Chapter 46 Dragon

Qin Mu reached out and caught one cautiously. He took a bite, and it turned out to be spicy, even spicier than the butcher's fiery liquor. As it went down his throat, there was a burning sensation, making his vitality become unusually active.

He activated his vitality, and surprisingly, he felt a medicinal power similar to the Solidifying Origin Pill. It could enhance his vitality cultivation, although the increase was not significant compared to the Solidifying Origin Pill.

"Are these creatures plants or animals?"

Qin Mu caught another one. He couldn't discern whether these peculiar creatures were plants or animals—they had no eyes, hands, feet, or orifices. They used root-like tendrils to extract nutrients from the moss, making it difficult for him to determine their classification.

He only ate one, while Hu Ling'er happily bounced around, eating to her heart's content.

As they descended further, the air became cooler. After walking for an unknown distance, the sound of gurgling water reached their ears. There were streams on the mountain walls, crystal clear, and several eyeless large fish lived in the pool at the end of the stream. These fish also emitted a fluorescent glow. To proceed, they had to pass through the pool to reach the other side of the passage.

"These big fish are quite fierce. They will pounce as soon as they hear a sound. They're formidable!"

Hu Ling'er whispered, "I'll throw a stone to divert their attention, and we'll seize the opportunity to dash across!" With that, she grabbed a stone with her paw and threw it with force.

The stone hit the water, causing a splash, and the eyeless fish in the pool swam towards the source of the sound, their tails swaying in the air like large wings. They rushed towards the sound!

"Quick, let's go!"

Hu Ling'er led the way, and Qin Mu hastily ran along the edge of the pool towards the opposite side. In the rush, the young man heard several loud bangs. The monstrous fish crashed into the rock wall, opening several large holes with their gaping mouths!

The incredibly sturdy rocks seemed as fragile as tofu in their mouths. The consequences would be unimaginable if they bit a person!

Just as the young man and the white fox reached the other side, the eyeless fish suddenly heard their footsteps. They swiveled their fins and changed direction, flying towards them!

"Master, follow me!"

Hu Ling'er swiftly darted into the passage on the other side, and Qin Mu hurriedly followed suit. The passage was narrow, and the large fish behind them couldn't fly in the passage, but they used their four fins as feet and ran madly in pursuit of Qin Mu and the little fox.

"Are these still fish?"

Qin Mu felt his scalp tingling and closely followed Hu Ling'er. The strange fish behind them chased for a while but couldn't catch up. They gradually retreated from the passage and lurked back in the pool.

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. The path ahead gradually widened, and as they emerged from a trumpet-shaped cave, shimmering sunlight suddenly shone down. Qin Mu looked up and was dumbfounded.

Above his head, a rushing torrent of water flowed, with schools of fish swimming above him. He also saw enormous golden turtles, fish the size of small boats, and massive river creatures.

One of the large fish became excited upon seeing Qin Mu and the little fox. It opened its gaping mouth and lunged towards them, only to collide with an invisible water barrier and be repelled back.

The fish shook its head, seeming confused, and swam away, wagging its tail.

"This is the underwater of the Yong River!"

Qin Mu's expression turned peculiar. "The Yong River is above us, but the water hasn't fallen down to submerge this place..."

He looked ahead and felt his heart tremble. Rows of dragon pillars appeared before him. These pillars were thick and tens of zhang high, towering on the riverbed. The tops of the pillars touched the river water, and the ground beneath their feet was paved with white marble. A road extended forward, flanked by rows of dragon pillars, leading to a cluster of palaces.

The palaces were enclosed by these dragon pillars, which seemed to be supporting the river water, preventing it from flooding this area.

However, many of the palaces had already collapsed. There must have been a catastrophe here that turned this place into ruins.

Hu Ling'er hopped and skipped to the remains of a palace, and Qin Mu noticed a dilapidated wall with mottled murals. The mural depicted an elderly dragon-headed man hosting guests. The guests were all peculiar creatures—turtle-backed old men, snake-tailed women, monks, and humans.

Crash!

A pillar toppled down, narrowly missing Qin Mu and the little fox.

Hu Ling'er entered the partially collapsed grand hall and said, "I found those ancient books here."

Qin Mu approached, and within the dilapidated hall, there was a hidden stone chamber built into the wall. The stone door had fallen, and Hu Ling'er was the one who discovered the chamber.

The chamber was already empty, and it seemed that Hu Ling'er had taken away its contents.

"If we continue forward, it will be extremely dangerous!"

Hu Ling'er pointed nervously at a towering gate ahead. "It's incredibly terrifying!"

Qin Mu looked at the gate, behind which faintly appeared a palace-like structure, relatively intact and not collapsed. However, strangely, there seemed to be a layer of mist inside, obscuring the view of what lay within. The palace appeared to float amidst the mist, elusive and indistinct.

"There's a horrifying creature inside..."

Hu Ling'er's voice trembled. "When you approach the gate, you can feel its aura, and then you'll weaken and be unable to stand..."

Qin Mu walked forward, with Hu Ling'er gathering her courage and following closely behind. When they reached the gate, Qin Mu suddenly felt an immensely strong malevolent aura assaulting him, sending shivers down his spine. It was as if a pitch-black storm cloud suddenly covered half of the sky on a clear day, looming above him. Within the inky darkness of the cloud, an incredibly huge and terrifying beast stared at him!

Divine, majestic, inviolable, yet simultaneously ferocious and menacing, this was the "Great Terror" that Hu Ling'er had spoken of!

Qin Mu took a deep breath, steadying himself and restoring calm to his mind.

"Sacred Heaven Eye, open!"

His irises intertwined with intricate patterns of vital energy, forming another layer of patterns as he looked into the mist beyond the gate.

Beside him, the white fox had already gone limp, lying on the ground with its belly touching the floor, struggling to turn around and crawling back along the way they came, albeit slowly.

Qin Mu picked her up and the white fox weakly said, "Don't grab me, I'm about to die. My heart is pounding..."

"You're not going to die. What's inside this Dragon Palace is dead."

Qin Mu chuckled. "Guess what I saw?"

Hu Ling'er didn't answer and sluggishly moved her limbs through the air. Her tail swayed back and forth, as if she wanted to crawl away and had no intention of staying here for a moment longer.

Qin Mu smiled and said, "I saw the Dragon King of Yongjiang!"

"Ah."

The little white fox let out a soft sigh and fainted, its four legs stiffening straight. Qin Mu waited for a moment, and the white fox quietly opened one eye, sneaking a few glances. Qin Mu tested, "The Dragon King of Yongjiang."

Hu Ling'er's four legs stiffened even more, and her eyes closed again.

"The Dragon King of Yongjiang is dead."

Qin Mu was speechless, saying, "Only bones remain. This Dragon King has been dead for who knows how many years. I saw his dragon bones in the mist."

Hu Ling'er quickly opened her eyes and asked, "Dead?"

Qin Mu nodded and said, "You can rest assured this time. Will you come with me?"

Hu Ling'er quickly shook her head. Helpless, Qin Mu put her down, but he saw the white fox still crawling weakly with its belly touching the ground. He picked her up again and placed her on his shoulder, taking steps towards the gate. The white fox was extremely nervous, its snow-white fur standing on end. Its paws tightly grasped Qin Mu's shoulder, its eyes wide open, filled with fear. It didn't dare to move even the slightest bit.

Qin Mu walked into the mist, and Hu Ling'er held on even tighter. Her fluffy tail stood straight up.

The mist was thick and lingering, not dissipating for years. However, strangely, upon entering it, there was no sense of humidity. Qin Mu walked through it and noticed droplets of water floating in the mist, calmly drifting without any movement.

Then, he saw many broken pieces of jade floating in the air within the mist. Apart from that, there were fragments of spiritual weapons and shattered bones, all silently floating as if they had no weight. When he looked outside the gate earlier, he only saw the

"There must have been a fierce battle here, where even the bones of experts and fragments of spiritual weapons were shattered! What exactly happened here? Did it occur before or after the Great Desolation Cataclysm?"

Suddenly, Qin Mu felt a pain on his scalp. It turned out that Hu Ling'er had been frightened half to death by a skull

The white fox trembled uncontrollably, causing Qin Mu's scalp to shake as well.

"Dragon!"

The white fox screamed, swiftly moving away from Qin Mu's head and crouching behind him. Its four paws tightly held onto his waist on both sides, as if Qin Mu were carrying a white backpack on his back.