Chapter 301: The Southern Sea (1)

The Lead Disciples of the Six Great Sects had been gathered, so Quiet And Steadfast could finally turn in his quest. But, he didn’t immediately do so when he considered the time of day. Instead, they agreed to meet the next day.

The next day, all six Lead Disciples came online at the appointed time. Once everyone had gathered, Quiet And Steadfast brought them over to the Lich Palace. They decided that they would find Poison Toad to turn in the quest, while simultaneously picking up the Black Tortoise that they’d left with him to incubate in the process.

“You’ve come. The new Black Tortoise has been born, come along.” When they arrived at the main hall of Lich Palace, Poison Toad was sitting at the Head Seat with one hand holding a cup of tea, while the other hand stirred it with the cup’s lid. Sipping his drink, he spoke without looking up.

Realising that the atmosphere was a little off, he raised his head and noticed the people standing behind Quiet And Steadfast. He furrowed his dashing eyebrows in confusion and asked, “They are…?”

“Master, the Lead Disciples of the Six Great Sects have all been assembled,” Said Quiet And Steadfast as he clasped his hands in respect.

Unconcealed joy bloomed on Poison Toad’s face. He hurriedly set down his cup and walked over to the rest of the group before giving them a once over - with the exclusion of Shen Jingbin and Quiet And Steadfast, of course.

After examining everyone, Poison Toad laughed loudly. His face was brimming with happiness; to the point where The Winds Of Ximen gulped down his saliva in surprise. He pulled Quiet And Steadfast over to the side and asked in a whisper, “Hey, Great God, isn’t your Sect Leader too beautiful?”

“Mm? He looks ok.”

When The Winds Of Ximen thought back to the Mara Hall’s Sect Leader, who was as ugly as Zhang Fei, and tears began to stream down his face.

All of them were Sect Leaders, but why did the other Sect Leaders have sage-like, alluring, or at least majestic appearances; while his was the only Sect Leader who was rough and hulk-like? Wasn’t this discriminating against Maras?!

“Wonderful, you really are a good disciple! You managed to gather the other five Lead Disciples in such a short time. Good, good! I’ve truly picked the right person for the job!” Poison Toad was clearly ecstatic.

“The Shinra Sect has been increasing in strength and I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to make it in time but, I can rest easy now! Take this and keep it somewhere safe,” He said as he retrieved a wooden plaque from his bosom. Apart from it being completely black, it wasn’t anything special.

“What’s this?” Quiet And Steadfast asked.

“This is a miraculous wooden plaque. Take it to the Southern Sea and hand it over to a man named Su Qin. He’ll update you on the Shinra Sect’s current situation.”

Once Quiet And Steadfast had taken the wooden plaque from Poison Toad, Shen Jingbin stepped forward and asked, “Sect Leader Poison Toad, can I have the Black Tortoise now?”

Poison Toad glanced at her, a smile still lingering on his face. “Sure. The two of you can follow me, while the rest of you can wait here for a little while. Hannya, serve some tea for our guests.”

A disciple standing outside the main hall acknowledged him. Soon after, he led a few junior disciples in; each of them holding a pot of hot tea.

Pure Crane and the other three sat down on both sides of the hall as Hannya and the junior disciples served them tea. The Winds of Ximen was the first to take a sip from his cup.

Moments after sipping the tea, he heard a chime from the system notification. “You have drunk the Lich Palace’s Spring Tea. Inner Strength has permanently increased by one point (Notice: Spring Tea can only increase a player’s attribute once. The attribute affected and the amount increased are random.). You have received the Tranquility buff for 30 minutes.”

What the f*ck?!?! The Winds Of Ximen was so surprised that he almost fell off his chair. Wasn’t the Lich Palace getting too many perks? Was it too late for him to jump ship over to the Lich Palace?

After rounding numerous bends, Poison Toad finally led Shen Jingbin and Quiet And Steadfast to an outdoor pond. When they approached, they saw a layer of steam rising from the surface of the pond.

“This is the Lich Palace’s Evil Warding Pond. Its waters have been refined by Samadhi fire, so it’s perfect for hatching the Black Tortoise Egg,” Poison Toad explained.

“So, the Black Tortoise will be born in this pond? Wouldn’t it be boiled alive?” Shen Jingbin questioned as she slowly approached. She trembled a little as she gazed at the bubbling pond.

How hot did it have to be for the waters to bubble like that?

Poison Toad wordlessly smiled as he slowly squatted, and brushed the pond’s water with his hand. Several seconds later, a stream of bubbles appeared as a jet-black shadow started to rise from within the depths of the pond.

The shadow drew closer and closer till it finally broke the surface of the water with a splash, revealing a palm-sized tortoise that proceeded to intimately rub its head against Poison Toad’s hand.

“This is the Black Tortoise?” Shen Jingbin asked as she squatted in an attempt to take a closer look.

Poison Toad patted the little tortoise’s shell and picked it up before handing it to her. “This is a baby Black Tortoise. It’s still too young for it to advance in rank, but it’ll regain its power once it’s old enough for its advancement.”

Shen Jingbin held the little tortoise in both hands and examined it carefully. “It only has the body of a tortoise; where’s the winged snake?”

“It’s still within the tortoise’s shell. The winged snake will appear when the Black Tortoise advances.”

Shen Jingbin looked down at the tortoise’s shell once again. After examining it carefully for a while, she finally found an earthworm-like winged snake in the middle of the tortoise’s shell.

Why did she suddenly feel like her future was bleak?

The two of them didn’t dawdle any longer once they retrieved the Black Tortoise. Shen Jingbin stored the Black Tortoise in her pet inventory and they made their way back to the main hall. After bidding farewell to Poison Toad, Quiet And Steadfast majestically led the rest of the Lead Disciples on their journey to the Southern Sea.