This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 203 A Shocking Discovery
From the time Liu Hongyu returned to the time Zhuang Lin sank the tortoise shell into the Jingzhou section of the Yangtze River, only a little over a day had passed since he received the message from Master Ban.

That evening, when Master Ban and Master Gong returned to their hotel, it was already past 10 p.m.

The ancient building of the Imperial Observatory has been incredibly lively from yesterday to today, with equipment and instruments constantly being moved in, and the security measures have clearly been upgraded.

Everyone has been extremely excited these past two days. After all, the Xuan Tian Yi of the Imperial Observatory is so groundbreaking that it has defied conventional scientific definitions, leaving the gathered experts and scholars thrilled.

To be honest, Master Ban and Master Gong were also extremely interested in the Xuan Tian Yi, but the more they knew, the more worried they became.

The two returned to the hotel. One sat cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed to rest, while the other sat by the window and habitually opened half of the window to look out at the night sky.

"Sigh, old man Gong, you said I didn't notice the magic being broken, but Mr. Zi'an must have received the news, right?"

Master Gong sat there without saying a word, while Master Ban lit a cigarette. He didn't perform any magic, but simply lit it with a match and began to puff out smoke.

The smoke drifted over to Master Gong, whose cheek twitched noticeably.

"I'm in a state of tranquility, why would I smoke!"

"Stop pretending. You're not calm either, otherwise the smoke wouldn't have drifted over. Let's talk. The Imperial Observatory was planning to send a working group to Jingzhou today, right? We can't just stumble upon Mr. Zian and his group by sheer luck, can we?"

"What are we talking about? Do we need to worry about Mr. Ziyasu? Even if we find the right place, Mr. Ziyasu isn't made of stone, he can't just walk away."

"Of course, we don't need to worry about Mr. Zi'an, but we're moving tomorrow, and I'm worried that it will be inconvenient for us to receive news later!"

Just as Master Gong was about to speak, he suddenly laughed.

"See, you didn't need to worry about it, here I am."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a clear bird song rang out in the night sky outside the window, and then a titmouse flew to the windowsill and hopped onto Master Ban's shoulder.

With a firm resolve, Ban and Gong reached out, and the mountain sparrow landed in his palm, transforming into an unfolded sheet of white paper. Lines of small characters appeared on it with a spiritual light, containing hidden meanings that allowed Master Ban to receive more information through his divine sense. He could vaguely see tortoise shells and the Yangtze River...
"What do you mean? Who replied to the letter, Mr. Zi'an or Young Master Liu?"

"Mr. Zi'an told us to rest assured and participate in the research at the Imperial Observatory, and to make some contributions when appropriate, so as not to be kicked out. They will take care of everything else."

"See, I told you so! By the way, did you mention any details?"

Master Ban nodded slightly and subconsciously looked out the window at the sky.

"If nothing unexpected happens, it's going to rain soon."

"Huh? This?"

"No, it's the upper reaches of the Yangtze River around Jingzhou! Come and take a look."

Master Ban unfolded the letter, and Master Gong immediately came over.
-
That same night, almost at the same moment that Master Ban and Master Gong received the message, Zhuang Lin had already taken to the skies and arrived at a certain place in the Jingzhou area.

Looking around, the density of the crowds and the brightness of the lights were far beyond anything seen in ancient times. Moreover, Zhuang Lin knew that the coming years would be the time when this era would truly develop at a high speed, and the lights would become even more dazzling in the future.

Whether it's the splendid civilization of humankind or the colorful diversity of the world, this human world, though full of problems, is also the place where all living beings reside.

Let's face whatever the future holds together; at least this world shouldn't end here!

With a thought, he flicked his sleeve, and a miniature dragon swam out. As soon as the dragon emerged from his sleeve, it seemed to have a natural aversion to its surroundings, and it swam restlessly in Zhuang Lin's palm.

This doesn't mean that the little dragon has developed intelligence, but rather that it has an instinct to not dissipate. In the Dharma-ending Age, the vital energy in the little dragon's body is being gradually taken away.
In just a few breaths, clouds began to rapidly condense in the sky around Zhuang Lin and in the far distance, consisting of water vapor formed from the overflowing true dragon energy.
In ancient times, it would have been fine, but here, if the little dragon were to use it alone, it would only deplete this already precious spiritual object.

Zhuang Lin naturally wouldn't act recklessly. He channeled his magic power to condense a rich water elemental energy, which transformed into a thin stream of water that merged into the little dragon's body, causing the dragon to immediately quiet down.

Don't be fooled by its thinness; it contains nearly ten percent of Zhuang Lin's magical power.

The next moment, the little dragon's body began to swell. It swam forward, soaring through the air out of Zhuang Lin's palm. With each step forward, its body grew larger, expanding ever more as it moved forward.
When the little dragon swam three or five miles away, it had transformed into a pale yellow giant dragon tens of meters long.

During this process, clouds from all directions in the sky were rapidly gathering, causing howling winds to rise from within the Dragon Hidden Clouds.
"hold head high--"

"Rumble--"

Amidst the dragon's roar, the first thunderclap erupted above the clouds in the sky, followed by a burst of lightning that shone in all directions.
"Rumble!" "Rumble!" In this era, Zhuang Lin could certainly summon clouds and rain on his own, but it must be said that having this true spirit in his hand was much more convenient. The energy consumption was probably less than half that of casting spells directly, and the effect would be much greater, and it would even be easier to control.
Bars and nightclubs in JZ City and its surrounding areas, even some residents' homes, or cities along the Yangtze River in the Jingzhou section.

If someone is watching local television, many programs will be interrupted at this moment to broadcast an urgent news report.

That is, a warning for strong winds, heavy rain, and thunderstorms!

Residents are urged to return home immediately if they are away from home, and to keep their doors and windows tightly closed if they are at home.

Indeed, from the perspective of meteorological monitoring, the sudden gathering of rain clouds and the accompanying thunder and strong winds were very abnormal, as there were no warning signs beforehand!

The dramatic scene of changing colors, lightning, and thunder lasted for about half an hour, during which the wind on the ground also grew stronger.

Regardless of how many people saw the thunderstorm warning or whether they heeded the warnings on television, the heavy rain eventually came.

From midnight onwards, the Jingzhou area and even some parts of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River were engulfed in a violent storm, not to mention the frequent lightning strikes.

Thunderstorms are rare in the dead of winter, let alone a storm of this magnitude. Countless people in the areas affected by this storm will likely find themselves unable to sleep tonight.
However, this storm, which was exceptionally fierce from any angle, quietly weakened by dawn the next day, and gradually subsided by daybreak.

Just as it arrived suddenly, it also left just as abruptly, leaving those working in related meteorological fields somewhat bewildered.
Early in the morning, on a section of the Yangtze River near Jingzhou, a transport ship was slowly sailing near the riverbank, with two people chatting and laughing on board.

"Last night there was a violent storm with thunder and lightning, I was so scared I couldn't sleep. I thought we wouldn't be able to sail today!"

"Hey, if you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear. It's just raining, I'll still go to sleep! But the weather these days is getting weirder and weirder. Last night's storm had a sinister feel to it."

"Yes, but thankfully the weather cleared up today."

The helmsman was speaking when he suddenly stopped, staring wide-eyed at the riverbank. Those around him also instinctively turned to look in that direction, and then froze in surprise.

The ship was still moving slowly forward, but the two men kept looking back.

"Hey, what's that? Okay, it looks like it."

"What a huge turtle shell!"

It wasn't just this sand-carrying ship; a lot of people had already gathered on the riverbank. Some were doing their morning exercise, some were driving by and stopped to take a look, and some were boatmen who stopped their boats to come and see.

At this moment, on this stretch of shore, it appears that a colossal object has been swept in by the storm, its base and interior filled with silt.
People near and far were speechless with astonishment. Although it was enormous, it was still clearly recognizable as a tortoise shell!

Is it true? Is it the creation of a sculpture?
Amidst the astonishment of the crowd, some naturally chose to call the police, while others directly dialed the television station's number, as this kind of eye-catching news must be extremely sensational.

Then the TV station staff arrived first, while the Jingzhou police were a step behind. News and photos began circulating quickly.
"Dulu lulu. Dulu lulu"

On the second floor of the Imperial Observatory, in a large office space that had been transformed into a circular open space, at least dozens of people were working together.

When the phone rang, Duan Kang, who was also there, picked it up.

After a brief series of "uh-huh" sounds, Duan Kang's aged face gradually turned to astonishment once again. This was already the umpteenth time in recent times.

"Quickly, the television—find the Jingzhou Guards—the Jingzhou Guards—"

Duan Kang's somewhat outburst immediately silenced the office space. Master Ban and Master Gong, who were hand-crafting models, also looked up and exchanged a knowing glance.

There was no television in the office, but security personnel immediately brought one over and installed cable TV.

Soon, the voice of a host from a program on Jingzhou TV could be heard in the office.

"Dear viewers, our station received a call from the public and rushed to the scene immediately. Not far behind me is the giant tortoise shell that was discovered. Some people suspect that last night's storm washed this astonishing shell out of the Yangtze River, while others think it's a prank. Let's take a closer look."

On the television, the female host's clear voice rang out; off-screen, a group of experts and scholars stared in utter silence.
When the camera captured the details of the tortoise shell, and even the faint outlines and characters on one corner of the back, the hearts of everyone in the Imperial Observatory began to race.

Even the two masters, Ban and Gong, who had known some information beforehand, were shocked. It was truly... Good heavens, such a huge tortoise shell!

(End of this chapter)