"Elder Zhang Di, let's leave this place. That giant Xuan Turtle was left here by the previous Sealer to protect this Sealing Island. Protecting it is its mission. It has been here for a long time and has never harmed anyone; it's very intelligent. Please, Elder Zhang Di, do not harm it!"

Duan Gujin pleaded.

"Alright! I'll leave right now!"

Zhang Di's mind raced; after some thought, he felt that he really should leave this place.

Their purpose for coming here was to find the treasure that emitted the light pillar, but now he understood that the light pillar was not emitted by a treasure but by an Array instead. He knew their mission had failed.

What shocked him the most was the unexpected presence of the giant Xuan Turtle, which had been left by the previous Sealer to guard the Sealing Island—and its defensive power was astonishing.

If the giant Xuan Turtle decided to have a showdown with them, Zhang Di reckoned that he might find the opponent's weakness. By exploiting that weakness, they could possibly overcome the creature.

Earlier, he and the other elders had engaged with the giant Xuan Turtle, and he found the Xuan Turtle to be too cunning.

As long as they couldn't strike it, the creature would immediately dive into the depths of the sea to avoid a direct confrontation.

Zhang Di had previously not understood why the combat power of the giant Xuan Turtle was not inferior to theirs, yet it avoided direct clashes with them.

But now, after Duan Gujin's analysis, he had an epiphany.

"The giant Xuan Turtle's goal is to protect the Sealing Island from being destroyed, not to engage in combat with people. Its purpose is to stop us from approaching the Sealing Island, not to exterminate us!"

After a moment, Zhang Di came upon a troubling thought.

"Oh no! Duan Gujin, we just caused that island to sink. What if the giant Xuan Turtle discovers the truth? How will it deal with us?"

Duan Gujin's eyes flashed, and he said, "Let's leave this place immediately!"

"Right! Right! You're absolutely correct!"

Zhang Di nodded hastily and then signalled the other elders to command all the ships to leave this area.

Duan Gujin saw Zhang Di really directing those ships away and let out a sigh of relief.

He knew that the giant Xuan Turtle was carrying out the Sealer's orders, specifically tasked with guarding the Sealing Island. The turtle was highly intelligent, and he did not want anyone else to harm it.

He had intentionally spoken in such a way because he couldn't be sure whether Zhang Di had different intentions in private.

Duan Gujin's eyes flashed, and he said, "Elder Zhang Di, I have a presumptuous request to make!"

"Go ahead!"

Zhang Di's eyes flickered, unable to fathom what the presumptuous request from Duan Gujin might be.

"Elder Zhang Di, our current main enemy is the Jialuo Demon King from the Netherworld Dark Clan, lurking in the shadows. The Jialuo Demon King is now the common enemy of all people on the Qiankun Continent! If I'm not mistaken, there must be many people on this continent who've been beguiled or used by the Demon King. And that giant Xuan Turtle is our friend, which may have other missions as well; we must not harm it! If anyone dares to harm it, I believe they are very likely to be the Demon King's accomplice. I ask Elder Zhang Di to secretly investigate and see who might dare to harm the giant Xuan Turtle. I hope Elder Zhang Di can trace the clues to the real culprit!"

After hearing Duan Gujin's words, Zhang Di's eyes brightened intensely.

"Yes! Yes! You're right!"

Zhang Di's mind spun rapidly, and he thought that nothing Duan Gujin said was incorrect.

"Indeed, our common enemy now is the Jialuo Demon King. The Demon King is truly terrifying; it destroyed the Star Pill Association headquarters in an instant and severely demoralized everyone across the Qiankun Continent!"

Zhang Di had indeed planned to covertly have people track the giant Xuan Turtle, hoping to gather valuable intelligence from it.

But after hearing Duan Gujin's words, he immediately dismissed that thought.

He was aware that while he might find some valuable treasures from the giant Xuan Turtle, the creature was related to the life and death of the Human Clan across the entire Qiankun Continent. He couldn't possibly put the Human Clan at great risk because of his own personal desires.

He couldn't afford to take that risk!

He knew that one wrong step could lead to the doom of the entire Human Clan on the Qiankun Continent!

"Rest assured! I will definitely dispatch people to protect the giant Xuan Turtle!"

Zhang Di said with a serious look on his face.

Seeing Zhang Di's grave expression, Duan Gujin felt it was possible that he might take his advice.

"Elder Zhang Di, let's return to the mainland. Once we're back, we can discuss further plans!"

Duan Gujin spoke.

"Alright!"

Zhang Di hurriedly nodded.

Weighing the pros and cons, he decided to follow Duan Gujin's suggestion.

Half a day later, they all returned to shore.

Zhang Di invited Duan Gujin to a meeting in an inn, where they planned to discuss strategies to confront the Jialuo Demon King.

There in the inn, Duan Gujin recounted his previous encounters on the Tianluo Plain.

His aim was simple: to direct the blame onto the Netherworld Sect.

After hearing Duan Gujin's story, many of the elders present were seething with anger.

"So it was that scoundrel Han Zhanyi who released it!"

Duan Gujin laughed aloud when he heard a middle-aged fat man call Han Zhanyi a scoundrel.

The other elders in attendance spoke even worse of the Netherworld Sect's Sect Master and the Netherworld Sect, branding them as thieves and prostitutes.

Zhang Di quickly calmed everyone down and posed a question for them to ponder.

"My fellow elders, what do you think? Could the mastermind behind the destruction of the Star Pill Association headquarters be Han Zhanyi?"

"We really can't be sure of that!"

Many elders present shook their heads. They didn't know much about Han Zhanyi, nor did they have much understanding of the Netherworld Dark Clan. They couldn't be sure whether the one who destroyed the Star Pill Association headquarters was Han Zhanyi.

"Elder Zhang Di, could that person be Han Zhanyi?" Zhang Di asked Duan Gujin.

"Elder Zhang Di, I really can't be certain! To control the Nine Nether Dark Sea, the controller must possess great strength. If the controller is the Jialuo Demon King, its body has been destroyed; logically, it should not have the strength to control the Nine Nether Dark Sea anymore! So, I had previously ruled out the Jialuo Demon King. But I don't know much about the Demon King; perhaps its body was not destroyed, and it may have other methods to retain its body. There's also a possibility that the mastermind is the Jialuo Demon King!"

Duan Gujin analyzed.

After listening to Duan Gujin's analysis, they all started discussing it among themselves.

After a while, they felt that Duan Gujin's analysis was completely correct, and they fully agreed with his findings.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.