Chapter 498: Chapter 498 Twelve Chinese Zodiac
About an hour later, Yang Xiao and Ben Yin gradually adapted to the night in the valley, sleeping on a huge tree fork while holding onto branches.
Suddenly, a loud roar came from the distance, startling Yang Xiao and Ben Yin to open their eyes abruptly.
Following that, Yang Xiao felt the trunk of the tree trembling slightly, and heavy footsteps could be heard from afar. It seemed like a Giant Beast was moving through the valley, each step giving off a world-shaking sensation.
The two of them didn’t dare to move and just looked up towards the valley afar. Through the gaps between branches, they could indistinctly see a Giant Beast, approximately twenty meters tall, slowly approaching.
Because of the dark night and the distance, Yang Xiao couldn’t see clearly what kind of Monster it was.
A scream followed, seeming to indicate that another monster was trampled to death by that Giant Beast.
The shadow of the Giant Beast appeared to move slowly, but in a moment, it had come within dozens of meters from Yang Xiao, revealed by the moonlight to be a Giant Elephant, over twenty meters tall, its massive body moving slowly but carrying a tyrant’s Killing Aura.
Immediately, the forest erupted with the rustling noises of monsters desperately fleeing, terrified of being caught by this colossal creature.
When the Giant Elephant passed by the large tree where Yang Xiao and Ben Yin were stationed, it suddenly stopped and turned its head to glance at the tree.
Yang Xiao and Ben Yin quickly held their breath.
At this moment, a nearby Giant Eagle let out a sound and, with a powerful flap of its huge wings, took to the sky, circling the nighttime skies.
The Giant Elephant paused, casting a wary glance toward the Giant Eagle in the sky before slowly continuing forward under the tree.
Only when the Giant Elephant had gone far did Yang Xiao and Ben Yin breathe a sigh of relief.
They weren’t afraid of the Giant Elephant itself, but engaging in a battle would likely expose their hiding place in the forest and potentially lead other mutant monsters to chase and disturb them.
Throughout the night in the valley, roars and the sounds of wild beasts fighting echoed, and it wasn’t until the latter half of the night that Yang Xiao and Ben Yin could sleep more peacefully.
Compared to the cave on the edge of Shenlongjia, spending the night here was indeed much more dangerous.
The next morning, after the sun had risen, many wild animals had hidden their tracks, and the valley had become much quieter.
Yang Xiao and Ben Yin jumped down from the tree, ate some food they carried with them, and continued towards the core area of Shenlongjia, hunting Monsters along the way.
The monsters here started to become more powerful, even ordinary spiders and mosquitoes turned gigantic, growing to about ten meters in size, becoming faster, and causing greater damage with their attacks.
Moreover, when such mosquitoes flew over, there would be dozens or even hundreds at a time, sometimes causing Yang Xiao and Ben Yin to be frantically busy, and on several occasions, Yang Xiao almost couldn’t help but draw the Bronze Divine Sword to fight back.
Unless it was a matter of life and death, Yang Xiao would not unsheathe the Bronze Divine Sword.
After trekking towards the core area of Shenlongjia for two continuous days, covering about fifty to sixty kilometers, they encountered a high mountain.
"Yang Xiao, how do we get across this mountain? Climb over?"
"No need, we’ll ride the Giant Eagle straight to the top of the mountain to spend the night today, and tomorrow we’ll ride the Giant Eagle down the other side. It would take us at least a day or two to climb and traverse on foot."
Thus, the two rode the Giant Eagle up to a plateau over a thousand meters high.
The Giant Eagle landed on a flat area atop the peak.
Standing on the mountain’s peak, Yang Xiao beheld a surprising scene,
In the distance was a huge circular valley, surrounded by high mountains, and in the center of the valley, there was an oversized lake, which under the sunset, resembled a gigantic mirror.
Clouds wrapped around the surrounding peaks, which towered into the clouds, and occasionally various giant birds flew in the sky, presenting a surreal scene as if one was in the Jurassic period, witnessing various flying dinosaurs soaring through the air.
"This must be the lake in the core area that the wild man mentioned, right?"
"It should be."
"Standing on the mountain, it looks close, but to get there, it’s probably still about twenty to thirty kilometers."
"I never imagined that deep within the mountains of Shenlongjia, such a huge lake would be hidden. This place has an air of enchanted spirit; if a Divine Dragon appears, it really wouldn’t be surprising."
"I guess dragons are just nonsense, but giant pythons or Flood Dragons are still possible."
"Alright, we will rest here tonight and explore by the lake tomorrow."
The mountain peak wasn’t suitable for large Fierce Beasts to move around, so it was relatively safer here.
Yang Xiao and Ben Yin sat on a large rock atop the mountain, chewing on dry food while enjoying the sunset, and the Giant Eagle nearby indulged itself with a huge lion.
"If there were no apocalypse, secluding oneself here wouldn’t be a bad choice."
Monk Ben Yin sighed.
Yang Xiao laughingly said:
"Establishing a branch of Shaolin Temple here for practicing monastic life sounds pretty good."
"Amitabha, you and I are thinking alike this time. Once you’ve taken control of the entire Northern Province in the future, I’ll come here to build a thatched cottage on this mountain peak. Every day, I would watch the sunrise and sunset from the mountaintop, drink a cup of tea, and live leisurely and happily."
"It’d be even better if there was a nunnery nearby,"
"Pfft!" Ben Yin laughed,
"Aren’t you being a bit too frivolous!"
Spending the night on top of the mountain peak is different from staying in the valley; the mountain top is open with no trees to block the view, allowing Yang Xiao to see a more vast starry sky and a panoramic view of the mountains.
The calls of wild animals in the distance were very faint, unlike the proximity in the valley.
For safety reasons, the two flew up to a huge rock on the mountain peak at night. The rock wall was smooth, making it difficult for large Monsters to climb up. Moreover, with the Giant Eagle guarding nearby, the smaller Monsters dared not come to bother them.
The night passed without incident. Early the next day, while Yang Xiao was still lying in his sleeping bag asleep, he heard Monk Ben Yin shouting beside his ear. Half-awake, he opened his eyes,
"Monk, I was finally having a good sleep, why did you wake me up?"
"Quick, look, a dragon!"
Monk Ben Yin’s tone was excited, and his voice somewhat trembled.
Yang Xiao was startled, instantly wide awake, and sat up, crawled out of the camping sleeping bag, and looked around, asking:
"Where is there a dragon?"
Ben Yin pointed into the distance, excitedly whispering:
"There, over the lake surface, look!"
Yang Xiao followed the direction Monk Ben Yin’s right hand was pointing, and was immediately astonished.
He saw a silver-white Giant Beast dancing up and down in the sky over the distant lake, amidst the ruddy clouds of dawn. It darted into the clouds and out again, playing joyfully.
"Is that, that the legendary dragon?"
Yang Xiao asked excitedly.
"I don’t know, but it looks like it. We’ve never seen a real dragon, but based on the characteristics of a Divine Dragon soaring through clouds and mist, it should be a dragon, right?"
"But it’s too far away, I didn’t bring a telescope."
Hearing this, Ben Yin was taken aback, then laughed:
"You’re right, I knew we should have brought a telescope. I have a question I want to ask you."
"What?"
"Do you know the Twelve Chinese Zodiac of Xuanming Country?"
"No-brainer."
"Then tell me, among the twelve zodiac animals – rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig – these eleven, we can see them all in nature, right?"
"Yeah?"
"So why is the dragon the only one we can’t see?"
"How should I know?"
"Then think about it, why did the ancients choose eleven animals readily seen in everyday life for the zodiac, but also choose a mythical dragon?"
Yang Xiao was taken aback and said,
"Are you implying that when the ancients chose the dragon as a zodiac animal, dragons actually existed?"