Chapter 135

Wu Shaoyi's breathing was still weak, "Are you a government soldier, or one of Lu's rebels?" He Lingchuan picked a black stain from his temple: "Government soldier."

"Not wearing military armor. Not an ordinary foot soldier, right?"

"No." He Lingchuan admired him. He was dying, yet his eyes were still so sharp? "I'm just someone handling things for the team."

He seized the initiative: "Such a great demon, why do you call it the Crocodile God?"

"It came from the Northern Demon Nation to assist the Holy Master. In lake and river battles, as long as it led the crowd, it won nine out of ten battles. The army worshipped it as the Crocodile God and often offered it cattle and sheep. Except for the Holy Master, it never... communicated with humans. Those who offended it, whether friend or foe, would be bitten to death."

So although Wu Shaoyi knew the crocodile demon had intelligence, he had never thought of talking to it.

Empiricism kills.

He Lingchuan thought about it; the south had many marshes, and the rebel army often had to attack water stockades and port cities. "So it was Hong Xiangqian's spirit pet."

"Not a spirit pet." Wu Shaoyi shook his head slowly, "The Holy Master once did it a favor, and it was just returning it, not a superior-subordinate relationship; after the Holy Master passed away, no one saw the Crocodile God again. We all thought it had returned to the north, not expecting it to be with Lu Yao."

Saying this, he let out a long sigh.

If not for the giant crocodile's ambush, he should have cut off Lu Yao's head by now, instead of lying here waiting for death.

He Lingchuan looked at the giant crocodile not far away and suddenly understood how the fish tide rushing toward the lake shore last night had happened. These giant crocodiles clearly weren't as peaceful as the spirit turtle. He estimated that the giant crocodile had come out to forage at that time, and its powerful pressure had scared a large number of aquatic creatures into fleeing wildly.

The fish tide actually signaled the direction it was moving.

In other words, the giant crocodile was swimming toward the shore at that time, and several government soldiers who didn't know any better were bathing in the lagoon; seeing they were about to become a meal for the crocodile, Lu Yao, who didn't want to alert the enemy, went into the water himself to "persuade" this Crocodile King.

As for the giant fish trophy he caught, it was either scared unconscious or stunned by the giant crocodile, right? "By the way, when we retreated earlier, I don't know what magic weapon Lu Yao used to ambush us, shattering my shield and killing my mount. I fell off the cliff, and that thing actually chased after me!" He Lingchuan still felt lingering fear thinking about it, "If we go out, I don't know if we'll be ambushed again."

"You didn't see clearly?"

"It was fast, just a white shadow, it seemed to be... an arrow?" He Lingchuan wasn't sure.

"Ghost Eye Bow." Wu Shaoyi muttered, "A treasure in the Holy Master's hands; it turns out it was also obtained by Lu Yao."

"What is that?"

"An arrow that can automatically pursue and injure people; it's shot from the Ghost Eye Bow," Wu Shaoyi explained to him, "If it misses once, it can still strike twice more, also known as the Three Consecutive Arrows."

"Three times in total?" He Lingchuan felt slightly relieved, "Are you sure?"

"As you said, it shattered the shield, killed the mount, and shot at you once under the cliff. Three times completed; you should be safe now."

Speaking of which, when He Lingchuan went to strip the giant turtle, he found the divine bone necklace on his chest flashing red.

Was this predicting treasure on the turtle's body?

But after searching the inside and outside of the turtle thoroughly, the divine bone necklace was still glowing, which was strange.

Did it mean there was some hidden treasure on the turtle that he hadn't discovered?

It was time to leave, but He Lingchuan still couldn't rest easy and went for another walk around the giant turtle.

He noticed the red light was sometimes strong, sometimes weak, as if it changed according to his position.

Wu Shaoyi asked him: "What are you doing?"

"Wait, something seems wrong." If the red light of the divine bone necklace predicted distance, then the giant turtle was right in front of him, so it shouldn't have any changes.

Did it mean there was an abnormality nearby? He Lingchuan searched everywhere with a candle and finally found a gray clam shell near the turtle's foot, hidden in a depression in the stone wall,

smaller than a coconut. Under this light, someone with poor eyesight wouldn't have discovered it at all.

Was it food left over by the Water Spirit? It didn't look like it. The giant turtle had a big mouth; wouldn't it chew such a clam to pieces in one bite? He reached out to pry the clam shell, but couldn't pry it open.

This thing was hard-mouthed.

The giant crocodile, which hadn't rested enough, suddenly spoke: "What are you doing?"

He Lingchuan could only say: "There seems to be something else here." Since it could make the divine bone necklace glow, it should be a treasure, and he didn't want to miss it.

The crocodile demon flicked its tail, causing the pool water to splash with a *hua-la* sound: "There's a cave dwelling behind the dead turtle."

Both were stunned: "What?"

"It occupied a cave dwelling. Otherwise, why would it build a nest in such a dark and small place?" The crocodile demon said, "I waited outside the cave dwelling for half a day before catching this turtle when it crawled out."

"Cave dwelling? A cave dwelling that only immortals possess in legends. Are you sure?"

"Why don't you go in and see for yourself?"

This news was far more shocking than the existence of the giant turtle and the Crocodile God itself. He Lingchuan was full of curiosity and walked behind the giant turtle, reaching out to touch the stone wall.

Of the immortal legends he had heard, he had heard at least eighty or a hundred; they all said that immortals had the ability to reach the heavens and move the earth. So, the cave dwelling of an immortal must be very extraordinary, right? He had to pay his respects immediately.

The uneven stone wall was very solid; he knocked on it, and it was hollow.

Was this how an immortal's cave dwelling was opened? He had no experience. The crocodile demon pointed out to him: "There's a shell in the corner; kick it."

Oh, this gray clam shell wasn't for prying, but for kicking?

Who could have thought of that?

He reached out and kicked it, and the clam shell opened its mouth. At the same time, water ripples seemed to sway on the stone wall, and then an opening appeared.

Light shone through it.

The crocodile demon closed its eyes and said: "Go in; it's very safe inside." It had, of course, been inside before.

Only then did He Lingchuan feel safe walking in.

Inside, it looked like a small courtyard on a mountain behind a house. The sky was gray, neither bright nor dark.

The mountain rocks had traces of water erosion from many years; it seemed it was originally a water pool, but now there wasn't a single drop of water; the ground was bare, the plants had long since withered, and only a few bits of grass stems stuck to the cracked earth, unrecognizable.

Only the small courtyard looked complete, but its shape was completely different from any He Lingchuan had ever seen. It should have been exceptionally elegant, as he saw a bit of gold tracing under the eaves, but the wall plaster had peeled off in many places.

There were dragging marks on the sandy ground, and the fence had collapsed halfway; judging by the look of it, it was either the giant turtle or the crocodile demon that had done it.

He Lingchuan walked into the small courtyard; the door was open, and all kinds of furniture inside were complete, but some had also been knocked over. There were scrolls everywhere, and a skeleton sat on a meditation cushion on the first floor.

He Lingchuan couldn't understand the characters on the book covers. He picked one up at random, but as soon as his fingertips touched the cover, the whole book turned to ash.

That's it?

This was an immortal's cave dwelling? How was it so different from the ethereal, auspicious-light-filled immortal aura he had imagined? The dust was very choking, and He Lingchuan endured the urge to sneeze, fearing that he would blow away all the other scrolls here at once.

Reading books was out of the question, so he squatted down to examine the skeleton on the meditation cushion.

(End of chapter)