"There's something strange here."
Although Ming Qi hadn't left the Divine Map space, the surroundings still gave him a strange feeling. After all, the Divine Map space didn't isolate their aura from the outside world.
After a moment's thought, Ming Qi couldn't help but open the Divine Map space and leap out first.
As soon as he landed, the strange feeling intensified, and it seemed to be nearby.
"What on earth is this?"
Ming Qi began searching in all directions. Before long, a small lake, less than a mile in radius, suddenly appeared before him.
The presence of a lake on this high mountaintop was truly astonishing. Ming Qi carefully surveyed the lake. Although it appeared to be unremarkable, he was certain that the aura that had so evoked such a strange aura was emanating from this very lake.
But the surface of the lake appeared as calm as a mirror, without a single ripple.
Ming Qi walked around the lake several times before spotting a soft, glowing spot somewhere on the surface. He quickened his pace and approached. As he got closer, he realized that the spot seemed connected to something beneath the surface. The protruding portion was only a small, fist-sized portion.
Ming Qi carefully examined the object, whose material and origin were indecipherable. It appeared crystal clear, and even had multicolored patterns on it. The mere sight of it was pleasing to the eye.
"Wuxiang, come out and see what this is."
Unable to make sense of it, Ming Qi called out to Wuxiang.
Wuxiang obeyed, jumping out of the divine map space and looking in the direction Ming Qi pointed.
"This light..."
Wuxiang was immediately captivated by the soft glow, and a look of shock crossed his face.
A moment later, Wuxiang Tongzi exclaimed with immense joy, "I've found it this time. Do you know what this is?"
"What?"
Ming Qi was still bewildered. While he could sense the origins of this mysterious object, he had no idea just how precious it truly was.
"I'm telling you, it's the skeleton of a divine dragon!"
"Ah!"
Even though Ming Qi had seen a lot, hearing the words 'divine dragon skeleton' shocked him. Divine dragons had rarely appeared for hundreds of thousands, even millions, of years, and later legends had named that era the Age of Divine Dragon Extinction. But he never expected to encounter a divine dragon skeleton in such a place.
"Yes, a divine dragon skeleton! This is truly a treasure! Find a way to get it away! If we can get it, we'll have a major haul."
Wuxiang Tongzi was clearly excited.
Since Ming Qi hadn't yet grasped the true value of the dragon skeleton, he wasn't overly excited even after learning it was the remains of a nearly extinct dragon nearly a million years ago. However, upon hearing Wuxiang Tongzi's words, he began circling the lake, pondering how he could remove the dragon skeleton hidden within.
The small lake was less than a mile in radius. While the water appeared clear, it was impossible to see through the surface. In other words, if it hadn't caught Ming Qi's attention, he wouldn't have known a dragon skeleton was hidden within the lake.
But now that he had stumbled upon it, he naturally wouldn't let it go.
"I wonder what secret method they used to prevent the view below from being clear. It seems we need to get the water out."
After circling the lake several times, Ming Qi couldn't come up with a better idea. After some deliberation, he opted for the most basic and primitive method: using the Golden Sky Fire to transform the lake's water into mist.
Since this place wasn't far from the temple ahead, Ming Qi didn't dare to drastically mobilize his energy. Instead, he cautiously activated the Heavenly Fire, slowly devouring a small portion of the lake.
Thankfully, despite the lake's eerie appearance, it rapidly shrank under the burning golden Heavenly Fire. In less than half an hour, the water level had dropped significantly, revealing the outline of a massive dragon skeleton.
"This dragon skeleton can be used for sacrifice. Dragons are prized by the gods, after all."
The Wuxiang boy flew beside Ming Qi, explaining the benefits of the dragon skeleton.
"If you don't want to make a sacrifice, you can refine and absorb it yourself. I bet that if you can refine and absorb this entire divine dragon skeleton, you'll at least be able to reach the Martial King realm."
Huh...
Ming Qi gasped, stunned. The energy of a single divine dragon skeleton alone was enough to propel him into the Martial King realm. This divine dragon skeleton would surely be a source of bloodshed for cultivators everywhere.
Thinking of this, Ming Qi understood that Young Master Wushuang's primary purpose in setting up the Demonic Dragon Altar was to conceal his presence. The goal was to divert the attention of the cultivators, preventing them from discovering the hidden divine dragon skeleton.
"Of course, if this skeleton were obtained by someone with divine dragon blood, refining it would awaken even greater divine dragon power and grant them the ability to perceive the Divine Dragon Realm."
Ming Qi knew that Dragon Thief Ye Qizong was one of these individuals possessing divine dragon blood.
So, it seems Ye Qizong must have heard about the dragon skeleton on Mount Osho, which is why he's here. However, he's probably been distracted by the dragon altar ahead.
"Hurry up! Whether you can succeed depends on you."
The Wuxiang boy urged.
Gradually, as the water level dropped, a complete, crystal-like dragon skeleton emerged.
The skeleton was a hundred meters long and over ten meters wide. Its bones were the color of white jade, covered in colorful veins. Its massive dragon head, head bowed, reached the lake bottom.
"Forget about anything else for now. Let's see if we can take it away!"
Seeing that the entire dragon skeleton had been revealed, Ming Qi wasted no time. He activated his Divine Map Space and flew lightly upwards, covering the massive dragon skeleton below. Simultaneously, the Divine Map Space rapidly expanded. In the blink of an eye, it had expanded to the point where it threatened to cover the entire lake surface.
"Collect!"
With Ming Qi's roar, streams of energy surged from the Divine Map, sweeping towards the Divine Dragon Skeleton at the bottom of the lake like a hurricane.
The earth began to tremble and shake, and the massive Divine Dragon Skeleton could be clearly seen being pulled up from the ground bit by bit.
"It's really strenuous! This Divine Dragon Skeleton contains a tremendous amount of energy. I'm afraid the Divine Map can't hold it all!"
While struggling to activate the Divine Map, Ming Qi spoke to the Wuxiang Boy beside him.
"You can try evolving the Divine Map. With so much stored energy, it should be possible!"
The Wuxiang Boy spoke, scanning the surroundings.
Soon, several figures flew out from the direction of the temple, rapidly approaching.