46: Pulao wreckage

Gao De moved like an invisible shadow beneath the water, quietly sneaking toward the anomalous area reported by Turtle Three Thousand.

The closer he got to the border between the Yunmeng Great Marsh and Dongting Lake, the more turbid the water became. The water pressure increased, and the water Spiritual Qi became more active, even carrying a hint of primal violence.

Along the way, he could sense several powerful and obscure auras lurking in the deep waters or marshes. Most were at the Second or Third Rank. They were wary of each other, having carved out their own territories, forming a dangerous and complex ecosystem on the edge of the Yunmeng Great Marsh.

Several days later, he arrived at the area described in the intelligence.

The underwater scenery here was vastly different from that of Dongting Lake.

Countless massive ancient trees, having grown for untold years, stretched up from the bottom. Their jagged branches formed patches of underwater forests.

A large amount of humus floated in the turbid water, emitting a faint, fishy-sweet scent. Water plants grew in profusion, their strange forms swaying like ghostly hands.

The most prominent feature was the center of that area, where Spiritual Qi vortices ranging from several feet to over a zhang in diameter appeared out of thin air from time to time.

These vortices rotated silently, churning the currents and kicking up silt and debris from the bottom, resulting in extremely low visibility.

The positions where the vortices appeared seemed completely random—sometimes in the east, sometimes in the west—and their duration varied as well.

At the same time, a low, strange sound that seemed to come from ancient times—'Gulu... buzz...'—echoed intermittently along the bottom.

This sound did not travel through the water currents but acted directly upon the Divine Soul, making one feel restless and even causing a slight sluggishness in the circulation of Demonic Power.

'What a peculiar phenomenon.' Gao De was on high alert, maintaining his Breath Concealment talent at its Peak state while carefully avoiding those randomly appearing Spiritual Qi vortices.

He tried to use his Divine Sense to probe deep into the center of a vortex, only to find that as soon as his Divine Sense approached, it was distorted and torn, making it difficult to penetrate further.

He lurked within a thicket of strange water plants with leaves as wide as boats, observing patiently.

During this time, he indeed saw several groups of low-level Cultivators and Yao Race who didn't believe in the danger and came to investigate.

They either formed small teams or acted alone, attempting to approach the vortices. Some even tried to use Magical Artifacts to collect the pure water Spiritual Qi escaping from them.

Without exception, they all met with disaster.

They were either instantly swallowed by a suddenly appearing massive vortex before they could even scream, or their minds were disturbed by that strange sound, causing their power to go out of control and leading to them drowning at the bottom. Some even triggered unknown Restrictions and were sliced into several pieces by sharp water blades appearing out of nowhere... In just half a day, Gao De witnessed at least three incidents of death.

This area was like an invisible giant maw, swallowing all who dared to intrude.

'It doesn't seem like an inhabited land, but more like... some ancient natural Formation or the residual power field of a powerful being. It has become unstable due to the passage of time or external changes, leading to periodic eruptions,' Gao De speculated privately.

This level of power was extremely high, certainly not something an ordinary Third Rank Yao Beast could set up.

He recalled 'Bai Ze's' speculations regarding the Mythical Dragon Son.

The Mythical Dragon Son loved to cry out, and its voice could seize the soul. Although the strange sounds here were different from a direct cry, the characteristic of acting upon the Divine Soul shared a slight similarity.

'Could this place be related to the Mythical Dragon Son or its bloodline? Is it a force field unconsciously emitted while they sleep? Or are these traces left behind from where they once resided?' Gao De felt there was a significant possibility.

He continued to wait patiently, like the most experienced fisherman.

Finally, after observing for nearly a day, he caught a glimpse of a pattern.

Although the appearance of those Spiritual Qi vortices seemed random, the source of their core energy fluctuations all seemed to point toward the deepest part of the underwater forest in this area—a massive depression covered by a large amount of silt and fallen ancient trees.

And that strange sound was also clearest from that direction.

'The core is right there.' Gao De confirmed his target.

He no longer hesitated and began to slowly approach that depression.

His movements were extremely slow and cautious, relying entirely on the subtle undulations of his Physical Body and the natural push of the water currents to avoid triggering any energy fluctuations.

The closer he got, the stronger the pressure on the Divine Soul level became, and the more chaotic the Spiritual Qi grew.

He had to divert a portion of his Demonic Power to protect his mind, while simultaneously letting the Subtle Ripple Thunder Light circulate quietly within his body. The supreme yang and rigid nature of the lightning seemed to have some effect in resisting this Divine Soul interference.

Finally, he reached the edge of the depression.

The light here was extremely dim, as if even the lake water had been dyed the color of ink.

The remains of massive ancient trees were like the skeletons of giant beasts, piled haphazardly to form complex obstacles. The silt was deep, and bubbles occasionally rose from it, carrying a thick scent of decay.

Gao De hid behind a massive skeletal remain of a giant beast and concentrated his gaze toward the center of the depression.

In the very center of the depression, beneath the silt, one could vaguely see a vast area of complex patterns emitting a faint, eerie light.

These patterns were not carved but were more like naturally formed Dao marks or condensed energy, covering an area of nearly a hundred zhang!

The root of those randomly appearing Spiritual Qi vortices was precisely the instability of energy at certain nodes of these glowing patterns, resulting in intermittent eruptions.

And that strange sound was the Divine Soul voice produced by the resonance between the energy flow of the entire pattern system and the Laws of this water region!

'Is this... a naturally formed Restriction? Or... the breathing array of some massive creature?' Gao De was shocked.

These patterns gave him a feeling of being ancient and vast, carrying a primal aura that was definitely not from any common Sect of Formations in the current cultivation world.

He tried to use his Unicorn Law-Breaking talent to sense it. His unicorn horn heated up slightly, transmitting a vague fluctuation that indicated an extremely complex and powerful energy structure ahead. With his current ability, he couldn't forcibly break it at all; even understanding it was extremely difficult.

But at the same time, the dragon pearl fossil within his body sent out a faint, yearning throb!

The dragon pearl fossil was yearning for a certain aura contained within those glowing patterns!

'These patterns contain energy beneficial to the dragon pearl fossil, or... some kind of power from the same source?' Gao De's heart stirred. This further confirmed his suspicion that this place was very likely related to the ancient Dragon Clan or the nine sons of the Dragon!

Just as he was pondering how to safely obtain a trace of that energy or investigate more deeply—

"Boom!!!"

An explosion far louder than any previous disturbance came from the other side of the depression!

Immediately following were intense flashes of Spells and the angry roars of Yao Beasts!

Gao De's heart tightened. He immediately restrained all his aura and looked through the gaps in the dragon bones.

On the opposite side of the depression, a team of Cultivators had appeared at some unknown time! There were about seven or eight of them, dressed uniformly, seemingly Disciples of some Sect. The leader's aura had impressively reached the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment!

They had used some unknown method and seemed to have triggered a peripheral node of the glowing patterns, causing a small-scale energy explosion!

The aftershocks of the explosion churned the silt in the depression, revealing more details of the glowing patterns below.

At the same time, it also disturbed the 'original residents' inhabiting this water region—

Several massive Yao Beasts, shaped like giant frogs and covered in thick mud armor at the Peak of the Second Rank, roared as they crawled out from the silt and debris, lunging at the team of Cultivators!

They were clearly Yao Beasts that had grown and Cultivated by relying on this strange environment, and they were full of hostility toward intruders.

The team of Cultivators clearly hadn't expected to draw out so many powerful Yao Beasts and were instantly plunged into a bitter struggle.

The light of Spells, the whistling of Magical Artifacts, and the roars of Yao Beasts blended together. The chaotic energy impacts caused the glowing patterns around the depression to flicker unsteadily, and more Spiritual Qi vortices began to form and vanish randomly.

"Opportunity!"

A sharp light flashed in Gao De's eyes. This sudden chaos was the perfect time for him to fish in troubled waters!

The battle between the Cultivators and the Yao Beasts drew the attention and danger of most beings present.

And the energy chaos also seemed to cause the defensive power of the central glowing patterns to decrease.

He no longer hesitated. Spotting a moment when the battle between the Cultivators and Yao Beasts was most intense and the energy turbulence most violent, his body moved like lightning. Hugging the edge of the depression, he sneaked toward the central glowing patterns at his fastest speed!

With Breath Concealment fully active and Water Escape utilized to its limit, he even used a tiny bit of Heaven Roaming Evasion. His speed surged, and under the cover of the turbid currents and chaotic energy, he was like a true phantom. In an instant, he crossed several hundred zhang and approached the core area of the patterns!

The closer he got to the core, the greater the pressure on the Divine Soul level, and the stronger the throbbing of the dragon pearl fossil became.

He could see that at the very center of the patterns, the eerie light was most concentrated, as if forming a small pool of liquid energy. Something seemed to be settled in the pool, emitting an alluring aura.

Just as he was about to reach the edge of that energy pool—

"Gudong!!!"

A strange sound, far louder and heavier than any before, suddenly came from beneath the energy pool!

Accompanied by this loud bang, the entire depression shook violently! Gao De felt as if his Divine Soul had been struck hard by a giant hammer; his vision went dark, and his Demonic Power instantly became disordered!

He endured the discomfort and looked intently.

Beneath the energy pool, the silt churned, and a massive dark-gold skull covered in moss and ancient patterns slowly lifted slightly!

The skull was shaped like a frog's but carried the characteristics of a Dragon. Two clusters of ghostly blue soul-fire burned in its eye sockets!

The loud bang just now was actually the sound made by the impact of this skull's lower jaw!

This was not a living thing, but a remain! The remains of a bloodline descendant of the Mythical Dragon Son that had fallen untold years ago but still retained powerful Divine Soul strength and an instinctive Domain!

Those glowing patterns covering the entire depression were precisely the natural Domain formed by its residual power blending with this water region!

Gao De was horrified! He finally understood the root of the anomalies in this place!

And at this moment, the soul-fire in the skull's eye sockets seemed to 'look' toward Gao De, the uninvited guest. A cold, deathly, yet terror-inducing will carrying Dragon Might slowly began to awaken...