Niman Arrives

[Astral Black Tortoise] [Level: 75] [Skills:] [Planetary Surface Shell: Compresses planets onto the shell's surface, gaining an inexhaustible stream of the Power of Earth.] [Stellar Core Body: Continuously releases immense energy through nuclear fusion reactions within its body, preventing its elemental form from stiffening completely.] [Gravitational Orbit: Any attack lighter in mass than the Astral Black Tortoise is captured by its strong magnetic gravity, ultimately completing a full orbit around the Astral Black Tortoise before rebounding toward the target.] [Scorching High Pressure: Can locally alter gravity, pressure, and temperature, trapping the target continuously in an environment of scorching heat and crushing pressure.] [Black Tortoise Overlord Body: Immune to the vast majority of instant-death attacks, immune to all negative status effects from sources of lower standing than itself, and immune to all knockback, knockup, and environment-altering abilities.] [Black Tortoise Star Devourer: For every planet devoured, all attributes double, resource yield doubles, and vitality significantly increases.] [Astral Tortoise Flare Cannon: Unleashes massive energy forward, causing instantaneous localized heating and firing an outward barrage of electromagnetic radiation beams.] [Exclusive Ultimate Skill] [Eternal Solar Prominence: The Astral Black Tortoise erupts with all its might, forming arching bridges of high-temperature plasma across its body surface and continuously releasing immense energy.] [Note: Lord of the Starry Sky Secret Realm, an incarnation of black holes, stars, and planets, possessing terrifying power.] ... ... *Hiss!* Yu Xian sucked in a breath of cold air after reading the description. Not only was this summoned beast magnificent to behold, it was genuinely powerful—powerful beyond belief. The very next second, he decisively abandoned the giant hippopotamus beast, resolving that the Astral Black Tortoise would be his mount from now on. After all, it was undeniably handsome, mighty, colossal, and steady. At his command, the Astral Black Tortoise lowered its body, entirely made of magma, flat against the ground. The shell, formed from compressed, indestructible rock, swiftly shifted to extend a flight of stairs down to the earth. "We're switching mounts. Let's go," Yu Xian said with a chuckle to Little Nora as he leaped down from the back of the giant hippopotamus beast. They walked up along the stairs. The Astral Black Tortoise was so immense that a layer of snow even dusted the very crest of its shell, and when it stood, that apex pierced straight into the clouds. Yu Xian naturally wouldn't choose to perch at the very top. He ordered the Astral Black Tortoise to shape a terrace on the lower flank of its shell, even constructing a stone villa upon it. They ascended to the mid-slope and rested on the terrace. In truth, the Astral Black Tortoise could hardly be called a mount at all; it was a roaming snow-capped mountain, or rather, a mobile fortress—one whose offensive and defensive prowess blew past all standard charts. Yu Xian sent Little Nora and Fang Qinghao into the stone villa to inspect what needed alterations, telling them to summarize their findings and report back so he could have the Astral Black Tortoise handle the fine interior renovations. Meanwhile, he paced around the terrace. First, he ordered the Astral Black Tortoise to erect stone guardrails along the terrace's edges, then had it transplant various flowers, plants, and vines behind the railings so they cascaded downward like a verdant waterfall. Next, he had the Astral Black Tortoise depress the right side of the terrace floor into a swimming pool, carving out several drainage channels leading straight into its core body. Whenever garbage needed disposing of, these channels would open, dumping domestic waste directly into the Astral Black Tortoise's body, where it would instantly be vaporized into fuel and eradicated without a trace. "I've exceeded my quota of hard work for today. I'll leave the rest to Nora and the others," Yu Xian muttered to himself once everything seemed in order, pulling a chair from his inventory and lying down. He closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and fell sound asleep before long. ... ... The night passed without incident. Upon waking, Yu Xian collected eight [Talent Trait Enhancement Stones]. However, since his trait was already enhanced to +5, he would not take unnecessary risks without a hundred-percent guarantee or an absolute necessity. After putting the enhancement stones away, Yu Xian spotted a note resting on his legs. It detailed the areas of the villa that required renovation, written in an exquisite, graceful hand—clearly not Little Nora's work, but likely penned by Fang Qinghao on their behalf. Following the note's instructions, Yu Xian commanded the Astral Black Tortoise to renovate the villa. He then stood up, stretched lazily, loosened his limbs, and ambled over to the railing to gaze at the distant scenery. Miraculously enough, while the Astral Black Tortoise's core burned at an extreme temperature, its shell was not hot at all; instead, its surface temperature was comparable to Earth's, which explained how so much flora could flourish upon it. As Yu Xian stood spacing out, a friend request suddenly popped up. Because of his soaring fame, countless class-holders had been attempting to add him since yesterday, so he had set up security questions: one had to answer three questions correctly before a request could go through. Anyone who truly knew him would know the answers, whereas strangers trying to take a blind guess had practically zero chance. In truth, the questions had been left specifically for Niman and his other friends. Sure enough, the sender of the request was Niman, which meant she had already teleported over. He promptly accepted her request and typed, "Are you in Jiangli City right now?" "Yeah, just teleported in. Where are you? I'll come find you," Niman replied. Yu Xian immediately directed the Astral Black Tortoise to head toward Jiangli City, typing back, "No need. I'll come to you. Stay put." The Astral Black Tortoise, which had remained stationed in place, slowly rose from the ground. In an instant, the terrace where Yu Xian stood elevated by several hundred meters, and then the colossal tortoise began trudging forward. Perhaps because the magma absorbed all vibrations from walking, Yu Xian felt not the slightest tremor on the shell. However, the Astral Black Tortoise moved quite rapidly, stirring up a considerable headwind. "Can you cut down the wind? A gentle breeze would be best." Yu Xian's face was getting buffeted out of shape, and the temperature dropped precipitously, prompting him to communicate with the Astral Black Tortoise right away. In response, the Astral Black Tortoise manipulated its Gravitational Orbit to form a buffer layer around its perimeter. The gale instantly subsided into a gentle breeze, bringing Yu Xian immense relief. A few minutes later, the Astral Black Tortoise arrived at Jiangli City. At this hour, aside from a handful of slacker class-holders lounging around, Jiangli City was populated almost entirely by NPCs. When such a gargantuan monster suddenly loomed over them, the slacker class-holders assumed a monster siege was underway and scrambled into hiding. Niman, however, guessed that this was Yu Xian's summoned beast. Amid her awe, she calmly stepped forward. Sure enough, the Black Tortoise, adorned with magma-formed dragon horns, gently lowered its massive head. A flight of stone steps instantly extended from its back along its neck, reaching all the way to the ground. With a faint smile, Niman stepped onto the stairs. The stairway retracted automatically, carrying her all the way up to the lower mountainside terrace, where a stone archway materialized before her. The stone doors parted on their own. Yu Xian stood behind them, spreading his arms wide with a beaming smile. "Niman, long time no see." "Yeah, we really have been apart for quite a while this time," Niman said with a soft chuckle, wrapping Yu Xian in a warm hug. In the past, although they often went about their separate business, they would still gather every few days to feast and celebrate. Going several months without seeing each other like this truly was a long stretch. Reunited after their long parting, both were filled with joy.