We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 140 The Heart of the Ancient Dragon, Joey's Bloodline Metamorphosis!
Once the dragon turtle guarding the Blackstone vein was dealt with, the process of obtaining the [Blackstone Essence] became exceptionally smooth.

Before long, Shane had filled a bottle with Black Stone Essence.

Unlike solid black stone, the "Black Stone Essence" located at the core of the vein is actually a viscous, jet-black liquid with a deep, mysterious luster.

This potion ingredient actually releases a secret power that causes living beings to wither away at every moment.

Therefore, it must be stored in a special container.

Fortunately, Shane had made preparations beforehand and obtained a stone bottle for isolation from the sea queen, which came in handy at this moment.

Looking at the Crimson Fruit in the Ring of Revelation, the bottled Black Stone Essence, and the Starfish in the box.

Xia En couldn't hide his excitement, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.

"Finally, I've gathered all the potions needed to advance to the third tier."

"Next, once I max out my job compatibility, I can try for a promotion!"

"Based on the time calculation, it should take another three or four days."

It's no wonder that Xia En was somewhat excited and expectant.

After all, that's a third-tier Mystic Path practitioner!
A third-tier secret path practitioner is already considered a powerful figure renowned throughout the Seven Seas.

In the near sea, the governor of an island is only at the third rank, which shows the status of a third-rank secret cultivator.

Xia En has only been in the world for less than half a year, yet he has already reached the threshold of the third tier.

If such a story were to spread, it would surely shock countless people.

"Let's take advantage of this time to explore this island thoroughly and help Joey complete his bloodline transformation."

After making his plan, Shane emerged from the depths of the mine, only to be met by several monkey monsters standing on both sides of the valley, peering out.

"Ok?"

Shaun shielded Joey and String Song behind him, glancing warily at the monkey monsters.

At this moment, the leader of the monkey monsters spotted them, let out a strange cry, and ran over on all fours.

Xia En had assumed they were there for revenge.

Just as they were about to go on a killing spree and gain some experience points, they realized that the monkey monster in the lead looked somewhat familiar.

"Isn't this the guy I just let go?"

"Does it want revenge, or..."

After hesitating for a moment, Xia En still didn't make a move.

With his strength, dealing with this group of dragon-turned-monkey monsters shouldn't be too much of a problem. He should see what they're up to.

"Gawoo...Gawoo!"

After arriving at Xia En's side, the monkey monster pointed to the dragon turtle corpse not far away, then pointed to Xia En, and started gesturing wildly and shouting.

So the other monkey monsters rushed over and jumped and shouted around Shane.

Some of the monkey monsters even knelt beside him, looking respectful and worshipful.

Judging from their attitude, they not only showed little hostility, but also seemed grateful.

After a rather difficult exchange, Xia En finally understood the ins and outs of the matter.

"Is this huge creature a scourge to your tribe?"

"You have to offer sacrifices of your own kind every now and then, otherwise it will attack your territory?"

"Wait, you want to invite me to be the king of your tribe?"

"Gah!"

The monkey monster nodded heavily, looking at Xia En with awe and expectation.

These primitive tribes have always followed the rule of the strong ruling the world.

Although I don't know why the creatures of my kind in front of me don't have scales or hair.

But whether it's the oppressive aura emanating from him or his feat of killing the terrifying dragon turtle, it's enough to prove his strength.

He is the most suitable person to be the king of the tribe.

Xia En's expression was strange.

He hadn't forgotten that he had just killed a group of monkey monsters not long ago, and he didn't know if these guys were unaware of it or didn't care.

However, Shane never shows any mercy to enemies who attack him.

But given the monkey monsters' attitude, he couldn't bring himself to massacre them.

Soon, Shane refused the request to become the Monkey King.

But at the monkey monsters' enthusiastic invitation, the group arrived at their territory.

This is a very primitive village where monkeys live in wooden houses built in the trees. The village is quite simple, but at least it has some rudimentary forms of primitive tools.

Upon seeing the arrival of the outsiders, the monkey monsters poked their heads out from between the branches, curiously observing the combination of the two humans and the dragon.

"Gawoo!"

The monkey monster that had led the way earlier called out to its kin a few times, seemingly explaining the situation to them.

Then, the other monkeys also cried out in surprise, their eyes filled with awe and gratitude as they looked at Shane.

Some monkey monsters even brought out wild fruits they had picked and offered them to Shane.

It was only then that Xia En realized that this group of monkey monsters seemed to be different from the monkey monsters that had attacked him before.
They are not very aggressive, nor are they particularly violent; they can even engage in simple communication.

"How is this going?"

Xia En was somewhat surprised.

Based on the descriptions of the previous loot, creatures contaminated by defiled dragon blood become manic and irritable.

They not only harbor strong hostility towards outsiders, but even members of their own tribe will fight each other.

The behavior of these dragon-transformed monkey monsters was clearly abnormal.

Just then, Joey's gaze suddenly fell in one direction of the village. He pointed there and exclaimed in surprise.

"Captain, look, look!"

Xia En followed the direction of her fingertip.

Hidden among the lush vegetation was a small pond with crystal-clear water.

In the pond, a statue as tall as a person stands out!
The statue was clearly sculpted as a woman with a graceful figure, her head covered by a light veil, and a long dress depicting numerous waves cascading down her back.

Although the surface of the statue is mottled and worn by the passage of time, and has many fine cracks.

She still possesses an indescribable sense of holiness and presence.

Simply by gazing at the statue, one can feel a subtle sense of cleansing and protection.

"This is... the Storm Goddess Statue?!"

Xia En's heart skipped a beat.

He had once acquired a small statue of a goddess, so he recognized the true form of this statue at a glance.

However, Shane quickly noticed a clear difference between this and the Storm Goddess statue he remembered—

The lower half of the goddess statue does not have human feet.

Instead, it was a scaly fish tail, like a siren!
"As expected, the Storm Goddess's siren talk wasn't just a rumor, but very likely the truth!"

Upon seeing this, Xia En's mind raced.

"Perhaps in the earliest times, the statues of the Storm Goddess were all in this human-bodied, fish-tailed form."

"And those who came later... may be followers of the Deep Sea Church, or they may be other forces who changed the statue to its current appearance in order to cover up the truth of history."

It's not hard to guess that the reason why the dragon-like monkey monsters of this tribe did not become as ferocious as other creatures on the island was precisely because of the protection of this goddess statue.

But the problem is...

Why is this statue here?
Shaun looked at the most clever monkey monster from before, pointed to the Storm Goddess statue, and tried to express his meaning.

"Gah?"

In the end, it's unclear whether the monkey monster understood or not. After pondering for a moment, as if making some kind of decision, it turned and walked into the forest.

Without hesitation, Shane, along with Joey and String Song, followed behind the monkey monster.

This time, the monkey monster was exceptionally cautious in leading the way, as if afraid of disturbing some powerful being.

Shaen soon discovered that their route was leading them deeper into the island.

The surrounding woods grew increasingly dense and tall.

The mountain path beneath our feet became increasingly steep and rugged.

Several powerful figures wandered and patrolled the nearby mountains and forests, emanating a faint pressure.

at the same time.

Even Shane could smell an ancient, rusty, bloody odor in the air.

The bloody smell contained the secret power of the ancient dragon, but it also had a strange and eerie quality that instinctively made people uncomfortable.

After witnessing the dragon turtle corpse covered in Eyes of Truth, Shane understood that this unease stemmed from the so-called "blasphemy of truth."

Where does this little monkey want to take us?

Xia En frowned slightly, but trusting the monkey monster's previous actions, he chose to continue following.

Strangely, despite the increasing power of the aura emanating from the nearby forest, the group miraculously escaped attack.

Shane guessed that this was related to the path chosen by the monkey monster.

This forest path leading high into the mountains seems to be located right on the border of the Dragonborn creatures' territory.

These creatures were wary and cautious of each other, which is why they did not attack Xia En and the others.

It was only through the guidance of the local monkey monster that they discovered this "safe passage".

If it were Xia En exploring on his own, he would probably have to fight his way out.

……

……

We walked through the mountains and forests for an hour.

Xia En and the others were already high up in the mountains. Looking back, they could see the dense forest below.

If it weren't for the fog, the Black Swan could probably be seen even on the shore.

At this moment, the group had reached the end of the mountain road.

Xia En fixed his gaze on the front.

Ahead, there is a platform located on the mountaintop.

The platform's center is concave, forming a large lake.

—This topography is quite similar to the Heavenly Lake of the past.

However, unlike Tianchi, this lake is a dark red color!
All that could be seen was blood, which reeked of blood!
"Woooo..."

Upon arriving here, the monkey monster seemed to instinctively feel discomfort and fear, its body trembling slightly as it pointed towards the center of the lake.

Xia En looked up and his breath hitched slightly.

In the blood-red lake, a huge dragon-shaped skeleton stood there.

Even though it had no flesh and blood, and even though it had been dead for a long time, the moment Xia En saw it, he still felt a pressure from the depths of his bloodline.

In a daze, he seemed to see a terrifying dragon staring at him with cold, vertical pupils, letting out a deafening roar!

Roar!
Suddenly, a childlike yet equally majestic dragon roar rang out, shattering the illusion before Xia En's eyes.

He turned his head and saw the usually unreliable String Song floating in mid-air, its wings fluttering slightly.

Its scales shimmered with a faint light, as if it were wearing a divine armor, and ancient power was manifested on its body.

Those eyes seemed to burn with bronze flames, and an aura of majesty no less powerful than that of an ancient dragon skeleton spread out.

"A fellow clansman I have never met before, I am the Bronze Dragon, String Song Maya!"

"I came to liberate you!"

Perhaps it was Gu Long's remaining consciousness that comprehended the words of the string song.

Or perhaps it was the dragon's might in the string song that overwhelmed the corpses, and Shane and Joey suddenly felt the pressure ease.

At this moment, Shane also saw that in the blood-red lake, there were one statue after another of the Storm Goddess.

Some of them lay horizontally in the lake, while others tilted their bodies.

Some bodies shattered into stones, while others retained their complete form.

The numerous broken statues added an indescribable eeriness to the blood lake, making it resemble a solemn graveyard or the site of some kind of evil ritual.

It is clear that the goddess statue in the monkey tribe came from this blood-red lake.

But the same problem remains.

Why do these statues exist here?
"Captain."

Suddenly, Joey frowned slightly, looking hesitant and confused, and said...

“I heard… in the center of the lake, something seemed to be calling to me.”

"Ok?"

Xia En frowned slightly.

He noticed that Joey's aura was somewhat restless, and the secret power within his body was slightly dissipating.

Upon closer inspection, a faint blue halo flowed within the girl's red pupils, and some scales emerged from her body.

Xia En suddenly realized: "This blood-red lake is the ancestral land that the sirens spoke of!"

The numerous statues of the Storm Goddess here may also be related to that ancestor of the sirens!
As for the blood in the lake, it comes from an ancient dragon that perished here.

But the fact that Gu Long happened to fall in the ancestral land of the Siren, is this really just a simple coincidence?
Shane was skeptical of this.

But now that we've come this far, there's no reason to back down.

After pausing for a moment, Shane watched the monkey monster's figure disappear before cautiously advancing into the depths of the lake.

The blood-red lake is not deep, but it's not realistic to walk there.

Xia En simply used the Blood Shaping Secret Technique of Blood Power to create a blood raft of moderate size, and then rowed towards the center of the lake.

Standing on the lake of blood, Xia En became even more aware of the blasphemous and filthy aura.

If he wasn't mistaken, it was the water from this blood lake that flowed down the mountain, polluting the water sources of the nearby mountains and causing the creatures on the island to mutate.

In fact, not only at the foot of the mountains, but also in the Blood Lake, there are many dangerous dragon-like creatures lurking.

Xia En could sense numerous malicious gazes coming from all directions.

But this time, for the first time in a long time, String Song was reliable.

The ancient dragon's majesty emanating from it kept those dragon-transformed creatures at bay.

Before long, they arrived at the center of the lake on a raft, where there was a small platform.

A particularly tall statue of a goddess sits on a high platform.

However, deep red blood dripped continuously from her body, running down her skirt and into the lake below.

The blood came from the palm of the goddess statue.

There, lies a huge, still-beating heart!

"This is?"

Xia En was shaken, but he hadn't figured out the reason behind it yet.

next moment.

Joey beside her had already reached the foot of the goddess statue, and the illusory, blurry sound of waves came from a great distance.

A sacred gaze, not belonging to mortals, fell upon the girl!
(End of this chapter)