Earth's Great Rift, Heavy Armored Earth Dragon

In the present world, Sunset Forest within the Heaven Dou Empire, Star Dou Forest at the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire, and Star Luo Forest within the Star Luo Empire were collectively known as the three great Spirit Beast gathering grounds of Douluo Continent.

In terms of overall value, Star Luo Forest ranked lowest, Sunset Forest stood in the middle, and Star Dou Forest surpassed the other two combined. However, because Spirit Masters could not explore its depths, the three great Spirit Beast gathering grounds were considered to be roughly on the same level.

Still, while it could not compare to Star Dou Forest, Sunset Forest was home to no small variety and number of Spirit Beasts.

At this moment, Sunset Forest was far from the dead land it would become in the second part of Douluo Continent, when Tang San used Jade Phosphorus Seven Absolute Flowers to wipe it out merely to keep the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well from being discovered by outsiders. It was a thriving treasure land overflowing with life.

The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well lay deep within Sunset Forest, while Dugu Bo took Chen Ming to explore toward its outskirts.

Following Dugu Bo's memories, the two arrived at a rift valley. It seemed to have been a colossal scar caused by geological activity. The earth had split open into several enormous fissures, the longest stretching over ten kilometers, while even the shortest spanned two or three kilometers.

The fissures averaged two to three hundred meters deep, while the deepest one appeared to reach at least five hundred meters.

Some ores lay exposed to the air, while sulfur-scented hot vapor seeped from certain areas. Large numbers of earth-attributed and attribute-less Spirit Beasts had made their homes around these massive fissures.

The habitats of dragon-type Spirit Beasts were generally the best places among their kind, so looking for favorable terrain made them easier to find. Earth-attributed dragon-type Spirit Beasts in particular loved living in places rich in sulfur and minerals.

Dugu Bo led Chen Ming straight into the depths to search. Following standard exploration methods, they discovered a powerful dragon-type Spirit Beast after only half an hour.

It was simply a little too powerful, with a cultivation of more than fifteen thousand years and nearly twenty thousand years.

It was a Sub-Dragon whose body resembled that of a dragon, except its wings had atrophied, its neck was shorter, and its head looked more like a rat's than a dragon's. Though it appeared somewhat ridiculous, the ferocious aura and Dragon Qi emanating from it were unmistakably real. It was a formidable existence even among top-tier Spirit Beasts.

Seeing Chen Ming and Dugu Bo appear, the strange Earth Dragon immediately let out a loud roar. It then used its innate ability to turn the rock beneath its feet into soil and burrowed into it, moving underground like a fish through water as it prepared to attack them.

But no matter how lacking Dugu Bo might be in other respects, he was still a Titled Douluo. With only a slight sweep of his senses, he detected the Earth Dragon's position.

After pulling Chen Ming aside to dodge the Earth Dragon's underground attack, Dugu Bo merely summoned his Martial Soul and lightly released a stream of poisonous mist. The previously massive and fierce Sub-Dragon immediately convulsed and collapsed to the ground, white foam continuously spilling from its mouth.

"This is a Rat-Headed Earth Dragon, a mutated Sub-Dragon formed from rodent Spirit Beasts contaminated by dragon blood. They have no ability to reproduce. It is said that powerful Rat-Headed Earth Dragons possess physical qualities identical to those of the Dragon Clan, but they can never shed their rat heads and become True Dragons."

"This Spirit Beast can become your Spirit Ring later, but let it stay here for now. I controlled the strength of my poison. With this Sub-Dragon's vitality, it will only suffer for a while."

"Still, since there is a Sub-Dragon like this here, other fissures should also contain Sub-Dragon Spirit Beasts with dragon blood. We can take our time looking." Dugu Bo remained calm.

"Senior Dugu Bo, I'd like you to take me around beneath these fissures. I think I can find a Spirit Beast suitable for me." Chen Ming looked around, crouched to touch the ground, summoned his Martial Soul, and lightly twitched his nose. A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

"How so?"

"Senior, can you smell it? There is a faint sulfur scent here, and the sound of water underground. That means there should be hot springs nearby. The environment around underground hot springs can support fish and the growth of certain plants, thereby fulfilling some essential survival conditions."

"Along the way, I also saw some high-quality ores exposed nearby. That proves this is actually an undeveloped mineral vein, merely cracked open and exposed due to geological activity. The energy of heaven and earth here is not as abundant as in a treasure land, but it is still not low. It is quite good by Sunset Forest's standards."

"Since Rat-Headed Earth Dragons are creatures transformed into Sub-Dragons after being contaminated by dragon blood, there should be traces of dragon blood contamination here. At the very least, high-quality Sub-Dragon Spirit Beasts should have been drawn here by the environment."

"We can follow the flow of water, the ores, plant growth, footprints, and other traces to search."

"As you wish." Dugu Bo looked around, unable to understand how Chen Ming had pieced together so much useful information. Still, he nodded in approval.

In truth, Dugu Bo had once been a clever young man with decent observational skills. He could find suitable clues and advance through all kinds of terrain. Otherwise, he could not have stumbled into such a profound realm of cultivation, much less found the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well deep within Sunset Forest.

But after becoming a Titled Douluo, Dugu Bo had grown accustomed to charging through everything with sheer power. As he got older, the observation skills he had trained in his youth had not completely vanished, but they had declined considerably.

Over the next few days, Dugu Bo led Chen Ming through the fissures, continuously searching based on the growth of plants, water sources, and numerous other clues.

Just as Chen Ming had expected, several hidden earth-attributed Sub-Dragon Spirit Beasts lived here. Given the rarity of Sub-Dragon Spirit Beasts, this place could even be considered a small Sub-Dragon gathering ground.

Among those Chen Ming discovered were hundred-year mid-level Spirit Beasts such as Earth-Walking Dragons, as well as hundred-year High-Level Spirit Beasts such as Thorn Earth Dragons and Long-Tusked Earth Dragons...

They did spot a thousand-year Sub-Dragon Spirit Beast, but its bloodline was not pure enough, and its cultivation had already exceeded four thousand years. In every respect, it was completely unsuitable for Chen Ming.

After searching for several days, Chen Ming finally found a concealed tunnel in a corner. Following the traces inside, they entered a natural cavern filled with ores.

Hot spring water flowed through a corner of the cave. A few Blue Silver Grass plants grew there, while rock vines crawled across the cave walls.

A great quantity of high-quality ore had piled into a small mountain. A mighty and savage Heavy Armored Earth Dragon was sprawled atop it, sleeping soundly with thick saliva dripping from the corner of its mouth.

The sleeping Heavy Armored Earth Dragon did not notice Chen Ming and Dugu Bo, the two uninvited guests, in the slightest.

Seeing the Heavy Armored Earth Dragon sleeping atop its bed of ore, Chen Ming's eyes immediately lit up. He had specifically studied the connection between his Martial Soul and corresponding Spirit Beasts at the academy, so he knew quite a bit about Heavy Armored Earth Dragons.

He carefully examined the sleeping Spirit Beast from head to toe and quickly deduced its approximate condition from various details.

"There are two ways to judge a Heavy Armored Earth Dragon's age. One is by the accumulation of heavy armor on its back, though that is greatly affected by mineral veins. Still, judging from the luster and shape of this Spirit Beast's back armor, it has developed quite well."

"The other is by the patterns on its chin. As its scales grow and its body enlarges, a Heavy Armored Earth Dragon's chin develops patterns and layers similar to the rings of a tree."

"It is said that some powerful Heavy Armored Earth Dragons that consume special ores year-round develop chins resembling hammers. They can even strike the ground with their chins to unleash vibration-type Spirit Skills."

"Senior Dugu, I think this Heavy Armored Earth Dragon has just over a thousand years of cultivation. Please help me turn it over so I can take a closer look."