Subsequently, the Burdened Xuan Turtle swam towards a region of mountains riddled with ravines. The terrain here was extremely complex, featuring abyssal trenches of unfathomable depth and undulating underwater mountain ranges.
Next, the Burdened Xuan Turtle condensed numerous clones, which rapidly dispersed in all directions. Its main body also shrank and hid among these clones.
The number of these clones far exceeded Zheng Dong’s imagination, reaching hundreds of thousands. Furthermore, each clone was unique, making it impossible to determine which was the true body of the Burdened Xuan Turtle.
The Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor, which had been pursuing them, looked at the scene with disdain and immediately unleashed its quasi-divine skill, Abyssal Sea Burial.
Instantly, the seawater in the surrounding area became incredibly heavy, as if the sky had collapsed, pressing down on this region with immense force.
With a rumbling sound, all the underwater mountains in this area could not withstand the pressure and collapsed.
The numerous clones of the Burdened Xuan Turtle, one by one, succumbed to the pressure and fell to the seabed, completely disintegrating.
At this moment, the Burdened Xuan Turtle’s main body, hidden among these clones, was overwhelmed with a flood of unspoken curses.
It had not expected the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor to use a quasi-divine skill right from the start.
This was clearly an attempt to kill it!
However, it still had no urge to fight the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor to the death.
It simply went with the flow, falling into an unfathomably deep trench.
"Damn it, do you think my name, Burdened Xuan Turtle, is for nothing? You think you can crush me? Dream on!"
After an unknown duration of falling, the Burdened Xuan Turtle finally reached the bottom of the deep-sea trench.
Sensing that the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor could no longer detect it, it shrank its body and burrowed into Zheng Dong’s relic bead.
Concurrently, Zheng Dong retracted his relic bead and used a combined ultimate skill of Mimicry, Parasitism, and Possession to perfectly attach himself to a rock face at the bottom of the trench.
This section of the rock face appeared no different from any other, and Zheng Dong’s aura had completely vanished.
Of course, if skills like soul tracking were used, he could still be discovered.
However, Zheng Dong had not revealed himself at any point, and the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor should not have detected him. Moreover, the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor possessed no medium related to him, so it was unlikely to find him.
Above the trench, the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor was dumbfounded.
It had assumed its quasi-divine skill would force the Burdened Xuan Turtle out.
It had never expected the Burdened Xuan Turtle to endure its attack rather than reveal itself.
It had never seen such a cowardly creature.
Immediately, it used its super-tier skill, Dragon God Perception, to search for the Burdened Xuan Turtle.
Before long, it detected numerous Burdened Xuan Turtle clones that had not yet been destroyed, but none were the main body.
Finally, it also noticed Zheng Dong and the trench where the Burdened Xuan Turtle was hiding.
Just as it was about to investigate, the Kun Shark Emperor rushed over in a panic.
“This is bad! The Barbarian Fish Emperor and the Crocodile Turtle Emperor are asking for help! They are being cornered by multiple titled legends of the Blazing Phoenix, and they can’t hold on much longer,” the Kun Shark Emperor said.
“Useless!” the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor cursed.
It did not want to engage in a full-blown war with the Blazing Phoenix; it merely wanted to test the waters.
Currently, its objective was to rule this sea territory and unify the various totem kingdoms. It could not afford for the Barbarian Fish Emperor and the Crocodile Turtle Emperor to suffer any accidents.
Therefore, it decided to go to their rescue.
After the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor left, Zheng Dong was unaware of the situation above the trench.
He waited for a long time before using spatial teleportation to leave the trench and return to the surface. Seeing that the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor was long gone, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Subsequently, he disguised himself as a deep-sea extraordinary creature, a Unicorn Crab, left the area, found a secluded spot, and entered the relic space within his relic bead.
Inside the relic space, the Burdened Xuan Turtle appeared listless.
Enduring the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor’s attack had also taken its toll.
“You brat, because of you, I’m going to live a few days less! Hurry up and tell me where the Youth Fruit is so we can go get it,” the Burdened Xuan Turtle said.
Zheng Dong did not believe it at all.
Didn’t you say you had only a few days left to live? If you live a few days less now, won’t you be finished soon?
Of course, Zheng Dong only grumbled inwardly. After that, he summoned Little Qing.
As soon as Little Qing was summoned, she burrowed into Zheng Dong’s embrace, claiming it was to familiarize herself with human scents and adapt to human life.
Zheng Dong could do nothing about her and quickly asked,
“Where did you put the Youth Fruit you mentioned earlier? Senior is eager to retrieve it!”
“Master, do we really have to go now? It’s very dangerous. It’s in a relic space within the Azure Dragon Totem Kingdom.
Only I know the exact location, and it’s safe for now. Perhaps we should wait until the situation stabilizes?” Little Qing said.
Before Zheng Dong could reply, the Burdened Xuan Turtle’s eyes widened.
Do you think I can wait that long?
Zheng Dong actually didn’t want to rush, but seeing the Burdened Xuan Turtle’s demeanor, it seemed he had no choice.
Therefore, he said,
“Let’s go now. Tell me the location first!”
Little Qing couldn’t reveal herself, or the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor would chase after them again.
Following that, Zheng Dong asked some general questions about the Azure Dragon Totem Kingdom before disguising himself as a Unicorn Crab and rushing over using spatial movement.
The Azure Dragon Totem Kingdom was the totem kingdom in the East Sea closest to the Blazing Phoenix, possessing numerous extraordinary creatures.
However, these extraordinary creatures had all submitted to the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor.
Under the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor’s command, they had joined the search for the Azure Dragon Empress.
This meant that the Azure Dragon Totem Kingdom was currently quite empty, with few extraordinary creatures left behind.
Zheng Dong’s journey disguised as a Unicorn Crab was relatively smooth.
He was not attacked by any other extraordinary creatures, as he was just an inconspicuous Unicorn Crab with little to offer.
He was only attacked by extraordinary creatures of the Commander or Lord level, which were relatively easy to deal with.
Upon arriving at the location Little Qing had mentioned, a relic space hidden within a crevice of underwater rocks, Zheng Dong opened it according to Little Qing’s instructions.
This relic space was not very large and was a fixed relic space, unable to be moved.
The environment within the relic space was similar to the deep sea.
Zheng Dong looked around, unsure where Little Qing had hidden the Youth Fruit, so he had to summon her.
Little Qing was surprised that Zheng Dong had succeeded so easily and was very happy, as a portion of her assets were stored here.
Besides the Youth Fruit, there were also many other resources.
However, most of them were water and ice-elemental resources, which could rapidly increase her growth level.
Her current growth level was Commander, primarily because all her accumulated resources were consumed during the process of tracing back to her origin.
Little Qing quickly rummaged through every corner of the relic space, uncovering various jade boxes filled with different resources.
One of these jade boxes contained the Youth Fruit.
Zheng Dong opened it and took a look.
The Youth Fruit was about the size of a green pomegranate, emitting a faint fragrance. Its exact taste would only be known after eating it.
Unfortunately, Little Qing only had one Youth Fruit.
“Little Qing, besides the Youth Fruit, do you have any other time-elemental resources?” Zheng Dong asked.
If so, it might be possible to further mutate the Gem Cat and grant it time-related attributes.
Unfortunately, Little Qing shook her head.
“I did have some before, but I used them up.
However, I know that the Golden Dragon Emperor possessed a time-elemental gem. I don’t know if it fell into the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor’s hands.”
Zheng Dong frowned. He dared not provoke the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor at the moment.
Afterward, Zheng Dong inventoried Little Qing’s collection. The lowest grade was Level Five resources, with a total value of approximately three hundred billion Dragon Yuan.
Of course, these resources could not be measured by money alone; many were rare resources that were impossible to buy.
This was merely Little Qing’s most important small treasury. She had more resources in the Azure Dragon Totem Kingdom, but they were irretrievable.
This gave Zheng Dong the feeling of striking it rich overnight.
Among them, two out of eight resources, Abyss Demonic Gold and Ghost Sea Nether Soil, might be usable by Little Purple.
After collecting these resources, Zheng Dong left the relic space and prepared to head back.
He did not return directly to Modu but took a long detour, first going to Ningcheng, a city closer to Modu, and then returning to Modu from Ningcheng.
By the time Zheng Dong completed this circuit and returned to Modu, a day had already passed.
During this time, he used spatial movement along the way and had to rest multiple times. After confirming that the situation in Modu was stable from Ningcheng, he took a car back.
At this time, the beast tamers in Modu were still clearing out the deep-sea extraordinary creatures that had flooded into the city.
Zheng Dong also learned that the Blazing Phoenix had deployed its quasi-divine mechanical pet, Sky Pillar, to drive away the Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor.
Furthermore, multiple titled legends had been dispatched to kill the totem-level Barbarian Fish Emperor and Crocodile Turtle Emperor.
As a result, the deep-sea extraordinary creatures in the waters near Modu had retreated, no longer daring to act recklessly.
As for the deep-sea extraordinary creatures that had entered Modu, they had no time to escape and could only cause destruction everywhere in their desperation.
The situation at the breeding bases on the islands was relatively fortunate.
The Deep Sea Dragon Whale Emperor, busy chasing Zheng Dong and the Burdened Xuan Turtle, had not attacked them.
However, they had encountered attacks from many retreating deep-sea extraordinary creatures, resulting in heavy casualties among the turtle-type pets and some breeding base staff.
The Breeding Bureau had properly handled this unexpected incident afterward.
Upon returning to Modu University, Zheng Dong had intended to rest well.
However, the Burdened Xuan Turtle was impatient to test the effects of the Youth Fruit.
With no other option, Zheng Dong had to find some turtle-type pets that could reproduce.
Fortunately, the Breeding Department at Modu University had a few such turtle-type pets.
After contacting Principal Yu, Zheng Dong received permission to take these turtle-type pets into the relic space.
The Burdened Xuan Turtle was quite satisfied after inspecting them and then consumed the Youth Fruit, beginning its important task.
Zheng Dong was not interested in this and left the relic space, returning to his villa to sleep soundly.
After all the commotion, Zheng Dong was exhausted.
He didn’t know how long he slept when he felt someone kissing him.
He initially thought he was dreaming.
Zheng Dong couldn’t help but respond.
But he soon felt something was wrong. Upon opening his eyes, he realized it was Little Qing.
Zheng Dong quickly tried to push Little Qing away.
However, Little Qing held on tightly and refused to let go.
Only after she had her fill did she say contentedly,
“So this is kissing. Why does it feel just like this? It’s completely different from what’s written in books. Master, why is your face red? Is this your first time?”
Looking at the somewhat naive and clueless Little Qing, Zheng Dong didn’t know what to say.
Last night, he had left the relic space, but Little Qing was still inside and hadn’t been kicked out by that scoundrel, the Burdened Xuan Turtle.
Later, Little Qing felt bored and left the relic space, finding Zheng Dong.
Thus, this scene unfolded.
In fact, Little Qing had hesitated for a long time while looking at the sleeping Zheng Dong before finally acting.
Unable to bear it, Zheng Dong sent Little Qing into the beast-taming space.
Unfortunately, even in the beast-taming space, she could still communicate with Zheng Dong.
“Master, you haven’t answered me yet!”
Zheng Dong ignored her. He couldn’t understand how Little Qing, who was formerly the Azure Dragon Empress, had become like this. Was it related to tracing back to her origin?
Tracing back to her origin did not change Little Qing’s consciousness or memories, but each instance was equivalent to Little Qing being reborn, and her cognition would undergo subtle changes.
After this last trace back to her origin, Little Qing clearly saw herself as more human, but the humans in her cognition were fictional characters from novels.
With Little Qing’s disturbance, Zheng Dong could no longer sleep.
He got up, washed himself, and then went to the beast-taming space to check on the Burdened Xuan Turtle’s condition.
The fellow was still sleeping, appearing completely exhausted.
Zheng Dong still had to prepare food for the turtle-type pets it had taken a liking to.
Fortunately, the university’s breeding department had them.
After finishing these tasks, Zheng Dong received some good news.
The time for the Modu Beast Tamer Professional Assessment had been postponed, allowing him to reapply for registration.
Due to the chaos caused by the deep-sea extraordinary creatures, Modu had suffered heavy losses, and everything was in disarray. It would take at least a few more days to return to normal life, making it impossible to hold the professional assessment.
Moreover, many registered beast tamers had sacrificed themselves, requiring verification of their information.
Thus, for the next few days, after registering, Zheng Dong focused on cultivation and assisting Little Qing in improving her skill proficiency.
He also took time to deduce Little Purple’s evolution path.
Unfortunately, he kept failing.
It seemed that evolving using the Heart of the Starry Sky Beast required certain important resources. Zheng Dong purchased some resources online and even used Abyss Demonic Gold and Ghost Sea Nether Soil, but it was still unsuccessful.
It wasn't until the Burdened Xuan Turtle urged Zheng Dong to help check its previous results.
If it failed again, it feared it would be the end of its lineage.
Zheng Dong had no choice but to take those turtle-type pets, along with some of their eggs, to the breeding department for examination.
With Principal Yu’s care, Dean Pan of the breeding department personally received Zheng Dong this time.
Dean Pan had learned about the situation from Principal Yu and understood the importance of this matter. If successful, the offspring of the Burdened Xuan Turtle might also grow into totem-level pets in the future.
Therefore, Dean Pan was also very enthusiastic.
“Student Zheng Dong, please come with me. The examination room has been cleared and is ready for use at any time!” Dean Pan said.
He was short in stature with a beer belly, waddling like a penguin as he walked.
Zheng Dong paid no mind to this and followed him after expressing his gratitude.
Outside the examination room, quite a few students from the breeding department had gathered.
They often used the examination room for cultivating their pets, as pet breeding was also a very important course in the breeding department.
Many students were already growing impatient.
Seeing Dean Pan leading Zheng Dong over, they felt a mixture of curiosity, jealousy, anger, and dissatisfaction.
They did not recognize Zheng Dong.
However, anyone personally escorted by Dean Pan was certainly not ordinary.
As the examination began, Zheng Dong released those turtle-type pets from the relic space, and the surrounding students crowded around the window of the examination room.