When Zhan Tianxiang was fighting the third-tier fox demon, he had no awareness of Jian Xiaolou's faint spiritual energy. But as Jian Xiaolou's anger grew, her spiritual energy became harder to suppress, and in that instant, both the demon and Zhan Tianxiang detected it.
The fox demon had already realized that Zhan Tianxiang was a formidable opponent. His cultivation techniques were highly effective against demons, even more difficult to deal with than a beast tamer's arts, making the fox demon feel reluctant to continue fighting. Yet Zhan Tianxiang showed no intention of letting it off, exuding a relentless aura that made the fox demon feel even more distressed.
Sensing Jian Xiaolou's energy, the fox demon quickly formulated a plan.
Zhan Tianxiang, of course, had his own calculations. Without giving the fox demon a chance to act, he used a teleportation spell to cut off its retreat and glared at Jian Xiaolou's hiding place, shouting, "Are you out of your mind? Why did you come back? Leave now!"
Jian Xiaolou was stunned by the scolding, instantly snapping out of her rage.
Right, she thought, there's an enemy right in front of me. This isn't the time to be distracted.
Given the current situation, she wasn't in danger. Her presence here was only complicating things.
So, Jian Xiaolou turned around and started running again. She had been running all night, her body covered in wounds, her spiritual energy nearly depleted. No matter how good her physical condition was, she was reaching her limit.
Eventually, she stumbled back to the spot where she had separated from Xiao Hei, only to find the crow perched calmly on a tree branch.
Stopping to catch her breath, Jian Xiaolou bent over, her hands resting on her knees, gasping heavily. "Let's go. We're heading back to the sect."
Xiao Hei didn't move. Its gaze was fixed intently on something, its expression unusually focused.
Once she caught her breath, Jian Xiaolou followed Xiao Hei's line of sight, curious. Where the crow was staring, there was a pile of stones resembling a grave mound. From the stones, a small pangolin peeked out its scaly head, staring back at her with wide, curious eyes.
Pangolins, like iron-armored ants, were common all over Mount Dragon Prison, and not particularly rare.
But usually, pangolins were timid creatures, too fearful to appear in front of humans, let alone boldly make eye contact. Jian Xiaolou was puzzled but didn't think much of it, signaling Xiao Hei to leave. Unexpectedly, the pangolin crawled out from the stone pile and stood in front of her. It propped itself up on its hind legs, folding its short front limbs in front of its chest, bowing up and down.
The gesture was comical, but Jian Xiaolou realized it was pleading with her.
A pangolin of no significant grade asking for her help? Jian Xiaolou was even more astonished.
She vaguely remembered what Mei Ruoyu had mentioned a few days earlier: he had spent three days hiding in the mountains to avoid a bothersome pangolin.
Could it be this very one?
Seeing Jian Xiaolou furrow her brows in thought, the little pangolin, sensing an opportunity, carefully approached and tugged at the hem of her dress with one claw. With the other, it pointed forward, as if pleading for her to follow.
Its hopeful, pitiful eyes made Jian Xiaolou sigh.
On any other day, she might have followed out of curiosity. Even if it was a trap, what could an insignificant little beast conjure up? But now, she was too exhausted, both mentally and physically, and all she wanted was to leave this perilous place.
If Yu Xinrong hadn't been eaten by the fox demon and Jian Xiaolou ran into her again, she would be courting death.
"Let's go." She called to Xiao Hei and took out a Speed Talisman, preparing to leave.
"Caw..." Xiao Hei flew down from the branch and landed on the pangolin's head. "Caw..."
It flapped its wings twice, cawing urgently.
"You want me to follow too?" Jian Xiaolou frowned. Xiao Hei was always obedient and rarely had its own opinion.
Pondering for a moment, she swallowed a Qi Replenishing Pill and decided to check it out. The world is vast, full of mysteries. Who knows? She might just stumble upon some opportunity.
The little pangolin led the way, crawling slowly, and Jian Xiaolou followed at a leisurely pace. She mentally marked the route they took. She didn't notice that as they moved deeper into the forest, the lush greenery behind her was gradually turning into a stretch of open meadow under the cover of night...
The pangolin finally stopped in front of a cave. It tugged at Jian Xiaolou's dress again.
"This is your nest?" Jian Xiaolou glanced around. The place was an ordinary mountain valley with a simple cave entrance, partially sealed by a large, round stone. The stone's surface was covered in pockmarks and seemed to be a meteorite that had fallen during the meteor shower half a month ago.
Meteorites from outer space were ideal for forging weapons, given their toughness, but they weren't much use for crafting spiritual artifacts.
"You want me to move this stone?" Jian Xiaolou asked tentatively.
Seeing the pangolin nod enthusiastically, she let out a disappointed sigh. She had thought it was something significant, but it turned out the meteorite had blocked its nest.
Since she was already here, she figured she might as well help. Forming a hand seal, she attempted to use a spell to move the stone. Yet the moment her spiritual energy touched the rock, it dissipated completely, unable to coalesce.
Perplexed, Jian Xiaolou tried again, only for the energy to vanish even faster.
Why couldn't spiritual energy gather here? Even her divine sense was restricted.
Fear would have been a natural response, but Jian Xiaolou's curiosity flared instead. All those cultivation novels she'd read in her past life hadn't been for nothing—this place must be hiding some kind of spiritual treasure!
Ignoring her injuries, she steadied her stance and rolled up her sleeves. Using sheer brute force, she lifted the three-hundred-pound meteorite and moved it aside. She collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air, then pointed at Xiao Hei with a grin. "If there's nothing inside, I'm going to cook you for dinner."
Xiao Hei paid her no mind, diving straight into the cave.
Jian Xiaolou picked herself up and followed.
The cave was narrow, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. It was pitch dark, with the occasional sound of dripping water echoing through.
The passage sloped downward, and the deeper she went, the less suppressed her spiritual energy felt. By the time she reached the end, she could freely use her abilities again. At the tunnel's end was a pit, and there was nowhere else to go.
Standing at the edge of the cliff inside the cave, Jian Xiaolou released her divine sense to peer into the pit. There, at the bottom, was a colossal skeleton of a beast, about a hundred yards long, standing upright with its head bowed.
The skull had horns, and its claws had five digits. From the shape, it seemed to be... a dragon?!
In the history of the Scarlet Firmament Realm, there had only ever been one dragon sighting, ten thousand years ago during the Great Scarlet Firmament Calamity. There had never been another.
Could this skeletal dragon be the same White Dragon from ten thousand years ago?
The thought left Jian Xiaolou in shock.
Rumors about dragon burial grounds had circulated for a long time.
Yu Xinrong had mentioned that aside from Mount Dragon Prison, there were supposedly dozens more scattered across the Scarlet Firmament Realm. Because the mountain itself lacked any special barriers or high-level monsters, cultivators had scoured it thoroughly and never found so much as a dragon whisker.
Who would've thought the dragon lay buried outside the mountain range...
"Caw..." Xiao Hei flapped its wings, bringing her back to the present.
"Let's head down and see if there are any treasures," Jian Xiaolou said, and Xiao Hei dove down in a spiral.
Jian Xiaolou leaped like a monkey from the jagged walls, taking half an hour to reach the pit bottom.
Standing beneath the massive skeleton, she felt as small as a matchstick. She searched the area meticulously, but there was nothing—no spiritual treasures, no cultivation manuals, no good fortune. Not even a single spirit stone.
If someone hadn't looted it already, then this dragon must have been exceptionally poor.
Disappointed, Jian Xiaolou couldn't believe her misfortune. She had thought she was lucky, stumbling upon a real dragon burial ground, dreaming of inheriting its legacy, becoming a powerful cultivator, and reaching the pinnacle of life. Instead, she'd gained nothing but false hope.
"Respected White Dragon, you were a mighty being in your time. Don't you have any treasures or legacies for us juniors?" she lamented.
No response from the skeleton.
Jian Xiaolou poked at a small gap in the dragon's tailbone, threatening, "I could dismantle your bones and use them to craft weapons, you know. These old bones would make fantastic materials..."
Still, no reaction.
Jian Xiaolou sighed. She was only joking. If dragon bones were circulated, she would be the first to die for it.