In the frigid lands, after my exile, I began to slay demons and monsters.

Chapter 278 The Underwater World

After diving down another ten feet or so, "Bang!" The water bubble bumped into something, causing her to sway a few times.

Ning Xiaoxi pressed her hand against the edge of the bubble and could feel that there was another bubble-like cover on the other side, soft yet hard, and she couldn't put her hand inside.

Xiao Jiu came out of the cave and placed her hand next to Ning Xiaoxi's on the edge of the water bubble.

A soft light gently spread out, and the edges of the water bubbles began to break through the lifeless, dark seawater, truly adhering to the cover below.

The soft light flickered, and the dome and the water bubbles began to merge, creating a gap.

As the gap widened, Ning Xiaoxi saw what was inside the enclosure.

Supporting the dome was a massive, glowing skeleton, as large as a mountain, inside which was a completely different space from the desolate South China Sea.

Just as the skeleton revealed itself, Jiuyu in the cave awoke, slumped onto Ning Xiaoxi's left shoulder, wrapped his soft, weak arms around Ning Xiaoxi's head, sat steadily, rested his head on Ning Xiaoxi's head, and together they looked at the huge skeleton.

Lu Wu's soul rose from the Three Mulberry Tree, his faint phantom gazing at the skeleton.

The little silver dragon and mermaid, who hadn't appeared for a long time, also rushed out of the cave and swam around Ning Xiaoxi.

In this world of skeletons, fish dart about, sea creatures roam, seaweed sways, and underwater mountains rise and fall. There's even an unstable underwater volcano that occasionally spews out a plume of red lava, illuminating a patch of land.

However, the density of both fish and marine mammals is quite high, with almost no large empty areas. The endless schools of fish and dense marine mammals make survival in this underwater world very harsh.

Although the fluorescence on the skeleton was faint, it illuminated this otherwise dark and silent underwater world.

This is a living world, a living underwater world hiding inside a massive corpse.

Ning Xiaoxi passed through the gap and entered the skeleton world. The gap behind her disappeared and closed immediately after she entered, and the darkness outside remained.

Upon entering and examining the skeleton, Ning Xiaoxi couldn't help but recall the original form of Xiao Jiu that she had seen in the North Sea. While that original form was indeed long and robust, it was still a level below the skeleton before her.

Lu Wu's spirit emerged from above Ning Xiaoxi's head, his faint shadow towering high, the sorrow and grief on his face indescribable.

Jiuyu also tried his best to straighten his supple body, his eyes filled with an inscrutable expression, making it impossible to tell whether it was nostalgia or sadness.

The little beast opened its eyes and lay on its back in its den, looking at the skeleton that was shimmering with a faint glow.

Xiao Jiu and the little silver dragon mermaid swam quietly around Xiao Xi, occasionally darting onto the tall skeleton. From a distance, the skeleton was indeed awe-inspiring and awe-inspiring, yet still somewhat acceptable. However, when the little silver dragon darted to the side of the skeleton, the contrast between its tiny, worm-like size and the skeleton became starkly clear. Xiao Jiu and the mermaid's figures were so dwarfed by the skeleton that they seemed smaller than ants.

The three creatures' leaping and bounding caused the enormous sea beasts to scatter, clearing a large area.

They seemed to have entered the tail of this massive skeleton, as the space rose higher and higher, the marine life became increasingly abundant, and the mountains grew ever taller. When a black and white sea beast with two smaller sea beasts came into view, Ning Xiaoxi couldn't help but hold her breath. It was a species she had once admired greatly; she had even spent half a year's savings to board a large ship and stay there for a month just to see it in person.

The fact that there were whales in this world of skeletons gave her a strange feeling, a sense that there were similarities between them.

Slowly approaching the enormous body, her tiny frame was no bigger than a single fin of the creature. The whale pushed the two smaller ones behind it, watching the approaching bubble with some wariness. The little fish inside the bubble intrigued it; it had never seen them before.

Xiao Jiu slid up the whale's broad back along its fin. The whale didn't dare to move. The horror and fear brought by the little snake made it no longer curious about the little fish in the bubble.

Two baby whales clung tightly to their mother's belly, not straying far. They could sense her fear, but didn't know what it was. They could only cling to her body to show their support and reliance.

Soon, Xiao Jiu swam down from the whale's back and followed Ning Xiaoxi. It even glanced back at the large and two small fish; it had never seen this species before. How long had it been since it came to the South China Sea? Three hundred years? Six hundred years? Or a thousand years? Had it missed something?

When Ning Xiaoxi saw the enormous dragon claw bone, she finally couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Jiu, do you recognize this skeleton?"

Xiao Jiu nestled against Ning Xiaoxi's neck, gazing together at the dragon bones that were beginning to darken. "These are the remains of the Ancestral Dragon."

"The First Dragon?"

"The Ancestral Dragon was the first dragon in this world, existing before the gods and divine beasts. It had already perished before the gods and divine beasts ruled this world."

The first dragon! Such an ancient existence!

"These bones are really hard; they've been preserved for so long!"

Xiao Jiu glanced at her irritably and said arrogantly, "That was the Ancestral Dragon, born from the very essence of heaven and earth, naturally incomparable to a mortal body. We, the younger generation, have never witnessed the splendor of our predecessors when they dominated the world, but we often hear their legends. However, they were already legendary figures when we were children." As she spoke, she lowered her head again, "Judging from the current state of the South China Sea, the remains of the Ancestral Dragon won't last much longer. Once the remains collapse, the South China Sea will become a truly barren land."

Xiao Jiu turned her head and looked around. "These sea creatures will also perish."

Extinction? Yes, when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.

After a moment of silence, Ning Xiaoxi suddenly asked, "Xiao Jiu, have you ever been to the end of the sea?"

"At the end of the sea lies nothingness."

"Nothingness? What does that mean?"

"It was a void, where the seawater poured into the sky, connecting with the heavens, making it impossible to enter."

The seawater is flowing into the sky; isn't it connecting to another sea area? Then is the planet containing this world not round? Or is this not a planet at all?

"What? Are you interested in that place where the sea meets the sky?" Xiao Jiu looked at Ning Xiaoxi curiously, without floating back up to the skeleton.

Ning Xiaoxi thought for a moment, "It would be good to go and take a look if I had the chance."

"What's there to see? If you want, we can go anytime," Xiao Jiu said nonchalantly.

"呲呲!"

The sudden burst of light, like the sun shining into the seabed, stung Ning Xiaoxi so much that she closed her eyes.