Underwater Forbidden Zone! Dragon Palace Legend!

In the early morning, the mist had yet to dissipate at the Nu River dock.

Lu Chen sat in a side hall of the War Hall, holding a cup of hot tea and calmly observing the three old men standing before him.

These were found by Wang Xiaoliu from a nearby fishing village.

Each of them had dark, rough skin, faces deeply wrinkled like dried orange peel, and hands covered in calluses and scars.

They stood nervously, not daring to lift their heads, trembling all over.

In their eyes, the young lord sitting above them was the Deputy Hall Master of the Black Water Gang, a living Yama who killed without batting an eye.

"Don't be nervous,"

Lu Chen put down his teacup, his voice softening. "I just want to ask you a few things."

"As long as you answer honestly, the silver on the table will be yours."

Lu Chen pointed to three ingots of silver on the table.

The three old men's eyes widened, their throats dry.

Those were ten-tael ingots of silver, enough for a whole family to eat and drink for several years.

"L-Lord, please ask. This old man will tell you everything he knows!"

The slightly bolder old man spoke tremblingly.

Lu Chen nodded. "You've fished on the Nu River your whole lives. How much do you know about what's at the bottom of the river?"

The three old men exchanged glances.

"Answering the lord..." the bold old man hesitated. "The Nu River is unfathomably deep. Some places are bottomless. We fishermen usually only dare to cast our nets in shallow bays and eddies. We absolutely dare not go to the center of the river."

"Oh? Why?" Lu Chen pressed.

"The current is too strong in the center of the river!" the old man said with a pained expression. "And... and there are dirty things in the center of the river."

"Dirty things?"

"Water Ghosts!" the old man with the missing front tooth interjected, his eyes full of fear. "My lord, you don't know, but the bottom of the river's center is a nest for Water Ghosts! Whenever it's rainy and overcast, you can hear crying coming from the center of the river. It's terrifying!"

Lu Chen frowned slightly.

He had seen and killed Water Ghosts before.

But that wasn't the point.

"Besides Water Ghosts, what else is at the bottom of the river?" Lu Chen leaned forward. "Have you seen any strange stones? Or... buildings?"

"Buildings?"

The three old men were stunned.

Who would build a house underwater?

Lu Chen was somewhat disappointed. Just as he thought he wouldn't get any information, the old man who had been shrinking back at the end suddenly looked up.

This old man looked the oldest, his back hunched like a shrimp, one eye blind, and the remaining eye held a cloudy light.

"Is my lord asking about... the Dragon Palace?"

The blind old man's voice was hoarse, like two broken tiles rubbing together.

"Dragon Palace?"

Lu Chen's heart stirred. "Tell me more."

The blind old man took a deep breath, as if falling into a memory.

"That was forty years ago... I was young then. Relying on my good swimming skills, I didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. I followed some companions, wanting to explore for treasure in the center of the river."

"Legend has it that there's a palace of the Dragon King at the bottom of the Nu River, filled with gold and treasures."

"We took advantage of the low water season and dived to the bottom of the deepest part of the river, beneath the 'Ghost's Worry' whirlpool."

At this point, the old man trembled violently, his face showing extreme terror.

"We... we really saw it..."

"In the pitch-black water, there was a large expanse of ruins! Collapsed stone pillars, broken walls... and... and a huge stone gate!"

"That stone gate was carved with many strange beasts, as if they were alive!"

"Just as we were about to get closer to see clearly, many dark shadows suddenly rushed out of the water... so many Water Ghosts! Densely packed, like a school of fish!"

"My companions... they were all dragged in! Only I... only I desperately cut off a leg that was grabbed and managed to escape..."

The old man rolled up his trouser leg.

A large chunk of flesh was missing from his left calf, leaving a terrifying indentation, as if it had been torn off by a wild beast.

Lu Chen looked at the scar, his expression grave.

Ruins, a stone gate, a swarm of Water Ghosts.

It matched the markers on the incomplete map of the Profound Nether Hand perfectly!

The so-called "Dragon Palace" was likely the ruins of the lost "Profound Nether Sect."

Or perhaps a stronghold.

Since the Netherworld Stone was a companion mineral, it must be near the ruins.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.