Primordial Era: A man at the mouth of the Guanjiang River marries the Third Holy Mother.

"I see."

It nodded slowly, as if accepting Chen Changsheng's explanation.

"The aura around you is complex, but the essence of your soul is pure and truthful."

Chen Changsheng felt somewhat relieved.

Looks like I've passed the first hurdle.

He looked at the black tortoise and, seizing the opportunity, asked the question that concerned him most.

"Senior, now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, may I be so bold as to ask a question?"

Why...are you trapped here?

"Is this really the legendary Penglai Island?"

This question, like a needle, instantly pierced the atmosphere that had just eased.

Why am I trapped here?

The black tortoise repeated the words, its voice suddenly becoming sharp, and the hatred that had finally subsided surged up again!

The dark red soul began to fluctuate violently, and the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped.

"Why?!"

"I want to know why too!"

"I have rendered unparalleled service to this world. With my limbs, I have ensured its stability; with my tortoise shell, I have fostered endless life!"

"But how did it treat me?!"

The roar of the Xuan Turtle was no longer directed at Chen Changsheng, but at this shattered sky and this desolate land!

Chen Changsheng gripped the God-Slaying Spear tightly and remained silent.

He could sense that the Xuan Turtle's emotions were on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Who is the "it" it's referring to?

"It is the will of Heaven!"

The black tortoise roared, giving its answer.

"It's this damned Heavenly Law that's trapped me here!"

"It's them! They're treacherous! They're untrustworthy!"

boom!

Chen Changsheng felt as if something had exploded in his mind.

The Way of Heaven?!

What imprisoned this Xuan Turtle was actually the supreme Heavenly Dao Will of the Primordial World?

How...how is this possible?

Heaven is impartial and operates according to the laws of the world, so how could it do such a treacherous thing?

"Senior, what exactly is going on?"

Chen Changsheng's voice trembled slightly.

He sensed that he was about to come across a shocking secret that would overturn the entire understanding of the primordial world!

The dark red soul of the Xuan Turtle twisted and contorted in its rage, and its dark eyes no longer shone with light, but rather with a tangible resentment.

"You want to know?"

Its mind was fixed on Chen Changsheng, with a kind of frenzied pleasure.

"Okay! I'll tell you!"

"I will make every living being in this primordial world know just how despicable and shameless the Heavenly Dao they revere truly is!"

"I……"

The Xuan Turtle took a deep breath, seemingly to calm its raging fury that could burn the heavens, and then began to recount the past, which had been sealed away for countless eons, in an extremely hoarse and heavy voice.

"I existed from the very beginning of time."

The voice of the Xuan Turtle seemed to come from an unimaginably distant ancient era, each word carrying the weight and vicissitudes of history.

Chen Changsheng held his breath and listened intently.

He knew that every word that followed might contain revolutionary information.

"At that time, the primordial world had just been created, the heavens and earth were unstable, and the laws were chaotic. I had no intelligence, and only instinct led me to sleep at the boundary between this chaos and the primordial world."

"Heaven has been watching me ever since then."

A deep sense of mockery emanated from the Xuan Turtle's thoughts.

"It trapped me in this space, which is what you call 'Penglai Immortal Island'. This is a fragment of a small world that collapsed when the Great God Pangu created the world. It is not part of the Three Realms, nor is it within the Five Elements. It is a natural prison."

"It told me that my body was too powerful, and if I were to roam freely in the primordial world, I would disrupt the balance of heaven and earth. Therefore, suppressing me here is for the sake of the stability of the primordial world."

"Heh...what a high-sounding reason."

Chen Changsheng's heart skipped a beat.

It turns out that the true nature of Penglai Immortal Island is actually a prison!

A cage personally crafted by the Heavenly Dao to imprison this Xuan Turtle!

"Although I am trapped, the laws of the Great Dao here are incomplete, so I cannot cultivate, nor can I develop true intelligence. I can only sleep in a daze. But my physical body is becoming stronger day by day under the nourishment of the chaotic energy."

"Just how powerful?"

The black tortoise's thoughts carried a hint of arrogance.

"So powerful that even later Heavenly Saints, using their innate treasures, couldn't harm me in the slightest!"

Chen Changsheng gasped.

Even a sage wielding a supreme innate treasure cannot break through its defenses?

What a terrifying physical body!

No wonder it could shatter the Eastern Emperor Bell with a single step using only its soul form.

Its physical body has probably transcended the realm of innate treasures, reaching an incomprehensible level.

"As the long years passed, the primordial world experienced the Dragon-Han War and the Dao-Demon War, and ushered in the era of the Lich King and the Demon King."

"Then, as you humans also know, Gonggong angrily struck Buzhou Mountain, and the sky collapsed."

The black tortoise's tone became agitated.

"The pillar of heaven broke, the waters of the Milky Way overflowed, and a world-destroying flood swept across the land. The entire world was on the verge of collapse."

"It was at that moment that Heaven found me once again."

"It made a deal with me."

Chen Changsheng's heart leaped into his throat.

coming!

Here comes the key point!

"It said that as long as I offer my limbs to replace Mount Buzhou and become a new pillar of heaven to support this collapsing world, it will break my seal, erase my karma, and allow me to enter the cycle of reincarnation, be reborn, and gain true freedom!"

The Xuan Turtle's will trembled violently at this moment, a violent fluctuation caused by the mixture of its past expectations and present despair.

"Freedom...do you know what freedom means to me?"

"I have been trapped for countless eons! From the very beginning of my life, I have never seen what the true primordial world looks like! Reincarnation is my only hope!"

"I agree."

"I agreed without hesitation!"

"I personally severed my own limbs, letting that little girl Nuwa refine them, transforming them into the four pillars of heaven in the east, south, west, and north, supporting this sky once more!"

"I thought my suffering was finally coming to an end."

"I thought I could finally feel the sunlight, experience life and death, and go through reincarnation like a normal living being."

At this point, the Xuan Turtle's voice abruptly stopped.

Deathly silence.

The oppressive atmosphere made it almost impossible for Chen Changsheng to breathe.

He had already guessed the ending.

"But……"

The Xuan Turtle's voice rang out again, but it had become incredibly hollow and cold, filled with endless mockery and resentment.

"It lied to me."

"Heaven has deceived me!"

"Just when I had sacrificed my limbs and my soul was at its weakest, it not only failed to keep its promise, but instead became even more vicious!"

"It plundered my physical body, using my tortoise shell and flesh to evolve into the source of life for this shattered continent. Then, with my unparalleled merit that held up the heavens, it transformed into this 'Golden Lock of Merit,' forever binding my soul here!"