“Actually, I think my Star Energy is completely sufficient!”
Yun Ruoxi used Telekinesis to pull herself back and forth through the passage, demonstrating that she really did have a lot of Star Energy left.
“Stop showing off. We know you have plenty of Star Energy. Let’s move!”
Zi Jiu looked at the path ahead and urged her on.
After walking for a while through a geological layer where both the soil and rocks were black, they arrived before a massive fault line that looked like a rift in the earth.
On the opposite side, the passage continued as a downward slope, while beneath their feet was a pitch-black crevice.
There was no telling how deep the rift went.
Naturally, they couldn’t go down, but they could vaguely feel a cold wind blowing from within the rift. This indicated there was a way out below, or perhaps this rift led directly to the Underground World.
This served to lift their spirits somewhat.
They crossed the rift easily and walked down the slope.
The path that followed immediately became much steeper, but fortunately, there were no forks in the road along the way.
Otherwise, having to scout out divergent paths under these circumstances would undoubtedly be a massive challenge.
***
Another three hours passed.
They had no idea how deep underground they had traveled.
However, fatigue had begun to appear on the faces of both Zi Jiu and Kaos, and Yun Che was already relying on Telekinesis to lighten his burden.
Right then.
Yun Ruoxi’s voice drifted back from the front, carrying a clear hint of pleasant surprise.
“Wind! There’s wind up ahead!”
Everyone immediately quickened their pace. After turning a corner, they indeed felt a breeze brushing against their faces.
This breeze was different from the cold wind blowing from the rift.
It was very fresh, lacking that biting, sharp scent of underground air currents.
They were almost there!
Their hearts tightened. They quickly met up with Yun Ruoxi and continued walking for a good while longer until the view ahead suddenly opened up.
A massive space, circular in its overall shape, appeared before their eyes.
The height alone was over thirty meters, and the diameter was even harder to calculate.
The black rock walls were covered in densely packed circular holes.
“This place is like… a giant honeycomb!”
Everyone was shocked by the scene before them.
They never expected that such a massive traffic Hub would exist right beneath the feet of Tree God City!
That’s right, a Hub!
While they were reflecting on this, they saw with their own eyes Yellow Elves entering and exiting these circular holes.
This meant that every single one of those holes corresponded to a passage, and the one they were in was just one of them!
[A gospel for trypophobes]
[I’m about to gag]
“These Yellow Elves haven’t just infiltrated Tree God City; they’ve practically turned Tree God City into a sieve,” Kaos remarked with emotion.
“With such a massive threat right beneath their feet, are the Green Elves really not afraid?” Yun Che pondered aloud, his thoughts going deeper.
“The Yellow Elves have been developing underground for who knows how long. I expect the Green Elves have just gotten used to it.”
Yun Ruoxi shook her head and pointed toward the deep pit in the middle of the Hub.
“Look, that’s the road to the Underground World!”
She didn’t need to say it.
Everyone had already noticed the circular deep pit in the center.
After all, near it, there were not only many Yellow Elves holding strange Stone Weapons, but also ropes hanging down into the pit and stone stairs that had been manually carved around its circumference.
“There are quite a few guards!” Zi Jiu’s gaze swept across the area. “There are at least ten visible on the surface alone.”
“It is a key Hub, after all…” Yun Che said.
“Prepare to sneak in!” Zi Jiu ordered in a low voice.
Yun Ruoxi once again concealed everyone’s forms, then used Telekinesis to lift them directly into the air, floating them toward the deep pit.
The guards near the pit knew they were guarding the gateway to their own world, so they were exceptionally serious.
But no matter how serious they were, they could never have predicted that people would drift right over their heads while using Invisibility.
This was a Dimensional Strike from Star Energy Users, a dead zone in the Yellow Elves’ way of thinking.
Thus, Yun Ruoxi and the others entered the pit smoothly and began making their way down the stone stairs.
Entering the pit didn’t mean they were completely safe. The high-ranking members of the Yellow Elves had also stationed hidden sentries in the middle section of the pit.
Fortunately, Yun Ruoxi and the others did not relax their vigilance or drop their Invisibility; otherwise, they truly would have been discovered by the enemy.
After bypassing the final group of hidden sentries and overcoming various obstacles throughout the journey, Yun Ruoxi and the others, who had spent a full day traveling, finally saw the first glimmer of light from the Underground World.
Gripping the vines, they poked their heads out from the cave entrance and cautiously looked down at the strange world below.
That was a stretch of land at least a thousand meters below them.
Not a single plant could be seen; it was all black soil and rock, with densely packed mud-rock buildings covering the earth.
Yellow-skinned elves were walking all over the place.
This was actually a gargantuan city.
“Look there!” Kaos suddenly pointed into the distance in shock.
Everyone hurried to turn their heads, and their pupils instantly contracted.
At the very end of their field of vision, on the edge of the Periphery of the “horizon,” there was actually a staggeringly large palace complex.
Setting aside the materials and the fact that it wasn’t built on a giant tree, as well as the lack of isolation around the complex, the architectural style and appearance of this palace complex were incredibly similar to the one they had seen in the King City.
“Wait, could this place be the Yellow Elf Royal City?” Kaos muttered to himself.
“I think it probably is!” Yun Che was filled with shock.
“I don’t believe in coincidences. For two Traveling Palaces to have such a high degree of similarity suggests that the origins of the Green Elves and Yellow Elves might be even deeper than we imagined.”
“For example…?” Kaos asked.
“For example, they might have come from the same tribe many years ago and only split into two branches after encountering some kind of upheaval!” Yun Ruoxi interjected.
“Correct, that possibility is very high.” Zi Jiu nodded.
“However, that’s not important to us. No matter how deep their origins are, it’s fine as long as it doesn’t affect our mission.”
“Will it really not affect us?” Yun Ruoxi suddenly tilted her head and said those words.
“Xiao Xi, did you think of something?” Zi Jiu asked.
“Look!” Yun Ruoxi floated in the air with an innocent expression and began counting on her fingers.
“The Green Elves on the surface rely on the Star Core and have Tree God Weapons, but what do the Yellow Elves underground rely on to be able to contend with the Green Elves for thousands of years?”
“Didn’t Guan Kelai say it? They rely on Earth Dragons.”
Kaos replied immediately without even thinking, but Yun Che and Zi Jiu beside him fell into deep thought.
Seeing that his companions didn’t seem to agree with his answer, a trace of sheepishness appeared on his face.
“Did you guys think of something?”
“A Kai, do you remember those Stone Weapons the soldiers were holding back in the deep pit?” Zi Jiu suddenly asked.
Kaos nodded. “Of course I remember. Those stone swords were heavy and blunt. I don’t even know what use they could have.”
As he spoke, he seemed to realize something and said in shock:
“Wait, you don’t think those stone swords are the same kind of thing as the Green Elves’ Tree God Weapons, do you?”
Yun Che and Zi Jiu both nodded silently upon hearing this.
“Xiao Xi, have you already figured something out?” Yun Che looked at Yun Ruoxi seriously.
He felt that since Yun Ruoxi was able to throw out those questions just now, she must definitely know something.
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