61: Crazy Hunt

For the next few months, Gao De was like a skilled hunter, prowling the shadows on the edge of Lake and Yunmeng Marsh.

On his hunting list, one Dragon-Blooded Creatures target after another was precisely crossed off.

A mutated grass carp that lurked in deep water silt, covered in hard bone plates, and possessed the Ice Dragon bloodline was suppressed by his 【Dragon Might Domain】 to stop its ice breath, then finished off with a 【Thunder Smite Spear】 that pierced the gap between its skull and scales.

Several Dragon-Blooded Creatures catfish that inhabited ancient underwater caves, possessed the Ghost Shadow Dragon bloodline, and could stir up whirlpools were countered by his more powerful water control ability and annihilated with a sweeping strike of 【Subtle Ripple Thunder Light】.

Even a cunning Wuyue King, possessing the Poison Mist Dragon bloodline and capable of exhaling paralyzing toxic mist, was forced to reveal its true form after its mist diffusion was countered by his 【Mirage Phantom】, eventually dying under the lightning.

Every hunt was clean and swift, and every gain was transformed into purer power within his Bloodline.

He could feel that he was not far from that hundred-percent Bloodline concentration threshold.

The essence of various dragon-variant Bloodlines was absorbed and fused by him, directly and significantly increasing the concentration of his Dragon Fish Bloodline, while also greatly enriching his understanding of water-elemental Law, giving his 【Dragon Might Domain】 a hint of majesty that repelled all beasts, and making his use of the 【Water Control Art】 even more unpredictable.

However, just as he was hunting a giant clawed dragon lobster that possessed the Shockwave Dragon bloodline and was hiding in a vast underwater stalactite forest, an unexpected discovery interrupted his pure hunting rhythm.

This dragon lobster was only at the Early Stage of the second rank, skilled at using its pincers to vibrate and trigger water wave attacks, which should have been easy pickings.

Gao De silently slipped into the stone forest and was just about to launch a fatal blow when his Divine Sense, which was far sharper than an ordinary person's, captured a trace of extremely faint yet unusually regular energy fluctuations.

This fluctuation did not come from that foolish dragon lobster, but originated from deep within the stone forest, behind a rock wall covered by thick calcified deposits and glowing moss.

Gao De's heart stirred, and he temporarily shelved the idea of hunting the dragon lobster.

He cautiously approached the rock wall, pushing his 【Breath Concealment】 talent to the limit, and his Divine Sense, like the finest carving knife, pierced through the layers of covering and probed inward.

The resistance was strong; the rock wall did not seem entirely natural, and it contained some kind of weak Restriction power that blocked his Divine Sense from going deeper.

But this Restriction was clearly ancient and lacked maintenance, its energy flow stagnant, revealing quite a few flaws.

Gao De patiently searched for the weak points of the Restriction, like a master locksmith.

Finally, in an area where an energy node was almost stagnant, his Divine Sense successfully seeped in a sliver.

In an instant, a burst of water spiritual essence, far purer and more ancient than anything outside and carrying a faint Dragon Clan pressure, flowed out along that sliver of Divine Sense gap!

Although faint, it made Gao De's spirit soar!

"Is this... the spiritual essence unique to a Dragon Palace Water Mansion?!" he thought, his heart shaken.

This aura was seventy to eighty percent similar to what he had felt in the Black Water Stream military city grotto, as well as what was emitted by his own dragon pearl fossil!

He suppressed his excitement and continued to perceive.

Through that gap, he "saw" a narrow, deep, downward-sloping underwater passage!

On the rocks on both sides of the passage, faint, ancient, and blurred dragon pattern carvings could be seen!

And that pure Dragon Clan water spiritual essence was wafting out from the depths of the passage!

"A forgotten... Dragon Palace Secret Passage? Or the entrance to some small Water Mansion?" Gao De's heart was pounding.

This was definitely an unexpected joy!

Since Demon King Fushui could discover the entrance to the Dragon Palace ruins, it was not impossible for other secret entrances to exist on the edge of this Yunmeng Great Marsh!

He carefully noted the location and the characteristics of the Restriction node.

With his current strength and mastery of Formations, he could not forcibly break this Restriction without causing too much of a stir, but since he had found the place, it would be a potential treasure trove in the future once his strength improved or he found a way to break the Formation!

"This place is not suitable for lingering, and I must not take action here, lest I alert something or destroy this fragile entrance." Gao De made a prompt decision, gave up on the giant clawed dragon lobster that was still ignorantly gnawing on moss, silently withdrew from the stone forest, and erased all traces of himself.

This discovery added new content to his hunting plan.

He no longer focused solely on hunting Dragon-Blooded Creatures, but also began to consciously search for clues to potential forgotten Dragon Palace ruins.

His Divine Sense scan became more careful, not only searching for life auras but also paying attention to any unnatural energy fluctuations or geological structures.

However, clues to Dragon Palace ruins were not everywhere. In subsequent hunts, although he discovered a few more energy anomaly points thanks to his powerful Divine Sense and Dragon Clan Bloodline sensing, most were just naturally formed spirit caves, or remnants of ancient objects containing faint dragon blood obtained by low-level aquatic tribes, not real entrances.

Real, valuable clues were often accompanied by higher risks.

While tracking a silver-threaded electric eel with the rare "Thunder Dragon" Bloodline into a dangerous water area constantly shrouded in thunderclouds with chaotic underwater magnetic fields, Gao De not only successfully hunted the target, with its Essence Blood increasing the power of his 【Thunder Smite Spear】, but also accidentally glimpsed a broken stone tablet half-buried in the silt of a pitch-black trench while dodging an exceptionally violent natural underwater lightning strike.

The stone tablet only had a corner exposed, with a few ancient seal characters engraved on it that were long since blurred but radiated a vast Dragon Clan might.

Gao De risked touching it with his Divine Sense and instantly felt a strong spatial fluctuation and a sense of warning!

It was as if it were telling him that this place led to an extremely dangerous and ancient Dragon Clan Forbidden Ground, and for those without sufficient strength and pure Bloodline, stepping inside meant death!

"Is this a Dragon Clan Trial Grounds, or... a prison?" Gao De did not dare to stay long and left quickly after noting the location.

This clue was more dangerous than the secret passage entrance, but it might also mean a greater Opportunity.

At this point, he held two clear clues related to the Dragon Palace: one was a relatively gentle secret passage entrance that might lead to an abandoned Water Mansion or warehouse; the other was an ancient Forbidden Ground of unknown danger that might contain great Opportunity and great terror.

Added to the unverified rumor about Demon King Fushui's old nest, his future exploration direction was already clear.

With hunting and exploration going hand in hand, Gao De's accumulation grew increasingly substantial.

Finally, after refining the Essence Blood of another arrow-toothed minnow king that possessed the Swift Shadow Dragon minnow Bloodline and excelled in extreme speed, the river of Bloodline within him roared, and the barrier broke again!

Bloodline concentration: 99%!

Feeling the immense power within him that seemed about to overflow, as well as the call from the Origin of life in the dark, Gao De knew it was time to return to the Water Mansion.

The spoils of the hunt needed time to be thoroughly digested, and his own state needed to be adjusted to the perfect Peak.

He stopped hunting and, following the most hidden route, quietly returned to the Deep Pool Water Mansion.

This trip out had yielded far more than expected.

Not only had his Bloodline increased to 99% and his various Divine Abilities become even more terrifying after being honed in actual combat, but more importantly, the discovery of those two Dragon Palace-related clues pointed the way for his path after Dragon Transformation!

Next was the final retreat to consolidate all his gains, and then... charge toward the long-awaited Core Formation Dragon Transformation realm!

The gate of the Water Mansion closed slowly behind him, sealing off the chaos and danger of the outside world.

Gao De coiled at the core of the Spiritual Vein, his gaze calm and firm, the 99% dragon blood within him like a dormant volcano, containing the heaven-shaking power to break from the cocoon and leap into a Dragon.

Dragon Transformation was already close at hand.