Hong Ning followed his gaze and saw that he was pointing at a circular imprint on the steep cliff face. She chuckled.
“I saw that when I was little. No idea who carved it there.”
Wen Xin shook his head. “It’s about ten zhang [approximately 33 meters] above the ground. Who would go to such a height just to carve something for no reason? I don’t think it was carved—it looks more like something collided with the rock and left a mark.”
“Collided?”
Hong Ning found it strange as well and tilted her head back for a closer look.
“What could have crashed into that spot?”
Wen Xin stared at the stone imprint in silence.
A thought struck Hong Ning. “Could it be related to the demon dragon?”
Wen Xin nodded and then sat cross-legged on the ground.
She immediately understood his intent and grew concerned.
“If it’s truly a divine artifact, whether we can find it depends on fate. This concerns the workings of the heavens. Forcing a divination will drain a great deal of your spiritual energy. What if—”
Wen Xin interrupted her gently, “I’ll give it a try.”
With that, he closed his eyes, concentrated, and began calculating with his fingers.
Seeing that she couldn’t stop him, Hong Ning stepped forward to stand guard. As she gazed at the deep, jade-green waters of the pool, her mind drifted between thoughts of the demon dragon, the field of blooming camellias, and the mysterious Jin Xiu.
She found herself unsettled.
Time passed, and Wen Xin’s face gradually turned pale. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
It’s taking too long…
That meant the matter was far from simple.
Sensing something was wrong, Hong Ning grew anxious. She was just about to call Bai Ling back for help when Wen Xin suddenly opened his eyes.
Hong Ning let out a breath of relief.
“Well?” she asked.
Wen Xin shook his head and smiled wryly.
“Trying to pry into the will of the heavens with mere Daoist techniques… It was, as expected, a futile effort.”
Hong Ning sighed. “If there’s no other way, we’ll just have to deal with the dragon as it is.”
Wen Xin said, “I couldn’t determine what the object is, but it’s definitely connected to the demon dragon.”
He stood up and looked toward the mark on the stone wall.
“If that object crashed here, then it must have fallen into the pool afterward. The jiao must have found it and, by absorbing its spiritual energy, was able to transform into a dragon.”
Hong Ning frowned. “If it was large enough to leave a mark that high up, does that mean it fell from the sky?”
Wen Xin nodded. “If it was a divine artifact, that’s certainly possible.”
Hong Ning hesitated. “Then… where did it come from?”
The two of them froze for a moment—
And then, as if struck by the same thought, they turned to look behind them.
In the distance, atop the lush green mountains, a faint silhouette of an ancient temple emerged from the dense trees. A towering pagoda stood tall, swaying slightly in the wind.
Hong Ning hesitated. “Could it be…”
Before she could finish speaking, a sudden splash erupted from the pool behind her.
Startled, she instinctively turned around, fearing that the dragon had returned—only to find that it was Bai Ling emerging from the water.
His expression was grim.
“The cave is full of branching tunnels,” he said coldly. “One of them leads to a well ten li [approximately five kilometers] away. Someone placed a talisman at the bottom of the well. I wasn’t paying attention and nearly got trapped by it.”
Hong Ning chuckled. “That makes sense. The dragon must have been causing havoc on the other side all these years, using human souls to refine its spirit pearl. But recently, some powerful cultivator must have sealed off that path. With no more prey to feed on, it had no choice but to return here.”
Bai Ling sneered. “That talisman isn’t particularly powerful. Clearly, the person who placed it lacked sufficient cultivation and could only resort to a temporary measure. It won’t hold for long.”
Wen Xin nodded in agreement. “We don’t know where else the cave leads. If we simply seal this entrance, the dragon might find another way to escape and continue its evil deeds elsewhere. Instead, I will set up a formation to prevent it from wandering too far. Meanwhile, the two of you should warn the nearby villagers to stay away from this place.”
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