NOVEL NEXT Chapter 199 Village
Zhang Ze squatted on a rock at the entrance of the cave, looking eastward into the Secret Realm, gazing at the ancient dragon resting above the Ancient Forest.
The dragon had a single eye on its head, closed tight, with horns like elongated halberds, and a body void of scales.
Its whole body was twisted and coiled from some kind of gray-brown plant roots, though possibly because the dragon was so ancient, these branches exuded a hint of decay.
Despite being quite far away, Zhang Ze's eyesight was keen.
Amidst the tangled roots covering the dragon's body, he saw the remains of many demon beasts.
These demon beasts were 'planted' on the dragon's body, nourishing its enormous form with a semblance of life force.
But clearly, it was like a drop in the ocean.
Moreover, black and red mold stains, following the rhythm of the dragon's breath, were slowly spreading from the remnants of those demon beasts.
As if some form of pollution.
"Li, do you think you'll grow into a long shape like that when you get older?" Zhang Ze asked, looking at the dragon.
"Ha, so ugly, I would never grow like that."
"Do you remember what you looked like then? Surely not still round, right?"
"I forgot..."
Li bantered with Zhang Ze while gazing at the scenery in the Secret Realm.
Everything here felt inexplicably familiar to it, as if it had returned to the Primordial era.
Its little brain hurt from thinking, as though it was growing a new one.
For some reason, the restriction that suppressed cultivation in this Secret Realm had no effect on Zhang Ze and Li.
"Brother Zhang, are you here to rescue us?"
Li Jue, who had been standing beneath the rock, finally couldn't hold back and asked.
"Of course," Zhang Ze replied.
"So what do we do now?" Li Jue's eyes were filled with hope.
"Wait for your sister; she will definitely come to rescue us." Zhang Ze said, spreading his hands.
"..."
Li Jue thought for a moment and decided to change the topic.
"Brother Zhang, you must have deciphered the secret in those three characters after receiving my message, that's why you're here, right?"
Zhang Ze chuckled awkwardly, "You could say that."
He then changed the topic as well.
"Li Jue, do you know someone named Yimu? A fortune teller in Rising Dragon City, looking both old and youthful."
Li Jue shook his head after hearing this, "Never heard of him. What's with this person?"
Zhang Ze looked at the dragon and spoke softly.
"I suspect that Yimu is connected to this dragon."
"Ah?" Unlike Zhang Ze's calmness, Li Jue was genuinely afraid of the gigantic dragon sleeping in the sky.
"What's going on?" Li Jue asked.
"The person I encountered had Dragon Qi." Zhang Ze recalled the events after meeting Yimu.
Earlier today, in Rising Dragon City.
After leaving the alley filled with Canglong Pines, Zhang Ze suddenly felt the dragon scent around him weaken.
It wasn't an actual scent, but rather the faint presence of Dragon Qi emanating from Li.
Having spent so much time around Li, Zhang Ze was very familiar with this sensation.
He hadn't noticed this while speaking with Yimu, but upon leaving the alley, he immediately sensed something amiss.
The Dragon Qi had weakened.
But when he went back, the fortune teller Yimu was already nowhere to be found, along with the turtle shell and small banner.
All that was left was an oil-stained broken table.
A man with a long face stood agitatedly next to the table, seemingly looking for someone too.
Zhang Ze inquired and learned that this table indeed belonged to a butcher shop and was recently stolen.
Upon further questioning about the fortune teller Yimu, the long-faced man simply shook his head, saying there was no such fortune-telling fraud in Rising Dragon City.
"Later, I asked many in the city, and none knew of someone like Yimu.
Plus, I had heard rumors of a dragon here a while back. With Yimu carrying Dragon Qi, I thought something was off.
So I found your sister and asked her to contact the Beast Taming Sect to see if they could connect with your two fellow disciples."
After realizing none of you could be reached, I suspected something might have happened to you."
Zhang Ze finished speaking and sighed, "Thus, I decided to come here for a look first, and then I was pulled in as well."
Having said that, Zhang Ze jumped down from the rock, "Wait for your sister; she will shake people from the Beast Taming Sect to rescue us."
...
Before Zhang Ze made his way to Wolong Marsh, he had already shared his suspicions with Li Yueqi and urged her to call for aid.
At this moment, Li Yueqi had arrived at Wolong Marsh.
She was speaking with her grandfather.
"What do you mean there's no way? Isn't that your own grandson?"
Opposite Li Yueqi was a giant turtle, so old that its eyelids could barely stay open, nodding off repeatedly.
Her grandfather Li Wenzhou stood beside the giant turtle.
The old man wore a dark blue martial path uniform, his muscles knotted, and his head full of red hair like a fierce demon.
Despite his fierce appearance, he spoke gently when talking to his granddaughter.
"The Secret Realm beneath Wolong Marsh can only be opened by that dragon. I have no way to break it forcefully; doing so would only harm Xiaojue. Yelling at me won't help."
"So what do we do now?" Li Yueqi, looking at Wolong Marsh ahead of her, was anxious.
"The copper lock, Xiaojue always wears it, right?" Li Wenzhou asked.
"Yes, he wanted to leave it at home one time, but I beat him up." Li Yueqi replied.
Li Wenzhou listened, his eyelid twitching, but continued,
"Inside the copper lock is a dragon scale, a token between our Beast Taming Sect and that ancient dragon..."
But here he paused, as if recalling something important, yet he couldn't remember after a long while.
"Go to that Ancient Forest in the Secret Realm, ... there is a Stone Stele in the forest, place the dragon scale on it, and you'll be able to converse with the Village..."