31: Chapter 31 Misty Waves of Dongting Lake

Li Xiuyuan returned to Yunfeng Mountain.

From Qing'er, he learned about the impending catastrophe and understood the path for his next stage of evolution.

A Flood Dragon does not transform directly into a dragon; he must go through two stages: the Chi Dragon and the Qiu Dragon.

Only then, by entering the sea to transform into a dragon, can he become a true member of the Dragon race.

The metamorphosis into a Chi Dragon and a Qiu Dragon both require completion in vast and long waterways.

The Yangtze River and the Yellow River, the two longest rivers in the Xia Kingdom, are the safest paths for transformation into a dragon.

"Before that, I must first occupy some water territories to raise my strength."

Li Xiuyuan calculated in his mind.

He understood at this moment that even if his bloodline level rose to level five, he would not transform directly into a dragon, and might not even become a Chi Dragon.

"To enter the Yangtze River, I still need to accumulate more experience."

Fortunately, there are many lakes in Jingchu Province, and he could occupy them one by one. If that were not enough, he could also head south to Sanxiang Province, where there are plenty of rivers and water territories as well.

...

Near Yunfeng Mountain, besides the lake in Ezhou, there are a few other small lakes.

No powerful Rising Beingss had been nurtured within them, so Li Xiuyuan occupied them one by one without much effort.

One day,

Just after Li Xiuyuan had dealt with the Rising Beingss in Hong Lake and occupied that water territory, he was about to leave when Gu Xiao, who had been following him, stopped him on the shore.

"Wait a moment."

Gu Xiao looked at Li Xiuyuan, who was preparing to leave.

Li Xiuyuan lowered his eyes to look at him: "What is it?"

"There is something I would like to ask for your help with," Gu Xiao said, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Speak."

Li Xiuyuan was very direct.

Although his relationship with Gu Xiao could not be called close, they could barely be considered friends now. He also knew that while he would just pat his bottom and leave after occupying these water territories, Gu Xiao was the one handling the follow-up work for him.

Gu Xiao did not expect him to agree so readily. He paused before saying: "It's like this. When I was investigating at Dongting Lake before, I discovered a relic of the ancient ancestors, but later that relic disappeared inexplicably."

"Lu Xingyun, that guy you met last time at Ezhou Lake, has guarded Dongting Lake for ten years, but he has never seen that relic appear again."

"Therefore, I would like to ask for your help to go underwater at Dongting Lake and see what the situation is."

Ten years ago, when the ancient ancestor's relic appeared in Dongting Lake, Gu Xiao immediately went to Dongting Lake. At that time, Lu Xingyun was also in the Jiantian Bureau but was temporarily transferred away, so he could only let Gu Xiao help with the investigation first.

The moment he arrived, he saw a spectacle: a large hole appeared out of thin air in the middle of the lake, as if something had pushed the lake water away, revealing the lake bottom below.

In the very center of the hole stood a stone tablet.

Before he could see the content on the tablet clearly, the hole was filled by the lake water.

Since then, Gu Xiao waited by Dongting Lake for several days, but the stone tablet never appeared again.

He had also brought people to search underwater, but to no avail. However, he could feel that there was definitely something at the bottom of the lake.

The Jiantian Bureau had used countless methods over the past ten years but still had not found the whereabouts of that stone tablet. Thus, Gu Xiao thought of Li Xiuyuan and wanted to ask him to go underwater and patrol the area.

"Very well, let's go now," Li Xiuyuan said.

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiao immediately took out his communicator: "I will tell Lu Xingyun first and have him wait for us by the lake."

There are many theories about the origin of the name Dongting Lake, but whether in the "Records of the Grand Historian," the "Rites of Zhou," or the "Erya" and other ancient books, it is called Yunmeng.

"Meng" is the ancient Chu dialect word for lake or marsh.

The area of Yunmeng Marsh once reached 40,000 square kilometers. By the late Warring States period, due to silt deposition, Yunmeng Marsh was divided into north and south. The northern part became a marshland, while the southern part maintained a vast lake. Since then, it was no longer called Yunmeng but named Dongting. There is a Jun Mountain in the lake, also known as Dongting Mountain.

The White Flood Dragon left Hong Lake, dived into the Yangtze River waterway, and headed south all the way.

Gu Xiao did not have his ability to travel, so he could only buy a high-speed rail ticket, and after arriving, he took a taxi.

In less than half a day, the White Flood Dragon and Gu Xiao arrived at their destination almost at the same time.

Ever since the news of the spiritual energy recovery was made public, a group of cultivators would gather by Dongting Lake every morning.

The concentration of spiritual energy here is higher than in other places. According to experts, cultivating here increases the speed of advancement and breakthroughs significantly.

An area on the west side of the lake was sealed off by the Jiantian Bureau, and unrelated personnel were not allowed to enter.

Li Xiuyuan, wrapped in clouds and mist, arrived at that area.

Lu Xingyun had been waiting there early.

From far away, he saw the mass of clouds and mist, his eyelids twitched, and he subconsciously took two steps back.

Amidst the churning mist, a silvery-white outline could be vaguely seen moving within it.

Lu Xingyun swallowed his saliva, his palms already sweating.

He took a deep breath, trying hard to calm himself down. After all, he was a member of the Jiantian Bureau; he couldn't just be scared into sitting on the ground every time he saw this one—that would be too embarrassing.

The clouds and mist stopped a few zhang away in front of him, and the mist slowly dissipated a little, revealing that huge head.

Those pale golden vertical pupils looked down, watching him quietly.

Lu Xingyun said dryly: "You, you have arrived."

After saying that, he wanted to slap himself. What did he mean by "you have arrived"? It wasn't like he was reporting to a superior.

Li Xiuyuan did not pay attention to these things and nodded slightly.

Immediately after,

A rustling sound came from far to near.

Gu Xiao, wearing a nuo mask, moved like a ghost through the mountain forest on the shore, arriving close by after a few leaps.

"Looks like the timing is just right." He took off the nuo mask and nodded to Lu Xingyun.

Gu Xiao took a palm-sized compass from his pocket and pointed to the island in the distance: "That is Jun Mountain. The location where the stone tablet appeared back then is about three miles east of Jun Mountain."

Li Xiuyuan looked in the direction his finger was pointing.

The lake surface was vast and boundless, with the water and sky merging into one color. The island in the distance was lush and green, like a bright pearl embedded in the blue waves.

The water area east of the island was unnaturally calm, with very few ripples, as if something was pressing down from underwater.

He did not speak, leaned forward, and dived into the water. The mass of clouds and mist sank into the lake surface, and as the edge of the mist touched the water, ripples spread out in circles.

The lake surface seemed to be cut open; the White Flood Dragon slipped into the water silently, without even splashing a few drops.

Lu Xingyun stood on the shore, watching the gradually dissipating mist, and let out a long breath.

"Old Gu, do you think he can find that stone tablet?"

Gu Xiao stared at the water surface for a long time before saying: "Who knows? It would be best if he could find it; if not, there is nothing we can do."

"That makes sense."

Lu Xingyun took a pack of Furongwang cigarettes from his pocket. After opening it, he clicked his tongue: "Smoked them all again."

After saying that, he looked at Gu Xiao, the meaning in his eyes self-evident.

Gu Xiao glanced at Lu Xingyun and feigned ignorance: "What are you doing?"

"Borrow one." Lu Xingyun chuckled.

"This pack of Furongwang of yours is an old actor, isn't it?"

Gu Xiao's tone was full of disdain, but he still took out a Huanghelou cigarette from his pocket and shared one with Lu Xingyun.