Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 637 Submerged Ruins (5)

Han Zu's body tensed instantly, and the previously subdued black-red flames on his body involuntarily surged a few inches, drawing a faint ripple of heat in the seawater. He abruptly expanded his energy perception to its limit, like an invisible net, sweeping across the direction where the humanoid silhouette had appeared. It was a recessed rock wall in the dome of the hall, tens of meters above the water where Han Zu was currently underwater, and the only spot in the vicinity not submerged by the sea. The rock wall was covered with thick, glowing moss, and the humanoid silhouette had been nestled in the shadows of the moss-covered surface. But now, as his perception swept over it, apart from the moist life signals of the moss and the cold, lifeless stillness of the rock, there was no sign of any living thing.

"Is it an illusion?"

Han Zu frowned, his figure flashing like a torpedo as he darted beneath the dome, landing gently near a protruding rock ridge on the cliff face. He reached out and touched the spot where the humanoid silhouette had been. The moss was damp and slippery, the rock surface cool to the touch, devoid of any residual temperature or trace of energy fluctuations. But that one glance was far too clear—it was an upright humanoid figure, roughly the size of an adult male, with even the outline of its shoulders and head faintly visible. It was definitely not an illusion created by the shadow of the moss.

A slight rustling sound came from above. Han Zu looked up sharply and saw a little mouse perched on his shoulder, its tiny head cautiously peering into the recessed area of ​​the dome, its nose twitching rapidly, its beady black eyes filled with confusion. Clearly, the little creature had also sensed the anomaly, but it couldn't find any clues either. Han Zu gently patted the mouse's back, signaling it to remain alert, while he himself slowly circled the recessed area, his senses working like the most precise instruments, repeatedly scanning every inch of rock and moss.

Deep within the recessed rock wall lay an extremely thin crack, less than a finger's width, filled with broken moss and tiny pebbles. Han Zu gathered a faint wisp of red lightning at his fingertip and carefully probed into the crack, picking out the pebbles and moss. The crack was hollow inside, extending for about half a meter before turning in an unknown direction. His senses probed further into the crack, but were blocked by a thick rock, preventing him from going any deeper. He tried bombarding that rock with lightning; a dull sound echoed in the hall, but the rock remained unmoved, only shaking off a few small fragments.

"It seems that this is either a naturally formed crevice or it has been deliberately sealed off."

Han Zu pondered for a moment, then abandoned the idea of ​​continuing to explore the crack. Since the humanoid silhouette had suddenly vanished, it either had disappeared into the depths of the crack or possessed some kind of ability to shield itself from perception and sight. Either way, it meant the opponent was definitely not weak, at least far superior to him in terms of concealment. But what puzzled him was, if the opponent possessed such an ability, why would it expose itself? Was it unintentional, or deliberate?

He glanced down around the hall. The gentle creatures that had surrounded him earlier had now retreated to a distance, warily watching the dome, clearly disturbed by the earlier commotion. Han Zu calmed the violent energy fluctuations within him, suppressing the flames on his body and trying to make his aura as peaceful as possible. He knew that in this unknown environment, recklessly releasing powerful energy would only alert the enemy; since they had chosen to remain hidden, they would not easily expose themselves again. The safest course of action now was to continue deeper into the cave; perhaps their tracks would reappear ahead.

Han Zu swam down from the dome and returned to the statue in the center of the hall. The text and patterns on the statue's base were still clear, and he examined them carefully again, hoping to find clues about the humanoid silhouette he had just seen. Besides depicting scenes of the life of the intelligent creature with three eyes and wings, the patterns also included some blurry human figures in the corners. These figures had no wings, only two eyes on their heads, and were slightly smaller than the intelligent creature, seemingly some kind of servant or slave. However, these figures were all very respectful, completely different from the upright, somewhat mysterious silhouette he had just seen.

"Could they be descendants of such intelligent beings?"

Han Zu speculated for a moment, then quickly dismissed the idea. If it were a descendant, it wouldn't possess such powerful concealment abilities, and the rich life force and energy fluctuations in the hall should be beneficial to these creatures; they wouldn't need to hide. More likely, the other party was an intruder like him, or some kind of guardian of this area, secretly observing his every move.

The little mouse suddenly jumped off his shoulder and swam towards a fork in the road deep inside the hall. It stopped at the fork, turned back to look at him, and waved its tiny paws, as if gesturing for him to follow. Han Zu's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately followed. He knew that although the little mouse's senses weren't as sharp as his, these rodents had an exceptionally keen intuition for danger and the unusual. The humanoid silhouette from before must have left some subtle trace that the little mouse had caught.

The passageway at the fork in the road was much narrower than the main hall, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. The number of luminous plants on the rock walls had also decreased significantly, making the light somewhat dim. A thin layer of fine sand covered the floor, bearing messy marks, as if left by some creature. The little mouse followed these marks, stopping occasionally to sniff before continuing. Han Zu followed behind, his senses constantly alert. Occasionally, man-made grooves appeared on the rock walls on either side of the passage, empty and unsure of what they had once held.

After about several hundred meters, the passage suddenly widened, revealing a huge underground lake that was distinctly layered with the surrounding seawater. The lake's surface was as calm as a mirror, completely unaffected by the seawater above, reflecting the glowing plants on the rock walls and displaying a dreamlike blue hue. Around the lake were a dozen or so cave entrances of varying sizes, each showing clear signs of seawater flow, sometimes rapid, sometimes gentle, carrying different temperatures and scents. The little mouse swam to the edge of the lake, chirped a few times at one of the cave entrances with the most turbulent current, then turned to look at Han Zu.

Han Zu swam to the edge of the underwater lake, observing the entrances to the caves. The water flowed in different directions; some flowed into the lake, while others surged outwards. Clearly, these caves were interconnected, forming a complex network of underground waterways. He probed the cave with his senses into the one with the rapid current. The cave's interior was winding and tortuous, its walls covered with various strange aquatic plants. Some resembled long ribbons, swaying gently in the water; others looked like giant mushrooms, their caps covered with luminous spots that illuminated the cave's interior; still others had tendrils that resembled tentacles, laden with translucent fruits that emitted a faint fragrance.

"This is it."

Based on the direction of the seawater, Han Zu roughly determined that the humanoid silhouette he had just seen must have entered the cave. He leaped into the lake; the icy water didn't bother him, as the flames within him surged slightly, dispelling the chill. The little mouse followed closely behind, diving into the water and nimbly swimming towards the cave entrance. Han Zu followed behind, and as soon as he entered the cave, he was stunned by the sight before him.

The cave was much more spacious than he had imagined, with a height of over ten meters. The rock walls were covered with a thick layer of fluorescent moss, emitting a soft green glow. On the rock walls on both sides of the cave grew many aquatic plants he had never seen before. One plant was particularly peculiar; its stems were thick and grew upwards to a certain height before spreading outwards to form a huge net. At the nodes of the net grew lantern-like flower buds, which emitted a faint purple glow, dyeing the surrounding seawater a dreamlike purple.

"It's incredible that these plants can photosynthesize at such a deep depth and even emit fluorescence."

Han Zu sighed inwardly and reached out to touch the purple flower buds. Just then, a group of small fish suddenly swam out from behind the flower buds. The fish were translucent, and their scales shimmered with the same purple light as the flower buds. They circled Han Zu a few times and then swam into the depths of the cave.

Continuing deeper into the cave, Han Zu encountered a fusion creature. It was a hybrid of something resembling an octopus and coral, or something similar to both. About the size of a small car, its main body was octopus-like, but its eight tentacles were as hard as coral, covered in sharp bony spikes. The ends of the tentacles had flower-like structures that constantly opened and closed, releasing tiny poisonous barbs. This creature seemed unfazed by the flames emanating from Han Zu; upon seeing him, it immediately lunged at him, brandishing its tentacles.

Han Zu waved his right hand, and a flame instantly condensed, erupting towards the fused creature. Carrying intense heat, it instantly evaporated the surrounding seawater, creating a vacuum. The fused creature clearly hadn't anticipated the sharpness of Han Zu's attack; it had no time to dodge. The flame struck its body directly, severing all eight of its tentacles. Without its tentacles, the fused creature lost its balance, tumbling a few times in the water before coming to a stop. Its body was gradually eroded by the seawater, turning into a pile of fragments.

"This fused creature's defenses are weaker than those we've encountered before, but those coral-like parts may contain some toxins."

Han Zu looked at the scattered fragments, a sense of unease creeping into his heart. He could sense a faint toxicity within them; accidental contact could likely cause significant harm to those with weaker constitutions. He quickened his pace, eager to catch up with the humanoid silhouette as soon as possible.

In the journey that followed, Han Zu encountered even more fusion creatures. There were creatures formed from the fusion of sea turtles and seaweed, their shells as hard as iron and covered in long seaweed that could whip enemies like a whip; there were creatures formed from the fusion of sharks and electric eels, which were extremely fast and could shoot high-voltage currents from their mouths, electrolyzing the surrounding seawater and creating an electrified area; and there was also an amphibian fusion creature formed from the fusion of frogs and jellyfish, which could swim in the water and climb on rock walls, and whose bodies could release a strong paralyzing toxin, making it difficult to escape once targeted.

Although these fused creatures were numerous and varied in strength, none posed a significant threat to Han Zu. The flames and lightning within his body intertwined, forming powerful attacks that killed several fused creatures with each strike.

While passing through a narrow passage, Han Zu encountered a gigantic amphibious creature. Its body was over ten meters long, with a pair of enormous wings on its back covered in hard scales, providing powerful propulsion in the water and allowing it to fly. Its mouth was filled with sharp teeth, and dark green venom dripped continuously from its lips. Its eyes, like two red gems, were filled with a ferocious aura.

"Roar—" Upon seeing Han Zu, the fused creature let out a deafening roar, flapped its wings violently, and pounced towards Han Zu. The powerful airflow generated by the flapping wings churned the surrounding seawater, sending countless tiny water droplets flying towards Han Zu like bullets. Han Zu pushed off the ground with both feet, his body jerking backward, while simultaneously conjuring a massive fireball in his right hand, which he hurled at the fused creature.

The fireball traced a brilliant arc through the air, striking the fused creature's wing precisely. With a deafening roar, the fireball exploded instantly, the intense heat scorching the creature's wings black. However, this fused creature possessed incredible resilience; instead of retreating after the attack, it became even more ferocious. It opened its mouth and spat out a stream of dark green venom, which transformed into a poisoned arrow in the air, shooting towards Han Zu. The poisoned arrow struck its body with a piercing sound, scattering the dark green venom across the surrounding rock walls, corroding small pits into the rock.

"He has some skills, but not many."

Seizing an opening in the attack, Han Zu lunged forward, flames and lightning swirling around his body to form a massive energy vortex. Using his size advantage, he evaded the fused creature's next attack, moving behind it. He gathered his power, spreading it throughout his body, and like a torpedo with its own turbine system, slammed into its head. With a muffled thud, Han Zu's body passed through the fused creature's head, instantly tearing its massive skull to shreds by the shockwave, splattering dark green blood and brain tissue everywhere. Its body swayed a few times before collapsing helplessly into the water, its enormous form blocking most of the passage.