Story of a Tortoise's Journey to Immortality

Practically every single cultivation novel has a system in which animals level and cultivate alongside humans demonic/bloodline etc. But how do these animals actually cultivate in the wild? In a universe where humans strip nature of every natural resource upon identification where are animals in all of this? Is there arrogant young tortoise masters? How can faces be slapped if you don't have hands? Yes the title is a reference to "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality" I highly recommend anyone who likes cultivation novels to read it, especially if they hate overuse and poorly done tropes.