Chapter 34: The Dragon’s Resting Place
Days passed one after another, and the companionship between one human and two demons deep within Wanji Mountain grew ever more natural and familiar.
At first, Heishan and Chifeng still carried a trace of gratitude and courtesy for the Pills they had received, keeping their voices measured when they spoke. But they were Demon Beasts at heart, straightforward by nature, and within a few days, that thin veneer of politeness was forgotten entirely.
Trust was built up through these small, ordinary moments.
At some point without either of them noticing, Heishan had taken to lying behind Si Chen like a warm little mountain whenever he sat in meditation, shielding him from the cold night winds that swept through the hills.
Chifeng, too, would lower its imposing frame whenever Si Chen walked, silently inviting him to climb onto its back.
Si Chen never refused.
Nestled in Heishan's thick, soft fur, or seated upon Chifeng's broad and steady back as they moved through the mist-veiled mountain forest — these were among the rare moments of peace he had known since leaving home.
And the hatchling named Red Bean, having broken from its shell over a month ago, had changed in ways that were nothing short of astonishing.
Long gone was the wet, bare, ungainly look of its first hours. Its body was now covered in a full coat of rich, soft crimson down. It had shot up quickly, growing several sizes larger than before.
Its wings had grown sturdy enough for short bursts of flight, and it had become extraordinarily attached to Si Chen — rarely leaving his side, preferring above all else to perch on his shoulder and rub its fluffy little head against his cheek.
The intelligence it displayed left even Heishan and Chifeng clicking their tongues in amazement.
"Go fetch that fruit," Si Chen would sometimes say, pointing to a wild berry hanging from a low shrub not far away, testing it.
Red Bean would tilt its obsidian eyes toward him, then usually flutter over, carefully grip the fruit with its talons, fly back, and drop it into Si Chen's palm.
Then it would tilt its little head back and let out a small chirp, as if waiting to be praised.
"Well, I'll be damned!" Heishan scratched its belly with a bear paw, utterly baffled. "Ordinary Demon Beasts below the third rank have heads full of mush — all they know is eating and fighting. How many days has it even been since this one hatched?"
Chifeng swished its tail, its crimson tiger eyes full of curiosity. "It really is strange. Unless... it was born with inherited memories? But no matter how I look at it, there's nothing remarkable about its bloodline..."
Red Bean seemed to understand they were talking about it. It lifted its little head proudly and took two dignified steps along Si Chen's shoulder — a sight so amusing that Si Chen couldn't help but tap it lightly with a finger.
It was in this easy, pleasant moment —
Hum!
The dark, dull scale that had been resting quietly in Si Chen's Storage Ring, silent for a full two years, suddenly and without warning sent out an intensely powerful vibration!
It was a hundred times clearer than the faint sensation from before — as though something was calling out to it!
Si Chen's mind stirred, and he immediately drew the scale from the ring.
The surface of the scale, once dull and dark, now shimmered with a faint black-iron luster. It was no longer cold to the touch; instead, it carried a subtle warmth.
"This is..." He had barely begun to examine it when two sharp intakes of breath sounded from beside him.
"A Flood Dragon scale!" Heishan and Chifeng cried out almost in unison, their enormous beast eyes locked onto the scale in Si Chen's hand, filled with shock.
"A Flood Dragon scale?"
Si Chen looked toward them. "You recognize this?"
"Recognize it? That's an understatement!" Heishan's voice rose involuntarily. "That's a treasure — and a death sentence!"
Chifeng's voice carried a thread of excitement as well. "Brother Si Chen, where did you get this?"
"I found it," Si Chen answered honestly. It had come from Lü Yan's rather "sparse" Storage Ring.
Heishan leaned in closer, its massive nose sniffing at the aura clinging to the scale, and rumbled, "No mistake — that's the scent of a Flood Dragon. It's faint, but that aura of suppression is unmistakable!"
Si Chen grew more curious. "Flood Dragons... are they powerful? And if this is a treasure, why would it be a death sentence?"
Chifeng swished its tail, drew a slow breath, and explained: "Flood Dragons are a rare breed among the Demon Race — they carry dragon blood and are both powerful and scarce."
"When they sense their end approaching, or when their wounds are beyond healing, they will deliberately shed the scales from their bodies and scatter them in all directions — like... casting out bait..."
Si Chen frowned, more puzzled than before. "Bait?"
"To lure the strong toward the place where they have fallen." Heishan eagerly picked up the thread, its bear paws thumping the ground with a series of heavy thuds:
"The Dragon Race is born with a love of collecting treasures, and Flood Dragons are no different! The place where one falls is sure to be piled high with everything it spent its lifetime hoarding!"
Si Chen stared at the scale in his hand, puzzled. "If it's already dead, why would it draw others to its resting place?"
Chifeng's swishing tail went still. Its voice turned grave. "That is precisely what makes Flood Dragons most terrifying — and most cunning. It is not seeking a place to rest in peace. It is seeking a thread of survival."
"Legend has it that if enough powerful living beings die at the site of its fall — their blood essence and souls offered as sacrifice — then the Flood Dragon that should have perished has a slim chance of defying fate and returning to life!"
Heishan nodded. "Exactly. That place is both a treasury and a slaughterhouse. And yet, every time a Flood Dragon scale appears in the world, countless humans and demons rush toward it regardless — because, well... it's a Flood Dragon's hoard!"
Si Chen listened quietly until the end, and understood.
This was a wager both sides entered willingly. One side staked a lifetime's worth of accumulated treasure; the other staked their lives.
So then — would the Yang Thunder he sought be found within this grand "Dragon's Fall"?
As if in answer to his unspoken thought —
Boom!!
The entirety of Wanji Mountain shuddered violently! It was as though some colossal beast that had slumbered since time immemorial had turned over beneath their feet.
A vast and terrifying aura surged from the deepest reaches of the mountain range, sweeping across every inch of forest in an instant.
Above, the clouds churned wildly, forming a massive vortex that blanketed nearly half the sky. The Spiritual Energy between heaven and earth began to seethe and boil.
The shockwave spread like a storm, radiating outward in all directions with Wanji Mountain at its center.
A thousand li away, countless Cultivators who had been meditating or going about their tasks — regardless of their cultivation level — all felt it in that same instant. They looked up in alarm, gazing toward the direction of Wanji Mountain.
"A rare treasure emerging?"
"No — this aura... it's dragon might! A draconic relic has appeared in the world!"
"It's at Wanji Mountain!"
Deep within Wanji Mountain, the powerful native Demon Beasts were thrown into complete uproar. They were far more sensitive to the Flood Dragon's aura, and the pull of the dragon's resting place on their bloodlines was immense. For a time, the roars of beasts echoed one after another throughout the mountains.
"It's here! It's really the Dragon's Resting Place!" Heishan reared up on its hind legs in excitement, bear paws waving.
Chifeng's body went taut, its tiger eyes blazing. "Brother Si Chen — what do you say? Do we wade into these murky waters?"
They exchanged a glance, each seeing the excitement and tension in the other's eyes.
Opportunity lay right before them, but the danger was equally plain.
Si Chen looked at the faintly trembling Flood Dragon scale in his hand, then glanced at Red Bean perching on his shoulder and gazing about with curious eyes, and at his two companions beside him — loud and boisterous, but genuine through and through.
What he needed might be there. And there might be a Fortuitous Encounter that would benefit all of them.
As for the danger...
He'd just have to fight with everything he had.
"Alright." Si Chen nodded. "Let's go take a look together."
Heishan heard this and felt a surge of heroic spirit rise in its chest. It let out a great roar: "That's a true brother — you've got guts!"
"Let's go! Time to meet that old Flood Dragon!" Chifeng gave an excited low growl.
And so —
One human, one bird, one bear, one tiger — this peculiar group, guided by the scale, set off deeper into Wanji Mountain, toward the source from which the dragon's might had come.