The Eternal Sin-Chapter 42: White Bone River Turtle.

Heaven has no walls and Earth has no edges. The world stretches beyond the reach of mortal thought.

A frog at the bottom of a well believes the circle of sky above it is all there is. Only when it climbs out does it realize that there are mountains beyond mountains and heavens beyond heavens.

The Boundless Genesis World is divided into four great continents: the Myriad Heaven Continent, the Ancient Star Continent, the Mystic Saint Continent, and the Central Divine Continent. Separating these massive lands is a vast ocean that has existed since the Primordial Antiquity Era. Storms rage there year-round, and countless ancient beasts lurk in the deep waters.

Even Core Formation cultivators flying for months without rest would still see nothing but endless blue waves, which is why exchanges between continents are rare and regarded as grand events.

Among the four continents, the Myriad Heaven Continent is acknowledged as the smallest, yet even this smallest landmass spans nearly 260 million kilometers from north to south and over 140 million kilometers from east to west. If one were to ascend beyond the clouds and look down, the continent would appear as an endless expanse of green.

Mountain ranges stretch across tens of thousands of kilometers, rivers run for ages without meeting the sea, and countless sects, kingdoms, and ancient clans exist like grains of sand scattered across the land.

In the southern region of the Myriad Heaven Continent stands Evergreen Peak Province. Within those peaks rises Heavenly Tiger Mountain. It was there that Jiang Chen first opened his eyes to the world.

Four days had passed since he left the sect.

He was now at the outskirts of Earthly Spirit Bamboo Mountain. The terrain here was rugged, with steep slopes rising and falling like waves frozen in time. The mountain was blanketed entirely by towering green bamboo that swayed whenever the mountain winds passed through, their hollow stems producing low, resonant sounds that resembled flutes echoing through the wilderness.

A violent tremor suddenly shattered the quiet of the mountain.

Bamboo stalks exploded outward as an enormous creature crashed through the forest floor. Jiang Chen stood his ground, his muscles coiled like tensioned steel cables as he stared at the monstrosity before him.

A Rank One King-tier existence.

The White Bone River Turtle revealed its terrifying form, with an elephant-sized body. Its shell rose like a green mountain, uneven humps protruding across its back. Moss clung to it in dense layers, giving it the appearance of an ancient boulder that had grown legs.

Two thick necks extended outward, each head bearing golden eyes that shone like miniature suns. The beast’s four legs stood like immovable pillars, each step capable of crushing a buffalo into pulp. Behind it, a monstrous tail lashed through the air like a sweeping flood python, its surface plated in dark, metallic scales that gleamed with a cold luster.

Jiang Chen had been careful during this journey, avoiding unnecessary confrontations. But this time, he was filled with excitement as he faced this demonic beast.

’This is truly an unexpected opportunity. Who would have thought I would stumble upon a White Bone River Turtle here? One of the four essential catalysts for refining the Primordial Beast Refining Cauldron mentioned in the flesh aspect of the Flesh Devouring God Scripture. I have scoured markets and exhausted my connections with minimal progress, yet fate delivers it to my door when I least expect it. I cannot let this chance slip through my fingers.’

Jiang Chen’s eyes flickered with cold resolve. He did not wait for the beast to gather momentum. His body blurred as he executed the Traceless Ink Steps, turning into a streak of flowing blackness that seemed to bleed into the shadows of the swaying bamboo.

He appeared instantly at the beast’s front, his fist glowing with the ferocious golden aura of the Heavenly Tiger Fist. His tiger bone essence hummed, his strength equivalent to a King-tier beast.

The air shrieked as his fist rocketed toward the turtle, but the creature countered with its tail, whipping through the air with the force of an avalanche.

Jiang Chen felt the displacement of air and twisted his body mid-charge. The tail whistled past his ear and smashed into the ground behind him. The impact shattered the earth, sending plumes of dirt and broken bamboo twenty feet into the air.

Jiang Chen capitalized on the opening, surging toward the beast’s twin heads, intending to shatter its skulls in one blow.

However, the turtle was a survivor of countless battles. With a cowardly but effective instinct, it retracted both heads into the impenetrable fortress of its shell.

Jiang Chen’s fist struck the mossy surface, and instead of the sound of breaking bone, a dull thud echoed through the wilderness. Not even a hairline fracture appeared on the dark green armor.

He quickly realized that attacking the shell was useless.

"Hmph." Jiang Chen snorted and shifted his weight, digging his heels into the mud.

’If I cannot break the shell, I will overturn it.’ He reached beneath the edge of the shell, his muscles bulging as he attempted to heave the multi-ton beast onto its back.

But the beast’s iron-like tail was relentless, swinging back to obstruct his every move.

’You want to play with your tail?’ Jiang Chen’s spiritual essence circulated as six clones sprang from his body. They lunged at the tail, wrapping their arms around the scaly limb to pin it to the ground.

Jiang Chen heaved again, his face turning deep crimson from exertion, but the beast’s raw weight and the tail’s frantic thrashing overpowered the clones and tossed them aside like leaves.

The tail attacked Jiang Chen once more, forcing him to stop and counter it again.

Realizing the stalemate, Jiang Chen’s expression darkened. He changed his approach instantly, personally charging toward the tail to suppress it with his strength while commanding the reforming clones to focus entirely on overturning the creature.

Three more clones joined the fray, nine in total now straining against the massive beast.

But even then, the turtle remained anchored, its claws digging deep into the earth to resist the upward force. It was like a mountain refusing to be moved.

"Stubborn beast!" Jiang Chen growled, abandoning the flipping plan. His clones converged on the tail like a pack of wolves.

He grabbed the base of the tail himself, his fingers sinking into the flesh beneath the scales. Tearing sounds, wet and visceral, filled the grove. The turtle let out a mournful, double-toned shriek that sent smaller birds screaming into the air.

Seeing that it was going to lose its tail, in a display of agonizing madness, the turtle’s two heads emerged and twisted together like serpents, one biting into the neck of the other. With a sickening crunch, the dominant head ripped the other off and swallowed it whole.

Suddenly, the humps on its shell exploded. Hundreds of chalk-white bones, resembling crooked, bloody fingers, pierced through the moss and shot toward its attacker.

Jiang Chen’s pupils constricted. He sacrificed his clones, sending them forward as shields against the unpredictable bone spikes.

The spikes impaled the clones, turning them into dissipating mist, but it gave Jiang Chen the time he needed. With a final roar, he tore the massive tail clean off the beast’s body.

The turtle let out an anguish-filled scream that seemed to shake the very roots of the mountain.

Jiang Chen did not waste a second, stuffing the blood-dripping tail into his bag of holding. He was panting, his spiritual essence drained to nearly thirty percent, and more than half his clones were destroyed. But the beast was also wounded, its white shell now slick with dark blood.

The White Bone River Turtle, with long white bone spikes jutting from its shell, lashed them forward in a chaotic barrage. Jiang Chen moved through the rain of white death like a vanishing ghost, his Traceless Ink Steps pushed to their limit.

He ran over the surface of a bone spike and fearlessly leaped onto the turtle’s back, ruthlessly ripping the bone spikes out of the shell one by one.

Each pull was accompanied by the sound of cracking bone and pain-filled shrieks from the beast. Its blood ran in streams over the white exoskeleton. The creature shuddered with every motion.

The demonic turtle was utterly suppressed. Jiang Chen’s Heavenly Tiger Fist shattered many bone spikes, while the surviving clones kept watch over the hidden turtle head, ready to strike the moment it emerged.

Finally, the massive creature could no longer sustain its life force. It collapsed with a thunderous thud, its body settling into the mud. Jiang Chen landed in front of it, his eyes cold.

He moved to flip the shell one last time and deliver the killing blow, but as the shell tilted just enough, the remaining head lunged out with the speed of a striking viper. Its jaws snapped inches from Jiang Chen’s throat.

Jiang Chen’s heart leaped. Instinctively, he shoved the clone next to him into the beast’s maw. The turtle bit the clone in half, and the smoke obscured its vision for a heartbeat.

That heartbeat was all Jiang Chen needed. He drew his sword in a blur and threw it with every ounce of his remaining strength. The blade pierced the golden sun-like eye and buried itself deep into the turtle’s brain.

The turtle’s body went limp and fell heavily again.

Jiang Chen watched, his chest heaving. He swept his divine sense over the carcass, attempting to pull it into his storage bag. When the massive form vanished into the spatial pocket, he finally let out a long breath.

"Phew... that was work to kill it."

He moved quickly, gathering the broken bone spikes scattered across the clearing. These materials were valuable commodities that could be sold in markets. He took out the formation flags, and his two remaining clones began setting up a Divine Concealment Array.

While that was happening, Jiang Chen pulled out his map. His eyes traveled past Earthly Spirit Bamboo Mountain to a massive cliff that seemed to pierce the very heavens.

’To reach the black market in time, I must cross that cliff. The other routes are infested with Rank Two beasts, and with my current cultivation, entering their territory is seeking a grave.’

Jiang Chen looked at the limitless peak and gulped. Climbing such a vertical abyss without tools was a risky venture, especially if demonic beasts were nesting within it.

’Wait... White Bone River Turtles are aquatic dwellers. Finding one in this dry mountain stretch is an anomaly. This White Bone River Turtle must have migrated from somewhere far. There must be a water source nearby.’ Jiang Chen’s gaze flickered to the map.

His eyes suddenly lit up. ’There’s a river here. I can build a raft and traverse the river, bypassing the cliffs entirely. The water routes lead toward Dark Wind Mountain. The current may carry me there by nightfall, perhaps by sunset if I am lucky. From there, Sunken Moon Valley is only a half day’s journey. It is more feasible than risking the climb.’

As he lowered his gaze to the earth, deep in thought, imagining currents and forming plans, the ground beneath him darkened. A massive shadow devoured his own. Jiang Chen’s blood ran cold, his instincts screaming danger.

Before he could react, two massive talons, sharp as diamond hooks, pierced his shoulders. With a violent gust of wind that flattened the bamboo for a hundred meters, Jiang Chen was yanked into the sky, the ground shrinking rapidly as he was carried into the clouds.