Chapter 320: Hooked (Second update, seeking monthly votes)

"Confession brings leniency, resistance brings severity; you'd better think this through clearly."

"Are you going to be honest and obedient? Or will you continue this futile resistance?"

"You have the right to remain silent, but every word you say will become evidence in court!"

Ren Yidao wore a serious expression as he stared at the prisoner whose expression could not be seen.

He was currently interrogating the giant creature he had hooked for the first time.

A turtle.

Oh, strictly speaking, this should be a massive sea turtle with a diameter of thirty meters.

Ren Yidao couldn't quite tell the difference between a green sea turtle and a hawksbill, he just felt its shell was of quite good quality.

The brownish-tan carapace looked crystalline and smooth, and under the sunlight, it even shimmered with a pale golden glow.

Logically speaking, due to their body structure, sea turtles shouldn't be able to retract their heads into their shells like land turtles.

But this fellow before him—should one say it's worthy of being a Demon Beast? It actually broke biological stereotypes.

It enlarged its carapace, clamped the top and bottom together, covered its limbs and head, and played the part of a shrinking sea turtle.

Thump, thump.

Ren Yidao raised his hand and knocked on the shell, estimated its strength, then turned his head awkwardly to speak to Cang Lan, who was sprawled on the beach like a pile of mud:

"Is it a bit... not very bright?"

"It really seems to think that by doing this, I have no way to deal with it."

"Do you think it's stupid?"

Cang Lan shot him a sidelong glance, curled her lip, couldn't be bothered to reply, and gave a light huff through her nose.

"Hmph!"

That guy was definitely doing it on purpose just now.

He had clearly returned, yet he stood to the side daydreaming for a long time, watching her struggle with this broken turtle.

If it weren't for these damn ropes, she wouldn't have been made to look so disheveled by this Dharma Aspect Realm creature, even relying on her physical body alone!

When it all came down to it, the fact that she was this disheveled was entirely his fault!

Seeing her resentful look, Ren Yidao shrugged and spread his hands helplessly.

What a pity, no one was willing to play the straight man for him.

He would just have to play both the good cop and the bad cop himself.

Thump, thump.

Knocking on the shell again, Ren Yidao used a bit more force this time, knocking out a tiny crack.

Crack...

"My patience is also limited. I'll give you one last chance; if you don't listen, I really won't be polite anymore."

"I'll count to three. If you don't come out by then, you'll never come out again."

The sea turtle's body trembled upon hearing this, but it remained curled inside the shell, attempting to muddle through.

It trusted its defensive capabilities.

Relying on this shell, it had escaped from death countless times.

It had even withstood the attacks of a Transformation Realm Great Demon!

It believed this time would be no exception.

Then, it heard the youth's voice.

"One."

Ren Yidao's finger fell lightly, tapping on the edge of the shell.

Thump.

"Two."

This time, Ren Yidao's finger applied a bit of force, tapping on the exact same spot.

Thump!

The sea turtle's tense spirit relaxed, and it let out a long breath.

"Phew, his power isn't enough."

Although this second tap was much stronger than the previous one, if it followed this pattern, it could still withstand the third!

But just as it thought this, its entire body suddenly shuddered.

A terrifying sense of crisis made its heart and soul tremble.

This, what is this!?

In a panic, the sea turtle looked up toward the source of the lethal crisis.

It saw it!

That youth was smiling brightly, his finger curled, about to flick it against its shell.

That force... no, that's wrong!

I can't withstand it.

I absolutely cannot withstand it!

"Three..."

In the final moment before death descended, the sea turtle thrust its head out and shouted at the youth:

"My Lord!!!"

Then, it heard a soft sound.

Snap.

The finger that was originally going to flick onto its turtle shell did not pull back and still flicked out, but at the last moment, it shifted direction and flicked into the empty air beside its side.

The next instant...

Boom!!!

The air shook violently, emitting a huge explosive sound, and the invisible air wave stirred up waves several meters high on the sea surface, extending for an unknown distance.

"Gulp."

The sea turtle swallowed its saliva, feeling in a daze as if its turtle shell had already shattered into dust, and it was now lying naked and exposed before the young man.

Ren Yidao chuckled and patted the turtle shell:

"You have quite a big life."

"If it had been even a little bit later, even I wouldn't have been able to hold back."

Heard you can block an attack from a Transformation Realm Great Demon?

Impressive.

Then can you block this move?

I'll scatter your ashes!

Kid, there are gaps even between Transformation Realm experts.

Patting the trembling sea turtle's head, Ren Yidao smiled and said:

"Since you have already figured it out, you should know what to do now, right? A word of advice, don't you dare keep any little tricks."

"Yes, my lord, this little one understands."

The sea turtle nodded rapidly, not daring to have even the slightest thought in its heart.

This mysterious and terrifying Human Race individual had already made it obedient just by the power displayed a moment ago.

In the vast sea, the law of the jungle is what matters most.

With such strong power, who cares if he is Demon Race or Human Race!

Cang Lan opened her eyes and glanced over, but she did not scold the sea turtle for being a bootlicking demon traitor.

Even she could not resist it; for a small Dharma Aspect turtle demon, one shouldn't force it to sacrifice itself in vain for the Demon Race.

"Where is this?"

The primary matter is, naturally, to figure out exactly where they are right now.

"Replying to my lord, this is the Ruyi Sea of His Highness the Eight Prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace, and this little one is named Gui Yan, responsible for governing the thirty islands here."

Ren Yidao fell silent.

East Sea Dragon Palace, Eight Prince, Ruyi Sea...

Very well.

Haven't heard of a single one; they are all brand-new terms.

"How far is this place from the Eastern Wasteland Divine Continent?"

"Eastern Wasteland Divine Continent..."

Gui Yan blinked, looked at Ren Yidao timidly, and wanted to shrink its head back into its shell again.

Oh?

Ren Yidao raised an eyebrow, rubbed his fingers together, and gestured toward the turtle shell.

"What's wrong? Can't say?"

"No, no, no, it's not like that!"

Gui Yan hurriedly poked its head out and explained quickly: "Replying to my lord, this little one has actually never been there and has no idea how far away it is."

"This little one has cultivated for several hundred years and has never left the Ruyi Sea."

Ren Yidao's brow twitched, and he lowered his threatening finger.

A frog at the bottom of a well can only see the sky as large as the mouth of the well for its entire life; people laugh at its overestimation of its own capabilities and also sigh at its pathetic fate.

And this Gui Yan, although a turtle in the sea, seems free and unfettered, but in essence, it is no different from the frog at the bottom of the well.

What it understands is only its own little patch of land here, and it knows nothing about the outside world.

"Cang Lan, do you know this place? How far is this from the Eastern Wasteland?"

"..."

Cang Lan said nothing, as if she had not heard the sounds from the outside.

"Heh."

Ren Yidao chuckled, bent down to grab her ankle, and threw her directly into the water without mercy.

Splash!

After she fell into the water, Ren Yidao began to make threats, smiling and advising:

"You can choose not to answer me; that's up to you."

"However, I cannot guarantee that I won't do something even more excessive to you later."

He stood on the shore with his hands behind his back, looking at Cang Lan, who was like a drowned dog, and said softly:

"Believe me, I can heal you, and I can also keep you severely injured forever."

Healing is difficult, but breaking it again is not difficult at all.

"... Ptooey."

Cang Lan shook her head vigorously, letting her silver-gray medium-length hair sway, and spat out a mouthful of seawater.

She squinted and stared at Ren Yidao for a long time, then looked away.

"... I don't know where this is either."

Cang Lan lowered her eyes in submission and said slowly:

"The East Sea is larger than you can imagine; without a sea chart, I don't even know where I am exactly."

"My sea chart isn't detailed enough. If you want to return to the Eastern Wasteland Divine Continent, you will need a more detailed one."

Cang Lan's obedient appearance made the corners of Ren Yidao's mouth twitch, but he reacted quickly and suppressed it before it could curl up.

Has Miss Wolf Girl finally bowed her head?

Pfft.

It couldn't possibly be that simple~

This wolf girl has a fiery temper; she wouldn't bow her head in submission just because of a momentary threat.

Then why did Cang Lan soften her stance at this moment?

As the saying goes, if one does not endure small things, one will spoil great plans.

This abnormal forbearance from Cang Lan must mean she is plotting something!

"What do you mean?"

Sure enough, Ren Yidao didn't have to wait long before Cang Lan's Yanshan map quickly reached its end.

She raised her head, a mocking smile hanging on the corners of her mouth, and sneered:

"If you want to obtain a more detailed sea chart, you can find it in the Eight Prince's palace."

"But, do you dare?"

Ren Yidao blinked, then smiled.

Oh?

A provocation?

Threatening me?

Splash.

Ren Yidao didn't waste a single word; he lifted a foot and kicked Cang Lan back into the sea, letting her take her third sea bath of the day.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Humiliated three times, Cang Lan struggled in the water in grief and indignation, only to discover that this time, she had actually broken free from the rope!

Hm?

Pfft!

She propped herself up with her hands and saw that the rope which had tormented her for half the day had already returned to Ren Yidao's hand.

What does this mean?

"There are many things Ren does not dare to do, but they would never be the trivial matters you speak of."

The youth elegantly tidied up and put away the water-soaked red rope, smiling lightly at her.

"Additionally, Miss Cang Lan, some things can happen once or twice, but not three or four times."

"My patience is also limited; please do not force me to do things I do not wish to do."

Boom—

Both Demon Race present felt a bone-chilling killing intent, sweeping past like a gale.

Gui Yan retracted its head into its shell on the spot, its Consciousness Sea trembling, its heart beating violently.

Thump-thump, thump-thump!

Is, is this his true face!?

"Cough!"

As the target of this, Cang Lan's performance was even more pathetic; supporting herself on the ground with both hands, she spat out a mouthful of blood.

Killing intent.

Genuine, authentic killing intent.

But she did not collapse under this killing intent; instead, it stimulated some kind of potential. She struggled to lift her head to look at Ren Yidao and laughed neurotically:

"Haha!"

"So, this is your true face, then? Cough, cough!"

The blood did not make her look ferocious; rather, it added a flush to her weak face, radiating a wild and fatal charm.

Ren Yidao glanced at her and shook his head with a smile.

"Perhaps. Think what you will."

He withdrew his killing intent and ignored Cang Lan's bloody smile.

Miscalculated.

I originally intended to scare her, but it ended up making her enjoy it.

What a pervert~

He threw Cang Lan onto Gui Yan's carapace, then leaped up and commanded:

"Let's go, take us to the Eight Prince's Long Gong."

This had nothing to do with Cang Lan's provocation; Ren Yidao had intended to visit this Long Gong himself anyway.

Unlike what Cang Lan thought, Ren Yidao did not need a sea chart; he could find the correct direction to the Eastern Wasteland just by relying on those human signposts like Jiang Mingzhi.

But... since I'm already here.

Wouldn't it be a loss not to pay a visit to the Long Gong?

Gui Yan hesitated.

The two of them had made no effort to hide their loud plotting from it just now; it was very clear that they had no good intentions in going to the Eight Prince's place.

But, even if it knew, so what?

Could it still resist?

Cannot.

Since that is the case, then be a good boy and lead the way.

Gui Yan wisely said nothing, and with the two of them on its back, it charged into the vast sea.

"This time, I actually fished up an unexpected means of transportation."

Ren Yidao stood at the front of the turtle's back, looking back at the island that was gradually fading into the distance, his eyes narrowing.

However...

"I didn't manage to fish up what I truly wanted to catch, though."

He hadn't been wandering aimlessly on the island just now; he had been searching the forest for any possible clues.

About the third person on the island.

Ren Yidao did not believe his perception was wrong; there was definitely a third person on this island!

Yet, after searching carefully once, he still hadn't discovered any suspicious clues.

This was very strange.

Either the other party had no need for any contact with the outside world, such as being in a closed-door cultivation for years.

Or, the other party had arrived around the same time as the two of them and hadn't had the chance to leave any traces behind.

"Which one could it be?"

And just as Gui Yan was about to disappear into the horizon, a change finally occurred on the island.

A petite figure appeared out of thin air.

"Tsk!"

Yaoyue frowned as she watched the disheveled Cang Lan on the departing sea turtle, bit her lip, and resolutely leaped into the sea, chasing after them.

And after she departed, an illusory white shadow flashed through the depths of the dense forest.

The Eight-Tail Baihu Daoshen took everything in, then silently dissipated.

"Hooked~"