The Other Side of the Mountain, Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon [Seeking Follow-ups and Monthly Votes]

He cast one final, deep look at the vast and boundless scene atop the peak of Buzhou Mountain, etching the majestic spirit and insight of "looking down upon all other mountains" deep into the sea of his heart, then resolutely turned around.

He did not follow the path he had come from, but instead chose a steeper, more treacherous, and rarely trodden slope on the other side of Buzhou Mountain as his way down.

This side of the mountain was bizarre in terrain, with jagged boulders and numerous bottomless fissures and ancient, deep natural caves scattered about, perhaps still hiding undiscovered opportunities.

Though the descent still required enduring the omnipresent Pangu Pressure everywhere, compared to the arduous climb upward—where he had to push against the current, as if resisting the very force of heaven and earth—going with the flow now was more than ten times easier.

His figure drifted like smoke, like a weightless green leaf, naturally floating downward along the steep mountain slope.

Now and then, the tip of his toe would lightly tap a protruding rock, borrowing the force to glide hundreds of zhang away, his movements fluid and effortless, without a trace of worldly clumsiness.

His cultivation as a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal and his formidable physical body allowed him to control every ounce of his strength and every flow of his energy with exquisite precision. He moved swiftly, yet with an unhurried, composed ease.

When he descended to about the midpoint of the mountain, in a place shrouded in thick clouds and mist, with relatively hidden and rugged terrain...

Lord Wanshouyuan's speeding figure paused slightly. A sudden sensation stirred in his heart, as if an extremely faint, peculiar fluctuation—utterly different from the overwhelming Pangu Pressure—had brushed across his keen mind like a pebble dropped into a Calm Lake Surface.

This fluctuation was so subtle that, had he not just broken through, greatly enhancing his spiritual perception, and possessed immense fortune, he might have overlooked it entirely.

He immediately steadied his form, hovering in midair, and spread his spiritual sense like an invisible giant net, scanning with the precision of the finest instrument to pinpoint the exact source and nature of that strange sensation.

After a moment, his profound gaze pierced through layers of clouds and mist, locking onto the base of a steep, knife-like bluish-black cliff not far below, covered in the marks of time.

There, countless thick, ancient, dark green vines layered and entwined, along with many heavily weathered, piled-up rocks obscuring the view. Had he not scanned carefully with his spiritual sense, he might easily have missed the massive, deep cave mouth hidden behind the vines and rocks.

The faint fluctuation, carrying a certain majestic and righteous yet lonely and vast aura, was faintly emanating from within the cave, like the breath of a sleeping Giant Beast.

"Could It Be... there's a hidden opportunity here?"

Lord Wanshouyuan grew cautious, yet he could not suppress a trace of curiosity and the urge to investigate.

Buzhou Mountain was mysterious and unfathomable, formed from Pangu's Spine, bearing many remnants of the creation of the world. Since he had sensed it, this was a Destined Affinity, and there was no reason to pass it by.

He completely restrained his aura, reducing his presence to the barest minimum, blending into the surroundings like a patch of green shadow. Slowly descending, he landed silently before the concealed cave entrance.

Reaching out to push aside the ancient vines that hung like a curtain, having grown for who knows how many millennia, a deep, pitch-black cave of unknown depth was revealed.

Inside the cave, there was no sense of gloom or evil; instead, it exuded an indescribable aura—majestic, righteous, vast and boundless, yet tinged with a hint of eternal solitude and desolation.

The strange fluctuation became clearer here, tugging at his mind.

Lord Wanshouyuan pondered briefly. A wisp of pure, life-filled Azure Flame of Yi Wood ignited at his fingertip—not dazzling or harsh, but enough to illuminate several zhang ahead. At the same time, a faint green light shimmered around him as his protective spiritual light circulated at its peak. Only then did he cautiously step into the cave.

The cave was initially quite narrow, barely allowing a few people to walk side by side. The walls were hard and cold, made of Buzhou Mountain rock that had endured endless pressure. But as he went deeper, the passage widened, and the rock walls became unusually smooth, as if polished and worn by some powerful force over countless years.

After advancing no more than a few hundred zhang, the space before him Suddenly Enlightened. The light did not increase, but the sense of space abruptly expanded. He found himself in an enormous natural cavern, as if the very heart of the mountain had been hollowed out.

The cavern's ceiling hung high above, lost in darkness, its top impossible to see.

And there, at the center of this vast cavern, Lord Wanshouyuan's pupils suddenly contracted, and a Look of Astonishment spread across his face!

What met his eyes was a dragon! A golden divine dragon so massive it was suffocating, coiled there like a small mountain!

Its coiled body, at a rough glance, stretched hundreds of zhang!

Its head drooped slightly, resting on its coiled form, its enormous eyes tightly shut, as if locked in eternal slumber.

Yet even so, that natural, world-dominating majesty of the Emperor of all beasts, along with a supreme, noble aura originating from the very essence of bloodline, filled the entire cavern, bringing an invisible, immense pressure.

The dragon's body was covered in golden scales the size of bowls, tightly packed, each one smooth as a mirror, gleaming with pure and profound golden light, as if forged from the purest Innate Geng Metal and supreme Dao rhyme—unyielding and indestructible.

The outstretched claws were powerful and fierce, with nine distinct digits, their tips glinting coldly—unmistakably the most revered form, the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon, symbol of ultimate imperial authority!

"A Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon?!"

Lord Wanshouyuan's heart shook violently. He instinctively stepped back half a pace, his Great Luo Magical Power instantly surging to its peak. The green protective divine light around him flickered intensely as he stood ready, prepared to either counter an attack or flee a thousand li in an instant.

As far as he knew, the primordial world had only recently opened, the Heaven and Earth Order was just being established, and the three innate clans—Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin—were still in their gestation or early stages.

They were far from the time when they would dominate the primordial world and reveal their peerless might, let alone this Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon, the symbol of the Dragon Clan's Supreme Being and the purest, noblest bloodline!

How could it have appeared ahead of time in this hidden cave halfway up Buzhou Mountain? And what kind of terrifying strength did it possess? Could this be some kind of trap?

After a long period of tense vigilance, the anticipated counterattack of Dragon Might, thunderous roars, or terrifying techniques never came.

That enormous golden dragon still lay coiled there, utterly motionless, like an eternal golden statue. Aside from the pervasive aura of majesty, there was no trace of life energy—a Deathly Stillness that unsettled the heart.

Lord Wanshouyuan's brow Slightly Furrowed. Suppressing his shock and doubt, he once again cautiously extended his spiritual sense. This time, he was even more careful, like the softest feather, slowly approaching the massive dragon body for a deeper, finer probe, trying to understand this bizarre situation.

This time, he keenly detected the anomaly.

Though the dragon body was solid and real, its energy vast and pure to an extreme—Far Exceeded any living being he had ever seen—it lacked the active soul fluctuations and life vitality that true living creatures should possess.

Its composition was not of true flesh, blood, and scales, but rather... a purer, more primordial existence, a special entity mixed with multiple supreme powers!