The Hidden Village and the Divine Ship

Kael stood a full three meters tall, a barbarian youth of untamed ferocity, with wolf ears and a long, powerful tail. The one beside him, looking around with a seemingly dull and simple expression, was a chubby little fellow—short, stout, and giving off an air of honest simplicity. Even his idle glances appeared slow-witted and naïve.

How strange! Xiao Chen distinctly sensed Kael's aura on him, but the body was not the same. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. Could Kael be dead, and this someone else reanimated in his corpse? After all, he had encountered too many eerie and terrible things in the death castle, and his mind instinctively turned to such possibilities. Moreover, with the bizarre reality of the Snow Mountain Ghost before him, how could he not let his imagination run wild?

The simple-looking little fat man wandered through the Bone Sea for a long time, then crossed it and headed south. Xiao Chen was not familiar with the southern part of the island; he had never ventured into that region before. But this time, he followed, determined to uncover the origins of this little fat man who carried Kael's aura.

As he trailed behind, Xiao Chen noticed that Dugu Jianmo and the mysterious woman wreathed in rainbow mist were also following, making no effort to hide themselves from him. When they passed through the Bone Sea and entered the forest, Xiao Chen approached them and bluntly stated, "I suspect a malicious spirit has usurped a corpse, so I followed. Why are you following?"

Dugu Jianmo sneered, "Heh, same here. I sensed the aura of a barbarian I vaguely recognized, but the body does not belong to that person."

"I followed for the same reason," the mysterious woman replied.

Xiao Chen was now certain his instincts were correct—something sinister was at play. The seemingly dull little fat man was not as simple as he appeared; he was alert, constantly changing direction through the forest as if afraid of being followed. Keke, perched beside Xiao Chen, blinked her large eyes, finding it amusing.

After traveling south for over an hour, the little fat man plunged into a stretch of open woodland, turned left and right, and vanished from sight. But Xiao Chen and the others were not worried; it seemed they had reached their destination. Just then, Keke jumped onto Xiao Chen's shoulder, tugged his hair with a small claw, and kept glancing backward with wide eyes.

Xiao Chen's heart skipped a beat. He pretended to stop and observe, and soon enough, the Snow Mountain Ghost appeared within his perception range—he could clearly "see" the old wraith trailing them. This was not a good sign. Xiao Chen glanced at Dugu Jianmo and the mysterious woman ahead; they seemed unaware of the ghost's presence. He remained calm and continued onward. Before long, they discovered a small village in the ancient forest, surrounded by towering trees that made it invisible unless one ventured deep inside.

The village had only seventy or eighty households. The sounds of roosters and dogs could be heard, filling the air with a rustic, pastoral atmosphere. It felt surreal to Xiao Chen—on this wild Dragon Island, to find such a living, breathing village seemed unreal.

"Cough, cough…" An old woman appeared behind Xiao Chen like a ghost, her voice faint as she sighed. "Young man, why are you following my grandson?"

Xiao Chen's heart sank. His prescient spiritual sense had detected the old woman a step earlier, but her speed was astonishing—he had clearly seen a wisp of smoke-like shadow dart from the deep woods to their vicinity. Dugu Jianmo leaped back with his iron sword, putting distance between himself and the old woman, while the mysterious woman in the rainbow mist had vanished from sight, her skill evidently enough to evade the old woman.

"We mean no harm. We only wish to clarify something," Xiao Chen said steadily, looking at the old woman—white-haired, stooped, her face like withered bark.

"Clarify something about our village?" The old woman's tone was cold.

"No," Xiao Chen decided to speak plainly without making excuses. "I sensed the presence of an acquaintance in that little fat man. It struck me as strange, so I followed to get to the bottom of it."

"An acquaintance? Is this so-called acquaintance a friend of yours?" The old woman's voice was calm, but Xiao Chen's prophetic spiritual sense detected a flicker of danger.

"No. In fact, he is my enemy. Only one of us can survive."

"Oh." The old woman nodded, and Xiao Chen felt the danger subside.

"And you?" She turned to Dugu Jianmo.

Dugu Jianmo, though extremely proud, had no desire to provoke a powerful foe of unknown depth. "The same as him," he said, pointing at Xiao Chen.

"My intuition tells me you are not lying. That makes things simpler. I can tell you: I killed that barbarian youth named Kael and implanted the two ancient beast-souls from his body into my grandson."

Xiao Chen and Dugu Jianmo were both startled. They had heard that some barbarian tribes carried sealed beast-souls, and that the souls could be forcibly extracted and implanted into another. "My grandson is also a barbarian descendant, with one beast-soul of his own. That Kael, of all things, tried to devour my grandson's beast-soul, but my grandson captured him alive and brought him back. I dealt with him as I said."

Xiao Chen and Dugu Jianmo had nothing to say. Kael's luck had truly run out, ending in such a miserable fate.

"Come, since you are guests from afar, have some tea in the village. I know you have many questions for me." The old woman walked ahead.

"May I ask, venerable elder, have you always lived on Dragon Island?"

The old woman's wrinkled face showed a faint smile. "I knew you would ask that. Our ancestors came from the Immortal Continent, just like you, but they were trapped on this island. We are their descendants."

Though he had guessed as much, Xiao Chen could not suppress his astonishment. It felt as though he glimpsed his own future—would he too be stranded on this island, living such a life?

"But not long ago, Dragon Island unsealed. Why did you not leave?" Xiao Chen asked.

"Leave? After living on this island for so long, one's constitution changes—as if cursed. We cannot leave the island at all," the old woman sighed.

"Surely there is a way?"

"There is. If you capture nine Companion Dragon Kings, even if the island is sealed now, you can still leave safely."

"Such a thing exists?" Dugu Jianmo, who had been silent, could not help asking.

"The blood of nine Companion Dragon Kings combined can break the curse on our descendants." The old woman's gaze grew distant, and her voice trembled with emotion.

As they spoke, they entered the village. Though roosters and dogs could be heard, few people were visible. The place felt desolate and lifeless. The simple little fat man came out of a courtyard and said, "Grandma, they are…"

"You little fool, you're usually sharp, but today you were followed without even knowing."

"They followed me?!" The little fat man looked annoyed, then resumed his bland expression. But Xiao Chen did not underestimate him. This little fat man might be the type to play dumb and then strike—after all, he had somehow subdued Kael.

The old woman led Xiao Chen and the others into the courtyard, invited them to sit at a stone table, and had the little fat man prepare tea before slowly engaging them in conversation.

"Dragon Island is sealed, and even the surrounding seas have become the Forbidden Sea. Any person or vessel entering will be shattered. But according to ancient legend, there is one divine ship that can navigate the Forbidden Sea safely," the old woman said, offering them a glimmer of hope.

"What kind of ship?"

"A divine ship built from the bones of the Ancestral Dragon and the wood of the World Tree. It has drifted in the Forbidden Sea for endless ages and can carry people out of this sea."

"How do we find this divine ship?" Dugu Jianmo asked.

The old woman took a sip of tea and said unhurriedly, "As I said, it requires nine Companion Dragon Kings. If they join forces, they can summon the divine ship that roams the Forbidden Sea."

"Then we have a good chance of leaving this place!" Dugu Jianmo was excited.

The old woman poured cold water on his enthusiasm. "That is assuming you first find nine Companion Dragon Kings and persuade them to obey you and summon the ship."

This was indeed an extremely difficult problem. The appearance of a single Purple Dragon King had drawn covetous attention from so many, yet no one could tame it. Of course, if Dugu Jianmo knew how Xiao Chen and his group had obtained two dragon kings, he would be furious enough to spit blood.

"Is there no substitute?"

"There is. If you can find the legendary young Ancestral Dragon, one Ancestral Dragon equals the effect of nine Companion Dragon Kings," the old woman said flatly.