Ziwei Immortal Path

Chapter 110: Underground Palace Remains
In the dark Fire Swamp, Xu Boyang desperately chased after the [Greedy Fish Lantern]. After a moment, he was already very close to it, but suddenly he realized that this was actually an extremely deep cave, and the space below was gradually getting wider. The [Zeyan Huanxin] spiritual energy everywhere seemed to be thicker. He wanted to take back the [Greedy Fish Lantern], so he couldn't help but slow down a bit.

At this moment, his spiritual sense sensed that Su Yanlu had followed him. Xu Boyang was inevitably angry and said indifferently with his spiritual sense:

"Brother Su, don't you like the pleasures of life, fine wine and beautiful women? Why did you follow me?"

"Hahaha!"

Su Yanlu's spiritual consciousness came, and she used laughter to cover up her embarrassment, defended herself, and changed the subject.

"Don't blame me, Boyang. I was just stalling for time to find the source of the spiritual energy. It seems you've also noticed something strange beneath the spring."

Xu Boyang snorted coldly, "If you delay any longer, it will be me, not you, who will be embarrassed!"

"For cultivators like us, the great path is to the heavens, but beauty and withered bones are fleeting."

Su Yanlu was talking nonsense seriously, without any hesitation or guilt:
"Boyang, I've known for a long time that you are a gentleman who remains calm even when faced with a woman's sensual pleasure. You wouldn't be taken advantage of by this woman. You're just being servile and acting according to the circumstances."

Xu Boyang snorted, too lazy to argue with him, and followed the [Greedy Fish Lamp] all the way down. However, after a moment, he felt a sudden increase in pressure from all around, and a burning sensation all over his body. However, everything he saw was pitch black, and he could not see anything. With a chill in his heart, he performed the "Fire Sitting Technique".

After a while, the "Sitting on Fire Technique" could no longer withstand the scorching hot fire swamp. What's more, the hot air in the fire swamp was different from the [Nine Purple Fire] in Xu Boyang's body, and seemed to be counteracting each other.

After a while, Xu Boyang felt exhausted and had to take out the [Spirit Jade Pendant] to create a light shield to resist. Unexpectedly, the light shield was cracked and collapsed in less than a moment. He took out the [Xiao Bronze Bell] to try again, but it still didn't last a moment. He was secretly shocked:

"This spiritual energy belongs to the Kanshui lineage. It's now in conflict with the spiritual energy in my body. It's so overbearing. No wonder Su Zilu called it a strange fire spring."

At this time, Su Yanlu's words came to my ears:

"The spiritual energy below is getting thicker and thicker, it's hard to deal with. Come to my side, three feet to the right."

The deeper Xu Boyang dived, the more powerless he felt. He had already put aside his contempt and did not dare to be negligent. He immediately put away the [Fish-Craving Lamp] and did as he was told.

Su Yanlu noticed Xu Boyang coming, and with a flick of her finger, a small embroidered flag emitting a sapphire blue light flew out of her hand.

This small flag was like a sharp arrow, it swooshed into the swamp with a whoosh. Suddenly, with a light bang, the flag fluttered, and a blue circular light shield was formed around it, which immediately drove away all the fire swamp and swamp around the two of them. It was like a bright lamp hanging in the air, emitting light and illuminating the surroundings.

The oppressive feeling on Xu Boyang's body was swept away and disappeared in an instant. Seeing that Su Yanlu had endless magical weapons on her body, he couldn't help but say:
"Brother Su, your family is truly a wealthy family, and you are so well-off that you can easily wield such a magical weapon. It's truly amazing."

Su Yanlu smiled silently:
"They are all foundation-building magic tools, ordinary stuff. This one is called the [Floating Light Flag], which has both offensive and defensive capabilities, but it's a [Kanshui] magic tool, so it's not suitable for you. When we return to Qingshen, I'll give you a [Sparkling Sun Flag] the next time we see each other. That thing will be more suitable for you."

When Xu Boyang heard that he was going to give him a magic weapon, he forgot his previous unhappiness and smiled.
"That's not necessary. How can I let Brother Su spend money? I just said it casually. Don't mind it."

Su Yanlu saw his eyebrows open and smile, and in the blink of an eye, he had already put the embarrassing thing behind him. She was slightly surprised and thought:

"This person is upright and honest, with a shrewd heart and no greed. He has a very ancient style. I'm afraid that people like him are rare in the world! Such people are the ones who can be chosen for the great way!"

"It's a pity that although he has a broad mind, his cultivation is too low. Well, let's let him go for two years. When he returns from the Jiang family, my Yuchuan matter will be settled. If he can successfully build his foundation, stick to his original intention, and fulfill his duties, then such a good horse, my Zi Su, will be paired with him, so what's the harm?"

"I don't believe that the Ding family would dare not release the person our Pei family wants!"

When he thought of this, he felt that it was wonderful to have another helper in the family, and he was happy. Xu Boyang saw that the corners of his mouth were raised with a smile for no reason, and he felt puzzled and asked:
"Brother Su, what are you laughing at?"

Su Yanlu grinned:
"As I expected, there must be an extremely powerful [Kanshui] formation blocking the way below, which is why [Zeyan Huanxin] can generate such a terrifying pressure. There may be something good deep in this swamp!"

Xu Boyang said happily, "Is this true?"

"Time waits for no one!"

Su Yanlu formed a magic spell with her hands, and a sapphire light shone from her fingertips. She controlled the [Floating Light Flag] and protected the two of them all the way down. Unexpectedly, the cave of the Fire Lake Hot Spring became deeper and deeper, and they didn't know how long they had been sinking. The two of them became more and more surprised as they walked.

When they walked to the back and explored with their spiritual sense, they suddenly found a large empty underground palace in the cave. The rocks were uneven and the terrain was complex. The two looked at each other in surprise. They knew that they had walked from a small spring into a giant cave under the bottom of the Thousand Stars and Ten Thousand Islands Lake.

However, this huge underground palace cave is still filled with countless fire swamps and mud, and is interconnected with many branches.

"I come!"

Xu Boyang thought about it, took out the [Greedy Fish Lamp], held it in the palm of his hand, and the [Greedy Fish Lamp] flew out of the light array and drilled all the way to a certain direction of the underground palace cave. The lotus heart bloomed, the wick was spit out, and the yin and yang fish on the lamp base rotated rapidly, greedily sucking in the spiritual energy from all directions.

The two hurried to follow, and Su Yanlu also took out the [Huasheng Bottle] to absorb spiritual energy, and said with a smile:
"It seems the Ding family has been very kind to you. This [Greedy Fish Lantern] is a magical tool exclusive to the Immortal Sect. Although it's not a particularly rare item, it's rare in the world and extremely difficult for ordinary cultivators to obtain. It's truly remarkable that your family's guardian is able to give it to you."

Xu Boyang paused and explained:
"Brother Su, you misunderstood. This was not a gift from the Ding family. I got it by accident."

"I see."

Su Yanlu smiled and said, "When you return to Qingshen, be sure to keep this item safe and don't reveal it to others."

"Well, thank you Brother Su for reminding me."

Xu Boyang naturally understood this and felt a little strange in his heart. He suddenly felt that Su Yanlu's attitude had changed a lot. She actually cared about people. It seemed that she had never done this before. I wonder if she was in a good mood because she discovered the underground palace and found treasures hidden there.

The two of them said nothing more after that. They concentrated on moving around in the underground palace caves, chasing the [Greedy Fish Lantern]. Unexpectedly, this chase took more than an hour.

Fortunately, Su Yanlu's foundation-building magic weapon [Floating Light Flag] was originally a magic weapon of the [Kanshui] lineage. The azure light and [Zeyan Huanxin] seemed to have merged into one, and she had a smooth journey without too many obstacles.

However, it took too long and they had no idea where they had reached. Just when the two were wondering, the [Greedy Fish Lantern] suddenly stopped, the lotus leaves closed, and it floated in the air.

After approaching, Xu Boyang took it and took a look, and found that the [Greedy Fish Lamp] had actually filled up the [Zeyan Huanxin], and he was astonished for a moment.

After using it several times, Xu Boyang has discovered that the speed at which this [Greedy Fish Lamp] absorbs spiritual energy is actually related to the density of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth itself. The denser the spiritual energy is, the faster it absorbs it, just like the [Xiaohan Zhenglan] in the Lihuo Cave, which is full of spiritual energy after a short time.

The two had now reached the core of the Fire Swamp. Their spiritual sense swept across it, revealing a boundless expanse, like an underground ocean, where countless fiery swamps slowly flowed and settled. "Let's go up and take a look!"

Su Yanlu put away the [Transformation Bottle] and controlled the [Floating Light Flag] to climb upwards to see if he could get out of the quagmire. He frowned slightly in doubt. He hadn't found the location of the formation for a long time, and he couldn't help feeling anxious and puzzled.

"Puch!"

After a slight sound, the two of them followed the [Floating Light Flag] out of the mud and came to an extremely huge underground palace in the air. Suddenly, there was a dazzling light all around, and both of them were shocked.

I saw countless fire swamps gathered here, a pitch-black mass. The cave above was shaped like a treasure cover, like a huge furnace. A regular platform suddenly emerged from the middle of the swamp in front of me, with a radius of only about ten feet.

Five ancient bluestone square pillars stand upright around the platform, each of which is neither too big nor too small and contains a dark light array.

The light array was pitch black, and the fire swamp and mud around it were also pitch black, making it difficult to identify with the naked eye. However, because of the colorful light on the island inside the array, the surrounding light array and the fire swamp and mud within a radius of dozens of feet were clearly visible.

The two looked at each other and couldn't help but gasp. The platform was paved with bluestone. There was only a throne and a desk. A corpse sat on the throne. Apart from that, there was nothing else.

But what shocked Xu Boyang was that this throne was more than ten feet high, and the corpse sitting on it was almost level with the throne!

"This...is this a barbarian monster?"

Xu Boyang opened his eyes wide, his face full of horror.

He had never seen such a large humanoid species. Looking up at the huge head, the teeth shaped like stalagmites, the long chin, the hollow and dark eye sockets, and the white ribs that looked like exquisite jade, emitting a brilliant light!
That's right! The dazzling light on the platform came from the corpse on the throne!
"This... is a monster, but not a wild monster. It's a water monster. In other words, it should be a dragon..."

Su Yanlu's eyes were bright and her face was solemn as she spoke slowly. Looking up at the huge corpse, she felt fear for the first time.

"dragon?"

Xu Boyang was more and more shocked. He looked carefully for a moment and found that the head was really similar. To be precise, it should be a monster with a dragon head and a human body.

Su Yanlu's eyes wandered, and she suddenly noticed the two huge horns on the skull. Her face suddenly changed, and she blurted out:
"Wrong, it's a Jiao! It's not a dragon! Dragon horns have forks, but this horn doesn't have any forks, so it must be a Jiao, not a dragon!"

Jiao?
The two looked at each other, and at the same time, they recalled the arrogant and domineering fish monsters who had come to the Yuyang Palace at Qinlong Mountain not long ago, and the Lord Jiao from the Nanhu Crystal Palace as they called him!
Could it be that the giant corpse in front of us is the big dragon from Nanhu Crystal Palace?
Su Yanlu looked up and said slowly:

"Boyang, do you remember what Niu Shan Keli said? I'm afraid your guess is correct!"

"Yeah, I remember."

Xu Boyang nodded silently and asked,

"But I'm confused about one thing. According to my understanding, this Jiaolong Jiaolong, this Jiao should be a kind of dragon, or a relative. Could it be that it's not a dragon?"

"Your guess is not entirely correct."

Su Yanlu shook her head and explained slowly,

"Jiao only live in lakes, while dragons are huge and can only live in large rivers and oceans. As far as I know, there are four crystal palaces in the four seas on the edge of the sea. They are home to four major dragon clans: Jiaolong, Yinglong, Qiulong, and Chilong. Each clan has its own dragon king or even a dragon monarch."

"I heard that this Jiaolong clan was transformed from fish and turtles that had achieved enlightenment through cultivation. After transforming into Jiaolongs, they continued to cultivate. After a long period of cultivation, when their cultivation was perfected, they could then travel from lakes along the great rivers and streams into the sea. Once they entered the sea, they transformed into true Jiaolongs."

"However, very few people have ever witnessed this process. It's widely described in folk legends. The sayings 'a dragon entering the sea' and 'a dragon walking', as well as the line in elegant poetry 'a golden scale cannot be confined to a pond; upon encountering wind and clouds, it transforms into a dragon', all come from this!"

"This isn't unique to Jiaolong; the other three tribes are all like this, though each has their own differences. Only Jiao lives in the lake."

Xu Boyang listened silently, feeling somewhat puzzled, and said:

"So, this demon-transformed dragon has reached adulthood, and can easily transform into a human form. It seems that its cultivation level is not low. Logically, it should be very powerful. Why did it die here for no apparent reason?"

“That’s what I don’t understand.”

Su Yanlu smiled bitterly. "From what I know, the dragon race is extremely powerful, and their lifespan is even longer than that of wild monsters. Even if they don't practice cultivation, their lifespan will increase, and as they endure the years, they will naturally undergo a transformation. After only two near-death transformations, their strength will skyrocket. I heard that a fully grown dragon is already roughly equivalent to a Taoist Huangting Yushi from my school, and after transforming into a dragon, it even has the strength of a purple mansion."

"Transformation?"

Xu Boyang asked, "Could it be that this dragon died tragically here because it failed to transform into a dragon?"

"Logically speaking, it's impossible."

Su Yanlu shook her head and said, "It seems that the transformation process of a Jiao into a dragon must take place in the sea. Otherwise, why would they go to the sea regardless of everything when they are fine in the lake? And where does the saying of 'walking Jiao' come from?"

"From what you said, this is really a bit strange!"

Xu Boyang walked forward slowly, staring at the corpse, his eyes flickering, and said,

"Brother Su, the remains of this dragon corpse are shining brightly, just like jade. Why don't you and I break the formation and take a closer look? I'm afraid it's some extraordinary spiritual object."

Su Yanlu shook her head and smiled bitterly:
"Don't even think about it. You and I don't have the ability to break this formation. I just saw it. Don't be fooled by the small, ugly, black, and unremarkable light formation. This is the genuine Huangting Formation of our Taoist school, and it's a legitimate [Kanshui] formation!"

"Taoist magic circle?"

Xu Boyang suddenly turned around and looked at Su Yanlu with a look of surprise.

Su Yanlu sighed softly and said slowly:
"Boyang, as I expected, this dragon must have been stabbed to death on this dragon throne by my Taoist priest. Then he took away the three treasures, scraped away the flesh and blood, and finally casually placed a formation here, intending to guard the corpse and wait for the dragon bones to turn into jade before taking it!"

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(End of this chapter)