Chapter 449: Sudden Change

From their brief contact, Qin Ming judged that this Black Rock Demon Sage did not seem difficult to communicate with; it should still be possible to obtain what he needed through peaceful means.

He secretly activated the Yin-Yang Profound Mirror divine ability, sweeping his perception into the other party's body.

In an instant, a sliver of imperceptible green light flashed across Qin Ming's pupils.

He saw that within the Black Rock Demon Sage's body, the verdant vitality was incredibly dense, almost condensed into substance; it was the most concentrated life force he had ever encountered in his entire cultivation journey.

'Truly, a thousand-year turtle, a ten-thousand-year tortoise.'

'Merely at the early fourth stage, yet possessing over six thousand years of lifespan.'

'Truly long-lived!'

Qin Ming had just been thinking his own lifespan was already quite long, but he hadn't expected that the giant tortoise demon before him was the one with true longevity.

Immediately after.

Above the island, the Transformation Heavenly Tribulation continued to descend with terrifying momentum; within a radius of ten li, no other sea races dared to approach the scope of this heavenly might.

Qin Ming stood quietly in the void; this was not his first time witnessing a Transformation Heavenly Tribulation.

Moreover, when he had previously broken through to the Nascent Soul realm, the Earth Fiend Great Tribulation he endured was far more terrifying than a Transformation Heavenly Tribulation.

To him, the scale of this Transformation Heavenly Tribulation before his eyes was nothing more than a light drizzle.

Yet, as Qin Ming observed the Black Rock Demon Sage beside him watching its offspring undergo the Transformation Heavenly Tribulation, he saw no sign of excessive worry.

It seemed that for their clan, this was as natural as water flowing into a channel.

Qin Ming's powerful divine sense had already inspected the situation; that black mystic tortoise on the island possessed not a single protective treasure, relying solely on the black shell on its back to forcibly withstand several bolts of terrifying tribulation lightning.

"Fellow Daoist Black Rock, are you not the least bit worried that your offspring might not survive the Lei Jie?"

Hearing this, the Black Rock Demon Sage spoke with considerable pride: "For other demon races, this Transformation Heavenly Tribulation is a life-or-death calamity, but for our Giant Tortoise clan, it is as simple as eating and drinking."

"Our clan's defensive capabilities rank among the top three amidst the numerous demon races of the East Sea; we are one of the very few."

Qin Ming could also see that the tortoise shell was genuinely hard; even under the continuous bombardment of the Lei Jie, it only bore some white marks, let alone being shattered.

Unlike the Shi Tian Shu; if Qin Ming had not prepared tribulation-surviving items for it, it would have been obliterated without a trace under the Transformation Heavenly Tribulation in an instant.

However, the bloodline talents of demon races differ, each having its own strengths.

The Shi Tian Shu excels in void forbidden arts, various tunneling techniques, void walking, and possesses strong treasure-sensing talents, among others.

Thus, it is only natural that the Giant Tortoise and Mystic Tortoise possess inherently extremely strong defenses.

Gradually.

Above Giant Tortoise Island, thunder roared and heavenly might loomed dreadfully, as successive bolts of Transformation Tribulation Lightning continued to fall.

The black mystic tortoise retracted into its shell, remaining completely motionless.

After a full half-day had passed.

The black mystic tortoise spat out a huge, azure-blue demon core from its mouth, easily withstanding the final few most powerful bolts of Lei Jie.

Its demonic energy aura suddenly surged to the early fourth-stage level, and the black tortoise shell on its body, which had undergone the baptism of countless tribulation lightning bolts, actually began to fade and peel off.

Immediately after, a brand new, pitch-black tortoise shell grew in its place.

A long while later.

The tribulation clouds dispersed, and peace returned to the island.

That black mystic tortoise had successfully survived the Lei Jie and officially advanced to become a fourth-stage Demon Sage! Once it retrieved its demon core from mid-air back into its abdomen, it could instantly transform into human form.

But just at that moment.

Qin Ming's eyebrows raised, and he immediately exclaimed: "Not good!"

His words had barely fallen when, on the water surface near Giant Tortoise Island, a surge of ink-green demonic energy suddenly welled up as if appearing out of thin air, instantly striking the demon core in mid-air and knocking it flying.

The black mystic tortoise, having just finished enduring the heavenly tribulation, was caught off guard by this sudden attack and severely injured; it spat out a mouthful of bloody red blood, its aura withered as it collapsed to the ground.

"Audacious thief, how dare you!"

Seeing this scene, the Black Rock Demon Sage's eyes nearly split from fury.

His entire figure vanished on the spot as he rushed to rescue his offspring.

On Giant Tortoise Island.

Everything happened too quickly, occurring within merely a few short breaths.

Qin Ming swept his divine sense, comparable to that of a late Nascent Soul cultivator, across the area and saw a figure of a youth dressed in ink-green robes slowly manifest in the void near the spiritual island, possessing a pair of eerie vertical pupils.

This person was also a fourth-stage early sea race demon cultivator, but clearly specialized in some extremely sharp concealment divine ability, daring to act against the black mystic tortoise on the island right under their noses.

After the green-robed youth appeared, his movement speed was incredibly swift and sharp.

What greatly surprised Qin Ming, however, was that this person's objective was extremely clear; he was not aiming for that fourth-stage demon core, but rather rushing toward the black tortoise shell that had shed on the ground.

Seeing this, Qin Ming also made his move, his body not shifting in the slightest.

His divine sense power, comparable to that of a late Nascent Soul, erupted explosively!

At the same time.

On the island, the green-robed youth reached out and grasped, easily seizing the black tortoise shell in his hand, and a look of wild elation immediately appeared on his face.

He had clearly also sensed the Black Rock Demon Sage charging over with overwhelming momentum and extreme fury.

"I have no patience to tangle with this undying old tortoise for long; now that I have the item, I can withdraw, hahaha!"

The green-robed youth let out an evil laugh, glanced at the distant sky with his pair of vertical pupils, and was about to flee far away.

Suddenly!

But just at that moment.

His figure, having just flown out, seemed to crash headlong into an invisible wall, causing him to stumble and retreat backward.

Immediately after.

A mountain-toppling, sea-overwhelming pressure squeezed in on him from all directions; under the influence of this divine sense power, even space became distorted.

The green-robed youth's face instantly changed drastically, and he cried out in shock:

"Transforming divine sense into a physical form; with such intensity of divine sense, could this be a great cultivator from the late Nascent Soul stage?"

"How could he appear here?" Qin Ming, standing in the distance, gave him no chance to react and directly unleashed the Soul-Extinguishing Thorn from the Nether Soul Art!

"Ah!!"

The demon soul of that green-robed youth suffered a heavy injury; clutching his head, he let out a miserable howl, and could not even hold onto the black turtle shell in his hand, letting it drop straight to the ground.

Although the physical bodies of the demon race are far more formidable than those of the human race, their divine souls are also a major weakness.

Just as Qin Ming was preparing to cast his soul-bewitching technique again to capture him, a jade tablet at the waist of that green-robed young demon cultivator snapped with a crisp sound.

Within his sea of consciousness, clarity returned in an instant.

Without a second word, the green-robed youth immediately activated a divine ability; his body seemed to turn transparent, and he instantly plunged into the sea, vanishing without a trace.

Boom! A beam of black demonic power from the Black Rock Demon Saint struck the spot where the opponent had just been, but it missed entirely.

"Bi Xi Wang, this hatred is irreconcilable under the same sky; do not let me catch you!!"

The Black Rock Demon Saint flew into a rage; disregarding the pursuit of the green-robed youth, he flashed forward and hurried to check on the black mystic turtle lying unconscious on the ground.

Qin Ming did not pursue either; it was not that he did not want to, but that Bi Xi Wang seemed to possess a somewhat special divine ability, allowing him to merge completely with his surroundings; once he fled into the great sea and put enough distance between them, even Qin Ming's divine sense could not track him.

His figure blurred for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived on Ao-Bie Island.

The Black Rock Demon Saint waved his hand, summoning that azure-blue demon core and sending it back into the body of the black mystic turtle.

In that instant.

The form of the mystic turtle on the ground shifted and transformed, completely turning into a youth with a rather honest and simple appearance.

However, since his demon core had been severely injured by Bi Xi Wang, seemingly damaging his very origin, his face was as pale as paper, looking as though his vital energy had been greatly depleted.

The Black Rock Demon Saint was also extremely anxious; after feeding his son a healing pill, a clump of earth-yellow demonic power appeared in his hand, intending to perform a cure.

"Wait."

"Fellow Daoist Black Rock, your offspring has suffered an injury to his origin; if you forcibly use demonic power to repair the wound, you will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause."

"On the contrary, if handled improperly, you will miss the best opportunity for treatment and leave behind a lifelong hidden injury, which will severely affect his future cultivation potential."

Qin Ming offered this reminder at the appropriate time; after all, he intended to conduct a transaction with the other party soon and did not wish for any major variables to arise.

Upon hearing this, the Black Rock Demon Saint immediately stopped the movement of his hand.

Judging by his tone, he did not seem to be spouting nonsense; furthermore, he appeared extremely confident.

Just now, the Black Rock Demon Saint had also realized that if this Fellow Daoist Long had not intervened to stop Bi Xi Wang, whether his offspring's life could even be saved was still up for debate.

Therefore, his view of Qin Ming had undergone a tremendous change compared to his initial impression.

Perhaps the other party had come here with no malicious intent.

Thus, he turned his head and hurriedly asked, "Then does Fellow Daoist Long have a method of salvation? If you can cure my son, you may name whatever conditions you wish."

Upon hearing this, the corners of Qin Ming's mouth curled up slightly.

This was exactly the sentence he had been waiting for.

Subsequently, Qin Ming did not reply; he paced over to the honest-looking youth on the ground, took a Li-Yun Pill from his bosom, and directly fed it to him.

Immediately after.

His five fingers made a vague grasping motion; a wisp of Four Seasons Divine Light, shimmering with a greenish-blue hue and radiating a lush, vast vitality, appeared, and he injected it into the youth's body.

Time slipped away quietly.

After more than half a day had passed, Qin Ming had consecutively consumed six wisps of the Four Seasons Divine Light.

The honest-looking youth on the ground gave a light cough; his tightly closed eyes slowly opened, and he gradually regained consciousness from his heavily injured state.

Qin Ming immediately withdrew his divine ability.

Seeing this, the Black Rock Demon Saint was instantly overjoyed!

"Tian'er, how do you feel?"

The honest-looking youth was already a fourth-rank great demon; after waking up and merely regulating his breath slightly, he was astonished to discover that his severe injuries had healed seventy or eighty percent.

Even the wounds on his meridians and demon core had been completely cured and restored to their original state.

It was estimated that he would need only a few days of recuperation before he would be full of life and energy again.

An expression of disbelief appeared on his face as he murmured in reply, "Father, my injuries are completely healed."

"Ah?!"

Even the Black Rock Demon Saint paused for a moment upon hearing these words.

He too found it hard to believe, so he immediately placed his hand on his son and conducted a thorough inspection, leaving no detail unchecked.

The expression on the Black Rock Demon Saint's face became extremely strange; subsequently, the uneasy feeling that had lingered in his heart instantly turned from worry to joy! "It truly is completely healed!"

"This is simply a miracle!"

"Fellow Daoist Long is truly a divine being! Please accept a bow from Ao!"

The honest-looking youth on the ground also climbed up and performed a deep bow toward Qin Ming, speaking somewhat haltingly, "Ao Tian, th-thank you, Fellow Daoist, for the great grace of saving my life."

Qin Ming, for his part, maintained an air of casual indifference, merely saying lightly, "Fellow Daoist Black Rock, please do not forget the words you promised me earlier."

The Black Rock Demon Saint then came to his senses; he gathered the turtle shell from the ground, then put on a warm smile, saying, "That goes without saying; from now on, Fellow Daoist Long shall be an honored guest of my Ao-Bie Island."

"With such a great debt of gratitude unpaid, calling it a transaction would be far too distant."

"Fellow Daoist Long, please enter my cave dwelling so we may talk; just tell me what items you need, and Ao will certainly present them to you."

"Please, come inside!"

Qin Ming nodded; he could see that these two old turtles were relatively upright people, likely having cultivated on Ao-Bie Island all along without much contact with the outside world.

As he passed the entrance to the cave dwelling and lair, his divine sense intentionally yet casually fell once again upon that spirit tea tree, two feet tall.

At the same time.

Within Qin Ming's mind, the image of that turtle shell surfaced; that Bi Xi Wang had abandoned even a fourth-rank demon core just to come for this black turtle shell, so it must undoubtedly be a rare treasure.

(End of Chapter)