Mountain Patrol Military Officer

"No! I hear a lot of the Water Clan have been dispatched, but these little demons can't grasp more information."

"Then it seems I must take a trip to the Dragon Pond; we can't let these guys break the rules."

"Otherwise, when they start raging, causing flood dragons to roam, mountains to collapse, and earth to crack, it would implicate even more."

"Lord, there's danger in this, think thrice!" His subordinate's face showed surprise, then quickly advised; that place truly is a dragon's den with flood dragons capable of roaming. The lord wouldn't be able to handle it, and going there would earn no face.

That Old Flood Dragon is mighty in Divine Skills and has strong backing.

However, You Qingfeng waved his hand, "No worries, anyway, that Old Flood Dragon sent an invitation. I originally didn't want to go, but going now would be no issue!"

Just then, a voice suddenly spoke beside You Qingfeng's ear,

"That's quite right, you all lead the way for me!"

"Who?" Hearing the voice, You Qingfeng's face turned stern, looking around.

At this moment, a streak of flowing light descended from the sky, stopping seven or eight feet above You Qingfeng.

The light revealed a large group of troops standing on mysterious light; these men, numbering in the hundreds, were all elite troops of the Dragon Taming Mansion.

Leading them was Gou Yue, wearing golden armor and shimmering in Divine Light, exuding formidable power and surrounded in radiant light.

Behind him, the Dragon Taming Prefecture wore thin battle armor, bearing an imposing manner, addressing You Qingfeng,

"General You, this is Lord Gou, the Three Road Inspection Envoy. Quickly pay your respects."

Gou Yue waved his hand, his voice like thunder,

"Enough with idle talk, I just heard that the scourge from Bailong River sent men downstream to capture people."

You Qingfeng's expression changed in shock, feeling the overwhelming presence from Gou Yue in golden armor, dismounting clumsily and uncertain about the situation, yet he earnestly bowed and answered,

"Subordinate greets the lord; the lord heard correctly. Someone killed the Third Prince of Bailong River, and a large number of Water Clan went downstream to capture people."

"The so-called Third Prince? Killed, so be it." Gou Yue snorted coldly, then laughed darkly,

"Capture people? That's like a death wish!"

Just as Xu Shaoqing said, casually killing one self-satisfied little bug on the way, soon a swarm of bugs showed off. Better to wipe them out in one go.

"Seems like Bailong River doesn't need to exist anymore!"

Saying this, he raised his hand towards a tributary of Bailong River below.

Under the moonlight, the Water Demons made waves, and the surface of the river surged violently.

The raging Water Demons seemed unable to withstand the pressure, bursting into blood with a boom, like water balloons being squeezed.

Then, the river split open, revealing land within!

Splitting the river into land!

You Qingfeng's pupils contracted.

"Lead the way!"

......

Meanwhile, elsewhere, in the mountains beside Chencang Road, 400 miles southeast of Dragon Taming Pass, a campfire was lit.

This was a flat area halfway up the mountain, two or three miles from the official road.

The firewood crackled, and there was the sizzling sound of oil dripping.

Clearly visible, there were two large barbecue racks built from rough wood over the fire.

On one, a fat catfish over twenty feet long was skewered, its skin tightening and exuding silvery-gray elasticity from the blazing fire, enticing oil dripping onto the fire below, causing flames to leap up.

On another wooden skewer, there was a string of snow-white crystalline fresh meat with patterns resembling snowflakes, like white jade, shimmering with a faint glow and releasing a mouthwatering aroma under the fire.

Beside the campfire, Gongsun Yang, with his bamboo hat hanging around his neck, stoked the fire while performing a small spell to rotate the grills, ensuring the food was evenly cooked.

Then, with knife skills, he sliced off pieces of roasted meat, sending them flying onto prepared plates.

Behind, a few horses leisurely stepped through the grass, sniffing here and there, with a cart in tow.

Beside the cart, two figures sat at a long low table laden with fruits, wine, and snacks.

It was Chen Yuan and Xu Liang from Taichang Temple, resting here.

They were about 500 miles from their destination at Lai Feng Prefecture on Chencang Road, the gateway to Guanzhong!

Like Dragon Taming Pass in the northwest, which is the gateway to North Pass. The term the Three Qin Lands refers to Southern Pass, North Pass, and Guanzhong.

Chen Yuan's route to the Central Plains would go straight to Guanzhong, and Dragon Taming Pass was not a necessary part of their journey, going there would head north.

At this moment, Gongsun Yang served the freshly roasted meat onto the table.

One kind was fish with skin, the other was snake meat.

Both were harvested from demons slain along the road today, considered "local specialties."

Chen Yuan's gaze fell on a piece of catfish meat, with faint chaotic demonic energy inside, he smiled, lifted a cup, sipped the wine, then tasted the fish, which was tender and quite good.

As for that trace of chaotic demonic energy, it was incinerated into ash under the volcanic furnace within him.

Xu Liang glanced at Chen Yuan, smirking, "General Chen, you've dealt with many demons, so you must have tasted lots of demon flesh. I thought you'd disdain this low-level flesh."

Chen Yuan gave a noncommittal response, leaning casually with one hand on the ground, "Just blending in; I've killed countless demons in Shu, tasted enough from Heavenly Pass to Martial Vault, even Dragon and Tiger's flesh."

He glanced sideways at an upright Xu Shaoqing across from him, "One day when Xu Shaoqing and I become trusting comrades, I shall host a dragon-tiger feast and drink heartily with him!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Liang's eyelid twitched slightly, a dragon-tiger feast?

This Chen Longhu certainly wasn't bragging; indeed, he had slain actual Dragon Tiger Demons.

Though his words had a point, implying Xu Liang had more to reveal.

Xu Liang's expression shifted briefly, then returned to normal, his gaze on the catfish meat, changing the topic, "A mere catfish spirit tracking us, seems the aftermath of the Third Prince was handled by the General's old servant."

"But it lost the trail, likely those guys are frantically searching now!"

Chen Yuan raised his cup, nonchalantly saying, "Perfect time to rest, let's see how Gou Inspection Envoy fares!"

Xu Liang nodded, without any pressure, raising his cup too, "Indeed, it should be soon."

Just as he finished speaking, a silver streak of flowing light flashed in the sky above the dense forest, shooting quickly downwards towards Xu Liang's head.

Xu Liang's brow moved slightly, capturing the silver light in his grasp from a distance, pressing it onto his brow, and closing his eyes.

After two or three breaths, he opened his eyes, sharp as if doting ink.

"Lord Gou has made his move!"

"But that Old Flood Dragon isn't so simple."

"What do you mean?" Chen Yuan's interest was piqued.

Subsequently, Xu Liang relayed in detail the information from Gou Yue's message, including how that Old Flood Dragon used to be the Mountain Guardian Beast of a Grotto Heaven in Dragon Ridge.

So it was a flood dragon raised by someone from the Grotto Heaven!

Hearing this, Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly, "Interesting, no wonder this dragon lived for six hundred years!"

According to what was heard, this dragon wreaked havoc, becoming a hegemon in Dragon Ridge, is not caught or killed, thanks to this connection, everything made sense.

A flood dragon, just a step away from becoming a True Dragon, but six hundred years could be counted as not ordinary.

He recalled owing a significant favor to the Northern Sea Dragon Girl, he wondered if the Primordial Spirit Blood and Flesh of this flood dragon would be of use to her.

As Chen Yuan pondered this, he suddenly sensed something, and then the golden slits at his brow lustered with golden light, suddenly opening, looking into the dark night below the mountain.

Within, golden light flowed, an image flickered.

He saw several figures fleeing amidst the dense mountain forest, in a dire state.

"Why is it them?"

Chen Yuan was surprised; weren't they escaping towards Shu?

He recognized these figures.

Among them was the woman who took righteous action in the morning and struck down the Green Fish Monster with a sword, seemingly surnamed Chu!