Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments

Chapter 308 - 174: Mutated Spirit Turtle—The Local Demon Beast Isn’t Very Polite

’I can’t just toss a fish in there, can I? That would be too obvious.’

"There’s no need to rush, Xiao."

Qi Xingwen said reassuringly, "Perhaps it was just frightened. After a few days, once it gets hungry, it will naturally come out again."

His judgment was correct.

After hiding for two days, the Mutated Spirit Turtle did indeed crawl out again and swam back into the river to forage for food.

The three of them sprang into action. Song Jingyi went upstream and caught another Spirit Fish.

First, he carved a mark onto its body.

Then, he stuffed the Wooden Bottle of Blood Wine into its belly before releasing it back into the river.

Before long, Xiao Chen, who was waiting downstream, was the first to spot the marked Spirit Fish.

"Qi, I’m going to deliver the fish. I’ll leave the watch to you now."

He wasted no time, taking a wide detour with the Spirit Fish to get back upstream.

And just to be safe, he caught another Spirit Fish of a different species.

He then carved a new mark on it and placed it in the river.

As for the original Spirit Fish, since it was already there, Xiao Chen didn’t let it go to waste. He cleaned it on the spot and used his Flying Sword to slice it into sashimi.

Perhaps because there were no seasonings, the texture of the meat was average, but its flavor was exceptionally fresh and delicious.

This time, the feeding plan was finally a success.

Just as Qi Xingwen had predicted, the Mutated Spirit Turtle swallowed the fish whole, along with the Wooden Bottle in its stomach.

Of course, it noticed the Wooden Bottle in the fish’s belly, but it was just a piece of wood. It figured it could digest it anyway.

The more perplexing question for it was, why were there so few Spirit Fish today?

As it turned out, nothing ever goes perfectly smoothly.

Perhaps it might for others, but Xiao Chen was an old hand at being unlucky, and his plan had hit another small snag.

The Blood Wine was incredibly potent, but the problem was, the stuff wasn’t poison at all.

The Eastern Wanderer wasn’t out to kill people; his mission was to sow chaos in the enemy’s rear.

So naturally, the things he carried with him contained no toxins.

Its true effect was to make the consumer lose their sanity, suffer a cultivation deviation, and transform into a tireless killing puppet.

Still, the quality of the stuff was guaranteed. Despite so much time having passed, it directly stimulated the Mutated Spirit Turtle, driving it into a frenzy as well.

Not only did it grow larger again, but it was now a full size bigger than the last time.

Its millstone-sized eyes turned a reddish-purple as it charged madly up the river.

It attacked all living creatures along its path indiscriminately.

Fortunately, Song Jingyi’s Concealing Breath Spirit Liquid didn’t fail them, successfully masking their auras.

The problem, however, was that Xiao Chen watched helplessly as the Mutated Spirit Turtle charged all the way to the region even further upstream.

It hadn’t returned by evening, and it looked like it probably never would.

"Xiao, this is actually a good thing! We can go right in and get the Turtle Eggs now."

Song Jingyi was more optimistic. "No matter how you look at it, the big problem is solved, isn’t it?"

However, Xiao Chen didn’t see it that way. "If we just let it go like this, doesn’t that mean my Blood Wine was wasted?"

"I’m going to follow it and see what’s happening."

.

"Xiao, you have to calm down!"

Song Jingyi urged him anxiously, "If you go any further, you’ll be in the territory of a Golden Core Demon Beast! Don’t take that risk!"

"We’re here for the Turtle Eggs. Why on earth would we go deeper in?"

Xiao Chen smiled faintly. "Don’t worry, Song. I know what I’m doing. I’m not going to get myself killed."

"Since I dared to come here in the first place, it’s not like I don’t have ways to protect myself."

"You and Qi wait for me in the cave for two days. I’ll be right back."

With the Blade of Night, his life wouldn’t be in danger even if he encountered a Golden Core Demon Beast alone.

Otherwise, Xiao Chen would never have agreed to such a risky venture from the very beginning.

He had fought the Mutated Spirit Turtle for a long time, and then they had been delayed for so many days.

If he didn’t go see the outcome with his own eyes, he wouldn’t feel at ease.

"Xiao, take these two bottles of Spiritual Liquid, then. They can conceal your aura."

"Mm, thanks."

Following the conspicuous tracks on the ground, he headed north alone for over three hundred li.

Xiao Chen saw the Mutated Spirit Turtle lying on the ground, its belly torn open.

Right next to it on the ground, stained with blood and faintly visible, was a plum blossom-shaped paw print.

The smallest of its "petals" was as large as a washbasin.

Surprisingly, there were no other signs of a struggle nearby.

There were no other wounds on the Mutated Spirit Turtle’s body either.

There was just a single, clean tear from its neck to its abdomen.

Just six chi away, a vibrant green pine tree stood completely unscathed from top to bottom.

Xiao Chen could almost see a Golden Core Stage Clouded Leopard, or perhaps a Hunting Cat.

It had leaped nimbly and lithely in front of the Mutated Spirit Turtle.

Without channeling any Spiritual Qi, using only the simplest and most ordinary swipe of its claw, it had relied on its physical strength alone to land a precise, fatal blow.

The process must have been incredibly fast—so fast that the Mutated Spirit Turtle had no time to react.

An Inner Core emanating a black aura had been dug out and had rolled onto the ground nearby.

It looked like it had been completely contaminated by the Blood Wine.

And so, this more intelligent Golden Core Demon Beast had chosen not to consume the obviously problematic Inner Core, turning and leaving instead.

’But I’m not picky,’ Xiao Chen thought. ’So what if it’s a little toxic? It’s still a good find.’

Xiao Chen immediately ran over to the Inner Core and picked it up with his bare hand.

The instant he touched it, a wisp of black energy shot from his palm, traveled up his veins, and burrowed directly into his heart.

However, it then dissipated into nothingness, having no effect whatsoever.