Don't Mess with that Turtle

The water was murky, but it did not affect Su He and Green Snake's vision.

One was accustomed to wallowing in the mud all day, the other did not rely on vision to gather information. Turtle and snake faced each other, eyeing the White Tiger that struggled no more.

It was dead.

It took the combined efforts of three to kill it—Su He, Green Snake, Lu Ming.

Lu Ming was especially instrumental; without his Ten Thousand Pound Talisman, Su He and Green Snake wouldn't have been a match for the White Tiger. Even underwater, a Three-star Beast was beyond their current capacity to oppose.

Green Snake coiled its tail tip and attempted to shoot a water arrow, which penetrated only an inch into the White Tiger's forehead before getting stuck in the hard bone, unable to pierce through the flesh.

The water arrow that could penetrate stone could not pierce the White Tiger's bones.

White Tiger was utterly motionless, indeed dead through and through.

Su He and Green Snake rushed toward the White Tiger at the same time, stopping on either side of it, baring their teeth and threateningly eyeing one another.

They both desired the flesh body of a Three-star Beast.

Ordinary wild beasts devour heaven-and-earth treasures to strengthen their bodies until they break their limits, and a Demon Star forms within them. That is how a beast becomes an Exotic Beast.

At this stage, a star would appear on the Exotic Beast's forehead, marking it as a One-star Beast.

As the Demon Star slowly spun within the Exotic Beast, it provided extraordinary power. When the beast continued to evolve and reached a new limit, the Demon Star would reverse, and a second star would appear on the forehead.

This cycle repeated, with the Demon Star reversing as the beast evolved, and each evolution added another star to the forehead.

Therefore, the number of stars denoted the number of evolutions—an Exotic Beast was also known as a turn-around beast. Until the Demon Star turned seven times, the beast reached its limit; then the Demon Star would shatter and form the Profound Moon.

The Demon Star Beast then evolved into a Profound Moon Beast, and what appeared on the forehead was the Profound Moon Shape.

Just like the unkempt old Taoist's wine-loving camel.

It seems to be a rule of heaven and earth, whether for beasts, demons, or humans, there are three major realms, each with seven minor levels.

The realms for Exotic Beasts are: Demon Star, Profound Moon, Day Eclipse; for humans and demons, they are Transcendence, Demonic, Stepping Sky.

Just as the unkempt old Taoist mentioned, the first major realm for humans and demons: Transcendence, also known as the Seven Steps of Transcendence. It is divided into seven minor levels: Mind Orifice, Divine God Objects, True Blood, Inteniont Orifice, Offering Bones, Spirit Awakening, Gathering Origin.

As a Three-star Beast, it was already equivalent to a human in the True Blood Realm of Transcendence. Its entire body had undergone a qualitative transformation, different from that of ordinary beings.

This was especially true as it was a tiger, regarded as greatly nourishing by nature.

Both Green Snake and Su He wanted to eat it.

Especially now, with hibernation fast approaching—it was the time when they needed to eat a lot.

Snake and turtle eyed each other with greedy intentions, neither harboring good will toward the other.

After two breaths of time, Su He sighed and backed down. Those damned morals—Green Snake had come to help him; he couldn't bring himself to press the snake underfoot and enjoy the tiger's flesh alone.

A common wild beast would have done so without hesitation.

Suppressing the bestial desire to monopolize the meal deep within his heart, Su He let out a low "roar."

Share the tiger evenly between the two of us, quick, eat!

White Tiger was dead, and there was still Lu Ming to consider. They had to eat quickly and then get away.

Green Snake agreed, swiftly coiled around the body of the White Tiger, squeezing tightly to crush it into a long shape for easier swallowing, just as pythons did.

When prey was too large to swallow in one bite, they would crush the prey's bones and stretch it out to make it easier to swallow.

Su He realized the futility. The White Tiger was a Three-star Beast, its Tiger Bone was indestructible, several times harder than his Turtle Shell, even the Ten Thousand Pound Talisman couldn't crush its bones—how could Green Snake possibly manage?

Su He stepped forward and bit off the White Tiger's heart.

This was the real nourishment. It was a pity it was a female tiger, otherwise it would have been even more beneficial—after two years of Turtle Life, as long as the meat was fresh, there was nothing he wouldn't eat.

If truly hungry, freshness didn't matter either.

Having not eaten in four or five days, his stomach was empty. Su He stirred his internal organs to make more room in his stomach.

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What a gluttonous feast, heart and gall of a tiger, plus at least forty pounds of tiger flesh filled Su He to the throat. Only then did he turn his head and saw the Green Snake with its fierce appearance, baring its fangs at him, its tongue rapidly flicking in and out.

This fellow couldn't swallow a whole tiger nor could it tear off the flesh, and had been nursing a belly full of rage, ready to make a move on Su He at any moment.

Su He thought for a moment, then tore off a large chunk of meat and threw it to the snake.

The Green Snake immediately dropped its threatening pose and pounced on the tiger meat, swallowing it with one bite.

Look at this snake, it's like a dog.

Feeding, devouring.

Su He found that this Green Snake could eat even more than he could! And it was not picky, consuming meat and vegetables alike, even the fur!

Haven't you ever had a full meal before?

Two streaks of Sword Light cut across the sky, stopping above the surface of the water. Su He and the Green Snake both stopped what they were doing and looked up.

The tiger's blood had dyed the water of the lake red, and from this angle, the whole sky took on a demonically eerie atmosphere.

On the two Sword Light, a fat and a thin young man. The two were on a mission to capture an escaped beast pet, following the scent here only to witness a terrifying sight below the lake.

"Brother, is that below the White Tiger of Brother Lu being torn apart and eaten?" the thin young man said in astonishment, looking at the White Tiger that was being devoured by Su He and the Green Snake.

The fat one swallowed and nodded, "That's the White Tiger, no mistake. Brother Lu's Life Bound Beast."

The two exchanged looks, both understanding what the other was thinking: this was big trouble!

"Brother Lu's Life Bound White Tiger has been killed, but there's no sign of Brother Lu's presence anywhere. Why isn't he coming to help?"

The bond between a Life Bound Beast and its master is shared in both prosperity and adversity, so how could Brother Lu allow his White Tiger to be killed?

The fat brother shook his head, "You don't know, because of something with Sister Qiao, Brother Lu was put in confinement for three months."

The Qingyuan Gate's confinement is so strict that one isn't even allowed to leave when their Life Bound Beast is killed?

At the bottom of the lake, Su He's eyes lit up.

The thin brother whispered, "…what do we do? Should we capture this Green Snake and the Big Turtle and bring them back?"

The escape of a beast pet from Beast Valley and the killing of Lu Ming's Life Bound Beast meant someone had to be accountable. The daughter of the Sect Leader house couldn't escape punishment, but considering her status, the most she would face was confinement, she certainly couldn't really be put into the Prison.

So this snake and turtle just had the misfortune to be caught up in it.

The fat brother looked at his junior in shock, "Are you crazy? This is the Green Snake from Snake Valley that ate the Demonic Fruit!"

He was in charge of monitoring the Demonic Fruits within Qingyuan Gate and recognized this Green Snake.

"During this Starfall within the Qingyuan Territory, only eighteen Demonic Fruits grew, but only six creatures that consumed the Demonic Fruits survived. The rest either couldn't withstand the essence of the Demonic Fruit and perished from spontaneous combustion, or died fighting with other creatures."

"Are you trying to get the Law Enforcement Elder to whip you by offering it up as a scapegoat?"

The thin brother suddenly realized.

Demons naturally were favored, and any Demon Species capable of transforming into a human was at least able to cultivate to the Demonic Realm. Moreover, demons were simple-minded, and once brought into the Sects and well-taught, they had a strong sense of belonging to the Sects.

And since demons had long lifespans, they could serve the Sects for longer. Every Demonic Beast was a treasure to the Sects.

"We can't take this turtle either." the thin brother said thoughtfully, "I saw from afar this turtle tearing meat and feeding the snake; it's probably a pet taken in by the Green Snake."

This Green Snake will inevitably transform into a demon, and its status won't be low in the future, so there's no need to offend it. Creatures are naïve but also hold grudges, especially wolf and snake species.

The fat brother nodded then furrowed his brows in confusion. He closed his eyes and channeled his power, his eyes suddenly snapping open, a glint of sharp light flashing through them.

"Come out!" he commanded in a low shout, his hand making a gesture, and the Ten Thousand Pound Talisman Turtle Shell broke the surface of the water from atop the White Tiger's body.

With a gesture, the fat brother cancelled the effects of the Ten Thousand Pound Talisman, holding the Turtle Shell in his hands, he had an epiphany, "I knew it, just with this Green Snake and turtle, it wouldn't be possible to kill the White Tiger."

Someone had set this up, specifically targeting Brother Lu. They needed to take this Talisman to the Law Enforcement Hall.

With a flick, he completely deactivated the Ten Thousand Pound Talisman, preventing it from dissipating over time. Then with another gesture, he summoned the Position Talisman Turtle Shell from under the White Tiger and handled it in the same way, before bowing to the Green Snake, "Esteemed friend of the snake race, this White Tiger is the Life Bound Beast of a brother from our Sect, my junior and I need to retrieve it, we hope you won't take offense!"

The Green Snake would surely transform and join the human ranks eventually, and it was essential to be courteous now to avoid any resentment from the snake in the future for what transpired at this moment.

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