Chapter 270: Seven Stars Veiling the Moon Ring, the Divine Turtle Suddenly Bows Its Head

"Living Puppet Technique?" After hearing the Huai River Dragon Lord's reply, a chill ran through Fang Longye's heart.

This fellow's goal was actually exactly as he had guessed.

He had, of course, heard of the Living Puppet Technique. This secret art was less a Living Puppet Technique and more a Corpse Puppet Technique.

It involved using the corpse of a living being as a base and casting a method similar to an enlightenment spell, causing the shell to become sentient or even develop intelligence.

Imbued with the Aura of the one who cast the secret art, even if it developed new intelligence and became a new living being, it would harbor absolute obedience toward the caster from the bottom of its heart.

Before it developed intelligence, it was even more like a corpse yet not a corpse, like a person yet not a person, neither living nor dead, existing much like a living puppet.

Most cultivators used such secret arts to cultivate Living Puppet Dao Soldiers for battle.

This was quite normal.

After all, the remains of a Golden Immortal at perfection, even if left alone, would be transformed by the heavens and earth into mountains, rivers, and various heavenly treasures.

Using them to make Living Puppet Dao Soldiers could hardly be called a waste.

But the key was the look in the Huai River Dragon Lord's eyes when he gazed at Zilan Fairy's remains; the more Fang Longye scrutinized it, the more he felt a sense of infatuation in that gaze, like necrophilia.

Combined with his previous stuttering manner, his intentions in asking for Zilan Fairy's remains were self-evident.

However, truth be told, Fang Longye could not say he didn't understand.

Don't look at how the Dragon Clan associates with immortals and gods, prides itself on being a member of the righteous path, looks down on this and that, and especially sneers at the Demon Clan.

In reality, from the perspective of the Human Race, the Dragon Clan has never been a kind sort.

Even an orthodox Dragon King with a divine office is not necessarily all that upright.

In daily life.

When happy, they eat a few young boys and girls; when unhappy, they unleash a flood.

These are common occurrences.

Especially that trait of being indiscriminate in matters of the flesh, which is particularly prominent.

What of the Huai River Dragon Lord? What of a disciple of the Chan Sect? What must be, will be. Lust is human nature; suppressing it blindly is truly inadvisable.

Furthermore, the fact that the Dragon Clan has been able to endure until today must be credited to this very nature.

Back in the day, there were many powerful existences in the world, among whom were many great beings who founded races and vied for hegemony in the Honghuang.

But what about now?

Of the victors in the struggle of the ten thousand races, the Qilin are desolate, the Phoenix Clan is lonely, and only the Dragon Clan dominates the four seas of the Honghuang, occupies all the waters under heaven, and remains strong through the ages.

No matter how the stage of heaven and earth changes or what plays are performed, they have never been absent.

In this, the trait inherited from the Ancestral Dragon—"sowing seeds across the world, indiscriminate in appetite"—has contributed significantly.

This trait is immersed in the Bloodline of the Dragon Clan, generation after generation, never fading. Therefore, for the Dragon Clan, they have already played out all sorts of variations in this regard.

They play day and night, changing partners, changing styles, tireless and finding joy in it.

Fang Longye is himself of the Dragon Clan, so naturally, he is not surprised by the character of his own kind.

It is just that seeing the Huai River Dragon Lord's current state, he still couldn't help but complain in his heart that this fellow had a truly good appetite~ He shook his head, stopped caring about what the Huai River Dragon Lord was doing, and casually tossed the exchanged Falling Phoenix Stone into the Prison Phoenix Cage.

He looked deeply at the Huai River Dragon Lord and said pointedly, "Just make sure you've thought it through yourself."

As the saying goes, a gentleman can be killed but not humiliated.

This Zilan Fairy, one way or another, counts as a member carrying the legacy of the Shangqing lineage.

Such desecration—it just depends on whether she is registered with the Shangqing lineage.

If she is registered~ "Anyway, one is a disciple of the Yuqing Lineage, and the other is a member of the Shangqing Lineage; they were enemies to begin with."

As for whether it would provoke the Shangqing lineage to vent their anger on him? Fang Longye didn't care at all.

Although he is on good terms with the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, he himself is about to become the brother-in-law of Yang Jian. The Shangqing lineage side likely already views him as a person of the Yuqing Lineage.

Does he still care about this bit of resentment? Casting aside these distracting thoughts, Fang Longye put away the Prison Phoenix Cage and waved his hand at the Huai River Dragon Lord to signal his departure.

Afterward, he rode his escape light and headed straight for the mouth of the Huai River.

There was still a divine turtle left to deal with!...

Near the mouth of the Huai River.

"Good fellow! I remember that this old turtle should be in a shrunken state right now! To think it still has such a massive size!"

Space rippled, layer upon layer, like a thick fog blocking everything.

Fang Longye, having returned from the sea, had already reunited with the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and his nephew. At this moment, looking at the behemoth right before his eyes through the layers of folded space, he couldn't help but exclaim.

Although he had already understood how massive the true form of this divine turtle was beforehand.

But seeing it with his own eyes now, he still couldn't help but exclaim repeatedly.

Before this, Fang Longye had been quite proud of his own true form, which stretched for over a thousand miles.

This true form, obtained through his painstaking cultivation, was absolutely in a class of its own in every aspect compared to the Dragon Clan of the same realm.

But now, seeing the true form of this divine turtle with his own eyes, Fang Longye only felt that his own true form was like a small witch meeting a great witch, dwarfed by a wide margin.

He saw it lying near the mouth of the Huai River, fast asleep.

At a glance, one would think it was a giant mountain range standing in the Huai River. Only by looking closely could one glimpse the full picture.

At the top of the turtle's head grew two horns branching in four directions like deer antlers, and there was a line of whiskers on the lower jaw, resembling lion manes and dragon whiskers. The entire head looked no different from that of the Dragon Clan.

The tail behind the turtle's body was long, covered in downy hair, with a fluffy tip, looking somewhat like a cow's tail.

Dragon head, turtle body, Qilin tail—it was truly the body of an ancient giant turtle.

There was just one thing: it was too big! So big it was simply inconceivable; just looking at it with the naked eye gave one a sense of oppression.

The massive head alone was not much smaller than Fang Longye's Cangmang Mountain. The horns upon it pierced straight into the clouds.

The neck alone was over ten thousand miles long, covered in scales and armor, with cold light hidden within. Compared to this neck, Fang Longye's true form was like the difference between an earthworm and a python.

Behind the neck was the turtle shell, which looked like a divine mountain, and its four legs were like pillars supporting the sky, exceptionally thick and sturdy.

The sound of its snoring alone was like divine thunder, shaking the world for ten thousand miles and echoing through the clouds.

Only here, in the true Huai River, could such a colossal creature be contained. If this were the miniature version in the mundane world, I fear it could not even accommodate one of its Ao feet.

Yurong Wang also said with a look of shock: "Brother Fang is quite right. The ancient Giant Ao Clan is truly worthy of its reputation regarding the size of their true forms!"

According to the information provided by the Huai River Dragon Lord, this Giant Ao originally wandered in the deep sea, but somehow, it arrived at this near-shore location.

It then happened to encounter the fall of the Water Mother, and seeing a crowd of immortals and demons contending for the Water Mansion she left behind, it simply joined in the fray.

However, its true form is too massive.

Although the Huai River is one of the Four Waterways, no matter how large the Giant Ao Clan of the Golden Immortal Realm may be, it is not so small that it cannot accommodate even one of them.

But this Giant Ao was terrified that if it fought others while maintaining its true form, it would stir up too great a commotion and provoke the experts cultivating in seclusion within the Huai River to take action and suppress it.

Therefore, it had to employ 'Size Manipulation' to shrink its form, only then being able to move with ease within this Huai River.

So as not to be restricted and constrained.

It can be said that if it were allowed to return to the deep sea and display its true Ao body size.

I fear it would be more than a thousand or even ten thousand times larger than what they see now.

"Haha! That is indeed the case. However, there are gains and there are losses~" Water Ape Great Sage reined in the shock rising in his heart, and while agreeing, he reminded, "You and I may marvel, but there is no need to be overly envious."

Fang Longye nodded in agreement; what Water Ape Great Sage said was not without reason.

A large true form does indeed represent an advantage. Even in many instances, this advantage is overwhelming.

Previously, Fang Longye also held such a view, but looking at it now, it was ultimately somewhat biased.

At the very least, for this Giant Ao, the advantage is indeed obvious, but its weaknesses are also fully exposed.

To say nothing else, the three of them have already reached the side of this Giant Ao, although separated by layers of spatial barriers, which obscured their Aura and had Heavenly Secrets masked.

But if it were someone else, they should have been greatly alarmed and awakened by now. How could they be allowed to continue chatting here so easily? As it turns out, it is still sleeping soundly.

Fang Longye could even see a crystal-clear, glowing precious orb beside it, suspended in the air. It flickered incessantly, having turned a deep crimson color, looking a bit ghastly.

It was clearly the object used by Zilan Fairy and Jin Zhong Dasheng to contact and warn it. This orb continuously rippled, sending waves into its sea of consciousness.

As a result, faced with such a reminder, it remained completely deaf to it and never awakened at all.

This is what is meant by having gains and losses.

There are no perfect creations in this world. Although the Giant Ao Clan has an incomparable true form, their primordial spirit is extremely weak.

Thus, this has caused the Giant Ao Clan to be extremely dull and not at all sensitive to Heavenly Secrets.

Unlike their close relatives—the Mysterious Turtle Race, who are born adept at the deduction of Heavenly Secrets.

Moreover, because the primordial spirit is weak relative to the physical body, even upon reaching the perfection of the Golden Immortal Realm, where essence, Qi, and spirit are integrated into one, they still cannot shake off the habit of being prone to sleep.

Besides this, there are some other shortcomings, large or small, which basically all stem from this Bloodline trait.

It can be said that the ancient predecessors of the Giant Ao Clan fell precisely because of this.

However, these shortcomings belong to the innate traits of the race. From the very beginning, they are immersed in the Bloodline and are very difficult to overcome later.

Even if later generations know the lessons of their predecessors, it is still very difficult to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Therefore, there was no need for Fang Longye to take action; after the few of them finished joking, Yurong Wang flicked his hand and took out a silver, shimmering ring.

He said with a smile: "For you and me, dealing with this Giant Ao is much simpler than for that Jin Zhong Dasheng!"

……

As soon as this silver ring was taken out, an inexplicable Aura permeated the surroundings, causing Fang Longye to have a feeling in his heart.

He could not help but cast his gaze over.

This is?

This silver ring gave him an inexplicably familiar sense of déjà vu. Thinking of Yurong Wang's background, Fang Longye thought to himself: "Tightening Hoop?"

Sensing his gaze.

Yurong Wang smiled: "Brother Fang, I observe that your Daoist temple is strange and magnificent, yet it lacks a mountain-guarding divine beast. Today, I shall borrow flowers to offer to the Buddha and gift you an excellent mountain-guarding divine beast!"

Having said that, he immediately presented the silver ring to Fang Longye, signaling him to take it.

Fang Longye curiously reached out to take it.

He saw that this silver ring was covered with various incantations and true words, engraved with gold to outline patterns, evolving a scene of seven stars chasing the moon.

"Seven Stars Covering Moon Ring~"

As his Dharma power entered and circulated, the name and information of this silver ring fell into Fang Longye's heart.

The voice of Yurong Wang came to his ears again: "This Seven Stars Covering Moon Ring is a treasure for subduing demons and suppressing monsters, crafted by my master's elders based on the signature Spirit Treasure and Curse of that Golden Hoop Immortal."

"Its ability to capture people and lock onto enemies is absolutely no less than the Spirit Treasure in the hands of that former Golden Hoop Immortal, and perhaps even superior~"

Fang Longye nodded; he felt it for a moment.

This Seven Stars Covering Moon Ring was even more overbearing than the legendary Tightening, Prohibiting, and Golden hoops.

It pointed directly at the True Spirit and was quite sinister.

Once caught by this Seven Stars Covering Moon Ring, one would regard the owner of the ring as their own parent and only true god, serving them devoutly, allowing themselves to be beaten or killed.

Not a shred of disrespect would arise.

Even as time passed, even if this Seven Stars Covering Moon Ring were removed, the True Spirit that had been blinded and altered would not regress in the slightest.

They would still devoutly act as a slave, the kind that could not be driven away.

Hmm, the familiar feeling surged into his heart again.

Isn't this the Buddhist supernatural power of conversion!

It is merely a treasure version of conversion.

Fang Longye could not help but look at Yurong Wang. Such a treasure, and you are giving it to me? Seeming to sense the inquiry in his gaze, Yurong Wang said sincerely: "Brother Fang first eliminated a Calamity for my uncle, and now you are helping Yuan with the enemy. It is just a Seven Stars Covering Moon Ring, please do not decline, Brother Fang~"

Fang Longye thought about it, and that was true~ At worst, he would just ask for fewer treasures later in the Shuimu Yifu.

"Then many thanks for your generosity, Brother Yuan!"

Happily indicating his acceptance, Fang Longye immediately refined the Seven Stars Covering Moon Ring and struck it toward the divine Ao still sleeping soundly outside the spatial barrier.

No surprises there.

The silver ring immediately submerged into the body of this Divine Turtle at the perfection of the Golden Immortal realm, firmly locking his True Spirit.

Boom—

As the Seven Stars Covering Moon Ring activated, the Divine Turtle immediately woke up, stirring up a thousand layers of snowy waves with a deafening roar.

One could see that he bore a turtle shell like an ancient divine mountain, his four limbs covered in golden scales, thick and powerful, propping him up as if supporting the heavens.

He raised his head toward the sky and let out a long hiss.

It caused the void to tremble and the heavens and earth to lose their color.

A moment later—

This unimaginably massive Divine Turtle shook his body and transformed into a spirited Great Han, his forehead wrapped in a circle of silver threads that looked as if they had grown there naturally, seamless and tight.

The moment this Great Han saw Fang Longye reveal his figure, he immediately performed three kowtows and nine prostrations.

"Shentuo pays respects to Master!"

"Enough! Get up!"

Fang Longye waved his hand, and the Great Han, transformed from the Divine Turtle, rose in response.

Every movement was extremely respectful.

Seeing him like this, Fang Longye recalled how much he had valued the Divine Turtle at first and couldn't help but grumble in his heart: "And here I thought you would be the hardest to deal with! Who would have thought you were just a silver-plated pewter spearhead!"

He had completely forgotten—

If not for the background of the Macaque King, where would the Seven Stars Covering Moon Ring have come from, allowing him to so easily subdue such a behemoth.

……

Before the Shuimu Yifu.

Fang Longye and his party stood still.

The Macaque King took the lead and brought out a Talisman Order; it was pitch black all over, showing nothing special.

He dripped a drop of his essence blood onto the Talisman Order. Immediately, the Talisman Order began to hum.

Subsequently, it broke free from his hand and submerged into the grand formation surrounding the Water Mansion.

Immediately after—

The dark, silent water surface that surrounded the Water Mansion began to churn continuously.

It was as if something underneath was about to break through the water.

"Boom!"

After a thunderous roar.

Ten thousand rays of auspicious light and a thousand wisps of propitious energy appeared, and the mysterious sounds of immortal music and jade chimes resonated all around.

A nine-zhang-wide, seven-colored sandy path actually extended all the way out from the dark water.

It isolated the dark divine water that had been refined using five types of Innate True Water.

The entire scene looked as if the water surface had been split in two, and this sandy path wound its way directly to the Immortal Island in the center.

(End of chapter)