Chapter 117

With the merfolk guiding the way, they journeyed for a long while before finally arriving at a remote seabed, where they found the Xuan Turtle dozing in silence.
Seeing the massive shell in the distance, Luo Han couldn’t help but mutter, “So far out...without a guide, we never would’ve found this place.”
The Xuan Turtle was an ancient being of the Eastern Sea, a creature of legend with no fixed home. He roamed where he pleased. Unless one had inside knowledge from the local aquatic clans, it was impossible for outsiders to locate him.
The leading merman let out a series of melodic vibrations that Luo Han couldn’t decipher. The Xuan Turtle slowly stirred from his slumber. Floating before him, the merman chieftain said a few more words. The Xuan Turtle lifted his gaze to look at Luo Han and Ling Qingxiao’s group, then nodded. “I understand. You may go.”
With a sweep of their tails, the mermen vanished like streaking stars, disappearing into the deep. One young merman turned to glance curiously at Luo Han, lingering for several heartbeats before his kin called him back. He left, still glancing back with every step.
Luo Han paid him no mind. Her full attention was focused on the Xuan Turtle.
She had seen him before...though this version of him did not yet know it.
The Xuan Turtle was unimaginably old. Every movement was slow, deliberate. He opened his mouth at last, and the sea rippled like a rising tide. “I’ve heard from the merfolk—you’ve come a long way to seek me. What is it you wish to know?”
Luo Han and the others stood within a water-repelling barrier, a floating sphere that gently bobbed with the ocean current. Ling Qingxiao infused more spiritual energy to stabilize it, then bowed slightly. “Forgive us for disturbing your seclusion, senior. But we’ve come with an urgent question.”
The Xuan Turtle had lived since the era of the gods. His lifespan spanned the full length of immortal history. Tired of constant disturbance from those seeking knowledge, he had withdrawn to the deep sea. In recent years, none had managed to find him—until now.
Though reclusive, the ancient turtle was kindly toward juniors who managed to reach him. “The Eastern Sea is no easy path,” he said slowly. “The fact that you made it here must be fate. Ask what you will. But I have slept for many years. The world has long moved on. What you seek...I may no longer know.”
“Senior, your kindness humbles us. Our intrusion is our own recklessness—we dare not overstep.” Ling Qingxiao paused, then asked, “May I ask—do you know if the seal left by the Goddess Nuwa...can be undone?”
Luo Han’s eyes twitched. She turned to glance at him, eyebrows slightly raised.
Ye Zinan had expected Ling Qingxiao to ask about cultivation or celestial matters—anything but this. Even the Xuan Turtle was caught off guard, his ancient lids slowly rising. “The Goddess Nuwa?”
“Yes.” Ling Qingxiao replied, “By chance, I learned that the Goddess once left behind an ancient seal—something immensely important lies within. I want to know...can that seal be broken?”
“Nuwa…” The Xuan Turtle lowered his eyelids again, his expression distant and tinged with nostalgia. “The last time I saw the Earth Sovereign...was during the Middle Era. Back then, I was merely a young hatchling, newly awakened to spiritual thought.”
None of the others knew Ling Qingxiao had entered the battlefield of the Middle Era. To them, this was likely knowledge he’d obtained from the Celestial Emperor. Only Luo Han knew...he was asking about the Demon God.
The only thing Nuwa had ever sealed and guarded personally was the Demon God.
During the height of the Middle Era war, the Demon God had been slain and shattered into countless fragments. The gods argued endlessly over what to do with those remnants. Then Nuwa descended, gathered the fragments, and sealed them into a narrow silver vial.
What became of that vial...no one knew.
Luo Han remembered clearly, Nuwa had etched an ancient divine seal upon the mouth of the bottle. Her seals were flawless, but eons had passed since then. It wasn’t impossible that the seal might have weakened.
She cast a glance at Ling Qingxiao.
He had been studying texts on ancient seals long before they came to the Eastern Sea. Perhaps...he had already known. That the seal had loosened. Perhaps this wasn’t a simple inquiry—but a confirmation.
A dozen thoughts raced through Luo Han’s mind. The one that struck deepest was this: Ling Qingxiao’s worsening inner demon.
Could it be tied to the Demon God? Once that thought took root, it refused to be dislodged.
She remembered—on the day the Demon God exploded into fragments, she had barely raised a spiritual barrier in time.
Ling Qingxiao...had faced it with nothing at all.
Back then, he had said that the scales on his body were no problem. Luo Han had believed him—he hadn’t shown any visible injuries.
But who said the Demon God’s fragments could only harm the flesh?
The Demon God thrived on malice. Inner demons—that was the true source of the Demon God’s power.
Luo Han snapped out of her thoughts as a fish darted past her eyes. She focused again, realizing the Xuan Turtle was recounting events from that era:
“…Back then, the immortals and demons clashed at Xiangshi. The gods descended to battle. You juniors may not know where Xiangshi is—it’s what we now call the South Sea, though in those days, it was still land. On the immortal side, a general surnamed Ling trapped the Demon God using the God-Slaying Formation and, with another divine ally, finally slew the Demon God.
What followed is as recorded in history: the Earth Sovereign emerged and sealed the fragments in the Jade Purity Flask. Pangu transformed into rain and redivided the Six Realms. The battle was catastrophic—Father God perished, the Earth Sovereign withdrew from the world, the Rongcheng God was gravely injured, the Huxu God entered the Underworld, and others like Su Zongshi rose to rebuild the heavens.
Since then, the gods appeared less and less, and the Earth Sovereign never again interfered in the affairs of the realms. As for where she took the Jade Purity Flask...that I truly do not know.”
Ye Zinan and the others sighed at the ancient tale. It was staggering to hear such history from someone who had lived through it.
Luo Han and Ling Qingxiao, however, remained calm—they already knew all of this, and in even more detail than the turtle himself. Yet what they most needed—the location of the Jade Purity Flask—the Xuan Turtle could not answer.
Naturally so. When Nuwa left with the flask, who dared ask where she went? Luo Han had been there that day, and even she didn’t know. How could a bystander like the turtle know more?
Ling Qingxiao asked, “Let’s set aside the flask’s whereabouts for now. I’d like to ask—other than the Earth Sovereign, is there anyone else capable of breaking an ancient divine seal?”
The Xuan Turtle nodded slowly. “There is. The Earth Sovereign’s power is vast, and her merit immense. To break a seal she placed, only two paths exist.
One: a god whose strength rivals hers. Father God could’ve done it, and perhaps, in his later years, the God Xihe might have as well.”
“Impossible,” Luo Han immediately cut in. “When Nuwa sealed the fragments, Pangu was already gone—he couldn’t have undone it. As for Xihe—absolutely not. He would never do such a thing.”
Ye Zinan looked at her strangely. “How do you know he wouldn’t?”
Luo Han was momentarily speechless. After a brief pause, she said, “…Just a guess?”
Ye Zinan rolled his eyes. “Senior Turtle is sharing history. Can you not joke around?”
But Luo Han wasn’t joking. She had asked Xihe herself.
Ling Qingxiao squeezed her hand gently and continued, “Xihe did not touch the seal. Now that he’s fallen, the first path is closed. What about the second?”
“The second is far harder,” the Xuan Turtle said slowly. “The Earth Sovereign was deeply compassionate. She feared her descendants might face danger someday, so she left them a unique gift.
If a direct descendant truly wished to break a binding—and used their own blood as catalyst—they could shatter any seal. Even Nuwa’s own.”
Nuwa was unlike the other gods. While most had no children, she and Fuxi did—and their bloodline continued to this day.
A mother always thinks far ahead. Nuwa feared her children might be hunted or manipulated. So she gave them a final trump card: their blood, a divine key to protect themselves.
The Xuan Turtle sighed. “But this is only theoretical. The gods have long since fallen. What chance do mortals have?
Because of that blood’s power, people have hunted Nuwa’s descendants for centuries. Those who live today are few. And with generations of dilution, even if they exist...the bloodline’s strength is a shadow of what it once was.”
So both methods of breaking the ancient seal were all but impossible.
But almost didn’t mean never.
Ling Qingxiao did not believe in leaving anything to chance. “If there’s persecution, there’s resistance. Even if many lines were extinguished, survivors would be far more cautious. Statistically, the chances of a surviving Nuwa descendant aren’t low. Senior, do you know if any remain?”
At this, the Xuan Turtle paused, his tone growing wary. “Why do you ask?”
“To prevent something catastrophic,” Ling Qingxiao said solemnly. He knew asking about Nuwa’s descendants looked suspicious—but if he wanted to prevent the Demon God’s resurrection, he had to identify everyone capable of breaking the seal.
“I can’t explain the details yet. But I swear upon my inner demon—I will do nothing to harm the heavens or Nuwa’s bloodline.”
A heart demon vow was no small thing. Once spoken, it bound the soul.
The turtle could sense he was sincere.
The old creature exhaled deeply. “Nuwa’s descendants were caught in constant strife. Many times, they stood on the brink of extinction. Eventually, they chose to vanish from the world, cutting all outside ties.
Before their disappearance, their chieftain split the remaining clans into four groups, sending them to the four corners of the world. They were forbidden from ever contacting one another again.
So I don’t know if any still live. I only know one branch went east—so far east they reached the edge of the world, sealed off from all else. They are connected by a single underground river. It opens once every hundred years. The rest of the time, the barrier remains sealed. None can enter or leave.”
“…Far east…” Ling Qingxiao murmured, then suddenly said a name: “The Great Wasteland?”
The turtle shook his head. “I can’t say. It’s been hundreds of thousands of years since I last heard anything of them. Whether they’re alive, and where they are now—I no longer know.”
With that, their journey to the Eastern Sea had reached its end. The rest, even the Xuan Turtle could not answer.
Further questions would yield nothing. It was time for them to go find the answers themselves.
Ling Qingxiao bowed to the Xuan Turtle. “Thank you, Senior. I swear upon my inner demon—so long as I live, I will never harm the descendants of Nuwa, nor act against the Celestial Realm. You may rest assured.”
He had made this vow not only to declare his stance but to clear any lingering suspicion.
The Xuan Turtle nodded with a faint smile. “You carry the favor of a god upon you. Naturally, I believe you.”
“A god?” Ye Zinan and the others were startled. They all turned to look at Ling Qingxiao in shock. Luo Han kept her expression carefully neutral, pretending not to understand which "god" the turtle meant.
Ling Qingxiao had no habit of explaining himself—especially not about truths he deemed unnecessary to elaborate.
Because it was simply fact.
With his questions answered, Ling Qingxiao didn’t disturb the turtle any longer and prepared to leave. Luo Han followed him for a few steps before slowing to a stop.
Feng Yujia, already flying ahead, turned back and called, “Luo Han, what’s wrong?”
Luo Han smiled slightly. “You go on ahead. There’s something personal I want to ask the Xuan Turtle.”
Personal? Feng Yujia instinctively found that strange. The Xuan Turtle was a legendary figure, revered throughout the Celestial Realm. What kind of personal matter could possibly require such privacy?
Feng Yujia was clearly confused, but Ling Qingxiao merely gave Luo Han a calm look and nodded. “Alright.”
With Ling Qingxiao taking the lead, the others followed without question.
Once everyone had left, the Xuan Turtle dropped all pretense and smiled knowingly. “The Heavenly Dao returns. I failed to greet you from afar—please forgive the slight.”
Luo Han sighed. “There’s no need for formalities, Senior. In truth...we’ve met before.”
“Oh?” Even the Xuan Turtle looked surprised now. “When? Why don’t I recall?”
“In the future,” Luo Han replied quietly. “I was sent back here by all of you—from that future—to prevent a great calamity. Everything was going well at first, but now...something unexpected has happened.”
The Xuan Turtle had seen the traces of time law upon her. But he hadn’t realized that he himself had been part of sending her back. His expression grew solemn—this was clearly no small matter.
“What happened?” he asked.
“It might not be ‘unexpected’ exactly,” Luo Han said, “but maybe...I misunderstood things from the start. When I first returned, you all told me I had transmigrated into a novel. You gave me a book that detailed the fate of several key figures in this world. I’ve been following that guidance, trying to change the past...but the more I learn, the more I realize—the past can’t be changed. Everything is still unfolding as it was written. In fact, my interference seems to be accelerating it. So now I’m wondering...Did I really transmigrate into a book?”
The Xuan Turtle fell into deep silence, pondering her words. After a long pause, he slowly shook his head. “I don’t know the answer. My vision is limited—even if I met you in the future, I cannot see it now. Perhaps...only the Bodhi Tree can answer your question.”