Chapter 485 Fall of the spirit jade turtle Li family (1)
From the moment Meng Chao began his narration it has been one shocking statement after another. From the ancients and now to Jiang Fu possibly having some ties to them.
When a bit of it had sunk in, they couldn't help but worry about him. Cultivators have killed each other for less and for something as valuable as ancient ancestry in the mix the whole continent would be lining up to hunt him down if he did not have a strong background to rely on.
The cultivation world was pretty ruthless, especially, when it came to things that could shape a legacy, or improve one's strength which was why there were still fights to the death over treasures and the like.
When it came to such fights, the Order wasn't involved. They would only get involved if the fight extended to innocents who didn't have any stakes in the fight and were dragged in, but if the fight occurred between willing participants, then the Order would stay clear of it.
Other than treasures, those with certain physiques would get hunted down, especially if said physique was known to improve someone's cultivation base like the heart of a crystal heart-glazed user, which was known to increase the odds of a cultivator breaking through to the domain realm.
All around the continent, there were still cases of physique holders getting kidnapped and their bodies and bloodlines getting experimented on like a spiritual herb to see if one could exploit it for themselves. Physiques were no different from natural treasures to some.
They could now understand a bit of why Jiang Fu hid his name, a descendant bloodline of the Ao tortoise was something invaluable.
The Ao tortoise was rumored to be a massive creature that could support mountains, rivers, oceans, and continents on its back and it did not just stop there, some of the landscapes had the same amount of auspicious air, richness, and vitality that was seen in the cultivation grounds of Holy Lands.
It was a world in and of itself, and while they didn't know a lot about the spirit jade turtle, for it to have descended from the Ao, it had to have qualities that made it stand out from the rest and some of those qualities had to have some resemblance or closeness to the abilities of the Ao tortoise.
Luckily for them, they didn't have to wonder about its abilities because Meng Chao filled in their gaps in knowledge.
"When it comes to the Spirit jade turtle, one could consider it a creature of balance in terms of attack and defense. It is made entirely of spirit crystal jade, something considered to be the crystallization of purity, and tolerates no embellishment.
Embellishment here encompasses a wide array of things from poison, miasma, water, fire, attacks of all kinds, malice both in thought and words, and a wrong look, as long as it is anything that profanes the turtle, the spirit jade will react, offensively or defensively, which makes it immune to almost everything from poisons, to physical attacks to karmic attacks and curses since the spirit jade isolates it from everything.
Of course, the defense is limited to the strength of the spirit jade turtle itself, so if your power and understanding are higher than the spirit jade turtle, your attacks will reach it, but it could still choose to hide itself which was one of its strongest moves as it has the ability to isolate its karma and presence.
When it comes to attacks, its movements are fast, piercing, and all-encompassing. It has the ability to control light and variations of space since the Ao tortoise is rumored to be able to bend and mold space at will, which is how it is able to support continents, rivers, and mountains on its back.
The spirit jade turtle has some variations of that ability which is it's able to create whirlpools in space that could tear apart any defenses if you were unlucky enough to get swallowed by it. They could also disrupt space and prevent teleportation either in or out, so escape talismans and teleportation treasures are useless before it.
If you dare use it, they will malfunction and you'll end up in a distorted space filled with void chaotic energy.
The spirit jade turtle has a long list of abilities to ensure its survival almost anywhere. However, for all its abilities, it's reclusive in nature and likes to hide away and hibernate for years on end, which is why there is little information about it.
From the bit I've read about it, it dislikes confrontation and attention and much prefers solitude. It's that love for solitude that its numbers and presence are so low. It's rumored that one spirit jade turtle would be born every 50,000 years, making their numbers so pitifully few.
However, despite their nonconfrontational nature, once angered they will pursue you to the ends of the planet no matter the cost. They're as vengeful as they come if angered, and they do not discriminate. They would attack a dragon with the same fervor they would a pig, provided they were provoked sufficiently, and it would be fight to the death.
They're not be angered lightly.."
"I hope I never run into one.." Yang Qing fearfully thought as he imagined himself being chased by a vindictive turtle.
"What am I worried about anyway? It's not like I go around making trouble, besides from its solitary nature, and the way it likes to hide itself, spotting one would be very difficult, and even if I did, I'm not a troublemaker in the very least.
Yang Qing you worry too much.." he thought as he chuckled inwardly.
"Now one of those spirit jade turtles from what Jiang Fu's father told me at the time which was something passed down in their family happened to form an unlikely friendship with the ancestor of the clan, and that friendship devolved into a soul contract formation between the two.
The contract was mainly because the spirit jade turtle thought the Li ancestor had a pitiful lifespan, so it shared some with it.
He told me at birth spirit jade turtles are usually born with a lifespan of 70,000 years that increases astronomically with every jump in strength, something they got from being in the lineage of the Ao tortoise that is rumored to be immortal, though that's still unproven, but with how long the lifespans of these mythical creatures are rumored to be, I wouldn't be surprised..."
"Senior, haven't you said spirit jade turtles like solitude? How come it formed a friendship with a human? Moreso one deep enough that it was compelled to share its lifespan?" asked Zhang Qinggee.
"It's unknown how their friendship came about since their founder never shared it, however from the little bit I've been able to gather, though this is purely my own thoughts, I think spirit jade turtles are mercurial creatures who love and hate with the same extremes.
Once the founder became its friend, he reaped the rewards of it. Though that's purely my own thinking. Who knows what long-lived creatures like them think or see the world?" said Meng Chao with a smile as he thought of one such person within the Order, one of the quirkiest individuals he has ever come to know. Of course, when it came to quirkiness, the Order had its fair share of culprits, and there was even one in front of him.
He let out another chuckle as he shook his head.
"Anyhow, that's how the Li family wound up with the bloodline of the spirit jade turtle, which catapulted them to grow into a first-rate clan. They seemed to have adopted the same nature as the spirit jade turtle too, which I don't know if it was by design or an effect of having the bloodline of the spirit jade turtle.
Despite their increase in power, their territory was very small, about the size of a small city in a rank 5 kingdom, which they maintained even at their peak, which could be considered odd because they had a couple of soul formation experts at their peak.
However, they did end up creating three more side branch clans to avoid congestion, who set up territories of their own and observed the same modesty as the main clan.
From the accounts I heard, despite the smallness of their land, it was rich beyond measure in terms of resources, and spiritual qi, enough to rival the grounds of present-day holy lands. Such richness could have been the work of the spirit jade turtle contracted to their founder. n)-O-)V.-ε))l--b)(I/(n
Thanks to its support, they survived hundreds of thousands of years, since their history dates back a million years ago, however, all that changed when their founder died. The founder managed to live close to 700,000 years despite only reaching the soul-adept stage of the soul formation realm.
Despite the contract elevating his aptitude and reforming his body, there were some things it couldn't change which were comprehension ability and aptitude. He excavated beyond what his talents could give him, and thanks to the spirit jade turtle, he was able to reach heights he would likely have never even glimpsed were it not for it.
When he died, the spirit jade turtle left the clan. Its bond was with the founder and not his descendants and it had no qualms about leaving them or any obligation to watch over them.