Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 558 The Forbidden Land of Burial Dragons
At night, the moonlight is hazy.

Qingwan held the map and estimated their approximate location.

Looking out over the land, the green mountains stretch endlessly, as if without end.

At night, these mountains look very similar, and it is easy to get lost when you enter them.

"It seems to be around here."

Qingwan roughly calculated their route distance. If the locations marked on the map were not significantly different, the Burial Mountain Range was in the vicinity.

Yun Xiao, who was standing nearby, said leisurely, "The miasma here is too thick. Let Qingyi go find it. It won't hurt for her to learn more skills."

Upon hearing this, Qingyi looked at the map, then stared at it intently. It was covered in dense numerical calculations, something she probably couldn't learn in a short time.

Qingwan pointed to the map and said, "Look around and see where the terrain is like this, or find a nearby tribe. Don't go too far."

Although there are some barbarian tribes in the vast mountains, they are not so easy to encounter in this vast land.

They didn't see any other people along the way.

Qingyi nodded, then flew out of the spirit boat and soared into the sky.

Once she reached a high enough altitude, Qingyi looked down, her eyes bright and piercing as she observed the earth through the thick miasma.

As a being who has reached the sixth level of enlightenment, Qingyi's insight is naturally much stronger than that of Lu Zheng and the others.

Before long, Qingyi fixed her gaze on a spot in the distance.

The mountains there were shrouded in a white mist, quite unlike other places.

Qingyi thought for a moment, then flew towards that area.

As she drew closer, she vaguely saw a long, enormous creature moving within the white mist, resembling a white dragon.

Upon closer inspection, however, nothing could be found; it was as if I were hallucinating.

"Ok?"

A stiff look of confusion appeared on Qingyi's small face.

After observing the area for a while, Qingyi turned and flew towards the location of the spirit boat.

Qingyi said, "It seems to be over there."

Qingyi pointed her little finger into the distance and recounted the phantom she had just seen.

Upon hearing this, Yun Xiao, who was on the spirit boat, said, "Zangqiu Mountain is rumored to be where a true dragon is buried, or perhaps a dragon vein has condensed and transformed into a spirit, so it's normal for dragon-shaped phenomena to appear... Let's go and take a look."

The group then followed Qingyi's directions.

Before long, they arrived at the edge of a mountain range.

The mountains before them were shrouded in white mist, and the surrounding terrain and mountains were similar to those described in some records, which was exactly the forbidden land of the Burial Dragon they were looking for.

After disembarking from the spirit boat, the group arrived at a spot in the mountains.

The white mist in front of me surged, emanating an unusual aura.

"insect?"

Qingwan vaguely sensed a trace of life within the white mist, as if life existed there.

Yun Xiao raised his hand and grabbed a small wisp of white mist.

Immediately, Yun Xiao noticed some tiny insects devouring the spiritual energy he released. Yun Xiao said, "These are small insects that can devour spiritual energy; they're not dangerous."

At least for them, such tiny worms posed no threat.

Yun Xiao raised his hand, took out a talisman, and stuck it on his body before entering the white mist.

As soon as he entered the white mist, the surrounding mist surged.

The talisman on Yun Xiao's body instantly emitted a burst of electricity.

A slight crackling sound rang out, and the white mist immediately dissipated.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng also took a few steps forward, and the white mist dissipated on its own, clearly quite sensitive to the righteous aura emanating from Lu Zheng.

Yun Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Your righteous spirit is quite effective, saving me the trouble of drawing thunder talismans."

Qingwan and Qingyi followed and entered the mountain range, each displaying their abilities to remain unaffected by the white mist.

Qingwan looked around curiously, then turned to Yunxiao and asked, "Are there really dragons here?"

Yun Xiao said, "Who knows? This place is difficult to explore with divine sense, and I can't see through it for a while... Besides, there have always been rumors of dragons being buried here. If there really is a dragon buried here, it has probably already been dug up by some cultivators."

Yun Xiao paused and then said, "Weren't we here to find insects? You little girl, do you really want to dig up some dragon corpse or dragon bones? If you want to find dragons, you might as well go to the East Sea. That's where the dragon race lives, and they are the dragon race with the purest true dragon bloodline in the world."

Qingwan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Daoist Master, have you been to the East Sea and met the Dragon Clan?"

“I didn’t go…” Yun Xiao shook his head and said, “The East Sea Dragon Clan doesn’t live near the coast, and my body can’t withstand the strain. But I’ve seen the East Sea Dragon Clan before.”

"When the current Shu emperor ascended the throne, the Dragon Clan from the East Sea came to pay their respects, and I had a brief conversation with them."

Yun Xiao said quietly, "However, they did not reveal their true forms. Their transformed appearance was no different from that of humans, except that they had a few dragon horns on their heads."

Yun Xiao patted his forehead. "The dragon horns grow right here. Actually, those who can fully transform mainly have dragon horns to show off their bloodline and their status within the clan. Of course, some dragons don't do that; strength is more important..."

Qingwan clicked her tongue and said, "The Shu Kingdom and the East Sea are so far apart, yet they still came to celebrate?"

Yun Xiao chuckled and said, "Indeed, they are quite far apart, but the imperial court and the East Sea have always maintained contact and occasionally conduct business. When a country's emperor ascends the throne, they must come and pay their respects."

Yun Xiao continued, "Among the major powers in the world, regardless of whether their relationship is good or bad, they all have some form of communication and interaction. If you don't associate with anyone, you'll eventually be isolated by others, and that's the end for you..."

Even so-called reclusive Taoist sects cannot completely isolate themselves from communication with the outside world.

Otherwise, if the world changes drastically at any time, one could easily be swept away by the tide of history.

To maintain a foothold in the world for a long time, even top-tier powers need to establish connections with other powers.

The group walked through the dark mountain forest, surveying their surroundings and exchanging hushed conversations.

They didn't find any danger in this mountain range, which was rumored to be a forbidden place.

A rustling sound came from the hazy mist.

The group of people instinctively stopped as they saw a series of black figures approaching.

Those were scorpions the size of millstones, their bodies gleaming with a dark luster, the tips of their tails flashing with an eerie light. The dense swarm of scorpions were mostly demonic insects of the third realm, not ordinary insects or beasts.

Yun Xiao raised his head slightly and saw a much larger scorpion not far away. It was almost the size of a house, and its appearance was more ferocious and terrifying, exuding a more powerful aura than the other scorpions.

"The Five Realms?"

Yun Xiao clicked his tongue and said, "We must have stumbled into the territory of these scorpions. That scorpion king seems a bit strange. Lu Zheng, you catch it."

(End of this chapter)