Chapter 358: Dragon Soul of a Baxia

"I am finally out," Li Feiyu exclaimed with a heartfelt sigh as he emerged from the water.

In that moment, he thought to himself that he might as well change his name to Li Feihu[1] or Li Feiniao[2] when he got back. Having the word "fish" in his name seemed to have brought him much misfortune.

"Brother..." Yu Xiang'er approached him, the worry in her eyes finally dissipating.

Li Feiyu looked up and saw that a large group of people had gathered around him. He asked nervously, "Are all these people your friends?"

"Yes," Yu Xiang’er replied.

"I'm not quite used to seeing so many people all of a sudden," Li Feiyu admitted.

Chu Liang, who stood at the back, listened and wondered if Li Feiyu's reaction was due to being underwater for too long or simply a result of his occupational habits.

He then stepped forward and said to the others, "Xiaoyu is not an evil demon. She was hurt by humans before, which is why she isn't very friendly. She needs the Baxia Dual Rings for something important, which is why all this happened. Now that everything's out in the open, I want to lend her the Baxia Dual Rings. She'll return them right after. Is that alright with everyone?"

The members of the Great Astral Sect exchanged glances before Ren Hongdao nodded and said, "No problem."

The harmonious resolution of this matter was thanks to Chu Liang's acquaintance with the koi-fish demon. Lending the rings once was certainly no big deal.

In fact, Li Zhutian had a straightforward personality. If a friend had asked to borrow the Baxia Dual Rings, he wouldn't have minded. This entire incident occurred simply because there was no communication between them.

This further highlighted the importance of connections.

While everyone else returned to Donghuai City to wait, Yun Chaoxian accompanied Chu Liang back to the water mansion.

In theory, Chu Liang was there to supervise the aquatic demons and ensure they didn't run off with the Baxia Dual Rings. Yun Chaoxian, in turn, was there to supervise Chu Liang to make sure he didn't abscond with the rings. Of course, this was just a formality.

When Liu Xiaoyu took the pair of golden rings, she gently thanked them. Then, she turned around and shouted, "Everyone, follow me!"

Before she finished speaking, she picked up a pair of massive, drum-shaped weapons known as Drumming Urn Golden Hammers, each several times larger than her head.

"At your command!" the shrimp soldiers and crab generals responded loudly.

Seeing her imposing demeanor, Chu Liang couldn't help but click his tongue in surprise. It was hard to imagine that this formidable figure was Xiaoyu'er's big sister.

Xiaoyu'er was equally amazed as she had never seen her elder sister like this before.

During the time they were apart, both sisters had undergone significant changes. Xiaoyu'er had become an honorable worker, while her elder sister had risen to the position of the great ruler of this water mansion.

A grand procession of aquatic demons set out immediately.

Liu Xiaoyu had likely stayed in this mansion, hoping to chance upon her little sister nearby. After all, the Baxia's tomb, the location in which she had gained the opportunity for the transformation, was some distance away from this water mansion.

Chu Liang and Yun Chaoxian followed them, swimming underwater for a long time until they finally arrived at a deep, dark underwater cave dwelling.

Liu Xiaoyu, clutching her Golden Thunder Drum Urn Hammers, led the way and rushed in, with the rest of the group following closely behind.

As they navigated through the cave, a faint glimmer of light appeared ahead. The narrow passage suddenly opened up into a vast, illuminated space.

"Wow—" the demons exclaimed in surprise.

Before them lay a vast underwater valley, encircled by endless green stone walls. At a glance, all that could be seen was the horizon. Directly ahead stood a massive black statue, worn down and covered in aquatic plants. Despite the erosion, it was clear that this was the body of a giant tortoise. However, the tortoise had a dragon's head.

Chu Liang recognized this mountain-like statue. It wasn't just a giant tortoise; it was the legendary Dragon's Son, Baxia, the most powerful among the draconic descendants.[3]

A black fissure marred the shell of the massive statue. It might have been just a crack on a mountain, but it was a few zhang tall, serving as a passageway for them.

Liu Xiaoyu led the demons through this passage.

The inner space was expansive, with ancient dragon carvings adorning the surrounding stone walls. These carvings were similar in style to those Chu Liang and the others had seen in the Blue Dragon's Hidden Realm.

Using his divine sense, he scanned the carvings, quickly breezing through their content.

The carvings told the life story of a draconic descendant. This Baxia was the offspring of a pureblood True Dragon and a giant tortoise, born with extraordinary divine strength. Due to this innate ability, once it reached adulthood, the Baxia was chosen by the great Dragon God to carry its throne.

Of course, this was a symbolic throne, not one that required Baxia to carry the Dragon God daily.

But the Dragon God died later on. The following scenes depicted events that Chu Liang had witnessed in the jade carvings in the Blue Dragon's Hidden Realm, which was why he had some understanding of this part of history.

However, what followed caught his attention.

The jade carvings in the Blue Dragon's Hidden Realm had not recorded the collapse of the Ancient Dragon Lair, as it had fallen before then. However, the carvings on the statue of Baxia detailed how it happened.

The carvings depicted a few small figures watching as the Dragon God died. The Dragon Clan seemed to harbor great hatred for these individuals. After many years of searching, the king of the dragons finally located their lair and led an army of dragons from the Dragon Lair to attack it.

However, before the battle could commence, the enemy attacked the Dragon Lair. None of the carvings depict scenes of a battle between the dragons and those existences, but a fierce battle must have occurred, leading to the collapse of the Dragon Lair.

The remaining dragons fled to the distant Abyss of the Hidden Dragons, while others scattered and escaped to various parts of the human world.

This Baxia was likely a remnant of that battle. It was heavily injured when it drifted to this location. Upon sensing that its lifespan was nearing its end, it hastily built this tomb for itself.

These carvings, though crude and simple, held a wealth of information. Why did the Dragon God die? What caused the collapse of the Ancient Dragon Lair? Why did Baxia refuse to describe the details of that battle, even in its dying breath?

These questions were indeed thought-provoking.

Regardless, the aquatic demons didn't care about these carvings. They hadn't even taken a close look at them. Yun Chaoxian was equally indifferent. In some ways, he wasn't much different from the aquatic demons.

So, despite the lively atmosphere, Chu Liang was the only one paying attention to the story.

Meanwhile, Liu Xiaoyu was preparing to push open the stone wall.

Behind the stone wall lay the second floor of Baxia's tomb, but it seemed as if the weight of the entire mountain and river was pressing on it. Previously, Liu Xiaoyu couldn't push the door open by herself, even though she had merged with Baxia Soul Essence.

However, things were different this time. She now wore the Baxia Dual Rings, which gifted the wearer the divine strength of the celestial beast Baxia.

With the combined power of the Baxia Dual Rings and Baxia Soul Essence, it was as though the dragon's child from back then had reappeared!

Boom—

As Liu Xiaoyu pressed her slender hand against the stone wall, her arms adorned with the golden rings, she exerted tremendous force and pushed forward.

Suddenly, the stone wall began to rumble! The river water erupted into turmoil, and the land on both sides of the river started to shake!

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

The rumbling grew louder and louder, and the surrounding river water surged violently.

With immense effort, Liu Xiaoyu pushed the entire stone wall back a total of ten zhang! Finally, a hidden doorway was revealed on one side of the stone wall!

Thud!

As the stone wall was pushed back, she stepped down, exerting just a tiny bit of strength. Even so, the ground cracked and shattered!

Even Yun Chaoxian found himself shocked by the scene. At this moment, his eyes were filled with envy.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Just when everyone thought the matter was settled, a thunderous dragon chant suddenly echoed from within the doorway!

Roar—

It was as though something had finally been set free after being trapped for ages. After a furious roar, a burst of black light shot out from the doorway, piercing through the river and shooting up into the sky!

Wherever it passed, massive waves were created, tossing everyone underwater!

"What is that?" Yun Chaoxian asked in shock.

"It's a Dragon Soul!" Chu Liang exclaimed. The moment it burst out of the doorway, he felt a surge of agitation from the Blue Dragon's Orb on his body, which immediately made him realize what it was.

It was the Dragon Soul of Baxia!

1. Feihu (飞虎) means Flying Tiger ☜

2. Feiniao (飞鸟) means Flying Bird ☜

3. Check translator's thought for picture of stone statue of Baxia ☜