Chapter 1196: The Curtain Falls on a Generation of Multi-Treasure (Combined)

Within the "Ear-Perception Method," there were no lies.

Liang Qu's mood sank rapidly, and he tightened his webbed feet.

"How could you be unable to handle it? Frog Elder, you possess vast supernatural powers, endless wisdom, and strategic brilliance, deciding victory from a thousand miles away. Within the Great Marsh, is it possible you haven't used your profound arts to collect life-extending treasures? Or have the treasures at home already been exhausted?"

"Rest assured, I will go to the Heaven-Ship Chamber of Commerce right now, or find General Yuan in Pengze. Both places have life-extending treasures. Oh, right, there is also 'Cannot Move.' 'Cannot Move' possesses a life-extending supernatural power! There is no need to worry about the burden of medicinal potency. If you can just hold on for two more months!"

"Cannot Move" flicked its tail and burrowed into the frog circle; Big Fatty and Second Fatty immediately cleared a path.

They had rushed to Huangzhou in late October to use the 【Life-Extending Seal】 on Xu's parents, which was recovered in late January and paid out. Now, in mid-February, "Cannot Move's" supernatural power would recover in two and a half months, which could then be used on the Old Toad.

"Sigh—it's useless." The Old Toad sighed long and hard. Two more wrinkles folded over its protruding round belly, making it look even more shriveled. "As a Multi-Treasure, I am an exotic species, born and raised by heaven and earth, seizing the creation of heaven and earth, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. *Cough, cough*, Liang Qing..."

As the gaze turned toward him, Liang Qu understood the meaning. He racked his brains and searched his gut: "The changes of heaven and earth give birth to divine objects. Breathing clouds and spitting moisture, floating qi is lush; in the changes of vitality, Frog Elder, you are the spirit of creation fostered by heaven and earth!"

The Old Toad said nothing, its frog eyes expectant of more.

Liang Qu scraped his stomach lining again: "Though heaven is supreme, it must rely on the light of the sun and moon; though earth is spiritual, it must have the transformation of mountains and rivers. Though a sage has the virtue of ten thousand, he must have the three dukes, nine ministers, twenty-seven grand masters, and eighty-one wise men to follow heaven and complete his Dao; heaven and earth are precisely using you, Frog Elder, to manifest the boundlessness of their own great power."

Still, there was no word.

Liang Qu felt like he was scraping his stomach wall off: "The interaction of the two qi gives birth to all things; all things grow and grow, and the changes are endless. Only you, Frog Elder, have obtained their elegance and are the most spiritual! Frog Elder, in this situation, my heart is truly filled with inexplicable sorrow, a tangled mess; I cannot compose any more."

"Good, very good! Liang Qing has poetic talent! Big Fatty, remember to carve these three sentences on my tombstone."

"Wa!"

Big Fatty and Second Fatty tilted their frog heads toward the sky and wailed loudly, leading the entire frog clan to begin mourning. The sounds rose and fell, and one could hear nothing but the sound of frogs. The Frog King slumped its body, becoming increasingly hunched.

"Wa!!!"

An even louder cry instantly drowned out the Chief and Deputy Commanders.

A black fatty charged left and right, throwing itself beside the Old Toad. The fat catfish was overcome with grief; those who heard it shed tears, and those who listened felt heartbroken. A catfish had mixed in among the big frogs, but since everyone was broad and fat with smooth skin and large mouths, it didn't seem out of place.

"Sigh—adversity reveals true feelings. The little frog without feet actually has a heart of red loyalty. From now on, I will not remove you from the frog registry." The Old Toad's eyes revealed memories, filled with loneliness, and it returned to the topic. "Liang Qing, where did I just leave off?"

"Frog Elder, you were talking about life-extending treasures, that the Multi-Treasure clan seizes the creation of heaven and earth—"

"Right, to tell you the truth, life-extending treasures are useless to me, and supernatural powers are also ineffective."

"Why?"

"Multi-Treasure, Mysterious Turtle, Coral Crystal Insect—we exotic species of heaven and earth are born into this world, originally acting against heaven. Our lifespan has a fixed number, and our fate has a path to return. When I, this Elder, became a demon, the Great Marsh had lightning for three days without stopping. Wherever I went, it became a rolling pool of thunder. At that time, I also felt my limit was approaching, but fortunately, the Dragon Lord extended a claw. Therefore—I can no longer handle it."

Life-extending treasures were useless...

Liang Qu took the National Teacher Seal handed over by the Old Toad, his heart struck by a dull hammer. Perhaps because his cultivation was too fast, he had never experienced the death of someone familiar. Even Uncle Chen's father, Chen Chen Renxing, could now eat two bowls of rice at a meal, his complexion ruddy.

"Help me up."

Liang Qu helped the Old Toad, leaning against a lotus stalk.

The Old Toad pulled a yellow leather bag from under its bottom. It rummaged around and pulled out a stack of waterproof land deeds, extracting two.

"In Pingyang Prefecture, I have four acres of ponds. They belong to our frog clan. Great King, you must keep them well. The land price here is precious; I bought it when it was cheap, and it can still appreciate. It has risen to ten fish per acre. Unless absolutely necessary, do not sell them."

"Remember, remember, the banks surround the Great Marsh, three thousand miles of lotus flowers; this is truly the national policy that our frog clan has implemented for a hundred years. The matter of the frog perishing and the policy ending must not happen. Remember, there is a round stone in the pond; it is very comfortable to lie on. With my seal on it, I like it very much, so just take it as my tombstone."

Liang Qu couldn't help but feel a little awkward.

The Frog King pinched the small stack of contracts, carefully put them away, and promised in a muffled voice.

"In Huangzhou, there is a two-entry residence. The pond inside belongs to us, and there are also one hundred acres of paddy fields that are ours. Big Fatty, Second Fatty, give this to you two brothers. In Jianshui, this Elder has one hundred acres of ponds, already planted with lotus flowers, blooming every year. Frost Glaze, this is for you."

The Ice Jade Toad clan leader was sorrowful, stepped forward, and took the land deeds.

"And the old Dragon Lord's Cloud Immortal Island, until the next Bing-Fire day, all belongs to our frog clan. This is the lease agreement; this is the most expensive one. Liang Qing, just leave it to the Dragon Palace."

"In my home, there are still two gold and silver cups, exquisite and ingenious. They were gifts from the Dragon Lord during the Dragon Lord's banquets in the past, and they have extraordinary significance. I will give them to you together as a wedding gift for you and the Dragon Lady. Just place them in the Dragon Palace; it counts as returning them to their original place."

Liang Qu gripped the lease agreement tightly, his thoughts inexplicable, and guilt arose in his heart.

"In my little building, there are still many treasure fish, treasure plants, treasure books, treasure ores, and trinkets. Sigh, I collected so many, but they are useless... Frog Great Treasure—"

One by one, piece by piece, item by item, share by share.

The Old Toad distributed the treasures it had accumulated throughout its life to the big frogs of the frog clan one by one.

After finishing, it suddenly aged ten years. The frog skin on its back faded more and more severely, as if it had weathered all at once, losing its original bright and vivid brown-yellow color, forming a layer of hard shell. Its belly no longer had its previous round luster, resembling a pile of towels, and its frog head drooped again and again.

"Elder!"

"Elder, don't die!"

"The frog clan cannot do without the Elder."

The grief could no longer be calmed. The earth-shaking cries echoed through the Great Marsh. Fishermen catching fish on the marsh were terrified, hearing the faint crying, and knelt on their boats, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Don't cry and make a scene. Be quiet for a while and let me rest, rest—"

The frog clan endured their grief, stopped crying, and sobbed incessantly.

The Dragon-Man Elder in the outer water sighed silently.

The Frog Elder was stingy, greedy, went back on its word, and was treacherous, but if it weren't for Frog Elder, they wouldn't even have the chance to spend money to buy long-qi.

The Frog King tilted its head forty-five degrees, not letting the sadness fall, recalling once again the afternoon when the Old Toad took it to attend a banquet, carrying a yellow leather bag, stealing the Dragon Lord's gold and silver cups.

The sunlight shone down hazily, scattering into the water waves, converging into flowing golden light, rising and falling silently.

Everyone and every frog was filled with tears.

Finally.

The Old Toad's frog head tilted to one side.

"Wa—"

"I said don't be noisy! Don't be noisy! Noisy, noisy, noisy, what kind of thing are you noisy about all day? You two idiots! Fools! Dimwits! I'm not dead yet!"

The crying stopped abruptly. The Old Toad opened its eyes suddenly, jumped up, hugged Big Fatty's frog head, opened its frog arms, and fiercely pulled at Big Fatty's mouth corners. Then it jumped onto Second Fatty's face, attacking left and right, delivered a headbutt, and kicked the fat catfish three times.

"This Elder is sleeping! Sleeping! Crying for your big ghost of a funeral!"

"Pa!"

The skin rebounded, emitting white steam.

The Old Toad did a three-hundred-sixty-degree backflip, curled into a ball, shrank to the ground, and became motionless again.

Big Fatty looked at Second Fatty, Second Fatty looked at the fat catfish, and the fat catfish carefully stepped forward, poking with its whiskers.

"Hu-ha, hu-ha—"

Low snoring.

It was indeed sleeping, but no frog could be happy. The Elder had already distributed its belongings, and there were only these two days left. As for the treasure fish and treasure ores distributed, no frog cared.

The backbone was gone; what was the point of getting treasure fish?

No amount of treasure fish was as fragrant as the Elder's impending treasure fish.

*Ding-ding-dang-dang*, roof tiles fell to the ground and shattered. A hibernating grass snake curled stiffly on the roof, was picked off by a monkey with a wooden stick, and grabbed a broom to sweep away the roof dust.

The construction of the Prince's Mansion was in full swing.

Three monkeys raised their tails, carrying a large beam across the courtyard. Seeing the Great King and the Princess passing by, they immediately put down the beam, closed their feet together, raised their tails straight up, pressed their right hands at ninety degrees against their foreheads, turned their heads from left to right, watched them leave, and then carried the beam again.

Liang Qu and Long Eying returned to the pond to take the round stone under the waterfall that the Old Toad often lay on.

"Everything was fine, how could its lifespan be exhausted?"

Sitting by the pond, Liang Qu draped his hands over his knees, his mood lonely.

It was clearly the joyous occasion of the first New Year since entering the Dragon Palace, a time to hang lanterns and decorate with streamers, celebrate the New Year together, and have the whole family happy.

However, the Old Toad's limit was approaching, instantly scattering the warm atmosphere. It wasn't just that the frog clan had no backbone; Liang Qu also felt empty in his heart, losing a sense of security.

The Great Marsh without the Old Toad was like the Jianghuai without a True Dragon.

Long Long Eying sat down beside him, gathering her skirt: "Otherwise, Husband, ask Frog Elder if it is willing to accept governance? If it can be forcibly promoted, wouldn't that be a way?"

Liang Qu shook his head: "It probably won't work."

"Husband has tried?"

"I have tried treasure fish; I can govern and communicate, but there is no way to promote."

Long Long Eying was surprised: "Actually like this?"

Liang Qu nodded: "There are roughly three types of creatures born and raised in the Great Marsh. One type is treasure fish, small as ox-horn fish, medium as gold-gong fish, and large as blood-lion fish; the Dragon Lord also counts as one, appearing every two cycles, and is also unique, even requiring the river itself to reach a certain scale."

"The third type belongs to the 'exotic species' between the two: Uncle-in-law's Mysterious Turtle Wu Wu Cangshou, the Iron-Head Fish's Coral Crystal Insect, and the frog clan's Frog Elder."

"The characteristics of these three are all 'no father, no mother,' popping out of the Great Marsh. The Mysterious Turtle, Crystal Insect, and Frog Elder can all seek good fortune and avoid disaster, but the Multi-Treasure Toad is considered the most powerful of the same realm. Let's see. In two more days, if Frog Elder really can't make it, I will ask—"

Liang Qu clearly remembered that the Old Toad had given him a Mysterious Turtle shell, which was still buried under the pond, showing that even among exotic species, there existed a certain suppression of status.

"Splash."

The black and shiny turtle shell broke through the water bag, and the ripples turned into white foam, sticking to the pond stone.

"Ha-ha-hi, Mysterious Turtle, did I hear someone calling this old man?" Wu Wu Cangshou poked its head out and greeted enthusiastically, "Prince Huai, Princess Huai! Long time no see! You two are becoming more and more handsome and beautiful, a talented man and a beautiful woman, a match made in heaven."

"Speaking of which, I don't know what's going on in the Great Marsh recently; good things have suddenly become more numerous, and I can't catch them all. The King is planning to hold a banquet. If you two have time—whoa, such large smoke and dust, why are there so many monkeys?"

Long Long Eying apologized: "Grandpa Shou, these past two days the Liang residence has been undergoing renovations to become a Prince's mansion, so there is a bit more dust. My husband and I have both moved to the Yang residence in Pingyang Prefecture to stay. If you are looking for Magistrate Su today, he should be working at the River Patrol Office."

"So that's it. Also, you have been enfeoffed as a Prince. A Prince's Mansion is good, more spacious, it must be built well."

Wu Wu Cangshou climbed onto the round stone, stretching its limbs to sun its back. "This old man didn't come to find Turtle Mountain either, just that it has been too busy recently, searching for treasures of all kinds, and has gained some insights. I felt it was a good day to sun myself by the pond without the disturbance of a toad. Oh my, the round stone in your pond is really good. I've slept on so many stones, but this one is the most comfortable."

"Grandpa Shou, I'm afraid this stone won't be sleepable from now on. Another day, I will have A-Fei change another one for you."

"Won't be sleepable?" Wu Wu Cangshou was stunned. "What do you mean?"

"Sigh, it's Frog Elder."

Wu Wu Cangshou patted its claws in anger: "This old frog, is it bullying me because my turtle claws are not sharp? Does it even want to move a stone to its own home? This is tolerable, but that is not! I want to duel with it!"

"It's not like that. It's that Frog Elder's great limit is approaching, and it wants to take the round stone in the pond back to carve a tombstone."

Wu Wu Cangshou was stunned and suspicious: "Great limit approaching, who?"

"Frog Elder."

"Little Toad is Little Toad, why call it Frog Elder? What happened to it?"

"Great limit approaching."

"Who?"

The question suddenly began to cycle. Liang Qu opened his mouth.

"I know, I know." Wu Wu Cangshou waved its claws and fell into deep thought. "Back then it said one hundred and ninety-six, ten years ago. This year it is two hundred and six. For a Hunting Tiger Multi-Treasure Toad, it is indeed two and a half times longer than the average lifespan, but I just don't believe it—where is that Little Toad now?"

"Frog clan territory."

"Plop."

Wu Wu Cangshou turned around and fell into the pond, drilled through the waterway, paddled its four limbs, and rushed to the frog clan territory.

"What does Grandpa Shou mean by this?" Long Long Eying asked.

"Don't know, perhaps it feels it's unbelievable? I didn't want to believe it at first either."

The "Ear-Perception Method" didn't lie. The blood and qi were in a state of decay; it looked like the limit had been reached no matter how one looked at it.

"Don't worry about so much, take the stone out first. Long Eying, what is the general format for a tombstone? Are there any regulations for length, width, and thickness? What font is better to use? You say Frog Elder is so old, should it be handled as a happy funeral or a sad funeral? How much money should be given as a gift?"

"I'll go check."

New Year was approaching, and another major event had occurred.

There was no mood to explore the Blood River Realm.

Sending Little Star's body to stretch its tentacles, watching the clouds roll and unfurl.

"Sigh, it's been almost a year, why hasn't Master come out of seclusion yet." Lao Mengyao lay under the peach tree and sighed, watching the fruits hanging on the branches, reaching out to pick one and gnaw on it. "If I don't eat it, it's a waste; put it on Master's account!"

Night.

Lotus leaves drifted and swayed.

Wu Wu Cangshou swung its four limbs, quietly arrived at the frog clan territory, saw the "Little Toad" curled into a ball under the lotus leaves, guarded by the frog clan, and was shocked to find its blood and qi decaying. Originally full of vitality, now the skin had faded, like a stone on the side of the road, and one couldn't find it without looking carefully.

"Grandpa Turtle?" Frog Mobile Corps Commander landed on the ground. "Why are you here?"

"Shh, this old man came to take a look." Wu Wu Cangshou waved its claws.

Frog Mobile Corps Commander thought for a moment and cleared the path.

The West Turtle and South Frog had always had a friendship and knew each other. Wu Wu Cangshou was also a great general under the Turtle King, a Fortune-Luck Mysterious Turtle, an exotic species like the Frog Elder, and they all knew each other.

Should count as friends, right?

Without obstruction, Wu Wu Cangshou leaned closer, circled around the Old Toad, observed, rubbed its chin, looked at the moonlight, and looked at the toad.

It was indeed a look of impending death, but it still didn't quite believe it.

Since ancient times in the Jianghuai, the only Multi-Treasure Toad to become a demon, raising a Demon King, unprecedented in frog history, rarer than the Dragon Lord, and just like that, the great limit was approaching suddenly? It was clearly just that the Great Marsh had become prosperous, and there were so many treasures. Just this one look, from dark until dawn.

Sunlight pierced through the water, cutting the edges of the lotus leaves and scattering into golden needles.

The white sand was soft.

"Ha!"

Wu Wu Cangshou suddenly realized, stretched out its turtle claws, and fiercely slapped the Old Toad's back.

A dull sound, like slapping a cowhide drum.

The Old Toad wobbled like jelly.

"!" Frog Mobile Corps Commander was shocked and angry, descended from the sky, and smashed Wu Wu Cangshou away. "Old fellow, what are you doing!? Does the West Turtle bully my frog clan for having no frogs!?"

The entire frog clan was shocked and flew out.

Wu Wu Cangshou kicked its four feet, floated in the water, turned over, and faced the steel forks and large anchors, unafraid.

The Old Toad woke up faintly, looked at the turtle head that had popped out, rubbed its eyes, and finally recognized it was the Mysterious Turtle Wu Wu Cangshou, and heard a loud curse.

"Die a fart, you are clearly about to be promoted!" ===== CHAPTER 1197 =====