"Boom..."
A dull tremor approached from afar, and powerful water pressure surges crashed down like a heavy hammer.
The enormous shadow of the dragon lizard rumbled past less than ten meters above their heads, its thick, powerful tail fin sweeping across with the force of cutting through the water.
The overwhelming scent of dragons and the stench of the mounts were suffocating.
The patrol remained completely unaware of the four wise men who had already hidden themselves in the mud, and slowly drove away.
At this point, the four of them had passed the most dangerous part before entering the Dragon Clan's sacred land.
However, as they drew closer to the core of the mountain range that radiated golden-red light, an invisible, immense pressure emanating from the mountain itself, interwoven with the magical power of the seabed veins, quietly enveloped them.
This was not a magic circle set up by the dragons, but a barrier that formed naturally in this sacred land, like countless fine yet resilient magical spider silks covering the outer perimeter of the core area.
Any slightly stronger magical fluctuation that passes through is enough to create ripples on this net, awakening the slumbering guardian dragon beast!
Of course, this scene was exactly what Grom had anticipated, and it was also recorded in his dragon heritage memories.
Therefore, they were naturally well-prepared.
Tobizan's expression instantly turned serious beneath his hood, and his cloak fluttered even without wind.
An invisible pressure suddenly descended upon him.
He had to push his control over the lightning element to its limit, and the moment the four of them passed through this invisible warning net, he had to forcefully use the power of lightning to reverse the vibration and counteract all the subtle magical ripples caused by their movement!
If it fails, then the responsibility for the failure of this mission will probably fall entirely on his shoulders.
A tiny arc of electricity danced silently between his clenched fingers and vanished in an instant, while a vein bulged on his forehead.
Fortunately, Grom, relying on his inherited memories of the Dragon Mountains, chose a relatively weak node on this web for him.
Tobizan gritted his teeth and unleashed his legendary elemental control at full power, quietly smoothing out the ripples that were about to erupt as everyone passed through the barrier.
The four of them passed through a layer of thick, invisible jelly, narrowly escaping this deadly natural barrier.
But after passing through the barrier, the four of them were dumbfounded almost simultaneously.
The sight before him was so shocking that even Grom, the "Dragon Hunter," who had devoured several dragons and inherited some of their memories, was instantly stunned and lost his composure.
This was not the mountain core he had inherited from his memories, a mountain range composed of countless dragon lairs and rugged rocks.
Before them stood a magnificent palace complex, its style completely different from that of the Holy Dragon Continent, towering majestically in the dark depths of the sea and exuding an ancient and desolate aura!
The pressure of the deep sea was blocked by an invisible force, forming a huge waterless space.
The palace's architectural style was completely different from any known civilization on the Holy Dragon Continent.
It has neither towering spires nor rugged, heavy stone fortresses.
Instead, there are layers upon layers of huge eaves that curve upwards like the wings of a bird, covered with tiles made from deep-sea minerals, gleaming with a deep blue and pearly white luster.
Supporting the magnificent hall are giant pillars that require several people to encircle, and the surface of the pillars is covered with reliefs of strange creatures with slender bodies, winding postures, five claws, and forked horns on their heads.
These bas-relief creatures are neither the bipedal dragons commonly found on the Holy Dragon Continent, nor the giant sea monsters.
Their scales are distinct, their long whiskers flutter, and their majesty exudes an indescribable spirituality, quite different from the powerful and tyrannical aura of a dragon.
The palace walls and massive portals are covered with intricate carvings and murals.
The scenes depicted in the murals are grand and unfamiliar.
The scene depicts rugged mountains shrouded in mist, winding rivers rushing endlessly, and strange, serpentine creatures roaming in the sea of clouds, summoning wind and rain, and even resonating with the stars.
The colors used are simple and rustic, and the lines are smooth and rhythmic, which is quite different from the rough mural style of the dragon race, which usually depicts their own majestic image and battle scenes.
If Mark were here, he would probably instinctively shout "Dragon Palace!"
"Where...where is this?" 'Wind Chaser' Jules lowered his voice, his usually bright eyes filled with astonishment. He pointed to the serpentine, five-clawed creature coiled on a nearby giant pillar. "Grom, deep within the sacred grounds of the dragons...why is there such a statue? What kind of monster is this? A variant of some kind of ancient deep-sea serpent?"
The arcs of electricity flickered slightly beneath the hood of 'Thunderbolt' Tobizan, who was clearly also carefully observing the unprecedented architectural details and murals: "The style of these buildings... I've never seen anything like it before. When did the dragons acquire such architectural skills? This aura... is terrifyingly ancient."
Even the Shadow Claw, which was almost one with the shadows, trembled violently under its hood and uttered a hoarse, questioning voice: "...Not like a dragon's nest."
Grom's expression was more grave than ever before. His hawk-like gaze swept rapidly across the forgotten palace complex, his brow furrowed: "Damn it! These aren't in the inherited memories!"
His voice was low and tinged with a sense of defeat: "The dragons I devoured, including an old blue dragon who had once served as an outer guard, in their memories, the core of the holy land was the Dragon God Altar and the Dragon Sleeping Dome that housed the 'Heart of the Holy Dragon,' a huge, primitive cave and lava pool! It was not a palace at all!"
"Of course, the core of the Dragon Clan's sacred land... ordinary dragons are not qualified to approach it at all. All I saw were their inherited memories passed down through generations! I'm afraid only the most ancient Dragon Kings or the legendary Dragon God guardians are truly qualified to enter this place!"
This discovery cast a shadow over the four of them.
The plan has encountered huge changes.
The failure of the inherited memories means that they have lost their greatest intelligence advantage, and every step they take is into the unknown.
"There's no time to investigate these things!" Grom made a decisive move, forcibly suppressing the shock and unease in his heart. "Regardless of whose territory this was before, the 'Heart of the Holy Dragon' is now undoubtedly under the control of the dragons. His Highness the Abyss's mission must be completed!"
He looked at the other three, a renewed determination in his eyes: "Since our intelligence has failed, we'll have to stick to the backup plan! Use that one!"
Toby Zan immediately understood.
He carefully took out an object wrapped in multiple sealing runes from the inner layer of his deep blue cloak, which seemed to be woven from thunderclouds.
After he carefully untied the outermost chain of runes that shimmered with an eerie light, he revealed what was inside.
A phantom image of a deep blue crystal fragment, no bigger than a fingernail, seemingly solidified with specks of stardust.
This is the power projection of the "Heart of the Stars" fragment, which was controlled by the Oracle and given to them by the Holy Son of the Abyss Church!
As soon as the projection fragment appeared, it immediately emitted a faint but extremely peculiar fluctuation.
Ripples of starlight surged from the seawater toward the underwater palace complex.
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