Chapter 10: The Giant Tortoise and the Demon Core

“Temporary Base No. 22 has detected a level 100+ boss!”

A figure flew across the horizon, shouting loudly, “Anyone interested can head over!”

Su Yu immediately perked up. He raised his hand, swiftly slashing down a mud eel spirit, then soared into the sky, heading toward the direction of Temporary Base No. 22.

Many had seen the news, and halfway there, Su Yu noticed a massive crowd flying in the same direction. Within ten minutes, he and another person appeared above a swamp, spotting a colossal swamp giant turtle coiled in the midst of a vast water body, resembling a small island.

Its carapace alone measured over a hundred meters in diameter, burdened with heaps of mud and vegetation, with snakes and insects crawling within.

As they arrived, they overheard someone loudly commanding, “No one is allowed to engage! Those not strong enough, retreat to at least five miles away, or bear the consequences!”

Su Yu smacked his lips and fixed his gaze on the giant turtle. Its attributes immediately materialized before him:

Blackwater Giant Turtle (Terrifying): Leader, Level 132, Aquatic, Turtle species.

Attributes: Health 2.07 million, Demonic Power 220,000, Attack 26,000, Speed 200 km/h, Demonic Arts: Water Elemental Techniques, Devour, Water Suppression, Gui Water Divine Thunder, Gui Water Divine Thunder Net, Thousand Layers Gui Water Kun Yuan Divine Seal.

This creature was even more formidable than the black dragon he had encountered before. It ranked among the top-tier bosses in the Poison Mist Swamp, second only to a few powerful demon kings.

Clearly, this giant was not part of the demon stronghold’s ranks but a wild boss. However, if the demon stronghold’s lord summoned it, many might join the battle, so it was imperative to clear it in advance.

Looking back, Su Yu saw that around a thousand people had gathered, yet no one made a move.

Facing such a powerful boss required careful preparation, not a chaotic rush. They needed several top experts to draw its attention upfront, and a grand formation to restrict its movements and defend against its devastating attacks; otherwise, the damage from its ultimate moves would be catastrophic.

Fortunately, as a turtle species, this boss was generally lazy and tended to lie in wait, unlike other fierce monsters who would attack at the sight of so many enemies.

After about ten more minutes, a fifty-meter-long, fifth-rank spirit-winged flying vessel arrived from the main base. Several hundred guild elites jumped down, led by over a hundred veteran flag bearers spreading out swiftly under their leader’s command to set up formations.

They planted 108 Heavenly Blaze Flags, recognizable by their banner colors.

With these, they formed the Heavenly Blaze Formation, turning the swamp into a fiery hellscape.

A guild high-ranking member jumped off the flying vessel and announced loudly over the channel: “Attention all! Once the Heavenly Blaze Flag Formation is set, await my order to attack. Everyone may engage this boss. Guild loot will not be claimed but distributed randomly. Who gets what depends on luck.”

“Safety first! If anyone dies unexpectedly, guild compensation will be half only. Decide carefully.”

After speaking, the high-ranking members whispered briefly, then a group of experts soared towards the giant turtle. One summoned a small seal, exhaled a breath of refined energy onto it. The seal ascended, expanding swiftly in the wind until it became a massive, yellow-glowing stamp the size of a three-story villa, which crashed down heavily.

“Boom!”

The giant turtle reacted, raising its head to rise, but before it could fully get up, the massive seal slammed down with terrifying power, shattering the thick layers of mud and vegetation on its back.

The violent shockwave blasted clean the turtle’s back, revealing its blackened shell.

“Roar!”

Struck hard, the giant turtle stood upright, head held high, and howled. Infinite blue light converged, condensing hundreds of Gui Water Divine Thunders that shot into the sky.

A guild senior stepped forward, tossing a small azure flag that swiftly expanded into a spherical light shield in front of them. Countless Gui Water Divine Thunders exploded against it, engulfing them in thunderous light.

Before the thunder dissipated, the giant turtle slammed its limbs down with a muffled “bang,” shattering the exploding Gui Water Essence with an invisible force, exposing the distorted and sinking spherical shield.

Furious bombardment continued, the light sphere twisted violently but held firm.

At that moment, Su Yu received a group message from a guild leader:

“Recruiting 1080 people to provide mana to the Heavenly Blaze Flags. Each participant earns 5 guild contribution points. Interested parties, please register at the respective flags on a first-come, first-served basis.”

No sooner had the message been sent than numerous guild members descended, gathering around the Heavenly Blaze Flags.

Soon, a resonant voice rang out:

“Heavenly Blaze Flag Formation, activate!”

At the command, each of the 108 flags, surrounded by ten guild elites, was infused with mana. The flags ignited into blazing banners, pillars of fire shooting skyward, rapidly spreading to form a towering fire tornado over a thousand meters high.

The tornado connected and intertwined, starting as strands of fire that wove into pillars, then a fiery mesh, expanding into a blazing curtain, enveloping a three-kilometer radius.

From afar, it looked like an inverted flaming bowl three kilometers wide.

“Enter the formation!”

The remaining guild members activated their treasures and entered the fiery net. Su Yu followed suit, summoning his Black Iron Bell and plunging inside.

Within, it had transformed into a furnace of torment; the terrifying heat incinerated everything within the three-kilometer range.

Water evaporated, mud dried, plants burned, and the insects and spirits turned to ash. Only the giant turtle remained, scorched by the flames, wildly charging within the formation, but each time it neared the edge, numerous guild experts intercepted it.

Within this inferno, the giant turtle’s powers were completely suppressed.

Its mastery over water elemental arts, Gui Water Divine Thunder, and forbidden spells—all water-based—could not be activated inside the Heavenly Blaze Formation.

The thousands of guild members crowded inside, unleashing flying sword treasures to relentlessly bombard the giant turtle. Su Yu joined in, brandishing his Ice Soul Sword.

Countless sword lights struck the giant turtle, sparks flying, yet damage barely reached a few dozen points per hit, sometimes even single digits—less than the Heavenly Blaze Flags themselves inflicted.

Still, the sheer number of attacks accumulated to tens of thousands in damage per volley.

After confirming some damage and loot rights, Su Yu relaxed, keeping his distance and casually slicing across the turtle’s back.

His damage was low, merely for show.

Now, all that remained was to wait for the giant turtle's demise and then hope for good fortune.

Taking a moment, Su Yu checked his status panel: his luck today was 22.

“Not bad, above average.”

The four innate attributes were fixed, but luck fluctuated daily. A poor day might be followed by a fortunate one.

Still, 22 was not especially high, so the chance of good loot was slim.

Su Yu didn’t expect much—thousands sharing loot made rare drops improbable, but if he got lucky, it would be a windfall.

“Boom!”

The light shield suddenly swelled, forming a massive turtle head. The immense force was evenly distributed among the 108 Heavenly Blaze Flags, leaving them unscathed.

Su Yu stayed far away, watching the giant turtle struggle in the siege of thousands.

Within just four or five minutes, the level 132 giant turtle with over two million health and formidable defense was being forcibly slain.

No accidents occurred, no casualties.

In fact, casualties were impossible—the Heavenly Blaze Flags were fully deployed, and thousands of veterans were attacking a lone boss. Any mishaps would severely question the organizers’ competence.

At the pivotal moment, a villa-sized stamp descended from the sky, cracking the giant turtle’s back shell. The beast let out a mournful cry and collapsed heavily.

Countless streams of light from its massive corpse converged into a glowing orb, which exploded, dividing into twelve fragments that flew in all directions toward numerous lucky individuals.

Su Yu watched as one orb flew directly at him. Amid the envious gazes of others, it landed in his hands.

“Well, well, I really got lucky!”

He happily opened the loot orb, revealing a head-sized round sphere, warm and smooth to the touch.

Without needing to check its stats, Su Yu knew immediately what it was.

“A demon pill!”

Giant Turtle Demon Pill (Spiritual Item): The essence of the giant turtle’s cultivation, possessing miraculous effects.

This item could be used to concoct high-grade pills that permanently increase attributes or health and mana limits, refine spirit beasts and pets to enhance their power, forge magical treasures, or be consumed directly to boost attributes and mana limits.

Direct consumption required refining the residual demon consciousness inside, which carried considerable risks.

Since alchemy and forging required many auxiliary materials, which Su Yu lacked, he decided to sell it to the guild for five gold coins.

With the boss defeated, everyone resumed their tasks.

He returned to his usual spot to continue leveling up.

---

Patrolling near various strongholds, Su Yu specialized in clearing low-level monsters. He was well aware of his limits, focusing only on monsters below level fifty. For enemies above level fifty or elites over level forty, he didn’t even try and directly called nearby guild experts for backup.

The diverse monsters greatly broadened his horizons and enriched his combat experience, advancing his swordsmanship by leaps and bounds.

After the guild amassed over 500,000 members and swept through the Poison Mist Swamp, half a month later, Su Yu’s swordsmanship had greatly improved.

He could now drag a flying sword, leaving a ten-meter-long sword rainbow, weaving across the water surface, easily encircling a dozen monsters. The sword qi sliced through continuously, spraying blood everywhere.

Compared to his naivety half a month ago, his swordsmanship was now highly skilled. The flying sword darted back and forth, and whenever a monster leapt out to counterattack, the Ice Soul Sword would appear at a tricky angle, circling the foe and slicing it multiple times, dealing five-stage damage simultaneously.

His Qi Refinement Heart Method and basic sword manual remained unchanged—twenty layers of the basic Qi Refinement Technique and thirty layers of the Green Mountain Sword Scripture—but he could now effortlessly defeat groups of level 30-40 monsters without harm, even with minimal mana consumption.

Over more than half a month, he accumulated 4.78 million cultivation points, adding to the previous 6.92 million. His Dao accumulation reached 6 points, gained from occasional small bosses during this time, plus the original remaining 149 points.

These cultivation points and Dao were sufficient to upgrade the basic Qi Refinement Heart Method to thirty layers, though he hadn’t done so yet.

After all, the twenty-layer Qi Refinement Heart Method gave him experience bonuses against level 30-40 monsters; leveling up might reduce that advantage.

One day, more than half a month later, he suddenly received a guild assembly order—everyone was to gather at Combat Base No. 3.

No explanation was needed. From the regional channel, Su Yu knew the final assault had begun.

The guild had spent over half a month barely clearing seventy to eighty percent of the monsters and wild bosses in the Poison Mist Swamp. Now, with Base No. 3 established near the Poison Dragon Demon Stronghold, the next step was to assemble forces for the final strike.

“My swordsmanship should be pretty good now. Maybe I can perform well this time.”

Su Yu pondered, stroking his chin.

“Rising in guild status has solid benefits. At this stage, I can’t yet join a sect, so it’s crucial to stand out within the guild. Only with sufficient status can I leverage the guild’s power to gain resources.”

Though personal strength was fundamental in this realm, the power of a group was not to be underestimated.

The Qianyu Guild’s influence spanned a radius of tens of thousands of kilometers, with tens of thousands of official members, hundreds of thousands of affiliates, and over a million dependents. The resources available through such a collective were beyond ordinary comprehension, including many that enhanced personal power.

For example: advanced flying sword treasures, rare books, high-grade pills, and heavenly materials that could boost innate attributes.

With high guild status, he could exchange guild contributions for these treasures.

Especially items that enhanced innate attributes and spirit pills—these were vital for him.

His ultimate goal remained to enter an immortal sect; otherwise, his achievements would be limited.

Because in this realm, almost all advanced Qi Refinement Heart Methods, sword manuals, thunder arts, forbidden spells, and flying sword treasures were housed within the sects.

Outsiders like him could only access the best basic methods—advanced Qi Refinement Heart Methods, basic five-element thunder arts—while exquisite or higher-level methods and forbidden spells were nearly impossible to find.

The disparity was stark.

For instance, the Purple Origin Qi Refinement Technique he practiced was an intermediate Qi Refinement Heart Method. Each layer increased health by 20, mana by 40, and spell power by 20.

In contrast, an exquisite-level Qi Refinement Heart Method would grant +40 health, +80 mana, +40 spell power per layer—almost double.

At the supreme level, each layer would increase health by 200, mana by 400, and spell power by 200—an enormous gap.

At the 100-layer limit, intermediate methods granted +2,000 health, +4,000 mana, +2,000 spell power; supreme methods, +20,000 health, +40,000 mana, +20,000 spell power.

How could one compare when both were level 100, but cultivation differed so vastly?

With a low-level method, surviving the celestial tribulation was a near-death ordeal; with top-tier methods, it became manageable.

That was the difference.

Therefore, Su Yu was determined to find a way to join a sect. He did not expect to obtain supreme-level methods immediately; even exquisite or profound-level methods would be a huge improvement over his current Purple Origin Qi Refinement Technique.

Of course, that was not to say it was impossible to acquire top-tier methods outside sects. Indeed, some senior wandering immortals left behind advanced techniques, but such finds were rare and fortuitous compared to the more straightforward path of joining a sect.

His key objective was clear: joining a sect was the gateway to these treasures.