Turtle Tempered by Ice and Fire

While Chu Liang was speaking with Steward Cui, an elderly man entered the courtyard, walking slowly. He wore a hemp robe, his back severely hunched, his beard mottled with white, and his hair so sparse it was almost gone. He looked ancient, his pace agonizingly slow—so slow it made one anxious—yet his steps were steady and powerful, not the shuffling gait of the frail elderly.

A figure such as this, resembling a beggar, should never have appeared in the rear garden of the Li family estate. No one knew how he had managed to step inside, inch by inch. Anyone else in the manor would have found his presence odd, but in the courtyard, there was only one fish.

Little Fish Liu watched the strange old man, blinked her eyes, and asked, "Bald old grandpa, are you here to bring me something to eat?"

"Hehehe..." The old man let out a raspy laugh, then raised his head. "Yes, little girl, I cannot walk any further. Would you come help me?"

Little Fish Liu, suspecting nothing, walked over to support the old man's elbow. Unexpectedly, he reached out with his other hand and seized her arm, his smile turning sinister. "I've finally caught you."

"Hmm?" Little Fish Liu looked at him in confusion, trying to help him stand, but he didn't budge. She asked, "Bald old grandpa, what are you doing?"

"Little girl, do you know who I am?"

The old man grinned, and his aged face suddenly swelled and elongated, his neck protruding more than a foot, transforming into an ugly, smooth head with razor-sharp fangs.

It was the head of a turtle!

Little Fish Liu was startled, then recognized him. "You're that villainous turtle demon!"

"Hehehe..." The old turtle cackled. "You two little carp devoured all the precious treasures I spent years cultivating. You think you can just run away? If I eat you, my Amber Zhu Ti and Flying Fish Essence won't be lost..."

As he spoke, he opened his maw wide, preparing to swallow Little Fish Liu whole!

"Ah..." Little Fish Liu screamed. Though she carried the Flying Fish Essence, she was firmly grabbed and unable to break free.

At that critical moment, a voice rang out, "Stop!"

A streak of green light flew in, wrapping Little Fish Liu up completely and turning her into a large dumpling. It was the second time the girl had been enveloped by the green leaf artifact, but this time it saved her life.

Bang—

Creak, creak—

The old turtle bit down on the green leaf artifact, its teeth grinding against it with a piercing clang. After gnawing for some time, it found the artifact impervious and, frustrated, lifted its turtle head, glaring angrily at the newcomer.

It was Chu Liang, who had rushed back upon sensing the anger within the Red Name Sword.

The monster before him was the source of the sword’s fury—this old turtle, steeped in resentment and burdened with heavy sins.

"You boy... Though you are a cultivator, this girl is a demon as well. Matters between demons are not yours to meddle in," the old turtle hissed.

"She is but an innocent little fish, and this is the land of humans. If you wish to commit violence here, I cannot permit it," Chu Liang replied firmly.

"Innocent?" The old turtle’s voice suddenly became shrill. "You call her innocent?"

---

"Do you know how many years I spent nurturing the Amber Zhu Ti beneath the waters of Qin Nan River? How much blood of living creatures I poured onto it to hasten its maturity?"

"I intended to eat the larger one when its medicinal properties reached five hundred years, then continue cultivating the smaller one. Once I consumed both, I would possess a thousand years of cultivation and become a true immortal!"

The old turtle was furious, and Chu Liang felt a chill run down his spine.

No wonder its resentment was so intense, enough to provoke the Red Name Sword. Accelerating the Amber Zhu Ti with the blood of the innocent—how many lives had been sacrificed? The frequent drownings in the Qin Nan River over the years were likely its doing.

Today, he could not let this old turtle escape.

"But just a day before I was to harvest them, these two fish somehow found the path to my cave and devoured both Amber Zhu Ti, one each!"

"When I discovered it, I intended to eat them, but they escaped. That alone would have been tolerable, but she fled into the water mansion I had long coveted!"

"The Flying Fish Essence in that mansion, which I had watched grow for centuries and was finally ready to fuse with, she simply merged with it herself!"

"I am a turtle demon. It took me days to crawl ashore and reach this place. Do you know what that feels like? For hundreds of years, I’ve dreamed of gaining speed from the Flying Fish Essence, so I could become a demon who walks normally."

"Ah..."

Even now, recalling it made the old turtle’s eyes bulge in rage.

Chu Liang saw its anguish and fury and could almost empathize. It was like singing a birthday song and making a wish in earnest, only to have someone blow out the candle before you could. That frustration, stuck in the throat, could make one turn into a zombie on the spot.

And this turtle had held onto that frustration for centuries.

"If you block me, I’ll eat you too!" the old turtle shrieked hysterically. "You may protect her, but can you protect yourself?"

With that, it lunged at Chu Liang.

Step, step, step, step...

After a while, it managed to cover a yard’s distance.

Chu Liang’s eyes betrayed a hint of sympathy. He couldn’t help but say, "Grandpa, with legs like yours, maybe fighting on land isn’t the best idea? Let me draw a circle here, you walk toward it while I have lunch. When I come back, I’ll still be standing here, not moving an inch. If you reach me, I’ll fight you."

"Waaahhh..." The old turtle was utterly infuriated, unable to bear the mockery. If it weren’t for its sluggish land movement, it would never have coveted the Flying Fish Essence so desperately.

Enraged, it twisted around, transforming into its true form!

Bang.

With a thunderous crash, a giant gray turtle several yards tall appeared in the courtyard, nearly filling the entire space! Even among powerful demons, few dared reveal their true form on human territory—doing so exposed their demonic aura, attracting cultivators from miles around.

But it no longer cared. Its only thought was to kill the cultivator before it, then devour the dumpling stuffed with fish meat!

"Roar—"

The giant turtle howled, raising its long neck and spitting a beam of black light from its mouth!

---

Seeing this, Chu Liang wasted no time. He summoned the Red Name Sword from the White Tower space, raising it with a clang. The righteous blade was already seething with anger.

Shing, shing, shing—

The sword soared, leaving afterimages of sword light, forming two runes that shot forth with the sword’s energy.

The Twin Rune Sword of Ice and Fire!

Although in the path of rune sword arts, the twin rune sword was basic, wielded by the Red Name Sword, a hundred-sword technique could become a thousand-sword technique. Though the twin rune sword was not of high grade, its power was amplified a hundredfold.

Boom—

As the sword struck, thunder rolled. A white frost dragon and a fiery red dragon surged and intertwined, forming a twin-colored tornado pillar. The dragons roared, shaking the land.

The old turtle spat a beam of black light, which collided with the sword tornado and was instantly extinguished. In the next moment, the sword tornado surged onward, striking at the giant turtle.

Alarmed, it quickly retracted its head, limbs, and slammed its massive shell to the ground, sealing itself inside.

Retreating into its shell!

This shell was its trump card, the reason no one in the Qin Nan River had ever managed to harm it.

No one had ever breached its defense!

But today, it faced Chu Liang's supercharged Twin Rune Sword of Ice and Fire.

Shing—

The sword tornado struck the shell, the frost dragon and fire dragon howling and twisting, their power swirling like divine retribution!

Ice and fire alternated, breaking defenses without end.

Boom—

After only a moment’s stalemate, the sword tornado penetrated the shell’s defense and struck the retracted turtle head.

Ice!

Fire!

Explosions without end!

No turtle head in the world could withstand such devastation. In an instant, its armor was shattered, black blood gushed forth, then was frozen by frost and evaporated by flame, leaving only a desiccated skeleton, which collapsed limply.

Ice and fire refined the turtle head.

The battle ended in a moment.

Only emptiness remained.