Don't Provoke the Turtle

Traversing the moon on arrival, chasing it upon departure.

Sparse stars hung in the ninth heaven, twinkling faintly.

The Flying Boat pierced through the clouds, with a sparse moon and stars overhead, and a bamboo sea stretching below. The fresh autumn rain had washed away the world's superficiality, making the bamboo forest seem newly grown, dripping with vibrant green. Yet the autumn bamboo lacked the vitality of spring, appearing all the more upright.

Sitting on the deck with a golden saber, Ya Ya looked like a young empress ascending the throne for the first time.

Having just been worshipped by bandits, it was inevitable to feel a bit juvenile.

The bandits were convinced.

Without Su He and Su Huanian even showing up, the entire stronghold had only three cultivators, one at the fourth step of Transcend Mortality, and two at the third step. Ya Ya could poke through the entire mountain with a single finger.

Over two hundred bandits, a dense crowd shouting for the leader, a spectacle unmatched by an equal number of Thunder Apes beating their chests in chaos.

These were humans!

The name of Ape Stronghold was now void. Ya Ya felt that the word "ape" clashed with her, having transformed into an ape three times and been killed each time. Now, just hearing the word made her heart tremble.

But a new name for the stronghold had yet to be decided. At the moment, one could hear the leader, sitting upright, muttering softly to herself, "Su Stronghold? He Stronghold? Huanian Stronghold? Sounds terrible, I don't want that!"

She racked her brains but was clueless. Naming was a bit of a challenge for this little fist-sized spirit.

After a long while, Ya Ya's face, twisted in agony, suddenly lit up, "Got it! Orient Loong Stronghold! Hehe, Aunt Xuan's stronghold name, now it's mine!"

This was the White Spirit small world, a name Meng Xuan had mentioned during a discussion about life, the name of the stronghold she planned to build in the future.

Meng Xuan's mother was a Rosefinch, so naming it after the Orient Loong was mighty and domineering!

But now the name was hers! Next time she saw Aunt Golden Loong, she would show off her own stronghold!

Ya Ya, content, leaped down from the ship's side and looked out. Suddenly, she pointed towards the forest below, "Big cat... Big bear!"

Below, a panda was struggling with a bamboo stalk, quite temperamental, bending the bamboo with a slap. The bamboo snapped back, striking it hard.

The panda immediately rolled on the ground, holding its head and emitting a dog-like bark.

Another panda on the bamboo was startled by the noise, tumbling down from a tall bamboo, its fat body jiggling like jelly.

Ya Ya clapped the ship's side and burst into laughter. This creature was so silly! It could go extinct without being hunted!

Su He watched her, thinking how a child could be so happy.

Su He said softly, "Don't underestimate it, that's an Iron-Eating Beast. Your Barbarian King rode it into battle."

Ya Ya, in the midst of laughter, suddenly froze, her head turning frame by frame, incredulously looking at Su He. She had heard the most shocking news in the world.

The Barbarian King puppet on her shoulder was dumbfounded, its axe falling from its hand, as if it couldn't believe it!

Then the puppet, with a face full of horror, dived into Ya Ya's pouch, pulling out a transforming puppet sculpture. The puppet, round and plump, was turning into a panda. The Barbarian King grabbed its hind legs and slammed it onto the deck, trying to stop its transformation.

But it was too late. In just a moment, a palm-sized round Iron-Eating Beast took shape, burrowed under the Barbarian King's crotch, and started sprinting recklessly across the deck.

The Barbarian King immediately looked despondent.