A Shadow in the Lake

As he thought about the Divine Wind Bear, Lei Mo had already dived into the lake. Yes, he'd named it the Seti Sea.

The Seti Sea was enormous. Only from several thousand meters in the air could he just barely see the far shore.

Once he released his mental power to observe underwater, Franklin sent out all his Saint Realm souls. However, their range was limited by Franklin's position.

Even so, it was far greater than before Franklin became a god—about several hundred kilometers.

After Lei Mo had comprehended the Law of Destruction with his physical body and advanced to the Saint Realm, his mental power's range had also reached a hundred kilometers.

That was the detection range of Saint Realm strength. Three words: absolutely ridiculous!

Still, mental perception was clearer and more detailed. The Rune Souls were only responsible for a rough inspection; when something seemed suspicious, Lei Mo would investigate it himself. That way, it wasn't so exhausting.

The Seti Sea was vast, and Saint Realm magical beasts weren't easy to find. He could only take his time.

Normally, the places where Saint Realm magical beasts lived had obvious signs, such as a broad area around them being empty. Perhaps aquatic magical beasts were different.

One day passed, then three, then half a month. Lei Mo began to miss Rachel, but he still had to keep searching.

Saint Realm beings no longer needed to worry about a lack of oxygen. Lei Mo could absorb rule energy or elemental energy to meet his needs, so he stayed submerged in the Seti Sea day and night.

He held Franklin in his hand and carried the Totem Pillar on his back, its Gravity Rune newly engraved. He sank to the very bottom of the lake.

As he strolled along the lakebed, leisurely and at ease, Lei Mo knew there was no point rushing, so he didn't.

Suddenly, something darted past his eyes. Lei Mo carefully sensed it with his mental power, but could only make out a blurry shadow racing by.

He sent the Rune Souls after it at once. Lei Mo himself wasn't in a hurry. The souls had no combat power, but there was no way the shadow could shake them off.

"What kind of thing is that?"

A transparent fish? Lei Mo grumbled to himself.

Even his mental power couldn't make out its full form.

Then the Rune Souls sent him a message: the shadow had slipped into a cave at the bottom of the lake.

Lei Mo hurried toward the location marked by the Rune Souls.

The cave looked like a pool, set into the mountainside of an underwater range and hidden beneath a boulder.

It was only two meters across—easy to miss in a lake this large.

With Franklin as his safety net, Lei Mo followed close behind the Rune Souls and swiftly dived in!

One hundred meters, two hundred meters—eight hundred meters, one thousand, two thousand, three thousand, five thousand. Lei Mo could feel the immense water pressure now!

Suddenly, the pressure eased. Ahead lay a wide-open space, and there was no more water.

It was a valley, with lush grass and trees and fresh air. He couldn't feel the water pressure at all.

Lei Mo could sense the water-element particles in the air without meditating. They were clearly dense to an extreme degree.

He wondered whether the Water Law's fluctuations were clearer here, but he had no feel for the Water Element and couldn't tell.

"Where's that shadow?" Lei Mo asked the Rune Souls directly.

Ever since his soul had descended into Soul Space, Lei Mo had been able to communicate with and control these souls directly through Franklin's Soul Space. He just wasn't as practiced at it as Franklin was.

"Lost it!"

The Saint Realm Rune Souls were just as baffled. They had never lost a target before. This place was truly strange: Divine Sense could reach less than a hundred meters.

No wonder they'd lost it. This valley-like place was probably several thousand square kilometers, and Divine Sense could only reach a hundred meters. It would've been strange if they'd managed to keep up.

"Come on, let's inspect the place!" Lei Mo didn't recall the Saint Realm souls. He simply headed deeper into the valley.

There were mountains, trees, and grass, but no rivers.

Lei Mo had wandered around the valley in less than half a day, yet found nothing unusual.

It was just an ordinary valley—if it hadn't been hidden beneath the lake!

He had no idea where its light came from.

It didn't feel dark at all. It definitely wasn't because of night vision; the place was simply bright.

Lei Mo looked up. The valley's ceiling was several thousand meters high, dotted with multicolored specks that might have been the light source.

"That's impossible! Where could several thousand meters of height come from?"

Lei Mo had already dived more than a thousand meters through the lake, then descended another five thousand meters from the entrance at the lakebed. How could there be that much height?

Lei Mo was a little shaken. This was the bottom of the lake—the bottom of the lake!

For no reason, he felt a little scared. Fear came from the unknown; it wasn't shameful!

He didn't dare fly up to inspect it himself, so he sent a human Level Nine soul instead.

That's right, one of the three Level Nine beings Lei Mo had killed.

After surviving in Soul Space for a while, they weren't quite so wooden anymore.

Lei Mo watched the Level Nine soul float slowly upward.

If not for being in a soul state, someone at Level Nine wouldn't even have been able to fly!

Up it floated, higher and higher, into the multicolored light above—then vanished.

That was right: it vanished. There was no movement at all, no scream, not even a sound.

Lei Mo gently patted his chest and let out a breath of relief.

"It never hurts to be careful!"

That was what Lei Mo thought.

"Forget it. The sky is too high a realm for someone at my level to investigate. I'll look at the valley itself. I can come back to this once I'm stronger!"

Having made up his mind, Lei Mo stopped dwelling on it.

He released all the Saint Realm souls, then sent out several million ordinary souls as well.

The valley was densely packed with the phantom figures of Tauren. Lei Mo had never released so many souls at once.

The sight shook him a little. He was determined now: there was definitely something strange about this valley!

Franklin was already a Lowgod, and a Lowgod immune to soul attacks at that. What was there to fear?

Lei Mo gave himself a pep talk.

"Master!"

Franklin's voice rang out.

"I found a small pool!"

"There really is something strange here. There isn't a single stream in the whole valley, let alone a river. Where did a small pool come from?"

Lei Mo said.

Franklin's detection range here was a little over one kilometer. It could do the work of several hundred Saint Realm souls all by itself.

Its inspection was also more detailed. No wonder it had been the first to find something unusual.

When he reached the edge of the little pool, he saw that the water was emerald green and deep, giving him a spine-chilling feeling.

He sent down another human Level Nine soul, telling him to dive quickly while keeping a close eye on his condition.

This time, there was no need to go down thousands of meters. After a few hundred, the soul reached the bottom of the pool.

The space at the bottom was only a few hundred square meters, and pitch-black.

As he listened to the Level Nine soul's description, Lei Mo could picture the bottom of the pool in his mind.

Better safe than sorry. Lei Mo sent down several hundred Saint Realm souls this time, spreading them across nearly every inch of the bottom.

The creature that seemed to be transparent had nowhere to hide now. It was a Saint Realm magical beast shaped like a jellyfish—or perhaps a ball.

It didn't seem very strong. After he startled it out of the pool, Lei Mo smacked it onto the ground with the pillar.

Then it went "pop" and bounced back up. Lei Mo slammed it down again with the pillar.

He repeated this several times, and he began to understand.

This thing wasn't strong, but it was like a rubber ball, all springy. No matter how many times he smacked it, it was fine. What a curious thing!