Upon hearing Zi Yan’s words, Xiao Yan and his companions were all stunned. They gazed in the direction she pointed, but still only saw endless forests with no trace of anything unusual. Xiao Yan’s expression grew thoughtful. It was impossible for Zi Yan to suddenly have such a feeling. As an ancient Void Dragon, her kind was so mysterious that even Yao Chen, the Pharmacist Elder, might not fully understand them. The mysterious call she mentioned perhaps only she could sense.
“What should we do? The roars of beasts in this ancient forest are growing more frequent; it seems many strong individuals are attracted here…” Little Healer Immortal looked at Xiao Yan and said.
Xiao Yan frowned and glanced at Zi Yan, who had her gaze fixed on the depths of the forest. After a moment, he nodded firmly and said sternly, “Let’s go take a look. Since we’ve entered this treasure mountain, we must see what real treasures lie within. Other treasure hunters won’t be as protected by dragon aura, making it much harder for them to reach the center. We still have plenty of time.”
Seeing Xiao Yan nod, a smile appeared on Zi Yan’s small face. She lightly tapped the ground, and her body flashed towards the forest depths. Her companions quickly followed.
The aura of the magic beasts in the forest beyond the lake was much fiercer than those outside. A few of these auras made even Xiao Yan and his companions feel wary. Fortunately, due to Zi Yan’s dragon aura, those auras, although sensing their presence, hesitated and then retreated. In their memory, those with such dragon auras were extremely troublesome and best avoided. Of course, after who knew how many years in this ancient forest, they didn’t realize that the owner of this dragon aura was just a juvenile ancient Void Dragon.
Despite the dangers, the group managed to move through the forest without much trouble. After nearly ten minutes, they slowed down.
“The aura around here has completely disappeared…” Little Healer Immortal suddenly whispered as they stepped into a certain area.
Xiao Yan’s expression changed slightly. Indeed, upon sensing, he found that the fierce auras they had sensed earlier had completely vanished.
“What happened?” The Venerable of Heavenly Fire knitted his brows, a hint of alertness appearing on his face. In such a place, one must be extremely cautious, or they might end up as fertilizer for the forest forever.
“Don’t worry, we are already at the center of this ancient forest,” Zi Yan whispered, her eyes fixed on a not-too-distant flat area covered with green grass. This puzzled Xiao Yan and the others, wondering if this was truly the place summoning Zi Yan.
Zi Yan floated down from the tree and took a few steps on the ground. She then extended her small hand, which became serious as it touched the void space ahead. Suddenly, a golden light appeared out of nowhere.
Xiao Yan and the others, shocked, looked at the sudden gold light. The light was in the shape of an inverted bowl, bright and circular, with a diameter of about ten feet. Though it was dazzling, the dense trees masked it, making it undetectable unless one was close.
“What is this?” The group gathered around Zi Yan, their eyes filled with seriousness. From the mysterious golden light, they felt a heavy pressure, which made them understand that even together, they would struggle to break through it.
“This is a Beast Spirit Shield. Only the most powerful magic beasts can form such shields at the moment of death,” Zi Yan said, gently stroking the light, a hint of sorrow on her face.
Xiao Yan remained silent. If this was calling to Zi Yan, it meant its owner was likely from the ancient Void Dragons.
“No!” Zi Yan suddenly changed her expression as she stroked the light, “This shield not only has the taste of ancient Void Dragons, but also a tinge of the ancient Heaven Phoenix Tribe? But this scent is purer than the current Heaven Phoenix Tribe.”
Xiao Yan and the others exchanged glances, wondering if there were ancient Heaven Phoenixes here too.
“Let’s open it and see,” Xiong Zhan said, scratching his head.
Zi Yan nodded slightly. Since they were here, they had to take a look. She bit her slender finger, allowing a golden droplet of blood to emerge. She gently touched the Beast Spirit Shield, leaving a golden bloody mark. “Only the same bloodline can open this kind of shield.”
As the golden blood mark was drawn, the shield fluctuated rapidly, and a golden crack slowly opened.
“Let’s go,” Zi Yan waved her hand and stepped in. Xiao Yan and the others followed, and as the last person entered, the golden light fluctuated, and the crack closed.
The moment they entered, the lush forest vanished, replaced by a desolate plain. This vast plain was filled with crimson-red soil, occasionally showing pale white marks like lime. In the center stood an ancient stone altar, emitting a faint, formidable aura that made the group’s Dou Qi stagnant.
“Such terrifying pressure…” Xiao Yan and the others looked at each other, seeing the shock in each other’s eyes. Just relying on the pressure could make them feel this way; how terrifying must its owner be?
Zi Yan locked onto the altar and, after a moment, flew towards it, seemingly unaffected by the pressure.
Following Zi Yan, the group reached the altar. The ancient, aged aura overwhelmed them, causing them to become more cautious.
They found themselves in the middle of the altar, looking up at stairs leading to the top. Zi Yan stared at the end of the stairs, the calling feeling growing stronger.
Taking a deep breath, Zi Yan rushed up the stairs, appearing at the top in a few flashes.
The rest of the group followed, and when they reached the top, they saw Zi Yan’s stunned face. At the center of the altar, there was a golden-purple stone platform with a half-foot-sized depression. In the depression, a small tree, thumb-sized but coiled like a dragon, emerged from the platform. Atop the tree hung a fruit.
The fruit, palm-sized, was golden and purple. Looking closely, the golden half was shaped like a tiny ancient Void Dragon, while the purple half resembled a spreading, dancing phoenix.
“A fruit in the shapes of an ancient Void Dragon and a heaven phoenix?” The group looked at each other, completely baffled. Even with Xiao Yan’s herbal knowledge, he had never heard of such a treasure.
“It seems the pressure is coming from the fruit,” Little Healer Immortal murmured, disbelief in her voice.
Xiao Yan and the others were shaken. They realized the pressure indeed came from the strange dragon-phoenix fruit.
“This is the Dragon-Phoenix Origin Fruit, which exists only in the ancient Void Dragon’s texts. The phoenix is not a modern one, but their ancestor, the ancient Heavenly Phoenix. This fruit requires absorbing the life force of both ancient Void Dragons and ancient Heavenly Phoenixes, with a less than one-in-ten chance of appearing. According to the records, this is only the sixth time it has ever appeared…” Zi Yan gazed at the legendary fruit, then turned to look at the plain below. The white marks in the red soil outlined two massive skeletons of a dragon and a phoenix!
Here, both an ancient Void Dragon and an ancient Heavenly Phoenix had perished together!
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