Chapter 535 - 16: The Black Shadow in the Molten River
Chapter 535: Chapter 16: The Black Shadow in the Molten River
"Whoooosh..."
A strong, eerie wind, thick with Death Energy, howled up from the narrow passage toward the surface.
Countless severed limbs and body fragments, dancing in the gale, were also blown toward the surface.
The color of the Molten River grew darker and darker. What had first been a bright white turned to a brilliant orange, then to a vivid red, then blackish-red, and finally to a flowing, grayish-white.
Normally, cooled lava would harden into obsidian or some other rock—a solid, in any case.
But this grayish-white lava was still flowing.
Lin Yu wasn’t in it, so he couldn’t tell its temperature, but he could sense the dense Undead Energy in the surroundings. It was undoubtedly present within the lava itself.
At a glance, it looked as if the grayish-white lava was chasing after the normal lava.
No one made a sound. They all held their breath, watching the footage transmitted from the monitoring equipment.
Fortunately, they knew the enemy they were facing wielded Undead Energy.
Because of this, Lin Yu had specifically redeemed a material with extremely high resistance to Undead Energy from the points mall—Bone Silver—and used it to manufacture the equipment.
That was why the devices could continue to function perfectly amidst this fierce undead gale, a storm strong enough to corrode ordinary Extraordinary materials.
Time slowly passed, and the eerie wind within the passage grew even more violent.
Lin Yu suspected that if they hadn’t reinforced the passage walls and hidden behind them, facing this gale head-on without using any skills would have probably sent them flying right back to the surface.
Just as the surrounding Undead Energy reached its peak, the Molten River below changed once again.
A black shadow appeared in the grayish-white Molten River, then vanished in a flash.
Everyone beside the screen stared with wide eyes, afraid of missing even the slightest clue.
More black shadows flashed through the Molten River. They were incredibly fast, but their sheer numbers allowed Lin Yu to get a rough idea of their appearance.
The shadows looked like tentacles. Each time they shot past beneath the Molten River, countless globs of lava were thrown into the air, only to be scattered and disintegrated by the eerie wind, becoming part of the airborne virus.
Lin Yu carefully extended his senses, wanting to investigate. He immediately perceived that the Molten River below was filled with almost tangible Undead Energy, as well as a vast, cold will.
The moment Lin Yu’s Spiritual Power manifested, the consciousness immediately turned its attention toward it.
Lin Yu felt a chill run down his spine. Without a moment’s hesitation, he severed his connection to that wisp of Spiritual Power. Gritting his teeth against the sharp mental pain, he fully activated his Turtle Breath Technique, and at his signal, his companions immediately did their best to conceal themselves as well.
The next moment, the Spiritual Power Lin Yu had abandoned was shattered out of thin air. A wave of consciousness began to sweep the area where it had been, only leaving resentfully after finding nothing.
Lin Yu watched the tentacles on the screen, which had stopped moving. He didn’t dare to relax. Sure enough, after a short while, the consciousness suddenly reappeared and swept the area once more.
Only after appearing and disappearing several more times without detecting any anomalies did the tentacles resume their movement.
And as if to make up for the time it had spent stationary, it moved exceptionally fast. A few breaths later, the black shadows were gone from the screen.
After the black shadows left, the eerie wind in the passage below gradually subsided, and the concentration of Undead Energy in the air began to decrease.
As time passed, the Molten River’s color returned to its normal, brilliant orange. Fire elements gradually became more abundant in the air, and the sky outside began to brighten.
Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out of the sealed-off passage. The Death Devourers cleared away the newly emerged virus and Undead Energy in the vicinity.
Lin Yu cast a Detection Magic spell down the passage, checking repeatedly, half-afraid the black shadow would pop its head out and say, "Gotcha!"
After confirming everything was normal, he finally flew down the passage.
Chenxi, Rose, and the others followed with their heroes.
Lin Yu spread his arms, faced the scorching Molten River, and let out a few loud yells to vent the tension that had built up all night. Then, he turned to Chenxi and said:
"Even if that black shadow isn’t the main culprit behind this planet’s abnormalities, it’s definitely an accomplice."
"We couldn’t get a full view of that thing with just one device last night. I don’t know what it is exactly."
"If we want to cleanse this planet of the virus, we’ll definitely have to fight it."
"Let’s first establish a reconnaissance post here to figure out the black shadow’s identity and weaknesses and prepare for the battle to come."
"For now, let’s head back and get ready!"
After saying this, Lin Yu had no desire to explore any further. He led Chenxi and the others directly back to the surface through the passage.
After eliminating countless viruses and viral creatures, they returned to the surface.
The moment they emerged from the cave, Baining and Zolt Hard rushed over anxiously.
"My Lord—Lin Yu, is everything alright?"
"No, we’re fine!"
"You scared me to death! That little virus nest was spewing out viruses and Undead Energy all night. We thought something had happened to you!"
"Nothing happened, but we won’t be able to deal with this nest anytime soon."
Lin Yu sighed. His heart still pounded when he recalled the black shadow.
"Huh? Don’t we just have to shut down that... that Magic Array, and then purify the mutated tree?"