Lu Qiuchen maintained an epic-level pace as he pressed forward, and soon he spotted four very conspicuous silver-haired, purple-skinned, pointed-eared figures.
It was a four-person team composed of three females and one male, all ranging from level 100 to 110, belonging to the ranks of epic-class adventurers.
Through memory inheritance, Lu Qiuchen knew that the Elven race was matriarchal, especially the Drow. Having three female Drow in a single team was somewhat unusual, indicating that their mission was likely out of the ordinary.
These Drow elves carried curved blades at their waists and quivers on their backs. Their short stature—adult Drow usually only about 160 cm tall—meant they didn’t use longbows like their surface kin. Instead, they favored shortbows or hand crossbows, better suited for close-quarters combat.
Their quivers were filled with arrows, and the bolts used by their hand crossbows and shortbows were short, thick, and easy to carry. The arrowheads shimmered with a strange glow, a hallmark of Drow weapons, which were always coated with poison.
Having spotted his targets, Lu Qiuchen slowed down to track them carefully.
They appeared to be mere buyers in Zhuangers, purchasing supplies. To avoid detection, Lu Qiuchen transformed into his dragon form and soared high above the Great Cave, keeping watch from the skies. His field of vision expanded drastically, giving him an excellent understanding of Zhuangers’ terrain.
After a long wait, the Drow finally prepared to leave. Lu Qiuchen quietly descended and positioned himself behind them, following at a distance for quite some time.
The four Drow traced a narrow path along the rock face, emerging from the underground cavern’s perimeter before entering a tight passageway. Such a place was difficult to tail. After a brief pause, Lu Qiuchen followed, suppressing his aura and using magic to lower his presence.
‘Something’s wrong!’ Just as Lu Qiuchen entered the passage, he sensed danger, furrowing his brow and retreating outside the tunnel.
“Swish! Swish!” Several short arrows shot out from the passage in quick succession. Lu Qiuchen dodged them and watched as the arrows flew into the darkness beyond.
Realizing he had been exposed, Lu Qiuchen ceased suppressing his strength and charged into the passage.
With a flash of white light, the four Drow froze in horror as they found their bodies immobilized by a thin layer of ice, encasing everything below their necks.
“I’ll ask; you answer.” Lu Qiuchen approached one of the female Drow and spoke in Elven, but the panic on her face vanished, replaced by a look of stubborn defiance.
Despite several questions, the Drow remained silent. Lu Qiuchen poured his magic into the ice encasing her, and within seconds, a lifelike elven ice sculpture appeared in the passage.
This translucent statue, glowing under the light filtering in from the tunnel entrance, was exquisitely clear, completely erasing any trace of the original person.
Turning to the remaining Drow, Lu Qiuchen questioned them again. The other two female Drow watched helplessly as their comrade turned to ice. Though fear filled their eyes, they too remained silent. Respecting their choice, Lu Qiuchen transformed them into ice sculptures as well.
His gaze shifted to the last male Drow. Glancing at him with evident impatience, Lu Qiuchen spread his fingers, and the ice rapidly spread upward toward the man’s head.
“I’ll talk! The city is at…” Using mental intimidation and shaken by the fate of his teammates turned to statues, the male Drow’s mind teetered on the brink of collapse, spilling all information about their tribe like a broken bamboo container.
Pleased with his cooperation, Lu Qiuchen seized him to lead the way.
The male Drow obediently guided him to a massive cavern, where a heavily guarded underground city emerged.
This city’s design was completely different from the goblin towns, infused with elven style. Hollowed giant rock castles were surrounded by numerous tall towers and houses. Stone arrow towers were strategically placed throughout, cleverly combining architectural beauty with defense.
On the outermost edge stood a ring of high towers encircling this dreamlike city. Drow with sharp, watchful eyes patrolled the city walls, and terrifying Poisonous Giant Spiders were bred beneath, deterring intruders.
This was the Drow’s pride — the City of Dark Moon.
Standing on the cliff at the tunnel entrance and satisfied that the male Drow hadn’t deceived him, Lu Qiuchen nodded approvingly and released his magic, granting him a swift death.
He tossed the ice sculpture off the cliff, then transformed into a giant dragon and flew toward the cavern’s upper reaches, where numerous stalactites concealed his form, allowing him to observe enemy movements closely.
Lu Qiuchen’s timing was perfect. The City of Dark Moon was bustling with energy as the Drow prepared for the upcoming Queen Election Ceremony.
Since losing their Sacred Tree, the Drow could no longer produce a guiding queen through it. Now, as the current queen’s life neared its end, they had to elect a new one.
As fierce political fighters, every Drow queen election was fraught with bloodshed and intrigue. Behind the scenes, underhanded tactics ran rampant. But Lu Qiuchen cared little for the Drow’s complex social relations; his sole goal was to find the whereabouts of the Demon Realm.
The queen was likely resting in the castle now. After observing the guards’ patrol routes, Lu Qiuchen assumed human form and leapt from the air into the castle.
Relying on his earlier memories, he evaded the guards and began searching for the queen’s chambers.
Remembering the layout of human castles, he headed to the center of the uppermost floor.
Inside the castle, he saw many Drow densely gathered outside a particular door and realized this was where the queen resided.
Not wanting to reveal himself too much—knowing that convincing the Drow Queen might be a lengthy and delicate process, and that scaring her to death would be disastrous—Lu Qiuchen concealed his presence and patiently waited for the Drow to leave.
Fortunately, the wait was brief. Within minutes, the Drow dispersed.
Lu Qiuchen changed his clothes to a Drow-style formal robe, turning his exposed skin purple, and boldly entered the queen’s room under the horrified gaze of the Drow High Priestesses guarding the door. After he closed the door, the two priestesses remained frozen in place.
Inside, Lu Qiuchen was surprised to find the room decorated predominantly in red, a stark contrast to the elven style he had imagined.
He strode to the center of the room, ignoring the stares of the attending maids, and looked down at the Drow Queen lying on the bed.
He could feel her life force fading rapidly, yet she remained beautiful and did not look like an elderly woman. Her noble and elegant aura still lingered.
The queen noticed the faint pressure Lu Qiuchen deliberately radiated and opened her eyes to look at him, seeing through his disguise.
“Guest of the dragonkind, what brings you here?” The queen’s voice was weak.
Lu Qiuchen got straight to the point: “I want to know the location where the Demon Realm connects to the Northern Continent.”
“The Demon Realm Gate lies beneath the ground… to the north of the Broken Cavern… If you have no other business… please leave…” Though she only uttered a few words, the queen had to pause multiple times to finish her sentence.
Lu Qiuchen was surprised by how smoothly things went. He wondered if there was a trick but recalled the saying from Earth, “A dying man speaks sincerely.” After giving the queen a long, meaningful look, he left hastily.
The Drow Queen sighed inwardly. This was all she could do. If a giant dragon caused trouble at this time, combined with the Drow’s internal divisions, this pearl city of the Drow might be destroyed.
Elsewhere, Lu Qiuchen didn’t foolishly rush to investigate. Instead, he continued exploring the castle, targeting several high-ranking Drow not yet at legendary level. After capturing and interrogating them separately, he confirmed the queen’s information was true.
Impressed by their honesty, Lu Qiuchen spared their lives. With a flash of white light, he vanished from that space and flew toward the Broken Cavern.
*****
I’ve struggled for a long time and only managed to write just over two thousand words, so I’ll talk a bit here. This chapter is under 3,000 words, but I’m only charging for 2,000.
Recently, some readers have said the plot feels dragging, and that’s true.
As a new author, my control over the story isn’t yet tight. I tend to wander and go off-topic. I have many ideas in mind, but once written, they lose their flavor. Long stretches of plain narration aren’t appealing.
I will try to improve this, though it’s hard to change overnight. I’ll keep experimenting and exploring.
Now, about the plot.
I adjusted the outline today, moving some conflicts earlier and deleting some relatively less important scenes.
I know everyone loves the interactions between the male and female leads. I also wish they’d meet sooner when reading stories. But this is, after all, a plot-driven novel. I can’t just abandon the established settings, so some parts are unchangeable. I can only try to speed up the pace and reveal important foreshadowing faster.
If I suddenly wrote Lu Qiuchen ignoring his goal of returning to Earth, bypassing the system to enter dungeons, and rushing to romance Zhang Cheng, neither you nor I would be able to continue.
Here’s a heads-up: the next few chapters will still be relatively calm, but better than before. Once the leads meet again, the story will truly merge.
While writing today, I was torn—worried my ideas and planned plot wouldn’t meet your expectations.
But now I’m clear. I will accept your opinions and criticism, but for now, I must continue following the outline.
Thank you all for your support!