Free Web NovelChapter 2464: Chapter 2465: Underground
Hot Springs Town is located on the outskirts of Baiman City. Although it’s a bit far from the city center, it still falls within the range of this round of attacks. On the road, Tamur occasionally uses the Mythical Era Projection that hasn’t dissipated to sense the situation underground.
According to Tamur’s senses, there exists a large-scale barrier underground. However, this barrier is not continuous. It’s unclear whether this is due to the limitation of the sensory range or if the barrier itself is designed that way.
The one thing for certain is that there’s definitely something underground. As for asking the survivors of Baiman City, Feng Yuan and the others didn’t get any useful answers. Precisely because they don’t know what’s going on underground, Feng Yuan can’t determine whether what’s below is friend or foe.
"I never thought Hot Springs Town would turn out like this."
Looking at the ruins filled with remnants of defensive structures, Feng Yuan couldn’t help but sigh. It hasn’t been so long since they last came to Hot Springs Town, and yet it looks completely unfamiliar now.
Qi Chen remained silent. Or rather, since entering Baiman City, he hadn’t shown much of a smile, and although Dou Yanlan wasn’t as visibly affected as Qi Chen, she also seemed deeply pensive.
"Without underground passages, I’m afraid we’ll have to try going through Deepwater Cave."
Veronia sensed for a moment and then turned to Feng Yuan, saying. It wasn’t clear what the other party thought, but indeed, there seemed to be no existing path to the underground.
"Let’s go to Deepwater Cave; there’s no passage to the underground here, I’m afraid..."
Nodding slightly, Feng Yuan wasn’t feeling very optimistic. Although he did not say it outright, he had a premonition that the people hiding below were from the Imperial Timeline. After all, without passages, how many people could they move underground?
A large-scale barrier typically corresponds to the number of people it protects internally; however, under such circumstances, how many survivors of Baiman City could there be underground?
On the way, they passed by some familiar hot springs, but the pools that once emitted steam were now dried up. The destruction from the battle had damaged the underground water network, causing the warm spring water to gush through the cracks and flood the streets, courtyards, and hillsides.
Perhaps due to its terrain, Deepwater Cave hadn’t dried up. The spring water still steamed, but the sight of the collapsed lifeguard hut made Feng Yuan’s eyes flicker with an unusual light.
"The hut passage has completely collapsed."
Examining the collapsed lifeguard hut, Veronia remarked curiously. Stroking her chin, Feng Yuan said:
"Perhaps the situation is not as dire as it seems, but how do we get down there now?"
While a passage behind the waterfall still existed within the range of divine sense, it wasn’t feasible or suitable for Feng Yuan and the others to traverse at this moment.
After all, the area was too cramped; once inside, Feng Yuan wouldn’t mind, but Qi Chen and the others couldn’t guarantee their safety.
Don’t assume that just because the passage is narrow, there won’t be attacks; quite a few Spirit Beasts can travel through the earth. If ambushed in such a narrow passage, even Feng Yuan would have a hard time dealing with it.
Veronia thought for a moment and said:
"How about this: you stay in the World of Mirrors, and I’ll take you across."
Veronia herself wasn’t afraid of the passage. Given her size, even in the passage behind the waterfall, there was still enough space for her to maneuver, so she wasn’t worried about ambushes.
If there was a Space Divine Beast present, they could perform a space jump. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one. With so many cities losing contact, even Gitalien had to join in to help, so it was natural that she couldn’t appear here.
In fact, in the eyes of some, the rescue team at Baiman City was already excessively large. The number of people wasn’t the main issue; the number of rescuers dispatched from Maomu City wasn’t particularly high, but the fact that three Divine Beasts accompanied them made the difference.
No, Counting Long Boduo, there should actually be four, but outsiders wouldn’t know that besides the rescue team.
"Hmm, that works too, then I’ll trouble you with it."
After thinking it over, Feng Yuan realized there wasn’t a better option. Getting Long Boduo to help traverse through the Netherworld wouldn’t work, as the entrance and exit opened by Long Boduo couldn’t be absolutely precise. Besides, the situation underground was unclear, and stepping directly into a trap would be problematic.
More importantly, Feng Yuan had some doubts about whether those underground were truly survivors of Baiman City.
Veronia swiftly traversed the passage. For her, the winding, narrow corridor wasn’t difficult to navigate, and soon enough, she reached the end. The high-temperature pool continued to release scorching heat waves quietly, and it was Qi Chen’s first time here. Staring at the high-temperature pool, Qi Chen couldn’t help but ask,
"Is that lava?"
"No, it’s a liquid formed by the energy overflow from a Fire Attribute vein, you’d best not get too close."
As Feng Yuan spoke, he glanced around. Apart from the collapsed passageway, not much had changed since their last visit.
"Let’s head to Frost Dew Mushroom Cave. Tamur, could you check where the nearest barrier is?"
Scanning the surroundings briefly, Feng Yuan spoke to Tamur, while Yang Hongzhi observed the collapsed passage and said,
"It seems this collapse wasn’t caused by natural damage. These falling rocks... To collapse the entire passage without affecting the overall structure in a natural state is very difficult."
This was Yang Hongzhi’s insight gained from experience. Although he hadn’t encountered similar scenes often, cave damage in battles wasn’t unheard of, so he immediately noticed the unusual nature of this collapse.
"That’s right, but we don’t know who did it. It would be good if it was the survivors."
Nodding, Feng Yuan didn’t jump to conclusions, as without seeing it firsthand, he couldn’t confirm if things were as he hoped.
Frost Dew Mushroom Cave wasn’t far away, and they quickly reached the place. Looking at the missing stalagmites and the filled crevices, Feng Yuan frowned and said,
"Don’t head over just yet, this place... has traps."
"What’s the issue here?"
Yang Hongzhi looked at Feng Yuan with some confusion. To his eyes, there wasn’t any danger at this location. As Veronia scrutinized the level ground, she noted,
"They probably used the stalagmites we saw before to fill these cracks."
"Stalagmites?"
Qi Chen and the other newcomers turned to Feng Yuan. Stroking his chin, Feng Yuan said,
"Probably. However, the way this was done seems very local. Hmm, I wonder if there’s a way to try contacting them."
Taking out his phone and glancing at it, Feng Yuan said uncertainly. Although there was a signal here even after breaking the scarlet sky, he couldn’t guarantee they’d have phones or trust the information on the devices.
The network used by the phones couldn’t guarantee absolute security; moreover, in this situation, there was no assurance that someone from the Imperial Timeline wouldn’t disguise themselves as a rescue team to lure survivors out.
"Should I try using the Nether Path? It seems there’s no trap ahead."
Long Boduo suggested after some observation. Though both were short-distance spatial movements, Long Boduo’s Nether Path wasn’t quite the same as typical space jumps. The Divine Beast Technique essentially utilized space movement through the Netherworld. Except for the starting and ending points, the covered distance was instead traversed in the Netherworld.
Long Boduo suggested this because she’d noticed space traps in this region. It was clear the person setting the traps had already considered the possibility of using space jumps to bypass them.
"Hm, then give it a try. Given the current situation, we shouldn’t rashly alarm them."
Nodding, Feng Yuan said, acknowledging that he didn’t consider triggering the traps a wise choice, especially not knowing who was on the other side.
Using the Nether Path, they successfully bypassed the trap zone and reached the interior of Frost Dew Mushroom Cave. Qi Chen bundled up against the cold and exclaimed,
"Why does the temperature change so drastically here?"
"It’s a characteristic of the Frost Dew Mushrooms, huh? Little guy, come over here."
Veronia noticed a small head peeking out and smiled, waving at it. The creature initially shrank back nervously into a crevice, but after a moment, as if remembering something, it cautiously poked its head out. Seeing it was the familiar Veronia, it cheerfully floated over.
"I hope for some good news."
Watching Veronia converse with the creature, Feng Yuan couldn’t help but remark. Even upon encountering the creature, he wasn’t sure whether it was merely one that escaped the attack or a sentinel for the survivors monitoring any intruders.
