Chapter 181 - Dragon Grave (1/2)

Chapter 181 Dragon Grave

Once again, the group approached the broken cave entrance, most of which had been buried behind debris.

On hurried steps, Nie Chengkong entered through a gap first, followed by the other members.

Even with their astrally-enhanced eyesight, people found it difficult to see things clearly inside the unlit cave. What was more, there seemed to be a strange energy in the environment that hindered their senses.

Nie Chengkong suddenly noticed something was off. There were pieces of broken stones on the floor, which was not surprising because the Flame Flood Dragon could definitely have left such a mess by walking around. The problem was, the stones only covered a narrow trail rather than the entire tunnel as if it weren’t the dragon, but something smaller who walked through there.

But… that dragon was using this cave moments before. Could there be another monster who called the same place home?

Nie Chengkong put that thought behind his mind and moved faster.

Since no one was speaking, they could hear their own footsteps echoing between the walls while bearing a strong odor that suggested the unkempt lifestyle of the cave’s former owner.

As they walked deeper inside, the air around them slowly grew hotter, until they stopped in front of a pool of bright lava, across which lay yet another cave entrance that appeared bigger than the one they were traveling in. Su Ping frowned as he realized that the area no longer looked as he recalled; inside the “dragon scale land,” the Flame Blood Dragon had marked the end of the cave. There should be nothing more.

Perhaps the Flame Blood Dragon had excavated a second “room” in its lair?

It wasn’t a rare thing to find new elements coming up around these sectors when the system’s cultivation planes failed to predict them. With this in mind, Su Ping decided to leave this matter be.

“The treasure is right there. It must be.” Nie Chengkong’s eyes brimmed with great excitement.

The lava pool should be the Flame Blood Dragon’s “bathtub,” which meant the second cave in the far end could be its bedroom. That was a perfect place to keep treasures.

“Everyone, wait here. I’ll be right back.” Nie Chengkong prepared to head there alone.

Since the Flame Blood Dragon was no longer there, jumping across the deadly lava should be no problem. He wanted to take the treasure as fast as possible and be done with it.

“I’ll go with you, captain. Just in case that something else is still hiding in the dark.” Ye Chenshan suggested with a look of worry.

Nie Chengkong gave him a rea.s.suring smile. “There’s no need. Flame Blood Dragons are always solitary. They never tolerate other lifeforms inside their territories. I’ll make it

quick.”

The truth was, Nie Chengkong didn’t want others to know about the existence of an Astral Spirit Fruit if he did find one in the cave. If the message got out, he as the owner of the fruit would have to constantly expect danger and malevolence due to people’s greed.

“Sure, captain.” Ye Chenshan stepped down. “Be careful!”

“I will.”

Chen and Old Mo exchanged a knowing look as they both realized what was going on. They had enough reasons to believe that Nie Chengkong was hiding crucial clues from them.

However, they weren’t going to question Nie Chengkong because being selfish was the right stance to take as a settler. On the other hand, they’d get suspicious if Nie Chengkong was way too generous.

Nie Chengkong took a deep breath, walked to the edge of the pool and took a great leap. The bubbling lava beneath him sure looked dangerous as if something were going to emerge. Luckily, this didn’t happen. After a safe touchdown on the other side, Nie Chengkong quickly entered the other cave and vanished from everyone’s sight.

Su Ping found it strange that Nie Chengkong caught wind of some kind of valuable treasure when this place had yet to be explored by anyone. Though he didn’t really care. An Astral Spirit Fruit meant little to him anyway.

His Dark Dragon Hound suddenly sent him an alert; there was the smell of a different creature looming around.