Chapter 457: The Siren's Dragon Vein
Chapter 457: The Siren's Dragon Vein
Cang Ya took out a sturdy leather map and pointed to an area on it, "The Cloud Sea Dragon should be somewhere within this range."
Ji Xinghuo studied the map intently.
This was an extremely detailed map of the sea abyss east of the True Dragon Empire, marking thousands of islands of various sizes, as well as dangerous forbidden areas, ocean currents, storms, and other hydrological information.
The location Cang Ya indicated was directly east of the Tianxu Territory, about 180,000 kilometers away.
The area she casually marked on the map didn't seem large, but in reality, it covered an area of over 40 million square kilometers.
It would not be easy to find a Cloud Sea Dragon in such a vast area.
"It won't be easy to find," Ji Xinghuo shook his head as he spoke, his eyes carefully scanning the map and making comparisons, trying to pinpoint the location of the second fragment of the Myriads Symbol Star.
Northeast of the Cloud Sea Dragon, more than 240,000 kilometers away.
That area was already close to the edge of the sea abyss map, devoid of islands, and had very little information marked, almost a blank space.
"It won't be easy," Cang Ya nodded slightly, "But Cloud Sea Dragons have the habit of building their nests at the bottom of the sea, and they rarely stray too far. If we search outward from the last place we encountered it, it will still be much easier than searching aimlessly."
"I don't know much about the sea abyss or the Cloud Sea Dragon, so I'll leave the decision to you." Ji Xinghuo kept his eyes on the map.
Cang Ya noticed his interest in the map and, with a quick glance, handed it over to him, "Here, you can have it."
"Hmm?" Ji Xinghuo was a little puzzled.
"This is the sea abyss map drawn by my Cang Dragon family, compiled from information gathered over thousands of years. It's updated every season and is extremely valuable, so please keep it confidential," Cang Ya instructed.
"What about you, then?" Ji Xinghuo asked.
"I have a spare copy," Cang Ya replied.
"Thank you," Ji Xinghuo said, no longer declining, "I really need this map, and I'll remember this favor."
Cang Ya smiled faintly, "It's just a map, and I'll gladly give you anything as long as you help me tame the Cloud Sea Dragon."
Ji Xinghuo always felt that her words often carried a hidden meaning.
Perhaps it was just his imagination.
Neither of them spoke further.
The Ice Dragon soared at full speed above the sea, cutting through the howling winds.
The dragon's back was wide enough for Ji Xinghuo to focus on studying the map, while Cang Ya sat cross-legged a few steps away, her eyes half-closed as if in meditation, but Ji Xinghuo could sense that she was secretly observing him.
"This woman..." Ji Xinghuo thought to himself, "Could she have taken a liking to me?"
In fact, ever since he obtained the Ancestral Dragon Vein, he had noticed a change.
His luck with women had improved.
Even before, with his exceptional looks, talent, and strength, as well as his status, he had few rivals among the True Dragonfolk, but it wasn't to the extent where every female True Dragonfolk he met was attracted to him, longing to fall into his arms.
There was no need to even mention Tai Cobing, and even Lan Jie sometimes gave him odd looks.
Now, Cang Ya, known as the number one beauty of the Azure Dragon Domain, a genius with countless suitors, was also sending him hints.
"Damn," Ji Xinghuo muttered to himself, "How did I become a male siren, making women go into heat wherever I go?"
He strongly suspected that this was a hidden ability of the Ancestral Dragon Vein, one that only affected female True Dragonfolk.
But perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing, Ji Xinghuo thought to himself. The racial talents of the True Dragonfolk didn't differ much between genders. In the Empire, out of the over 200 Dragon Kings, nearly a third were female, and two of the Five Great Dragon Emperors were women.
Among the Dragon Lords below the seventh stage, the ratio of male to female geniuses and powerful experts was almost one to one.
The True Dragonfolk had no concept of marriage, and this was one of the factors contributing to it.
Male powerful experts had numerous spouses, surrounded by beautiful women, living a carefree and indulgent life; conversely, female powerful experts also had a large number of male companions, enjoying the pleasure of having countless lovers.
If he could rely on his charm to conquer a large number of True Dragonfolk beauties, he could still rise to the top by being a kept man.
"Status and position aren't the key," Ji Xinghuo thought.
"The key is to be handsome!"
His imagination ran wild, "And they should have a good figure, preferably an absolute genius, strong enough to be capable and powerful..."
"What are you thinking about?"
Cang Ya suddenly opened her eyes, a hint of confusion on her face, as she asked the question.
"I'm trying to memorize this map," Ji Xinghuo replied seriously, his face giving nothing away, but his heart skipped a beat, wondering if this woman had the ability to read minds.
"Memorizing the map?" Cang Ya's heart leaped with joy, but she kept her composure and asked, "Are you planning to become a Sea Abyss Hunter and venture into the sea often?"
Ji Xinghuo nodded, "That's a possibility."
From what he could see on the map, the sea abyss was teeming with countless monsters, not only in great numbers but also including those at the Heavenly Disaster level, and even some at the Star Destroyer level.
Moreover, the sea abyss was home to countless treasures.
Although it was much more dangerous than Black Ring Star, the rewards would undoubtedly be greater.
If he could obtain spiritual sources efficiently, Ji Xinghuo did intend to adventure in the sea abyss for a long time.
Cang Ya spoke softly, "After we tame the Cloud Sea Dragon this time, perhaps we can go on adventures together often."
So proactive?
Ji Xinghuo became even more convinced of his siren-like dragon vein, but he certainly couldn't agree to this.
"If the opportunity arises, I would be glad to."
Ji Xinghuo responded ambiguously.
As for what kind of opportunity it would be and whether it would be suitable, he could always find an excuse to refuse later.
Cang Ya was unaware of his thoughts and secretly delighted.
After this exchange, she felt that her relationship with Ji Xinghuo had improved, so she took the initiative to strike up a conversation, imparting her knowledge and experiences as a Sea Abyss Hunter, sharing secrets of the East Emperor Sea Dragon Clan, as well as interesting gossip.
Ji Xinghuo listened attentively.
Instead of displaying indifference, he occasionally asked questions or laughed along, as it would be foolish to give her the cold shoulder when such a stunning beauty was being so proactive.
It was important to cooperate at times like this to improve their relationship.
Day turned to night, and night back to day.
From daytime to starry night, and then back to daytime again.
The Ice Dragon flew continuously for three days and three nights, with the Cang Dragon following closely underwater. The auras of the two dragons spread out, deterring any sea beasts or monsters from daring to attack.
Along the way, they occasionally encountered threatening monsters, which Ji Xinghuo would warn about in advance. To keep up their pace, Cang Ya would intentionally detour around them, avoiding combat.
East of the Xingya Territory lay the Tianxu Territory.
They smoothly passed through the Tianxu Territory, avoiding islands, shipping lanes, and other Dragon Lords or Exotics, entering the vast ocean.
From here on, they had ventured beyond the conventional boundaries of the True Dragon Empire.
As they ventured deeper into the sea abyss, the dangers increased.
After flying continuously for several more days, they had traveled over 30,000 kilometers away from the Tianxu Territory, resting only five times to allow the Ice Dragon to recover its stamina and feed. Meanwhile, the Cang Dragon swam alongside, occasionally eating fish monsters it encountered, its underwater movements barely draining its stamina.
Just as the sky had been clear a moment ago, it suddenly turned dark.
Even before the starry night had set in, the sea was shrouded in boundless clouds, and the Ice Dragon was about to fly into a marine storm.
"Let's rest for a while."
Cang Ya pointed to an island a few dozen kilometers ahead, "Let's restore Bing Shi's stamina before we fly through the storm."
"Alright," Ji Xinghuo agreed.
The Ice Dragon slightly increased its speed, heading toward the island.
A loud rumble...
A deafening thunderclap echoed, and the rain poured down from the sky, mixing with the howling winds, its icy chill stinging their faces, reducing visibility to near zero.
The sea churned with towering waves.
Such a fierce storm was several times more treacherous than oceanic storms on Earth, and although Ji Xinghuo knew it posed no threat to him, he still felt a sense of awe. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to survive even a minute in such an environment.
The Ice Dragon approached the island, which was a huge black reef, extremely hard and barren, with an area of only a few square kilometers.
Boom!
Another loud blast shook the air.
The dark sky suddenly lit up, and Ji Xinghuo turned his head sharply, his peripheral vision catching a glimpse of a shadow flashing by in the clouds.
"There's a monster about to ambush us." He warned.
Cang Ya also noticed, and calmly instructed the Ice Dragon to continue descending, although she had no intention of actually landing on the island.
Ji Xinghuo picked up the Heavenly Fire Dragon Tooth Spear that was by his side, and his electromagnetic senses enveloped the surroundings, scanning at a high frequency within a 200-kilometer radius. Despite the strong storm's influence diminishing his sensitivity, he could still clearly sense any movements.
However, he couldn't detect any monsters.
"Strange..."
Before he could finish that thought, Ji Xinghuo noticed that over two thousand meters above, in the midst of the clouds, space was violently fluctuating, as if being torn apart by countless fissures.
Countless monsters poured out from the void fissures, using the cover of the clouds to rush towards them.
These monsters could fly, yet they resembled fish.
Their bodies were relatively slender, mostly ranging from five to ten meters in length. Their skin was pitch-black and smooth, with silver scales covering their backs. The most distinctive feature was their enormous front fins, which, when spread open, resembled a pair of transparent wings, enabling them to soar through the skies.
"Cicada-Wing Snapper!" Ji Xinghuo recognized this species of monster.
Cang Ya had mentioned them before—a top predator of the sea abyss.
They were a swarm-dwelling species, usually living in water but capable of flight. They could sense the presence of void fissures in the sea abyss and use them to ambush their prey.
Cang Ya's gaze pierced through the stormy clouds as she quickly explained, "It's a swarm of Cicada-Wing Snappers, and there are quite a lot of them. Their leader is at least at the Shock level."
Ji Xinghuo nodded in understanding.
Cicada-Wing Snappers were a force to be reckoned with in the sea abyss, and the more numerous they were, the stronger their leader tended to be.
In just half a minute, over a thousand Cicada-Wing Snappers emerged from the void fissures, with seven or eight of them already at the Flood level or above. To hold back so many high-level monsters, their leader had to be a Shock-level creature!
Indeed, a Cicada-Wing Snapper over forty meters long emerged from the void fissure, possessing three pairs of enormous transparent wings, and its speed was astonishing as it hid within the clouds.
In the midst of the raging storm, countless Cicada-Wing Snappers weaved through the clouds.
They spread out, forming an encirclement.
Ji Xinghuo decisively switched his weapon from the Heavenly Fire Dragon Tooth Spear to the Spirit String Song, and eight shadow clones appeared on the dragon's back, each drawing their bows.
A piercing shrill filled the air.
Dozens of Cicada-Wing Snappers burst out from the clouds, their bloody mouths filled with sharp fangs, as they pounced towards the Ice Dragon with incredible speed.
Almost simultaneously, both Ji Xinghuo and Cang Ya took action.
(End of Chapter)
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