218: Hidden in the Blood Pool

Hiding within the dark and silent world of the abyssal suppression dragon talisman, Gao De focused on recovering his breath while concentrating his senses on the faint connection with the outside world.

He realized that this dragon talisman was not just a hiding place; it could perhaps serve as a medium for him to spy on the outside or even exert influence.

However, his control over the world within the talisman was still shallow. Actively extending his perception was like groping in thick darkness—difficult and extremely draining. He could clearly feel that this prison world was not only vast but also divided into many layers.

“I can't just sit here waiting for death. I must find a way to understand the situation outside, especially the strength of the Seal and the movements of those setting the Formation,” Gao De thought rapidly.

He attempted to extend a sliver of Divine Sense out of the dragon talisman, cautiously probing outward.

Gao De held his breath and focused, combining his own Dragon Essence with the prison dragon talisman. He imbued this thread of Divine Sense with a hint of the talisman's runic properties, making it ethereal and nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding sealed and stagnant Spiritual Qi environment.

After an unknown amount of time, that thread of Divine Sense finally "pierced" through the barrier of the Talisman World and touched the external "wall."

As expected, since not much time had passed, Bibo Garden remained firmly locked down by the gloomy Qianyuan Spirit-Locking Formation, silent as the grave.

Gao De did not dare to probe the Formation's structure deeply, fearing he might trigger an alarm.

His thread of Divine Sense acted like a sensitive antenna, gliding slowly along the inner wall of the Formation, trying to catch any minute fluctuations.

Just then, he "heard" extremely faint footsteps, like ripples on water, approaching from outside the garden and then... passing through the Formation's barrier!

Someone had entered! And more than one person. Their auras were restrained and sharp—clearly well-trained elites.

They likely believed he might be hidden somewhere and had sent people in to conduct a thorough search.

Gao De's heart tightened. He immediately retracted the thread of Divine Sense to its limit, attaching it to the shadow of an inconspicuous pillar within the garden. He lay in wait like a true shadow.

Soon, the targets appeared within his range of observation.

Four Secret Guards entered, wearing dark scale armor and expressionless metal masks. They moved swiftly and silently like four ghosts, searching every corner of the garden with speed and efficiency.

Gao De could clearly "see" the shock and confusion flashing in their eyes—the target had indeed vanished.

The Secret Guards exchanged a few hand signals. One stayed behind to maintain surveillance, while the other three quietly withdrew, obviously going to report back.

Gao De's mind raced.

An opportunity!

“Can I... attach a sliver of talisman power to this person?” A bold idea surfaced.

This Secret Guard would surely leave later. Perhaps he could carry Gao De out of this core sealed area. If he could follow him out of the Secret Realm, there would be hope of escape!

But this action was extremely risky! And there was no guarantee the Secret Guard would move according to his wishes.

Once detected, he would not only expose himself but could also draw a thunderous strike.

But if it succeeded, it would be the perfect chance to escape!

Gao De gritted his teeth. Wealth is found in danger!

He once again condensed a sliver of power containing the "stealth" and "attachment" properties of the prison dragon talisman. Mixed with his Divine Sense, it became like invisible dust. Taking advantage of the moment the Secret Guard leaned over to check a Formation node near the pillar, it landed noiselessly in an inconspicuous crack on the sole of his boot.

The movement was practically non-existent. Furthermore, the prison dragon talisman itself had shrunk to a size smaller than a speck of dust. Combined with its inherent properties, it was nearly impossible for an Early Stage Fourth-Rank Secret Guard to notice unless Gao De actively triggered it.

A moment later, the Secret Guard seemed to receive a transmission. He moved, passing through the Formation barrier and leaving just as quietly as he had arrived.

The sliver of Divine Sense Gao De had attached to him also left the sealed area of Bibo Garden!

The light, sound, and flowing Spiritual Qi of the outside world... all perceptions instantly became clearer.

Gao De did not dare be careless. He maintained only the minimum level of perception, acting like a passive camera observing the Secret Guard's movements through that sliver of Divine Sense.

The Secret Guard moved quickly through Qianyuan City, avoiding the main thoroughfares.

After many twists and turns, he entered an area that was exceptionally heavily guarded and completely enveloped by Formations.

The water here was more stagnant and cold, the light was dim, and the architectural style became ancient and rugged, as if returning to the time when the Dragon Palace was first built.

Finally, the Secret Guard stopped before an inconspicuous obelisk made entirely of black basalt. He presented a blood-colored token to the stone monument, and then... walked straight toward the obelisk, his figure merging directly into the stone!

“A teleportation Formation? Or a spatial entrance?” Through the talisman power, Gao De sensed a brief, slight spatial distortion.

In the next moment, the scene changed drastically!

A thick, nauseating scent of blood, mixed with a purer and more sinister Dragon pressure, as well as an ancient, violent aura that Gao De's Bloodline instinctively rejected, rushed toward him.

Before him was a vast, dark underground space. In the center was the familiar dark red Blood Pool—the dragon blood Transformation Pool!

The Secret Guard walked quickly to the edge of the pool, where several people were already present.

Besides that cold official, there were actually two other "Blood Guards" wearing blood-red heavy armor, whose auras were even more ferocious, reaching the Middle Stage of the Fourth Rank!

At their feet lay two Dragon Clan bodies whose powers had been shackled and who were now unconscious—one green and one white. They were exactly the ones the Dragon King had just named: the twenty-seventh son Ao Yu and the twenty-first daughter Ao Xue!

The cold official waved his hand expressionlessly.

The two Blood Guards stepped forward. With practiced and cruel techniques, they broke through the protective reverse scales of the two small dragons and inserted specialized blood-red jade tubes into their heart vessels, beginning to extract the natal Essence Blood that shimmered with a pale golden glow!

The two small dragons twitched unconsciously in their coma, their vitality draining at a visible rate.

As the Essence Blood was injected into the Blood Pool, the surface of the pool immediately began to churn as if boiling. The dark red light flared, and the rotation accelerated. Vaguely, a blurry, massive shadow at the bottom of the pool, which pulsed like a heart, seemed to stretch slightly.

“Send them into the pool to nourish the holy fetus,” the cold official ordered indifferently.

The Blood Guards threw the two small dragons, whose Essence Blood had been mostly drained and whose auras were fading, directly into the Blood Pool.

The viscous blood plasma instantly swallowed them. Only a few bubbles rose before all went silent.

Gao De "witnessed" all of this through the talisman power, and the chill in his heart grew even deeper.

The Dragon King actually treated his own children like medicinal ingredients or livestock!

At that moment, the spatial entrance fluctuated again, and another figure hurried in.

The newcomer was a Jiaolong wearing the uniform of a Dragon Palace Imperial Guard general. His cultivation was at the Early Stage of the Fourth Rank, and his expression held a trace of imperceptible panic and urgency.

“My Lord! An urgent order from Your Majesty!” The general knelt on one knee and presented a dragon scale flashing with urgent golden light.

The cold official took the dragon scale and swept it with his Divine Sense. His face changed slightly: “The ‘source eye’ restlessness has intensified. It's suspected that an external object is triggering the ancient Formation? Your Majesty orders me to immediately take men to reinforce the core Seal and to bring the ‘Blood Guards’ along as Protectors?”

He pondered for a moment, glanced at the Blood Pool and the Secret Guard who had just finished his "mission," and quickly ordered: “You, stay here and guard the Transformation Pool. No one is to approach. If there is any movement, trigger the alarm immediately. You two,” he pointed to the two Blood Guards, “follow me to the ‘source eye’!”

“Yes!”

The cold official hurriedly left with the two Blood Guards.

The Secret Guard dutifully withdrew to the outside of the Blood Pool entrance to stand guard like a statue. No one noticed that an inconspicuous speck of dust had fallen from him and remained within this space.

Within the dragon talisman world, Gao De's thoughts spun rapidly.

source eye? Ancient Formation? It seemed the source of the tremors in the Dragon Palace was right there!

The place the Dragon King and the Black-Robed Figure were most nervous about! And at this moment, this vital Blood Pool area was actually left unguarded. However, Gao De still did not dare to act rashly.

A bolder, more adventurous plan was forming in his mind.

He didn't dare to leave the Talisman World directly yet, but perhaps... he could try to manipulate the dragon talisman to do something?

For example, he could check the function of this Blood Pool, see what the Dragon King was really doing, and see if he could tamper with it. Even if he only created a little bit of chaos, it might buy him an opportunity or even allow him to glimpse more secrets!