Chapter 108: Unknown Entity Beneath the Valley
Chapter 108: Chapter 108: Unknown Entity Beneath the Valley
SIZZLE...
Flames licked at the whole roasted deer as Zhu Ge and Liu Jianjian drooled at the sight.
A moment later, before the deer was even fully cooked, the two couldn’t wait any longer and devoured the Transformed Demon Beast.
As for Sword Hero, he was a vegetarian. He ate plants and the like, so he had no need for meat.
"So delicious," Liu Jianjian said, sucking on her greasy fingers. "It’s great following you, Master. There are so many Demon Beasts to eat!"
Liu Jianjian used to be timid and would never hunt beings at her own cultivation level. At most, she only dared to bully those at a lower level.
Of course, that was how she had ended up trying to bully Zhu Ge, thinking he was at a lower level, only to be utterly defeated by him instead.
But the Liu Jianjian of today was different.
Her gossipy nature hadn’t changed, but she had grown much braver.
Moreover, by sparring with Sword Hero, her close-combat skills had improved significantly. She had shored up her weaknesses and become more confident.
’Brother, I’ve suddenly discovered something is wrong.’
It was Hua Liusha, speaking seriously in Zhu Ge’s mind. ’Perhaps you should deal with this problem first.’
"Something wrong?" Zhu Ge was taken aback. "What’s wrong?"
Hua Liusha’s tone was grave.
’This valley might not have formed naturally. A kilometer underground, I found some bones. There are tons and tons of them, packed densely together! And...’
’It’s as if these bone fragments have a will of their own and are gathering together!’
"Bones?" Zhu Ge frowned upon hearing this. "Underneath this valley?"
’Yes,’ Hua Liusha said. ’There was no reaction the past few days, but for some unknown reason, the bones have started stirring. It’s like something is about to be born from them, which is why my Yin Qi was able to sense it.’
"You mean True Monarch Minmian and True Monarch of the Lantern didn’t notice anything when they were here?" Zhu Ge asked grimly.
’It’s possible the bones weren’t stirring back then and were just ordinary bones. It’s also possible they simply didn’t notice.’ Hua Liusha wasn’t sure of the situation either.
’In any case, I feel that if we don’t deal with this soon, those bones could become a huge problem.’
Normally, if there was trouble, Zhu Ge would just avoid it.
But now, with the Fungus God Destruction Array, this place was his sanctuary, his safe house.
Zhu Ge had no reason to leave this shelter and go elsewhere.
This was a shelter designed for him by a powerful True Monarch-level being!
’Then I’ll use the Fungus God Destruction Array to investigate right now.’
Zhu Ge looked at Liu Jianjian. "Roast another Transformed Demon Beast. The bigger, the better."
After speaking, Zhu Ge sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
Activating the Fungus God Destruction Array consumed a great deal of Blood Qi and energy.
With Zhu Ge’s current strength, he could only maintain the array at full power for less than a minute.
To investigate the situation clearly and nip the danger in the bud, he had to be fully prepared to eat more roast meat at a moment’s notice to recover his stamina.
"Okay, Master!" Although Liu Jianjian didn’t know why Zhu Ge’s expression had suddenly turned so grim, or why he was asking her to roast more meat, she knew better than to ask too many questions.
She knew that Zhu Ge must have his reasons for doing so.
WHOOSH...
Liu Jianjian sat down and started a fire.
Meanwhile, Zhu Ge had already used the Fungus God Seed in his mind to reach a powerful state.
In his perception, it was as if he had become the valley itself. The entire valley was under his command, and his physical body, sitting in its center, was its heart.
He could perceive Zhu Sisi eating mulberry leaves to practice the Nine Heavens Cocoon-Breaking Dragon-Swallowing Technique, Liu Jianjian starting the fire, Sword Hero cleaning the corpse of the Transformed Pig Demon... even the flowers, grass, trees, snakes, insects, and ants were all rendered in perfect detail.
But Zhu Ge wasn’t looking for any of that.
His consciousness transformed into something like fungal mycelium. Countless strands of mycelia sprouted from the earth, then spread deep into the ground like roots.
At the same time, wisps of red mist appeared beside the mycelia.
’Brother, it’s down below!’
This red mist was Hua Liusha’s Yin Qi!
The mycelia and the red mist plunged downward, reaching a depth of several hundred meters in no time.
And now, Zhu Ge finally saw the so-called "bone fragments" deep underground.
They were countless fingernail-sized bone shards.
These shards were faintly converging upward, already forming a round object.
’Just now, the shards hadn’t gathered this much!’ Hua Liusha’s voice was full of alarm.
’From then until now, in less than two hours, thousands of shards have already come together.’
The round, bony object before them was the size of a millstone, and if one looked closely, it resembled...
"A skullcap?" Zhu Ge wasn’t sure. "You mean these are the bones of some creature? And they’re reassembling?"
Zhu Ge decided to push the Fungus God Destruction Array to its absolute limit.
The next moment, endless mycelia plunged down like the Milky Way descending from the nine heavens. The waterfall-like strands instantly permeated several kilometers of earth.
In this state, Zhu Ge felt that not even the Raincoat Fisherman could defeat him.
No, not just him.
Even if the Raincoat Fisherman, the Great Ape, and the Black Tiger attacked him all at once, they wouldn’t stand a chance!
However, the consumption was also immense.
The Blood Qi in Zhu Ge’s body was instantly depleted. Even the faint wisp of Literary Energy, which had formed long ago, was squeezed dry in an instant.
But this also allowed Zhu Ge to see the truth.
The moment he saw it, a chill ran down Zhu Ge’s spine, and his limbs went cold.
’A human skull...’
Zhu Ge instantly withdrew from the Fungus God Destruction Array, his body completely empty.
"Master, it’s not done roasting yet," Liu Jianjian said hurriedly, sensing Zhu Ge’s weakness.
"No... no rush." Zhu Ge waved his hand, his pupils constricting.
Because just now, he thought he had seen a skull!
Deep underground, countless fragments were scattered throughout the soil and rock, yet each piece was smooth and undamaged.
The bone shards were spread across several hundred meters of earth, but one could faintly tell that they must have once been the fragments of a single skull!
This skull was about ten times the size of Zhu Ge himself.
And considering the terrain of the valley...
’This valley... was formed by this skull.’
Zhu Ge was stunned.
The skull had fallen from an unknown height and smashed into the ground like a meteor, flinging up soil and rock to form this valley over countless years.
That explained it. Zhu Ge had wondered why there weren’t many mountains in the vicinity, yet this one valley had formed here.
Furthermore, the valley had formed a very regular, six-cornered prism shape.
’Could it be an Array, too?’
Thinking of the valley’s shape, the more Zhu Ge considered it, the more terrified he became. ’What kind of being did that skull belong to? And how terrifying was the person who smashed it into the earth?’
Zhu Ge could hardly imagine it.
Perhaps the True Monarch of the Lantern had discovered all this but simply hadn’t told him.
Or perhaps... even the True Monarch of the Lantern hadn’t noticed?
If that was the case, the reassembly of that skull was truly terrifying.
But in the next instant, Zhu Ge calmed down again.
’No, I have to find a way to deal with this.’
’And besides...’
’Perhaps I can turn this crisis into an opportunity?’