Source Essence Perception

"Roar--"

In Crystal Valley, the Lizard Dragon Leader roared with his head held high.

It stood on the dried-up corpse of the Carnivorous Flower, while the Revivalist around it were also reduced to ashes by the intense heat.

However, after the battle, it found nothing of value.

Inside the Crystal Wall, apart from the fighting Carnivorous Flower and Revivalist, there was no treasure as expected; only a cold, desolate land lay quietly before them.

In an instant, the airflow it controlled even went out of control.

The few ordinary Lizard Dragon that it led all the way to Crystal Valley were burned alive by the extreme heat!

Damn it!

"Where... where is my treasure?"

"..."

Meanwhile, Linsey and Red were still evacuating.

Although the Lizard Dragon Leader was furious, he never expected that the two tiny humans would still survive.

The Underground World has a winding and convoluted structure.

After passing through this straight tunnel, the next cave immediately connects to three intersecting tunnels.

At this moment, Linsey's Essence has finally recovered to a level that can cope with the battle.

He then activated the module that had just been unlocked.

[Decryption Game - Clue Collection]

"..."

After activating the skill, the scene in front of Linsey did not change at all.

However, when he focused his attention on the three tunnels, some faint traces became particularly obvious, looking like the naked-eye 3D effect on a laser card!

"There is airflow through the passage on the left."

"There are obvious footprints on the ground in the middle of the passage."

"The passage on the right slopes down into the ground, and the gravel above it is completely different from the stones on the tunnel walls."

One by one, clues appeared before Linsey's eyes.

The Decryption Game currently only has one level, and the unlocked skills are also at the most basic level.

However, looking at the scene that appeared before him, he could even guess what the next skill in the Decryption Game would be.

"After collecting the clues, the next step is naturally to analyze them."

"But even without the aid of skills to analyze, simply focusing these clues on them is more than enough."

There's no need to even enlarge the map.

Linsey will then be able to determine the direction to take next.

"Red, let's go to the left..."

Linsey habitually turned to look at Red, preparing to leave with her companions.

But this time, his gaze revealed a scene he had never seen before: a faint gray-black aura swirled around Hong, exuding an aura of slaughter and misfortune.

"This is... the Essence?"

Linsey immediately realized what was happening.

What he was seeing now was not the emotional fluctuations he had glimpsed through the Sapphire Glasses, but the Essence within the red body!

This is a perception ability that should only be acquired after truly becoming Ascender.

But in him.

This unique perceptual ability was acquired in advance in the form of a [Decryption Game] skill! Linsey subconsciously turned her head to look at the tunnel they had come from.

The dark passage was completely silent, with no trace of Essence left behind.

While the Sixth Stage Lizard Dragon Leader is powerful, it's not so outrageous that it can be observed here.

Linsey's unusual behavior immediately caught Red's attention. "Linsey, what's wrong?"

Linsey pointed to the girl's body:

"I have just gained a new ability, and now I can see signs of Essence activity directly with the naked eye."

Hong's tone was somewhat surprised:

"I can see signs of Essence activity... Huh? Couldn't you see it before?"

Hong's thoughts were clearly written on her face at that moment.

She always believed that Linsey, who had once completely suppressed her and was now her equal, definitely had that ability!

Linsey replied, "Generally speaking, this is an ability that can only be awakened after Ascender to the Fifth Stage."

Hong retorted, clearly puzzled, "That's not how you describe your strength."

Linsey had no choice but to patiently explain:

"That's because my situation is special. Anyway, I can see it now."

As they said this, the two arrived at the entrance to the three tunnels.

They should have stepped into the left tunnel leading to the surface without hesitation.

But if the distance is close enough.

The once quiet underground tunnel was now filled with faint sounds of fighting, drifting in like willow catkins in the wind.

Hong immediately looked at Linsey: "Linsey, is it still those guys?"

"The Lizard Dragon didn't come this way." Linsey shook his head, then squatted down and stroked the footprints he had just seen. "Look at these footprints, they must have been left by those Eyeless People we just encountered."

The size and shape of the footprints perfectly matched the body shape of the Eyeless People.

Linsey immediately made a judgment:

"It seems that in addition to the Lizard Dragon attack, they encountered other troubles ahead."

Red Dot in agreement with Linsey's assessment, and the Wood Poison Javelin was already in his hand:

Should we take a detour or go straight?

Without hesitation, Linsey replied, "Keep moving forward."

"This is the shortest route back to the ground; there's no reason to stop here."

"However, we are still not far enough from Crystal Valley. Some overly large objects may still attract the attention of the Lizard Dragon, so we should try to avoid fighting."

Hearing the sounds of battle carried on the wind, Hong asked, "What if the fighting ahead is extremely fierce?"

"If the road ahead is completely blocked by fighting," Linsey said, pulling out his Meteorite Pickaxe again. "Then we'll dig a tunnel up right now!"

Linsey and Red continued on their way.

As inhabitants of the Underground World, the Lizard Dragon and Eyeless People were excluded from the Dragon Beast' control.

Therefore, for these underground residents...

The ground became an unpopular area.

After all, as beings who manipulate Essence according to their instincts, they are far more susceptible to the corruption of Dragon Beast rules than humans, which is something that must be avoided as much as possible.

And there are Sixth Stage beings like the Lizard Dragon Leader.

Even if the Dragon Beast of the past did not kill it, once these 'escaped fish' frequently venture into areas they should not enter, the outcome will probably not be as fortunate as in the past.

Meanwhile, Linsey and Red continued forward.

After passing through two more caves and a tunnel, the source of the sounds of fighting in the wind appeared before them.

This place is indeed a battlefield.

Some of the Eyeless People who chose to flee arrived here, only to run into a group of bat-like Devil Beast.

The battle then broke out.

However, compared to the battles between the Eyeless People and the Lizard Dragon, the scale of the fighting here is much smaller.

Moreover, no decisively powerful individuals participated in the battle.

The battle between the Eyeless People and these bats reached a stalemate, becoming a pure contest of numbers and individual strength.

Right here.

Besides the sounds of fighting carried by the wind, Linsey also clearly heard the roars of these bat-like Devil Beast: "Kill them!"

"The Lizard Dragon can't occupy such a large territory. As long as we can secure a place to live on the edge, we can also find a place to stay!"

"If we can survive here, we can break free from their control!"