Chapter 83

"Baby, this is a true treasure. With this thing, my strength will likely double instantly." Chu Nan took a deep breath. With the power of the dragon-shaped spine and the 'Dragon Legacy Flash,' even if he faced the pangolin king alone again, he was confident he could kill it.

As the magnifying glass returned to normal, Chu Nan looked at the spider claw. A thought struck him, and he aimed the magnifying glass at the spider claw. At first, there was no abnormality, but as he slowly focused his mind, the primal force in his head began to vibrate, resonating with the magnifying glass. Soon, his mind felt as if it was being dragged into the magnifying glass.

In his eyes, the spider claw in the magnifying glass began to enlarge, five times, ten times, a hundred times...

Finally, he saw the structure of the spider claw through the magnifying glass, with densely arranged primal force factors, but these factors were grayish-white, somewhat dim, unlike the snow-white, jade-like factors in the spine.

"The color of the primal force factors differs, and so does their power. The genetic force within them is clearly different..."

Chu Nan pondered. The spider claw's factors were grayish-white, while the spine's factors were white. He wondered if this was just a special case or if the color of the primal force factors was related to their power.

Through the magnifying glass, Chu Nan could still clearly feel that the grayish-white primal force factors were far less pure and profound than the white ones. The arrangement of the factors was also less tight.

Slowly putting away the magnifying glass, he realized he had discovered another function of this mysterious magnifying glass by chance. It could actively unlock the genetic power sealed in genetic weapons, which would save him a lot of trouble. In the future, if he obtained more genetic weapons, he wouldn't have to return to the Gaia Monument to wait for the light to release the seal.

"With this dragon spine, the spider claw will be invaluable..." Chu Nan mused, but in the end, he didn't discard the spider claw. Instead, he held it in his left hand, one genetic weapon in each hand. He glanced at the pile of bones and walked out of the main tomb.

As for the true identity of the strange skeleton in the dragon robe and its connection to Emperor Jianwen, it might remain a mystery forever.

"Logically, if it's buried here and the Divine Merit Stele says it's Emperor Jianwen, and it's wearing a dragon robe, it should be Emperor Jianwen. But looking at the skull, the chin is so sharp, almost like a spike, almost bending... yet it's clearly not human... the chin..."

Chu Nan suddenly had a thought and immediately thought of the appearance of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, as described in folk legends.

According to legend, Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely ugly, with a face full of pockmarks from smallpox, a long chin, a sunken face, a prominent forehead, large ears almost touching his shoulders, and a wide mouth. In folk legends, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty was described as having a strange and bizarre appearance.

Of course, in some portraits or records, he was described quite differently, with a square face, kind eyes, sparse beard, fair and smooth skin, and regular features, making him look dignified and handsome.

These two completely different portraits and descriptions made Zhu Yuanzhang's appearance a mystery that could never be resolved.

At this moment, Chu Nan thought of these legends and the strange skeleton that should have been Emperor Jianwen's remains.

The skull of the skeleton had a very long chin, almost bending upwards, and a prominent forehead. When he combined these features, it actually resembled the folk legend of Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Is it a coincidence? Emperor Jianwen is Zhu Yuanzhang's grandson, so it's not surprising if they resemble each other... If the skeleton had flesh and skin... wouldn't it resemble the Zhu Yuanzhang in folk legends? And it's wearing a dragon robe... and the records on the Divine Merit Stele... Could it be..."

As Chu Nan walked out of the tomb, a terrifying and shocking idea suddenly struck him.

Perhaps... the true identity of the skeleton... was really Emperor Jianwen, Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yuanzhang's grandson.

But if this were true, what was the true identity of Zhu Yunwen?

No matter how human-like it appeared, at least from the skull, Chu Nan was certain it was not human, but some other creature that resembled a human.

Thinking about this, Chu Nan felt a chill run down his spine.

Could it be that the Zhu clan, who seized the empire and established the Ming Dynasty... was not human?

But some other intelligent creature that resembled a human?

"Impossible... This... is too absurd..." Chu Nan felt a chill down his spine just thinking about it and dared not think further. This conjecture was too bizarre, even he couldn't accept it, so he quickly dismissed it from his mind.

"Still, why are there such completely different versions of Zhu Yuanzhang's appearance... It is indeed strange..."

Chu Nan shook his head. History had passed so long ago, and some historical truths might be buried in the flow of time. As a descendant, he could only guess from some clues, but no one could definitively determine the truth.

"Just the idea I had just now is too absurd. In the past, I wouldn't have dared to think such things, but after the earthquake, too many absurd things have happened. Now, even the most incomprehensible things seem normal."

Chu Nan laughed bitterly to himself. He speculated that either Emperor Jianwen had undergone some kind of deformity, causing his skull to change, or some other human-like creature had taken over his stone coffin and slept in it.

If it was the former, it wouldn't be a big deal, but if it was the latter, what was this human-like creature that had taken over Emperor Jianwen's stone coffin?

Thinking about it, it was still an unsolvable mystery. Chu Nan shook his head and finally walked out of the cave.

When he emerged from the cave, Cane Ear was gone, and the terrifying crack was now shrouded in fog.

The mist was thick, rising from the bottom of the crack, swirling and billowing, creating a spectacular scene.

Furrowing his brow, Chu Nan felt a sense of foreboding. He took a deep breath, dared not delay, and immediately began climbing up the cliff.

Soon, Chu Nan could see the sky above the crack from a distance. Climbing to the cracks on the cliff, he entered and suddenly paused.

In this crack, a man named Yan and a woman named Xiaoyu had lived for several days. Yan was blind and had a broken leg. Because they hadn't awakened, they were unable to climb out. Previously, Chu Nan had promised to take them away, but they were attacked by Cane Ear and rolled down, and he had no time to help them.

Now, deciding to leave, Chu Nan thought of them and climbed back to the crack. He suddenly smelled blood and saw the twisted bodies of Xiaoyu and the blind Yan, with signs of being eaten, their blood congealed, and they were dead.

Pausing for a moment, he saw scales on the ground and realized that the killers were likely the pangolin monsters that had scattered earlier.

These two were truly pitiful. They had fallen here due to the earthquake and struggled to survive in this dark crack, but because of the battle between him and Cane Ear, they had been disturbed by the pangolin monsters and died at their hands.

Sighing, Chu Nan turned to leave, but a thought struck him. He walked over, took the backpack from Yan's broken leg, opened it, and saw a blood-stained fruit knife inside.

"Indeed... Could that woman Xiaoyu... But... not necessarily..."

Chu Nan muttered, shaking his head. He didn't want to think of human nature as so terrifying, so he stopped thinking about it. He leaped out of the crack and continued climbing up.

After climbing about ten meters, the fog rising from the bottom of the crack became thicker, making it difficult even for his sharp vision.

Suddenly, a terrifying sound came from the thick fog below.

Chu Nan looked down and saw a figure rapidly climbing up through the fog. As it got closer, he realized it was Cane Ear.

"This dog..." Chu Nan was surprised. He thought Cane Ear, having obtained the pangolin king's scales, would have left, but it seemed to have returned to the bottom of the crack and was now rapidly climbing up. The sound below grew louder, and it seemed that a large number of creatures were chasing it up through the fog.

Cane Ear moved quickly on all fours. Chu Nan was stunned when he saw Cane Ear break through the fog.

On Cane Ear's back, he saw the scales.

He didn't know how Cane Ear did it, but the pangolin scales were perfectly covering its back and head, making it look like a dog with scales.

"What's going on? Can these pangolin scales only be used by mutants?" Chu Nan was surprised. The scales didn't show such abnormal changes in his hands, but in Cane Ear's hands, they seemed to have become part of its body.

Cane Ear was already terrifying, and if it had an additional layer of impenetrable scales, how much more terrifying would it become?

But what surprised Chu Nan even more was that the more terrifying and powerful Cane Ear was fleeing upward, ignoring him, and dashing toward the exit of the crack, about ten meters away.

The sound below grew louder, and it seemed that a large number of creatures were chasing it up through the fog.