248: Chapter 248 Ancient Abyss

Eight Hundred Li Dongting Lake.

Qianjiao Cliff Water Mansion council chamber.

Gao De sat in the main seat, a broken tortoise shell floating before him, which he had risked his life to reclaim from the Bewitching Ghost Swamp.

The map carved on the shell was as clear as yesterday—at the bottom of Dongting Lake, deep within the Dragon Palace Secret Passage, at the entrance to the Ancient Chidao.

And that location almost perfectly overlapped with the Prison Hall, where he had obtained the "prison" character dragon talisman years ago.

"It's right here."

His fingertip pointed to a spot on the tortoise shell marked with a winding downward dragon pattern, matching the position in his memory exactly.

Ao Xue stood by his side, her blood-red eyes narrowing slightly. "That's where you... obtained that dragon talisman back then?"

Gao De nodded.

That was shortly after his Dragon Transformation.

With his cultivation at the Third Rank Early Stage, in that great hall suppressing endless secrets, he had engaged in a battle of wits and strength with a flood dragon's remains that had been corroded by Black Fire for ten thousand years. He had used the Purple Lightning Thunder Net to withstand the burning of his Divine Soul and the Spirit Devouring Vortex to swallow the Sealing claw marks. Risking his life, he had finally pried the "prison" character dragon talisman from the skeleton's tightly gripped finger bones.

At that time, he didn't even fully understand the true purpose of the dragon talisman, only knowing it was an important token left behind by the Dragon Palace.

Later, with the Breakthrough in Cracked Wind Valley, the gaze of Bai Ze, and the intervention of the Mysterious Tortoise—he vaguely understood that the weight of that dragon talisman was far beyond what the word "token" could describe.

And now, the hiding place of the guixu token was actually there as well.

In the same great hall where he had once set foot, once fought for his life, and once thought he had explored to its limits.

"The prison dragon talisman has the power to tear through space," the Mysterious Turtle said in a deep voice, "but back then, what the Cliff Master obtained was only peripheral authority. If the guixu token is truly hidden deeper within the Prison Hall... that place likely has another Restriction."

"I know," Gao De said calmly.

He knew, of course.

He had never forgotten the strangeness of that great hall.

The black flames dancing in the eye sockets of that Black Jade Skeleton, the malicious black shadows biting at the Divine Soul, the obsession that gripped the dragon talisman until death—and the way those hollow eye sockets looked toward the Void Realm when the skeleton crumbled.

It was as if it were waiting for someone.

As if it had waited for a long time.

"We set out tomorrow." Gao De put away the tortoise shell. "I've already traversed the Dragon Palace Secret Passage once. This trip is only to retrieve the guixu token; no taking risks, no lingering in battle."

He paused.

"We return as soon as we take it."

---

The next day, midnight.

At the bottom of Dongting Lake, a thousand zhang deep, beneath the ruins.

A flickering spatial rift lay across the dark waters, its edges entwined with intricate dragon patterns.

That was the Restriction brand personally laid down by the Dragon Lord back then, and also the entrance Gao De had first opened with his Third Rank cultivation while holding the prison dragon talisman.

Years later, he stood here again.

The "prison" character dragon talisman in his palm sensed the kindred Restriction, and a faint light appeared on its surface.

The rift silently parted to both sides, revealing a winding stone staircase passage leading downward.

The passage was deep and dark, with no end in sight.

"Let's go." Gao De stepped in first.

Ao Xue followed closely behind, her Blood Dragon aura completely restrained.

On the stone walls on both sides of the passage, dense Dragon Script was inscribed.

It was exactly the same as what he had seen back then—the ancient language used by the primeval Dragon Clan to write Restrictions, with bold strokes and profound meaning.

Only, at that time, he didn't recognize many words, only caring to watch out for dangers that might leap from the shadows.

Now that his cultivation had improved, he could understand most of it.

"Those not of my Bloodline, enter and die."

"Only those holding my dragon talisman may pass."

"Prison is for the captive. None but the greatly evil are imprisoned, none but the greatly sinful are suppressed."

"Yet imprisonment is not forever, and suppression is not eternal."

"When the destined one comes with the token, what should be severed shall be severed..."

The last few words had been eroded by time and were no longer legible.

Gao De stopped.

"Comes with the token."

Back then, he couldn't understand it and only took it as a common Restriction warning.

Looking at it again now—when the Dragon Lord carved these words, he seemed to have already anticipated that one day, someone would hold that guixu token and step into this place.

And that person might not necessarily be his blood descendant.

"Great King?" Ao Xue noticed him stopping.

"It's nothing." Gao De withdrew his gaze. "I just feel... when the Dragon Lord carved these words back then, he seemed to have waited for a long time."

He didn't explain further.

The passage went downward, deeper and deeper.

---

Three thousand zhang underground.

At the end of the passage, that familiar great hall appeared before his eyes once more.

The hall doors were as heavy as ever, and above the lintel, that ancient and bold "prison" character was still quietly inscribed.

Gao De stood before the door and raised his hand.

His palm touched the cold dragon-patterned stone surface.

He circulated his Demonic Power and slowly pushed open the heavy stone door inscribed with the "prison" character.

Just like back then.

Boom—

An aura sealed for untold years, like a tide that had been silent for eternity, suddenly rushed toward him!

Within his line of sight—

The interior of the hall was not the dark prison he had expected, but a hazy blue-black glow.

In the center of the glow, a massive dragon claw mark composed of pure energy, interwoven with blue and black, appeared out of thin air!

In the center of the claw, a deep blue rune rotated like a star, emitting a majestic pressure and binding force like the vast ocean!

This claw mark was clearly triggered by the opening of the stone door, carrying the will to Seal all spirits and suppress everything as it struck down toward Gao De!

Everywhere it passed, even space seemed to become thick and solidified.

Ao Xue's blood-red eyes shrank, and her dragon claws were already poised to strike!

"Don't move."

Gao De raised his hand to stop her.

He didn't retreat.

He didn't even summon the thunder calamity law-breaking halberd.

He simply—

Stepped forward, facing that vast claw mark capable of suppressing a Fourth Rank Early Stage great demon, and opened his huge mouth!

Devour!

No.

It wasn't the Elementary devour from back then, which could only passively absorb and slowly refine.

It was the one he had fused with his own Demonic Power to perfection after countless battles, countless dragon blood refinements, and countless Breakthroughs on the edge of life and death—

The Spirit Devouring Vortex!

A deep vortex, its edges flickering with Purple-Gold Thunder Flame, instantly formed in front of him!

The vortex rotated at high speed, generating a terrifying suction force capable of distorting space!

That blue-black claw mark containing the power of the ocean was actually forcibly pulled, dragged, and distorted by the vortex—finally, like a whale swallowing water, it was swallowed whole!

Boom—!!!

The moment the claw mark entered his belly, Gao De's whole body shook violently!

He felt as if he had swallowed an incredibly heavy mountain, a wild and boundless ocean!

Majestic energy crashed wildly inside him, his Meridians bulging as if they would burst, and the dragon pearl vibrated violently in his Dantian as that external Sealing force tried to break out of his body!

He let out a muffled groan and advanced instead of retreating!

He circulated the Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art with all his might!

A flood dragon phantom suddenly appeared behind him, roaring at the sky!

The dragon pearl rotated rapidly, and the Purple-Gold Thunder Flame ran through his internal pathways like dragons!

Suppress!

Refine!

Claim it as his own!

The booming sound echoed in the passage, making the entire ancient ruin tremble slightly.

Even on the water's surface above the ruins, for dozens of li around, there was a sudden jolt, and ripples spread silently for a hundred li.

The aftershocks of the collision between the claw mark and the vortex swept through the hall—

Triggering some mechanism that had been sealed for ten thousand years.

On the four walls of the hall, those long-faded dragon pattern runes, from bottom to top, layer by layer—

Lit up one after another!

A soft and vast light washed over the stone walls like a tide, illuminating the entire hall!

And the dead water that had originally filled the hall, accumulated for untold tens of thousands of years, was pushed by an invisible giant hand—

Whoosh—

Following the drainage channels that suddenly appeared on the walls, it rapidly receded, flowed, and poured out!

Revealing the dry floor.

Revealing the furnishings of the hall that had been sealed for ten thousand years.

Revealing—

On the main seat of the hall, the sitting figure that he was incredibly familiar with.

A humanoid skeleton with distinct dragon horns.

The bones were entirely a warm and deep black jade color.

Even after ten thousand years, with only a skeleton remaining, it still emitted a majestic aura as if it were a mountain that once held power.

However, this powerful skeleton was covered in fine cracks like a spiderweb.

Many bones bore terrible burn marks.

Especially the ribs above the empty Dantian area, which were completely broken—as if some force had forcibly dug out the inner core, dragon pearl, and everything else.

Gao De watched it quietly.

When he first stepped into this hall years ago, this skeleton was sitting right here.

Two clusters of dark, cold black flames danced in its eye sockets.

One hand bone tightly held a bronze-cast dragon talisman.

To take that dragon talisman, he had used the Purple Lightning Thunder Net to withstand the black fire's burning and the Spirit Devouring Vortex to take the backlash. Risking his life, he had finally snatched the dragon talisman the moment the skeleton crumbled into powder.

That was the first time he had truly "stolen" something from the remains of an ancient powerhouse.

And now—

That skeleton was no longer there.

He had personally watched it crumble inch by inch years ago, turning into a pile of lusterless black bone powder accumulated on the main seat.

But now.

Within that pile of bone powder, an object was actually floating quietly.

It was a palm-sized token.

Entirely blue-black, neither metal nor jade, and warm to the touch.

The token floated quietly above the bone powder, without any support or Restriction—it just hung there.

As if it were waiting.

Waiting for a young man who, when he first pushed open this door, was still too weak, too hurried, and only concerned with escaping and seizing treasure—

To return one day.

Gao De stepped forward.

Ao Xue wanted to say something but ultimately just followed in silence.

He stopped three feet before the token.

He didn't reach out immediately.

He just lowered his head, looking at that pile of black bone powder that had long since lost its luster.

"...Senior," he said softly.

"I didn't know who you were back then."

"Nor did I know what you were waiting for."

He paused.

"I still don't know now."

"But I've brought what you were waiting for."

He turned his hand.

In his palm, the "prison" character dragon talisman emitted a faint light.

And the moment the dragon talisman appeared—

On the surface of the token, an extremely faint and warm blue light suddenly lit up!

That light was like a ripple, like a dragon's roar, like a sigh left behind by a certain Dragon Lord a thousand years ago before his death.

The next moment—

Boom—!!!

The twelve Chi Dragon stone statues in the hall all opened their eyes at once!

A dragon's roar like a tide echoed throughout the entire hall!

It wasn't hostility.

It wasn't suppression.

It wasn't a test.

It was—

Recognition.

An ancient, heavy thought, carrying the breath of a thousand years of the Lake's misty waves, flowed from the token into Gao De's Divine Soul.

That thought had no words.

Only images.

He "saw"—

Ten thousand years ago, an old man wearing black-scaled dragon armor stood in the center of this hall.

He held a newly forged token in his hand. On the front of the token, a wandering dragon coiled, holding a pearl in its mouth, and on the pearl was carved a single character—

Ruins.

Behind the old man, twelve Chi Dragon stone statues stood quietly.

Outside the hall, countless aquatic Demon Soldiers were lined up, their banners fluttering.

That was the Dragon Lord of Dongting.

It was him in his prime.

He placed the token in the center of the altar and, with a drop of blood from his fingertip, carved the final stroke on the back of the token.

Then, he turned and looked out at the eight hundred li of misty waves he had once guarded for a thousand years.

The image froze there.

The Dragon Lord did not look back.

The thought dissipated.

The Chi Dragon stone statues slowly closed their eyes.

The great hall returned to silence.

Gao De held the guixu token, silent for a long time.

After a long while.

He bowed deeply toward that pile of bone powder that had long since gone cold.

No words.

No oaths.

Only—

A bow.

Ao Xue stood behind him, her blood-red eyes slightly lowered, and she bowed as well.

There was no sound in the hall.

Only the guixu token in his palm, emitting a warm, water-like blue light.

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