Chapter 90

On a dimly lit small island, two beams of light suddenly appeared, and Yang Zhen and the Third Princess of the Northern Sea simultaneously materialized on the island.

The trees on the island were over a hundred meters tall, and being among them, one felt surrounded by shadows. With the sun setting in the west, the gloom grew, adding a mysterious aura to the small island.

Glancing around, the Third Princess summoned a colorful shell, from which a pearl shimmering with brilliant white light flew out, dispelling the surrounding darkness. Turning to look at Yang Zhen, the Third Princess explained, "According to my eldest brother's attendants, it was here that my eldest brother encountered the Dragon King of the Serpent. As for why my eldest brother came here, I don't know. Actually, I find it strange too. Given my eldest brother's personality, he would never come to such a dark place; he hates the dark the most."

Yang Zhen nodded upon hearing this but did not respond. Instead, he walked directly into the interior of the island to see what secrets it held.

Yang Zhen looked around and noticed that there were many forks in the forest. After some thought, he chose the path on the far right. Earlier, Yang Zhen had observed the island from the air and found that it was not very large. Even if he followed the paths one by one, it wouldn't take too much time.

"Have you ever searched here before?" Yang Zhen asked, walking without turning back.

The Third Princess followed behind Yang Zhen and, hearing his question, answered truthfully, "In the past, we came here with hundreds of people, so the search was naturally very fast. We've been here several times, but we've never found anything."

"Have you encountered any dangers?" Yang Zhen asked.

"No, this is just an ordinary island. What danger could there be? If it weren't for my eldest brother being captured by the Dragon King of the Serpent, no one would have paid attention to this place," the Third Princess said.

They walked in silence for three hours, and Yang Zhen had already covered half the island, but found nothing.

Feeling bored, Yang Zhen once again noticed the Third Princess of the Northern Sea following him. He turned to look at her and asked, "You've been following me. Are you also interested in the Dragon King of the Serpent's intentions? Actually, I'm curious, does the Dragon King of the Northern Sea... know the purpose of my stay in the Northern Sea?"

"My father... I don't know either. But I'm following you out of curiosity," the Third Princess smiled.

Hearing this, Yang Zhen did not continue the topic. Regardless of whether the Dragon King of the Northern Sea was interested in this matter, with his cultivation and strength, he could not compete with Yang Zhen.

In fact, Yang Zhen had speculated on the entire sequence of events. It seemed that Prince Xuechen had discovered some treasure here. Coincidentally, the Dragon King of the Serpent was passing by the island at that time. Seeing Prince Xuechen obtain the treasure, the Dragon King of the Serpent attacked to seize it. However, after defeating Prince Xuechen, the Dragon King of the Serpent found that the treasure was not on him, and by then, Prince Xuechen's attendants had already fled without a trace.

Finding nothing on Prince Xuechen, the Dragon King of the Serpent believed that he had entrusted the treasure to his attendants to bring back to the Northern Sea Dragon Palace. Therefore, the Dragon King of the Serpent suddenly attacked the Northern Sea Dragon Palace to seize the treasure. However, in the first battle with the Northern Sea Dragon Palace, he encountered the desperate resistance of the Four Sea Dragon Kings and countless aquatic experts. Despite his immense power, the Dragon King of the Serpent gradually felt the strain.

Thus, the Dragon King of the Serpent invited the Bull Demon King to assist in the battle, and ultimately, Yang Zhen and Tai Bai Jin Xing devised a plan, with the Lion Camel King and the Monkey King also joining in.

Although Yang Zhen did not know the exact details, he felt that his speculation was reasonable. However, Yang Zhen did not know what kind of treasure could make the Dragon King of the Serpent go to such lengths to obtain it.

As Yang Zhen gradually approached the center of the island, he finally discovered a naturally formed array. Stopping, Yang Zhen carefully observed and found that the array was composed of four spirit stones, seemingly a hidden array. If not for his studies with the Patriarch Subhuti, he might not have noticed it.

"Why did you stop?" the Third Princess asked curiously.

Yang Zhen waved his hand, signaling the Third Princess to stay back, and then said, "Follow me from behind. There's an array here. I'll break it, and then we'll see what happens."

Array? The Third Princess, upon hearing this, carefully examined the scene but saw nothing. However, she did not ask further. Yang Zhen's cultivation and abilities proved his deep background, and it was reasonable that he could notice things others could not.

Yang Zhen's method of breaking the array was simple. He extended his right hand, fingers together, and swept them over the four spirit stones. A white sword qi instantly cut through, shattering the stones. After Yang Zhen's attack, the concealed scenery returned to its original state.

Under the cover of the array, the four spirit stones had appeared as ordinary rocks. When the spirit stones were shattered, they revealed their true form. In front of them, a two-meter-wide hole suddenly appeared in the ground, indicating that the array had been concealing this hole.

Yang Zhen did not know how the array was formed, but from its appearance, it showed no signs of artificial construction. However, for it to naturally form and perfectly conceal this hole seemed too coincidental, even for Yang Zhen to believe.

After careful thought, Yang Zhen speculated that the array had been set up by a great deity long ago. Due to the passage of time, it had been naturally concealed, erasing any traces of artificial construction.

"Here... I didn't expect there to be an array here," the Third Princess said in surprise.

Glancing around, the Third Princess suddenly ran out, picked up a piece of cloth from the ground, and after examining it, said to Yang Zhen, "This is a fragment of my eldest brother's clothing. It seems he did come here. I think this piece of cloth fell on the ground and was concealed by the array, which is why we didn't find it."

"I'll go down and check. Wait for me here," Yang Zhen said, then transformed into a white light and descended into the hole.

"Hey! Wait for me!" the Third Princess called out and followed Yang Zhen down the hole.

The hole was deep, and the wider it became the further down they went. After descending about two hundred meters, Yang Zhen found himself in water, but the surroundings were still stone walls, indicating he had not left the hole.

At this moment, Yang Zhen saw a white light above and looked up to see that the Third Princess had also jumped down. Frowning, Yang Zhen did not know why the Third Princess had followed, but he had a feeling she had a secret, though he could not yet guess what it was.