Chapter 647: Fleeing in Panic

Ji Yuan's original understanding was built over many years of observation and gradual inquiry. He had definitely interacted with both the common folk and the elite, and his knowledge spanned many kinds of creatures. Based on this understanding, he believed that elements from ancient legends from his past life, except for dragons and phoenixes, had largely faded away, with only faint traces remaining.

Now, however, the shock in Ji Yuan's heart was so profound that, in a way, it was no less intense than when he first woke up in the mountain god's temple. The difference was that back then he was both startled and panicked, whereas now he was primarily startled.

The dragons accompanying Ji Yuan were equally shaken. Seeing these two towering giant trees intertwined, even true dragons felt incredibly small. Moreover, though most of the trees appeared to be underwater, there seemed to be parts above the surface as well.

Hearing Ji Yuan's involuntary exclamation, the true dragons nearby and the other dragons present all turned to look at him.

"Fuso Divine Tree? Mr. Ji, do you know about this tree? What, what exactly does it represent?"

However, after the initial shock, Ji Yuan's greatest concern was not the old dragon's question. He suddenly realized something, quickly performed a divination, and his expression changed dramatically.

"Oh no! The sun is about to set!"

After shouting this, Ji Yuan leaped up and yelled at the dragons.

"Follow me quickly, follow me quickly! All dragon-jiao, do not hesitate! Dragon Lords, cast your spells together and flee with me at once!"

"Clang—"

A sword hummed behind Ji Yuan, and a streak of sword light shot out, cutting directly towards the direction they had come from. Ji Yuan immediately turned with it.

"The great sun is about to set; if we don't leave now, it will be too late! Trust me, everyone!"

With that, Ji Yuan reached out and grabbed a whisker from both Ying Ruoli and Ying Feng, who were nearby, and led the escape along the original path. The Azure Vine Sword's light flew ahead, parting the water and neutralizing the turbulent currents in that sea area to reduce their impact on the dragon group.

The four Dragon Lords had no time to ponder. Seeing Ji Yuan's reaction, they simply exchanged glances and immediately acted together.

"All dragons, heed my command! Flee with Mr. Ji!"

"Go, go, go!"

Ying Hong, Gong Rong, Huang Yuzhong, and Qing You, the four Dragon Lords, all transformed into their true dragon forms and moved along the outer perimeter. The numerous jiao-dragons felt the pressure and dared not linger. Believing that some great catastrophe threatening their lives was approaching, they immediately followed, cooperating by using the spells cast by Ji Yuan and the four Dragon Lords.

"Splish-splash… splish-splash…" "Boom" "Boom" "Boom"…

This area of water erupted with splashes and underwater currents as all hundred dragons rushed away, or rather, fled. In reality, Ji Yuan's actions were indeed an escape with the dragon group.

The Azure Vine Sword was ahead, constantly humming softly. Its light streaked through a vast expanse of the desolate sea, parting hidden currents and cutting through impacts. Ji Yuan and the dragons followed, spending their magical power without reservation to soar at their fastest speed since setting out to sea.

Ji Yuan, with a serious expression, focused solely on leading the dragons in their escape. His silent, tense demeanor also affected the four Dragon Lords, as they now fully understood who Ji Yuan was. The urgency shown by Ji Yuan and the Dragon Lords further influenced the other jiao-dragons, causing all of them to exert every ounce of strength in their flight, following the sword light that was clearing their path straight ahead.

The only sounds were the rushing water and the humming of the sword ahead. In this situation, everything seemed to quiet down. After speeding underwater for about two quarters of an hour, both Ji Yuan and the dragons noticed that the darkness in the sea was gradually fading. More precisely, a faint red glow began to appear above them, and this light was growing increasingly brighter.

In a very short time, the water temperature also rose significantly with this change. Some jiao-dragons looked up; the sea above them had turned into a massive, red-tinged golden backlight, and staring at it for long caused a burning sensation in their eyes.

"Just keep fleeing, don't look up."

Ji Yuan transmitted his voice to the dragons, while forcefully channeling his own magical power. Although he strongly wished to see the Golden Crow with his own eyes, according to the myths he remembered from his previous life, the Golden Crow was either the sun itself, or its spirit, or it carried the sun. In any case, staying near the Fuso Divine Tree would be akin to witnessing a nuclear explosion firsthand.

"Thump…" "Thump…" "Thump…" "Thump…"…

A sound like drumming slowly grew louder. It was a vast, expansive drumbeat. At first, only Ji Yuan heard it, then the four true dragons could faintly hear it. Eventually, in Ji Yuan's ears, this immense drumming became deafening, and one by one, the jiao-dragons among the group also began to hear it.

"What is that sound?" "It sounds like a distant drum!"

"Forget the drumming, I'm almost dying from the heat!" "I can't stand it either, Dragon Lord…"

"Do not speak further, everyone! Flee quickly!"

As Ji Yuan spoke, sweat beaded on his forehead, not only from extreme tension but also from the intense, exaggerated heat. And these dragons were talking about a distant drumbeat? What a joke, it was practically right next to them!

The light from above and behind became increasingly dazzling, and the surrounding temperature grew intolerably hot. Some dragons simply closed their eyes at this point. This was despite the divine sword's light clearing the path ahead and the four true dragons casting spells behind them; otherwise, the effects of the intense heat and light would have been even more exaggerated.

"Thump… thump… thump… thump… thump-thump-thump-thump…"

The drumming grew increasingly dense. Ji Yuan's psychological and physical pressure intensified, and he continuously urged his magical power. Only when the drumming behind them faded further away, and the light gradually changed from golden-red to red, becoming dim, did he finally let out a deep sigh of relief, and his speed gradually slowed.

The jiao-dragons felt Ji Yuan's speed decrease and gradually slowed down with him. Some jiao-dragons even felt slightly breathless at this moment. Although the escape had lasted less than half an hour, the tension had been suffocating, stemming both from Ji Yuan and the four Dragon Lords, and from the final change they experienced.

Ji Yuan turned around, looking back in the direction from which he had led the dragons in their frantic escape. In the distance, let alone the Fuso Tree, even the underwater mountain range was no longer visible. In his line of sight, he could vaguely discern a patch of red light in the far distance.

"Hoo…"

Ji Yuan let out a long breath and looked at the four massive true dragons beside him. They, too, were shifting their gaze back from behind to look at Ji Yuan.

"Mr. Ji, what was that just now? I seemed to hear a faint drumming, and that light and heat were truly extreme. If you know, please enlighten us."

Huang Yuzhong's ancient voice emerged from the dragon's mouth. All the other dragons nearby waited for Ji Yuan to speak. Ji Yuan still felt a lingering fear, but his expression had returned to calm.

"What we all saw just now was the Fuso Divine Tree, but perhaps you don't know its purpose…"

Ji Yuan gazed into the distance and spoke slowly.

"The Fuso Divine Tree is where the sun bathes. What we just witnessed should have been the moment of sunset at Fuso, with the return of the Three-legged Golden Crow, the spirit of the sun. If we had remained there, I fear our chances of survival would have been slim…"

Ji Yuan, combining memories with speculation, simply explained the danger they had just faced. Even if the Golden Crow had done nothing, it might not have been safe, let alone if it had taken some action.

Ji Yuan had intended to take out the feather in his hand, but at that moment, he hesitated. Then, with a sudden frown, he took the feather out anyway.

The feather still emitted light and gave Ji Yuan a burning sensation, but several hours earlier, when they passed this current location, the light and heat had been at least twice as strong. Ji Yuan had previously noticed fluctuations in the feather's light and heat, but they weren't obvious when he frequently took the wrong path. As they found the right path and continued forward, the light and heat generally increased, and now the contrast was quite strong.

Yes, by now, Ji Yuan was quite certain that this feather was a Golden Crow's feather. Although its size, about forearm length, seemed a bit small, there were many possibilities for why that might be. At the very least, the feather's origin was no longer in doubt.

"The Three-legged Golden Crow? The spirit of the sun?"

The old yellow dragon's face showed astonishment, and the other dragons mostly wore similar expressions. Then, they all looked at Ji Yuan, or more precisely, at the feather in Ji Yuan's hand. When they had asked him before, he had always been evasive. It turned out to be such a terrifying secret. However, the dragons had misunderstood. In fact, Ji Yuan had not been very clear before because he himself was unsure of what lay ahead. Previously, Ji Yuan hadn't leaned towards the feather being from a Golden Crow, as its size didn't suggest it, and he had thought he might find traces of a similar divine bird.

"Sunset at Fuso? So, we were just fleeing from the sun?"

"That light just now…" "And what about that drumming?"

The Dragon Lords spoke, a mix of surprise and doubt in their voices, which also reminded Ji Yuan.

"It was and wasn't fleeing from the sun. When the Golden Crow ascends to the sky and becomes the sun, it is the sun. But when it lands on a branch, that might not be the case. As for the drumming…"

Ji Yuan wasn't sure about the drumming, but the sound had reminded him of when he went out to sea with Ying Ruoli, during which he had heard similar drumming at the turn of the year. Ji Yuan's mind raced, and upon this thought, he suddenly spoke again.

"Everyone, I intend to return to the Fuso Tree. You may leave first; I will investigate alone!"

"What?" "Mr. Ji?" "Uncle Ji!"

Hearing Ji Yuan's words, the dragons, who had not yet recovered from their previous horror, were even more astonished. The three Ying dragons were the most agitated.

"Mr. Ji, please reconsider!"

Ji Yuan's face sometimes frowned, sometimes relaxed, clearly still undecided, but then he made up his mind.

"I must go. Otherwise, my mind will not be at ease! You all need not come with me. My spiritual senses are always keen, and if it truly proves impossible, it will be easier for me to escape alone!"

After saying this, Ji Yuan glanced at the surrounding jiao-dragons, said no more, and directly manipulated the water to turn back, heading towards the direction from which they had desperately fled. If his reasoning was correct, the most dangerous moment was likely only during sunset.

"Mr. Ji, I will go with you to investigate!"

The old dragon Ying Hong saw Ji Yuan depart, transformed into human form, shouted, and then manipulated the water to give chase. Before leaving, he didn't forget to instruct his dragon son and daughter.

"You two, follow the other Dragon Lords and leave first. Ji Yuan and I will be back soon!"

"Oh, Dragon Lord Ying, wait! I'll come along to observe too!"

It was Qing You, the Azure Dragon Lord, who spoke. He, too, hurriedly manipulated the water and gave chase, leaving the remaining hundred-plus dragons behind, filled with doubt and astonishment. The other two Dragon Lords also had the inclination to go and investigate, but seeing the numerous dragons around them, they abandoned the idea.