Strange Object Descends

The man in black glanced at him. Flower Fox immediately noticed that the man's pupils were normal at other times, but when they constricted slightly, they became upturned. He was clearly not human!

Flower Fox then looked at his legs and feet. He saw that the man in black was limping on one leg.

--The Great Black Snake transformed into a Flood Dragon, but because someone interfered, the snake skin on its tail did not fully shed. It was also injured in battle, which is why its human form also limped on its left leg.

Su Yun was blind and could not see the newcomer, but he was good at sensing the surrounding Blood Essence. He "saw" that the person approaching was not human, but a walking Flood Dragon, and thus recognized it as the Black Flood Dragon that had undergone Tribulation last night.

The man in black stopped and stared at Su Yun with upturned pupils, "You recognized me? How did you recognize me?"

The four Fox Demons were uneasy.

If the Whole Village Eats, which had evolved into a Flood Dragon, intended to kill them, they probably wouldn't escape alive!

Su Yun was neither humble nor arrogant. "I sensed your true form from your Blood Essence form."

"Blood Essence form?"

The man in black frowned and said in a low voice, "Sensed my true form from my Blood Essence form? How can I deal with that?"

At this moment, Su Yun and the four little foxes heard a rustling sound, like someone speaking in the shadows. However, they looked around but saw no one!

The man in black nodded repeatedly. After a moment, he said, "I understand."

Su Yun's face showed surprise. The man in black's Blood Essence form was gradually changing, quickly transforming from a Flood Dragon form to a human form!

The man in black said, "I transformed into a Flood Dragon, and from now on, I will be called Jiao Shuao. You helped me before, so I won't eat you. There's nothing good in this house. You should leave as soon as possible."

Su Yun asked, "Uncle Jiao, are you planning to leave here?"

The man in black, Jiao Shuao, tilted his head to listen. The rustling sound came again, from right beside Jiao Shuao!

The four Fox Demons felt their fur stand on end. There was nothing beside Jiao Shuao!

Su Yun sensed the Blood Essence and could not detect any human Blood Essence around him!

The rustling sound stopped. Jiao Shuao said, "I plan to go to Shuofang City. If you come to Shuofang City in the future, perhaps we will meet there. This place is extremely dangerous. You must leave before sunset, or you will never be able to leave, and there will be no need to meet again in the future."

Su Yun bowed and thanked him, "Thank you, Uncle Jiao, for your guidance."

Jiao Shuao strode away. The Fox Demons watched him go. They saw Jiao Shuao limp for dozens of feet until he reached a stone tablet, then tilt his head and speak to himself again.

The rustling sound came again, as if someone was whispering in his ear, but no one could be seen!

"Something unclean is following The Whole Village Eats!" the foxes exchanged glances.

The scene was truly bizarre. Jiao Shuao was clearly alone, yet he kept talking to "someone beside him."

Jiao Shuao pulled up the stone tablet and threw it on the ground, then limped away.

"Most likely, a spirit is following him."

Su Yun guessed, "Could it be the Dragon Spirit that saved him?"

Flower Fox pondered, "The Dragon Spirit that saved him last night came from here. If the Dragon Spirit followed him, why would Jiao Shuao still say that it would be dangerous here after dark?"

Su Yun couldn't figure it out either. "Let's investigate first. We must leave here before dark no matter what!"

Flower Fox led the way into the house. They found no corpses—Jiao Shuao must have been a very clean Flood Dragon. Although he was severely injured last night, he still tidied the place up after arriving, leaving no trace of dust.

They were somewhat disappointed. Since the place was so clean, there were surely no treasures. It was likely that even valuable items had been taken by Jiao Shuao.

Qingqiu Yue jumped onto the bookshelf and sat upright, wagging its tail happily, "There's still a book on the bookshelf!"

Flower Fox also jumped up and spread the book flat on the bookshelf, reading it word by word: "...In the Year of Yuanfeng Six, a Green Dragon fell in Tianshiyuan, Shuofang. The Emperor dispatched the Heavenly Dao Institute to capture the dragon..."

Su Yun suddenly said, "Year of Yuanfeng Six? That was during the reign of Emperor Wu, even earlier than Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ping! So the dragon falling incident should have happened a hundred and fifty years ago!"

Mister Wild Fox had once spoken of the reign titles of the various Great Emperors of the Yuanshuo Kingdom, but Flower Fox and the others hadn't paid much attention and didn't have much of an impression. Su Yun made it a habit to review his studies every day after school, so he remembered it clearly.

Flower Fox continued to read, "...In the First Year of Taichu, the dragon's coffin was opened, the dragon's corpse was dissected, and its muscles, tissues, tendons, veins, blood, fluids, heart, scales, eyes, whiskers, mane, claws, bones, and essence were recorded in sixteen volumes... Xiaofan, search the surroundings and see if these records are still here!"

The little foxes searched around again but found nothing.

"Most likely, The Whole Village Eats took them."

Li Xiaofan lamented, "Or they've weathered away like other books."

Flower Fox also lamented and continued reading, "...On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, it snowed, and the dragon's corpse was frozen. Thus, we explored Fallen Dragon Valley. A Strange Object descended with the dragon..."

He stopped reading here and looked up, a look of confusion on his face, "Strange Object?"

Su Yun felt a chill run down his spine and said urgently, "The Whole Village Eats just said that we must leave before dark, or we will surely die! This dragon fell from the sky and died from its injuries. Could this Strange Object be the evil entity that killed the divine dragon? This Strange Object will definitely appear after dark! Hua Erge, take the book, and let's leave here immediately!"

Flower Fox rolled up the book and jumped down from the bookshelf. Su Yun and the three little foxes followed him towards the outside.

Outside, the sky had already darkened.

The sun had not yet set, but this was a valley, lower than the surrounding terrain, and the setting sun could not reach it.

In other words, Dragon Burial Mound and Fallen Dragon Valley got dark earlier than they had anticipated!

The man and four foxes shivered. The air in the valley seemed to have dropped significantly. In September, they could see white mist coming from their nostrils when they breathed!

"It's so cold!" Hu Buping shivered.

No one spoke. They quickly retraced their steps. When they reached the dragon's head, the Dragon Burial Mound suddenly shook violently. Then, the sky darkened at an unusually fast speed, as if someone had covered their eyes!

Foxes can see in the dark, but this darkness was extremely strange. Even the four Fox Demons couldn't see the path ahead!

"Everyone, don't move, don't panic!"

Su Yun lowered his voice and said softly, "This is Blood Essence pressure. Our eyes are being suppressed by an external Blood Essence pressure, locking our pupils. That's why we can't see our surroundings. Follow me, I remember the way."

Everyone's hearts pounded wildly. The only sound they heard was the whistling wind, which was the sound of their blood rushing through their ear canals under pressure, pressing against their eardrums.

The sudden Blood Essence pressure in the Dragon Burial Mound made their bodily functions deteriorate drastically. Not only were their senses malfunctioning, but even their cultivation techniques, like the Great Furnace Transformation, became incredibly difficult to activate!

Flower Fox tugged on Su Yun's clothes, and the little fox behind him held onto his tail, following Su Yun as they walked out.

Although Su Yun couldn't see, he could remember any place he had visited with perfect clarity. Let alone a place like the Dragon Burial Mound, he could easily navigate the labyrinth of the Tianmen Ghost Market after walking through it just once.

In his mind, the Yellow Bell spun continuously, allowing him to accurately sense his position, how to proceed, when to turn, when to ascend, and when to avoid obstacles, all with unbelievable precision!

Not long after they started climbing uphill, Su Yun suddenly stopped.

Flower Fox quickly halted, and the little fox behind him bumped into his backside.

"Xiao Yun, what's wrong?" Flower Fox asked in a low voice.

"A stone tablet has fallen and is blocking my path."

Su Yun's voice came through, "I'm calculating the route. Strange, this stone tablet shouldn't be here..."

When they arrived, they had seen quite a few stone tablets on the four slopes. Most were stuck in the ground, with very few fallen. The stone tablet ahead wasn't fallen, and its position was also incorrect.

"Brother Xiao Yun, hurry..."

Hu Buping said with a trembling voice, on the verge of tears, "I feel someone touching the back of my head..."

Li Xiaofan was already crying, "I feel it too. I'm so scared, but it also feels quite nice..."

"It was me touching you."

Qingqiu Yue said somewhat sheepishly, "When I'm scared, touching your heads makes me feel at ease."

Hu Buping and Li Xiaofan breathed a sigh of relief. Flower Fox also let out a big sigh of relief and chuckled, "Xiao Yue, you're too mischievous. You scared me too. I thought someone was touching my head."

Qingqiu Yue asked in confusion, "Second Brother, I didn't touch your head. I'm too short, I can't reach."

"It wasn't you..."

Flower Fox gave a dry laugh and said with a trembling voice, "Xiao Yun, have you found the way? Can we please leave this place quickly?"