“Dongting Lake, also known as Yunmeng Lake in ancient times, is one of the largest bodies of water in Daxia.

Over the past thousands of years, fishermen around Yunmeng Lake in every dynasty would build temples to worship the Dragon King, praying for good weather and a good fish harvest in the coming year.

“But for some reason, Yunmeng Lake has undergone several changes over the past thousands of years. The former waters have either dried up or been swallowed up by Ji Du, one of the Four Rivers. It is now less than one-third of its peak area.

Many fishermen around Yunmeng Lake also experienced several disasters caused by changes in the waters, and gradually gave up their belief in worshiping the Dragon King. "

“Today, only the oldest generation of traditional fishermen maintain the tradition of offering sacrifices to the Dragon Lord every year.

The remaining young people either go to work in big cities or simply don’t believe what Lord Long said. There are fewer and fewer fishermen on Dongting Lake!"

Shen Yuan was sitting on a small boat. The boatman was wearing a bamboo hat and had a look of deep regret on his face.

However, Shen Yuan thought the boatman's sigh was normal.

Ancient fishermen have lived on the water since they were born. Many of them don’t even have houses and live on narrow boats all their lives, making a living from the boat.

Although this situation no longer exists in modern society, life on the ship is indeed not easy, and it is normal for young people to yearn for big cities.

Ever since he had learned the art of controlling the sword with his soul last night, Shen Yuan had made final preparations for the Dragon King Banquet. The only thing left was to rush to Fubo Lake before the banquet.

However, although Dongting Lake is called a lake, it is the second largest body of water in the entire Daxia region after the four rivers.

It is not easy to find Fubo Lake in such a large area, and Shen Yuan can only rely on the help of local old fishermen.

After intentionally moving forward in the direction of human gathering for a while, Shen Yuan finally found the boatman in front of him. He asked the boatman to row the boat on the pretext of traveling around Dongting Lake. Then the scene of the boatman telling the legend of Yunmeng Lake appeared.

Sitting on a wooden boat, slowly sailing through the surrounding mountains, you can't see the end of the lake at all.

The Maine Coon had disguised itself as an ordinary cat and was huddled in the center of the cabin, not daring to make the slightest movement. With its huge size, any movement could cause the dilapidated wooden boat in front of it to capsize into the lake.

As for Bai Xue, after leaving the Ghost Market, she recovered from her previous cowardly state. She lay on the bow of the boat and stretched out her little paws to try to poke the fish swimming in the water.

The boatman is riding on a boat with a cat as company, which gives him a sense of tranquility and elegance as if he were traveling in the mountains and rivers.

However, Shen Yuan was not enjoying the surrounding scenery at this time. He was thinking about the legends told by the boatman.

According to the boatman, the Dragon King, the drying up of the Yunmeng Lake and the replacement of water areas are legends that have been passed down for thousands of years.

But to Shen Yuan's ears, much of the information contained therein revealed some different meanings.

“In ancient times, the Yunmeng Lake was ruled by a dragon king, but the dragon king disappeared thousands of years later, and its vast waters attracted many spying eyes.

The subsequent thousands of years of drying up of the lake and changes in its course were probably caused by other water gods and dragon kings fighting for the control of the Yunmeng Lake.

Until now, Yunmeng Lake has turned into Dongting Lake, and Yunmeng Dragon King has lost his followers who worship him. "

Shen Yuan was quite surprised at this period of the history of the Water Tribe. He also realized that beneath the seemingly strong and united appearance of the Water Tribe, there were still problems of power struggle within the tribe.

When Shen Yuan thought of this, his expression suddenly changed, and he asked the boatman:

"How far back can the history of Yunmeng Lake be traced?"

The boatman stopped what he was doing, frowned and thought for a moment before saying:

"My ancestors moved to Dongting Lake only a few hundred years ago, and the legends we know about Yunmeng Lake are mostly myths passed down from generation to generation by the villagers. I don't know the exact time.

But what is certain is that the belief in Yunmeng Dragon Lord has existed for thousands of years."

Seeing the boatman's uncertain attitude, Shen Yuan couldn't help but wonder:

"Why are you so sure?" The boatman looked at Shen Yuan strangely.

"You are still a young man, you can find out by reading more news.

Half a year ago, a huge Dragon King Temple was excavated in the ancient Yunmeng Lake waters. According to research by Daxia's archaeological experts, it has a history of at least tens of thousands of years.

Just think about it, if such a large Dragon King Temple was built ten thousand years ago, the legend of the Yunmeng Dragon King must be older than ten thousand years."

As he spoke, the boatman also took out the picture of the news on his mobile phone. Shen Yuan took a quick look and found that it was indeed a large temple.

And in terms of architectural style, it is quite similar to Luoyun Cave.

Shen Yuan was very excited after hearing this unexpected news, and he even temporarily put aside the matter of the Dragon King Banquet at Fubo Lake.

Since the legend of the Dragon King has been circulating in Yunmeng Lake thousands of years ago, it must be included in the artificial intelligence system, which may very well represent a branch quest for hidden achievements!

"Ten thousand years ago, the Yunmeng Lake was comparable to the four great lakes. Although it has declined now, it might have been an important pillar of the aquatic system ten thousand years ago.

The fact that the Dragon Kings of various water gods dared to encroach upon the waters of the Yunmeng Lake shows that something had indeed happened to the Yunmeng Dragon King thousands of years ago, not to mention the modern times when we have just experienced a period of spiritual energy depletion.

It has a long history, many legends, and is not threatened by the Dragon King of the water tribe.

If I study it carefully, maybe I can get a hidden achievement in Yunmeng Lake ten thousand years later?"

As soon as he thought of this, Shen Yuan had already made a judgment in his mind.

Although going to Fubo Lake to participate in the Dragon King's Banquet is important, it is nothing compared to the opportunity to complete the hidden mission right now.

The best approach at the moment should be to explore the legend of Yunmeng Lake while confirming the specific time of the Dragon King Banquet at Fubo Lake.

It would be best if both could be taken into consideration. If there was a conflict, then the Dragon King Banquet would be abandoned. Shen Yuan was only after the Natural Spirit Pool anyway, so there would be no problem in trading with Fubo Dragon King after the banquet.

Shen Yuan simply asked the boatman directly:

"I wonder if the boatman knows any detailed legends about Yunmeng Lake? It would be best if he knew information about Yunmeng Lake ten thousand years ago."

"Ten thousand years ago? That's too long a period of time. Even the Yunmeng Lake could have dried up, not to mention the information that has been passed down."

Shen Yuan looked disappointed, but then he heard the boatman say:

"I don't know these legends, but there must be others who know."

"Who is it?"

“Yunmeng Village to the west of Dongting Lake can be said to be the oldest village in the entire Yunmeng Lake. It existed long before the establishment of Daxia.

Over the past thousands of years, many fishermen have given up worshipping the Dragon King, but Yunmeng Village has remained unchanged. They even built a temple for the Dragon King that still exists today.

Unfortunately, that temple doesn’t have much incense, and no one except Yunmeng Village is willing to go there to worship.”

"Half a year ago, a wealthy businessman wanted to take advantage of the popularity of the Dragon King Temple and approached Yunmeng Village. He proposed to contract the Dragon King Temple and turn it into a scenic spot to attract tourists. However, the people of Yunmeng Village collectively resisted, and the matter eventually came to nothing."

"But if this gentleman wants to go to Yunmeng Village, I suggest you wait for a while."

Shen Yuan asked in confusion: "Why?"

The boatman looked around as if he was confirming something, and then he said to Shen Yuan cautiously:

"The Yunmeng Village has provoked a monster!"