Chapter 181 Dragon Grave
Once again, the group approached the broken cave entrance, most of which had been buried behind debris.
On hurried steps, Nie Chengkong entered through a gap first, followed by the other members.
Even with their astrally-enhanced eyesight, people found it difficult to see things clearly inside the unlit cave. What was more, there seemed to be a strange energy in the environment that hindered their senses.
Nie Chengkong suddenly noticed something was off. There were pieces of broken stones on the floor, which was not surprising because the Flame Flood Dragon could definitely have left such a mess by walking around. The problem was, the stones only covered a narrow trail rather than the entire tunnel as if it weren’t the dragon, but something smaller who walked through there.
But… that dragon was using this cave moments before. Could there be another monster who called the same place home?
Nie Chengkong put that thought behind his mind and moved faster.
Since no one was speaking, they could hear their own footsteps echoing between the walls while bearing a strong odor that suggested the unkempt lifestyle of the cave’s former owner.
As they walked deeper inside, the air around them slowly grew hotter, until they stopped in front of a pool of bright lava, across which lay yet another cave entrance that appeared bigger than the one they were traveling in. Su Ping frowned as he realized that the area no longer looked as he recalled; inside the “dragon scale land,” the Flame Blood Dragon had marked the end of the cave. There should be nothing more.
Perhaps the Flame Blood Dragon had excavated a second “room” in its lair?
It wasn’t a rare thing to find new elements coming up around these sectors when the system’s cultivation planes failed to predict them. With this in mind, Su Ping decided to leave this matter be.
“The treasure is right there. It must be.” Nie Chengkong’s eyes brimmed with great excitement.
The lava pool should be the Flame Blood Dragon’s “bathtub,” which meant the second cave in the far end could be its bedroom. That was a perfect place to keep treasures.
“Everyone, wait here. I’ll be right back.” Nie Chengkong prepared to head there alone.
Since the Flame Blood Dragon was no longer there, jumping across the deadly lava should be no problem. He wanted to take the treasure as fast as possible and be done with it.
“I’ll go with you, captain. Just in case that something else is still hiding in the dark.” Ye Chenshan suggested with a look of worry.
Nie Chengkong gave him a reassuring smile. “There’s no need. Flame Blood Dragons are always solitary. They never tolerate other lifeforms inside their territories. I’ll make it
quick.”
The truth was, Nie Chengkong didn’t want others to know about the existence of an Astral Spirit Fruit if he did find one in the cave. If the message got out, he as the owner of the fruit would have to constantly expect danger and malevolence due to people’s greed.
“Sure, captain.” Ye Chenshan stepped down. “Be careful!”
“I will.”
Chen and Old Mo exchanged a knowing look as they both realized what was going on. They had enough reasons to believe that Nie Chengkong was hiding crucial clues from them.
However, they weren’t going to question Nie Chengkong because being selfish was the right stance to take as a settler. On the other hand, they’d get suspicious if Nie Chengkong was way too generous.
Nie Chengkong took a deep breath, walked to the edge of the pool and took a great leap. The bubbling lava beneath him sure looked dangerous as if something were going to emerge. Luckily, this didn’t happen. After a safe touchdown on the other side, Nie Chengkong quickly entered the other cave and vanished from everyone’s sight.
Su Ping found it strange that Nie Chengkong caught wind of some kind of valuable treasure when this place had yet to be explored by anyone. Though he didn’t really care. An Astral Spirit Fruit meant little to him anyway.
His Dark Dragon Hound suddenly sent him an alert; there was the smell of a different creature looming around.
Startled, Su Ping quickly looked around the area.
Boom!
Something exploded on the other side of the lava pool. Precisely speaking, the explosion came straight from where Nie Chenkong disappeared into.
People were already on edge since they didn’t know what kind of traps were hidden in this place. They all jumped at the sudden sound.
“Crap. We gotta help the captain!” Ye Chenshan said first. He couldn’t afford to lose his Nie Chengkong because he meant a lot to him.
Guo Yuelin looked at Old Mo and Chen. “Quick, let’s go together.”
Chen scowled as he struggled to make a decision. Something told him that escaping was the best choice, but his conscience wouldn’t let him abandon the team so soon.
He ordered his Earthen Dragon to provide assistance. The dragon slammed a claw at the floor and created a giant stone pillar that connected the two banks of the pool like a bridge.
Ye Chenshan rushed across the bridge first, while Su Ping followed him.
“Captain!” Ye Chenshan called as loudly as he could, but didn’t get any response. The cave went back to complete silence after the previous explosion, and it only stressed everyone out.
Ye Chenshan wanted to go to Nie Chengkong’s rescue as soon as he could, though his sanity got the better of him. He patiently waited for the others to reach him, before sending his pet away to scout ahead. They saw the depth of the second cave glowing slightly. It was a faint, blue light that was enough to help them see their surroundings. “Captain?” Ye Chenshan called again while slowly entering the cave. After moving across the entrance, they saw that the light source was a blue tree growing at the center of the wide cave. All the tree leaves were pulsing with a gentle, blue hue, accompanied by a single blue fruit amidst the leaves that looked rather lovely. Su Ping immediately confirmed that the fruit was an Astral Spirit Fruit. During his dragon scale land exploration, this tree used to be located at a dangerous spot beside the lava pool.
Oh crap. Su Ping suddenly had a bad feeling. The tree cannot move by itself. Either the Flame Blood Dragon carried it here, or
“Captain!” Guo Yuelin called and began rushing to one side of the cave, where Nie Chenkong had collapsed on the floor. He had a large puncture on his chest that was bleeding like mad. “No, come back!” Su Ping called the woman. As an experienced settler, Guo Yuelin heeded the alert without a second thought. She managed to stop in her tracks immediately and took a step back.
She wasn’t fast enough. Countless spikes abruptly emerged from the walls and the ceiling, almost instantly piercing her body all over, including her head.
Her body twitched for a few seconds before completely stopping.
Ye Chenshan and Luo Guxue gasped in despair as they saw their friend and teammate die in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, Old Mo and Chen quickly asked their pets to protect them.
Similarly, Su Ping summoned Little Skeleton, the Purple Python and the Dark Dragon Hound to shield him. As for the Inferno Dragon, it was too big to freely move around in this cave.
“Something’s here…” Old Mo’s face went pale as he communicated with his Terrestrial Tracker. “It’s—it’s all around us.”
He heard the sound of blood flowing. Everywhere. Inside the walls. He also noticed that Nie Chengkong was still breathing. Just barely. Nie Chengkong would undoubtedly die in a few minutes if first-aid wasn’t provided.
“What—what-what’s that??” Luo Guxue suddenly pointed at some place with a horrified look.
People saw a large crater just in front of the blue tree. Large, and deep. Using the bright light provided by the Holy Flame Bird, people could only see the tip of what was buried down there.
They tried to focus and looked further down below; they all froze in place due to the ghastly sight. Including Su Ping, who never expected to see such a thing.
Bodies.
There were countless dragon corpses. Not the typical dragons, but the slim-bodied “Jiaolong” kind that had died young, telling from the little buds on their heads that had yet to grow into horns.