The Mystical Kingdom is called a country, but it is actually a city-state scattered around the country.
Different city-states maintain their independence and autonomy, but they will build shrines for messengers of the gods to show their loyalty and belief in this powerful god.
On the secular level, each city-state has different occult organizations behind it. These are the core of the city-state's ability to gather population and stability.
There are many old god beliefs spread in the Mysterious Kingdom, and many worship customs and sacrificial traditions are even far before each civilization, even earlier than the messengers of the gods ruled here.
The headquarters of the "Sihai Temple" is on Longqi Island, one of the city-states. A large number of nearby islands belong to the territory of Longqi Island. The climate here is warm and it is close to the mainland. It is the main settlement place for the dragon descendants of the Mysterious Kingdom.
This is Kenshin's second time here.
The first time he came, he met the dragon girl Ao Chen who was riding the waves, and brought her from here to the Resurrection Kingdom. The two spent a year of sweet journey together.
But in the end Ao Chen chose to return to Longqi Island.
"I like you, but I love my hometown even more. If you don't want to stay here, then we are destined to meet again!"
Despite this, the proud dragon girl still maintained contact with Kenshin.
Kenshin will send some of the crystals and trustees he took to Longqi Island to her, and Ao Chen will also give Longqi Island’s specialty fish maw in return.
Five years have passed, and the main island has become much more lively.
Lu Yao looked around.
There is a team on the beach. They are wearing uniform leather armor and they are inspecting the docked ships. It seems to be preventing fires and checking for contraband.
There are also more ships on the pier.
Most of the ships flew the dragon flag of the Dragon Flag Island, as well as the twin snake flags symbolizing the Twin Serpent Merchant Republic. The goblin merchants were talking to each other on the shore, while the sailors were cleaning the decks and cables.
Three Bone Mage Towers were built at the docking station, and their firepower covered the entire dock.
The long embankment made of stone is full of stalls and vendors. They sell local seafood to travelers and businessmen, the most popular ones are the yellow isinglass - but most of them are inferior products that fool outsiders.
…
"There are many more ancestors of the White Bones."
Kenshin picked up the wind collecting crystal and took a picture of it facing the dock.
"Longqi Island has introduced many Bone Ancestor workers from the Resurrection Kingdom. They are reliable and never lazy. They can also repair and operate the Bone Mage Tower. It has officially become one of the cooperative trade ports of the Twin Snakes Republic. .The Yao people like our isinglass, black pearls, scallops, and dried sea vegetables very much..."
"In the Kingdom of Secrets, our place has become more and more important."
Dragon Girl talked endlessly about the changes in her hometown.
Kenshin followed her along the main road towards the center of the island, where a magnificent single-story cornice building stood.
The four walls are painted red, and the roof of the house maintains the unique tile structure here. There is a wooden plaque on the top of the door above the steps, with the words "Sihai Temple" written on it.
"Light a stick of incense first."
The dragon girl took out a stick of incense from her bag and handed it to Kenshin.
Kenshin is also very familiar with this.
He and Dragon Girl walked to the huge stone incense burner in front of the steps, lit the incense with the nearby candle, then respectfully waved it towards the Sihai Temple, and then inserted the incense into the burner.
Kenshin and Dragon Girl followed the worshiping islanders and entered the temple slowly and orderly.
When he walked to the long table for worship, Kenshin was stunned.
There is a stone statue enshrined in the center of the temple. It has a dragon horn on its head and no carved facial features. It looks a bit primitive. This is the old god belief retained by Sihai Temple, Dragon Ancestor.
It is said that the Dragon Ancestor is a statue left by the Dragon Gods and Dragon Kings. He represents many dragon gods and is also the protector of the dragons, sub-dragons and dragon descendants.
What surprised Jian Xin was that there was a statue of Yao enshrined on the left side of the Dragon God.
"this……"
Kenshin was a little confused.
The temple is a traditional belief of the Sihai Temple. There is also a messenger temple on the other side, which is dedicated to worshiping the gods headed by the messengers of the gods.
Sihai Temple has always been dedicated only to the Dragon Ancestor.
Ao Chen whispered: "Lord Yao God also has another identity. He is the protector of the Dragon Clan and the main god followed by the Black Dragon King, so everyone thinks it is okay to be enshrined next to the Dragon Ancestor. Everyone is also sincerely convinced of Yao God. Because Lord Yao has never excluded other gods."
She clasped her hands together and knelt down to the Dragon Ancestor.
Kenshin also went to the countryside and did as the Romans did.
After completing the traditional ceremony, Ao Chen slowly stood up, took his sword and walked around to the side behind the statue, and gave up the worship cushion to those who came after him.
She said: "There was a rumor before that the Black Temple was because it offended God Yao and neglected it. Some people also suspected that the invisible dragon was the Black Dragon King."
The Dragon King Pasha is a legendary creature that is familiar to the Yao people.
But Kenshin couldn't help but question: "As far as I know, the Black Dragon King has been cultivating dragon descendants in Shacheng. I saw the Dragon King flying through the fog in the Eternal City. How could he come to the Kingdom of Secrets?"
"of course not."
Ao Chen shook his head: "Although I have never seen the Black Dragon King, other dragon descendants on Longqi Island have. The Black Dragon King's style is upright and will never hide his identity. This time the evil dragon is completely different. He is elusive, and It is very targeted, so far, only the altars and underground temples of the "Black Temple" have been destroyed."
"One more thing, the evil dragon has already arrived at Longqi Island."
…
After praying, Ao Chen took Jian Xin to a nearby island, where traces of the dragon clan were left.
Those huge and vague paw prints sunk into the ground, seemingly intentionally, like a direct declaration to the outside world: I am here!
Kenshin raised the wind collector Jing Xiang and froze the huge footprints on the ground.
"In the past two years, such traces have been all over the island groups near Longqi Island."
Ao Chen said: "Everyone is a little panicked, and many people speculate that the Sihai Temple may be the next one to be attacked."
The dragon girl's voice deepened: "It seems like there are still a lot of people, but in fact many dragonborn have left in various ways."
"We know nothing about this old god, and Master Seven Sea Monsters has no worries. He only informed us through the apostle, asking us to pray in front of the statue if we encounter any abnormality... If this continues, I can only
Left. Can I go to your place?"
"certainly."
Kenshin suddenly felt a little strange.
He carefully observed the paw prints on the ground inside and out.
There's something wrong with this thing.
"wrong."
Jian Xin stepped into the dragon's paw prints, picked up a branch, pointed at the edge and said, "Look, the traces are wrong."
"The red dragon, green dragon, and blue dragon specimens in the White Castle are exact replicas. According to the new "Common Sense Chapter" of "Introduction to Dragon Language", normal dragons, whether they are different blood dragons or deposed dragons, have dragon claws.
Usually there are three to five claws, and if the dragon claws touch soil or clay, the marks left behind should be the deepest at the joints of the bone claws, and slightly shallower in other places."
"If the dragon's body is just invisible, and such a large dragon clan comes, a lot of surrounding trees should be swept down, and there should be traces of crushing and crushing on the ground."
"But there is none here. There are only very even but vague traces of five claws. According to the normal characteristics of the dragon clan, this is the highest-status dragon clan... These are not consistent with common sense."
Ao Chen was stunned for a moment after hearing this: "Why do you know this too? I feel like you know more about the Dragon Clan than me."
"Because our "Old God Society" has been studying these things."
Kenshin said casually: "There are people who study dragons, there are people who specialize in trace studies, there are people who examine various miracles and divine powers, and there are also people who collect folk information everywhere... Many of them are professionals in various fields, which is normal.
Do you really not feel anything is wrong?"
Ao Chen asked back: "Then the claw marks were not directly stepped on by the dragon, so what's the problem? It could totally be the marks made by crushing it with divine power from a distance."
"differ greatly."
Kenshin looked at the deep marks on the ground and said seriously: "This means that the dragon may not have an entity, or even be a dragon."
"The Old Gods have encountered many situations like this. A man once saw a strange mark in a wheat field. The mark crushed the wheat field and disappeared into the distance. But later I found out that it was a large flying boat flying over the wheat field.
The traces caused.”
"I have also seen phenomena that were suspected of being old gods in the desert. Later, I asked Lord Slimod for advice, and then I learned that it was Lord Uzi who was staying there at that time."
The external image we project is how others see us.
That is to say.
An idea flashed in Jianxin's mind: "This is an image deliberately created by the old god. He wants us to see him as a powerful dragon. But for some reason, he himself is not, or not yet.
"
This conclusion made Ao Chen a little puzzled: "If that's really the case, why?"
"I don't know. But apart from the dragon claws, is there anything special around here, or something that hasn't been seen before?"
Ao Chen thought for a while: "If you put it this way, where the dragon claws appear, there will be more birds, and these birds will fly around."
"Take me to see it."
A month later, Kenshin sent the crystallographic images of the birds, the soil collected at the scene, and his own speculations to the red-haired potion master Mochi who also belonged to the "Old Gods Association".
Soon, Ma Ji gave a reply.
"Brother Kenshin, your investigation is priceless, and I fully understand what you mean. According to the appraisal of relevant experts from White Castle, a large number of traces of wind and water elements were found in the dragon claw soil you sent."
"This is the effect of some special ability, or it may be the mark left after the miracle unfolds. I look forward to meeting you as soon as possible."
Kenshin took Ao Chen all the way to the royal city of the Resurrection Kingdom.
As soon as the red-haired Moji saw Kenshin, a smile suddenly appeared on his anxious face. He quickly came over and grabbed him: "Great, as long as you're okay, it's okay!"
"I'm fine." Kenshin nodded.
Ao Chen's body froze suddenly, as if he was immobilized by some force.
There was a strange look on her face: "What are you doing? What's wrong with me?"
Kenshin retreated to a safe area and said calmly: "You are not Ao Chen."
"When Ao Chen encounters any situation, she will not think of leaving Longqi Island. She will do everything possible to face the difficulties head-on."
"One more thing, my [Charm Technique] worked on you. But you stayed close to me in your actions, but your words were completely calm. You controlled Ao Chen. Although I don't know who you are, but The traces of dragon claws should be related to you."
Ao Chen stared at the heart of the sword and said with a strange expression: "'Old God Society'... Who are you?"
"Just a researcher of old gods out of interest."
Jian Xin said in a deep voice: "Now, please leave Ao Chen's body."
Suddenly a circle of light appeared in the sky.
Ao Chen raised his head suddenly, with a look of hatred on his face.
"Dragon rope!"
"You were hiding here!"
"No matter where you hide in the end of the world, I will make you repay tooth for tooth, blood debt with blood!"
A black shadow flew out of the dragon girl's body, turning into a crane and fighting with the golden halo of light in the sky.
Kenshin couldn't help but worry: "Is everything going to be okay?"
"rest assured……"
Moji opened her mouth, but suddenly couldn't speak.
It was replaced by some kind of heavy and penetrating sound, as if all the nearby air was compressed and solidified by the muffled sound. The world-destroying sense of oppression made everyone present stiff and their brains completely blank.
Some kind of black shadow appeared in the sky. It was like an erratic shadow or some kind of invisible giant beast distorted by light.
The crane in the sky suddenly trembled, fell from the sky and knelt down.
"Real person..."
Xianhe's voice trembled: "Master, please forgive Xiaodao for being rude. Xiaodao is under the command of Master Huanglong. He only wants to avenge Master Huanglong and the dragon-binding rope. It is by no means an offense to Master Huanglong. Please punish him."