Chapter 896 - 396: 200th Birthday, Identity Exposed, Tier 5 Reincarnation Wheel

The Old Turtle was actually dead! Li Chang’an was truly taken aback.

This Old Turtle had lived for over five thousand years and survived countless crises. His life-preservation skills far surpassed those of many Nascent Souls and Tier Four Demon Monarchs. His temperament was much like that of Li Chang’an and Lin Xuanyan; he absolutely would not do anything he wasn’t certain of.

After the Red-eyed Flood Dragon died, he rarely left the Black Tortoise Sect, spending his days entirely under the protection of the Multiple Tier Four Middle Grade Array.

Logically speaking, unless the Black Tortoise Sect was breached, it was impossible for the Old Turtle to die.

However, Li Chang’an had not received any news of the Black Tortoise Sect falling. If something happened to a Ten Thousand Years Sect like theirs, the news could not possibly be concealed; it would swiftly spread throughout the entire Cultivation Immortality Realm.

"Elder Turtle, what happened?" Li Chang’an asked, the figure of Holy Fire True Monarch flashing across his mind.

The Black Tortoise Sect originally had two True Monarchs and two Tier Four Demon Monarchs. However, with Black Tortoise True Monarch and the Purple Gold Red-eyed Flood Dragon consecutively meeting with mishaps, and now the Old Turtle facing a similar fate, only Holy Fire remained alive. This matter was most likely related to him.

Sure enough, the Old Turtle sighed. "I trusted that brat Holy Fire too much. To think he would collude with the Demonic Path."

"It really is Holy Fire True Monarch. I never expected that you would also die by his schemes, Senior."

"What nonsense are you spouting, kid? I’m not dead yet!"

"Oh?" Li Chang’an was surprised once again. His Soul had already left his body; how could he not be considered dead? Did this Old Turtle possess some kind of innate talent that allowed his Soul to detach from his body?

The Old Turtle explained, "I am remarkably gifted with twin Souls from birth—one is a turtle Soul, and the other is a snake Soul. As long as one Soul remains inside my body, the other can leave and roam freely."

"It’s actually that bizarre?" Li Chang’an had read countless Ancient Texts and could be considered highly knowledgeable, but this was the first time he had ever heard of such a talent.

"Senior, with your Soul outside your body, don’t you feel the summon of the Reincarnation Path?"

"Of course I do, but I can resist it! If I couldn’t even resist the Reincarnation Path, then what use would this talent be?" As he spoke, the Old Turtle revealed a sense of pride.

Li Chang’an asked him, "Senior, since you’re not dead yet, why are you meeting me in your Soul form? Could it be that you are heavily injured, making it inconvenient to show yourself, and are currently hiding somewhere for Healing?"

Hearing this, the pride on the Old Turtle’s face instantly vanished, replaced by a depressed look. "Don’t bring it up. My physical body couldn’t escape!" He immediately recounted the details of the incident to Li Chang’an.

More than ten days ago, Holy Fire True Monarch suddenly sought him out, claiming to have obtained a Treasure that could alter the course of the Battle of Righteous and Evil.

Upon hearing of such a Treasure, the Old Turtle’s interest was immediately piqued. Although he adhered to the principle of self-preservation and did not want to get involved in this Battle of Righteous and Evil, he also didn’t wish to see the Righteous Dao defeated. If the Righteous Dao fell and the Black Tortoise Sect was ruled by the Demon Sect, his life likely wouldn’t be very pleasant.

"I followed Holy Fire to the Black Tortoise Back Mountain, originally intending to see the Treasure he mentioned. I never expected him to have laid heavy traps there!" Speaking of this, a look of indignation surfaced on the Old Turtle’s face.

Originally, the Black Tortoise Sect’s Tier Four Array was personally controlled by Black Tortoise True Monarch. After Black Tortoise True Monarch died, control over the Tier Four Array fell into the Old Turtle’s hands.

However, the Old Turtle did not want to bother with acting as a Steward, and since Holy Fire True Monarch was willing to take the initiative and shoulder the responsibility, he handed control of the Grand Array over to him.

However, these Arrays that were supposed to protect him instead became one of the traps used against him! Furthermore, lurking in the shadows near the trap, a Demonic Tier Four Demon Monarch lay in wait, poised to strike.

Holy Fire True Monarch and that Demonic Path Demonic Monarch joined forces, catching the Old Turtle completely off guard. Had it been an ordinary Nascent Soul or Demon Monarch, they most likely would have perished on the spot!

But the Old Turtle’s life-preservation skills were exceptional. He forcefully withstood Holy Fire True Monarch’s close-quarters sneak attack and the numerous follow-up measures. He sighed, "Although I managed to keep my life, my physical body has been suppressed by Holy Fire, making it impossible for me to leave the Black Tortoise Sect. I was forced to use this talent of separating my Soul from my body."

"I see." Li Chang’an basically understood everything. He asked, "Elder Turtle, does Holy Fire True Monarch know about this talent of yours?"

"Naturally, he doesn’t!" The Old Turtle shook his head.

Holy Fire True Monarch and that Demonic Tier Four Demon Monarch still believed he was trapped inside the Black Tortoise Sect and were currently trying to find a way to completely kill his main body. By shrinking into his turtle shell and refusing to come out, he could temporarily hold them off. However, this couldn’t go on forever. He was far too passive. Sooner or later, his Defense would be breached.

In other words, he wasn’t completely dead yet, but he wasn’t far from it, either. He was in the process of dying! Still, there was a chance to save him. If no one came to his rescue, he would soon share the same fate as Black Tortoise True Monarch and the Purple Gold Red-eyed Flood Dragon.

At the mention of that man and that dragon, the Old Turtle felt both furious and sorrowful. "Those two both died because they trusted Holy Fire."

After Holy Fire True Monarch suppressed him, he no longer hid anything. Revealing his true colors, he recounted how he had entrapped and killed Black Tortoise True Monarch and the Red-eyed Flood Dragon.

Years ago, in the Northern Domain of Yuan Country, Holy Fire True Monarch and Black Tortoise True Monarch had been patrolling the borders together, searching for Demonic strongholds.

At Holy Fire’s suggestion, the two of them crossed the border into Yan Country, planning to slay some Demonic Cultivators near the boundary.

Holy Fire continuously guided him, eventually luring Black Tortoise True Monarch directly above that Blood Pool.

While Black Tortoise True Monarch was carefully observing the Blood Pool, Holy Fire suddenly attacked. He launched a close-quarters sneak attack, instantly inflicting heavy injuries upon Black Tortoise True Monarch.

After that, he joined forces with over ten Tier Four Netherworld Blood Corpses and slaughtered the heavily injured Black Tortoise True Monarch.

Because he had made prior arrangements within the Blood Pool, Black Tortoise True Monarch’s Nascent Soul failed to escape and was obliterated on the spot.

"Given Black Tortoise’s strength, if he had truly encountered over ten Netherworld Blood Corpses out of nowhere, he could have escaped even if he couldn’t defeat them. How could it be that not even his Nascent Soul managed to flee?"