As Ji Hao splashed into the water, Zhou You, who had turned into a dog, paddled over.
"Xiao Ji, I can dog paddle, can you?"
Ji Hao replied coldly, "Za Yu, I can tread water."
As he spoke, he surfaced, treading the river water.
Zhou You, puzzled, asked, "Then why did you jump straight in?"
Ji Hao paused, "Oh right, why did I?"
"None of your business, Za Yu!"
Ji Hao roared, "This young master was too hot, can't I just take a bath?"
Zhou You wasn't annoyed, "Then why did you go back up to the surface?"
Ji Hao bellowed, "I want to! Are you my father or my mother, to tell me what to do?"
Zhou You looked straight ahead, "But the underground river water ahead meets the rock wall, you won't be able to get past like that."
Ji Hao's eyes lit up as he looked into the darkness ahead.
Soon, Ji Hao submerged again, only his head visible.
Zhou You gestured for Ji Hao to look down, "Look, there's a conch down there, isn't it pretty?"
Beneath the clear underground river water, a colorful conch lay quietly. It wasn't small, about two sizes larger than an adult man's palm.
Ji Hao impatiently roared, "It's just a conch, haven't you ever seen one? What's so surprising about it?"
Zhou You nodded, "Indeed, I haven't seen one. I used to live in the mountains and never went to the seaside, how could I have seen a conch? Are you stupid?"
Ji Hao's eyes glinted with a fierce light, wishing he could kill him.
However, this detail...
Ji Hao pondered for a moment, "A conch appearing in this place should have been brought by the Flood Dragon. And Flood Dragons generally don't like seawater; they are freshwater demon beasts."
Zhou You found it interesting, "There are distinctions like that?"
Ji Hao said coldly, "Za Yu, you really don't know anything. Aquatic demon races have many categories, for example, some only like dark, damp swamps, others only like freshwater and hide in large rivers, and there's also a type that hides in the vast ocean. For example, there's a powerful dragon race, the Sea Dragon, which only lives in the ocean."
Zhou You nodded thoughtfully, "So what's the situation now?"
Ji Hao said, "Firstly, we were initially puzzled by this juvenile Flood Dragon. After all, when Flood Dragons give birth, they don't necessarily give birth directly to Flood Dragons; there's a certain probability involved. But if we change our perspective, perhaps this matter will be easier to explain."
Zhou You blinked, "For example?"
Ji Hao said, "For example, the father of the Flood Dragon we killed was a true dragon, or its mother was a true dragon. Dragon bloodline is powerful; no matter what species they breed with, the offspring will possess dragon characteristics. As for Flood Dragons, they are called Flood Dragons precisely because they possess dragon characteristics."
Zhou You suddenly understood, "Live and learn."
Ji Hao frowned slightly, "But if that's the case, then what we've provoked isn't just a Demon Emperor Flood Dragon, but a true dragon."
Zhou You looked calm, completely unconcerned.
Ji Hao was displeased, "A dragon, a true dragon! How can you still be so calm?"
Zhou You naturally said, "Didn't your Evil Forces take care of this matter? What do I have to worry about? Besides, Yao Si must have already exaggerated your achievements."
Ji Hao was stunned on the spot.
Oh right, he had already taken the blame.
As for whether they provoked a true dragon, a dragon king, or a dragon emperor, what did that have to do with Zhou You?
"I'll kill you!"
Ji Hao roared, paddling over with a splash, and grabbed Zhou You's dog neck with both hands. "You dared to trick me!"
Zhou You stuck out his dog tongue and licked Ji Hao's cheek.
Ji Hao instantly pushed Zhou You away in disgust, "Get lost!"
Zhou You laughed, "Don't be so irritable. Is there anything in this world that you can't handle? Is there anything that the Evil Forces can't handle? What about a true dragon? If the Evil Lord makes a move, what can a true dragon do?"
Ji Hao bared his teeth, "You're a real dog, you've led me around in circles."
"Hey, hey, hey."
Zhou You said, "Don't slander me. I just asked if you could handle it. Then you very righteously took on the matter, I didn't trick you."
Ji Hao snorted coldly, feeling that things really seemed to be that way.
It could almost be said that he had taken it on completely on his own initiative.
Zhou You started paddling again, "Want to go check out what's ahead?"
Ji Hao coolly hummed in affirmation.
Zhou You wagged his tail, "Want to hold onto my dog tail? I dog paddle really fast."
Ji Hao said bitterly, "Just go quickly."
Zhou You then moved swiftly forward. In fact, as long as the Flood Dragon remained in this area for a short period without leaving, it indicated that there was something problematic about this place.
But without seeing the actual situation, all of this was just a guess.
Ji Hao's body didn't move, yet he followed Zhou You quickly; this was a method of using spiritual power. Unfortunately, Zhou You couldn't do it.
Even though he couldn't, Zhou You was very happy; dog paddling fulfilled his fantasy of swimming.
Before long, the two completely submerged. If they surfaced again, they would hit a wall.
After swimming for nearly half an hour, Zhou You poked his dog head out, and the space above was wide open.
There was a raised riverbank above, covered in moss and various small, messy plants that Zhou You definitely didn't recognize.
Ji Hao had already gone up first. Zhou You paddled twice, but because there was a two-meter drop from the riverbank, he couldn't jump up at all.
"Xiao Ji?"
Zhou You called out helplessly.
He couldn't revert to his original form now, or he wouldn't even be able to dog paddle.
Ji Hao gritted his teeth, jumped down, grabbed Zhou You's dog head, and threw him up. "Can't you be of some use?"
Zhou You shook the river water off his body and reverted to his original form.
"This should be the right place."
Ji Hao pointed to a certain area, "There are traces of a Flood Dragon having been here."
Zhou You frowned, "There's nothing special about this place, is there?"
The area was a thousand meters long and fifty meters wide.
Ji Hao held a stone in his hand, and suddenly the surroundings brightened.
Ji Hao threw the stone in his hand onto the rock wall above, like a small sun.
Zhou You was surprised, "What is this?"
Ji Hao said irritably, "Sunlight Stone. No, are you really that unknowledgeable?"
Zhou You shook his head, "Indeed, I haven't seen one."
Ji Hao then went to carefully examine the small plants, including the moss. Among them, he also saw a few conches, which, apart from being pretty, had no special characteristics.
As for these plants, apart from normal crushing marks, there were no signs of gnawing or licking.
The two grew increasingly curious. If this place had no unique features, why would the Flood Dragon linger here?
As they pondered, a splashing sound reached their ears.
Following the sound, they saw something in the distance moving upstream.
