Treasure-hunting Beasts were marvelous creatures according to legends. It was said that their kind had unexplainable exploration abilities toward treasures in the universe. It was a gifted ability, and it was so brilliant that it was indescribable.
Nonetheless, there were many kinds of Treasure-hunting Beasts too, and they were adept at finding different treasures.
Some Treasure-hunting Beasts had superb sensing abilities toward various wonderful plants and minerals while some had special senses toward pills, pieces of equipment, and even treasures such as ghosts. All in all, Treasure-hunting Beasts of dissimilar breeds could sense divergent things.
Even so, according to the little red bird, there were already very few Treasure-hunting Beasts that could sense things that produced immortal liquids, so much so that they were critically endangered.
Therefore, Ou Yangming and the little bird were unusually excited when Big Yellow found the Tree of Splendour.
The little red bird hopped off and tilted its head to ponder, then it flapped its wings and separated the jade bottles on the ground into two parts. “I’ve split them into two portions, and we’ll pick one of them each so it’s fair.” Following that, it looked up and cast a questioning look at Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming grinned and said, “You can go first.”
Although it seemed like the little red bird had casually divided the bottles, in reality, its choice was quite on point. Whether it was the number of bottles or the amounts of immortal liquid contained inside, there was not much difference.
After getting Ou Yangming’s approval, the little bird flapped its wings and kept one of the portions.
Big Yellow was the one that found the Tree of Splendour, but it ended up in Ou Yangming’s possession, and the yellow dog only received over 10 drops of immortal liquid while the young fellow and the bird kept most of the liquid.
Even though it seemed unfair, they were only taking what they needed, hence even Big Yellow was rather satisfied. This was because it knew very well that the Tree of Splendour would not produce immortal liquid at all if it was kept in its stomach for a long time. Besides, even if the plant was taken out to be cultivated, putting aside the question of whether the big yellow dog had the time and energy, in terms of its abilities only, it might not be able to secure the spiritual item at all.
Instead of not knowing who might benefit from the plant in the end, Big Yellow figured that it would be best to leave it to Ou Yangming because he would not treat it poorly no matter what.
After keeping the remaining jade bottles, Ou Yangming retrieved the Tree of Splendour and put it back into the Long Feather Band’s space.
He was slightly stunned when he entered the space through his consciousness; he noticed that the lazy turtle was not sleeping but was eagerly waiting for his return.
“Human powerhouse, are you here to return the spiritual item to me?” The spirit turtle was evidently elated at the sight of the Tree of Splendour, thus it immediately asked.
Ou Yangming sneered. “Return it to you? Were you the one that found it?”
The lazy turtle was startled. “No.”
“If that’s the case, why should I return it to you?”
The lazy turtle turned its large head in the air as though it was very troubled by the question. After some time, it expressed, “Honorable human, you might not be aware but if spirit turtles like me acquire spiritual items, we’ll complement each other. You’ll be pleased by the time taken to collect immortal liquids from the spiritual items and the amount gathered.”
Ou Yangming was moved. He instantly understood why the Tree of Splendour did not react at all in the outside world but began to give out immortal liquid once it met the spirit turtle.
It seemed like the plant was indeed fated with spirit turtles.
Nevertheless, the lazy turtle must not gain something without giving anything.
“Lazy turtle, I can lend you the Tree of Splendour, but when I set you free in the upper realm, you’ll have to return it to me,” Ou Yangming noted.
The lazy turtle blinked as if it failed to calculate its gains and losses.
It was given a comfortable place to sleep in, but the space belonged to someone else, after all. As such, it was being restrained inside and was far from being free. If it returned to the upper realm, it would want to recuperate in an empty place.
As for the task assigned to the turtle from the upper realm, it had forgotten about it long ago. In any case, it had already planned to do it half-heartedly and was going to sleep after a decade.
However, the situation seemed different now because the resourceful human powerhouse found a spiritual item. When the spirit turtle thought about how the item would benefit it, it could not remain calm anymore.
Ou Yangming did not urge the giant turtle, but he seemed unconcerned. With a flash of thought, the Tree of Splendour landed on the turtle’s back. The lazy turtle was delighted, and it swayed its back to allow the plant’s roots to enter the gaps on its back.
The lazy turtle tried its best to extend its neck. It also squinted its eyes halfway and seemed to be in extreme comfort as though it had an orgasm.
When the Tree of Splendour previously landed on the spirit turtle’s back, the fellow was sleeping, thus Ou Yangming and the little red bird could not see its reaction. This time, they knew the plant and the turtle combined was much more powerful than they imagined.
After a long time, the lazy turtle calmed down and looked hesitantly at Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming did not stay. He told the spirit turtle before his consciousness left the Long Feather Band’s space, “You can go to sleep first. If anything happens, I’ll wake you up.”
The lazy turtle was dumbfounded for some time inside the space. It glanced at the Tree of Splendour and the sea, then it finally curled up its body again.
‘No matter what, I’ll sleep first. I’m so, so sleepy…’
“Hey, why don’t you make a contract with the lazy turtle?” The little red bird blinked and asked in confusion, “I can tell that it values the Tree of Splendour very much, so it’ll likely agree to stay if you ask it to.”
The mascot seemed to be related to luck, such that even the little bird dared not ask it to be killed.
Without the Tree of Splendour or without witnessing the unusual scene of the tree releasing immortal liquid, perhaps Ou Yangming and the little bird would not care about the lazy gigantic turtle at all. They would probably still regard it as a hot potato and would want to get rid of it as soon as possible.
Having said that, they dared not think that way anymore.
Ou Yangming smiled and asked, “Lil’ Red, do you think we’ll enter the upper realm?”
“Of course!”
“Since we’ll go to the upper realm and have Big Yellow with us, will we find new spiritual items?”
“Of course!” The little red bird’s eyes gleamed. While Ou Yangming was not finished, it understood what he was trying to say.
“That’ll do!” Ou Yangming laughed. “We don’t need a contract at all because the lazy turtle can’t leave us. Moreover, so what if it leaves us? As long as we have the spiritual item, will we have to worry about not being able to find a new spirit turtle?”
The little red bird pondered seriously and nodded. “You’re right! When did you become smart?”
Ou Yangming glared at the little fellow and could not help but become dejected.
‘Can the little fella have a good chat with me?’
When Ou Yangming later sensed the jade bottles with his conception, he was rather agitated.
The immortal liquid had endless functions but for ordinary people, its most important function was prolonging one’s life. The young fellow could not wait to return to Changlong City right away because he wanted to let Old Craftsman consume the liquid.
He initially thought he was only coming to Canghai City to kill a spirit beast, thus he did not expect gaining much more than he imagined.
In the evening, Feng Yiyuan and the others arrived at Ou Yangming’s courtyard to cordially invite him and his companions to the banquet.
They prepared the most luxurious carriages for Ou Yangming and his fellows, and the entire city was in an ocean of joy.
Ou Yangming, Hong Feiyu, and the others boarded the carriages. Throughout their journey, numerous people cheered at them because the people were told that the Almighty Beings had gone to the beach to kill the Aquatics’ spirit turtle, which wreaked havoc in Canghai City. From then on, the city would not be invaded by the Aquatics anymore, and the Humans’ disaster was over.
As for whether another disaster would occur after a century, it could not be bothered by these people. At the end of the day, given a human’s lifespan, it would be difficult for one to live over a century.
Elder Universe was an exception, so he could be ignored.
Amidst the cheers, Ou Yangming and the others finally entered the Governor’s Residence. They also met Peng Huachi and Nian Xinran, who had been refusing to receive guests due to their injuries.
Between the two men, one was the governor while the other was the military’s commanding general, but they were both assigned by the imperial family to take up the roles. They looked pale at the moment, and they also seemed incredibly weak when they walked.
Upon seeing them, Ou Yangming could not help but wonder.
‘Was I mistaken? Were they not restrained and imprisoned but were really severely injured?’
On the other hand, the two Supreme Great Ancestors were overjoyed when they saw Ou Yangming.
Peng Huachi endured his injuries and expressed, “Consort, we went through untold hardships and finally got to meet you!”
Ou Yangming’s smile froze. Behind him, Ni Yinghong smiled faintly and did not think much about the form of address because she could clearly see that the young fellow treated her and Wu Hanning differently. Hence, her confidence would not be shaken because of how other people addressed Ou Yangming.
Nian Xinran stepped forward and congratulated Ou Yangming sternly, “Consort, congratulations.”
“General Nian, you’re being too polite. I’m not the consort,” Ou Yangming noted.
The general was struck dumb, and his face changed; he looked worried.
Peng Huachi immediately said, “Consort, we don’t mean anything else, so please don’t misunderstand us. Consort, we have something to report to you, so…”
Ou Yangming sighed. “Governor Peng, I’ve been graced by the imperial family before, and I’m not an ungrateful person, but I don’t want to claim ties with them too, so you don’t need to address me as the consort.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Peng Huachi quickly responded, but he was also glad.
Since Ou Yangming did not intend to deviate from the imperial family, he and the general were very much relieved.
After all, apart from Ou Yangming’s spirit beasts, no other force in the world could threaten the imperial family’s greatest powerhouse.
