Chapter 523: Yongle Dragon Hole! Huaxia's Mysterious Legend!

Golden auspicious clouds drifted above Qingfeng Temple.

The phenomenon quickly hit the trending searches online.

People hotly debated the topic. Comments like "Temple Master Ning has manifested his power" and "He still insists he's not an immortal" flooded the internet. Some were joking, but others genuinely believed it.

By now, his global fame had reached unprecedented heights.

At that very moment, Ning Fei was relaxing at the Wenyan Deer Enclosure.

Ever since Xiao Yu the Deer and the little Fuzhu had met, the two had been playing happily.

The Fuzhu was inherently a spiritual deer, while Xiao Yu the Deer was a mutated sika deer with crystal-clear, jade-like antlers.

Watching the two fawns frolic in the garden, Ning Fei felt exceptionally at peace.

Ning Fei had realized that the so-called divine beasts weren't actually all that different from ordinary animals. They certainly didn't possess any abilities like spraying water or breathing fire.

For the most part, the Classic of Mountains and Seas had simply demonized or mythologized them.

The Tengshe, for example, was merely a mutated flying snake.

The Fuzhu, too, was just a white, long-haired deer born with four antlers, nimble and undeniably adorable.

However, these species did possess unique genetic advantages. Their bloodlines were inherently noble, granting them long lifespans and distinct characteristics.

Because their numbers were so incredibly rare, many had already gone extinct over the course of history.

Finding two of them in this day and age was quite a stroke of luck.

Yet Ning Fei wasn't satisfied with stopping there.

The world was vast, and his footprints hadn't covered even one percent of it.

"Little Fuzhu, come here."

Ning Fei called out from where he sat in the garden.

The little Fuzhu immediately kicked up its hooves in excitement and trotted over to him.

It looked exceptionally cheerful.

The little Fuzhu still appeared quite young, practically indistinguishable from a regular sika deer in size.

Lately, Ning Fei had been staying at the Wenyan Deer Enclosure. He spent his days practicing swordsmanship and reciting scriptures, playing with the little animals whenever he had a free moment.

Inside the enclosure, manager Jiang Xue, veterinarian Liang Yi, and the two animal tamers would occasionally catch sight of him.

They noticed that the animals absolutely loved trailing after him.

More often than not, whenever Ning Fei took a stroll, a whole herd of animals would follow right on his heels.

White foxes, spiritual deer, cranes... you name it, it was there.

Sometimes, the staff would chat among themselves in private.

"Could our boss actually be an immortal, just like they're saying online?"

"Look at how many animals we've got in the enclosure. He might as well be an immortal."

"Yeah. Even the ancient emperors' imperial gardens couldn't have been better than this."

"If we stick with the boss, maybe some of his good fortune will rub off on us."

Having rested for a while, Ning Fei decided it was time to stretch his legs.

"System, are there any extraordinary places I could visit? Preferably somewhere divine beasts might exist," Ning Fei asked.

"Ding! Host's request detected. Activating check-in task!"

"Task Requirements: Check in by livestreaming from deep within the Yongle Dragon Hole!"

"Task Reward: Divine Beast Location Card."

The System's voice echoed in his mind.

"The Yongle Dragon Hole?" Hearing the prompt, Ning Fei couldn't help but smile.

"How could I have forgotten about that place?"

"It is the deepest blue hole in the world, after all, and it's right in the South China Sea."

"It's the perfect time to check it out."

And so, before long, Ning Fei headed out to the South China Sea once again.

The moment he boarded the Qingfeng Cruise Ship and turned on his stream, the entire internet went into an uproar.

#TempleMasterNingIsFinallyStreaming#

The hashtag soared to the number one trending spot once again.

Fans rushed to spread the news.

Ning Fei could only explain, "I'm sorry, but there are simply too many people gathering outside the Daoist temple right now. Most of the time, I can't make my travel itinerary public."

"Whenever I go out traveling, I'll make sure to stream it."

Hearing his words, the netizens sympathized with his dilemma.

It was an unstoppable phenomenon. Nowadays, there were far too many people doing independent media and livestreaming. They would latch onto absolutely anything just to chase a trend.

Because of this, streaming from Qingfeng Temple would only bring him unnecessary trouble.

"Temple Master Ning, where are you heading this time?"

The viewers were most curious about his destination.

"The place I'm going today is in the waters of the South China Sea."

"The South China Sea? Are you going to the Xisha Islands or the Spratly Islands?"

"I'm going to a blue hole."

"Bluehole? Isn't that the game company that made PUBG?"

Many of them were fans of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and the original PC version of the game had been developed by Bluehole Studio.

Knowing they had misunderstood, Ning Fei chuckled and clarified, "A blue hole is one of the great wonders of nature. Out on certain tranquil surfaces of nearshore seas, a circular pool of deep blue water will suddenly appear."

"When viewed from high above, it looks almost like the pupil of the ocean."

"It is deep, mysterious, and downright eerie. This phenomenon is what people call a blue hole."

"And the place I'm visiting is called the Yongle Blue Hole. It's the deepest oceanic blue hole in the world."

"Here in Huaxia, everyone calls it the Yongle Dragon Hole. The local fishermen refer to it as the Dragon Pit!"

As Ning Fei's voice drifted from the stream, the netizens were entirely captivated by the imagery he painted.

"The Eye of the Ocean"—that description alone was an incredibly compelling hook, no matter how you looked at it.

Instantly, the stream's popularity skyrocketed.

No one had expected that such a mysterious location actually existed within Huaxia's South China Sea territory.

Looking out into the distance, Ning Fei continued his tale:

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas records that upon the vast ocean, 'there lies a great chasm, truly a bottomless valley, with no floor beneath it, named Guixu.'"

"Guixu translates to the bottomless valley in the sea."

"Therefore, the Yongle Dragon Hole is the Guixu of the South China Sea."

"There are ancient local legends about the Yongle Dragon Hole. The fishermen of Hainan claim this is where the Sea-Calming Divine Needle used to be, and that this dragon hole was left behind when Sun Wukong pulled the needle out."

"Some also say the Yongle Dragon Hole is the eye of the South China Sea, hiding its sea-suppressing treasure."

It had to be said, the scene playing out on the stream felt exceptionally atmospheric.

Dressed in his Daoist Robe, carrying an ethereal immortal demeanor, Ning Fei spoke of the legends of the South China Sea's Guixu and the Dragon Hole. Watching him gave viewers the distinct illusion that they were looking at an ancient immortal.

"Oh, by the way, the Yongle Islands Management Committee has issued a strict regulation. To strengthen ecological protection, no organization or individual is allowed to operate within a one-nautical-mile radius of the Yongle Dragon Hole."

"I submitted a formal application to the authorities and received special approval."

"Because of this, for the vast majority of you, this will be the first time you see this place—and it might also be the last."

Ning Fei's words only pulled the audience in deeper.

A place protected by the Government?

Locations like that usually hid massive secrets.

It was just like the Kunlun Mountains Valley of Death, which was heavily guarded by Huaxia military troops. Back when Ning Fei went up the Kunlun Mountains, he had only been able to enter because Bai Yuanche pulled some strings on his behalf.

To think the Yongle Dragon Hole was under the exact same level of protection.

At that same moment, in the Huaxia Special Department, Lin Tao was watching Ning Fei's stream.

He was the one who had personally signed off on Ning Fei's application to explore the Yongle Dragon Hole.

"Captain, are we really letting him go down there?"

Lin Tao's subordinate asked.

"Let him go. Our electronic surveying equipment has scanned the area for years without finding a single thing. Perhaps his entry will bring about some sort of change,"

Lin Tao said meaningfully.

Right then, Ning Fei spoke up again:

"Look over there, everyone! The Yongle Dragon Hole is right up ahead!"

"We've finally made it."

The drone spiraled high into the air. Gazing through the stream's camera, the viewers were treated to a breathtaking sight.

Upon the pale blue surface of the sea, there lay a massive, perfectly circular expanse of dark water. That deep blue domain seemed to radiate an intrinsic magic, giving off an incredibly profound and eerie feeling.

In that single instant, one phrase couldn't help but drift through everyone's minds.

When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you!