Chapter 3 The Dragon's Secret Realm (Part 3)
Jiang Gu carried Wu Tuo forward for about a hundred miles before the golden patterns on the ring shifted slightly southward. After traveling several dozen miles and passing through a pine forest, they heard the deafening roar of a waterfall. Several magnificent white rainbows rose from the waterfall and fell into a deep pool about thirty feet wide. The pool was filled with damp, cold mist, making it appear even more secluded and tranquil.
"The stone is clear, yet it's shrouded in miasma. What kind of place is this?" Jiang Gu twirled the ring with dissatisfaction, the patterns on it trembled a few times, and then moved closer to the waterfall.
Utuo's fur was already soaked with moisture, and he drooped his head listlessly, licking his paws. "This godforsaken place, Master, let's go, let's go."
Jiang Gu made a small, vibrant bubble and wrapped it inside. It floated gently beside him, and Wu Tuo happily rolled around inside the bubble. "Master, can the bubble be a little bigger?"
"No." Jiang Gu coldly refused, staring at the deep pool below the waterfall without moving.
"Master?" Wu Tuo tilted his head in confusion.
Jiang Gu waved his hand, creating a barrier to conceal his presence, and whispered, "Someone's coming."
The group consisted of dozens of cultivators, all dressed in uniform royal blue, fitted-sleeve training uniforms. They carried long swords on their backs, their hair neatly styled in buns and secured with silver sparrow feather crowns and hairpins. Their robes were embroidered with exquisite and intricate flowers and birds, making them look like a group of flamboyant peacocks.
"They're disciples of the Sparrow Kite Sect." Wu Tuo's eyes widened with curiosity within the barrier. "Could it be that they also want the Divine Kite Shark Scale?"
"Everyone wants good things." Jiang Gu narrowed his eyes.
Wu Tuo immediately had a bad feeling. Once Jiang Gu showed that expression, it was highly likely that someone was about to be in trouble.
Outside the barrier, disciples of the Sparrow Kite Sect were setting up an array around the pool.
"Junior brother, are you sure that thing is in here?" A slightly older man with a mustache looked at the young man standing opposite him.
The young man held the compass, a fleeting hint of impatience in his eyes. "My divination is always accurate, senior brother, you'd better set up the formation quickly."
The other disciples looked at each other, not daring to say anything. After all, there was only one spot to go to the Spirit Dragon Sect this year, and the eldest and second eldest brothers were evenly matched. Since the beginning of the year, the two had fought each other openly and secretly countless times.
Gongsun Yang stroked his mustache and sneered, "I'm afraid that what we'll end up with isn't the Divine Kite Shark, but those worthless merfolk."
“Senior brother is short of spirit stones. Even a mermaid can fetch several dozen yuan, which can help you make up for it.” Bu Li’s tone was stiff as he began to pour spiritual energy into the formation.
The formation was activated, and Gongsun Yang, despite his anger, could only cooperate. The calm water began to ripple, and concentric circles of ripples spread rapidly from the center, while a distant and melodious chanting resounded from all directions.
"It really is a Divine Kite Merman!" a disciple exclaimed with delight.
Bu Li glanced triumphantly at Gongsun Yang, but Gongsun Yang's expression turned serious. "No, the Divine Kite Shark was only recently born. It's impossible for it to have such abundant spiritual power. Everyone, be on high alert."
"The father of the Divine Kite Shark is a merman in the Mahayana stage, and the mother is a divine kite that has cultivated into human form. Their aptitude must be outstanding, so what's so strange about their abundant spiritual power?" Bu Li shouted. "Let's all work together to pour more spiritual power into it and force it out of the pool!"
A group of people were diligently casting spells in front of the pool, but none of them noticed the hidden barrier not far away.
"Didn't they say that the Divine Iris Shark's protective scales had already been removed?" Wu Tuo asked, floating in the bubble. "Why are they still looking for the Divine Iris Shark?"
Since the birth of the Divine Kite Shark six months ago caused a celestial phenomenon, all the major families and sects on the Pingze Continent have been searching for and hunting it down. Three months ago, the Divine Kite Shark's parents were killed by the combined forces of the Zhou family and the Linglong Sect, but the Divine Kite Shark completely disappeared. Even the Jiang family only learned about the Heart-Protecting Scale half a month ago. Jiang Gu obtained the Divine Kite Shark's companion ring from the owner of the Jiaolong Auction House by chance, and only then did he manage to track it down all the way to the Chaolong Secret Realm.
"It's just a rumor that the heart-protecting scale was peeled off; no one actually saw it." Jiang Gu stroked the ring with its flowing dark patterns. "The Divine Kite Shark is born with divine strength and intelligence; it won't be easy to find."
As soon as Jiang Gu finished speaking, a loud explosion suddenly erupted on the turbulent surface of the pool. The powerful spiritual energy blasted the disciples of the Sparrow Kite Sect who were setting up the formation dozens of feet away. They were scattered and crashed to the ground. Some of the lower-level cultivators even vomited blood and could not get up again.
Above the deep pool, a male merman floated amidst the white, misty water. His nearly five-meter-long white fishtail slapped the surface of the water violently. He was burly, with a dark, bluish-green face. His fin-like ears were pressed tightly against his curly black hair. His grayish-white eyes were filled with murderous intent, and his sharp, serrated fangs gleamed coldly. He spoke somewhat awkwardly: "Human cultivator, you're courting death!"
"Get out of the way! This is a high-level merman, with a cultivation level of at least mid-Nascent Soul!" Gongsun Yang hurriedly retreated dozens of feet. The disciple next to him did not have time to dodge and was directly pounced on by the merman, who bit off his head. In an instant, red and white paste-like substances splattered everywhere, and the smell of blood filled the air.
"No, if we split up, we'll definitely be picked off one by one! He's injured and can't use his spiritual power to attack. If we join forces, we might be able to kill him and have a chance to survive!" Bu Li shouted, "Senior brother! Set up the formation!"
Seeing this, Gongsun Yang no longer hesitated, "Disciples, listen to my command! Eight Forms of the Nether Spring Soul Refining Formation!"
The merman's long, black fingernails pierced the corpse's heart. He glared angrily at the group of human cultivators, and his enormous tail swung fiercely at the nearest cultivator. But the cunning human nimbly dodged, and a line of blood-red spiritual energy unexpectedly pierced his shoulder blade. The merman screamed in agony. In desperation, he unleashed his spiritual energy and tore his own shoulder blade off. Then, he viciously pounced and bit Bu Li's arm.
Bu Li made a decisive move, severing his own arm with his sword, but was pulled away by Gongsun Yang to avoid the merman's next attack.
While the Sparrow Kite Sect and the Merfolk were locked in fierce combat, Jiang Gu, inside the barrier, looked at the fading golden patterns on his ring and said with some displeasure, "The Divine Kite Merfolk Scales are even further away, Wu Tuo."
"Yes!" Utuo excitedly flicked its tail and leaped out of the bubble.
The moment the palm-sized spirit beast broke through the barrier, its size suddenly increased a hundredfold. Its originally soft, pale yellow fur burst into flames and turned black and gold. Its short, thick limbs became long and powerful, and its round cat eyes became narrow and sinister. When it landed, the entire forest trembled a few times.
The disciples of the Sparrow Kite Sect and the merfolk, who were locked in combat, stared in shock at the spirit beast before them, which resembled neither a tiger nor a lion. Its sharp claws and huge, gleaming saber teeth seemed to foreshadow their ultimate fate.
"Roar—" A deep, excited howl echoed through the sky.
Fifteen minutes later.
Jiang Gu walked calmly through the scattered limbs and stopped on the still-breathing merman. The palm-sized Wu Tuo was arrogantly pressing its claws on the merman's abs, and said happily, "Master! Aren't I amazing? Should we kill him?"
“If he hadn’t been seriously injured before, you might not have been able to kill him.” Jiang Gu glanced at the blood-soaked little pet. “Go wash him.”
"Oh." Wu Tuo pouted and hopped into the pool with his short legs.
Jiang Gu looked at the mermaid lying on the ground, barely alive. He made a hand seal, and a moment later, the red Vermilion Bird mark silently struck the mermaid on the back of the neck. Then, he picked up the mermaid's tail from a distance and threw it into the pool.
Thump!
Utuo, who was being washed, was thrown out by the giant wave. It tumbled twice in the air before Jiang Gu grabbed it by the scruff of its neck. Utuo sneezed and angrily shook its fur, yelling, "Master, you're bullying me again!"
"I didn't." Jiang Gu easily blocked its water attack, and subtly curled the corner of his mouth. "Let's go."
Wu Tuo's anger came and went quickly; he soon calmed himself down and, lying in the bubble, asked curiously, "Master, why did you put that merman back?"
“Maybe he can help us find the Divine Kite Shark faster than the Companion Ring.” Jiang Gu walked forward unhurriedly, pulling back Wu Tuo, who wanted to rummage through the group of cultivators’ storage bags. “Don’t pick up trash.”
If Gongsun Yang and Bu Li knew he said that, they might be so angry they'd come back to life and fight him to the death.
Unfortunately, now I can only watch as the man and the beast leave, now a corpse.
Half an hour later, heavy breathing echoed from the edge of the pool. Wei Feng, covered in blood and tattered, lay on the edge of the pool and gulped down several mouthfuls of water before he could recover. But when he looked up, he saw half an arm floating on the surface of the water. His stomach churned, and he vomited up all the water he had just drunk.
He struggled to his feet, leaning against the rocks by the pool. His face paled for a moment when he saw the severed limbs and mangled flesh scattered across the opposite side, but then his expression brightened. He scrambled over and grabbed the storage bag hidden among the blood and gore.
Judging from its appearance, it must have belonged to a Golden Core cultivator. The restriction had been removed because the owner had perished. He soon discovered that there was more than one such storage bag. After a stick of incense had burned, he looked at dozens of storage bags and almost burst out laughing. He first picked and chose, throwing nearly a thousand high-grade spirit stones into his own storage bag. Then he took all the magic artifacts and robes into his bag. He even found several bottles of high-grade blood-replenishing pills and ate half a bottle like chewing candy, finally restoring his spiritual power.
He cast a purification spell and drank to his heart's content, then washed his face, hastily bandaged his wounds, and happily shouldered his little broken sword. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at the small white dot on the wooden sign that wasn't far from him.
This person was able to wipe out a group of Golden Core cultivators without leaving a trace; he's not an easy opponent.
Glug glug!
Suddenly, a large bubble rose from the once calm pool, startling the red-clad youth beside it. He stared at the pool warily for a long time, trying to sense it with his meager spiritual power, but unsurprisingly, he couldn't sense anything.
This place is not safe to stay for long.
Wei Feng decisively threw out his broken sword, jumped up, and took off shakily, skimming the ground. He almost crashed into a tree branch because he was distracted. He touched the tip of his nose, then laboriously turned a corner and headed towards the small white dot on the wooden sign.
They were completely unaware of the pair of grayish-white eyes that had surfaced in the pool behind them.
Exhausted, the merman stared at his retreating figure and mumbled something indistinctly before slowly sinking to the bottom of the water, having completely lost his strength.
——
"Master, your scar has faded again." Wu Tuo stepped on the bubbles and approached his collarbone curiously, asking, "Is the seal about to be broken?"
Jiang Gu touched the scar behind his ear, recalling all the people and things he had encountered from before entering the secret realm until now, but found nothing unusual.
"Could it be the Chaolong Secret Realm?" Wutuo wagged its tail excitedly. "Master, let's put the Chaolong Secret Realm into our sea of consciousness!"
Jiang Gu said, "How about I let you put the Chaoling Dragon Vein into your sea of consciousness as well?"
"Huh? You can even take in a spiritual vein that stretches for 30,000 miles? Master, you're amazing!" Wu Tuo was so excited he was practically bursting with excitement.
"...I am a Nascent Soul cultivator, not a true god," Jiang Gu said calmly. "If I were that powerful, I would have ascended to immortality long ago."
"Ah." Utuo's ears drooped in disappointment.
Wei Feng, hidden in the shadows, trembled slightly as he held the wooden sign.
Transformation, Divine Transformation Stage?
What level is the Nascent Soul stage? The sect leader of the Sparrow Kite Sect is at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, while the sect leader of their Yanghua Sect is at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage... Wei Feng swallowed hard, and a bit of cold sweat appeared on the tip of his nose.
He originally thought the other party was a disciple of some sect, at most at the Golden Core stage, and that he could use some tricks to kill the other party and get the ring. But the Nascent Soul stage—it would be as easy for the other party to crush him as crushing an ant.
Never mind, it's not necessary to use a companion ring.
Wei Feng quickly convinced himself and, adhering to the principle of running away if he couldn't win, put away the wooden sign and tried to escape. But the moment he turned around, he met a pair of green eyes. The other person's once beautiful face was covered in black ash and corpse oil, and his smooth long hair was burned and bitten off. His clothes were tattered and not much better than his own.
Wei Feng silently took two steps back and said with an awkward smile, "Oh, so my sister is still alive?"
"You little brat!" Xunlu glared at him with a ferocious expression, her five fingers forming claws as she attacked his throat.
Wei Feng dodged her attack by bending over, but the movement pulled at the wound on his back, causing him to howl in pain. Xun Lu, annoyed by his noise, kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying more than ten feet away. Xun Lu flicked her wrist, and a long sword made of flower stamen appeared in her hand. In the blink of an eye, she was in front of Wei Feng. "Let's see where you can run now!"
Wei Feng knelt on one knee, coughed up blood, and looked up pitifully, saying, "Sister, do you really not want to be my Daoist partner anymore?"
Xunlu was stunned for a moment, then became even angrier, "You're dreaming!"
Thud—
Dust billowed up in the woods, startling a flock of birds.
Utuo, his hair standing on end, looked at the huddled earthworms in front of him and asked in surprise, "What's going on with this secret realm? Why are things constantly falling from the sky?"
Jiang Gu walked past the thing that was barely breathing, ignoring it, saying, "Dead man, don't bother with him."
Wu Tuo followed behind him, turning his head to look back. "Why does this thing look a little familiar?"
Hearing the evaluation of him by the man and the beast, Wei Feng angrily opened his eyes and saw Xun Lu charging towards him with a sword. In an instant, he made up his mind, flipped the wooden plaque in his hand, and aimed it at Xun Lu. Xun Lu felt a dizziness and when she came to her senses, the sword in her hand was actually heading straight for the back of the strange cultivator.
Before the sword tip could even touch Jiang Gu's clothes, the entire Flower Stamen Sword was shattered by a terrifying spiritual force. Xun Lu, along with Wei Feng behind her, was thrown nearly a hundred feet away. Xun Lu was even more unlucky, with half of her body becoming a bloody mess.
Jiang Gu lowered his brows and raised his hand to brush away the dust from his sleeve.
"Master?" Wu Tuo knew he was angry, so he carefully moved away from him.
But it was no use. The next moment, it appeared in front of those two arrogant cultivators along with Jiang Gu.
Xun Lü was immobilized by the terrifying pressure, her whole body trembling uncontrollably. She forced herself to say, "Please calm down, senior. I would never dare to disturb you. It was all this brat's dirty tricks that tricked me—"
Jiang Gu concealed his cultivation level and used a magical artifact to alter his appearance, making him indistinguishable from an ordinary cultivator from any angle. She had not sensed Jiang Gu's formidable strength before, which was why even Wei Feng thought he could kill him.
Otherwise, even if you beat Xunlu to death, she would never have gotten so close to the other party and made a move, thus falling into Wei Feng's trap.
"You probably think you can bully the senior and want to kill him too, right?" Wei Feng struggled to his feet and leaned against a tree, saying sarcastically, "Senior, I saw it clearly, this flower demon was after you!"
"Wei Feng!" Xun Lü glared at him angrily, and several flower buds suddenly sprouted from her palm behind her back, wrapping around Wei Feng and throwing him towards Jiang Gu.
The instant Wei Feng blocked Jiang Gu's view, she transformed into her original form and plunged into the ground, trying to escape. Unexpectedly, a furry little paw pressed down on her head, and before she could even scream, she was swallowed whole.
Utuo smacked his lips, licked his paws, and let out a burp.
Before Wei Feng could even catch his breath, he was slammed into the ground again. His bones felt like they were shattered, and he twitched twice before going still.
"No need to play dead." Jiang Gu extended two fingers and retrieved a small wooden plaque from his storage bag, looking rather amused. "Did you use this to make that flower demon attack me just now?"
Wei Feng was alarmed when his magic treasure was taken away so easily. He endured the pain, got up, knelt on the ground, and said, "It was my fault for not recognizing your greatness. My cultivation is too shallow to bear it. This magic treasure is a waste of my talents. If you don't mind, please accept it. I beg you to spare my life!"
He spoke with such sincerity that his bloody claw, with half of its white bone showing, tried to grab Jiang Gu's clothes. Before it could touch his fingers, a blade of wind flashed past. If he hadn't dodged quickly, his entire hand would have been severed. Wei Feng shuddered, silently crawled back two steps, swallowed hard, and cautiously looked up to see the other person's expression.
Unfortunately, it seemed the other party had used some kind of magic to conceal their appearance, as their facial features were not clearly visible, only a blurry outline.
Jiang Gu paused slightly when he met those wet eyes, feeling as if he had seen them somewhere before. The next moment, the scar on his neck suddenly stung.
He and Wutuo exchanged a glance, and Wutuo transmitted his voice to him, saying, "Master, the scar has faded again."
Jiang Gu frowned slightly, finally remembering when he had seen those eyes before. It was the boy he had glimpsed by chance before entering the teleportation array, and it was after that his scars began to fade.
He glanced at the young boy kneeling on the ground, covered in blood and tattered, and threw the wooden sign back into his hand.
Wei Feng hurriedly took it, looking up with a dusty face and his clear eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.
Jiang Gu glanced at him indifferently, "Follow me."
Wei Feng stared blankly at the wooden sign for a moment, not even reacting until Jiang Gu turned to leave. Then, a furry paw stepped on his face. The palm-sized, cat-and-dog-like spirit beast urged him in a childish voice, "With your cultivation level, you're just courting death in the secret realm. Hurry up and follow me!"
Countless guesses flashed through Wei Feng's mind in an instant. Of course, he didn't believe in such a good thing as a pie falling from the sky, but in the end, he was convinced by the companion ring on Jiang Gu's hand.
To find the Divine Kite Shark Scale, we'll take a gamble.
He scrambled to his feet and followed after him, a genuine and radiant smile on his face. "Thank you, senior!"
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