The midday sun scorched the earth, and there was not a single cloud in the blue sky. The convoy traveled through a long, narrow valley flanked by steep hills, with the occasional shrub growing on the abrupt cliff face, and the occasional eagle skimming through the sky, but no animal in sight. There was not a single wind blowing in the valley, and it was like a steamer under the scorching sun, and it was so hot that people could not breathe.

"Let's go to the shade in front and take a break." He Dun wiped the sweat on his head and suggested to everyone.

"Great, I'm dying of heat." Lan Yue sighed weakly.

"What kind of place is this, since entering the valley, it's like a different world." Ariel asked listlessly.

"Just hold on a little longer, it's good to get past here. This narrow valley is basically like this during the day, no matter what the weather is outside, it is always like a fire inside, but fortunately this section of road is not too long. Brother Shui replied as he parked the convoy on the sunny side of the cliff. Everyone also collapsed and rested in a shady place nearby.

"I can't walk anymore, I'm almost scorched." Lan Yue grumbled as she drank her water.

"Can you rest for a while and wait for the sun to go down a little?" He Jian asked.

"The temperature difference here is very large, and when it gets dark, it becomes an ice cellar. So we have to get out there before sunset. He Dun continued, "By the way, how much water do you still have?" ”

"It's fine. It's not much, but it's enough. Lan Yue replied while checking her luggage.

"Is there any place up front where I can refill my water?" Ariel asked.

"I'll have to look it up." As he spoke, He Dun took out the map and asked Brother Shui behind him, "Brother Shui, do you know?" Where is there a place for water? ”

Brother Shui thought for a while and said, "The Broken Wood Village that I passed by before should be the last place to be resupplied. Actually, there were two or three small towns after that, but we didn't go because we thought it was enough, but when we passed through the Poison Mist Forest, the supply cart was overturned, and nothing else was done, but the water was spilled. As for the front...... Brother Shui closed his eyes and thought for a while, then continued, "I remember that there should be a pool of water near the ruins of Linggu, but the things there are corrupted by magic all year round, and they must be purified before they can be drunk. ”

"Leave the purification to me." Yujali volunteered.

"That's so thankful." He Dun thanked.

"Hey, where did you get all this meat?" Lan Yue looked at Aaron, who had taken out a large pile of raw meat on the side, and asked.

"Of course it's the meat of the jackals before." Aaron explained in a calm tone, "Don't worry, I've already cleaned it up. ”

"You don't want to bake it now, do you?" Lan Yue asked in surprise.

"Of course." Aaron rummaged through his fanny pack and looked for the props that started the fire, and said, "Isn't it hard to eat raw?" ”

"Stupid!" Lan Yue shouted at Aaron, "On such a hot day, how could someone make a fire here!" ”

"Huh?" At the moment when Aaron looked at Lan Yue in a daze, a huge black-brown vulture suddenly swept in front of them, grabbed a large piece of jackal flesh and Aaron's waist bag, and flew towards the cliff in the distance.

Aaron and Lan Yue were startled at first, and by the time they reacted and were about to bend their bows and draw arrows, the eagle had already flown out of their range.

"Damn!" Aaron shouted as he looked at the flying eagle. Then he sighed deeply and said, "Hey." I can only admit that I am unlucky. Just take another piece. ”

"Wait!" Lan Yue anxiously stopped Aaron and said, "Did your pocketbag also be arrested?" ”

"yes." Aaron replied with a sad face.

"What is it! There's the credentials of the two of us as adventurers! Lan Yue angrily grabbed Aaron's collar and shouted.

"Huh?!" Aaron asked, somewhat panicked, "What then?" ”

"What to do?! Hurry up and chase me back! Lan Yue shouted.

"This ......," Aaron said with a look of embarrassment as he looked at the steep cliffs around him, "unlikely......

At this time, He Dun and the others also surrounded him.

"Is there any road around here that leads to the top of the mountain?" He Dun asked Brother Shui.

"Nope." Brother Shui shook his head and said affirmatively, "The mountains here have been going up and down like this for many years, there are no roads, and I have never heard of anyone going up." ”

"What then?" He Dun was a little troubled.

"Let me try." Just when everyone was feeling embarrassed, Yujiali suddenly said in the back.

"Huh? Do you have a way to climb up? He Dun asked suspiciously.

"Pretty much." With that, she jumped lightly onto a rock in front of her, and then jumped up along the cracks and narrow paths of the rocks.

"Wait, wait." Miria blushed below and shouted to Eugari, "Come down! ”

"It doesn't matter. I'll be back in a moment. With that, Yugari continued to scurry upwards.

"I mean the skirt...... Miria muttered embarrassedly, "pay more attention......

At this time, like an antelope living on a mountain cliff, Yugari was bouncing all the way, dancing briskly on the cliff. After a while, they came to the place where the eagle had landed.

As soon as Eugari reached the top of the cliff, a huge bird's nest made of dead branches and withered leaves appeared in front of her.

"It should be there." Yugari looked around, but found no eagle, so she cautiously walked towards the nest. It was a very large nest, and several chicks in it were tilting their heads to look at Eugarie as they walked by. There are many white bones scattered around the nest, among which it is easy to see a blue waist bag discarded next to it, and some small daily objects have fallen around it.

Eugari cautiously walked over, packed up the scattered items, and got up to leave. At this moment, she suddenly saw a majestic heavenly pond on the top of a slightly lower mountain to the northwest. Tianchi is colorful, sparkling and shadowy, and the surroundings are even more white mist, and the clouds are steaming and blue, and it is beautiful. The lake is as clear as a mirror, hanging alone in the sky, and at the mouth of the pond in the north, a waterfall rushes down, rising in a hazy mist.

Eugari stared intently at the magnificent scenery of nature in front of her, as if she had long forgotten her existence. Suddenly, a splash rose from the heavenly pool, and a white dragon instantly jumped out of the water, its slender body danced, and swept through the neon mist, like a white rainbow through the sun. Before Yugari could see it, she immediately disappeared into the thin mist.

Just as Yugari was fascinated by it, the huge vulture suddenly flew back. It stretched out a pair of sharp claws, and with the sound of a whistling wind, it fell from the sky like a gust of wind towards Eugari. The sudden attack made Yujiali subconsciously take a few steps back. Unexpectedly, the rock and soil under her feet suddenly loosened, and with the huge impact of the eagle carving, Yugari suddenly fell off the cliff.

He Dun and the others at the bottom of the mountain screamed when they saw this, and hurriedly ran towards the valley here.

Yugari hurriedly adjusted her position in the air and landed lightly on a cliff halfway up the mountain. Then hurriedly shouted to He Dun and them at the bottom of the mountain: "It's okay, don't worry." ”

Seeing that Yujiali was fine, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Upper!" He Dun shouted loudly to Youjiali, "Watch out for the eagle! ”

Eugarie looked up. The giant eagle hovered in the air for a few moments before swooping down on Yogari again. Yugari immediately summoned her staff and took on a fighting stance, ready to respond to the onslaught of the eagle. At that moment, a silver-white arrow flashed from behind Yugari and flew straight towards the eagle. With a scream from the eagle, the arrow hit the eagle's body. Then, a second, a third, and more arrows continued to shoot from behind Yugari towards the eagle. After several arrows in its body, the eagle struggled in the air a few times before fleeing. Yugari turned to look, and at this time, Aaron and Blue Moon were holding longbows, waving to her. Yugari also waved happily to them to thank them. Then, as before, she jumped all the way down the cliff.

Miria rushed forward at this time, pulled her to herself, and said embarrassedly, "Pay attention to your skirt!" ”

"Huh?" Yugari smiled awkwardly.

At this time, He Dun and the others also rushed over.

Yugari first returned the belt bag to Aaron, who expressed his gratitude. Then, Yugari told everyone what she had seen on the top of the mountain, and everyone was shocked.

"I didn't expect that there is such an incredible wonder on the top of this mountain, it's not a lie." He Jian said in disbelief.

"I've never seen Jiaolongye, I really want to go up and have a look." Lan Yue said enviously.

"Me too." Ariel agreed.

"Do you want me to go there and fetch some water?" Yujiali suddenly suggested to He Dun.

"I guess it's not necessary." He Dun thought for a while and said, "First, it's too dangerous, only you can go up here, so don't take the risk." Second, it is said that the dragon is a symbol of good luck, which is very rare, and I think it is better for us not to disturb it. ”

"It's fine." Eugari nodded.

After that, everyone rested in the valley for a while, and by the time the convoy left the valley, it was almost dusk, and the temperature in the valley had dropped a lot.

"Further down is the ruins of Linggu, let's sleep here tonight." Not long after leaving the valley, He Dun pointed to a flat wasteland in front of him and said.

"Is it here?" Ariel asked, "But doesn't it seem like there's a town ahead, and isn't it good to go there?" ”

"Ariel is here for the first time, too." He Dun explained, "The town in front of you is the ruins of Linggu, although it was once prosperous, but it has been abandoned for many years. Places further down are basically corrupted by magic, especially at night, when the residual magic effect will be even more powerful, making it unsuitable for camping. So usually people who pass by here will camp out in this vicinity and then walk through the ruins in one breath the next day. ”

"You'll be in the Night City when you get here." He Jin said lightly.

"Really?" Ariel asked, "How much longer?" ”

"Well...... "He Jian thought for a moment and said, "It's about two or three days." ”

"That's really good, I really want to go to the city early to have a comfortable meal, take a shower, and sleep for a few days." Ariel said expectantly.

"yes, yes." Lan Yue echoed.

"Come on, don't worry." He Dun comforted.

As the night deepened, everyone went back to their tents to rest shortly after dinner. In the dead of night, Yujali woke up in a daze, and after that, she couldn't sleep, so she walked out of the tent, intending to take a break.

Not far from the tent, Yujiali saw Li Yaqi sleeping on the branches of the cliff, so she picked up a stone on the ground and threw it at her.

"Ouch." Li Yaqi, who was hit by a stone, covered her head and looked down.

"What are you doing?" Li Yaqi jumped in front of Youjiali and pouted and asked.

"What are you doing, aren't you supposed to be in charge of guarding, why did you get up to sleep?" Yugari asked dissatisfied.

"Only, not there." Li Yaqi said while wiping her saliva.

"Really?" Yujiali squinted at Li Yaqi and said, "I just heard something nearby. It felt like it was coming out of the rocks. Did you find anything? ”

"Huh?" After listening to Youjiali's words, Li Yaqi carefully observed the surroundings, and then said, "No, I have already put the scope of vigilance to the maximum. Except for us, there wasn't even a living creature around, so there was no situation at all. ”

"That's it." Yugari frowned and muttered to herself, "Is it my delusion?" ”

"I guess so." Li Yaqi said jokingly, "Maybe the inconvenient days have come and affected my judgment." Hey, humans are really in trouble. ”

"Yes." With a calm face, Yugari turned and walked towards the tent, saying, "I was going to tell you that I saw a dragon somewhere during the day. Hey, forget it, I'd better go back and get some rest. ”

"Huh?" After Li Yaqi heard Youjiali mention Jiaolong, she immediately became excited, and hurriedly ran to Youjiali and asked excitedly, "Where is it?" Where is it? ”

Yujiali said with an unhappy look on her face at this time: "I don't know! I'm angry! ”

"Ahh Li Yaqi immediately lied like a child around Youjiali, "Tell me, Sister Youjiali." ”

"I'm not feeling well, I'm going to sleep!" With that, Yugari lifted the curtain and prepared to go in to rest.

"I'm begging you, can't you?" Li Yaqi hugged Youjiali's thigh while crying and mourning, and said, "Can I listen to you all in the future?" ”

"Really?" Yugari opened one eye and pretended to say, "Alright then, I'll tell you with great mercy." ”

"Uh-huh!" Li Yaqi said happily, "Thank you, Sister Youjiali. ”

So, Youjiali told Li Yaqi about seeing the dragon on the top of the mountain during the day. After finishing speaking, Youjiali grabbed Li Yaqi, who was about to turn around and leave, and asked, "You guy, don't you plan to go now?" ”

"Huh?" Li Yaqi said embarrassedly, "No, that, I'm just ......"

"You're in charge of guarding now." "At least we'll have to wait until daylight tomorrow." ”

"But, but." Li Yaqi said aggrievedly.

"But what? Tianchi won't run. Yugari said sternly.

"Okay then." Li Yaqi reluctantly agreed. Then he went back to lying down on the branch.

The next morning, Youjiali couldn't find Li Yaqi anywhere, and thought that she had gone to catch Jiaolong. So, she told He Dun that Li Yaqi had left for a while because of something else and should be back soon. He Dun expressed his understanding, and at the same time expressed concern for her personal safety when she acted alone.

After everything was cleaned up, Brother Shui commanded the convoy and began to drive towards the avenue of the ruins of Linggu.

To the east of the convoy road, to the north is the leafy woods, to the south is the northern end of the Broken Wood Mountains, and in the middle is a large flat and open area that was once the thriving magical capital, Spirit Valley City. But now the town has long since been submerged in a sea of moss and vines. Weathered stone buildings, collapsed houses, the smell of decay, and overgrown courtyards all outline the appearance of this small city today. And the faint dark energy that surged out from all around from time to time made people who passed by here feel more and more uncomfortable, so that they didn't want to stay here too much for a moment.

"I think the pond should be at the foot of the hill not far from there." Brother Shui stopped the carriage and pointed to a bush near the foot of the mountain on the east side of the road and said to He Dun.

He Dun observed the surrounding situation and did not find anything abnormal, and said to He Jian: "You are here and everyone to be vigilant about the movements around you. I'll go over there with Eucarie and Aaron to get some water. ”

"Don't worry, leave it to me." He Jian patted his chest and said.

So, He Dun, Yujiali and Alun came to the pond at the foot of the northern end of the Broken Wood Mountains. It is a pond that is not too big, there is not a trace of ripples on the surface of the water mirror, and although the water is crystal clear, it constantly emits a faint black mist.

"This water...... No problem. Looking at the strange pool water, Aaron asked worriedly.

"It shouldn't matter. Brother Shui said that it would be good to clean it up. No problem. Let's try it first. After speaking, He Dun took out the utensils containing water and began to draw water.

At this moment, the entire pool suddenly shook violently, and the water surface turned into huge waves. The ground beneath his feet began to tremble incessantly, and rocks continued to roll down the cliff wall in front of him, and the entire cliff kept shaking and began to collapse gradually.

"What's going on?!" Aaron shouted loudly in panic.

"I don't know. Be careful, everyone! He Dun responded.

At this time, Youjiali, He Dun, and Alun had already drawn their weapons and stood back to back, highly alert for what was about to happen around them.