Black Dragon Token

After passing through stretches of jungle, wetlands, and swamps, the three of them had clearly grown weary of the scenery and no longer bothered to admire it.

Ye Wan suddenly spoke. "All right, we're getting closer and closer to Black Dragon Pool."

The moment she said this, Chen Fan and Qin Ziyan both tensed up and became cautious. Along the way, Ye Wan had already given them a general explanation of Black Dragon Pool's basic situation.

Speaking of Black Dragon Pool, legend had it that it had existed for over a thousand years. Supposedly, a black dragon once coiled here, which was how it got its name. Back then, Black Dragon Pool truly had been nothing more than a small pond of limited size. Later, it was said that the black dragon transformed into a demon and ascended to immortality, turning this place into a treasure ground of excellent feng shui. Many cultivators came here upon hearing the name and settled down, while countless birds and beasts also migrated here. Thus, Black Dragon Pool began to flourish and expand. Today, the core region of Black Dragon Pool was still where that original pond had been, except countless years of geographic change had long since turned it into an enormous lake. That was also where the Black Dragon Pool sect had been established.

Beyond that, the forest region where the three currently stood also belonged to Black Dragon Pool's sphere of influence. Like the other three sects, Black Dragon Pool had quite a few small and medium-sized forces attached to it. The smaller forces within this region were descendants of humans who had migrated here a thousand years ago, mostly tribes and villages passed down through generations. These tribes and villages were extremely well-hidden and difficult to track down; their exact numbers could not be counted at all. Thus, Black Dragon Pool's true strength had always remained a mystery. Moreover, these tribes and villages not only received Black Dragon Pool's protection, but also obtained many concealed weapons developed by Black Dragon Pool. With the dense forest serving as a natural barrier, only those who had lived here year-round could know the terrain like the back of their hand. As long as one was within Black Dragon Pool, it was easy to defend and difficult to attack—a truly perilous place. If war ever broke out among the four great sects, the other three would find it harder than climbing to heaven to invade this place.

In other words, although Chen Fan and the other two had seemed to travel in calm waters and gentle winds, they might already have entered Black Dragon Pool's sights long ago. It was only because they were few in number and had done nothing out of line that they had not received special treatment.

The three became even more cautious, and their pace slowed considerably. After walking like this for roughly another hour, the green before their eyes finally began to fade, replaced by a clear, azure expanse.

This was Black Dragon Pool! This place was far too beautiful. Chen Fan sighed inwardly, his eyes filled with intoxication.

Yet before he could finish admiring the scenery, someone ahead shouted, "Who goes there? Beyond this point lies Black Dragon Pool's sect territory. Trespassers will be killed without mercy!"

Chen Fan jumped in fright and only then came back to his senses. Looking forward, he saw dozens of people in uniform standing by the distant lakeshore. Most appeared to be around thirty years old. These should all be Black Dragon Pool disciples. Each of them had a tube-like object hanging at their waist. It was not long, and its body was slender.

Ye Wan suddenly lowered her voice and said to Chen Fan and Qin Ziyan, "Be careful. Those are Sand-Shadow Shooters, an extremely widespread type of concealed weapon in Black Dragon Pool."

Hearing this, Chen Fan curiously examined the concealed weapons several times. He had actually seen a brief introduction to them in the Scripture Pavilion before. This was a type of mechanism weapon. Small sharp weapons such as flying needles and flying swords could be placed into specially made slender tubular containers. Then, by blowing into one end of the tube and injecting Internal Qi and True Essence into it, a burst of force would erupt inside the tube in an instant, launching the weapon at the enemy. Though this thing was quite powerful, it had an obvious flaw: there was a relatively long interval between attacks. However, if used in dense woods, it was simply impossible to guard against. It could also be fired after being coated in poison. Therefore, cultivators outside Black Dragon Pool's territory treated it like a rat avoiding a broken vase and did not dare barge in recklessly.

Although Chen Fan was quite interested in this concealed weapon, he was not bored enough to ask Black Dragon Pool's people to fire one at him for a test.

At this moment, Chen Fan and the other two discovered that several auras seemed to be hiding among the trees behind them as well. Ye Wan and Qin Ziyan both gripped their treasured swords without prior agreement and moved closer to Chen Fan. The two of them were speechless. Was Chen Fan really going to openly charge into Black Dragon Pool like this? And this fellow had not even brought a sword when he went out. What if the other side attacked directly?

Chen Fan seemed to have only just realized this himself. Perhaps he had been too absorbed in the scenery earlier. He hurriedly smiled, cupped his hands toward the lakeshore, and said, "The three of us have come at another's request to pay a visit to your sect's leader, Senior Luo!"

Since the Black Dragon Pool region was formed with numerous tribes as its backbone, the Black Dragon Pool sect master was customarily called the leader.

Upon hearing this, Black Dragon Pool's disciples by the lake looked at one another, neither confirming nor denying anything. Then one of them stepped forward, clearly the one in charge of the guards here. He looked at Chen Fan and said, "Who exactly are you? What qualifications do you have to meet the leader?" He could not determine the backgrounds of these three, so he did not dare act rashly.

Chen Fan took something from his robes and waved it before him. Though the distance was not especially close, cultivators had no weak eyesight. When that man saw it, he froze slightly, then focused his gaze and examined it carefully.

"This? It seems to be..." the man muttered to himself as he quickly strode over. Chen Fan remained unmoved, but Ye Wan and Qin Ziyan faced him as though confronting a great enemy, stepping directly in front of Chen Fan. What a pair of sister flowers charging into battle. Chen Fan secretly laughed and waved his hand. "It's fine. There's no need for this."

Upon hearing that, the two withdrew their battle stances, though they still stood on either side of Chen Fan and watched the approaching man with wary expressions.

When the man arrived, he did not even spare the three of them a glance. Instead, he stared fixedly at the jade in Chen Fan's hand. That was right—it was the black token Liu Wushuang had given him. Chen Fan did not hide it and spread out his hand, leaving the token in his palm. The man gently picked up the jade with three fingers and looked it over twice. Then he let out a deep breath and placed the black stone back into Chen Fan's hand.

Only then did he look at Chen Fan. His attitude had visibly become much friendlier, even carrying a trace of humility. "If I am not mistaken, this should be the legendary Black Dragon Token. I never imagined I would be fortunate enough to see it today. Since you possess this token, you are a distinguished guest of Black Dragon Pool. Three friends, please follow me."

Chen Fan had not expected the token to be so useful. It seemed this was not merely an ordinary identity token. What connection did Liu Wushuang truly have with Black Dragon Pool? The two women beside him relaxed, but each harbored her own thoughts.

Qin Ziyan had begun to believe that Chen Fan must be a member of Black Dragon Pool, and one of no ordinary status within the sect. That explained all those miraculous things about him. A genius disciple of Black Dragon Pool—wasn't he simply a perfect match for her?

Ye Wan, however, was filled with doubts. She knew that Chen Fan was not from Black Dragon Pool, so where had this token he produced come from? The more she thought about it, the more terrifying it became. Then she saw Qin Ziyan's lovestruck expression and felt utterly mortified. From the looks of it, not only did this girl find nothing improper about Chen Fan's identity, it seemed to have deepened her infatuation with him even further. Sigh, this girl is sinking deeper and deeper. How is this supposed to end in the future? Could it be that there'll really be another younger one?... Bah! Why am I thinking about this again?

Chen Fan and the other two followed the Black Dragon Pool disciple who had been on guard earlier to the lakeshore. Looking out over the lake, they saw gentle ripples spread across the water, reflecting specks of light beneath the sun. The lake was vast, stretching beyond the limits of sight. Several islands rose from its waters, lush and verdant, with quite a few houses and buildings seemingly standing upon them. Those should be Black Dragon Pool's core region.

Black Dragon Pool had no distinction between an inner court and outer sect. The total population of the local tribes and villages concealed around the outer forest was already considerable, so there was no need for outer sect disciples to fill out appearances. Those wearing uniform clothing all belonged to Black Dragon Pool's core disciples.

"Three guests, please board the boat here," the disciple said politely. At some unknown time, a small wooden boat had appeared by the shore. So they still had to take a boat. This was practically like going on an outing. All three wore relaxed expressions as they stepped into the boat. The little boat quickly set off. Chen Fan found a seat and sat down, while the two women were full of excitement, walking to the bow to look around before moving to the stern for another look. Chen Fan was speechless inwardly. Do you have to act so worldly inexperienced? It's just riding a boat. But the West Ridge Mountains region was all towering mountains and ridges, with rivers and lakes extremely rare. Places where one could take a boat were practically nonexistent. No wonder the two of them were so unusually excited. Still, it was understandable for Qin Ziyan. Ye Wan, hadn't she come here before? Was this really necessary? What Chen Fan did not know was that Ye Wan had come here with her master Liu Ruyu back then. At the time, Liu Ruyu had merely waved her hand, and Ye Wan had been brought directly to the island at the center of the lake. Ye Wan probably had not even realized there were boats here.

The small boat glided across the lake. A gentle breeze brushed their cheeks, carrying the moist breath of the water. The sun was gradually setting, and the lingering rays of the sunset spilled over the land and across Black Dragon Pool's surface, reflecting streaks of rosy clouds. The picturesque scenery was exquisitely beautiful, leaving the three deeply entranced.

After reaching an island in the center of the lake, the boat stopped. The three went ashore and were led onward by the disciple. They passed through woods and gardens on the island, seeing artificial rockeries, pavilions, and even more courtyards and towers along the way. Chen Fan could not help feeling envious. The living and cultivation grounds of Black Dragon Pool's core disciples were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times better than Swordcry Mountain's. If he could cultivate in a place like this, he would be willing to remain here for the rest of his life without leaving. Of course, this was merely the exaggerated reaction of someone seeing something new. If Chen Fan were truly made to stay, he would likely grow tired of it within half a month.

The three crossed several more stretches of woods and walked along a stone-paved path before finally arriving before an enormous courtyard. Its design resembled the prince's private residence Chen Fan had seen in West Ridge City, except it was clearly much larger. Its walls were more refined and meticulously built, while the surroundings were far more beautiful. At a glance, it was unlike anything in the mortal world—a forest residence beyond the world.

This was clearly the residence of some Black Dragon Pool expert. Yet Chen Fan saw no guards at all. The courtyard gates stood open, and the three simply followed the guiding disciple inside. Even so, Chen Fan did not believe this place truly lacked defensive measures. What a joke—this was Black Dragon Pool. Perhaps countless hidden mechanisms and concealed cannons were aimed at them even now.

After entering the courtyard, they proceeded without obstruction. The scenery inside had its own distinct charm, but the three clearly had no mood to appreciate it now. All of them had begun secretly keeping their guard up. This was Black Dragon Pool's headquarters. Why exactly had they been brought here?

At last, the three were led into a hall. Seated in the place of honor was an old man who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties. His expression was peaceful, and there was not a trace of white in his hair or beard. He showed none of the frailty of old age. Yet all three knew that he was likely no less than two or three hundred years old. Black Dragon Pool's high-ranking cultivators generally had somewhat inferior aptitude compared to those of the other three sects. They basically did not cultivate many External Force techniques, and their Internal Qi cultivation held no great advantage either. But they all specialized in concealed weapons, so no one dared underestimate them.