Ao Jiangyue activated the excavation multiple times but felt no presence of the Dragon Gate.
She looked speechlessly at Ao Haiping.
"Did Bai Xinghe lie to us?"
Ao Haiping's expression was grim. He lowered his head to look at the back of his hand. As he channeled his spiritual power, the pattern that had been imprinted onto his hand after signing the blood oath immediately appeared.
The monstrous serpent with sharp teeth was still depicted as if coiled around its eggs, showing no signs of hatching.
He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "He shouldn't be lying to us. Didn't Bai Xinghe say the Dragon Gate was suppressed beneath the earth's veins? It's possible that due to the suppression, you can't sense it."
Ao Jiangyue felt his words had some merit.
She then turned to look at Lu Caiwei, who had been observing their surroundings.
"Sister-in-law, we'll have to trouble you with this."
"Yes, since the Dragon Gate is suppressed, it must be at a nexus of the earth's veins, where spiritual energy is most concentrated," Ao Haiping said.
"The spiritual energy here is too abundant, making it difficult for me to pinpoint the exact location for now," Lu Caiwei replied.
She then pondered for a moment, and a pair of deer antlers suddenly sprouted from her head.
The antlers were magnificent and noble, emitting a seven-colored radiance in all directions.
Wherever the light shone, everything was bathed in color. Not only the surrounding stone walls, but also the water of the underground river and the air in the sky became a kaleidoscope of colors, as if they had fallen into a dreamlike world.
"Look, the areas where the colors are deepest are where the spiritual energy is most concentrated. If we search along this path, we will definitely find the Dragon Gate."
Lu Caiwei pointed to the colorful bubbles in the air and explained to the two.
Qi, the fundamental essence of the world, was composed of five elements, but it had become tangible under the illumination of her divine light.
The Ao siblings, hearing this, focused their divine power in all directions. This earth vein was simply too vast and too long; they couldn't survey it all at once.
"Let's go forward," Lu Caiwei said.
As her divine light swept through, she felt a sense of direction and led them onward.
Just then, Ao Jiangyue suddenly grabbed Lu Caiwei, shielding her behind her, and summoned her weapon. She then peered into the underground river.
Ao Haiping and Lu Caiwei also noticed the situation.
Beneath the underground river, a colossal entity was lurking. They hadn't noticed it initially, but due to Lu Caiwei's divine light, its entire body turned a fiery red.
Even amidst the seven-colored river water, it was undeniably conspicuous.
"What kind of monster is this?" Ao Haiping asked aloud.
But his actions were not slow at all. He produced a folding fan from somewhere, opened it with a snap, and then swept the fan surface lightly. A massive vortex formed on the underground river, directly sweeping the underwater creature upwards.
The creature no longer hid, leaping out of the water with immense power. It was hundreds of feet long, with a flat body, and two massive whiskers protruding from its mouth, resembling a giant carp spirit.
However, its skin was far more exquisite than that of a carp, with black skin subtly patterned with thunderous markings.
With a casual inhalation, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged into its abdomen. It then exhaled, emitting a sound like thunder. The thunderous markings on its body flickered with each breath, brightening and dimming.
"What kind of monster is this?"
The three, despite their extensive knowledge, were stunned speechless by the creature.
"A carp spirit?" Ao Jiangyue whispered.
Lu Caiwei shook her head, her expression solemn. "This monster's flesh and blood are not ordinary; it doesn't seem to be a creature of this world."
"No matter its origin, it's blocking our path to retrieve the Dragon Gate, so we'll kill it," Ao Haiping declared, waving his folding fan again.
The underground river churned violently, with countless streams of water transforming into sharp arrows that shot towards the monster. Simultaneously, a massive torrent of water formed a long rope, attempting to ensnare the creature's body.
"Waaaah~"
The monster let out a cry like that of an infant. Upon hearing it, the onlookers felt their minds waver, their senses becoming disoriented.
The arrows in the air and the water rope seemed to lose their power, falling back into the river and resuming their form as mere water.
"Such a potent cry," Ao Haiping exclaimed in admiration.
They were all beings of profound cultivation, and it was not easy to shake their resolve.
The fact that this monster's casual cry possessed such power surprised them greatly.
Seeing the effectiveness of its cry, the monster grew even more emboldened.
The wailing cries echoed throughout the underground river. The onlookers not only felt their minds sway but also experienced a surge of grief and pity in their hearts.
Ao Haiping was inwardly astonished, noting that the monster's cry bore a resemblance to the emotion of sorrow from the Twelve Aspects of Sentient Beings.
However, despite the monster's power, the Ao siblings, being of dragon lineage, managed to steady their minds and prepared to counterattack.
At that moment, Lu Caiwei, standing nearby, suddenly opened her mouth and let out a gentle deer cry.
With this single deer cry, it was as if spring had returned to the earth. Not only did it drown out the monster's wails, but it also evoked a sense of warmth, akin to a spring outing in the countryside, bringing a sense of comfort and relaxation to their bodies. In a trance, the walls of the entire cave began to sprout green vegetation, instantly becoming vibrant with life.
The monster, likely affected by this, instinctively swung its tail, producing a tremendous roaring sound, which seemed to bring it back to its senses.
It shook its head a couple of times, its two massive whiskers dancing in the air, with wisps of lightning flickering at their tips. A thick thunder dragon coiled around it, indicating its fury.
"Not good," Ao Haiping exclaimed in alarm.
If such a colossal thunder dragon were to strike them, they wouldn't be able to withstand it. With a wave of his fan, a crimson dragon surged forth from its surface.
This colossal dragon possessed a peculiar appearance. Not only was its entire body fiery red, but its scales were also spread out like an umbrella, and its four claws were like sharp blades emitting a chilling glint.
It soared upwards, directly entwining itself around the monster's body and locking it tightly. Its scales acted like sharp blades, inflicting deep wounds upon the monster's body, resembling drill bits with a spiral cutting action, extremely ferocious.
The monster let out a piercing shriek. An invisible force radiated outwards, causing the water in the underground river to defy gravity and float upwards. A vast net of lightning filled the entire cavern.
The crimson dragon, bombarded by the lightning, began to lose its stability, its form on the verge of disintegration.
Just then, Ao Jiangyue intervened.
She shook her long sword, which dispersed into a diamond shape, encircling her body. Then, with a flick of her finger, countless sword energies flew towards the monster. The sharp sword light rippled outwards, scraping away thick layers from the surrounding rock walls, its power far exceeding that of her attack on Liu Nanfeng that day.
Innumerable sword beams shot towards the monster's forehead. The monster sensed the danger and whipped its two whiskers, like electric dragons, striking the sword beams. The collision produced deafening ringing sounds.
However, the sword beams were as agile as swimming fish and incredibly numerous. In a moment of carelessness, one pierced the monster's forehead. As the monster cried out in pain, it struggled wildly, and the crimson dragon entwining it completely dissipated.
Ao Haiping, looking at the fan surface, also felt a pang of heartache.
But it was too late for such struggles. As it writhed in pain, the sword beams in the air abruptly lengthened by tens of feet, forming a massive sword net that sliced through, severing the monster's head into pieces that fell into the underground river. Unfortunately, the monster's body was too immense to be entirely cut.
With the monster's death, its colossal body plummeted from the air, creating a splash of water that reached the sky.
Ao Haiping reacted swiftly, waving his fan. The streams of water froze in mid-air before gently returning to the underground river.
"With such a massive monster, what did it subsist on in this underground river?" Ao Jiangyue inquired with curiosity.
Its size was truly astounding; not only were there no other creatures in the underground river, but even if there were, they likely wouldn't be enough for it to devour.
"Either there are larger passages connecting to other places, or it feeds on this," Lu Caiwei said, looking at the colorful, shimmering spiritual energy in the air.
The spiritual energy here was abundant, and even the water of the underground river was filled with dense spiritual energy.
"Does it feed on spiritual energy?" Ao Haiping furrowed his brow slightly.
There were creatures that fed on spiritual energy, but they were primarily found in ancient times. The most representative were the creatures mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Now, they had either "evolved" into other forms of survival or had perished.
"If it feeds on spiritual energy, then its flesh and blood must be valuable," Ao Jiangyue said softly.
Ao Haiping's eyes lit up at her words. With a wave of his folding fan, the monster's carcass in the river vanished without a trace. A pattern of the monster's corpse, perfectly detailed, appeared on his fan surface.
"Let's go," Lu Caiwei said, leading the way forward.
With the monster cleared from the air, the floating spiritual energy began to re-accumulate, improving their visibility.
The three proceeded along the underground river and finally arrived at the base of the enormous waterfall, where a deafening roar continued unabated.
Their gazes converged on the central part of the waterfall, as that was where the spiritual energy was most concentrated.
"Let's go up."
Ao Haiping was impatient and directly ascended against the current. The immense waterfall seemed to be cleaved in two by invisible scissors.
Upon reaching the area of concentrated spiritual energy, Ao Haiping punched the stone wall, his immense strength carving out a large cavern.
Ao Haiping's heart filled with joy, believing they had found it. However, his expression soon turned grim.
The cavern was devoid of any anomalies. The Dragon Gate was a divine artifact, and one would expect it to emanate auspicious energy, perhaps with nine dragons coiled around it, shining with golden brilliance.
But now, the pitch-black cavern displayed no such phenomena.
At this moment, Lu Caiwei and Ao Jiangyue had also arrived behind him.
"We should still go inside and take a look," Lu Caiwei suggested.
Ao Haiping's face was as dark as ink. After a moment's thought, he quickly entered. The cavern was not large and could be seen through at a glance.
Then, the three stood stunned, gazing at the scene before them with disbelief.
The Dragon Gate was only half remaining, or rather, less than half, with only one-third standing in the cavern.
The Dragon Gate was not a gate but a stele, a massive stone tablet entwined with nine dragons, bearing the words "Dragon Gate." Upon activation with spiritual power, the Dragon Gate would truly appear, and crossing it would purify one's bloodline.
Water creatures possessing dragon bloodlines undoubtedly had greater potential than ordinary water creatures, which was why many sought to transform into dragons.
But now, the Dragon Gate was destroyed, leaving only its base, or rather, about one-third of the stone tablet standing in the cavern.
Ao Haiping's already dark expression turned ashen.
He had been so proud in front of his father earlier, boasting about Feng Zhirun, his long-time friend, and their existing bond. He never expected to be so thoroughly humbled so quickly.
"Feng Zhirun, I will kill you!" Ao Haiping roared in fury.
Before his voice had even faded, he transformed into a gust of wind and vanished into the cavern.
"Second brother," Ao Jiangyue tried to stop him, but Lu Caiwei held her back.
"Let him go. Regardless, let's retrieve this Dragon Gate first," Lu Caiwei said, pointing at the Dragon Gate on the ground.
Ao Jiangyue fell silent, but eventually, she reached out towards the fragmented stone tablet on the ground.
The stone tablet was exquisitely carved with intricate patterns and bold lines, exuding a sense of historical weight. Even if it were not the divine artifact Dragon Gate, its destruction evoked a sense of pity.
As Ao Jiangyue touched the stone tablet, it emitted a golden light, and a low dragon's roar echoed through the cavern, carrying far and wide.
"Alas," Ao Jiangyue sighed softly.
She had guarded the Yangtze River for centuries, waiting to retrieve this Dragon Gate.
But to find it destroyed, her anger was mingled with a sense of profound disorientation.
As Ao Jiangyue picked up the Dragon Gate, the entire cavern began to shake violently, as if it were about to collapse.
"Let's go."
Lu Caiwei pulled Ao Jiangyue along. Her deer antlers emitted beams of light, automatically clearing away the soil and rocks above, and the two ascended like weightless feathers.
The anomaly in the earth's veins caused tremors throughout Jiangsu Province, startling many people who rushed out of their homes in a panic.
Fortunately, the depth of the earth's veins was great, minimizing the impact on the surface. After a brief period of unrest, apart from causing widespread panic, it did not result in any significant damage.
...
"Have some cake," Su Huamei placed a piece of cake on Liu Nanfeng's desk.
Liu Nanfeng, who was typing, looked up at the cake on the desk and shook his head.
"I won't eat it. I ate a bit too much at lunch," Liu Nanfeng replied.
The three of them had eaten out at noon, but they had ordered far too much food. Although Liu Nanfeng's appetite had increased significantly, he still felt rather full.
Recalling the scene at noon, Su Huamei covered her mouth and chuckled.
Liu Nanfeng's eating habits at lunch had genuinely startled the restaurant owner. When settling the bill, the owner had jokingly remarked that it was fortunate she didn't run a buffet, or Liu Nanfeng would have eaten her out of business.
"It's been several hours, and you still haven't fully digested it. Eat more if you can, you're not afraid of gaining weight anyway," Su Huamei said, sitting down opposite Liu Nanfeng.
There weren't many customers in the shop in the afternoon, so everyone was at leisure.
Su Jinxiu's management of her employees wasn't overly strict, so they had gathered together chatting.
Meanwhile, Su Huamei was selecting some flowers from the flowerbed to take home after work.
"By the way, what are your plans regarding what the people from Section Nine said this morning?" Liu Nanfeng picked up the cake and took a bite.
"Of course, we'll retaliate. Otherwise, they'll think we're easy to bully. However, we need to figure things out first, and ensure we don't accidentally harm any ordinary people, which would only create unnecessary trouble," Su Huamei said, her eyebrows knitted in annoyance.
Just then, Liu Nanfeng suddenly turned his head to look out the window.
Su Huamei stood up immediately, her aura rapidly intensifying. As for Su Jinxiu, she had appeared at the shop entrance at some unknown time.
The employees who had been chatting inside the shop suddenly slumped onto the tables, falling into a silent slumber.
ps: Two chapters are updated together, please vote for a monthly ticket.