I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 498 Tortoise and Fire (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Jiang Yi didn't concern herself with what happened after that.

The Ink Dragon King helped Hong Li move the tree, and Qing Xiao was also temporarily moved to the spiritual medicine space of the Azure Wood Cauldron. Qing Xiao did not want to be separated from the Purple Sky Ancient Tree for the time being.

Afterwards, Mo Jiao Wang took Hong Li and Zhao Cangyun to challenge the Fire Tongue Thunder Python. Originally, Mo Jiao Wang had his own selfish motives and wanted Zhao Cangyun to retrieve the seed of Yan Lei Yan.

However, Zhao Cangyun touched his right arm and said to the Ink Dragon King that he didn't need so much strange fire, as it would make his Qilin Golden Fire impure.

King Mo Jiao understood and did not force him.

Regarding the incomplete transformation of the Jade Serpent, the Ink Dragon King said that she would help the Jade Serpent resolve the issue once they left this place and arrived at the Cangling Sect.

After all, it was his own biological dragon, and the Ink Dragon King wouldn't abandon it.

Chisongzi returned the Broken Tribulation Sword. Jiang Yi had nothing to do, so she asked Chisongzi to take her for a walk in the forest. The two chatted about their time at the Cangling Sect.

Chisongzi still had that otherworldly air about him, and his appearance hadn't changed at all, but Jiang Yi noticed that he had lost the vitality he used to have.

It seems that this experience exhausted his spirit, and his cultivation level did not even reach the peak of Foundation Establishment, remaining at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Unlike the others, whose cultivation has already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, they are ready to break through to Core Formation at any time after they leave, becoming the backbone of the Cangling Sect in the future.

Everyone has their own destiny, and Jiang Yi could only sigh inwardly, without intending to interfere with Chisongzi's thoughts.

Before entering the Thunder Pool Secret Realm, she experienced the life of an ordinary cultivator in her dream. She couldn't remember the specifics, but she still vaguely felt the mindset of accepting one's fate, following the arrangements of Heaven, and waiting for one's lifespan to run out.

That's not something that can be easily changed by someone else making a few motivational speeches.

Jiang Yi and Chi Songzi walked to a secluded lakeside. The wide lake surface was covered with countless large, jade-green lotus leaves, and lotus flowers stood gracefully among the leaves, emitting a delicate fragrance.

The lakeside was a rocky beach. Jiang Yi casually scanned it with his divine sense and found that all the stones were uncarved gems. A group of turtles of different sizes were lazily basking in the sun on various parts of the rocky beach.

Looking at the turtles by the lake, Chisongzi said, "I've been trapped here for so long, with no sect affairs to attend to, and my cultivation stuck at a pass. It's so leisurely that it's unsettling. Qi Tian and those young people seem to have something to do every day, running around in the forest all day long, so I often come here."

“Sometimes when I look at them, a strange peace arises in my heart. They are born with long lifespans and do not need to strive for breakthroughs in realms or compete for the Great Dao like us cultivators. They can peacefully pass the long years by simply basking in the sun and diving in the lake. Isn’t this kind of leisure a kind of natural way?”

Jiang Yi's gaze swept over the languid shadows of the turtles, and when she saw the few clusters of lotus flowers in the lake that were almost too lush, her thoughts were instantly pulled back to the first dream of the mayfly pillow.

Just as she was about to ask Chishongzi if he had seen a special ink turtle here, Chishongzi frowned and carefully searched back and forth on the rocky beach, his face full of confusion.

"Huh? Weird..."

Chisongzi muttered to himself as he walked along the edge of the rocky beach, his gaze sweeping over each turtle.

"Where's that turtle? It was here yesterday..."

Which turtle?

Jiang Yi felt a chill run down her spine, keenly sensing something unusual.

Chisongzi stopped and said, "There is a rather large black tortoise that always likes to lie near this rock. It is very special, its whole body is like black jade, and there is a very obvious crack running across its back."

Jiang Yi's heart was pounding; goosebumps were rising all over her body.

Chisongzi didn't notice Jiang Yi's unusual behavior and continued talking slowly.

"It's strange, but every time I come here to meditate, that black tortoise crawls to my side to keep me company. Over the years, watching the younger generation like Qi Tian and Feng Wuhen gradually surpass my cultivation level—I, a veteran of the Cangling Sect—inevitably feel some resentment, anxiety, and even jealousy. When one's Dao heart is compromised, demonic thoughts easily arise. I dare not let these emotions run rampant, so I come here alone to meditate." "As long as that black tortoise is by my side, my mind naturally calms down. Thinking about it carefully, I realize that the black tortoise is probably partly to help me let go of my obsession with temporarily stagnant cultivation and face the current situation with equanimity. I've come to regard it as a close friend, and I was planning to take it with me when I left, but suddenly I can't find it?"

As Chisongzi spoke, he anxiously searched the lake again, hoping that the ink turtle had simply sunk to the bottom for a short rest.

Jiang Yi had already spread out her full divine sense to cover this small lake, and even secretly sent a message to Hua Gu, asking her to help search for the trace of the ink turtle in this secret realm and inquire with all the demon races.

Jiang Yi never expected that the ink tortoise that existed since the Kunlun era would actually still be alive, and that it had even appeared in this secret realm.

More importantly, it has the miraculous effect of calming the mind and dispelling demonic thoughts, which is so compatible with the power of Xuanwu.

This is no coincidence!

However, when Chisongzi said that the ink turtle was still here yesterday, Jiang Yi felt that the ink turtle had left early.

That's understandable. If it were her, and someone asked her to do something like the Four Extremes of Heaven or to be the incinerator for the Heavenly Dao's garbage, she would have to run away too.

Jiang Yi still carefully scanned each lotus leaf with her divine sense, delving into the thick silt at the bottom of the lake, covering the crevices of every lake stone... meticulous and leaving no blind spots.

The turtles on the rocky beach remained quiet, and the shadows of turtles lurking in the lake were clearly visible. Lotus leaves swayed, and water plants drifted... The entire lake was laid bare before her divine sense.

Sure enough it didn't.

Jiang Yi smiled and sighed, withdrawing her divine sense. She didn't dwell on the matter anymore; at most, she would tell Chonghe Daojun when she got back.

The more anxious you are to find something, the less likely you are to find it.

Chisongzi was a little sad that he couldn't find the turtle. In the end, he didn't pick one of the remaining turtles to take with him. He already had the whisk spirit in his hand, and he wasn't sure if he could successfully form his core. He didn't want to waste his energy on these little things.

"Never mind, perhaps it's just not meant to be. It's about time, let's go to the exit and see how the demon race is preparing."

Chisongzi led Jiang Yi to the entrance of the secret realm. After taking a few steps, Jiang Yi looked back at the turtles basking in the sun on the rocky beach and secretly transmitted her voice to Hua Gu.

Not long after Jiang Yi left, two clouds rushed in from different directions. Once they arrived, they swept away everything in their path like a whirlwind, taking all the stones by the lake, along with the large and small turtles among them. They even took the stones by the river and the lotus flowers in the lake.

Jiang Yi was not far from Hua Gu at this moment. Hua Gu had a thought and took these things back to Youxian Ferry. She planted the lotus flowers and lotus roots in the Sword Washing Pool and threw the stone and turtle to the edge of the Sword Washing Pool.

The turtle that lived with that special ink turtle must have picked up some special scent. Let's just keep it as a pet for now, as it will enrich the ecology of Youxian Ferry.

When Jiang Yi and Chi Songzi arrived at the entrance to the secret realm, most of the demons had already gathered there, and their numbers were indeed quite large. Zhao Cangyun was helping to count the demons.

They waited a moment and then saw the Ink Dragon King return from outside with Hong Li, both of them still in their enormous demonic forms.

Hong Li was engulfed in blazing crimson flames, her six bushy tails billowing high behind her, shimmering with iridescent light. She instantly captivated the many foxes at the cave entrance, and all the male foxes let out loud courtship screams.

But Hong Li completely ignored those foxes who were posing and preening, not even giving them a glance. She only stared at Jiang Yi, who was standing among the demons, and raised her chin so that Jiang Yi could see clearly the strange fire that was biting her mouth and occasionally bursting out with dazzling purple lightning!
Jiang Yi chuckled. "You got it, why didn't you just swallow it? Why did you have to keep it in your mouth? Doesn't your mouth go numb?"

As dusk fell, the demons gathered.

Qi Tian and his group, along with Shen Puning and her group, arrived at the entrance one after another. All the demons and humans were ready.

　See you tomorrow!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)