As the saying goes, no matter how skilled someone is, there's always someone above them.
One thing controls another, and Zhu Luo is no exception.
Looking back at the long life of the Giant Turtle Zhulu, we return to the very beginning in that damp underground cave.
Zhu Luo's original family of three is now untraceable, as at that time, he had not yet been enlightened by the Village and was truly just a simple turtle.
If the Village hadn't picked him up, he would likely have been washed away by the underground torrent with his original family, becoming a neat and tidy piece of fossil in the earth vein stratum.
Surviving and gaining enlightenment, the only ones Zhu Luo recognizes as family are three.
They are the Village, and the Li Family siblings, who established the Beast Taming Sect.
The Li Family siblings have long passed, and to see them, one can only go to the ancestral shrine to remember them.
And for those close who have already passed, no matter how much you think about them, it only brings nostalgia in your heart and sadness in your eyes.
One shouldn't show such a face as if they've swallowed two pounds of fly dung, caught their father washing feet, and themselves being reprimanded.
Therefore, after precise calculations by the White Emperor, Xiangxiang thinks that the one making Zhu Luo show such an expression must be the Village, the ultimate enduring one.
He is the only one who can leave Zhu Luo helpless. If it were anyone else, Zhu Luo would have used his turtle shell to knock the earwax out of them.
"Zhu Luo... what's wrong? Is there something wrong with the Village?" Xiangxiang floated over to ask.
Zhu Luo turned to look at Xiangxiang, then shook his head and sighed, as if he had something difficult to say.
"It's nothing, I can solve it." Zhu Luo sighed.
Thereafter, no matter how much Xiangxiang asked, Zhu Luo wouldn't answer, only continued to sigh.
Xiangxiang, hands crossed, didn't know what to do.
While looking for a port just now, she had incidentally connected to the observation tower here. Xiangxiang discovered that within a hundred miles of this area, a small disaster wave had just occurred.
Although it was quickly suppressed by the well-prepared Six Sect cultivators, and no casualties were caused.
But no matter how you think about it, it feels weird, and it's uncertain whether it's related to Zhu Luo's anomaly.
But with Zhu Luo not speaking, Xiangxiang had no way. Just as she was about to find Tang, the one who couldn't keep secrets, in the corner, a Big Head Firefly Spirit sneakily emerged, nodding its fluffy head toward Xiangxiang.
The meaning was clear; it wanted her to come over.
Thinking for a moment, Xiangxiang floated over, leaving Zhu Luo alone to sigh.
Twisting and turning, Xiangxiang followed the Firefly Spirit downward, changing ports several times, yet she didn't lose track.
Finally, Xiangxiang found herself back at the original broken cave.
"What's this for?" Xiangxiang asked, looking at the cave that resembled a broken warehouse.
The leading Firefly Spirit made a shushing gesture. Then, the fluffy hair on its head waved, and the solid wall ahead rippled, revealing a green light door.
"Eh?" Xiangxiang was startled because it was at this moment she sensed there was another space behind this green light door.
There was even a port she had set up once before.
She didn't know when it was moved inside.
Xiangxiang floated in following the Firefly Spirit.
As soon as she entered, Xiangxiang felt a buzzing in her 'ears.'
Of course, she didn't actually have ears, but her entire projection started to tremble.
In a daze, she only felt like she was inside a scrapped Human Emperor Banner.
Surrounded by the voices of ten thousand Taoists, a thousand mouths speaking to her.
After some time adjusting, Xiangxiang was able to see the situation here clearly.
It resembled a gigantic meeting room, somewhat similar to the evil space of the Yap People Zhang Ze had once mentioned.
Inside, it was filled with various Thousand Mechanism Tools and indistinct magical artifacts.
Countless Firefly Spirits and Fujis went back and forth, constantly exchanging information, and they were the source of the 'noise.'
"Where is this?" Xiangxiang asked, bewildered.
The Big Head Firefly Spirit that brought her here waved its fluffy hair, replying, "Underground Special Operations."
Xiangxiang, "?"
Just like Brother Monkey returning to Chang State to rebuild their home, this group of Firefly Spirits also returned here. Although the disagreements were resolved, the Firefly Spirits haven't completely unified.
Instead, they've split into three factions.
One faction, which is the purest, is working with the local people, the cultivators from Medicine King Valley and Beast Taming Sect, and Brother Monkey to restore the destroyed ecosystem and rebuild their home.
The second group, aiming for the heavens, currently revolves around the golden platform daily, learning miscellaneous knowledge, preparing to ascend to the heavens.
The last batch, somewhat dark with peculiar backgrounds, split from the original two groups, 'tainted' during a tour at the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, currently obsessed with espionage work.
They believe that by doing good intelligence work, they can better protect their companions and safeguard Chang State.
This underground cave below Spirit Deer Valley is a core of Lord Fuji's intelligence network. Currently, due to having flown alongside Spirit Deer Valley to Chang State, it became Chang State's mobile node and Firefly Spirit's temporary training base…
"That's how it is; this is our secret base, you mustn't tell anyone, not even the White Emperor!"
A Fuji dropped down from the ceiling, swaying in front of Xiangxiang.
Watching Fuji, a drop of silver metal fell from the temporary port here and, under Xiangxiang's control, transformed into a small hand, picking up a Jade Scroll scattered on the ground.
Inside was intelligence regarding an oasis.
Looking at the overly detailed information, Xiangxiang suddenly felt a bit deflated.
'Why did I bother with the Destiny Chosen One back then? It would have been so much better to just cooperate with these little sticky ones; their intelligence gathering capabilities would save so much trouble.'
While thinking this, the Fuji dangling in front of her swayed again.
"You're not allowed to call us little stickies, you must call us Lady Fuji!"
Xiangxiang, "?"
I didn't even say anything, how did she know?
Regarding calling Fuji "little sticky," she had only muttered about it to herself in private, not even Zhang Ze knew.
Fuji let out a humph, proudly saying, "We know everything, we're always watching you, humph humph."
After finishing its humphing, the Fuji flipped back with a swoosh.
Xiangxiang suddenly felt a bit afraid.
She pondered whether to do a big clean-up when she got back, and remove all the Fuji stuck in the wall crevices.
But that's for later; for now, Zhu Luo and the village's matters were a bit more important.
She looked at Da Tou Cai the Firefly Spirit, who led her here, and asked.
"Has something happened to Zhu Luo and the village? Why do they seem so strange?"
Da Tou Cai's big eyes spun around erratically, making a gurgling sound, and a moment later, a scroll was sent over by a Thousand Mechanism Slide.
"Here, see for yourself."
The small hand of silver metal touched the scroll, the information was read, and images secretly taken from various nooks and crannies, along with several reports, appeared before Xiangxiang's eyes.
"Ah this..."
After looking at the intelligence, Xiangxiang's projection trembled a few more times.
...
Thousand Mechanism Pavilion.
Zhang Ze and Lily were assembling an arcade machine.
After Xiangxiang left, Zhang Ze contacted Tang, but Tang said there was nothing major over there.
So during the time waiting for Xiangxiang's reply, he looked for some fun, pulling out some diagrams Xiangxiang had made from System House.
He planned to make an arcade with Lily.
...
Lily looked at the prototype with just the shell in front of her, a bit troubled.
"Speaking of which, isn't the material a bit too poor? Forget normal people, even I could snap this joystick easily."
Saying this, Lily lightly pinched, and the metal rod was dented.
As a merchant known for skimping and cutting corners, even she thought Zhang Ze was overdoing it a bit.
"That's the effect we want, otherwise how do we make money."
Zhang Ze removed the joystick Lily had bent and pulled out another one from a nearby box, inserting it back in.
"The joystick, buttons, screen are all removable; if it breaks, you spend money to replace it, if not, you just keep playing."
Lily slyly stared at Zhang Ze, "Aren't we being too tricky? Who would play like this?"
Zhang Ze waved his fingers, "Cultivators' reaction speeds and mental calculation far exceed a mortal's. If we made these things too sturdy, it wouldn't be as interesting, they'd be bored after a day.
"Besides, we actually know the Rising Dragon Fist; we don't need the arcade to perform it."
Zhang Ze looked at the table at the sealed Crystal Stone containing an untranslated "White Emperor City Street Fighter Legend."
"That's why we must add some restrictions. The real fun is competing with people.
"Think of it differently; we're not cutting corners. We're training cultivators' control over strength and mentality. Mastery of subtlety and balance is the real solid foundation.
"Therefore, this isn't an arcade game; it's a Magical Artifact for auxiliary cultivation. It's not just a game, it's a contest between two cultivators."
With those words, Zhang Ze lightly tapped, activating a Magical Artifact attached to the arcade.
A series of cheeky expressions lit up: weakling, noob, you're triggered, cliché, fun...
Lily eyed those expressions, thinking that with two machines facing each other, flashing taunts while controlling force would indeed test one's mental state.
"Taunting each other, calculating each other's moves, yet using inefficient controls to win over the opponent."
"Then add a contest element, with prizes like Cultivation Techniques and Magical Artifacts as rewards..."
Zhang Ze kept on talking, but suddenly felt someone tugging his clothes.
Lowering his head, he found Maomao holding a specially made small walnut, squatting by his side.
After taking it, Zhang Ze found it contained intelligence relayed by Xiangxiang.
Zhang Ze, "Ah this..."
"What's up? What's going on?" Lily jumped up, trying to see what was written on it.
Zhang Ze, "You look for yourself."
Lily took it, and after reading it, her expression mirrored Zhang Ze's.
"Ah this..."
"What do you mean, the village fell in love?"
"What do you mean, its partner hasn't grown up yet?"
