Gui Zihan walked to the edge of the lake and said to Chen Chuan, "I'll go in first."
Chen Chuan nodded in agreement. Although he knew the First People were unlikely to pose any problem, they were a team now, and certain procedures still had to be followed.
Gui Zihan tapped the strong-signal setting on his World Token. At close range, it could accurately reflect his physical condition. Once he had adjusted it, he leaped into the lake, accompanied by two team members assigned to support him.
But after they entered, their previously clear domain field signals suddenly weakened.
Chen Chuan had expected this. It was probably some kind of barrier created by an Esoteric Ritual. Even so, his mental perception told him that the signals coming from the other side remained steady, which meant they were all right.
After quite some time, Gui Zihan emerged again and nodded to everyone.
"Go in," Chen Chuan said.
At his command, everyone entered in order. They also made sure to leave a few things here, particularly modified flying insects that would react if anyone followed them in from outside. They had been placing these things all along the way.
Still, anyone capable of following them here would be far from ordinary, so these measures could do little more than give them some warning and keep them from being caught completely unprepared if an enemy rushed in.
More and more people entered the lake. They had all prepared to hold their breath, but once inside, none of what they had expected happened. They seemed to pass through a layer of invisible mist, then felt themselves sinking uncontrollably. Finally, they seemed to cross some sort of barrier. Their bodies grew heavy, and they suddenly felt solid ground beneath their feet.
What appeared before them