Chapter 497: Chapter 497: Shenlongjia, Not Shennongjia (3 Updates)
Surrounding the bonfire, Elder Shitou was the oldest among the barbarians. He got up, walked to another barbecue bonfire in the distance, and called over an even older barbarian.
This barbarian was hunched over, his hair and eyebrows had turned gray and spotty.
"This is the oldest barbarian in our tribe, he is called Elder Tree Stump. Elder Tree Stump, tell the God about the legend of the dragon in the core area of Shenlongjia."
Elder Tree Stump looked at Yang Xiao, bowed immediately, and said:
"God, there is indeed a dragon in the core area of Shenlongjia. Ever since I can remember, our barbarians have been forbidden from approaching the lake in the core area,
Once, while chasing a big deer, our tribe crossed through a canyon and entered the core area. At that time, the deer kept running forward, and we, in our eagerness, all forgot the prohibition against entering the core area of Shenlongjia.
At that time, I was running at the very back of the group, because I had injured my leg fighting with a wild boar earlier that day and was running slow, falling behind.
When I emerged from the canyon, I suddenly saw a giant dragon flying in from the distance. It opened its massive mouth and devoured all my companions who were in pursuit of the deer,
Terrified, I hurried back the way I came, fortunately, the giant dragon didn’t pursue me—perhaps it didn’t see me—I was able to escape back."
Yang Xiao and Monk Ben Yin, listening to this, were as if they were hearing mythological tales.
Suddenly, the old barbarian added another sentence,
"Shenlongjia, Shenlongjia, we barbarians have always called this place Shenlongjia, not the Shennongjia that the outside humans refer to."
A difference of a single word can greatly change the meaning.
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao’s heart skipped a beat, damn, that makes so much sense!
If there really is a dragon in Shenlongjia, then after the apocalyptic genetic mutations, that dragon’s genes must have evolved as well, probably acquiring even more powerful capabilities.
A wicked thought suddenly popped into Yang Xiao’s mind—what if he killed that dragon, would there be any chances of high-level weapons and equipment or Skill Cultivation Method manuals dropping?
Monk Ben Yin, looking at Yang Xiao, said:
"Amitabha, one doesn’t die if one doesn’t seek death, are you really planning to seek death?"
Yang Xiao laughed:
"As a monk, you should be detached from life and death, don’t you want to see a real dragon in your lifetime?"
Ben Yin: "..."
After lunch, Yang Xiao and Monk Ben Yin rode on the Giant Eagle, flying into the middle area of Shenlongjia, and started another round of monster slaying.
"Brother Ben Yin, we won’t return to the cave to rest this time, we should find a suitable cave nearby to spend the night, so we don’t waste time going back and forth."
"Yang Xiao, are you really going to look for the dragon in the core area of Shenlongjia?"
"Why not?"
"Alright, if you’re really set on going, you could call Gong Yu, Lan Xin, and the others to join. With everyone forming a group, the risk would be much less."
"No, Gong Yu and the others now have an important mission. They need to take over Xiangfan City. I’ve left it completely in Gong Yu’s hands, and right now, he needs Lan Xin, Xiao Lan, Ben Guo, and the others more than I do. Besides, they wouldn’t be much use if they came along."
Helplessly, Ben Yin said:
"Well, if you insist on seeking death, I, as a monk, will have to risk my life to accompany you, Amitabha!"
"Fuck, the moment you refer to yourself as ’this old monk,’ I get the creeps."
Ben Yin rolled his eyes: "@#￥%"
The two talked and laughed, with the giant eagle coordinating above, killing their way forward.
As evening approached and the sun threatened to set, neither had found a place to stay. Within this primitive forest, the monster levels they encountered during the day were nearly at the enhanced gene advanced level, and it was absolutely impossible to spend the night on the ground.
"What do we do, Yang Xiao?"
Yang Xiao surveyed the surrounding valleys, truly finding nowhere suitable to stay. Looking up, he saw towering trees around with diameters of 2-3 meters. Not far off was an exceptionally thick tree, about 4-5 meters in diameter and over thirty meters tall.
Yang Xiao said:
"How about we spend the night in the treetops? That tree is sturdy enough that general monsters shouldn’t notice us; it should be relatively safe. The giant eagle can also rest atop the tree."
"Can the treetop accommodate the giant eagle?"
"If not, we’ll break the surrounding crowns. The giant eagle can perch on the thick branches. There shouldn’t be a problem."
"Alright, let’s just spend the night in the treetop then. Sigh, as I’ve said, you don’t die if you don’t seek death, but I always feel like you’re courting disaster."
Monk Ben Yin wore an expression of resignation.
Yang Xiao couldn’t be bothered to argue with him, always feeling that Ben Yin didn’t quite fit the mold of a monk, tempted to tell him he’s violated the Buddhist precept against anger. But in the end, he refrained from saying it.
Yang Xiao stood at the base of the large tree, performing qinggong, his body soaring into the air, leaping over twenty meters up the trunk to set his feet on hefty branches, before leaping further up to about thirty meters off the ground. He found a spot where stout branches crisscrossed, plopped himself down on a large fork, and after testing it, he felt it was very stable. Spending the night should be no problem.
Looking up at the crown, it seemed there were another dozen or so meters to go, but the leaves were dense and the branches thinner. It was still safer to stay seated here.
Monk Ben Yin also leapt up, finding a large fork near Yang Xiao to sit on.
The giant eagle found a relatively smaller tree nearby, about a dozen meters away, and settled on the crown.
The sound of snapping branches could be heard—"crack, crack"—as the smaller branches at the top of the tree were crushed in large numbers until it finally found a sturdier branch that could bear its massive body.
Yang Xiao and Gong Yu took out their dried meat and sat on the tree fork, eating slowly. The giant eagle had already devoured a wild ox in the evening and was quite full now.
Night had fallen, enshrouding the valley.
A crescent moon hung in the sky, its moonlight quite pure. After initially adjusting to the dark environment of the forest, the two, with their genetically evolved sharp vision, could see vague objects within a hundred meters.
Through the gaps in the canopy above, Yang Xiao could see scattered stars in the night sky. Compared to before the apocalypse, he had rarely seen such a clear night sky, where the stars shone so brilliantly.
Without industrial pollution, without smog, even the starlight seemed brighter.
The two dared not speak, fearing they might startle the monsters in the valley.
Not long into the night, the valley was filled with the alternating roars of monsters, the sounds of skirmishes, and cries of agony. Some noises seemed to be very close by, occasionally accompanied by a slight trembling of the earth.
"Fuck, the valley at night is indeed dangerous; the monsters lurking during the day have all come out to hunt."
The two were silent, quietly sensing the movements of the valley. Although both had decent cultivation, being in a valley teeming with beasts, they couldn’t help feeling tense inside.
(End of the third update, thanks to book friend Greyking for tipping 100 Qidian Coins, thank you for the support)