116: Discovering Anomalies

The deep pit expanded daily, as the rhythmic clanging of excavation and the clamor of Demon Soldiers hauling stone and earth became the primary melody of the Cold Mist Valley.

Under the supervision of the two Demon Generals, the low-tier aquatic creatures under Green Edge and Iron Pincer's command brandished their natural pincers, claws, and tails. With each strike, they created a small pit, or used crude stone tools to tirelessly excavate the soil layers containing Spirit Stones.

Pieces of Spirit Stones of various sizes, shimmering with diverse lusters, were continuously cleared out and piled in designated areas, gradually forming several small mounds.

At the center of this busy scene, near the pond shrouded in cold mist, Gao De sat cross-legged like a stabilizing pillar.

He did not personally participate in the excavation; instead, he immersed his entire mind in his Cultivation.

The pure water Spiritual Qi within the valley, especially the dense, icy spiritual rhythm emanating from the cold pond, provided him with an excellent environment.

More importantly, those Spirit Stones that had just been mined and still carried the scent of earth were directly refined by him using Demonic Power. The pure Spiritual Qi flowed into his body incessantly, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

Although this mineral vein was merely the remnants of a collapsed larger vein and wasn't massive, its reserves were more than enough for Gao De, who was currently at the Third Order Mid-Stage.

The pure energy contained within the Spirit Stones greatly accelerated his refinement of the dragon pearl fossil and pushed the circulation of the Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art. Under the nourishment of Spiritual Qi and the feedback from the dragon pearl, his Bloodline moved slowly but steadily toward a higher purity.

At night, when the din of excavation temporarily ceased and the low-tier Demon Soldiers responsible for the labor lay exhausted around the deep pit to rest, the cultivation fluctuations naturally emitted by Gao De—a mixture of pure Dragon Qi—shrouded them like an invisible blessing.

These Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals, as well as the green snake aquatic tribe, possessed low intelligence and mottled Bloodlines. However, Cultivating and resting near Gao De, a flood dragon with pure dragon blood, was like bathing in a timely rain.

The wisps of Dragon Qi that escaped were an unimaginably great tonic for them.

Although the effect was minuscule—far inferior to directly consuming a gui water spirit pearl—their Physiques underwent a subtle improvement over time. Their auras became more solid, and a few with slightly better talent even showed signs of breaking through their minor Realms.

Green Edge and Iron Pincer felt this most clearly. They lay close to Gao De, greedily absorbing the pure Dragon Qi. They felt their Demonic Power circulate more smoothly, and waves of comfortable warmth emanated from the depths of their Bloodlines.

They felt even more fortunate about their choice, and their loyalty to Gao De deepened day by day under this "blessing."

Gao De saw all of this but did not stop it.

The overall improvement of the forces under his command was also a good thing for him.

He was happy to see it happen and would even occasionally guide a wisp of Dragon Qi to further nourish Green Edge and Iron Pincer, his two current core subordinates.

For a time, this Cold Mist Valley, which had once been occupied by the Ice Crystal Poison Toad, became a vibrant and orderly Yao Race outpost.

Mining, Cultivating, and growing—everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Gao De was like a king presiding over the center, absorbing the resources of this place to strengthen himself while invisibly feeding back into and shaping this emerging force of his.

On this day, Gao De's mind stirred, and he temporarily cut off his connection with the heavenly secret mirror.

Turtle Three Thousand had just sent a routine report through the mirror, stating that everything was normal at the Water Mansion and Qianjiao Cliff, with no special occurrences and the various factions maintaining a delicate balance.

After several months of continuous excavation, the ground beneath the valley, which was once filled with scattered Spirit Stones, had now been hollowed out into a massive pit.

The last batch of rubble tinged with spiritual light was hauled up by the Demon Soldiers, marking the final depletion of this unexpectedly discovered shallow scattered mineral vein.

The harvest was immense: mounds of Spirit Stones of various attributes. Even though their quality was uneven, their total quantity—while not as large as the Green Wave Sect's former inventory—provided Gao De with solid resources for his Cultivation and development for a long time to come.

What made Gao De even more gratified was the growth of these minor demons under his command.

Nourished by the Dragon Qi he emitted day and night, combined with the once-rich spiritual environment of this place, dozens of low-tier Demon Soldiers had actually succeeded in breaking through their original minor Realms over these few months, advancing further within the First or Second Order.

Their overall strength had increased by a notch, and the spirits of the Demon Soldiers appeared exceptionally robust.

Among them, the most eye-catching was a small green snake that had originally been unremarkable.

Perhaps it was exceptionally gifted, or perhaps it was sheer luck, but after being bathed in Gao De's Dragon Qi for a long time, it had unexpectedly awakened a faint trace of flood dragon bloodline!

A subtle bulge had appeared on the top of its head. Although the skin hadn't broken yet and it was unclear whether it would grow a unicorn horn or other dragon-like features, the aura it emitted was already distinct from ordinary green snakes, carrying a hint of faint pressure.

Green Edge was ecstatic about this and treated it as his own, immediately bringing the lucky little green snake to his side to personally mentor it, hoping that it would one day truly transform into a flood dragon and become a new hope for their tribe.

Standing at the edge of the deep pit, Gao De looked down at the valley, which had become somewhat messy yet was filled with vitality and hope.

The resources here had been completely excavated, and his subordinate forces had been tempered and grown. The goal of this trip had been more than accomplished.

"It is time to leave this place," Gao De thought to himself. This Cold Mist Valley had fulfilled its mission as a temporary base and resource point.

He summoned Green Edge and Iron Pincer and ordered, "The mineral vein is exhausted. Pack all Materials and prepare to withdraw. We return to the Marsh Nest to recuperate."

"Yes, My Lord!" The Two Demons obeyed in unison and immediately began directing the Demon Soldiers to categorize and pack the piled Spirit Stones.

Gao De took one last look at the deep pond that still emitted cold mist, etching the coordinates of this place into his mind.

In the future, perhaps when his strength was sufficient, he could return to explore this cold pond and establish a forward base.

Suddenly, the cold pond, which had remained calm and without ripples, experienced an abnormal surge in water flow without any warning. The thick mist at the center of the pond churned violently, and irregular ripples appeared on the surface, even forming a small whirlpool!

"Hmm?" Gao De's gaze sharpened as he immediately looked toward the cold pond.

He saw the thick mist at the center churning violently and abnormal ripples appearing on the water's surface.

"My Lord, there is an anomaly at the bottom of the pond!" Green Edge, who was responsible for guarding the pond's edge, immediately reported with a hiss. "Just now, the pond water suddenly became several times colder, and there seems to be an undercurrent surging below!"

Gao De's Divine Thought quickly probed into the pond and immediately discovered the cause.

It turned out that the large-scale excavation the Demon Soldiers had conducted in the valley over the past few months, while targeting the shallow scattered Spirit Stones, had inevitably damaged some fragile underground structures.

Just now, a section of the rock layer near the bottom of the cold pond, which was already thin, finally suffered a small-scale collapse due to the long-term vibrations from excavation and its own weight.

This collapse happened to open a fissure connecting to a deeper underground water vein!

The water accumulated deep underground surged into the cold pond under pressure, creating turbulent undercurrents and a whirlpool.

This sudden, powerful surge of water not only stirred the entire cold pond but also washed away the silt and rubble that had accumulated in a corner of the pond floor for years, unexpectedly exposing a hidden tunnel entrance that had been firmly concealed!

"Go down and take a look, be careful of the undercurrent," Gao De ordered. At the same time, he came to the edge of the pond. Sure enough, the once relatively stable pond water now seemed to have a hidden whirlpool in its depths, slowly sucking in the surrounding water.

Receiving the order, Green Edge carefully avoided the still-surging turbulence and dived to the bottom of the pond.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he suddenly burst out of the water. His snake pupils were filled with excitement and surprise, and he held an object covered in fresh silt in his mouth.

"My Lord! Deep at the bottom of the pond, due to the anomaly just now, a hidden tunnel buried by rocks was revealed! I dived in along the tunnel and found a human corpse inside that has almost completely weathered away! Beside the corpse, there was only this!"

Green Edge set down the object in his mouth. It was a Storage Pouch of ancient design that still emitted a faint spiritual light. Its quality seemed quite extraordinary for it to have been preserved in this cold pond until now.

Gao De took the Storage Pouch and wiped away the Restriction on it. Since the original owner was dead and the Restriction's power had been greatly diminished by the passage of time, his Divine Sense easily probed inside.

The internal space of the Storage Pouch was not large, but the items stored within made Gao De's spirits rise.

Inside were several Magic Treasure Flying Swords and a small shield with dim spiritual light but high-quality Materials, several bottles of Medicinal Pills that had long since lost their efficacy and turned into dust, a few Jade Slips, and a sealed jade box.

He first checked the Jade Slips.

One of them recorded a fragment of a Cultivation Technique called the Hundred Beasts Spirit-Commanding Art, which seemed to be some kind of beast-taming method.

Another was an identity Jade Slip. The residual information on it indicated that the owner of this corpse was actually a Third Order Golden Core Elder of the Hundred Beasts Sect, which had dominated for a time a thousand years ago! For some unknown reason, he had fallen at the bottom of this remote cold pond.

What drew the most attention was the third Jade Slip. When Gao De's Divine Sense entered it, a slightly blurred but extremely wide-ranging map appeared in his mind.

He didn't recognize most of the markings for mountains and rivers on the map; it was clearly a depiction of a certain area of the Yunmeng Great Marsh.

However, when his Divine Sense swept over the central position at the southernmost end of the map, two ancient characters suddenly entered his consciousness—"Lake"!

Gao De's heart shook violently! This was actually an exploration map that used Dongting Lake as the southern reference point and delved north into the Yunmeng Great Marsh!

Not only that, besides the rough terrain outlines, the map was marked with many peculiar patterns and symbols: simple drawings of various Yao Beasts like fish, snakes, shrimp, crabs, dragons, turtles, tigers, and deer, as well as markers for flames, poisonous gas, and black holes representing dangerous areas.

These markers were distributed across the map, seemingly warning of corresponding Yao Beast tribes or natural hazards in those areas.

"This is... an adventure map drawn by an Elder of the Hundred Beasts Sect while exploring the Yunmeng Marsh a thousand years ago!" Gao De realized instantly.

Although it was ancient and the terrain might have changed, and the territories of the Yao Beast factions might have shifted, the value of this map was immeasurable!

It provided a valuable framework from a predecessor's exploration, marking many locations where powerful Yao Beasts or special resources might exist, as well as relatively safe paths!

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he looked at the sealed jade box.

After opening it, instead of the glittering treasure he had imagined, there were three pigeon-egg-sized Ores. They were dark red throughout with natural cloud patterns on the surface. They felt heavy in his hand and emitted a faint, scorching aura.

"This is... Red Blood Gold Ore?" Gao De recognized it. This was a rather rare Fourth Order Artifact Refining material, commonly used to refine fire-attribute or metal-attribute Magic Treasures.

It seemed this Hundred Beasts Sect Elder had also made some gains in the Yunmeng Marsh before his death.

He pondered for a moment and ordered, "Postpone the withdrawal. Green Edge, take a few clever subordinates and explore that pond-bottom tunnel again. Search thoroughly to see if anything else was missed. Iron Pincer, strengthen the valley's security. No living being is allowed near the cold pond without my order!"

"Yes! My Lord!" The Two Demons took the order and immediately acted.

Gao De once again picked up the Jade Slip containing the map, immersing his Divine Sense into it to begin a careful study.

He needed to cross-reference this thousand-year-old map with his current understanding to find the targets that were most valuable to him and had relatively controllable risks.

This unexpected discovery caused Gao De to temporarily set aside his plan to withdraw.

The unintentional excavation by the Demon Soldiers had actually become the key to uncovering a thousand-year-old mystery.

After ordering a thorough search of the pond-bottom tunnel and strengthening the guard, he immersed himself in that precious map and began planning his next move.