Chapter 597: Meat Leaves Grease Behind

The moonlight was silver-white.

Bloodlines churned and surged.

The entire marsh seemed split in two by a splash of red ink!

Every sinew and bone in his body cracked and popped; beneath him, mountains rose high, waves crashed wildly.

As he was about to be netted, Liang Qu bit his tongue, clearing his mind, opening all his vortex orifices, enduring the searing pain of toxic water burning his skin, and connecting to the broken water column a hundred zhang away—then flickered violently, returning to the marsh.

"A divine ability?"

The giant turtle's thoughts flashed like lightning; in furious rage, it swung its claws again!

Divine abilities are engraved deep within the soul; most can only affect the self—you can run away, but the temple stays behind!

BOOM!

A hurricane pressed down.

The old toad's cheeks flapped violently, its round belly rippling like waves.

Blink again.

He was now pinned between the turtle's claws, struggling to breathe, unable to move.

Both humans and beasts had fallen into the turtle's grasp!

The claws pinched lightly.

Long Long Eying was alone in a crevice.

The giant turtle lifted its head and roared: "If you dare flee alone, I'll crush them all to death!"

As it threatened, the claws tightened slightly.

Puke!

The fat catfish gagged continuously, squeezed repeatedly between the old toad and Long Long Binglin, desperate to vomit up the fish it had just eaten.

The old toad gasped in alarm, grabbing the fat catfish's wide mouth and clamping it shut: "I restore your toad status! I command you—not to vomit!"

The fat catfish: "Ooohluu~"

All people and beasts faced imminent doom.

Liang Qu rose from the water, holding high the Wu Wu Shengzhen jade plaque and the official seal.

"I am a disciple of the Great Shun's Prince of Xu Yue! Appointed by the Sacred Emperor himself! General Yuan, as River God of Peng Ze, you receive the incense and offerings of the villagers—do not bring ruin upon yourself!"

The giant turtle sensed the jade plaque's aura, unmoved: "The villagers worship me—what does that have to do with me? If the Great Shun rejects me, I shall simply flow downstream to the sea!"

"The old toad is the closest sacred teacher of the Jianghuai Toad King—he shed half his toad skin! When the Two Saints arrive, can you defeat them?"

The giant turtle loosened its grip slightly on the old toad.

Return what you stole, and you shall go unharmed! Otherwise, even if the toad and the frog perish, it will be your own doing!"

What was stolen?

Long Long Binglin, Long Long Eying, and the fat catfish all turned sharply toward the old toad.

"Ribbit?" The old toad looked bewildered. "I didn't take anything! Why are you staring at me?"

The turtle's eyes fell.

The claws seized the old toad's hind legs and began swinging it back and forth.

Even as the old toad spat foam and hung limp, not a trace of familiar aura leaked out.

The giant turtle grew increasingly agitated.

I meant to court the beauty—yet in one glance, my centuries-long cultivated "Four Seasons Qi" vanished into thin air! It must be these three humans and two beasts behind this!

"Whoever stole my treasure, give it back, and I'll spare your lives! Otherwise, from today on, you shall all become my cultivation fuel!"

As he spoke,

The old toad, the fat catfish, and Long Long Binglin were all flung together onto Mount Shou.

After a moment's hesitation,

The giant turtle gritted its teeth and hurled Long Long Eying onto the island as well.

The instant they landed on Mount Shou, the rich scent of medicinal herbs filled their nostrils; simultaneously, their strength and vitality were being steadily drained from every limb and bone.

Both humans and beasts felt sudden heart palpitations and labored breathing.

Long Long Binglin raised his hand in shock.

"Mount Shou is draining our life force!"

Puke~

Overwhelming nausea surged again; the fat catfish could no longer hold back, vomiting up most of the partially digested fish paste.

Splash.

Pale yellow gastric fluid mixed with fish bones flooded several vines, staining the old toad's toes; it clutched its legs and shrieked: "You've lost your toad status!"

The fat catfish weakly flapped its fins.

"My Back Mountain absorbs the lifespan of fruits, plants, fish, birds, insects, and beasts—within moments, your friends will turn to pus!" the turtle threatened harshly. "The treasure isn't on them—it's on you. Do you want them dead, or do you want my treasure?"

The rage gradually subsided.

The giant turtle began to think it through.

That little smoke—possessed a water-dodging divine ability, the most bizarre among them all!

The disappearance of the long qi must be tied to it!

The truth was undeniable.

Liang Qu, startled, glanced at the five strands of long qi inside the marsh cauldron and swallowed hard.

【Chronological Long Qi: Spring births, winter deaths, autumn fruits, summer flourishing, cloud movement, rainfall, water flow, wind compliance—natural law.】

【Mystical Use One: Four seasons have unchanging blooms, eight festivals have eternally green grass—lifespan multiplies several times over, youth preserved, ageless.】

【Mystical Use Two: Human life is fleeting as a lightning flash; how often do youth and virtue appear? Lifespan diminishes daily and monthly—brief as a fleeting bloom.】

【Spring Chronological Long Qi: Extends lifespan by sixty years, halves lifespan number, turns toward yang.】

【Summer Chronological Long Qi: Extends lifespan by one cycle, reduces lifespan number by half, brilliant and fierce.】

【Autumn Chronological Long Qi: Extends lifespan by sixty years, increases lifespan number by half, northern wood grows hard.】

【Winter Chronological Long Qi: Extends lifespan by one cycle, doubles lifespan number, primordial turtle hibernates in winter.】

Amidst the dialogue,

Liang Qu had already understood the function of each of the five strands of long qi.

The effect of Chronological Long Qi was simple: it multiplied an individual's lifespan number, either doubling or halving it!

A typical martial artist cultivates one unit of blood-qi per day, masters one martial art per month.

If Chronological Long Qi extends the "lifespan number" by two, the person lives two times as many "years"—but likewise, it takes two days to cultivate one unit of blood-qi, two months to master one martial art. Hence, it extends "lifespan number," not "actual age"—the person's personal time flow becomes detached from the world's.

It sounds useless—the total output remains unchanged, merely stretched out.

But the external world flows unchanged!

"Bei" means double, "xi" means quintuple; take the middle value: triple.

A Master lives three hundred years; a Wu Sheng lives eight hundred.

With this long qi,

A Master gains nine hundred years; a Wu Sheng gains two thousand four hundred years!

A rare treasure plant that takes three hundred years to mature—previously, a Master could harvest it once; now, three times!

One man truly lived thirty thousand days; another lived thirty thousand times in a single day.

Lifespan is not scarce for ordinary people—but for those who have "opened their orifices," it is the most miraculous compound accelerator!

Several-fold lifespan.

Dozens-fold opportunities!

Extending life works this way; shortening it works the opposite: reduce lifespan, and one can cultivate three units of blood-qi per day, master three martial arts per month.

A five-year-old child grows into an adult within a few years.

But the most absurd part:

These two are not mutually exclusive choices—they are state modifications!

They can be switched at will!

Compared to that,

The four seasonal long qi are easier to understand—they're merely inferior versions of Chronological Long Qi.

Which one to give?

Liang Qu's mind burned with thought.

【Water Passage】 can carry people, but leaves traces and can be intercepted.

【Water Passage a Thousand Li】 leaves no trace—the General Yuan cannot stop it—but cannot carry others.

Rescue is a must.

But even stolen pork should leave behind some grease.

The marsh cauldron is no ordinary artifact—it absorbs with absurd efficiency; a normal person takes one strand of long qi, but Liang Qu can extract two.

There must be a loophole here…

The four seasonal qi are tightly linked—they cannot be given separately; Chronological Long Qi is clearly superior to the seasonal qi…

The key question: does the giant turtle know how far he's progressed?

If I give him the four seasonal qi, he'll realize something's missing—and the five strands might all be taken from me…

Conversely, the old turtle doesn't even know how powerful he truly is—he doesn't realize the marsh cauldron forged the Chronological Long Qi…

For a long while.

Liang Qu leapt forward and extended a thread of sky-earth qi, interwoven with four colors: green, yellow, orange, and white.

This is...

The giant turtle's pupils shrank slightly; without a word, it raised both paws and carefully gathered the treasure, confirmed its integrity, then placed it upon the Turtle's Back, Shoushan.

The long qi slowly dissipated.

The entire Shoushan seemed to act as a vessel, absorbing it entirely.

No further words were spoken.

With a flick of its claws,

The two humans and two beasts, utterly clueless as to what had just transpired, were flung off the island again.

Liang Qu caught each one in turn.

The treasure had been lost and now regained.

General Yuan no longer wished to deal with this strange boy, whose background was absurdly immense, and quickly retreated into the water.

"Wait!"

But Liang Qu sensed something amiss and called out to General Yuan.

The giant turtle feigned annoyance: "Don't take the gain and then act virtuous!"

Liang Qu sneered.

"Did I really gain the advantage?"

"I returned your treasure, and I didn't even hold you accountable for your transgression— isn't that an enormous favor?"

"You used the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Method to condense the four-season long qi, intending to merge them into one. Now I've completed that step for you—who truly gained the advantage?"

The old turtle was startled.

Before it could reply, Liang Qu pressed on: "My friends were drained of their lifespan by your cultivation—you've siphoned their vitality. I've heard your Shoushan bears many longevity treasures."

The giant turtle fell silent.

A long while passed.

"I shall give you two vines of Longevity Vine, each granting three additional years."

"I will climb the mountain and choose for myself."

"How dare you push your luck further?" the turtle roared. "You have no vessel to collect long qi! If the world learns of this, what then?"

"You possess the treasure that extends the Martial Saint's life by a thousand years!"

"I'll raise a hundred-zhang tidal wave along the shore and make you bear the karmic consequence!"

"You possess the treasure that extends the Martial Saint's life by a thousand years!"

"I..."

"You possess the treasure that extends the Martial Saint's life by a thousand years!"

"Climb the mountain."