Free Web NovelChapter 388: Chapter 375: Mianmian’s Unusual Activity
The sky was a vast, clear blue, as if freshly washed, with a few cottony white clouds drifting lazily across it.
A colossal beast with scales gleaming with a metallic luster unfolded its hundred-meter-long wings, soaring through the sky like a giant black ship. The beat of its wings stirred up a howling wind.
Protruding bone spurs on the beast’s body formed natural footholds. Gu Ming rested his hands on a high railing made of these spurs, his clothes whipping and snapping in the fierce wind.
He squinted, watching the mountains and rivers below shrink as they flew past.
Standing on the giant beast’s back, Gu Ming watched his fellow club members chat about their recent studies and couldn’t help but tune in.
"You are traveling with the group and overhear everyone animatedly discussing your personal Foundation Establishment Method."
"You have heard some cultivation insights. Cultivation Experience +100..."
As he listened, a club member approached to ask him about the details of constructing his Foundation Establishment Method.
Gu Ming was immersed in the new memory scene playing out in his mind, so he was a bit stunned when someone came to ask him a question.
"Hey, Gu Ming? I wanted to pick your brain."
A girl with a canvas bag slung over her shoulder made her way through the crowd to Gu Ming’s side. The fierce wind tossed her hair into disarray, and a refreshing fragrance wafted to his nose, yet Gu Ming had no reaction.
Seeing this, Lu You’s Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster took the initiative, positioning itself between the two of them in a defensive stance.
This made the girl chuckle. "Oh, come on, I just want to learn about the Foundation Establishment Method. Why are you so nervous?"
As she spoke, she directed her question to the suddenly tense Lu You standing nearby.
Time slipped by quietly amidst the conversation and the whistling wind. When the giant beast let out a long, low cry, Gu Ming and the others finally arrived at their destination—the Yichuan Ruins.
The giant beast slowly descended, landing smoothly on a relatively flat clearing at the edge of a cliff.
The clearing was scattered with rubble of various sizes. A few tenacious wild grasses grew stubbornly in the cracks between the stones, periodically battered to and fro by the sea breeze.
The moment they landed, Gu Ming was captivated by the sight before him.
The ruins were hidden at the base of a steep coastal cliff. The cliff face was covered in ravines of varying depths, like wrinkles left by time.
A massive cavern, like the mouth of a behemoth, yawned darkly, leading into deeper subterranean caves.
According to the intel sent by the club leader, the Yichuan Ruins proper were inside that massive cavern.
Inside, it was filled with stone slabs and engraved rock walls from a previous civilization, all unearthed by archaeological teams.
However, the environment here was far more dangerous than they had imagined.
A faint, strange aura permeated the damp, salty sea air.
In the distance, out over the sea, illusory flashes of light would occasionally flicker and appear on the water’s surface.
Gu Ming blinked and focused his attention in that direction. He soon realized it was just an illusion—merely the play of light and shadow cast by the clouds.
Once the clouds dispersed, the strange light vanished.
Below the cliff, an archaeological team’s tents were set up. Most of the personnel stationed outside looked exhausted. Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought they were having a grand time inside.
From the looks of it, the Illusion Realm was taking a heavy toll on them.
And these were just the people resting outside. It was hard to imagine what the frontline personnel conducting their research inside the subterranean caves were going through.
They had suffered countless disasters from the Illusion Realm.
Although Gu Ming’s university club wasn’t a professional archaeological team, they had come this time under the guise of "academic support."
The members of the Outdoor Adventure Club were fully equipped with climbing picks, compasses, and ropes. Each of their Pet Beasts possessed corresponding wilderness survival and exploration abilities.
They specialized in wilderness exploration and were responsible for helping the less outdoorsy archaeological Beastmasters gather cultural and geographical information.
It was for this very reason that Gu Ming and the others were able to come to the mysterious and dangerous Yichuan Ruins.
Gu Ming surveyed his surroundings. The cliff’s edge was mostly bare rock. The few clumps of shrubs had been twisted into strange shapes by the sea wind, and there was no cover to be found.
He raised an eyebrow, wondering inwardly, ’This place needs exploring?’
He stood high on the cliff, right at its edge, with the cavern entrance just below.
The waves, carrying white foam, crashed violently against the cliff face like ferocious beasts, letting out a deafening roar.
Looking back, it seemed the rest of the area was already in full view.
But the club leader’s gaze was firm. He waved his arm and shouted in a booming voice:
"Alright everyone, let’s measure the land around these ruins with our own two feet! Don’t leave a single corner unchecked!"
"What you see isn’t the whole picture!"
Gu Ming thought that made sense. He turned to follow the club leader, letting his own Pet Beast take in the scent of the nearby ocean waves as well.
Lu You’s expression changed slightly. The Illusory Color Butterfly larva in her arms squirmed restlessly.
It was currently in its Patterned Ring Worm form and had not yet evolved into a Tri-color Pupa. Normally, it should still be some time before it pupated.
However, after arriving here, the patterned rings on its skin began to glow with a strange golden light. It was clearly being strongly affected by the aura of this place.
Lu You’s brows furrowed. She softly soothed the larva while extending her Divine Sense to carefully observe the barren land.
’This place is rife with Illusion Realms, and the Illusory Color Butterfly larva is a Pet Beast that specializes in Illusion Techniques. Could it be influenced by the aura of its own kind?’
Lu You walked a short distance, the glow on the Patterned Ring Worm growing steadily brighter. It wasn’t long before Gu Ming, walking ahead, noticed something was amiss.
"Is your Mianmian not feeling well?" Gu Ming asked.
It was more than just "not feeling well."
Anyone could see that the Patterned Ring Worm was definitely being influenced by a powerful Spiritual Pet Beast.
After Gu Ming spoke up, the senior students from the club quickly gathered around to see what was happening.
"This is a Patterned Ring Worm, right?"
Someone crouched down for a closer look. "This little one has a long evolution chain. Patterned Ring Worm, Tri-color Pupa, then it emerges as a Rainbow Wing Butterfly, and after that, an Illusory Color Butterfly. Its potential is limitless."
"No wonder it’s acting strange." The senior girl who had spoken to Gu Ming earlier walked over, stroking her chin.
"This place is teeming with Illusion Techniques. Could it be the burial ground of a fallen Myriad Phenomena Butterfly?"
"A Patterned Ring Worm is very sensitive to the aura of High Tier members of its own species. Since it hasn’t evolved yet, it’s especially susceptible to the ’Synchronization’ Power of the Spiritual Element."
Everyone finally understood.
Although the Patterned Ring Worm was only in its Juvenile Stage, its Spiritual Power was already quite sharp.
Once it sensed the aura of a High Tier member of its own kind, it was highly likely to be affected.
"Synchronization?" Gu Ming raised an eyebrow. He had seen this term in the appendix of a journal called *Peak*.
Seeing that some people had stopped, the club leader also walked over to take a look. He said:
"Synchronization is an advanced manipulation technique of the Spiritual Element."
"An extremely powerful Spiritual Pet Beast can sync an enemy’s Spiritual Power to its own frequency, controlling them like a puppet."
"The closer the species and bloodline, the more easily they are affected."
"If there are remains of a Myriad Phenomena Butterfly here, that would explain a few things. After all, with so many Illusion Realms around, this place could very well be its burial ground."
Hearing this, Lu You gently jostled the Insect Baby in her arms. "Then my Mianmian..."
The Patterned Ring Worm’s antennae suddenly twitched, and it nudged in the direction of the cavern in the cliff behind them, as if trying to point something out.
A thought struck Gu Ming.
’Could there really be the remains of a Myriad Phenomena Butterfly here?’
’Or is it the influence of the ’Primordial Dream Butterfly’ mentioned in the system prompts?’
