Chapter 00135: Immortal... Immortal's Cave
# Immortal... Immortal's Cave?
Chapter 135
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 135: Immortal...
Immortal's Cave?
Wu Shaoyi's breath was still weak, "Are you an official soldier, or a subordinate of the Lu bandits?"
He Lingchuan plucked a piece of black stain from his temple, "Official soldier."
"No military armor. You’re not an ordinary foot soldier, are you?"
"No." He Lingchuan admired.
Even on the brink of death, his eyes were still so sharp? "I'm just someone handling affairs with the team."
He took over the initiative, "Why do you call such a great monster the Crocodile God?"
"It comes from the Northern Demon Kingdom, assisting the Holy Master. In lake and river battles, as long as it leads the charge, we win nine out of ten times. The army worships it as the Crocodile God, often offering sacrificial cattle and sheep to it. Besides the Holy Master, it usually... never communicates with people. Anyone who offends it, regardless of friend or foe, will be bitten to death."
Thus, even though Wu Shaoyi knew that the Crocodile Demon had intelligence, he had never thought of conversing with it.
Empiricism can be deadly.
He Lingchuan thought for a moment; the South had many marshes, and the Bu Xin Rebel Army indeed often attacked water forts and port cities.
"So it’s Hong Xiangqian's spirit pet."
"Not a spirit pet."
Wu Shaoyi shook his head slowly, "The Holy Master once had grace towards it; it’s merely a matter of sentiment, not a master-servant relationship. After the Holy Master passed away, no one has seen the Crocodile God again. We all thought it returned to the North, but unexpectedly, it has allied with Lu Yao."
At this point, he sighed deeply.
If it weren't for the giant crocodile's ambush, he should have already severed Lu Yao's head, instead of lying here waiting to die.
He Lingchuan glanced at the giant crocodile not far away and suddenly understood how the fish tide rushing towards the lake last night occurred.
These giant crocodiles were clearly not as peaceful as the Spirit Turtle.
It was likely that the giant crocodile came out to hunt, and its powerful pressure scared a large number of aquatic creatures into a frenzied escape.
The fish tide actually indicated its direction of movement.
In other words, at that time, the giant crocodile was swimming towards the shore, while several unaware official soldiers were bathing in the lagoon, about to become a delicious meal in the crocodile's mouth.
Unexpectedly, Lu Yao, who did not want to alert the snake by beating the grass, personally entered the water to "advise" this Crocodile King.
As for the giant fish spoils he caught, they were either stunned by the giant crocodile or knocked unconscious, right?
"By the way, when we retreated just now, I don't know what magical artifact Lu Yao used to ambush us, causing my shield and horse to explode. When I fell off the cliff, that thing actually chased after me!" He Lingchuan recalled, still feeling a lingering fear, "If we go out, I wonder if we will be ambushed again."
"You didn't see clearly?"
"It was very fast, just a white shadow, seemed like... an arrow?" He Lingchuan was not very sure.
"Ghost Eye Bow."
Wu Shaoyi murmured, "The treasure in the Holy Master's hands has also fallen into Lu Yao's possession."
"What is that?"
"It’s an arrow that can autonomously pursue and injure. It is shot from the Ghost Eye Bow."
Wu Shaoyi explained to him, "If it misses, it can strike two more times, also known as one arrow three strikes."
"A total of three times?" He Lingchuan felt slightly relieved, "Are you sure?"
"As you said, it exploded the shield, killed the horse, and shot you once at the cliff. Three strikes completed, you should be safe now."
Speaking of which, when He Lingchuan went to pry the giant turtle, he noticed that the divine bone necklace on his chest was flickering with red light.
Does this indicate that there is treasure on the turtle's body?
But after searching inside and out, the divine bone necklace was still glowing, which was strange.
Does it mean there is some hidden treasure on the turtle's body that he hasn't discovered?
It was time to leave, but He Lingchuan was still uneasy and went around the giant turtle once more.
He found that the red light sometimes grew strong, sometimes weak, as if it changed according to his position.
Wu Shaoyi asked him, "What are you doing?"
"Wait, something seems off."
If the strength of the red light from the divine bone necklace indicates distance, then the giant turtle is right in front of him; it shouldn't have any changes.
Could it be that there is something abnormal nearby?
He Lingchuan held up a candle and searched everywhere, finally discovering a gray clam shell not far from the turtle's foot, hidden in a crevice of the stone wall, slightly smaller than a coconut.
In this light, someone with poor vision would not be able to find it at all.
Is it leftover food from a water spirit? It doesn’t seem like it.
The giant turtle has a big mouth; wouldn’t it chew and eat such a clam in one bite?
He reached out to pry the clam shell, but surprisingly, he couldn't budge it.
This thing is tough.
The giant crocodile, which had not rested enough, suddenly spoke, "What are you doing?"
He Lingchuan could only say, "It seems there is something else here."
Something that could make the divine bone necklace glow should be a treasure; he didn’t want to miss it.
The Crocodile Demon flicked its tail, causing the water in the pool to splash, "There is a cave behind the dead turtle."
Both of them were stunned, "What?"
"It occupies a cave. Otherwise, this place is dark and small; why would it build a nest?" the Crocodile Demon said, "I waited outside the cave for half a day before catching this turtle coming out."
"A cave? A cave that only immortals are said to possess. Are you sure?"
"Don't you know if you go in and take a look?"
This news was far more shocking than the existence of the giant turtle or the Crocodile God itself.
He Lingchuan was filled with curiosity, walked to the back of the giant turtle, and reached out to touch the stone wall.
He had heard many legends about immortals, not less than eighty, all saying that immortals possess the ability to traverse heaven and earth.
Therefore, the cave of an immortal must also be extraordinary, right?
He needed to hurry and pay his respects.
The uneven stone wall was very solid; when he knocked on it, it sounded hollow.
Is this how a cave opens? He had never seen such a thing.
The Crocodile Demon pointed out to him, "There’s a shell in the corner; kick it."
Oh, this gray clam shell is not for prying but for kicking?
Who would have thought of that?
He stretched out his foot and kicked it, and the clam shell opened its mouth.
At the same time, it seemed as if ripples of water spread across the stone wall, and then an opening appeared.
Light shone through.
The Crocodile Demon closed its eyes and said, "Go in; it’s very safe inside."
It had certainly been in before.
Upon hearing this, He Lingchuan felt reassured and walked in.
Inside was like a small courtyard on a back mountain.
The sky was gray, neither bright nor dark.
The stones showed signs of long-term water erosion; it seemed it was originally a water pool, but now there wasn’t a drop of water; the ground was bare, with plants long dead, only a few grass stems clinging to the cracked earth, unrecognizable.
Only the small courtyard looked quite intact, but its shape was completely different from what He Lingchuan had seen before.
It should have been extraordinarily luxurious, as he saw a bit of gilding remaining under the eaves, but the wall plaster had mostly peeled off.
The sandy ground had traces of dragging, and the fence had collapsed halfway; it seemed to have been done by either the giant turtle or the Crocodile God.
He Lingchuan entered the small courtyard; the door was open, and inside there were various pieces of furniture, though some had been knocked over.
Scrolls were scattered everywhere, and on a mat on the first floor sat a skeleton.
The text on the book covers was incomprehensible to He Lingchuan.
He casually picked up one, and as soon as his fingertip touched the cover, the entire book turned to ash.
Is this it?
This is the immortal's cave? Why does it seem so different from the ethereal and auspicious light he had imagined?
The dust was pungent; He Lingchuan held back a sneeze, fearing that he would blow away the other scrolls here.
Reading was out of the question; he squatted down to examine the skeleton on the mat.
(End of Chapter)