Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Chapter 93 Ancient Xuan Turtle

Using the force of the ship's swaying, Xu Hao leaped into the air, gripped his sword with both hands, and slashed down hard at the black tortoise's head, which was larger than a house.

when!

A deafening clang of metal clashing exploded on the lake's surface.

Xu Hao felt a numbness in his tiger's mouth, and the Devouring Sea Blade almost flew out of his hand.

Using the force of the recoil, he flipped back onto the deck. Looking back, the corner of his mouth twitched twice beneath his mask.

The extreme cold yin energy, powerful enough to cleave an Inner Strength Realm expert in two, struck the Xuan Turtle's shell, which was covered with natural array patterns. Not only did it not leave a crack, but it didn't even leave a white mark.

"What did this old turtle eat to grow up with such a thick shell?" Xu Hao shook his numb wrist.

From the crack in the hatch came Mud Monkey's distorted, hoarse voice: "Boss! Is your knife not sharpened? Why don't we kowtow to it and apologize!"

"Shut your beak!" Xu Hao cursed.

The black tortoise was enraged by this ignorant ant.

Its two enormous, blood-moon-like eyes narrowed slightly, and its abyss-like maw suddenly opened wide.

There were no roars, no sounds.

Only an extremely terrifying suction force suddenly erupted.

The surrounding lake water, silt, and even giant trees on the shore, each as thick as several people could hug, were instantly uprooted and swirled into its gaping, black maw.

The massive Zhenyuan ship swayed violently in mid-air, its wooden planks making a teeth-grinding cracking sound, as if it was about to be swallowed whole, ship and crew, into its bottomless throat.

"Oh no! This time it's really going to be a snack! I haven't even spent any spirit stones yet!" The mud monkey lay on the lower deck, crying and wailing.

Luo Meng clung tightly to a mast, gritting his teeth and yelling, "Can't you just shut up for a second?!"

Just as the Zhenyuan was about to break free of the shallows, this usually gluttonous and unruly ship finally realized its life or death was at stake.

It displayed an extremely strong will to survive.

A mournful screech came from deep within the ship's hull, and hundreds of thick, dark red fleshy tendrils shot out from the cracks in the wooden planks as if they had gone mad.

These tentacles, which are usually used for feeding, have now become life-saving anchors, firmly embedded in the underwater rock layers and the ancient trees on the shore.

Squeak—

The Zhenyuan was stretched into a taut bow in mid-air.

On one side is the enormous maw of the Xuan Turtle, as deep as an abyss; on the other side are fleshy tendrils that are firmly gripping the earth.

A life-or-death tug-of-war that transcended boundaries unfolded by the Spirit Lake.

The violent suction force tore the deck apart inch by inch, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

Xu Hao plunged the Devouring Sea Blade into the deck, knelt on one knee, and steadied himself.

"I eat so much normally, and now I can't even pull out a turtle! Hold on!" Xu Hao frantically poured his blood and energy into the ship.

As if understanding Xu Hao's curses, the Zhenyuan ship burst forth with dazzling light from its dark blue frost patterns, and its fleshy tendrils swelled up again, dragging the ship backward by half a zhang.

"Second Master, this ship can even use a thousand-pound drop mechanism!" Luo Meng exclaimed in disbelief as he watched from inside the cabin.

Chen Yuanzhi peered intently through the crack in the window, staring outside: "Don't be too happy yet, this beast hasn't even used his full strength yet!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the suction force from the giant mouth of the Xuan Turtle suddenly doubled, several fleshy tendrils stuck in the rocks snapped off, and the Zhenyuan slid backward sharply, with most of its bow already hanging over that abyssal maw.

"Boss! The bow is rising! I can see this turtle's throat!" Mud Monkey cried and screamed in the hold, his voice cracking like a broken gong.

"————!" Xu Hao didn't bother to reply.

Without hesitation, he pulled out the few mid-grade spirit stones he had just stolen from his pocket and exerted force with his five fingers.

Click.

The crystal-clear spirit stone was crushed instantly, and violent spiritual energy exploded outwards.

Xu Hao, along with the extremely cold and yin energy, frantically poured it into the ship beneath his feet along the hilt of the sword.

"Eat! Eat until you're stuffed!"

The Zhenyuan emitted an excited hum, and the dark blue frost patterns surged. The fleshy tendrils that were about to break off grew thicker again, gripping the rock layer tightly.

This surge of rich spiritual energy instantly stimulated the Xuan Turtle opposite.

The two enormous, blood-moon-like pupils suddenly contracted, and the dark blue bone spurs on the massive turtle's back burst forth with dazzling light.

Immediately afterwards, an extremely complex layer of golden runes appeared on the tortoise shell, flowing endlessly.

However, the array pattern was incomplete, with only the left half shining with golden light, while the right half was dim and without light, as if someone had forcibly erased a piece of it.

Xu Hao, enduring the terrifying suction force, caught a glimpse of the incomplete array patterns out of the corner of his eye, and his movements abruptly stopped.

This pattern looks familiar.

The image of the half-broken map that had dropped after he killed the Sea Corpse Demon General in the Hidden Bone Trench flashed through his mind.

The scroll at the time indicated that it was a fragment of the core array diagram of the ancient Sea King's tomb.

Xu Hao loosened the wooden board with his left hand and, braving the strong wind, pulled out a fragment of a map made of some unknown leather from the Sumeru Warehouse.

As soon as it was taken out, the distorted ink lines on the surface of the fragment began to move on their own, emitting a faint golden light that was the same as that on the back of the Xuan Turtle.

Xu Hao held up the incomplete map and stared intently at the array patterns on the back of the Xuan Turtle through the splashing water.

The direction of the ink lines on the fragment matches perfectly with the glowing half of the array pattern on the tortoise shell.

This old turtle is not some terrifying beast at all; what it carries on its back is the other half of the core array diagram of the ancient Sea King's Tomb.

Xu Hao smirked and shoved the nautical chart into his arms.

Just as Xu Hao put away the remaining map, a series of whooshing sounds suddenly echoed through the dense forest surrounding Linghu Lake.

Swish swish!

Dozens of figures dressed in various sect costumes darted out of the forest. In the blink of an eye, all the elite disciples from the six sects, including Tianheng Sect, Qingshan Sect, and Baihua Sect, who had not been killed, had arrived.

Leading the group was Luo Mingcheng, who was waving a jade-ribbed folding fan, with Luo Tianheng bowing and scraping beside him.

The moment Luo Mingcheng saw the enormous ancient black tortoise on the lake, his pupils contracted sharply, and he even forgot to wave the folding fan in his hand.

He stared intently at the incomplete array patterns flowing on the back of the Xuan Turtle, his refined and scholarly demeanor vanished, replaced by extreme fanaticism.

"An ancient species! It's a living ancient species!" Luo Mingcheng shouted, his voice cracking with excitement.

Luo Tianheng, with his sharp eyes, spotted Xu Hao on the deck, who was gripping his knife tightly. He pointed at him and shouted, "Young Sect Master, look!"

This kid's physical body and blood energy are definitely those of a savage from Tianqing! He's the one who killed our men!

Luo Mingcheng's gaze shifted and landed on Xu Hao, then he burst into unrestrained laughter: "We've searched high and low without finding it! An ancient, rare species, a treasure trove from head to toe, plus a fat, greasy Sky-Piercing Rat. Truly, the heavens have blessed our Chenhuang!"

Inside the hold, Mud Monkey peered through the crack in the door, his legs trembling as he looked at the dense crowd of people on the shore.

"Brother Luo, what's with all these pampered young masters gathered together? Are they here to send off our boss, or to give the turtles an extra meal?"

Luo Meng spat out a mouthful of blood and cursed angrily, "Are you blind?! Didn't you see the way they looked at the boss? They practically wanted to tear him apart!"

On the deck, Xu Hao, enduring the suction of the giant mouth of the Xuan Turtle, glanced coldly at the shore.

These young masters of cultivation have arrived just in time.

"Young Master Luo, this turtle is very fierce. Be careful not to break your teeth," Xu Hao sneered.

"Still talking tough even when you're about to die." Luo Mingcheng didn't take Xu Hao seriously at all. With a flick of his wrist, twelve dark black Locking Heaven Array Flags appeared out of thin air.

"Form the formation! Seal the heavens and lock the earth!"

Luo Mingcheng roared and hurled the battle flags around the Spirit Lake.

The twelve battle flags swelled in the wind and instantly transformed into twelve golden pillars of light, each as thick as a water vat, shooting straight into the sky.

Golden threads intertwined between the beams of light, instantly forming a massive golden cage that completely enveloped the entire Spirit Lake, the Xuan Turtle, and the Zhenyuan Ship, which was suspended in mid-air.

Just a second before the bow of the Zhenyuan was about to be bitten to pieces by the Xuan Turtle, the Locking Heaven Formation suddenly closed.