Chapter 2159: Hidden Treasure
Chapter 2159: Hidden Treasure
The group continued into the depths of the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. At first, even though the passage was dark, some light sources glimmered from time to time. It was as if there were many treasures embedded within the passageway that made the space become a bit brighter.
Additionally, there were massive pillars that were so wide, it would take more than a dozen people linking their arms to surround it. On their surface, all kinds of Ocean race creatures were engraved. The further in they went, the stronger the creatures that were depicted became. Eventually, it was almost all dragons that covered the pillars. They could even clearly see the scales on the dragons’ bodies. The dragons seemed to be lying in wait within the clouds, ready to strike at any time.
Immediately after, they arrived in front of an enormous palace. In that instant, Zu An almost felt that this was the real Dragon Palace. The palace outside was a bit more extravagant and gorgeous, while this one was gloomier and clearly abandoned. There were ruined areas everywhere. Every single step and stone conveyed the traces of a time long past. Even so, the palace still exuded a majestic feeling. It made people feel a deep sense of respect even from far away.
The Ocean race representatives that had entered were all surprised, with many of the more devout individuals kneeling and kowtowing. They called this place the Palace of the Ocean Deity.
“The Ocean Deity?” Zu An muttered as he began to think to himself. He didn’t sense any divine power, but there was an almost tangible draconic energy that filled the place.
On the human and fiend sides, no matter how famous the mountains’ dragon veins were, compared to this place they really were just too insignificant in comparison. Cultivating here would provide benefits even greater than if one were in the middle of a ki stone mine, especially for those of the Dragon race.
Sure enough, Ao Yong and some of the elders trembled all over in excitement when they sensed the pure draconic energy. If they could cultivate in this kind of place, their cultivation could make incredible breakthroughs every day!
When he realized that, Ao Yong stared at Zu An’s back resentfully.
There was a place this amazing, and yet he kept it to himself all this time.
No wonder I could never catch up to him, even though my talent isn’t any worse than his.
You have successfully trolled Ao Yong for +444 +444 +444…
When he saw the Rage points, Zu An didn’t feel anything special. To him, Ao Yong was someone who couldn't even figure out who the real enemy was, so he wasn’t even worth a second glance.
…
The group quickly proceeded up the stairs and entered the underground palace. At the very center of the palace was a dome that peaked over a thousand meters above them. An azure blue sea was vaguely visible beyond it, as well as some massive figures slowly swimming around.
Forget about Ao Yong’s group, even the alien monsters and Ka Qier now clicked their tongues in wonder.
Zu An began to think to himself.
Something’s strange here… This height shouldn’t even go past the undersea mountains outside the tomb entrance. Why can we see the sea here?
Additionally, the giant sea creatures swimming above the palace should have been able to see inside the palace. Why had the Ocean races never had any legends surrounding this great palace? Was it only visible from one direction?
He looked up at the dome, and could vaguely make out some complicated runes in that area. They probably formed a spatial formation that the designer of the palace had created in the past.
“What are you looking at?” Shang Liuyu asked through a sound transmission. She was quite skilled in the laws of sound, so she wasn’t too worried about her voice transmissions being detected by the monsters.
“This place feels even more mysterious than I imagined. It doesn’t seem to be a place that your Ocean races could’ve built with your current ability,” Zu An said with a grave expression.
“It might have been built by the ancient Ocean races. The current Ocean races have lost many things compared to ancient times,” Shang Liuyu said with a smile, but most of her attention was still on the monsters and Hell creatures.
The other side had the absolute advantage. Even though Zu An’s cultivation was high, the Shadowhorror Devil’s group of three all had earth immortal-rank strength, and Ka Qier was also a mysterious and unpredictable factor. They really were heavily outnumbered in strength.
She and her big sister had planned to choose some of the Ocean races’ strongest to help them, but Zu An had refused. His reasoning made sense too. At a battle of this level, fewer people could be better. If there were too many people, the alien monsters and Hell creatures could band together and create some unwanted variables. The sisters had thus given up on the idea.
When she saw Zu An casually stroll around, Shang Liuyu was in a bit of a daze. If it wasn’t because the sisters were already really familiar with Zu An in their own way, she would really have wondered if he was actually the fake Dragon King. Otherwise, how could he still be so calm in this kind of situation?
That young and immature little brother from the gazebo already grew up.
…
The group soon arrived in front of a giant sculpture that depicted a dragon. The lower half of its body was coiled within a raging sea, while the upper half had some clouds engraved around it, as if it had broken out of the sea to soar into the clouds. The entire sculpture looked vivid and lifelike. But compared to the other meticulously designed areas, the dragon head was a bit indistinct and ingeniously hidden within the clouds. It was impossible to make out a clear appearance.
Shang Liuyu said in Zu An's ear, “This is a sculpture of the legendary Dragon Deity. No one has ever seen what the Dragon Deity really looks like. It’s rumored that deities usually abstain from leaving behind traces of their appearance in the world of mortals.”
Zu An was surprised. “Wait, are the Dragon Deity and Ocean Deity the same person?”
Shang Liuyu replied, “Actually, the debate of whether the Dragon Deity and Ocean Deity are the same has been an ongoing debate among the Ocean races for a long time, and thousands of years of research and discussion have yet to clear this confusion up. After all, deities are too distant from us, and no one has truly seen them before. The ancient Dragon race might have, but they didn’t leave behind enough evidence for us. Eventually, the majority came to view both as the same deity. Of course, some people are used to calling them one way or another, so they're more partial to addressing the deity the way they did in the past.”
Zu An nodded.
An Ocean race elder quickly reminded him that he could now begin the ceremony. A group of attendants began to bow down before the Dragon Deity statue, arranging all manner of sacrificial offerings. Then, the Ocean race elders knelt down in respect.
Zu An was the Dragon King right now, so he naturally needed to step forward and chant the corresponding sacrificial rites. These were fixed rituals that couldn't be skipped. Even though the aliens and Hell creatures were impatient, they still endured and cooperated to prevent unnecessary trouble. Still, the sacrificial rites were soon complete, and what followed was burying the dragon remains.
In the side palaces were many caves that led to great mountains. Each mountain was filled with even more caves like a hornet’s nest. Every single cave could be used to bury a dragon. Of course, according to the dragon’s status in life, they would be buried in different mountains. Even the same mountain would have differences in their prestige. The closer to the top of the mountain they were buried, the greater the status of the buried dragon was. In contrast, the dragons that were buried lower were of lower status.
Zu An seemingly took the initiative to watch the burial of the dragons, but in reality, it was because the places where the dragons were buried had the richest draconic energy. He wanted to see if the Divine Dragon Immortal Medicine grew nearby. 𝘧𝘳ℯ𝓮𝘸𝓮𝑏𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓁.𝘤ℴ𝘮
The Ocean race representatives and the families of the deceased dragons were honored by his presence.
The Dragon King really cares about his subjects! He is actually willing to personally oversee the burial process.
Zu An arrived at the dragon burial mountains and released his divine sense. The draconic energy was especially rich, as expected. It flooded one’s body like the ocean’s waters. From time to time, the caves gave off glimmers of light. Judging from the radiance, they were clearly extraordinary.
The Shadowhorror Devil, Firedevil Sea Beast, and Bloodthirst Crocodile exchanged a look. They all saw the excitement in each other’s eyes.
We’ve really struck it rich this time!
After all, as an innate trait, dragons loved to hoard treasure. Whenever a dragon was buried, their clans would bury their most beloved treasures with them. Even without the treasures and just the dragon corpses alone, dragon tendons, scales, blood, and flesh were incredible ingredients. Of course, as time went on, the blood and flesh would already have rotted away. However, the other things would still be intact.
Furthermore, those weren’t the most precious things. Once some powerful dragons died, all of their essence formed into a dragon pearl. Such pearls were even more incredible than a dragon’s inner core!