What bad intentions could the original dragon have?

"Ying, just rest assured." Zhong Ling put her hands in her sleeves. "I'm very strong."

There is no boasting involved, just telling the truth.

It is a fact that Zhong Ling is very strong.

Even if she faces the [Seven Rulers of the World], she still has the strength to fight.

Whether or not you can win is another question, but if you want to run, you can definitely escape.

"Following Linglong is really good for the stomach." Ying deliberately straightened her flat belly.

"Okay, okay, I know you have a bad stomach." After spending these days together, Zhong Ling was almost able to pick up on some of the jokes.

Old Ying said that she was a gigolo, but in fact she was just joking.

Ying's strength is recovering steadily, and her martial arts and experience are among the best in Teyvat.

If this is considered a bad stomach, then being a mere casualty is too demanding.

After all, Ying's configuration can be described as a 'stomach of steel'.

"Hehe." Yinghan laughed twice.

...

......

As they went deeper, Ying discovered that the ecology of the Dragon Ridge Snow Mountains was different from that of Mondstadt and Liyue, the most obvious being the types of Hilichurls.

The Hillichels living in the 'Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain' seem to be much stronger than the Hillichels we usually see. Even the most ordinary and common Hillichels should not be underestimated.

Perhaps it is because it is difficult to survive in a place like the Dragon Ridge Snow Mountains, so the basic strength of the Hilichurls is stronger than that of the Hilichurls in Liyue and Mondstadt.

Because of the environment, the Wind Hill Shaman and Ice Hill Shaman in Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain are much stronger than the Hill Shaman Ying has ever seen.

After the Ice Hill Shaman chanted forbidden spells, they were able to summon ice cones thicker than a human torso.

Not to mention the speed of descent, the mass of the ice cone alone is enough to make a person unconscious if it hits him, not to mention that the ice cone is sharp.

In addition to the Ice Hill Shaman, the Wind Hill Shaman has also become particularly difficult to deal with.

In addition, the wind flow that is strong enough to move the body will make it difficult for people to move and it is difficult to escape from the wind zone formed by the Wind Hill Shaman.

The whirlwinds in the wind zone are mixed with ice chips that can easily cut through clothes and skin.

If both of them cast spells at the same time, it would be very difficult to deal with.

Faced with such natural advantages, it is no wonder that the Adventurer's Association is always troubled by those adventurers who enter the snow-capped mountains without permission without knowing the immensity of the world.

"It hurts so much, Linglong~ I'm hurt...T_T" Ying cried with a sad face, pointing at her shoulder that was hit by an icicle due to accidental carelessness.

"Can this be called an injury?" Zhong Ling asked with a subtle expression.

If you were hit by such icicles under normal circumstances, you would really get hurt. After all, in the "Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain", the ice elemental power has an additional bonus.

But today is different. Ying is wearing a cloak made from the scales she shed.

Moreover, those scales are not like the hair and scales of ordinary creatures that lose their activity due to metabolism and fall off.

Coupled with Zhong Ling's 'special' technique, the strength of this cloak is such that even the [Sky Blade] finds it difficult to break through its defense.

A mere Hill Shaman wants to break through my dragon scales? Don't I have any dignity?

"Although it's not broken, if you get hit, it will still hurt like being hit." Ying said with a guilty conscience. "It will not hurt unless Linglong kisses you!"

"I have engraved talismans on the scales I shed. The purpose of this is to prevent the elemental power within them from being lost and to replenish them automatically. This way, they won't disappear due to the natural loss of elemental power." After all, Zhong Ling is an elemental dragon, and his essence is elemental power.

Dragon scales are naturally a kind of elemental crystal. If the elemental power in them is exhausted, it will disappear.

After the symbol is engraved, it will automatically absorb elemental power to maintain its existence, so after thousands of years, it still looks the same as it did originally.

Zhong Ling can be quite neurotic sometimes.

She cares very, very much about things she cares about.

Just like she would perform the "Xian Dian Yi" every year to update the seal of Osel.

This cloak symbolizes the growth of the little Naga and is of great commemorative value.

So she also engraved runes on the cloak and updated it from time to time when she remembered.

Up to now, the version of the symbol on the cloak has been updated countless times.

"But after a series of rune updates, it has acquired... defensive capabilities that I am only too aware of myself."

"Oh... okay." Ying pursed her lips.

At this moment, I suddenly felt a warm touch on my cheek, which was cold due to the cold wind.

"No...it doesn't hurt anymore, right?" Zhong Ling took a few quick steps and said shyly after arriving in front of Ying.

"I didn't feel it. Kiss me again!" Ying touched her cheek.

"No, no." Zhong Ling waved her hands vigorously.

"Please consider my feelings!" Paimon shouted in his heart.

C.51 Durin and the Leylines

"Why do I always have a...bad feeling?" After clearing out a Hilichurl camp, Ying looked around in confusion.

The Hillilks of 'Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain' are not only stronger than ordinary Hillilks, but also have sharper perception.

They can be discovered even if they just pass by a few hundred meters away.

However, Ying would not take action if these hillbillies did not discover them.

"Did Ying feel it too?" Zhong Ling asked with a smile, turning her head.

"Yeah, I feel a little depressed." Ying put her hand on her chest. "My chest feels a little stuffy."

“It’s faint, but it’s there.”

"As for the reason, I have already told you before, right? The 'ground vein' of 'Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain' is dead." Zhong Ling looked at the mountain surrounded by wind and snow.

"What does this have to do with the 'ground veins'?" Ying asked in confusion.

"Hmm..." Zhong Ling pondered and didn't know how to explain for a while.

Zhong Ling knew very well why the Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain made people feel depressed...but that was a knowledge based on instinct.

If she were asked to describe the reason in words, she really didn't know how to explain it.

"It's like leaving a comfort zone." Zhong Ling finally found the right adjective. "The existence of the leyline is the 'comfort zone' of Teyvat, and Ying's body has long been accustomed to the breath of the leyline."

"The 'ground vein' of the 'Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain' is dead. Not only that, there is another existence that has replaced the 'ground vein'."

"If arriving at the place where the ley lines die is like a warm-water fish suddenly falling into the comfort zone of a cold-water fish."

"Then, going from Mondstadt and Liyue to the Dragon's Back Mountains is like a sea fish entering fresh water."

"Of course, this is just a metaphor. No human being, nor you or I, will die just because they leave their 'comfort zone'."

"Oh! So that's how it is!" Ying widened her eyes and showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

It's just that the expression was a bit exaggerated, and even the meaning of sudden enlightenment was blurred.

"Ying, your expression says 'I heard it, but I didn't understand it at all.'" Zhong Ling poked Ying's cheek and said.

"But it's true." Ying spread her hands. "Although I understand the problem of comfort zone, what kind of existence can actually replace the 'ground vein'?"

U_U

Zhong Ling pointed at herself.

"..." Looking at Zhong Ling pointing at her face, Ying fell silent.

Although he thought his wife was indeed very powerful, Ying never thought she could be so capable.

"If I perish here, my power will be integrated into this area." Zhong Ling did not mind using his own "if I die" metaphor. "If the 'Earth Veins' exist, then my power will become the nutrients of the 'Earth Veins', or in other words, return to its original state."

"If the 'ground vein' does not exist, then I am the 'ground vein'."

"Um... okay." Ying looked at his wife's face which was full of tenderness, and always felt that what he had just said did not match her appearance.

"Linglong said, 'I am the earth vein' and so on. It sounds so domineering. 'Although I can't explain why it's so domineering, I just think it's very powerful.

“In other words...it requires a being at the level of a demon god or an elemental dragon...!” Ying hadn’t even finished her words when she realized it herself.

If she knew of any demon god-level existence that perished here...

That was the dragon Durin who attacked Mondstadt five hundred years ago, fought with Tevarin, and eventually died.

"Is it Du Lin?!"

Demon Dragon Durin, Ying has heard this name many times.

According to Wendy, Durin is a dragon that is different from everyone's perception.

There are biological and elemental life in Teyvat.

A dragon lizard may grow into a dragon, and such a dragon is a living creature.

Elemental dragons formed by elements are elemental life forms.

The magic dragon Durin exists independently of both.

"Yes, that's Du Lin." Zhong Ling nodded. "But it's different from me. When an existence like me dies, it will directly become nutrients for the 'Earth Veins' or become a new 'Earth Vein'."

"After all, I am an elemental dragon."

"And Du Lin, its remains replaced the function of the 'ground vein'." Zhong Ling thought for a moment and found a clear word. "Ying, have you heard of 'whale fall'?"

Whale fall, this is one of the adjectives Zhong Ling could think of.

"When a whale falls, everything comes to life. This is the best description of Du Lin."

"Although such a whale fall is of no benefit to either living creatures or elemental life," Zhong Ling muttered to herself.

Du Lin died in this snowy mountain.

When it was fighting with Tevarin, its blood, which was full of ominousness, at least "ominous" to Zhong Ling, Tevarin and other beings, was spilled all over the snow-capped mountains.

The twisted blood with unimaginable vitality brought terrible changes to the monsters in this snowy mountain.

If the 'ground veins' here still existed, this would not have happened.

But the 'ground veins' here are dead, and Durin has replaced the 'ground veins'.

In five hundred years, Durin's breath has merged with the snow-capped mountains, and his corpse is nourishing the monsters in the snow-capped mountains.

Relying on the special nature of her race, Zhong Ling is extremely sensitive to scent.

The moment she stepped into the snow-capped mountains, she could already sense Du Lin's presence.

Along the way...even the Hill people were imbued with Durin's aura and received Durin's "nurturing".

If the effect of the 'nurturing' obtained by the Hillil people was not obvious, then the monsters buried deep under the ice and snow that Zhong Ling felt along the way were the ones that grew by absorbing Durin's breath.

These monsters are completely different from those in the outside world. In terms of strength, they may be several or even dozens of times stronger than their peers.

However, perhaps because of their natural hostility, Zhong Ling can feel the presence of these monsters, and these monsters can also sense the looming threat posed by Zhong Ling.

So they didn't pop up.

"Dulin...what kind of existence is that?" Her sight seemed to pass through the mountain and landed on the huge skeleton.

"Durin's death is equivalent to a whale fall? That's amazing." Although Paimon has relevant knowledge, when this word that is not used in daily life is said, Paimon still thinks it sounds amazing.

Simply put, it feels high-end.

"But then again, according to Wendy, Durin was created by that [gold]. Could Kanriya at that time have achieved such a level?" Ying was actually not unfamiliar with the so-called "being created".

After all, it is just a technology like "artificial humans", and creating super soldiers is not an unfamiliar thing.

But what surprised Ying was that a continent like Teyvat, which didn't seem to have much technological development, actually had a civilization that could even artificially create super powerful dragons. It sounded like something was wrong.

"I don't know about that. I know almost nothing about Kanriya." There are many things that Zhong Ling doesn't know.

C.52 Linglong is sweeter

"Look! There are people being attacked by the Hillilians!" Just as they were 'strolling' in the snowy mountains, Paimon suddenly pointed in a direction not far away and shouted.

After all, Paimon can fly, so his field of vision is higher, and the vision of both Ying and Zhong Ling is blocked.