"Fishy smell?"
Qingshan raised his nose and sniffed. The air was filled with moist water vapor and a faint smell of earth. Although it was not as fragrant as the flowers, it was not unpleasant either. Where did the fishy smell come from?
"Yes, Master, it smells like sea fish. I can smell it as soon as I go underground. The smell is getting stronger and stronger. I'm about to vomit!"
As Silver Ear spoke, he covered his nose with his big paws, raised his golden eyes and looked at Qingshan pitifully.
Seeing that Luo Wenyuan's expression didn't look like he smelled anything, Qingshan knew in his heart that this must be a magic spell targeting animals or demon cultivators. Perhaps the dragon was deliberately releasing the body odor to protect itself and to deter the enemy.
Qingshan touched Yin'er's head, took it back into the space with a thought, and raised his hand to change the red light.
"Deng'er, look for any bugs underground and let them help find a way."
Hong Deng also smelled the fishy smell, but it was the king of insects after all, and the deterrent effect of the dragon's body odor had little effect on it.
"Master, I've already seen this before, but unfortunately there's not even an ant in this underground palace—"
Luo Wenyuan couldn't hear Qingshan's conversation with his pets. Seeing Qingshan paused at the fork in the road, lost in thought, he guessed he wasn't sure which way to go. He squatted down, pressing his palms to the ground, using his earth-based abilities to carefully sense his surroundings. Strangely, there were no living creatures in the soil. Without biological activity, there were no soil vibrations, so Luo Wenyuan couldn't sense anything.
When Qingshan saw Luo Wenyuan's serious expression, she knew that his earth-based ability was useless for exploring the way. She was worrying about it when she suddenly remembered that the box of golden-headed centipedes that Niu Zai had given her was still in her backpack. It turned out that there is always a way out!
Qingshan deftly took out an insect breeding box from his backpack and opened it. Although the twenty golden-headed centipedes had been cooped up all night and looked listless, fortunately they were all alive.
The red light flew out of the shadowy form, buzzing around the breeding box, and shouted happily in a loli voice:
"Oh my, Master, centipedes run fast, and their bodies are long, thin, and flat, making them perfect for exploring the underground palace! If you have something good, why don't you take it out sooner? Why let the Lun family find other insects?"
Qingshan was a little embarrassed by the red light and laughed dryly: "Hey, I forgot! Okay, stop dawdling and get to work!"
After saying that, Qingshan raised his hand and sprinkled a handful of spiritual pond water to replenish the golden-headed centipedes' physical strength. After they all recovered their vitality, the red light vibrated the buzzer, emitting infrasound waves, commanding the twenty centipedes to split into three groups and move rapidly into the passage.
Qingshan and Luo Wenyuan stood there, waiting for news. Luo Wenyuan saw Qingshan's serious expression, reached out and hugged her in his arms, and asked in a low voice:
"Wife, what are you thinking about?"
"Wen Yuan, the book says this underground palace was built by skilled craftsmen for the Jiaolong Temple, commissioned by Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty to ensure the eternal stability of the Ming Dynasty. This would allow the emperor to come here for annual worship. If that's the case, then a single main road from the entrance to the Jiaolong Temple would be sufficient. Why build so many identical passages? Don't you think the people who built the underground palace actually wanted to prevent people from finding the Jiaolong?"
Luo Wenyuan nodded and replied, "I feel the same way. If the book hadn't said that the Green Dragon fell first and the palace was built later, I would have thought that this underground palace was built to trap the dragon!"
"Yeah, that's right. It seems we can't trust everything in the book!"
The two talked for a while, and then the red light that had been hovering at the three-way intersection spoke:
"Master, Master, little Centipede said he saw a bald old monk. I wonder if he's the one you're looking for!"
"That's him! Where is he?"
"This way!"
The red light flew towards the leftmost intersection first, followed closely by Qingshan and Luo Wenyuan, who disappeared into the winding and deep passage.
A handsome young man in white appeared out of nowhere, with a smile in the fox's eyes, looking thoughtfully in the direction where their figures disappeared.
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