frightfiction Chapter 458 - 378: The Anomaly of the Canglan River and the "Elemental Heart
Chapter 458 - 378: The Anomaly of the Canglan River and the "Elemental Heart
This time, Gordo’s gaze grew more focused.
He clumsily recalled the hand signs Marlin had taught him while trying to find that wondrous sensation of ’the earth becoming his own body’.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on Gordo’s forehead, and his breathing grew heavy.
HUMMM!
After more than ten seconds of waiting, a soft hum sounded. The head-sized rock actually trembled.
Then, as if held by an invisible hand, it slowly and unsteadily levitated about a finger’s width off the ground.
It wobbled as if it might fall at any moment, but it was really flying!
"Ah!"
Gordo let out a short cry of astonishment. The surprise in his eyes surpassed even what he’d felt when he created that little mound of dirt earlier.
He could feel an unprecedentedly clear connection forming between himself and the rock.
Marlin hurried forward, carefully observing the levitating rock and muttering to himself nonstop.
THUD.
Gordo’s concentration wavered, and the rock fell to the ground.
But he didn’t care in the slightest. He just stared excitedly at his own hands, then looked at Raylo, his enormous mouth splitting into a grin.
"Brother Carlo, I think... I’m starting to get it!"
Raylo nodded.
The door to the Domain World had finally been pushed open a crack for Gordo.
How far he could go from here would depend on his own efforts.
"Kado."
Raylo turned to Kado and said,
"For now, you, Gordo, and Marlin go to Ug’s tribe. I’ll find you after I’ve taken care of my business."
With everything arranged, Raylo didn’t linger.
In his Giant form as Carlo, he strode out of the Giant City-State with the four "little ones" on his shoulders.
After leaving the magnificent Giant City-State and reaching a deserted valley, Raylo signaled for Baofeng, who was circling in the sky, to land.
"Alright, it’s time for us to go."
Raylo’s enormous Giant body rapidly shrank in a flash of light, returning to his human form.
Sun also reverted to his hundred-meter-long Golden Dragon form.
Raylo leaped onto the saddle on Baofeng’s back and flew north with Sun.
The wind at high altitude was as sharp as a blade.
Raylo lay low on Baofeng’s broad back, his clothes snapping in the wind.
Beside him, enormous golden Dragon Wings unfurled, each beat stirring up violent air currents.
Sun’s hundred-meter-long body weaved through the clouds, his golden scales glittering in the sunlight.
The earth sped backward beneath them, mountains and rivers blurring into patches of color.
The Giant City-State quickly vanished over the horizon behind them.
Raylo’s objective was clear.
The Elemental Stream in the northern Endless Forest Sea.
"The Canglan River is up ahead,"
Sun’s resonant voice sounded beside him.
Raylo looked up. At the edge of his vision, a silver serpent lay coiled across the land.
As they drew closer, the "serpent’s" true form became clearer.
The river was so wide its opposite bank was out of sight, but the usually placid water was now churning as if it had been brought to a boil.
RUMBLE!
Even from a thousand meters in the air, the dull, thunderous roar was clearly audible.
The once-clear river water had turned turbid. Enormous, bottomless whirlpools formed one after another, looking as if they could swallow the sky itself.
Towering waves rose without warning and crashed back down, throwing up a sky full of mist.
The entire Canglan River was like a raging Giant Beast, thrashing about wildly.
’Something’s wrong.’
Raylo had Baofeng hover in place, his brow furrowed.
The Storm Griffin King let out an uneasy, low cry, clearly sensing the violent aura emanating from below.
"There’s something down there,"
Sun said, his golden dragon eyes narrowing as he stared at the roiling river surface below.
"A tremendous Power is clashing... chaotic, violent..."
Raylo circled high in the air for a moment, scanning the river’s surface.
’There’s been a massive upheaval underwater.’
Raylo concluded.
"Should we go down and take a look?"
Sun seemed eager to try.
"We might find something good."
"That’s not our objective."
Raylo was decisive and firm. The core of that violent Power seemed to be deep at the bottom of the river. Its aftershocks alone could churn the entire waterway, a testament to its terror.
If they approached recklessly and got caught up in it, even a Giant Dragon like Sun would have a hard time escaping.
’It has nothing to do with us.’
Raylo quickly made his decision.
"Underwater is not a battlefield to our advantage, and this isn’t our destination. Sun, we’ll fly over it at high altitude."
He wasn’t some hothead who rushed into every commotion he saw. He maintained a healthy respect for unknown, powerful existences and would never take risks without sufficient intelligence and preparation, much less create unnecessary complications.
"Fair enough."
Sun agreed with Raylo’s assessment, beat his wings, and shot up several hundred meters in an instant.
The dragon and the Griffin detoured high above the western side of the Canglan River, giving the chaotic central waters a wide berth.
After flying for another half an hour, the violent sounds of the water were finally left far behind.
Ahead, a boundless ocean of green stretched to the edge of the world.
They had arrived at the Endless Forest Sea.
"Sun, Baofeng, fly close to the canopy and conceal your auras,"
Raylo commanded.
Baofeng immediately understood, tucked in his wings, and dove like a bolt of yellowish-brown Lightning.
Sun’s massive body also nimbly descended, flying so low he nearly scraped the tops of the ancient, towering trees below.
His hundred-meter-long draconic body weaved between the giant canopies, moving with surprising silence.
’These winged lizards have to make way for me when they see me.’