novelThe Core of the Cavern
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Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The feeling of being spied on from all sides by something huge just lasted for a few seconds. Once Hao Ren reacted, the sense of being watched vanished, leaving only the hair on his back standing to remind him that it was not an illusion. Lily had a sharp sixth sense. At that point, she was already standing in front of Hao Ren. She stared at Hao Ren's face and said, "Landlord, you got goosebumps too?"
Hao Ren thought it was impossible to communicate with the weird husky about something like this.
He dragged Lily aside, recalling the feeling earlier and how it felt when he first entered the Gnarled Grove. He finally confirmed that the two were the same thing. He looked at the huge, tangled roots in the cavern, sensing more and more that they were emitting an endless stream of thought. He recalled the legend of the dwarf miners who dug up tentacles that made them go crazy, and then he thought of Vivian's theory... An ancient creature that detached itself from the rest of the plants and animals; maybe, it really did notice their arrival.
And it was thinking and watching, just not taking action.
"What's wrong?" Vivian noticed Hao Ren's reaction and looked at him with concern.
Hao Ren described how he felt just now. He then looked at them with a strange expression and asked, "Weren't you guys aware of it?"
"No, " Becky said. She got goosebumps and scratched herself."Don't scare me. This place is already eerie enough."
The exploration of a gloomy cavern, deep underground made everyone nervous. Plus, now that Hao Ren told them about a huge entity enveloping the entire cavern and spying on them, suddenly everyone felt creeped out. This also made Lily's hair stand on end again.
The husky was also very unlucky. Since she came to The Plane of Dreams, she kept encountering scary things. She really felt that sooner or later, she was going to have a loose, fluffy, big fox tail... Hmm, that seemed like a good thing because it made her tail look bigger!
"Anyway, this place is very strange and we have to be careful, " said Big Beardy. He did not view it as a safe place just because it was the sacred cavern from which the Church originated. The more ancient and mysterious, the more dangerous the place. He knew better. However, as a devout believer, he viewed the crisis as a test from the goddess."Everyone has a means of escaping, right? We have divine teleportation."
"I brought the teleportation stone, " the old werewolf nodded and replied.
Hao Ren and his teammates did not worry about that. Their public identity was that of teleporting wizards and scholars, but ones with little experience...
They left the great cavern quietly. Big Beardy decided their next step according to the ancient knowledge and they led the team into a winding cave. The shadows of the giant roots could be seen everywhere in the cave. Some of them emerged from the rocks, some of them lay across the walls, and some even completely encroached on their surroundings. The entire cavern was entangled with roots.
This was an underground world completely ruled by roots. Hao Ren found himself gradually entering the heart of an ancient plant. He could almost hear some kind of throb, coming from the thick roots around him.
At this moment, a stone gate with obvious artificial traces appeared abruptly at the end of the cave.
The stone gate, which blended in seamlessly with the surroundings, looked like it was carved directly from the rock strata. This most probably resulted from the integration of the stone gate with the surrounding rocks by a sorcerer, who was excellent in earth magic. The stone gate was 5 or 6 metres tall and nearly 10 metres wide. Its frame was carved with different shades of patterns in relief. Even after thousands of years had passed, these reliefs were still there. When Hao Ren saw the patterns, it first reminded him of the Disciples of Glory's sacred painting, which he saw in the small church. He speculated that the Disciples of Glory used this particular pattern to symbolize their goddess. The most special part of this stone gate was that it had no door. In the doorway, there was only cloudy, white fog. They could not see beyond the white fog clearly. They could just vaguely sense an unstable dimension behind the white fog.
Hao Ren had already tried different brands of teleportation devices, including those that utilised magic as well as technology, and even copycat versions. Though he was not really experienced in teleportation, he was still able to sense it. He knew that the gate was a teleportation portal. It was likely the core of the sacred cavern.
Hao Ren, his teammates and the four ascetics were not surprised but the old werewolf, who was always in the dark, could not help but exclaim, "It's man-made? This..."
"I'm afraid we're in a relic from the early days of the Disciples of Glory, " said the young ascetic."This is a holy lake. So, it's not surprising to see some ancient ruins here. The world was in turmoil when the Disciples of Glory was founded. They built underground strongholds in many places. Perhaps this is one of the abandoned ones."
Hao Ren was surprised that the ascetics could easily make up a reason. Do not be fooled by their appearance, you can never outspeak an ascetic...
The old werewolf did not suspect him. He just looked at the magic door, which still operated, looking worried."It could be a teleportation device. It's been in disrepair, and neglected for a long time. If we touch it hastily...I'm afraid we'll be teleported to some abandoned place and won't be able to get out."
Big Beardy nodded and looked at the dimensional door sternly. At the same time, he was surrounded by a layer of pale, golden glow, echoing the relief on the stone gate. Then he got up and said, "The dimensional door is functioning properly, and can still be used. This place is sacred, and we, as believers will be ashamed to meet the goddess if we are deterred by this door. The rest of you can find another way, but we must go inside."
Of course, everyone wanted to go in and see. Big Beardy took this opportunity to "remind" everyone, "Most of the internal teleportation doors left by the Holy See are somewhat special. It may send people who can't pass some kind of test, to other places randomly but, it's basically harmless. If anyone of you find yourselves teleported to an area alone, don't be nervous. You should be able to return to this place along the route with specific markings."
Hao Ren immediately knew that this reminder was for the old werewolf... Big Beardy was being dishonest!
It turned out to be so. As they walked into the teleportation portal, Hao Reen felt a slight dizziness. After that, he realized there were only the four ascetics and his teammates with him. The old werewolf had been tricked, and was teleported somewhere else.
"Is it alright for us to fool the old werewolf?" said Hao Ren with a weird expression. He did not really mind getting rid of Elson, but he felt a little uncomfortable and sorry that such a famous general was fooled by the four ascetics.
However, Vivian just waved and said, "I don't mind. It's like fooling a little kid."
Compared to Vivian's age, Elson was indeed a lot younger than her.
Hao Ren was speechless. Big Beardy smiled and explained, "Don't worry. According to ancient records, the cave he was sent to is safe. And with his abilities, he won't be in danger. Now, let's go to the depths of the sacred cavern."
After they passed through the portal, they arrived at a strange cave. The cave was clearly several times wider than the tunnel that they previously passed. Giant roots and luminous fungi were all over the stone walls. They lit up their surroundings, giving the place a great, eerie atmosphere. Hao Ren could not help but touch the roots beside him. Unsure if it was an illusion, he felt the roots quivering, and at the same time, they were expanding and contracting as if breathing.
But, when he tried to feel the roots carefully, it was like nothing happened.
"Why is that only the Pope and a few ascetics can come here?" Becky asked nervously. She was a small potato, and afraid to touch this secret thing, which she had previously seen as extremely dangerous. Now, as she approached some old secret, she became increasingly worried."It's a secret that even the Bishop can't come into contact with... Is it okay to let us know?" she said.
"What are you worried about?" Big Beardy asked without turning his head.
"I am afraid I'll be beaten to death after leave this place..."
Big Beardy explained, "...You're thinking too much. It's mainly because the sacred cave is sealed together with secrets that the goddess directly passed down. Many of these secrets are not suitable for direct disclosure and must only be embraced by the most determined believers as well as "Chosen Ones" from another world. These secrets would likely subvert your perceptions and even bring about power that is enough to change the world. Just like 3, 000 years ago, the world was shocked when the first pope obtained divine power with his mortal body. Maybe we'll find some new miracles this time at the core of the cavern. We are here to explore them and also to 'test' them, to the extreme..."
Big Beardy paused for a while, and then continued, "Even if we're unable to bear the goddess' inheritance, and die from it, just let the four of us handle it."
Hao Ren understood why Big Beardy could confidently lead them to the sacred cavern. The people at the scene were either devout ascetics or "travellers" from another world. It did not matter if there were any great benefits or secrets in the cavern, he did not have to worry about it being leaked.
Anyone from Holletta, even the king, may have had to go through several rounds of tests. But, to a group of visitors who did not belong to this world...being an "outsider" was the most legitimate reason!
For the first time in his life, he thought being an outsider was a good thing...
At this moment, he noticed that the cave had come to an end, and there was a bright light ahead. At the same time, there was a faint sound of a beating heart.
*Thump... Thump... Thump... *
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