121: Chapter 121 Underground Anomalies

Lin Xuan stood up and was just about to leave when a wave of mental fluctuation from the Pangolin suddenly came from his Sea of Consciousness.

Excitement.

Vigilance.

Two completely different emotions were intertwined, complex enough to make him frown.

"What is it?" he asked through the contract.

The information fed back by the Pangolin was very chaotic—while it was traveling underground, it suddenly fell into a void.

It didn't dig in; it "fell" in.

Because its Earth Perception hadn't sensed that area at all!

Lin Xuan's heart jolted.

Ever since the Pangolin's Earth Perception had reached the Peak of the first-tier Medium Grade, its range had expanded to one hundred and fifty zhang, and its precision had also improved significantly.

Underground rocks, soil, mineral veins, and voids—as long as there were Spiritual Qi fluctuations, it could sense them.

But now, it said it "didn't sense it."

What did this mean?

Either that area had no Spiritual Qi fluctuations—but that was impossible; how could there be no Spiritual Qi deep underground?

Or there was something in that area that blocked its perception.

Lin Xuan quickly asked through the contract: "How big? How deep? Is there any aura of danger?"

The Pangolin fed back intermittently: The space was not small, very deep, probably sixty zhang underground, and in a regular rectangular shape.

There were no living creatures inside, but there was an extremely ancient isolation layer, and its Earth Perception had been blocked by that thing.

No living creatures.

Lin Xuan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

But immediately after, another thought surged up—

A space sixty zhang deep underground, a regular rectangular space, and an ancient Formation that blocked perception...

What kind of place was this?

Formed naturally?

Impossible. Naturally formed voids could not be so regular, and it was even more impossible for them to have a Formation that blocked perception.

Then it was—man-made.

Who would dig such a large space sixty zhang deep under Thunderfall Ravine?

And judging from the "extremely ancient" description by the Pangolin, it must be from a very distant era. At least not something from the last few hundred years.

Lin Xuan found a hidden rock crevice in the mountain hollow to hide, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to think seriously.

Go, or not go?

To go meant to go sixty zhang deep underground, entering a completely strange space that might harbor unknown risks.

Although the Pangolin said there was "no aura of danger," that was only an "aura"—what if there was something that even the Pangolin could not sense?

Not to go meant to pretend it didn't happen, honestly retreat, and continue collecting thunder sound moss and thunder-patterned stone fragments on the periphery.

But—if he didn't go down to take a look, he would definitely regret it.

Lin Xuan opened his eyes and made his decision.

Go.

But not go recklessly.

He took out the two second-tier Medium Grade Vajra Talismans from his Storage Pouch, stuck them on his chest, and prepared to activate them at any time.

This was the strongest defensive measure he could bring out.

Then he took out two Thunder Shield Talismans and slapped them on his arms, one on the left and one on the right.

These were drawn by himself, first-tier Medium Grade; although they were not as good as the Vajra Talismans, they had the advantage of quantity, and at critical moments, being able to resist one more hit was one more hit.

Finally, he checked the earth fiend bell again—this top-grade defensive Magical Artifact had been nurtured in his Dantian for several months and was already connected to his mind, so it could be activated with just a thought.

Everything was ready.

Lin Xuan let the Pangolin wait below through the contract, then cast the Earth Escape Technique and sank into the ground.

He had been practicing the Earth Escape Technique for almost two years; although he couldn't be considered very proficient, moving in the passage opened by the Pangolin was more than enough.

It was very dark underground.

Surrounded by hard rocks and damp soil, the resistance to moving in the rock layer with the Earth Escape Technique was significant, and every step forward consumed a lot of Spiritual Qi.

The Pangolin led the way in front; although its Earth Perception could not sense that space, it could sense the boundary of the area it "could not sense"—this sounded a bit convoluted, but it was like being able to feel a wall in front of you even with your eyes closed; although you couldn't see it, you knew it was there.

It took Lin Xuan a full quarter of an hour to reach the depth of sixty zhang.

When the Pangolin stopped, Lin Xuan also felt it—

Ahead, there was indeed a "blank" area.

It wasn't a true blank, but when his Divine Sense probed over, it was like a clay ox entering the sea, with no feedback at all.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath.

Although there was no good air to breathe underground, this action could calm him down.

He confirmed through the contract that the Pangolin had already been inside and confirmed that there was indeed no aura of living creatures, and then—

Stepped in.

His feet went empty.

He fell down.

Not very deep, about one zhang or so. Lin Xuan adjusted his posture in the air and landed steadily.

It was pitch black all around.

He immediately activated the Thunder Shield Talisman on his arms, and pale purple lightning swirled around his body, illuminating a small area around him.

Then, he saw clearly where he was—

A stone corridor.

A neatly carved stone corridor.

The material of the stone walls was a dark cyan stone he had never seen before, and the surface had fine patterns, like the growth rings of a tree, in circles.

Touching it with his hand, it was cold and smooth, not like natural stone, but rather like it had been processed with some special technique.

There were no Spiritual Qi fluctuations on the stone walls.

Just as the Pangolin said, it was so old that all the Formation energy had dissipated, leaving only the characteristics of the Materials themselves.

Lin Xuan did not rush to walk forward.

He first crouched down and checked the ground.

The ground was also the same dark cyan stone, laid out neatly, and there was very little dust in the gaps—this was not normal; how could it be so clean sixty zhang deep underground?

Unless...

Some kind of dust-removing Formation was still running?

But there were clearly no Spiritual Qi fluctuations on the stone walls.

Lin Xuan shook his head and temporarily suppressed this thought.

He stood up and walked forward along the stone corridor.

The stone corridor was not long, reaching the end in about twenty zhang.

At the end was a stone door.

The stone door was half-open and half-closed, with dim light shining through the crack.

Lin Xuan stopped three steps away, not rushing to approach.

He first cast the Earth Listening Technique, pressed his ear to the ground, and listened carefully to the movement inside the door.

There was no sound at all.

He also let the Herb-Seeking Mouse scan with Spirit Energy Tracking through the contract.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse fed back: There was a faint residue of Spiritual Qi inside the door, but no aura of living creatures.

Lin Xuan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He walked to the stone door and reached out to push it gently.

The stone door did not move at all.

He pushed again, but it still didn't move.

It wasn't that he couldn't push it, it was—the door wasn't closed tightly at all, but it just wouldn't open.

Lin Xuan frowned, turned sideways, and squeezed in through the half-open crack.

The space inside the door was much larger than he had imagined.

It was a full ten zhang square.

In the center of the Stone Chamber, something was carved on the ground.

Lin Xuan walked a few steps closer and looked carefully by the faint light of the Thunder Shield Talisman—

It was a Formation.

Circular, with a diameter of about three zhang.

The Formation patterns were complex and profound, dense, layer upon layer, like a blooming, extremely complex lotus flower.

The lines of the Formation patterns were not the vermilion or silver-white he was accustomed to, but a deep, dark gold that seemed to absorb light.