Li Meirong pinched her small and delicate chin with her thumb and index finger, her eyes glazed over as she contemplated the most appropriate name, "Let's call you….Feng Huang!"
That was most appropriate, since Li Meirong first thought she was a phoenix anyway and the turtle drew her powers from the fire element.
The newly named Feng Huang had her mouth hanging open. It was difficult to digest how the happy-go-lucky Li Meirong came up with this senseless choice.
She's a turtle, right? Why is she named after a bird?!
"Uh, I'm changing my mind, who needs a name these days anyway?" She definitely did not need to be named after a damned bird!
"Once a name is given, it cannot be taken back!" Li Meirong's brow furrowed as she rebuked Feng Huang, who's expression grew more miserable by the second.
The ruby shelled turtle had never heard of this rule before.
I got conned!
"Feng Huang."
"What?!" It was the turtle who impulsively answered now. Oh no! She already fell for this girl's trick, now she's really been named a Phoenix. Boohoohoo…
I'm a proud turtle, damnit!
Li Meirong finally broached the subject she wanted to ask from the very beginning as she once again felt optimistic, "Can you tell me how to leave the volcano?"
She waited expectantly for Feng Huang's response, her eyes glistening like obsidian jewels. Feng Huang was a turtle demoness who had cultivated for over a thousand years. Surely, she would know a way to escape this calamity!
Feng Huang almost felt upset for handing off the bad news. Almost.
"You cannot." She leered at Li Meirong, tilting her bobbly head to the side as she concealed a treacherous smirk and answered with utmost seriousness. There was no room for question by the tone of her voice.
Taken aback by such a final and conclusive response, Li Meirong's cheerful grin stretched into a long thin line. She refused to believe that she was now stuck here. She would starve to death!
"Is there really no way?" She nearly cried out, feeling once again how helpless she was in this crazy world.
"You have an impressive aura and your protective fire is not that bad, but I can see the heat of the internal energy coursing through your veins, you haven't cultivated even a little bit, have you? There's no way for you to escape from here, unless…" Feng Huang left the end of her sentence suspended. Her red eyes gleamed with greed.
Wasn't it known that cultivating humans carried many rare and sacred treasures? She could fool this youngster into giving her all her special artifacts, earning treasures without breaking a sweat! The girl should offer her some compensation, since she named her after a bird anyway!
Li Meirong patiently waited for Feng Huang to finish speaking, hoping the turtle would have the means to escape and ensure her survival.
"...You must give me all your special human treasures and I will part the lava for you to pass through!" Feng Huang declared, her high pitched voice taking on an even higher note, making it sound like she was squealing instead.
Delicate slim fingers rummaged through large sleeves and checked inside the garment pockets, but alas, Li Meirong's hands came out empty. All her belongings were inside of her backpack which she lost in the forest. Even if she had her things, her biggest treasure would have been her preserved meal.
Li Meirong smiled wanly and raised her hands up in the air, showing she has nothing to offer. "I'm sorry, I've lost my bag in the woods, I really have nothing to give."
Feng Huang roguishly went straight for the treat, she knew more than this girl, she won't be fooled! "I will believe you only after checking your interspatial ring with my own eyes. Where is it?"
"...I don't have an interspatial ring." Dejectedly, Li Meirong answered honestly. Some of her fellow sect disciples carried interspatial rings, so she already heard of these precious items. Those mystical objects provided a storage space one could go in and out of as if it was its own separate world. They were highly valued and incredibly sought after. Only skilled cultivators possessed them. She could only wish to have an item like that, how easy would it be to carry food and comfort items whenever and wherever she pleased instead of killing her back every time she left the sect?
Li Meirong was only a poor outer sect disciple, obviously she wouldn't be able to possess such an expensive and unparalleled interspatial ring.
Determined, Feng Huan continued to probe. Her senses told her this girl carried a 'metaphysical space' and she was shrewd enough to fish the information out of her! "There's no need to lie, I can sense it on you."
"..." But I really don't have it, Miss turtle Feng Huang!
Li Meirong figured a visual proof may be needed. Long and graceful arms reached to grab Feng Huang by the sides of her shell, making sure to avoid the sharp crystals growing on the top of the tough shield. She placed her right on her lap, and began to fold her sleeves and unfold her collar, proving that she's not hiding a ring anywhere.
Meanwhile, Feng Huang turned slack jawed, thinking that Li Meirong was really bold to just go ahead and grab her so casually! But as she saw that the girl really did not have even one jewel on her, she ended up reluctantly believing her. Then where was the source of the heat surge coming from, if not from a pocket dimension concentrated with wealth?
Now that Feng Huang was laid directly on Li Meirong's lap, she could easily discern the heat from this girl was indeed very abnormal.
Very odd.
Yet the girl's helpless expression proved she wasn't hiding anything, so perhaps she was not even aware of what she owned?
Feng Huang placed her reptilian leg directly on the skin of Li Meirong's leg for better access.
There was really something peculiar going on! On the edge of a great discovery, she sent her inner force to probe the makings of the girl.
The clash of Feng Huang's probing energy into Li Meirong's internal energy caused an unexpected change to occur, for both turtle demoness and human girl!
Li Meirong and Feng Huang's environment instantaneously changed! Li Meirong blinked several times, bug eyed, she pinched her arm to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She looked down and saw the turtle's crystal filled shell. Her position was still the same. She sat cross legged with Feng Huang on her lap, but now, instead of a dark, damp and sealed cavern, they sat in a glistening field full of flowers in a spring like, daytime zone. They were surrounded by peach blossom trees in full bloom. Small, pink flower petals fell on Li Meirong's dark and silken hair.
In front of them was a majestic looking shrine, made of Ebony hardwood painted in auburn with ornate bells hanging across ornamental pillars standing tall on each side of the shrine's entrance. Underneath the tiled roof was a golden board, on it was a carving of exquisitely written calligraphy writing. "Bai Clan".
Intricate fat mutton jade carvings of foxes in all shapes and sizes were aligned all along the path of the shrine.
It really seemed as though every little thing about this place was carefully planned. From the trees to the golden chimes hanging from the roof, and even to the awe-inspiring entrance. All of it was picture perfect.
Li Meirong couldn't believe her eyes, this was probably the most stunning and extraordinary looking place she had ever seen.
"Hah! I knew I sensed something, I've never been wrong before!" Feng Huang soon went back to her self-important attitude, her ruby eyes glittered greedily as she swallowed her saliva.
Treasure!