Chapter 429 - Natural Karst Cave, The Real h.e.l.l
After listening to Vincent"s a.n.a.lysis, Dave immediately replied in surprise, "There"s a situation down there? Then can we follow the path of the spring and find Darren?"
Vincent thought for a moment before shaking his head. He said, "Although your method is feasible, it is not the most reliable and concise plan! This is because I"ve just tested it. The path under the spring can only accommodate one arm. Darren would never go deep underground along the underground river where the spring water flows. So, there must be other entrances around here. It"s just that we haven"t found them yet!"
Dave immediately looked around. He looked at the s.p.a.ce that had opened up by the giant rock. All the corners and details were clear and visible. However, he could not find any clues at all.
Dave shook his head and sighed, "But this place is only so big. We can"t see any traces of traps or secret doors at all!"
After hearing what Dave said, Vincent suddenly had a realization.. He raised his head and looked at the top of the giant rock. He frowned and said, "What you said makes sense. We can"t find any traces of traps or secret doors here. Maybe it"s not our problem. Maybe it"s just that the real entrance is not around the cold pond at all!"
"If it"s not here, where else could it be?" asked Dave.
He frowned and looked at Vincent. He then followed Vincent"s gaze and looked up at the top of the giant rock. He exclaimed, "Do you think that the secret door is above the rock?"
Vincent nodded and said in a deep voice, "The reason we came here is because Cameron had found out that this place is the lowest point in the territory of Serene Spring City. It"s also the most convenient location to collect the Origin Divine Earth. Therefore, we have solidified our thinking based on our impression. We only wanted to look for traces of a secret door at the lowest point. However, in actual fact, in this entire valley, there could be a secret door hidden at any location. These insignificant terrains are nothing at all!"
Dave nodded. He thought that Vincent"s a.n.a.lysis was very reasonable. He could not wait any longer and jumped onto the boulder.
However, the boulder was too big. Dave was already exhausted halfway through his jump. His body slowly came to a stop, and he began to fall downward.
However, Dave was not willing to fall just like that. He stabbed his long knife into the boulder. He used his other hand to pull himself up. He then jumped onto the top of the boulder.
After reaching the top of the huge rock, Dave looked around and immediately said to Vincent, "As expected! There is a trace of a teleportation array here, come and take a look!"
Vincent nodded. His feet tapped the ground lightly before jumping upward.
Whether it was in terms of strength or combat skills, Vincent was far superior to Dave. Therefore, when he jumped, he did not show any signs of fatigue. Instead, he directly jumped onto the top of the huge rock. He even helped Dave to pull out his knife that was stuck in the rock on the way.
Vincent landed lightly on the boulder like a feather in the blink of an eye. He returned Dave"s knife to him casually.
Dave was somewhat embarra.s.sed as he took the knife. He pulled Vincent, pointed to the ground, and said, "Look here. A very complicated teleportation array was set up earlier. Moreover, judging by what they left behind, there should be arrays set up here from time to time. It seems that this is the entrance that Jessica and Darren use to collect the Origin Divine Earth!"
Vincent nodded. He then stretched out a finger and pointed at the remnants of the array under his feet. He said softly, "Modify and restore!"
The broken array that had already lost its function suddenly flashed with a sparkling light. Following that, the remnants of the many materials and dust that were scattered in the air began to rea.s.semble, forming the complete materials needed to set up the array one by one. A complete array soon appeared in front of Vincent and Dave.
Vincent turned to look at Dave and asked, "Have you memorized the method of setting up the array and the materials needed?"
Dave nodded and said, "I"ve memorized them! Although these materials are valuable, I can prepare them. I should be able to replicate them!"
Vincent took two steps back silently, leaving more room for Dave.
Setting up an array was something that the elves were good at. Vincent, on the other hand, was not as familiar. Although Dave had become a Black Elf, his ability to set up an array would not change. As long as he could follow the method used by the previous individual who set up the array, he could completely restore the entire array and it would have the same effect!
Dave first made some carvings on the stone. He then took out some of the materials needed for the array from his storage ring. As he was putting them together, he said to Vincent, "In every array, the most important thing is the materials! The properties of the materials are closely related to the use of the array, and the placement of the materials also contains very important information. For instance, for the teleportation array that I"m about to set up now, the placement of all the materials is equivalent to constructing the specific coordinate. As long as we input the same coordinate, we can immediately teleport to the location that Darren used to sneak in, without the slightest deviation!"
Vincent nodded silently as he listened to Dave"s explanation. However, he did not have any interest in building an array, so he did not delve into it.
After Dave had set up the array, he stood up and clapped his hands as he said to Vincent, "It"s done! Now, as long as we activate the array, we will be teleported away!"
Vincent nodded and raised his hand to grab the air. Not far away, a ray of light suddenly flew out from the Purgatory of Nature. The Return Journey of the Dead had returned to Vincent.
At the same time, the Purgatory of Nature that trapped all the soldiers also disappeared with a bang. What was left behind were the soldiers who fell to the ground crying and some corpses that were in a miserable state.
After seeing this, Dave could not help but sigh, "So that terrifying s.p.a.ce is not an illusion. Everything that you summoned in that strange domain is real!"
Vincent nodded and said, "This involves the power of s.p.a.ce. I"ll talk to you in detail when I"m free. Now, it"s time for us to prepare for battle!"
Dave nodded in understanding and immediately snapped his fingers. The teleportation array under his feet shone brightly and swallowed the two of them in an instant. They disappeared together with the light.
Vincent and Dave only felt the light in front of their eyes brighten. It was so bright that they could not open their eyes at all. The light then faded, and their eyes fell into darkness again.
At the same time, they also felt that the air around them had become a little thin, and it was very moist, which made them feel very depressed!
Vincent raised his left hand, and a ball of flame instantly appeared, illuminating the s.p.a.ce in front of them.
After using the light to see their surroundings clearly, Dave and Vincent could not help but be surprised. They saw that they were in a natural karst cave, without the slightest trace of man-made excavation. However, the surrounding rock walls were inlaid with many ghastly white bones.
Some of the skeleton figures were half-buried in the rock wall, with only the upper half of their bodies exposed. Their two hands were pressing firmly on the rock wall. It looked as if they were trying to escape with all their might. At the same time, it was also the last thing that the skeleton did before it died.
The situations of the other white skeletons were different. Some had their lower bodies exposed, while their upper bodies were buried in the rock wall. Some only revealed a part of their hands or heads, making the entire karst cave look extremely gloomy. It was as if they had really entered the true version of the Purgatory of Nature.
Dave patted Vincent"s arm subconsciously and muttered, "What is this? Is a sacrifice needed to collect the Origin Divine Earth?"
Vincent frowned slightly and looked up. As he had the ability to communicate with heaven and earth, he quickly determined the location of the karst cave from the surface of the earth.
"We arrived here using the coordinates of the teleportation array. This karst cave is far from the ground. Even if we used the s.p.a.ce tunnel to investigate, we would have to make an extremely long jump to get here, and that is only if we know the exact location! Other than that, this karst cave has no connection to the surface of the earth. I estimate that the elves buried in the wall did not die because of a sacrifice. Instead, they were the soldiers who had helped Jessica find this underground karst cave. They were here to test the coordinates. After sacrificing so many lives, Jessica finally decided on the exact coordinates to teleport to this karst cave, thus fulfilling her goal of collecting the Origin Divine Earth!" said Vincent.
Dave could not help but frown and sigh, "There are already so many corpses embedded in the walls. I can"t imagine how many elves actually teleported into the ground and eventually suffocated to death! Jessica, not only did she steal the Elf Race"s treasure, but she had also almost killed an entire army. Such a traitor really deserves to die!"
Vincent nodded. He then looked to a hidden corner. He said softly, "There is a man-made hole in the shadows. Let"s go and take a look!"
Dave immediately raised his knife and walked forward. He walked with Vincent to the shadow-covered corner. Before the two of them got close, they smelled a rotten stench.
Dave quickly covered his mouth and nose. He frowned and mumbled, "This disgusting smell reminds me of a possibility, but I don"t want it to be true!"
Vincent said softly, "Me too!"
After saying that, Vincent pushed forward with his left hand. The fireball condensed in his palm and instantly flew into the cave.
A bright light instantly illuminated the entire cave. The cave was a spiral downward tunnel, and there were numerous corpses lying inside the tunnel. What Dave and Vincent smelled earlier was the stench of these corpses after they had rotted!
Vincent and Dave had long guessed the reason for these corpses. Such a long and deep tunnel could not have been completed by Jessica alone. After confirming the coordinates of the cave, she would definitely bring more soldiers in. She would then order them to dig the tunnel.
After the tunnel was completed, in order to prevent the news from leaking out, Jessica killed all the soldiers in the tunnel!
It could be imagined that over the years, every time Jessica collected the Origin Divine Earth, she would have to walk through this tunnel that was filled with corpses. However, she did not seem to have any remorse up until her death!
Dave could not help but clench his teeth and shout, "Why? Why are these b*stards willing to sacrifice so many lives that are loyal to them in order to achieve their goal?"
Vincent frowned and sighed at the side, "Greed, makes people fickle!"