Chapter 2150: Treasure

The group proceeded deeper into the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Initially, the passage was dark, but after walking a while, specks of light began to appear intermittently around them. It seemed many treasures from the sea were embedded in the walls, illuminating the entire space somewhat.

Along the way were stone pillars hundreds of meters high and wide enough for over a dozen people to embrace. Various sea creatures were carved onto these pillars. The deeper they went, the more powerful the carved creatures became, eventually almost all transforming into dragons coiled around the pillars. One could even clearly see the scales on the dragons' bodies. These dragons seemed to be hidden within mist, ready to lunge out at any moment.

Soon after, they arrived before a magnificent palace. For a moment, Zu An even thought this must be the true Dragon Palace. The outer Dragon Palace was brighter and more ornate, whereas this palace before them was dim and desolate, with ruins everywhere. Every step and every stone bore the marks of time. Yet, the palace as a whole exuded a majestic aura, inspiring a profound sense of respect even from a distance.

The accompanying sea race members gasped in amazement, and many devout individuals even knelt and prostrated themselves, proclaiming it to be the Sea God's palace.

"The Sea God?" Zu An mused. He didn't sense any divine power, but the space was filled with a palpable Dragon Qi. Compared to the famous mountains and rivers of the human and demon races, no matter how renowned their dragon veins were, they paled in comparison to what was before them. Being in this place yielded far better cultivation results than being in a primeval stone mine, especially benefiting the cultivation of dragon kin.

As expected, Ao Yong and some sea race elders trembled with excitement upon sensing this pure Dragon Qi. They thought that if they could cultivate in such an environment, their cultivation would surely advance by leaps and bounds every day. Thinking this, Ao Yong glared venomously at Zu An's back, silently fuming that Zu An had monopolized such a good place. No wonder his cultivation had never caught up to Zu An's, even though his talent was clearly not inferior. Fortunately, all of this would soon change.

Rage points from Ao Yong +444444444...

Sensing the rage points from the backend, Zu An remained unfazed. This fellow hadn't even figured out who his true enemies were, and was not worth a second glance.

Soon, the group ascended the steps and entered the underground palace. Inside the main hall of the underground palace, the dome soared hundreds of feet high. Faintly, one could see the azure seawater above, and even glimpse some colossal figures slowly swimming past. Not to mention Ao Yong and the others, even the demons and Katzir marveled at this sight.

Zu An secretly pondered, "This isn't right. This height doesn't seem to exceed that of the underwater mountains seen outside the tomb entrance. How can the ocean be visible here? Moreover, as these giant sea creatures swam above the hall, they should have seen what was happening inside. Why had the sea race never had any legends or rumors about this great hall? Was it only visible from one side?" He looked up and vaguely saw some complex runes in the void above. He surmised that these must be the spatial array formations designed by the palace's original builders.

"What are you looking at?" Shang Liuyu asked via spiritual transmission. Her profound mastery of music meant she wasn't worried about demons intercepting their private conversation.

"I feel that this place is even more mysterious than I imagined. It doesn't seem like something your sea race could have created," Zu An said with a solemn expression.

"Perhaps it was built by the ancient sea race. The current sea race has lost much knowledge compared to ancient times," Shang Liuyu replied, her attention, however, was on the demons and the hellish fiends. The enemy had a clear numerical advantage. Although Zu An's cultivation was high, the three Fear Shadow Demons all possessed Earth Immortal strength, and Katzir was even more unfathomable. They were truly outnumbered. Originally, she and her sister had intended to select a group of sea race masters to help, but Zu An had vetoed the idea. His reasoning was sound: for a battle of this caliber, too few people would be ineffective, while too many might only unite the demons and hellish beings further, leading to unforeseen variables. The two sisters then abandoned that notion.

Watching Zu An stroll casually, Shang Liuyu felt a flicker of disorientation. If not for the fact that both sisters were very familiar with Zu An in their own ways, she would have suspected he was an impostor Dragon King. Otherwise, why would he remain so calm in such a precarious situation? The young, somewhat awkward boy from the pavilion had truly grown up.

Soon, the group arrived before a massive statue of a giant dragon. Its lower body was coiled in the tumultuous sea, while its upper body was carved with clouds, as if emerging from the ocean and rising into the mists. The entire sculpture felt remarkably lifelike. However, compared to the detailed artistry elsewhere, the dragon's head was somewhat blurred, skillfully concealed within the clouds, making its appearance unclear.

Shang Liuyu's voice sounded in his ear: "This is a statue of the legendary Dragon God. No one has ever seen what the Dragon God truly looks like. Legend has it that these deities are very particular about not leaving their likeness in the mortal realm."

Zu An's heart stirred: "Wait, are this Dragon God and the Sea God the same entity?"

Shang Liuyu replied: "The debate over whether the Dragon God and the Sea God are the same has actually continued within the sea race, but after thousands of years of discussion and debate, there has been no conclusive result. After all, gods are too distant from us, and no one has truly seen them. Perhaps the ancient dragon race knew, but unfortunately, no sufficient evidence was left behind. Ultimately, to avoid complications, the mainstream view considers them to be the same deity. Of course, some people, out of habit, still prefer to use the names customary to their own race."

Zu An nodded. Soon, a sea race elder came to remind him that the ceremony could begin. A group of attendants prostrated themselves before the Dragon God statue, placing various offerings, while the sea race elders knelt in respectful salutation. As the Dragon King, Zu An naturally stepped forward to chant the corresponding eulogy. These procedures had become almost ritualistic. Although the demons and hellish beings were somewhat impatient, they restrained themselves and cooperated to avoid any unnecessary complications.

The memorial and offering ceremony was quickly concluded. Next, the dragon remains were to be taken for burial. In the adjacent side hall, there were many cave entrances, each leading to a large mountain. These mountains were riddled with countless caves, like a honeycomb, with each cave serving as the burial site for a single dragon. Naturally, dragons were buried on different mountains according to their status and identity in life, and even on the same mountain, there were varying levels of hierarchy. The higher the cave's elevation on the mountain, the higher the status of the dragon buried within; conversely, dragons buried in the lowest caves had the lowest status.

Zu An proactively followed to observe the dragon burials, but in reality, he was thinking that the Dragon Qi would surely be most abundant where the dragons were interred. He wanted to see if any divine dragon immortal medicine grew nearby. The sea race members, especially the families of the dragon remains, were overwhelmed with gratitude and flattery, thinking how considerate the Dragon King was to personally oversee the burial ceremony.

Zu An arrived at the mountains where the dragons were buried, and his divine sense spread out. The Dragon Qi here was indeed denser, even washing over everyone's limbs and bones like seawater. Sporadic specks of starlight glowed between the caves, clear and translucent, clearly indicating their extraordinary nature.

The Fear Shadow Demon, the Flame Demon Sea Fiend, and the Bloodthirsty Crocodile Ancestor exchanged glances, all seeing excitement in each other's eyes. They were truly about to get rich. Dragons were naturally fond of collecting treasures. Whenever a dragon was interred, their kin would place their most cherished possessions as burial offerings inside the cave. Even without these treasures, the dragons' bodies themselves—their sinews, scales, bones, blood, and flesh—were all top-grade materials in the world. Of course, many were ancient, so their flesh and blood had likely long decayed and vanished, but other components surely remained. Furthermore, these weren't the most valuable items. After death, the essence of some powerful dragons would gather to form a Dragon Pearl, which was even better than a dragon's inner core.