Ye Ningze said grumpily,
"What else can we do? Of course, we have to continuously wear down this guy's strength. As the saying goes, with enough effort, even an iron rod can be ground into a needle."
So, as long as they persisted, even if the turtle in front of them possessed formidable defense, it would eventually be worn down.
Moreover, Ye Ningze believed that the turtle was covered in treasures. If they could capture it, all their losses would surely be recovered.
The turtle writhed its body in the center of the lake. Its tail, like a giant fan, stirred up tens of thousands of tons of lake water with a single sweep.
Faced with such immense power, no one dared to resist the colossal impact.
Therefore, they decisively chose to retreat. But who could have imagined that the turtle's massive body was not as slow as they had anticipated?
In that instant, its body suddenly accelerated. Based on the turtle's usual speed, such a feat should have been impossible.
However, it seemed that something immense and monstrous in the lakebed was assisting the turtle, allowing it to suddenly increase its speed.
The colossal monstrous beast continuously writhed its body. With every twist of its form beneath the lakebed, it stirred up waves and surges on the lake's surface.
This alone demonstrated the terrifying power of the beast lurking underwater.
There were not many beasts capable of providing such propulsion. It seemed they had truly found a treasure this time.
Ye Ningze plunged into the lakebed and saw massive water snakes, resembling flood dragons.
A dozen water snakes continuously swam their bodies below, providing powerful momentum for the turtle.
This turtle was the king of this lake, so it was a simple matter for it to command these creatures to serve it.
The turtle's formidable defense and immense strength, combined with the speed provided by these water snakes.
What stood before them was a fortress of war, a mobile castle. In short, no one could easily defeat the giant turtle before them.
But if others couldn't, Ye Ningze could. Ye Ningze directly attacked these water snakes.
These water snakes were also quite tough. To defeat them, one had to first break through their defenses.
Ye Ningze's sword, like a celestial dragon, unleashed a fierce sword light even in the lakebed.
The intense sword light pierced through the bodies of these water snakes, and they were instantly dismembered into countless pieces by Ye Ningze.
Crimson blood instantly dyed the entire lake surface red. The next moment, an even more unimaginable scene unfolded before everyone's eyes.
Countless monstrous beasts, drawn by the scent of blood, converged beneath the giant turtle. They opened their maws and began to tear at the turtle.
The intense blood had completely ignited their ferocity. They cared not whether the turtle before them was their king.
Their sole objective now was to feed, so they gnawed ferociously, immediately inflicting unimaginable damage upon the giant turtle.
Despite its formidable defense, the turtle began to show severe wounds under the collective gnawing of these monstrous beasts.
The turtle continuously maneuvered its powerful body, using its form to generate immense water pressure.
This pressure then crushed all the surrounding monstrous beasts into dust, preventing the nearby beasts from daring to approach it.
But while the beasts dared not approach, Ye Ningze did. Ye Ningze repeatedly attacked, tearing at the turtle's outer shell.
The Xuanjia Divine Turtle let out one piercing shriek after another, but these cries only led to it suffering more damage.
The reason was simple: the Xuanjia Divine Turtle's cries attracted more and more monstrous beasts to the area.
If it were before, they would never have dared to act aggressively towards the Xuanjia Divine Turtle.
But now it was different. The Xuanjia Divine Turtle had already sustained injuries, and its toughest shell had been breached.
This meant anyone could take a bite of the Xuanjia Divine Turtle's flesh.
Moreover, these creatures were truly ravenous for the flesh and blood of high-level monstrous beasts.
Once such an opportunity arose, they would not hesitate, even rushing forward in waves.
Ye Ningze immediately called Liu Qichao and the others to his side.
"Let's not go out for now, nor make any moves. Let these monstrous beasts help us completely break through the Xuanjia Divine Turtle's defenses. They are our best cannon fodder."
Liu Qichao naturally understood that Ye Ningze's strategy was their best option at this moment.
Otherwise, how many of them would have to die to completely break through the Xuanjia Divine Turtle's defenses?
After about another half hour, when they looked at the Xuanjia Divine Turtle again, it was completely different from before. Its body was covered in wounds.
If it were before, no one would have believed that a divine turtle with invincible defense could have become so battered.
When the Xuanjia Divine Turtle was considerably weakened by the surrounding beasts, and the surrounding beasts were also mostly eliminated by the Xuanjia Divine Turtle.
Ye Ningze appeared before the Xuanjia Divine Turtle.
"Now, I'll give you two choices. The first is that we kill you. The second is that you surrender and become one of my subordinates. As for which of these two choices you make, it's entirely up to you."
After Ye Ningze finished speaking, the Xuanjia Divine Turtle actually showed a thoughtful expression.
As expected, high-level monstrous beasts like it possessed considerable intelligence. It was precisely because of this that Ye Ningze had spoken these words.
At the same time, Ye Ningze believed that this creature knew how to choose.
Indeed, after a moment, the Xuanjia Divine Turtle actually spoke in a human-like voice:
"I choose to pledge my loyalty to you, but at the same time, I wish to obtain even greater power. If you are merely mediocre, then even if I pledge my loyalty, I can still eliminate you."
To think the Xuanjia Divine Turtle could utter such defiant words. Liu Qichao furrowed his brow.
Ye Ningze's intention to capture monstrous beasts was within Liu Qichao's expectations, but he hadn't expected him to capture such a cumbersome turtle.
This turtle itself had little combat ability, possessing only defense and strength, and being slow.
No matter how one looked at it, it seemed incomprehensible. However, he had never considered that Ye Ningze could copy the other's talents.