Underground City
Despite Sang Ying's disapproving gaze, Lan Fusheng and Bai Kejin pretended not to see it.
In any case, it's too late for them to go back the way they came, since the passage above them had already closed and disappeared after they fell into the cave.
Moreover, there was no Spiritual Qi in the cave. With the meager Spiritual Qi in their bodies, flying back from here would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Sang Ying was aware of this, so she only complained a few times to the two of them before letting them stay.
Since they were already there, there was no point in arguing too much. Sang Ying simply told the three of them all the information she had obtained from the sword spirit, and also explained what the nemesis of the Desolate Beast was.
They had noticed these things before, but they never imagined that so many changes in the Lower Realm were due to the Desolate Beast.
"So what should we do next?" Bai Kejin asked his senior sister.
Sang Ying's purpose in coming here was to find out the reason for the formation of the black hole. The first step was naturally to inspect the entire cave to see what was inside.
Since the cave looked quite large, and most of the things inside were unfamiliar to them, the four of them decided not to split up and explore.
They walked along the only path in the cave, but found no more traces of Desolate Beast. Instead, the densely packed crystals aroused the interest of the four of them. Bai Kejin even tried to pry off a golden one to take a look, but he couldn't budge it no matter what he did.
After exploring the cave, they quickly found the exit.
Upon exiting the cave, a musty, ancient smell wafted towards us.
Sang Ying was the first to go out. She smelled the scent and looked up to see a city that had been silent for countless years.
This is an underground city; Sang Ying couldn't even see the edge of it when she looked out.
She quickly stepped out of the only exit, making way for the three people behind her. Similarly, Jiang Zhuoxue and the other two, after stepping out of the stone cave, also showed the same shocked expression as Sang Ying before them.
Perhaps no one would have imagined that there was an underground city so deep below the surface.
"This city doesn't seem to be inhabited by Human Race or Devil Race, but it does seem to have some connection with the Demon Race." Sang Ying stroked the Demon Beast patterns on the nearby wall, her heart filled with curiosity about this place.
The city is filled with many demonic patterns, or rather, more like patterns resembling Demon Beast. Most of the houses here are made of stone and are only one story high. Because the ceiling is pitch black, it feels somewhat oppressive.
Not only Sang Ying, Jiang Zhuoxue and the others also quickly rushed into the other rooms and took a look around.
These houses are really strange. Although they are only one story high, the roofs are very tall. Most of the furniture inside is made of wood or stone, and the stone beds inside are huge, taking up almost half of the room.
Sang Ying even found food in the kitchen, but it was food without any Spiritual Qi fluctuations!
The four wandered around the dungeon before finding the most luxurious-looking room, from which they found a booklet filled with strange characters.
None of the four could understand the meaning of these characters, which disappointed Sang Ying somewhat.
"I looked at the layout of the houses here, and it doesn't seem to be the habit of Human Race, nor does it seem to be the dwelling of those Demon Race," Sang Ying said, stating her discovery first.
Although there are many animal totems here, and quite a few animal pelts in the house, the Demon Race prefers to live in the free jungle and wouldn't confine themselves to such a small house.
Jiang Zhuoxue added, "The tea on the table at the house I visited was still warm, as if it had just been poured. But there was clearly no sign of human presence there; it didn't seem like any living thing existed there."
"I find it strange too. The families I checked all still had food, and it hadn't spoiled. It's as if everyone living here suddenly disappeared, and time just stopped at that moment," Bai Kejin said, frowning.
Lan Fusheng spoke last, and his words immediately drew surprise and doubt from the others. "I found a place in the city that resembles an altar."
The so-called city center is actually more like the end of the city, which, when viewed from above, presents a triangular shape. The city is divided in two by a long street, and the altar that Lan Fusheng mentioned is located at the end of the long street.
The altar was not tall and was much simpler than any altars they had seen before, but a brass mirror was placed on it.
The mirror's shape resembles a sun totem.
This mirror must have been left unused for a long time; the tables and chairs in the stone houses weren't dusty, but the mirror itself was covered in a thick layer of dust.
Sang Ying tried to use a Dust-Removal Instruction to get rid of it, but unexpectedly, the Law Technique didn't work here.
She secretly summoned her Divine Power, but the result told her that even Divine Power had no effect.
The more I look at this city, the more eerie it seems.
Jiang Zhuoxue and the other two were also busy. They carefully examined the entire altar, paying particular attention to the pictures and inscriptions carved on it.
Not long after, Sang Ying heard them calling her name.
She immediately went over and found that the three of them were gathered around several pictures.
The first image shows several people kneeling in worship at the foot of the altar. The second image shows a person in a long robe walking onto the altar and turning the bronze sun mirror on it. The third image shows something being released from the mirror, causing the people at the foot of the altar to raise their hands and cheer.
This picture clearly depicts a sacrificial ceremony, but what exactly was the purpose of the bronze sun mirror on the altar?
"Didn't you pick up a Beastmen clan emblem before?" This was the second time the Blade Spirit had taken the initiative to speak to Sang Ying.
Sang Ying was taken aback. Just as she was about to reply, the sword spirit's voice rang out again. "I am only speaking to you. The others around cannot hear me. Do not leak this information for now."
Sang Ying had no choice but to swallow back the words she was about to say, and instead responded to the sword spirit in her mind, "That clan emblem is related to this dungeon? So this city belongs to the Beastmen?"
The sword spirit did not answer, but Sang Ying was very certain in her heart.
If this was built by Beastmen, then all the strange things in the city can be explained.
Following the sword spirit's instructions, Sang Ying returned to the bronze mirror. She carefully felt around behind the mirror for a while and, as the sword spirit had said, found a strange indentation.
"This is where the clan emblem is to be placed," the sword spirit said softly. "Don't act now. Wait until the three of them have gone to rest, then come over quietly. The bronze mirror will tell you what to do next."
After uttering that last word, the sword spirit fell silent once more.
Sang Ying wanted to ask more questions, but the sword spirit refused to reveal any more information, only telling her to come and see for herself later.
Although she didn't know why the sword spirit knew these things, Sang Ying still chose to believe him. After all, there was no better way at the moment.
Since they couldn't find anything useful in the dungeon, the four returned to their previous cave—the dungeon was too oppressive, and none of them liked staying there.
But after returning to the cave, the four of them, including Sang Ying, felt more exhausted than ever before. They wondered if it was because there was no Spiritual Qi there, which made them start to act like ordinary people.
The drowsiness came on so suddenly that all four of them found it hard to resist. Sang Ying suggested that the four of them take turns keeping watch, and even offered to let the other three go to sleep first.
After the three of them finally fell asleep, unable to refuse any longer, Sang Ying took out a defensive array plate, left all the Spirit Stone she had on her, and then got up and headed towards the altar in the underground city.
No matter what, she had to find out what secrets this city and those Desolate Beast held!