Chapter 53
The sect's back lake stretched endlessly beneath the mountains, vast and still like an enormous emerald embedded within the earth. Ripples shimmered across the surface, reflecting the warm gold of the setting sun until the entire lake seemed to glow with molten light.
It was breathtakingly peaceful.
So peaceful that the voice they had just heard felt almost unreal.
Lou Yuqing and Si Nidie stared blankly at the lake, then slowly turned to look at each other.
"...Senior Sister," Lou Yuqing said uncertainly, "we couldn't both be hallucinating, right?"
Si Nidie rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "If only one of us heard it, maybe. But since we both heard it..."
She paused.
"...then it definitely wasn't a hallucination."
The moment those words landed, a chill crawled straight up Lou Yuqing's spine. It felt as though icy breath had brushed against the back of her neck.
She shot upright at once, ready to leap off the massive rock beneath them.
"They said we're occupying their territory... should we move?"
Under normal circumstances, Lou Yuqing would never believe in this sort of thing. But after transmigrating into a cultivation world?
At that point, even ghosts no longer sounded unreasonable.
Besides, this world was full of bizarre and inexplicable creatures.
Her thoughts immediately drifted toward water ghosts. She'd heard stories before—spirits drowned in lakes and rivers searching for substitutes so they could finally reincarnate.
But... this one didn't seem to want a scapegoat.
It sounded more like it was trying to chase them away.
If it wasn't a water ghost, then what exactly was it?
Lou Yuqing's imagination spiraled rapidly.
Beside her, Si Nidie grabbed her arm and patted it reassuringly. "Don't panic. And don't move either. We were here first. If we give up our spot just because some mysterious voice tells us to, wouldn't that just boost their arrogance while crushing our own morale?"
Lou Yuqing immediately clung to her senior sister's arm like a lifeline. The warmth slowly chased away the cold prickling across her back.
"...Senior Sister is right."
Then, suddenly, a possibility struck her.
The rock.
Could it be... a stone spirit?
After all, in this world, anything capable of gathering spiritual energy could eventually awaken consciousness.
The thought instantly made Lou Yuqing restless. She lowered her head and stared hard at the enormous gray-white rock beneath them.
It looked completely ordinary.
No markings. No aura. Nothing unusual at all.
Meanwhile, Si Nidie continued trying to reassure her. "There's no way demons or monsters would casually haunt the sect grounds. Whoever this is must be using some trick to scare us. Junior Sister, don't fall for it."
Then she suddenly cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted toward the lake: "Hey! If you want us to move, then stop hiding and show yourself! What kind of skill is skulking around like a coward?!"
The instant she finished speaking, Lou Yuqing felt the massive rock beneath them shift ever so slightly.
Her heartbeat nearly stopped.
She immediately stared downward.
But the rock remained perfectly still.
For a moment, her thoughts became complete chaos.
Did it move?
Or not?
Seeing no response, Si Nidie inhaled, clearly preparing to continue provoking the unseen speaker.
Then—that ancient, distant voice rang out once more.
It seemed to drift across endless years, layered with indescribable age and vastness.
"You two little girls are blind enough already, yet you still can't recognize my true form and dare blame me for it?"
The voice paused, sounding deeply aggrieved.
"Are you trying to bully an old man?"
Both girls froze.
They had been carefully listening to their surroundings this entire time, yet neither could identify where the voice was coming from. If they had to describe it...
It felt like it was everywhere at once.
Si Nidie's expression immediately turned serious.
Suppressing her earlier irritation, she cupped her fists respectfully toward the air. "Senior, if you are an elder of the sect, then my junior sister and I truly meant no disrespect. Please forgive us if we offended you."
It was both apology and probe.
"Hehe." The mysterious voice chuckled leisurely. "Young people nowadays really are slippery."
Then, sounding completely unconcerned, it added: "Fine. I won't argue with you two anymore."
A pause.
"Now get off my back."
The two girls froze.
...His back?
Si Nidie stood there blankly, her mind completely empty.
Lou Yuqing reacted first. She yanked her senior sister off the rock and stumbled backward several steps.
At the same time—
Crack.
A thin fissure suddenly spread across the gray-white stone.
Then another.
And another.
Stone fragments began peeling away, scattering through the air.
Lou Yuqing's eyes widened.
She hadn't imagined it earlier.
The rock really had moved.
Cracking sounds echoed continuously as layer after layer of stone shell broke apart. Within moments, the enormous boulder had transformed into something entirely different.
A creature resembling a giant turtle slowly revealed itself.
Its shell was pure white.
Not ordinary white, but a flawless, almost sacred white untouched by even the slightest impurity. Simply looking at it gave people an indescribable sense of awe.
Its eyes were even more astonishing.
Within them seemed to lie an entire starry sky, countless lights swirling with ancient truths and immeasurable years. Anyone who met that gaze found themselves unconsciously sinking into it.
Lou Yuqing stood there completely dumbfounded.
A stone demon?
This thing didn't have the slightest trace of demonic energy.
If anything, it felt holy.
Otherworldly.
The Primordial White Turtle stretched lazily before glancing at Lou Yuqing.
"Little girl," it said kindly, "your eyes are about to pop out of your head."
"..."
Was it really that obvious?
Lou Yuqing stiffly straightened herself. "This disciple has broadened her horizons today."
Only then did she belatedly realize something.
It could speak human language.
Though... considering it was a spirit beast, perhaps that wasn't so strange after all.
The Primordial White Turtle chuckled, clearly unsurprised by her reaction. Humans seeing it for the first time usually looked about the same.
At that moment, Si Nidie finally snapped out of her daze. "Senior... are you the sect's guardian spirit beast, the Primordial White Turtle?"
Her voice trembled with excitement.
She had once seen the juvenile form of the spirit ape among the guardian spirit beasts before. Even then, its golden fur had already been dazzling. Rumor said its adult form resembled a blazing sun impossible to look at directly.
But the ancient white turtle before her...
This was a fully matured guardian beast.
And its beauty far exceeded all imagination.
Especially those eyes.
Ancient. Vast. Endless.
It truly looked like a being that had survived since primordial times.
The Primordial White Turtle smiled at her like a gentle old grandfather.
"I didn't expect disciples still remembered me, even though I rarely appear."
Si Nidie's face immediately reddened. "It really is Senior White Turtle..."
Then—her expression abruptly froze.
Because she suddenly remembered what she had shouted earlier.
Coward.
Si Nidie: "..."
Wait.
Had Senior White Turtle revealed himself because she insulted him?
The realization instantly crushed most of her excitement.
Lou Yuqing also remembered.
She silently turned and gave her senior sister the respectful look one reserved for a fearless warrior marching toward death.
Si Nidie nearly burst into tears.
How was she supposed to know the "coward hiding in the shadows" was actually the sect's ancient guardian spirit beast?!
Thankfully, Senior White Turtle had already said he wouldn't hold it against them.
...Right?
The Primordial White Turtle appeared completely oblivious to their increasingly panicked expressions.
Instead, he asked warmly, "Tell me—how has the sect been lately? Anything interesting happen?"
"Senior White Turtle!"
Several voices suddenly rang out from the horizon.
Lou Yuqing looked up to see Sect Leader Qingxuzi and the others descending through the clouds. In the blink of an eye, they arrived beside the lake.
The moment Qingxuzi saw Lou Yuqing and Si Nidie standing there, surprise flashed across his face.
"Yuqing? You two were talking with Senior White Turtle?"
Lou Yuqing touched her nose awkwardly.
There was absolutely no way she was admitting they had mistaken the sect guardian beast for a haunting lake ghost.
"...We just happened to run into Senior White Turtle here," she answered vaguely.
Shi Hua glanced at the two girls curiously. She hadn't expected the sect leader to know this little disciple personally.
Sect Leader Qingxuzi stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Qingxuzi greets Senior White Turtle."
Truthfully, he hadn't held much hope coming here.
The Primordial White Turtle spent most of its time asleep and rarely woke up. Over the years, Qingxuzi had visited the back lake many times, only to return empty-handed each time.
He hadn't expected to arrive at the exact moment the old turtle awakened.
The Primordial White Turtle tilted his head slightly.
Then brilliant white light erupted from his body.
Everyone instinctively narrowed their eyes.
When the light faded, an old man with white hair and youthful features stood where the turtle had been.
Lou Yuqing inhaled sharply.
What an immortal-looking old man.
Then she remembered how she and Si Nidie had just been sitting on his shell enjoying the sunset scenery.
Suddenly, guilt hit her like a truck.
The old man—naturally the transformed Primordial White Turtle—looked toward Qingxuzi, squinting thoughtfully.
"Qingxuzi... that Daoist title sounds familiar."
He paused.
"You are... that... that..."
Sect Leader Qingxuzi smiled helplessly. "This junior is Song Zhi."
"Right, right! Song Zhi!" The White Turtle immediately brightened with realization. "You're the twenty-sixth sect leader of the Wendao Sect."
Then he looked Qingxuzi up and down in amazement. "You've grown so much. I remember when I first saw you, you were only this tall."
He gestured around half a person's height.
Sect Leader Qingxuzi hesitated awkwardly. "...Senior White Turtle may remember incorrectly. When this junior first met you, I was already an adult."
"...Was that so?"
The White Turtle frowned deeply and began digging through his memories.
After several seconds, he gave up decisively.
Forget it.
Too troublesome.
Then he looked at everyone kindly. "So? Why have you come looking for me?"
Qingxuzi immediately explained, "It concerns Lingzhu. Several years ago, she gave birth to an offspring and entrusted the child to you. Does Senior remember?"
The White Turtle did not answer immediately.
Instead, he muttered slowly, "Lingzhu..."
A bad feeling instantly rose in Qingxuzi's heart.
The White Turtle suddenly looked genuinely confused.
"Who is Lingzhu?"
"...?"
"Do I know her?"
"...??"
"And when did she entrust offspring to me?"
Silence.
Everyone stood frozen in shock.
The three guardian spirit beasts of the sect had always shared a close relationship. How could Senior White Turtle completely forget Lingzhu?
The atmosphere abruptly turned strange.
At that moment, Lou Yuqing's thoughts suddenly echoed clearly through everyone's minds.
[Well... this really can't be blamed on Senior White Turtle.]
[The problem is his illness.]
Everyone stiffened instinctively.
[He has Alzheimer's. Forgetting people is normal.]