Cultivation System: Elder Edition

Chapter 462

Songs of Survival (IX)

I temporarily ignored the draped figure, not really knowing what they were doing here. Were they here to protect the kids? To shadow them? To ensure they die? To be a cheerleader?

Regardless, I knew they were there and actively had to stop myself from bursting into laughter as Eternity... well, it started doing stuff. From the cloth covering the figure, it became a shawl that tried really hard to make a human face but only ended up making, well, nothing close to a human face, that's for sure.

That didn't last long either, as it then turned into a pair of elf-like ears, with edges jutting out like swords, and before long it became a literal tail the size of a small tree.

... how is nobody seeing this? How is the guy this is being done to not seeing it?!! Though I've had Eternity with me for a while now, I never really thought too deeply about it. I mean, it's a thing that's existed for so long time doesn't even make sense and has latched onto me simply because I was the first to notice it in a long, long while.

All things considered, it's not too odd that nobody else can see it, I guess. Still… instinctually, I feel having something sit on top of your head in the shape of a golden monkey statue ought to be fuckin' noticed.

The meal went by rather speedily as the kids wolfed it down as though they'd never had food before in their lives. Again, like cats who have never ever been fed, not once in their lives.

"Senior, what were you doing here, anyway?" That was the 'ever-suspicious' Duo Xin, whose veneer of doubt was long gone, her expression rather mellow and curious.

"The view." I made something up. "Like you must have, I felt the world quake and rushed as far up as I could to see what happened. That was when I saw it... the gash."

"What do you think caused it?"

"A mighty beast or a cultivator, no doubt," I said. "But not them by their lonesome. Though I've never met an Emperor, I've had Seniors tell me about them, and, from what they said, even the Emperors themselves might not be able to cause a gash that massive."

"Oooh! What else could it be, then?!"

"A Spirit, perhaps?" I 'sagely' stroked my chin as if in thought, looking away to the distance. "Whatever it was would have needed quantities of Qi seldom found. I am merely hoping it was a flash in the pan rather than something that might stay."

"Hmm. Maybe it was the Tortoise?" Dou Xin's words nearly made my eyebrows twitch as my ears invisibly perked. A Tortoise?

"A Tortoise?" I quizzed.

"Uh, I'm, I'm not supposed to say," she shuffled in her seat, but it was clear she really wanted to share. So, she did. "But, uh, it's a bit of a secret about this place! The world knows it as a Phoenix Realm and thinks this is where a great Phoenix has died and was buried, but, according to the Sect Master, that's not true at all. Instead, the whole Phoenix Realm thing is actually a ruse to hide a Tortoise that the maker of the realm owed his life to!"

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"Ooh!" It was my turn to ooh and aah, which seemed to kickstart the fire in her even more.

"Supposedly, when the maker of the realm was very young, he was very sick. Because of that, he was a burden on his parents who couldn't afford the pills that were barely keeping him alive. Out of guilt, he ran away one night, deciding to end it all. But when he was about to jump from the cliff into a river, he felt a strange energy below him. There was a cave there, and when he entered, he saw a small, hurt tortoise curled up in the corner.

"Deciding on one last act of kindness, he helped the tortoise and nursed it back to health for months. When the animal finally got better, he was about to say goodbye and leave but realized something--he hadn't been sick in months! It turned out that the Tortoise was actually a Divine Beast, and it was testing him! When he passed the test, it cured him completely and even bestowed upon him a legendary cultivation method. And so, when a man became an Emperor, he made this place entirely for the Tortoise, shaping it into its home!"

... wow. Those are a lot of details for a pretty private story that often involves only two characters, neither of which I suspect would have blabbed about it willy-nilly to the world. But there might really be some truth to it, or at least hints of it.

"So, you suppose that very Tortoise is still alive and it caused the gash?" I said.

"Maybe? I mean, it is a Divine Beast," she said. "And according to our Ancestors, Divine Beasts have nigh-infinite lifespans. They are divinely blessed by Dao itself, granting them not only great intellect and cultivation prowess but also a bond with the words of Dao."

"Truthfully," I said, stroking my chin yet again. "The reason I came into this place... was in search of a Tortoise."

"E-eh?! Really?!" she exclaimed.

"Hm," I nodded. "I learned from one of my Seniors that the guardian of this realm is a Tortoise and that I should seek its wisdom with my own troubles. But if you say that the Tortoise caused that... maybe it's best we don't disturb it."

"No, no, weren't you listening, Senior?" she shot to her feet rather abruptly. "The Tortoise is the kind and giving Divine Beast! So long as you show your true heart to it and pass its test, it will reward you with anything you desire. You, you can be just like the Emperor in the story!"

"Yes, yes!" another kid exclaimed. "If anyone can pass the Tortoise's test, it's you, Senior!"

"Indeed."

"The first requirement is for a cultivator to be kind. Who is kinder than Senior?"

"That's right." They oddly turned into a group of cheerleaders as they all surrounded me and started at me with encouraging eyes. "I'm sure you can pass the test, Senior," Duo Xin said. "The Tortoise will see that you are kind, and it will no doubt help you!"

... right.

Seeing as I need its heart, I have a sneaking suspicion it probably won't. But... I still kind of have to try. It's a must-have if I want to break through using the system's recommended method. It's kind of nuts, though, isn't it? I mean, it's not as though the Void Transformation Realm is the Imperial Realm, and yet one of the requirements for an optimal breakthrough is digesting the heart of a Divine Beast. What the hell will I have to do to become an Emperor? Take a bite out of freakin' Dao?!

"Ah, even if I wanted to, how do we even find it? It's not like it will be out in the open."

They immediately all glanced at each other as though they'd practiced before, and I knew they at least had an idea of where to look.

"... we'll take you there, Senior," she said. "But you must promise never to tell the Sect Master what we did!" Why do you suppose I'll ever even meet the man?

"Whatever happens in this realm," I said. "It stays between us. I'll trust you and I'll do my best to keep your spirits up and bellies full as we get there."

"Yaaay!" That's a collective cheer of people who've been bewitched by good food.

... speaking of bewitched.

Eternity is now a literal pointy hat curling backward on the figure's head.

What the hell is that thing doing?!

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