Fallen Leaves Bring News

Some people are born with the ability to perceive things that others may not easily notice, and they are also more likely to resonate with hidden things.

As everyone knows, when passing through a dungeon portal, one is prone to dizziness and headaches due to the teleportation, and some may even experience vomiting, diarrhea, or even unconsciousness.

You Fei didn't have any particular feeling about teleportation, but her senses had been disrupted by Gravity Magic earlier, and now she was suddenly sucked into the portal, giving her a real taste of what it's like to be dizzy from teleportation.

Everything went black, my head spun, as if I were falling and crashing heavily to the ground, and my senses were completely shattered.

Now, she was plunged into endless darkness.

But her inspiration resonated with something in the dungeon, and strange visions appeared before her eyes.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, accompanied by the sound of something being hit, sparks appeared in the darkness.

"Bang!"

The hammering sound rang out again, and the sparks from the collision illuminated the darkness even more brightly. In a daze, You Fei seemed to see a stone hammer.

She strained to see what the stone hammer was hitting, straining with all her might, and it seemed she was getting clearer and clearer, almost able to see it—

"Fallen Leaves bring a message."

A hoarse voice suddenly rang out, seemingly containing a special power that immediately drew attention, making people subconsciously anticipate what would come next.

You Fei was no exception; she made a concerted effort to listen carefully to the voice, as this was the most direct way to understand this unfamiliar underground city.

Accompanied by voices, a vast ocean bathed in golden light appeared before us. On the other side of the sea, a strange cluster of buildings stood there, blurry yet captivating.

However, she frowned and thought: Where have I seen this kind of scene with flashing images and human voice narration before?

By the way, isn't this a typical tactic of the Zane Dungeon?

She suddenly remembered the words she had shouted back then, "Sinn, if you're so capable, drive all the way to the Warrior Country!"

No, no, no, how could there be such a coincidence in the world?

She shook her head inwardly. It was already unexpected that the Zane Dungeon had left the Arnor Kingdom and moved to Reid. How could the same thing happen twice?

Historically, there has never been such an outrageous expansion of underground cities. Not only is the speed outrageous, but the location is also outrageous. Logically, shouldn't the expansion start from the underground city closest to you?

There's no reason for them to wander around the world like that!

Before she knew it, You Fei's attention had wandered off. She quickly turned her attention back and listened intently to the hoarse voice.

"Beyond the fog, at the Lands Between of our hometowns."

The sea, bathed in golden light, was gradually shrouded in mist.

Oh, the other side of the fog? The Lands Between? It sounds kind of mysterious and impressive.

And then what? You Fei has always been someone who knows how to amuse herself, and she used self-hypnosis to create anticipation for what would happen next.

A human voice reappeared, still hoarse and attention-grabbing.

"The great Elden Ring has been broken—"

"Aaaaaah! My mansion!!!"

Just as You Fei was listening intently, a scream suddenly rang in her ears, shattering the darkness before her eyes.

What a scream that was, and it came from a man!

His screams were filled with the panic unique to a midlife crisis, as if the career he had worked so hard to build had been shattered in an instant. When he got home, he saw his wife carrying the children, slapping a divorce agreement at him and demanding a division of property. He was about to disagree when his house suddenly grew legs, stood up, and ran away with his wife.

Although it's somewhat abstract, that's how desperate it is.

Not only did the hoarse voice disappear, but You Fei also stopped feeling dizzy and became completely clear-headed.

She suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze filled with confusion. Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?

Just then, a figure suddenly slumped down in front of them, muttering:

"Mine, my house, the symbol of my achievements."

If a torrential downpour were to fall right now, it would be the perfect match for this atmosphere.

You Fei finally saw clearly that the person sitting down in front of her was Te Pi.

Oh right, when the dungeon portal reactivated just now, his proud mansion was uprooted and floated in the air.

You Fei couldn't help but feel sympathy for Te Pi.

The consequences of the house being uprooted are self-evident. Even if it doesn't disintegrate from falling to the ground, it will no longer be habitable and will become an unstable and dangerous building.

It would cost a fortune to hire Construction Magician to repair it, and that's assuming the damage isn't too severe. If it were completely broken, there would be no point in repairing it; we'd just rebuild it.

"Mr. Basque, please accept my condolences." She patted Te Pi on the shoulder, her expression conveying the message, "Please stay strong."

Te Pi twitched twice, but quickly returned to normal.

Fan En and Yi Sha, who were standing nearby, were also feeling dizzy. You Fei went over and woke them up one by one. However, neither of them saw any hallucinations or anything like that; they were just feeling dizzy.

"Alright, the current situation is that we should be sent into the underground city." You Fei looked around at the surroundings. They were now in a house that didn't look very big, which looked like a church chapel, but it was covered in dust.

"Mr. Basque, could you please explain why the 'abandoned' dungeon suddenly came back to life?" She emphasized the word "abandoned".

There was still lingering grief and listlessness in Te Pi's eyes. Strictly speaking, he was also a victim, but now he still had to explain to the distinguished guests who had come to his home why such an accident had occurred.

But what's the point of explaining? He doesn't know why the dungeon suddenly revived today!

Are they specifically targeting his newly completed mansion to bomb it?!

"I don't know either," he shook his head. "Sorry for dragging you into this."

Fan En pointed to the tightly closed doors of the chapel and said, "Let's not delay, let's find a way out now."

It was a rare opportunity to enter the dungeon, and although he appeared calm on the surface, he was actually quite excited inside.

"Do you have Teleportation Crystal?" You Fei's question stunned everyone.

Everyone looked at each other, their pockets empty. Not to mention Teleportation Crystal, Te Pi didn't even have a weapon, only a small knife that was more decorative than practical.

"Sigh, the whole plan is ruined," You Fei said, pinching her brow. "Stay close to me if you don't want to die."

Thanks to her experience fighting alongside Jia Paer against the Full Moon Queen's Mimic Tear, she now possesses extensive experience in Hellish Dungeon adventures.

As long as the dungeon they are in is not the Zane Dungeon, she is confident that she can protect the people!

As the group walked toward the gate, Te Pi was clearly distracted. He wasn't still preoccupied with his mansion, but rather pondering what to do if a dungeon portal suddenly appeared in his home. He couldn't just continue living there as if nothing had happened.

He vaguely sensed that whether or not he could handle this suddenly appearing portal would determine the course of his future.

"Here is a piece of advice."

Fan En found the admonitions on the ground next to the gate and touched them to examine them.

Even though the guidance has long been broken, please become the Elden Lord.

"What does this mean?" Yi Sha asked, puzzled.

Fan En, however, noticed something amiss. There were long-dried bloodstains on the ground in front of the advice. He wouldn't have noticed them if he didn't have a special sensitivity to blood. Furthermore, from the subtle differences between the blood and the surrounding environment, it was easy to deduce one thing:

"There used to be a corpse lying here."

The idea is indeed good, but this conclusion doesn't seem to be of much use to people's exploration.

"It's probably some mysterious vocabulary that often appears in dungeons. Every dungeon has some unfamiliar words," Fan En explained to himself. "Let's keep going, everyone. You Fei? Are you listening?"

Ren Mengdu walked to the door and was about to push it open when he turned around and suddenly saw You Fei standing blankly in front of Jianyan.

"You Fei?"

At this moment, You Fei was in a state of stress, almost to the point of breathing on the remonstrance.

What did she see? The Elden Lord!?

Several images immediately flashed through her mind—memories of her and Jia Paer in Lake Liurnia.

"Dad, what exactly is the Elden Lord mentioned in the Silver Shield's description? Besides being Topus' disciple, does he have any other identity?"

"I don't know. This name is only mentioned here. Perhaps it refers to a king from ancient times who was not recorded."

At this moment, in You Fei's heart, the title "Elden Lord" was unimportant; what mattered was—

This term comes from the Zane Dungeon, you know!

A terrible thought suddenly arose in her mind:

Sion has arrived in the Warrior Country!?

It couldn't be because of what I said, could it?

She quickly shook her head, trying to calm herself down.

No, no, no, you can't tell from just one word that this is also the Zane Dungeon. Maybe the Elden Lord was actually quite famous at some point, so there are other dungeons that preserve legends about him.

Even with this in mind, she still became serious and said to the people, "From now on, don't leave my side for more than five steps."

She gripped the spear tightly, praying that the "law of the spear masters" wouldn't repeat itself; she really couldn't afford to get hurt now.

"What's wrong? Have you made any new discoveries?" People noticed something was amiss.

"No, it's nothing. Maybe I was just imagining things. Let's go."

You Fei chuckled, feeling that if he were to reveal his deductions here, it would cause panic among people, so it was better to remain silent.

"Squeak—"

The doors were slowly pushed open, and a faint, warm light shone on everyone, instantly brightening the dim chapel. Before people could adjust to the change in light, their nostrils were filled with a complex smell of dust and air, a contradictory scent of brokenness and holiness coexisting.

The moment the light pierced through the pillars of the chapel, dust particles condensed into countless tiny golden crosses within the light curtain.

Experienced adventurers know that when they smell such a scent, it often means that an ancient legend is about to unfold before their very eyes.

Fan En took two steps forward, then stopped in his tracks.

You Fei was still pondering the advice she had just seen when she unexpectedly bumped into his back. Startled, she asked, "What's wrong? Is there a monster?"

"No, this is just too spectacular."

It took Fan En a long time to come up with this word.

You Fei looked up, her mouth slowly opening wide, and Te Pi and Yi Sha behind her had the same reaction.

They saw the Erdtree.

Those were towering giant trees.

The tree canopy pierces the leaden-gray clouds, its roots stretch to the horizon, and its branches flow with veins of light like molten gold. Every crack bursts forth with stardust-like brilliance. Its scale far exceeds the comprehension of ordinary people. Even though it may be hundreds or thousands of miles away, its golden form still brings a powerful visual impact to people.

Compared to the Erdtree, the strange architectural complexes that appeared and disappeared in the distance and should have attracted people's desire to explore paled in comparison.

But what people feel most strongly is the sensation emanating from the Erdtree, a sensation that can only be described as "sacred".

The Erdtree simply stood there, yet it seemed to be telling a mysterious legend unknown to anyone.

Everyone gazed up at the golden tree for a long time, momentarily forgetting their own perilous situation. Finally, it was Te Pi who broke the silence first.

"The dungeon is truly the most mysterious and magnificent existence. Only gods could create such a miracle."

Everyone agreed with this statement, but he then muttered to himself:

"Could we fence off the portal and sell tickets? People would probably be willing to pay to see this, right?"

"."

You Fei shook her head, gesturing for people to follow. She saw a suspension bridge in the distance, leading to a small hilltop where there seemed to be a statue of a woman with outstretched arms, as if she were bound by something.

It seemed that there was only that road ahead, so they could only keep moving forward.

The Erdtree was awe-inspiring, but for You Fei, in addition to the awe, there was also a slight unease in her heart.

Based on her experience, it seemed that the Zane Dungeon particularly liked creating wonders, and somehow, she felt that the Erdtree had a Sien style.

"That statue might help us understand this underground city."

With hearts pounding, people crossed the very safe suspension bridge and climbed up the hill where the statue was located.

"It's so quiet, and there aren't any living creatures around."

As Te Pi sighed, he walked toward the statue, while You Fei kept a watchful eye on her surroundings. Just then, she suddenly sensed a strong sense of danger.

"Danger!"

She swung her spear, sending Te Pi flying. The next second, a massive figure crashed heavily into the spot where he had been standing. Thick dust obscured her vision, but You Fei still managed to react and dodge the swift thrust that broke through the dust in time!

"A monster? How could it be here!"

Fan En quickly assumed a fighting stance. As the dust settled, a twisted monster resembling a crab appeared before them.

But upon closer inspection, one can discover that the monster actually has a human head, and its appearance is quite handsome. Its body is like a strange, forcibly attached body, with many limbs stitched together to form this twisted monster.

[The Grafted Noble]!

"It's a bit disgusting," Fan En commented. Upon closer inspection, the Grafted Noble and the monsters of Yharnam were comparable.

But just then, he noticed that You Fei was staring blankly at the Grafted Noble. It seemed like You Fei had been lost in thought the whole time!

"Hiss"

You Fei gasped, looking at the familiar appearance of the Grafted Noble. She was reminded of the Grafted Noble who roamed Lake Liurnia and was regarded as a leader of the wilderness. The difference between the two was that the limb-splitting nobleman of Lake Liurnia had Lobster Head attached to his Grafted Noble.

"I... I..." She wanted to swear, but she held it back.

"This is Sien!"

After going around in circles for so long, I finally realized:

Damn it, Saine is actually chasing me!