This was a vast, empty cavern.
The cavern was nearly a hundred meters tall, and all manner of strange stalagmites, stone pillars, and stone flowers grew throughout it...
From the ceiling hung dozens of meter-long, canine-tooth-shaped stalactites like dripping wax. They radiated a faint glow, making the entire cavern as beautiful as an immortal realm.
Bai He stood blankly at the entrance, staring at the magnificent sight before him, one he had never seen before. His heart was filled with shock.
Nature's craftsmanship was terrifying beyond belief!
He admired the breathtaking view in silence for quite a while before finally pulling himself away from it with reluctance.
After taking a few more steps forward, Bai He saw a ceaselessly rushing river before him. It was an Underground River!
The Underground River seemed bottomless and ran straight across the entire cavern. Its rushing waters continually struck the banks, producing crisp splashing sounds.
On the other side of the Underground River was a huge raised stone platform. The entire platform seemed to have been carved from Yellow Jade, pale yellow in color and gleaming with a faint radiance.
Atop the stone platform lay a massive figure, eighty or ninety meters tall, completely motionless. Taking a closer look, Bai He was stunned to discover that it was an ancient ferocious beast that had already died—the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon!
Bai He knew it was dead because although waves of tragic baleful aura still emanated from its body, he could no longer sense even the slightest trace of life from it. That was the strongest proof.
As he looked at the mountain-like corpse of the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon across the river, the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul within Bai He immediately stirred. An intense longing surged from his heart, aimed directly at the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon's corpse.
Something within that corpse was powerfully drawing him in!
But the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon's corpse was still some distance away from Bai He, with an Underground River more than thirty meters wide between them. Thus, Bai He had no idea what inside the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon was attracting him.
After thinking it over, Bai He decided to cross the river and personally examine the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon's corpse on the opposite bank.
This was a clear, silent Underground River. The water appeared crystal-clear, but because the riverbed was so dark, it was difficult to see what lay within it.
Bai He slowly stepped into the water and swam toward the opposite bank.
Because he had not entered his dragonized state, Bai He could not use the weakened version of the Overturning Rivers and Seas divine ability he had comprehended yesterday—which was really just simple water manipulation. As a result, he did not swim very quickly.
As he slowly swam through the cold, bone-piercing water, Bai He seemed to feel something brush against him. But when he reached out to grab it, he caught nothing.
Still, he vaguely sensed that it was not large, perhaps only half a palm in size. Judging from the feel of it, Bai He thought it was likely a fish.
"Slap, slap, slap..."
Bai He reached out several times in a row, but still caught nothing. Whenever his hand plunged swiftly into the water and splashed it up, the fish seemed to sense something and instantly changed direction, darting away!
That stirred Bai He's competitive spirit. He refused to believe that he could not even catch a fish!
"Phew..."
Bai He took a deep breath, then stopped in the river. After adjusting his mindset slightly, he began to focus his attention on the water.
Faintly, Bai He could see streaks of reflected scales darting through the river. These had to be his targets!
But based on his previous failures, these fish had extremely sharp senses. As long as even a slight splash was raised, they could easily detect danger. If he wanted to catch them, he had to succeed in one strike!
More precisely, he needed to wait until a fish was about to swim past him, seize the moment, then thrust his hand swiftly and vertically into the water. He had to grab it in one motion while creating as little splash as possible. Only then could he possibly catch one.
As he watched streaks of scaled light swim past him, one fish finally began to pass beneath Bai He's palm.
Now!
With lightning speed, Bai He thrust his hand into the water and clenched it tightly. Feeling the solid, ticklish sensation in his palm, a smile slowly appeared at the corner of his lips. He had caught it!
He lifted his hand from the water, and a nearly transparent silver fish immediately appeared before him.
The little fish was only half a palm in size. Its body was covered in tiny silver scales and gave off a faint fragrance. Through its almost transparent scales and skin, its blood vessels and skeleton could vaguely be seen.
As he inhaled the waves of fragrance drifting to his nose, Bai He could not help swallowing.
Damn it! Why did I suddenly want to eat this fish so badly? He had never eaten anything raw before.
In the end, Bai He could not resist the powerful temptation and swallowed the fish in one bite.
If it were poisonous, I probably would not want to eat it, right...
After chewing it carelessly a few times, Bai He swallowed the fish. Though it was fish, it had none of the usual fishy taste. Instead, it had a faint sweetness that left him wanting more.
The moment the fish entered his stomach, it transformed into a vast surge of vital essence that rapidly spread through his limbs and bones. The amount of essence it contained was almost comparable to the same volume of Saber-Toothed Tiger meat Bai He had once eaten.
Moreover, compared with the Saber-Toothed Tiger meat, the fish also contained a faint yet pure spiritual energy. This made its quality even better than the Saber-Toothed Tiger meat.
After mastering the method of catching fish, Bai He caught several more Silver Scale Spirit Fish from the Underground River. Only after he was nearly full did he begin slowly swimming toward the opposite bank again.
As he climbed onto the bank, the corpse of an Eight-Armed Evil Dragon, towering like a mountain and resembling a small silver mountain range, immediately appeared before him.
Time was the most merciless thing of all!
The Eight-Armed Evil Dragon, once the sea overlord who had shaken Dragon Island and swept through the Forbidden Sea without rival, no longer possessed its former majesty.
Under the cruel erosion of time, its once-powerful dragon body had nearly become nothing but skin and bones. Its dragon scales, once impervious to water and fire and comparable to peerless armor, had also become dull and lifeless, feeling like aged dead skin to the touch.
This Eight-Armed Evil Dragon must have suffered wounds too severe in a bloody battle and ultimately perished here.
Looking at the large and small wounds across the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon's corpse, Bai He silently guessed.
It was clear to see that the ancient ferocious beast's silver horn, once thrusting toward the heavens, had cracked. Many scales had fallen away from its body, exposing the ghastly white bones beneath. Countless sharp bone spikes had been cut down to half their original length, their cross-sections smooth as though severed by a divine weapon. Its tail and several giant arms also showed varying degrees of fractures.
Bai He stared blankly at the colossal beast before him.
This giant beast stood nearly eighty or ninety meters tall, far larger than the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Bai He had seen on Dragon Island. He guessed that its strength in life had already surpassed the Longevity Realm, but who had killed it?
Could it have been...
Bai He seemed to think of something, but then shook his head. This was not something he could touch upon yet.
Feeling the intense yearning of the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul within him, Bai He slowly tore open the scales on the abdomen of the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon's corpse. This was where the agitation was strongest.
After the merciless passage of time, the evil dragon's flesh had long since dried up, and its silver scales and skin had fused together.
"Rip—"
Along with the sound of tearing, a powerful wave of life immediately emerged from the opening. Bai He pulled the tear in the evil dragon's abdomen downward, and a silver crystal core larger than a human head rolled out from within.
This was... a Dragon Crystal?!
Looking at the silver crystal core shimmering with brilliant colored light, Bai He's heart jolted.
He slowly picked up the Dragon Crystal before him. As he felt the powerful life force within it, the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul inside his body immediately boiled over.
"Roar!"
With an angry roar, the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul actually struggled free from Bai He's body and plunged straight into the Dragon Crystal.
At once, a vast torrent of life essence began crazily pouring out of the Dragon Crystal and into Bai He's body.
"Aah!"
Before you continue