Episode 1: Treasure Hunting Adventure
The largest desert in the Chinese mainland - the Taklamakan Desert, is known as the "Forbidden Zone of Life" and the "Sea of Death". The sun is high in the sky, and the surface temperature reaches 60 to 70 degrees Celsius. The air is filled with hot currents. At the end of the endless sea of sand, two figures with their heads tightly wrapped walk towards the horizon, their silhouettes indistinct, carrying large and small packages, moving with difficulty.
"I said Tianyi, is that treasure map you have really true? We have been walking in the desert for over a month now. We are almost at the 'Heart of the Desert', why haven't we arrived yet?" The latter person, somewhat exhausted, dragged his steps and complained.
The person called Tianyi was breathing heavily. He stopped, slowly straightened his back, took out a worn-out sheepskin map from his pocket. It was clearly an old item with some years of history. At the same time, he took out a compass and looked at it, pointing to the southeast direction and saying, "We are almost there. Don't be impatient. Brother, I have never deceived you before! If my calculation is correct, we can spend the night at the 'Heart of the Desert' tonight. Follow me, you can't escape any benefits from me."
The two looked at each other and smiled, continuing to trudge through the difficult terrain.
The two grew up in an orphanage since childhood. The one called Tianyi's surname was Duan, and at the age of 23, he obtained a doctoral degree in archaeology from Peking University. He was a natural scholar, but his personality was not as rigid as archaeology. The other was called Yang Mufeng, the same age as Duan Tianyi. Because he arrived at the orphanage a few days later than Duan Tianyi, he had to "rank below" him and called him brother. However, he was no worse than Duan Tianyi. At the age of 23, he also obtained a doctoral degree in geology from Tsinghua University. Both were rare talents once together, they would dare to do anything.
Duan Tianyi was quiet by nature, while Yang Mufeng was active. However, they shared a common hobby - exploration. Deserts, oceans, deep mountains, caves, anything that seemed exciting to them, they would try to explore. Since they left school at the age of 23, five years had passed. They had experienced more than twenty major expeditions, and such achievements were unprecedented in the archaeological field.
Of course, the two were not just exploring for fun. Each time was purposeful. Besides relaxing and exploring ancient history, they also did some side jobs - treasure hunting.
In the millions of years of human history, civilization has emerged for over ten thousand years. During this long period, countless treasures have been buried underground. Duan Tianyi was proficient in archaeology and had a thorough understanding of ancient and modern history and legends. He could always discover clues to treasures in some ancient documents. Therefore, treasure hunting became one of the main purposes of their expeditions.
It had been over half a year since their last expedition. During this period, Duan Tianyi spent all day either searching for materials in the national library or locking himself in a room. Even Yang Mufeng had difficulty finding him. Yang Mufeng knew that Duan Tianyi might have big plans because before they went out each time, he would lock himself away for a period of time, ranging from one to two months or even one week. This time was over seven months. It was clear that this expedition was no ordinary one. Yang Mufeng did not disturb them except for taking a bubble bath and doing some exercise every day and preparing some equipment for the expedition. Until two days before Duan Tianyi "released himself", Yang Mufeng received a notice saying that they needed to go to the desert and told him to prepare, and then he locked himself away again.
At night, the wind in the desert was very cold. The cold moon shone on this silent desert, white and like an ice-covered world. The wind blew away the sand, making tiny sounds, making the night even more peaceful.
"Tianyi, the temperature difference between day and night at the 'Heart of the Desert' is really too big. It felt like we were in Equatorial Guinea during a few hours, it seems like we are already in the South Pole. Damn it, I'm freezing," Duan Tianyi shivered and rubbed his hands.
"It's indeed strange. I have also walked through the Sahara before, and I didn't feel this kind of climate before. It seems that wherever there are rare treasures, it's like this! Old scholar comrade, aren't you quite familiar with the concepts of yin and yang and the five elements? Take a look and see if there are any ancient fortifications or something like that, concentrating all the negative energy of the entire desert into this one spot?" For the sake of exploration, Yang Mufeng has become an experienced desert expert, but he has never seen this situation before.
"Yin, you big idiot! Have you read too many fantasy novels? There are no such absurd things. Although this yin-yang and five-element technique is vast and profound, it can't possibly produce those unnatural things! It's probably related to the special geological structure of this place."
"Ho! You're acting like a big idiot in front of the experts. I've already observed it. The geological structure here is no different from other deserts. If there's anything special, it's right beneath our feet." Yang Mufeng said mysteriously.
"Underfoot?"
"Um! There's a hidden river down there, and it's not a small one either!" Yang Mufeng chuckled softly.
Duan Tian was like being shocked by an electric current, his body trembling slightly. It seemed that he had thought of something. He immediately smiled slightly, shook his head, and muttered in his throat, "Impossible, impossible."
Yang Mufeng didn't pay any attention. He took off the package and quickly set up a tent. He randomly picked some dry firewood and made a fire. The two of them sat around the fire, chatting and laughing, and ate something.
The Taklamakan Desert, which is called the "Sea of Death", is not only because of its harsh climate, but more dangerous is the poisonous substances that appear mysteriously in the desert. The two seemed casual, but they were constantly vigilant of the movements around them. Surprisingly, this "Heart of the Desert" is not at all like other places, except that it is a little colder. There is no sign of any poisonous substances, yet it seems even safer.
Duan Tian took out the sheepskin map and slightly frowned, "I always feel that this place is a bit strange. Let's find the treasure as soon as possible and leave this creepy place."
Yang Mufeng nodded and shook himself vigorously, "I also feel something is wrong. It seems that there are always pairs of eyes watching us. Let's start working quickly."
Yang Mufeng casually took out two construction shovels from his backpack and was ready to start working at any time. Duan Tian held the compass, looked at the map, and then at the night sky. After a long while, he let out a long sigh, "So that's how it is. It's really like this."
"What's wrong, Tianyi? What kind of situation is this?" Yang Mufeng looked at Duan Tian, his eyes full of confusion, knowing that he might have discovered something.
"Did you just say there was a hidden river beneath our feet? At that moment, I immediately thought of an ancient extremely dangerous situation called 'Ice Dragon in the'. At first, I thought it was just a legend. But after checking the star chart just now, it turned out to be exactly the same as what was recorded in ancient books."
"I've only heard of 'Submerged Dragon in the'. What is this 'Ice Dragon in the' then?"
"This 'Ice Dragon in the' is a very ominous and auspicious sign. Misfortune becomes fortune and vice versa. That is to say, if you enter the right path, you can overcome difficulties and achieve success. On the contrary, you will completely fail and become the sacrifice of the Ice Dragon."
Yang Mufeng's spine shivered. "So dangerous, huh?"
Duan Tianli smiled slightly. "With me here, you don't need to worry a bit. Who am I? I'm not making it up. In today's world, when it comes to the study of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, if I were the second best, who would dare to claim to be the best?"
This was indeed the truth. Duan Tianli had always been interested in these things since childhood and had an incomparable talent for these ancient doctrines.
Duan Tian stood up and drew a large circle about twenty meters in diameter on the ground. Then he drew many strange symbols inside and placed many stones. It looked like the ancient array, and then he inserted a torch in each of the five directions (east, south, west, north, and center) to complete it.
"Although I'm not superstitious, there are some things that cannot be explained clearly. Therefore, it's better to believe in what exists than to believe in what doesn't exist. Now that I have set up this Fire-Extinguishing Array, I specifically aim to suppress and control that Ice Dragon beneath. I hope it can hold out for a while and allow us to finish our business."
Duan Tian walked five steps from the center of the circle to the southeast and picked up a construction shovel to dig. "Mufeng, don't just stand there. Hurry up."
Both of them were experienced experts. They had dug countless ancient tombs in their lives. Digging a tunnel was no problem for them. In less than half an hour, a dull sound was heard, and the tunnel finally opened. As expected, there was indeed a hidden river below. The dark water emitted a constant chill, spewing out from the entrance, causing the two of them to shiver involuntarily.
They carried large bags of necessities and hid some other things. They made a little disguise at the entrance and then entered the tunnel one by one.
The underground river was very deep. Fortunately, they had prepared an inflatable boat. As soon as they entered the river, they felt a cold wind blowing. They drifted along the river for about half an hour. The river gradually narrowed, and here, apart from the dark water, nothing else was found. Continuing to drift, another hour passed. At this point, the river was so narrow that only one person could pass through. They had to abandon the boat and swim. The water was cold and bone-chilling. Fortunately, they were physically strong and it didn't have much of an impact.
Another hour passed. Suddenly, there was a faint green light moving towards them in the river. The two hurriedly climbed up the rock wall and away from the water surface. About five meters away from them, a creature resembling a bull's head emerged from the water, with a goose egg-sized blue eye flashing with green light, staring fixedly at Duan and Yang.
"What kind of monster is this? A water buffalo?" Yang Mufeng whispered.
Duan Tianli appeared very cautious. His right hand tightly held the construction shovel, ready to deal with the attack of the unknown monster at any time.
"I have seen this kind of monster in an ancient book. It's called the Bull Head Python. It was a creature from the Ice Age. It has appeared here, which is incredibly incredible. The Bull Head Python lives in the dark and is blind. It only senses moving objects. This monster has immense power. If caught, it's extremely difficult to escape. Because it remembers scents, be careful. It's approaching."
The Bull Head Python moved closer step by step. The two completely prohibited any movement. Cold sweat poured down their backs. The monster had seen many before. This peculiar appearance was the first time they had seen. Especially the intimidating, it made people feel a threat to life. This was a monster that only appeared in legends.
The Bull Head Python dived into the water, its huge body creating a two-meter wave. It slapped the two of them. It was indeed a monster, covered in dark scales all over its body. There was a green-lit scale in the middle of its spine, which was particularly intimidating.
The boar snake had been gone for over ten minutes. Only then did the two of them let out a sigh of relief. They couldn't help but secretly sigh at the danger of this dark river. At the same time, they were also filled with curiosity and longing for the upcoming treasure.
Not long after, the river gradually widened. The two of them restarted the steamboat. They continued to move along the riverbank, and gradually, a bit of fog appeared on the lake surface. The further they went, the denser the fog became. After about ten miles, about fifty meters ahead, suddenly, a large group of objects emitting green light appeared and was slowly swimming towards them.
Yang Mufeng gasped in shock, "What kind of crazy place is this? Just a few moments ago, there was one, and now there's a whole group. Fortunately, I have night vision goggles. Otherwise, these ice dragons would really be having their fill of these creatures."
The two quickly put away the steamboat and climbed up the rock wall. They watched as greenish light shadows swam past them. Duan Tianyi took a closer look and almost shouted out. After these green light shadows passed, he showed a face of shock. "This place is indeed a 'treasure land'. There must be such treasures here."
Yang Mufeng was startled, "Treasures? You mean those green-lit monsters?"
"You know what those green light shadows were just now? They were the legendary Green Bodhi Eel. This kind of fish has extremely strong aggression, but its courage is a rare treasure. Moreover, wherever the Green Bodhi Eel appears, there must be an extraordinary treasure accompanying it."
"You mean that ordinary people can obtain a Bodhi Gallbladder that can increase their ten years of martial arts proficiency by eating one? Isn't that something only seen in martial arts novels? And you said there would be extraordinary treasures. Now, I really feel more and more attracted to this treasure. It's so thrilling. I feel like I've become a great warrior." Yang Mufeng almost shouted with excitement.
"More precisely, this is the Green Bodhi Gallbladder. It's a high-quality product of the Bodhi Gallbladder. According to legend, eating one mature Green Bodhi Gallbladder can increase one's martial arts proficiency by twenty years. For ordinary people, it's a complete transformation. It is said that Chu General Xiang Yu had two Green Bodhi Gallbladders when he was young, which is why he achieved unparalleled martial arts skills."
Yang Mufeng swallowed hard, as if thinking about something.
"Don't play any tricks. Even if these Green Bodhi Eels are young, their aggression is not something that ordinary people like us can withstand. But don't lose heart. According to the records, wherever Green Bodhi Eels appear, there must be Bodhi Fruits."
Yang Mufeng was even more astonished. He also knew the effect of the Bodhi Fruit. As long as one eats one, it can instantly give an ordinary person the proficiency of an entire zodiac cycle.
Since the water was so dangerous, they had to climb along the rock wall. Fortunately, both of them were fully equipped with advanced tools, and it didn't take much effort to climb.
After walking for over two hundred meters, the fog began to thin, and the lake gradually widened. After another several hundred meters, the area suddenly became clear, and they found themselves in a large circular cave with a diameter of nearly two kilometers. Around the huge black water pool were huge column-shaped crystals, and in the center of the pool, there was a huge black crystal floating. There were countless small whirlpools around the crystal, as if all the river water of the dark river flowed through these whirlpools to an unknown area.
Yang Mufeng pointed excitedly at the huge black crystal and said, "Tianyi, look! What is that on the crystal?"
"It's a black Bodhi fruit, the best of the Bodhi fruits. Taking one can increase your cultivation by a hundred years. There are actually two of them there. It's truly incredible."
Yang Mufeng was a little surprised and said, "I once read a scroll that said black crystals can breed some strange life forms. It turns out it's not in vain."
The two were excitedly preparing to jump into the water, but suddenly they noticed that three huge green Bodhi eels were circling the black Bodhi fruit, seemingly wanting to devour it, but also seeming to have some kind of hesitation.
"Tianyi, what should we do about this?"
"These green Bodhi eels are clearly in their mature stage. Their attack power is unimaginable. I think we can only use a strategy of wisdom to capture them, not force them to take it."
"What do you have in mind?"
"These green Bodhi eels have a habit similar to the Bullhead Python. They are blind, but can remember scents. It seems that I can only try to use some magic formations to attract these blind creatures. I'll set up a magic formation here to block your scent, then attract these three green Bodhi eels over. You can seize the Bodhi fruit when the opportunity arises. Be careful, if you can get it, do so, if not, just forget about it."
Duan Tianyi took out five canned meat from his backpack. These were their one-week supply of food. Then he placed a strange figure made of crystals on the ground.
"Is this some kind of magic formation? And using meat cans is too extravagant, isn't it?"
Duan Tianyi raised his lips slightly and said, "This is used as a sacrifice. This is a strange magic method I saw in an ancient book. It can concentrate the smell of the sacrifice completely, so it can completely cover our scents. Even if the green Bodhi eels are alarmed, they won't be targeted. Next, it's up to your skill of nimble movement."
In fact, both of them had a lot of skills. Of course, all of this was due to the continuous exploration by both of them over a long period of time. Duan Tianyi had successively obtained the Tai Chi True left by Zhang Sanfeng and the Miao Piao Xingfa; while Yang Mufeng had obtained the Twenty-Four Blood Sun Sword Decree and the Man Luo Xingfa. Although they were extremely intelligent, they weren't very interested in these ancient martial arts manuals. They just studied them casually, and didn't learn anything else because the movements were relatively practical, so they managed to learn about seven or eight parts of the skills.
Duan Tianyi sat in the formation, constantly changing his hand gestures. Suddenly, it seemed that a magical force from the universe compressed the smell of the five canned meat into a line and slowly extended towards the three green Bodhi eels.
The three eels suddenly brightened up and became excited. They splashed water with great force, as if encountering something extremely tempting. They all swam towards the place where the smell was coming from.
Duan Tianyi shouted, "Mufeng, watch me!"
Yang Mufeng understood and moved his feet. From a distance away from the eels, he rushed towards the deep black crystal. His toes lightly touched the water, and he gracefully landed on the black crystal.
The three eels that were swimming towards the smell suddenly sensed something and suddenly turned around, leaping out of the water, creating a long black water column, revealing a body over two meters long, rushing towards the black crystal. Yang Mufeng, who was staring blankly at the black Bodhi fruit, froze in surprise. He hurriedly picked the only two Bodhi fruits left on it and turned to fly back to the shore. However, it was too late. Three green Bodhi eels had already arrived.
Unfortunately, he was not skilled enough. The three green Bodhi eels in the air seemed extremely angry and rushed towards him recklessly. Poor Yang Mufeng, like a cannonball, fell into the river with a loud splash, causing a large wave to rise. The violent impact made Yang Mufeng's throat feel sore, almost spitting out blood. Fortunately, the taste of the meat can was very strong, completely covering Yang Mufeng's smell. But the three green Bodhi eels still relied on their acute perception to swim towards Yang Mufeng quickly.
Duan Tian, on the shore, was shocked. But he had to maintain the formation and couldn't come to his aid. He shouted, "Swallow the black Bodhi fruit quickly, quickly."
Yang Mufeng had no time to think. He spat out a black Bodhi fruit in one go. Unexpectedly, the black Bodhi fruit dissolved immediately in his mouth, turning into a warm current that quickly spread throughout his body. Instantly, his body felt like it was bathing in a hot spring, reaching the ultimate level of comfort. In an instant, heaven fell into hell, and a highly destructive force suddenly poured into every inch of his muscles, causing intense pain throughout his body, as if being brutally torn apart.
Yang Mufeng in the water suddenly roared. The water surface constantly bulged with bubbles, and the steam was thick.
Swoosh...
A sturdy figure emerged from the water, with closed eyes, his bones creaking, muscles bulging one by one, his body almost being burst by that strange force, suspended in the air. Strange energy was constantly flowing into his dan tian area from all around, and his entire body swelled up, like a balloon being blown up, his body turning purple.
The three green Bodhi eels in the water seemed to have seen something terrifying and dared not approach. They kept swimming back and forth around Yang Mufeng.
The slightly smaller green Bodhi eel finally couldn't hold it anymore. It growled at Yang Mufeng and leaped forward, crashing into him. Yang Mufeng's eyes suddenly opened, emitting two beams of purple light. His fist clenched tightly, and he smashed the approaching green Bodhi eel. The back of the green Bodhi eel was brutally stabbed with a blood hole, and a stream of green, stinky blood kept flowing out. At the same time, Yang Mufeng was violently thrown back and landed on the shore, unconscious.
Duan Tian was finally panicked. Yang Mufeng had been relying on him since childhood, and he was the closest person in this world to him. He couldn't care about so many things. He cast aside the formation and directly performed the ethereal movement, flying to Yang Mufeng's side. He checked his breath and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, the three green Bodhi eels jumped onto the shore, their tails touching the ground, standing right in front of the two of them.
"Let's do it."
Duan Tianyi was a person who acted decisively. After getting the black fruit from Yang Mufeng, he spat it out in one go. He knew that only the black fruit could possibly save their lives at this moment.
Seeing that Duan Tianyi had also spat out the black fruit, the three green eels on the scene surprisingly showed a very human-like expression on their faces. "These two guys must be crazy. They don't seem to be afraid of choking to death by eating the black fruit directly." With their eyes closed, they stared at the two weak humans in front of them, as if waiting for the tragic scene of the two of them dying violently.
Duan Tianyi was not a rash person. Just seeing the situation of Yang Mufeng earlier, he had roughly known some information. The Tai Chi True he practiced was a relatively advanced internal martial art method. Although he was only at the early stage of improvement, he was confident that he could reduce the destructive power of the black fruit to the minimum.
Seeing that the three green eels were still silent, Duan Tianyi quickly forcibly injected the energy of the black fruit into the meridians of his body, compressing this energy along the heart method of Tai Chi True as much as possible. Although the effect was not as imagined, there was no scene like Yang Mufeng's like that.
Suddenly, a thought struck Duan Tianyi's heart, "This black fruit is a practical yang substance. The green eel's green gall and even the yin substance are the best harmonizing substances for the black fruit. If we can get the three mature green gall, Yang Mufeng might be able to escape danger. Now that I have a hundred-year cultivation level, dealing with these three green eels should be about the same as before."
While the three green eels were still waiting, Duan Tianyi had already completed one full circle of the energy of the black fruit along the heart method of Tai Chi True, and his body felt an indescribable comfort.
Suddenly, Duan Tianyi's foot moved, and he performed the most powerful attack move in Tai Chi True, the left and right pushing and blocking punches, instantly aiming at the two green eels closest to him.
Facing this sudden sneak attack, the two green eels didn't have time to react. Their abdomens were pierced. Duan Xiaotian quickly pulled out two greenish pearls from the bodies of the two green eels. These were the green gall.
The other green eel, seeing that its two companions were instantly killed by a human being, became furious. Before Duan Tianyi could stop his fist, it crashed into his chest. The intense impact sent Duan Tianyi flying for more than ten meters, crashing hard against the hard rock wall, causing pieces of rock to crack and fall. Duan Tianyi felt a heart-wrenching pain in his chest, coughed violently, and spewed out two large mouthfuls of blood. The black fruit energy that had been suppressed in his body suddenly churned, as if about to burst out of his body. He still underestimated the power of the black fruit, which was truly too strong. It seems that he has not yet utilized even one percent of that energy. His heart felt a slight regret for this action. However, the situation had reached this point, and he couldn't regret anymore. Now there was only a chance to survive, and that was to kill the powerful green eel in front of him.
Before Duan Tianyi could recover from the impact, the giant tail of the green eel snapped, sending a flying shot that hit Duan Tianyi directly, as if aiming for a fatal blow.
Duan Tianyi forcibly suppressed the churning energy in his body. His body moved like a bird, making a perfect arc in the air, avoiding the powerful blow of the green eel.
Seeing that the blow didn't hit, the green eel, in a fit of anger, spat out a green water arrow, aiming at the still-unlanded Duan Tianyi. Duan Tianyi took a deep breath and suddenly leaped in the air, the water arrow grazing his shoulder.
Duan Tianyi landed, his feet suddenly pushed, his body rushing towards the green eel that was flying towards him like a bullet. Less than a second later, they collided. Duan Tianyi's body slightly tilted, precisely dodging the attack of the green eel. At the same time, he raised his right hand and made a powerful push-punch, hitting the lower abdomen of the green eel, directly sending it more than ten meters away, leaving a bowl-sized hole. The green lotus eel roared loudly, ignoring the intense pain in its body, and shot towards Duan Tianyi again. After all, it was a wild beast, without human intelligence. Duan Tianyi stabbed a large hole in its abdomen. Before the green lotus eel could land, Duan Tianyi had already performed the ethereal movement and flew forward. He made several more holes in the already devastated green lotus eel. Finally, the green lotus eel couldn't withstand it and crashed to the ground.
Duan Tianyi was breathing heavily, and the energy of the black lotus fruit in his body was almost unable to be contained. He quickly swallowed a green lotus gall and took out the third green lotus gall. He came to Yang Mufeng's side and put it in his mouth. After doing all this, he finally couldn't hold it back anymore. He felt dizzy and fell down beside Yang Mufeng.