Chapter 646: Observing Causes Heart Palpitations, Seeing Causes Spiritual Movement

Ji Yuan spoke, though inwardly he couldn't determine what kind of strange beasts these were. They looked utterly unfamiliar at first glance, and besides their mournful roars, they showed no desire for communication, only attacking the dragons like ferocious predators.

Including the two red glows that the old Yellow Dragon had previously swatted back into the darkness below, Ji Yuan counted a total of twelve attacking strange beasts. The one he had just observed was merely one with more prominent features. In reality, while these creatures appeared similar, each possessed distinct differences: some resembled fish more closely, others snakes, and still others, land animals.

At most, twenty to thirty of the three hundred flood dragons were actively engaged in combat with these strange beasts; the rest had dispersed due to space limitations. Given the circumstances, their inherent draconic nature inclined them towards close-quarters combat.

"Roar..."

One flood dragon, bitten directly on its abdomen by a strange beast, let out a painful roar. Demonic energy surged through its body, creating massive underwater whirlpools. Unable to dislodge the glowing red monster, the flood dragon, enraged, fiercely contracted its body, coiling tightly around the beast with a dragon-binding technique, intending to crush it to death.

"Crackle... crackle..."

The flood dragon's powerful constriction was terrifying. The strange beast emitted a grating, teeth-clenching sound, like rusty springs being pulled tighter and tighter.

"Woooo... wuwah—"

Blood burst from the strange beast's mouth, but upon contact with water, it ignited. When it splashed onto the flood dragon, the dragon couldn't help but let out a tremendous shriek of agony.

"Roar... It's burning, burning me alive!"

The flood dragon, in immense pain, immediately released its grip on the strange beast. Where the blood-fire had touched its body, faint flames still flickered, and its scales were charred. Its demonic light suddenly flared, continuously gathering water essence to suppress the flames.

The fight had lasted only a dozen breaths, but the strange beast's igniting blood prompted Ji Yuan and the Dragon Sovereigns to stop observing. Gong Rong sneered as he watched the melee.

"Mere wild beasts, yet they haven't been subdued after all this time."

After speaking, he entered the fray directly in his human form, parting the water. Dark red dragon shadows followed him. As he swung his sleeves, these shadows appeared to claw and sweep with their tails, pushing back and clearing away several strange beasts, while also driving the surrounding flood dragons, who had been entangled in combat, further outwards.

However, during this process, Gong Rong, controlling the dragon shadows in his human form, not only separated the flood dragons from the strange beasts but also seemed to create peculiar whirlpools in the water in his wake. These whirlpools subtly gathered white light, slowly dragging the strange beasts towards him, making it impossible for them to move flexibly, let alone escape.

"Roar—"

Dragon Sovereign Gong Rong's roar echoed.

"Boom..."

Centered on Gong Rong's position, it was as if a depth charge had exploded. Infinite dragon energy and demonic energy burst forth. In Ji Yuan's eyes, the epicenter of the explosion sent out ripples of white light. In that instant, its power covered a thousand-zhang radius, stopping just at the outer circle of flood dragons, encompassing all the strange beasts around him. The resulting shockwave caused the entire sea area to violently tremble.

The few strange beasts at the center were instantly severely wounded, while those on the periphery had their scales shattered and could barely maintain their balance in the current.

There was no need for Ji Yuan and the other Dragon Sovereigns to intervene. Ji Yuan thought for a moment, then raised his right hand. The golden Immortal Binding Rope, emitting an enchanting divine light, moved like a spiritual snake in the water, forming loops. It flew past several strange beasts that were struggling to move, and in an instant, the rope tightened, binding them all.

"Legend says that during the last Immortal Gathering Assembly, a formidable rope-like artifact appeared. Could this be it?"

Huang Yurong's dragon eyes, like two giant lanterns, stared ahead, his attention having shifted from the strange beasts to the magical artifact Ji Yuan had used. He couldn't help but ask.

"Indeed, it is that strange rope artifact, named the Immortal Binding Rope."

Old Dragon Ying Hong smiled as he answered Huang Yurong, a hint of pride on his face. After all, he had also participated in forging this treasure, which was a great source of pride for the dragon race, who were not particularly skilled in artifact crafting.

The Immortal Binding Rope was sentient and required no further instructions from Ji Yuan. After binding three beasts, it continuously extended, securing each of the dazed strange beasts around it. Some beasts spat out blood-like flames, but they had no effect on the rope. Once bound, the creatures were instantly immobilized.

A moment later, excluding the three strange beasts that had already died, the remaining seven were all bound by the Immortal Binding Rope. The two that Huang Yurong's dragon claws had previously struck into the deep sea were nowhere to be found; several flood dragons had dived down to search, but it was unknown if they would be found.

The turbulence in the water gradually subsided. Over a dozen flood dragons collectively performed a water purification technique, quickly clearing the murky sea within a few kilometers. The water became so transparent it was almost like the clear, ethereal water found in dragon palaces. The flood dragons then gathered around again, looking at the bodies of the three strange beasts and the seven others bound by the Immortal Binding Rope.

Ji Yuan and the four Dragon Sovereigns, now in human form, stood closest, all frowning in confusion as they observed the strange beasts.

"Although these beasts possess strong demonic energy, they don't quite seem like true demons."

"Indeed. Look at these two; their bodies are covered in tumor-like growths, utterly devoid of any aesthetic appeal."

As soon as Dragon Sovereign Qing You spoke, Ji Yuan and the other three instinctively looked at him, then shifted their gaze back to the strange beasts.

Ying Hong pointed at several of the beasts, whose bodies were oozing blood and intermittently erupting in small flames.

"These flames are quite unusual; they can burn a flood dragon's body even underwater. And these creatures, neither fully demon nor fully beast, appear to possess some intelligence, yet they cannot speak human language and may not even comprehend consequences. How strange that they dared to charge directly into our dragon group and even managed to fight flood dragons! By the way, Mr. Ji, you truly don't recognize what these are?"

The old dragon looked at Ji Yuan as he spoke, believing Ji Yuan was the only one who might recognize these creatures. Ji Yuan, after frowning in thought, shook his head slightly.

"I believe these strange beasts might have inherent problems with their physical development. Please forgive my limited knowledge, but I cannot identify them."

He had heard of too many strange mythological creatures in his previous life, but Ji Yuan didn't remember everything. He felt that these creatures must exist somewhere, but he couldn't name them; it was also possible they were mutations or deformities themselves.

"In any case, let's keep them confined for now. Shall we continue our journey? We should be close!"

"Yes, let's do as Mr. Ji says."

Ying Hong responded, and the other Dragon Sovereigns had no objections.

Ji Yuan nodded, then raised his sleeve. The Immortal Binding Rope flew over with the strange beasts, directly entering his sleeve.

Ji Yuan then looked at the three dead strange beasts and noticed that, unusually for dragons, none of them touched the bodies. It seemed even dragons, who typically devour any demon, found these suspicious creatures repulsive. So, Ji Yuan waved his sleeve again, collecting them into his sleeve.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the flood dragons who had gone to search for the initial two strange beasts returned. They hadn't brought the beasts back, as they were already gone, presumably having escaped.

Ji Yuan and the others didn't delay further because of this. The appearance of such monsters suggested that something unusual was afoot, even to the flood dragons, indicating they must be close to their destination.

During the subsequent journey, the dragon group was no longer as relaxed as before; they were on high alert. After all, this area was arguably uncharted by dragons. As the group moved, they occasionally detected strange shadows darting through the dark ocean, though most fled into the distance. After chasing them a few times initially, the flood dragons stopped being distracted and continued to swim rapidly in the direction Ji Yuan guided.

At this moment, the feather in Ji Yuan's hand glowed intensely. Even Ji Yuan felt a slight burning sensation while holding it. He simply switched it to his left hand, and sure enough, his left hand, having endured the tempering and torment of heavenly lightning tribulations, felt much more comfortable holding it.

However, after another month, they still seemed far from their destination. Furthermore, some dragons in the group began to "fall ill." This illness manifested strangely: some flood dragons' scales started turning yellowish, and even in the ocean, they became extremely thirsty but didn't want to drink the surrounding murky seawater. They could only quench their thirst by performing water condensation and purification spells. Later, it was discovered that water essence continuously gathered on their bodies, protecting them. However, constant spellcasting with increasing mana consumption became a problem. The flood dragons had been at sea for nearly two years, constantly traveling and performing detection spells, and were already very fatigued, so the number of affected flood dragons began to increase.

Left with no choice, the Dragon Sovereigns ordered over two hundred flood dragons to retreat to a comfortable resting place and await their return to continue the journey together.

Thus, only one hundred flood dragons remained with Ji Yuan and the others, along with the four increasingly curious Dragon Sovereigns.

In the eighth month of Ji Yuan's guided journey, the dragon group's speed slowed down again because the area ahead was growing increasingly hot, making the flood dragons more and more uncomfortable.

"The temperature here is so high, the seawater should have boiled long ago. Why isn't the water boiling, and why are there no volcanic fissures?"

Huang Yurong's serious voice echoed through the dragon group, but no one responded; everyone knew this was abnormal.

At this moment, Ji Yuan's emotions began to stir with excitement. The feather in his hand was fluctuating less and less, but a certain feeling within him grew stronger. Finally, a continuous underwater mountain range appeared ahead, blocking the dragon group's view. Looking up, the mountain seemed to extend upwards, piercing through the ocean surface.

This seemed like a premonition. The dragons endured the intensifying heat, passing one by one through the water currents in the mountain crevices. Beyond lay another expanse of deep, dark ocean. But then Ji Yuan suddenly raised his hand. Ying Ruoli immediately stopped twisting her body, and the other dragons also came to a halt one after another.

"This... this is..."

Ji Yuan's voice trembled slightly, startling all the dragons, including the True Dragons. They then channeled their magical power to open their spiritual eyes, and some dragons even cast illumination spells towards the distance.

Slowly, some dragons realized they shouldn't focus on the immediate vicinity but should cast their gaze much, much farther...

In the distant reaches of their sight, there was a shocking black silhouette. This shadow was incredibly massive, like the tallest and largest mountains. In the sea, two bodies were intricately intertwined, their twin trunks rising together, with immeasurable branches, as if forming the very physique of the heavens...

All the flood dragons were speechless, and the four Dragon Sovereigns were equally stunned and speechless, unable to express their feelings in words.

"Mr. Ji, these seem to be two colossal trees standing side by side. What... what kind of trees are these? Their massive forms eclipse even mountains!"

The old dragon asked in a hushed voice, then looked at Ji Yuan, whose face was tinged with a lost look, yet also seemed to contain a hint of slight horror amidst his excitement.

"The divine wood of the sea, where the sun rests, the Fusang Divine Tree... The Fusang Divine Tree... it's still here, it's right here..."