After concluding his survey of the Encapsulated Flow, John returned to the Molten Sea- or at least the small segment which had the Burning Delta. He wasn’t so reckless as to step into lesser known territory recklessly. Even if he could defend himself against most enemies with his strength, his presence might be seen as a threat by those who were unfamiliar with him. Even if the majority of the Molten Sea wasn’t directly aligned with Gesine, that didn’t mean they were friendly either. If he was to visit elsewhere, there would be special trips for that very purpose.

  Making use of remembered pathways through the less-molten portions of the Burning Delta, John brought their group to visit the Burning Delta once more, though many of the disciples had not been there on their previous visit. In the same manner, many who had been with them before were not, as they had not brought along any other clans or sects.

  Because it was not a scheduled visit, John didn’t intend to burden the sect for long. Nor did he intend to explore more of the Molten Sea at the current time. Even so, there were things that could be gained or confirmed in a short time. John had a few ideas about how to test himself using the unique local terrain.

  Unlike Steve, he wasn’t the sort to throw himself into a volcano… but he was perfectly content walking along the surface of the perpetual lava. He wasn’t looking to push himself for a breakthrough but still wanted to somewhat strain himself.

  Given the density and viscosity of the lava, John barely sank into the material even if he did nothing to stabilize himself. If he remained idle he would eventually sink about to his waist with a third of him under the lava. Obviously for a non-cultivator it would be a terrifying prospect, but to him it was akin to walking through heavy mud. He was more concerned about not getting stuck than anything else- though if his legs were buried he multiplied his usage of spiritual energy to protect himself severalfold.

  When just walking around, protecting himself was less draining than flying. The lava wasn’t actually trying to kill him, it was just existing. The very elements he used to resist the heat were also omnipresent around him, as the Molten Sea carried high amounts of both fire and water element.

  Though somewhat strenuous, his traversal was for the most part quite peaceful. It lacked some of the variation in scenery he might prefer on a nature walk, but despite what it might seem the Molten Sea wasn’t completely barren of life- it was just rare.

  This time, some of it came to introduce itself to John… rather aggressively. The creature blended well into the sea below, so John only had a moment’s warning to dodge its bite. Massive jaws clamped down where he had been standing a moment before as a rain of molten particles fell around him, the surface rippling. A massive turtle head as big across as John was tall- or a bit bigger- quickly retracted back into the liquid below.

  Clearly there was some manipulation of viscosity, or such a turtle couldn’t swim at any decent speed. However, even taking some quick steps along the surface John found it continued to nip at his heels- or attempt to swallow him whole, which was effectively the same thing.

  Normally, John was an advocate for leaving the local wildlife alone- but that was mainly with regards to the peaceful or at least less aggressive inhabitants. He took a moment to consider if the Burning Delta had expressed any opinions about the local turtles. He didn’t want to slay some sort of sacred beast… but he recalled they were listed among the potential dangers. Though he had the feeling this one was an exception in its strength, to dare to attack an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator.

  Perhaps it mistook him for an easy target. John decided to display his strength, in case the neatly cycling elements had thrown off the beast. But it continued to display aggressive behavior, swimming around to cut off his attempts to retreat.

  Still not wanting to kill it, John leapt into the air and held himself aloft. He thought that once it couldn’t reach him that it would grow tired and leave him alone, but it clearly had experience with hard to reach foes. Perhaps there were some flying beasts in the area it liked to snack upon.

  John was able to sense the shaping of spiritual energy before a massive ball of lava flew up towards him, spreading outward and thinning to cover more area. It was infused with spiritual energy to fortify it, but John managed to cut a thin path through with a mix of air and water elements. The turtle had power, but not the finesse necessary to overcome dominant elements. Flying higher didn’t dissuade the beast, and frankly John wasn’t sure if he should avoid fighting it.

  This wasn’t far from the sect grounds, and the locals could easily be attacked if they sailed into this thing’s territory. John still attempted to keep ahead of it, flying up and away, but it continued to follow far beyond what he thought was a reasonable domain. It was fast, too. He tried to leave it behind, but John thought he might exhaust himself if he was careless. If he flew back towards the sect he could be certain that he would be safe, but at that point he might just draw others into trouble.

  It persisted in its pursuit, so it would be a fight. John had been cycling his elements inside of him, as he’d been defending seriously. Now, he’d look into offense. The turtle launched another wide area attack, and John launched himself further upward. Already, the turtle could attack over a hundred meters into the air- he might be able to outrange it eventually, but sudden movements seemed effective enough in avoiding its attacks.

  He charged a single throwing knife with as much lightning as he could, coating it in a layer of water to augment that capacity. When the turtle launched another ball of magma he waited for it to spread out before throwing his attack through the center. He could have curved it around or waited to dodge the attack, but he wanted to hide his intentions and it would take more energy to redirect his attack.

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  The dagger pierced through where the incoming attack was thinnest, striking downward like a bolt of lightning. The turtle’s mouth hung slightly ajar, and his attack exploded inside it. Air overcame water, and his water nullified its fire. The beast had some energy defenses inside of its body, but its actual flesh was weak- that was what its scales and shell were for. The inside of its mouth and throat were quite vulnerable once the spiritual energy was bypassed.

  The creature was tough, however, and did not go down after even a powerful blow such as that. It did retreat its head under the surface, but continued to launch attacks at John. Flying in combat was beginning to wear at him- along with using air element in his attack- but he figured it was still the best method he could use for the moment.

  Rather than attempting another counterattack, John focused on defense as the turtle continued its attacks but with several meters of lava between its head and the surface. Its accuracy didn’t seem particularly tied to its sight, but John slowly continued to increase vertical distance. He then used his darkness element as a distraction, creating a sense of his mixed elements some distance away from his actual body.

  If he remained in place too long the turtle picked out his actual body, but he made it waste more than a few attacks- and the spiritual energy it put into them. Each attack was serious, and no matter the stamina of such a large beast it would soon weaken. When John judged that it had expended itself enough, he let himself drop carefully. His descent speed was carefully controlled.

  Seemingly thinking it had felled him, the great turtle waited below. John was gathering together his various elements as he approached. When the turtle gathered power for another attack, he struck out with earth, solidifying the molten lava for a single instant. The attack was blunted, the lava scattering and only loosely held together where it was missing its core.

  The creature’s fire element rapidly overcame his earthen restriction, but by then the damage was done. John landed on the surface of the magma with a flash of lightning, driving it through the mixture of water and fire beneath him. It flowed easily enough, striking the turtle on the nose as it lunged for him.

  He merely weakened the spiritual energy around its head with the attack, but John had fire and water still gathered in great quantity. Fire augmented water, allowing rapid changes in temperature. John wasn’t so foolish as to try to overheat a lava turtle of some sort, but he was willing to try something he expected it had never encountered.

  Ice expanded inside its open maw as it bit down. John shoved every bit of cold he could gather into the beast. Then he heard a crack and the creature cried out in a horrible whine as steam billowed out of its mouth. The steam wouldn’t be a problem for it, but the thermal shock certainly was as some of its body broke. He couldn’t tell exactly what- perhaps its jaw or some other piece that was rapidly cooled. Either way, the turtle flailed wildly. John’s senses reached inside it and pushed more spiritual energy to the most vulnerable point- through its upper palate into its brain.

  Literal brain freeze was probably a terrible way to go, but it had more than a few chances to leave John alone- and frankly with it being so willing to attack him leaving it would have been a danger to others.

  The turtle perished, its slight buoyancy relative to the lava slowly causing it to rise to the surface and revealing something unexpected. Obsidian patches covered cavities in its shell, beneath which he sensed well protected eggs. Observing more closely, John found that it was a male. It was uncommon but not unique for males of a species to carry their young. The aggression seemed now both understandable and ill-suited. Then again, the beast was sufficiently strong that it seemed likely to defeat most threats, so perhaps a proactive defense was preferable.

  Now that the beast was dead, John had to deal with the consequences. And since killing it and then letting it go to waste was shameful, he wondered if he had to cook it. Certainly most parasites would not survive the temperatures the creature lived at, but the ones that did would be exceedingly dangerous. Not knowing what to do, the best thing he could think of was to bring it back to the sect.

  Carrying the turtle was out of the question, so he floated it along. Using it as a boat seemed disrespectful, but he wasn’t sure what else he could do. He idly wondered if this was related to the lava tortoises he’d seen in the hands of the Molten Sea previously- though that was a land dwelling sort. Most likely, the main connection was living in the same region since any genetic relation between land tortoises and sea turtles would be at a higher level.

  John shaped the lava ahead of the beast, trying to replicate what he’d felt from its motions. It was a similar approach to what the local ships used, though they preferred to minimize their profile while this turtle was still quite bulky. Clearly the turtle had been specialized for its own use of spiritual energy, because John found himself fatiguing on his journey.

  When he arrived, he found people waiting. Not that he was surprised, given that he’d had a serious battle as an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator- a few kilometers wouldn’t be enough to conceal that something happened. He wasn’t hiding anything as he approached, so his disciples and Sect Head Zdislava were waiting.

  The old woman inclined her head. “Congratulations. You have slain a mighty beast.”

  “Only because it was necessary,” John said. “It was not willing to give up the fight.”

  “Indeed, they can grow quite dangerous during their season. We had not been aware of this particular specimen, or we would have done something to protect our sect.”

  “What can be done with the eggs?” John asked. “Can you tame lava turtles?”

  “Some can,” she admitted. “We’ve seldom had an opportunity to try.”

  John nodded. “Unfortunately, I don’t think I will. I doubt they’d be happy to be raised in a pot of boiling water. If you are interested, I will sell you any of this at a reasonable price.” The Burning Delta would no doubt be able to make better use of this than he would, and he didn’t want to carry it back.

  They did cook and eat it- using a special acidic broth that was used for a number of Molten Sea beasts. It softened the meat, turning it into a sour but pleasant soup. It was also quite potent, and John wouldn’t have suggested that weaker cultivators even attempt to consume it both because of needing to neutralize some of the acidity and because the spiritual energy the meat released was quite wild. If John could eat something similar every day, he thought he’d be in the late Ascending Soul Phase by the end of the month… but even though there was enough of the beast for him to manage that if he was selfish, it probably wouldn’t last. And merely pushing for a higher cultivation rank wasn’t always the best idea, as he needed experience and insights to make proper use of it.