Dense dark clouds had already blanketed the entire sky above Dragon Island. Gale-force winds howled, lightning flashed amid thunder, and bean-sized raindrops poured down in torrents.
Near the sea around Dragon Island.
Endless azure seawater stretched in every direction. Bai He was swimming rapidly through the sea like an arrow loosed from a bow. From high in the sky, he looked like a streak of silver light.
But his condition was far from good.
Ever since fleeing from the Small Lake, which resembled a sapphire, on the outskirts of Dragon Island, Bai He had maintained his dragon transformation for nearly two hours.
Because the dragon blood within him was still too thin, Bai He could not complete the transformation on his own. He had to rely on the power of the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul in his body to stimulate his thin dragon blood and transform.
But after so long, the power of the dragon soul within Bai He was nearly exhausted. He could no longer even maintain his full dragon transformation.
Because of the severe lack of dragon soul power in his body, some of the dragon scales on Bai He's face had even receded, exposing the jade-white skin beneath the silver scales.
The howling wind mixed with icy raindrops, pelting Bai He's face with sharp crackles until it ached badly...
"Whew... whew..."
Bai He gasped heavily. If he could not find somewhere to shelter from the wind and rain soon, he figured he was done for!
The downpour continued unabated, but then Bai He vaguely spotted a huge cave in the steep cliff not far away. He hurriedly sped toward it.
The cave was more than ten meters above the sea, but the rocks below jutted out enough that he should be able to climb them.
After reaching the base of the cave, Bai He looked up at it overhead and thought, I have to give it a try.
Gripping one protruding rock after another, Bai He slowly climbed upward. After ascending some distance, the cave was finally within reach.
He cautiously poked his head out and stared at the dark cave before him, his heart tense.
He had no idea whether there were any creatures inside. If there was a ferocious beast in there, then in his current state, he was as good as dead!
But the storm still showed no sign of stopping. If he could not find a place to hide, he would die anyway.
With that thought, Bai He gritted his teeth. Whether he stuck his head out or pulled it back, the blade would fall either way. He was going for it!
He carefully stepped into the cave. Through Bai He's silver eyes, the scene inside immediately became crystal clear.
It was a deep, desolate cavern whose end could not be seen at a glance. Bai He was currently standing in the cave at its entrance.
The cave was enormous and empty, nearly sixty to seventy meters high. The walls around it were smooth and glimmered with a faint fluorescent light, as though they showed traces of jade-like petrification.
Several lush, emerald-green vines, like coiling dragons, had rooted deeply into the cave walls. Their thick stems hung to the ground and spread in every direction, while their short, narrow leaves covered nearly half the cave.
A thick layer of dust covered the cave floor. It seemed no creature had visited this place for a long time, and Bai He could not help sighing inwardly in relief.
After releasing his dragon transformation, all the exhaustion he had been suppressing surged over him at once. Bai He felt completely drained, as if he did not even have the strength to move a finger. All he wanted was to collapse on the ground and sleep forever.
But looking at the thick dust accumulated on the floor, Bai He simply could not bring himself to lie down. Sighing as he rested, he tore off a section of vine and swept the dust aside, clearing an open space.
His clothes were soaked through and carried a salty smell, so Bai He took them off and draped them over the vines to dry.
To make his sleep a little more comfortable, Bai He tore down several long vines, coiled and spread them across the ground as a bed, then lay down on top of them.
After surviving a day of life-and-death crises, Bai He was exhausted in both body and mind. The moment he lay on his makeshift "bed," he fell into a deep sleep.
The weather on the island was always unpredictable. After an entire night of storms, the skies had cleared by dawn the next day.
As the rising sun climbed into the sky, the fiery morning glow at the horizon shone through the cave entrance onto Bai He's face, and he slowly woke.
Stretching hard, Bai He slowly climbed up from his crude vine bed. Facing the bright sunlight streaming into the cave, he walked toward the entrance.
"Looks like it'll be another beautiful day!"
Bai He narrowed his eyes and raised a hand to block the glaring sunlight shining directly at him, feeling deeply moved.
After escaping death, Bai He felt that everything before him was so beautiful.
Turning and entering the cave again, Bai He touched the clothes he had hung on the vines the night before. Hmm... they were not dry yet!
Because of the storm last night, the temperature had dropped sharply. It had gone from stifling heat before the rain to frightening cold after it stopped, practically plummeting in a straight line!
Moreover, the cave was naturally rather cold and damp due to the lack of sunlight, so it was perfectly normal that his clothes had not dried.
But what good would dry clothes do anyway?
When Bai He thought about how his clothes would inevitably get soaked if he left, he simply took down the still half-damp clothes and put them on.
Although no one was around, Bai He still felt uncomfortable being nearly naked, wearing only a crude skirt woven from vines. Especially his lower body, which was filled with a faint chill...
Since there was nothing in the cave that could be used to make a fire, Bai He did not plan to go into the sea to catch fish. After all, he could not bring himself to eat them raw.
After admiring the sunrise over the sea for a while, Bai He decided to venture deeper into the cave and see what lay within.
Before transmigrating, Bai He had always hoped that one day he could travel around and admire the various magnificent wonders of the Great Thousand Worlds, especially the legendary caves wrought by nature's uncanny craftsmanship. Unfortunately, he had never had the chance.
After all, he had been so poor back then that he could barely afford food. How could he have had the opportunity to travel...
Now he finally had a chance. Though it was in another world, he did not intend to let it pass him by.
There was no need to prepare torches or other lighting tools. Relying on his night vision and the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul that had recovered after a night's rest, Bai He walked straight into the cavern.
Passing through the entrance cave, Bai He formally entered the cavern.
It was a vast, winding cavern nearly a hundred meters high, yet even after walking for a long time, he still could not see its end.
As Bai He ventured deeper, the surroundings finally ceased to be nothing but monotonous smooth cave walls. Unique formations found only in limestone caves began to appear.
There were milky-white stone banners hanging from the ceiling as soft as silk, stalactites interlocking like canine teeth, thin goose-tube formations like cicada wings, and all kinds of stalagmites that seemed to have "grown" from the ground.
As Bai He continued deeper, the cavern finally came to an end.
It was as though he had entered another Grotto-heaven. Dozens of meter-long stalactites emitting a faint glow hung everywhere from the cave ceiling, while stalagmites of all shapes stood all around like weeds. Before him, a rushing Underground River surged past, its destination unknown.
Across the river, a huge figure nearly a hundred meters tall lay motionless upon a stone platform.
Looking closely, Bai He was shocked to discover that it was an ancient ferocious beast that had been dead for many years—the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon!
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