isolating the seabed into a separate world.
Bai Ju had already swum around the base of Turtle Ridge Island, finally standing at the spot where he had first entered the sea, considering whether to continue diving to explore.
The body of the ancient divine beast was extremely large, and what was exposed on the surface of Turtle Ridge Island was only a small part of its strange shape, not the complete skeleton. It was merely a mountain range formed after the Xuan Turtle transformed into an island, while the real skeleton was buried deep beneath the island, and a considerable portion of it… It was completely submerged in the sand and gravel.
The first thing Bai Ju found was a rib; following that bone downwards was where the skeleton should be.
The seabed was buried quite deep, and the sand and mud between the skeleton and the seawater were very thick, almost filling a small trench. The mud was fine and heavy, making it very difficult to dig open and see what lay beneath.
Looking up at the surface, Bai Ju estimated that his movements wouldn’t be too disruptive, then reached out and patted the rib he had previously opened a window in, opened his mouth, and silently said, “Excuse me.”
Then he clenched his fingers and exerted a sudden force, stirring up a storm of seabed mud. The deep pit beneath his ribs was suddenly exposed, and countless grains of quicksand rushed down beside him, determined to quickly conceal the pit.
With his eyes slightly lowered, Bai Ju stared intently at the direction of the quicksand, letting out a slight sigh of relief.
He wasn’t mistaken; there was a faint arch beneath the ribs. Judging by the curvature, the space below was quite large, and there were traces of special material used to conceal it, avoiding detection by sight or sound waves under normal circumstances. But there was a space, that was for sure.
Whatever the power center of Turtle Ridge Island was below or not, he would at least be able to find clues from it.
Bai Ju hugged the ribs he had pulled up with both arms, and with another exertion, the veins on the back of his hands bulged, and the muscles in his arms were full of power. With a quick movement, he pulled out the half-erect rib and gently placed it on its side on the nearby sediment.
Tiny bubbles escaped from the sand and rocks beneath the rib as Bai Ju moved; many seaweeds were uprooted and swayed with the current.
The water was calm here. Bai Ju followed the seaweed’s movement for a moment before seeing it sink to the seabed not far away, not drifting any further.
Turning his gaze away, Bai Ju flexed his fingers, and his semi-transparent shirt instantly disappeared, his jeans transforming into his usual leather pants. He gathered his hair, secured it, tied it into a ponytail, then coiled it into a bun, and casually produced a silver hairpin. The task was completed.
With a flick of his fingers, he cast a spell, and an invisible force ripped open the heavy mud, creating a passage wide enough for two people. Bai Ju plunged into the passage, then covered the entrance with sand to conceal it before continuing deeper.
The underwater passage was dark, so Bai Ju cast two eerie blue flames, which floated silently in the water, illuminating the scattered shells and fish skeletons in the surrounding mud.
The ribs were buried at a depth of about twenty meters.
Bai Ju didn’t expend much effort to dig to the bottom of the passage. He crouched down, ran his hand across the hard, curved surface beneath his feet, revealing a light black, translucent shell.
The two eerie blue flames were summoned by Bai Ju and pressed against the shell, illuminating the hidden scene within; several thick pillars extended downwards. Beneath the shell, a considerable space was created.
The flames could only illuminate a limited area, but Bai Ju’s sharp eyes allowed him to roughly discern that he was currently in a dome.
This was a palace.
Some of the pillars had collapsed halfway, not truly connecting to the dome; moreover, the curvature and shape of the entire top were inconsistent with the layout of the pillars, suggesting that this pale black dome was likely a later replacement.
Tilting his head to press his ear against the dome, holding his breath for a moment, Bai Ju couldn’t help but chuckle softly. The dome and the flowing water transmitted sound much better than air; he could hear the sound of a heartbeat within, not particularly smooth and regular, but rather like a wary, startled fluctuation.
Turning his hand, Bai Ju flicked his fingers against the translucent dome and said, “Excuse me, I’ll take you out.”
The heartbeat paused abruptly, then quickened, beating faster than a tortoise’s.
“I know you have a way to let me in,” Bai Ju paused, licking his teeth, “and I also have a way to break this dome.”
No movement.
Bai Ju raised an eyebrow: “This shell is quite nutritious. I’m very hungry and want to eat it.”
The heart started pounding wildly.
Bai Ju’s eyes crinkled. This was truly a little brat, inexperienced and naive. He reacted to the slightest trick and was easy to guess.
He had eaten so much fish a few days ago that he wasn’t hungry yet. However, this shell was a genuine Xuanwu eggshell. He wondered why the cub hadn’t eaten it but instead transformed into this dome covering the seabed.
Bai Ju was always patient with adorable cubs, so he simply sat cross-legged on the dome, stroking the smooth shell with his fingers, and softened his voice: “Be good, there’s bone marrow left by your parents outside.”
The little cub, who hadn’t made a sound for a while, stirred now. Its soft hissing sound wasn’t human, and the meaning wasn’t very clear. Bai Ju tilted his head to listen to its heartbeat, but there was no communication barrier.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
Bai Ju lowered its eyes: “My name is Bai Ju, just a wild white dog from the mountains… That island outside will soon run into some trouble, so I’ve come to borrow some of your central power to scare that demon.”
“Really?” A hesitant, soft child’s voice rang out, “…Don’t you want anything else?”
Bai Ju was quite honest and didn’t intend to lie to the little guy, so it told him the truth: “It’s true, but if possible, I also hope to absorb some of the power here. My partner has a hurdle in his life, and I have to help him overcome it, but I’m not strong enough right now.”
The little guy hesitated and fell silent again.
Bai Ju didn’t let its cub speculate, and took the initiative to ask a question: “What about you? How long have you been here? Why haven’t you absorbed all the eggshell?”
The little cub hesitated for a while before slowly saying: “…I don’t know. Although the energy here is from the same source as mine, I can’t consume it.”
“I seem to look different from my parents.”
Bai Ju: “…” Could there really be a Xuanwu incompatible with the Xuanwu’s essence?
A hint of doubt flashed through his mind. Bai Ju tapped the dome: “Come up, let me see you. Don’t worry, I won’t break the shell.”
A soft rustling sound came from under the dome.
A ghostly blue light shone through the translucent shell, and Bai Ju could see some tiny glimmers of light flashing by, looking like reptile scales.
After a while, a thin snake tail appeared at the edge of Bai Ju’s vision, and in a flash, the little creature swam directly below Bai Ju’s location.
Bai Ju stared at the fully revealed Xuanwu and fell silent.
The little creature was white, only the size of a medium-sized dog, its carapace no more than two feet in diameter. Its four claws were long and agile, resembling dragon claws, not thick, protruding from the edges of its carapace, thin scales covering undulating muscles; its snake tail was long, with a raised, hard carapace along its spine, revealing sharp edges where the scales connected as the tail swung; its neck was a snake’s neck, curved into an elegant S-shape like a swan; its head was somewhere between a tortoise and a snake, with a pair of yellow pupils like clear amber.
It was vastly different from the Xuanwu in the usual sense.
The “Xuan” in the name of the Xuanwu divine beast meant black; and the “Wu” affirmed the Xuanwu’s innate fighting prowess. Xuanwu, as its name suggested, was a black martial god.
These tortoise-snake-like divine beasts were born enormous, entirely black— their shells and scales were jet black. Individuals varied considerably in appearance; some had separate tortoise and snake bodies, others had a tortoise body and a snake neck, and even their eye colors and shapes differed… But the white Xuanwu was destined not to be one of these.
Such examples were not uncommon. Xuanwu governed water, and water represented yin, with Xuan water being the epitome of yin; yet the white Xuanwu, while still governed by water, possessed the ultimate yang attribute. Therefore, it was no wonder that this little fellow, despite being a guardian beast of the north, hatched in the southeastern sea— the territory of the Vermilion Bird— which governed fire.
In ancient times, this creature would have been raised in the Golden Dragon Pool.
The white Xuanwu, being of the highest yang nature, was small in size with claws resembling a golden dragon. It was also known for its wealth-attracting properties, making it a favorite among dragons, often treated as a lucky charm… Conversely, such a Xuanwu was no longer a born martial god, but rather an auspicious beast, and because it could not absorb the power left to it by its parents, it became a born weakling in combat.
Bai Ju’s expression was somewhat complicated.
The Demon Management Bureau needed an auspicious beast to maintain order, and while this little Xuanwu was indeed an auspicious beast, it couldn’t maintain order; it could only serve as a lucky charm to attract wealth… Moreover, this guy couldn’t absorb such a large amount of inheritance, and finding other cultivation resources was a major challenge. It was likely that it would never be able to break through its limits and grow into the form a divine beast should be.
Hissed, Bai Ju pondered the resources in his hands, and said with a pained expression, “…I have a little bit of supreme yang treasure here, I can give you…a small portion.”
The little Xuanwu’s eyes were round as it looked at Bai Ju, flicking its tongue: “Really? You’re not lying to me?”
Bai Ju nodded: “In exchange, I hope to take some of the power here. I won’t use much, just what I need…the rest is still yours.”
The little Xuanwu blinked, paddling in the water with its four paws, tilting its head in thought: “You’re a white dog, how could you have supreme yang things?”
Bai Ju touched his non-existent pocket, thinking about his little stash: “…My father was a black dog, and I still have his blood.”
When his parents first passed away, Bai Ju collected a whole pool of it; later, he used up eight or nine tenths for exorcising demons, and now only a hundred or so jars remain. Although it was not essential to him, it was still a memento left to him by his father.
The little Xuanwu, being new to the world and rather naive, readily agreed upon hearing that Bai Ju had black dog blood, without even confirming how much he could get: “Alright, give me your blood, and I’ll give you my bone marrow and eggshell.”
“The island’s central power comes from my eggshell, so don’t eat it all; leave some for the island. But as compensation, you must find me a place to live and protect me for five hundred years.”
Five hundred years was just a period of infancy for a divine beast. The little Xuanwu didn’t know much else, and in its confusion, this was the most suitable requirement for it; once it passed its infancy, even if it was useless, it wouldn’t still be a complete weakling.
Bai Ju stroked his chin, not immediately agreeing, but said, “I originally planned to find a river dragon king in a while. I’ve done him a favor, so I’ll hand you over to him. You can discuss what you need with him, okay?”
Upon hearing the word “dragon,” the little Xuanwu raised its neck and nodded eagerly, “So there are still dragons in the world! I’m relieved then, deal.”
Dragons were naturally close to the White Xuanwu, and the little guy, upon hearing that a dragon could take him in, basically envisioned a life of comfort and ease. So his already low guard immediately vanished.
“Step back a little, I’ll come out now.” The little Xuanwu flicked its tail, its pink tongue flicking out, emitting a pleasant hiss.
The author has something to say:
The little Xuanwu = Super easy to fool, a river dragon king who hasn’t even appeared yet but has already been promised a little burden.
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