Chapter 741: Ominous Sink Hole

’Wait a minute...kaijin, confirm something for me. Isn’t that the direction in which the entrance to the Storm Queen’s tomb supposed to be?’

[I think it is, milord. Do you want us to run interference? Scare them off, perhaps?]

’Not while that double duty cultivator is accompanying them...forget about my earlier order to stick on my person for the rest of the day, you guys just go and keep an eye on them while scouting out this so-called entrance. Notify me if anything weird or dangerous happens.’

[Of course.]*6

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Shortly after being informed that their lookouts had sensed the telltale energy signatures of a wandering ruins’ entrance, Partriarch Zhen Shi made the decision to stop the flotilla and go investigate with a handful of his sons by his side.

Jinju Ren’s tutor also volunteered to tag along, stating that, "It has been ages since I’ve last seen a wandering ruin. Might as well see if it leads somewhere interesting."

(Un)fortunately, while it wasn’t the entryway into a new wandering ruin, it was at least a way into a place that was possibly even more dangerous.

As of this moment, Patriarch Zhen Shi, his son and Zhong Wei were floating above a lake that had a giant blue hole in its center. Unlike normal blue holes though, the water in that section of the lake was pitch black like tar and just as sticky. Weirder still, anything behind the edges of this black hole was normal...at least in terms of environment.

"Father, I’m confused," Zhen Long the First Elder informed his father, "how is that weird looking lake supposed to lead to the Abyssal Lands? Is it an actual tunnel?"

"Actually, yes," Patriarch Zhen Shi informed his sons. "What you’re staring at is a literal, physical, passageway into the Abyssal Lands. Unlike the entrances to wandering ruins, you won’t be warped to a pocket dimension, because the Abyssal Lands are quite literally beneath our feet."

"Oh...then why aren’t we going down there?," Zhen Yan asked. "Isn’t this a good opportunity for us to figure out where the Fallen Clan are hiding? The matriarch did mention that the Fallen were down there, somewhere."

"Two reasons, my sons. First, we have too many civilians with us in order to safely explore such a place. Also, we don’t have enough supplies to maintain everyone’s well-being if we try to explore such a place. Second, we can’t go down there because of the same reason why the water down there is so thick and black, shadow water."

"Shadow water?"

∆∆Well, color me impressed,∆∆ Zhong Wei commented. ∆∆I didn’t think you’d recognize one of the most limiting factors in regards to Abyssal Lands exploration.∆∆

∆∆Yeah, well...let’s just say, my son’s weren’t the only to suggest exploring the Abyssal Lands,∆∆ Zhen Shi replied.

"Wait a minute, what’s shadow water?," Zhen Lao asked to get the conversation back on topic.

"Well...for starters, you boys can probably sense the dense amount of Caligos and Aquarii aether from up here. That’s coming straight out of that black hole," Zhen Shi began to explain. "But there’s a lot more to it than that..."

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Aside from being underground, the Abyssal Lands get it’s name because of the sheer amount of Caligos(darkness attributed) aether that saturates the area. The only other places in the world with such a concentration of the stuff would be found on the Umbral Spider continent.

This natural dark aether, however, isn’t limited to the Abyssal Lands though.

Due to the high concentration of Aquarii aether in the Roaring Tide continent, the two forces end up mixing together to produce a rare, and incredibly dangerous, substance referred to as "shadow water".

Visually, it was unimpressive. Shadow water at a glance, looked like a thick, black syrup of some kind that was unpleasant to the touch.

In reality, shadow water was incredibly dangerous.

Due to some unknown ratio between Aquarii and Caligos aether, that aformentioned unpleasant texture enabled this substance to stick to one’s personage for hours on end, possibly even weeks. Having such substance constrict one’s movements was already bad enough, but that was only the beginning.

Besides being near impossible to swim through due to it’s sticky texture, shadow water also had the ability to drain and suppress one’s aether while a person was submerged in the stuff.

It was actually a favored method for some factions to use what they called [Shadow Water Cages] to keep troublesome malefactors and enemies in check.

That said, just because shadow water was dangerous to touch, it didn’t stop cultivators from up and down the Roaring Tide continent from exclaiming with glee whenever they found a concentration of the stuff.

Many cultivators consider the shadow water to be the Abyssal Lands’ method of weeding out the weak and unworthy from its domain, but many others also believe the effect to be the result of powerful warriors from before recorded history, trying to keep their secrets hidden.

While there weren’t many success stories in regards to exploring the Abyssal Lands, the ones that did exist told tales of fabulous palaces and fortresses, chock-full of rare aether medicines, powerful treasures and arts and unfathomable secrets that could cause the entire world to flip on its head.

Of course, those success stories could also have been embellished, but nobody knew for certain due to the dangers of trying to prove those claims in the first place.

...

There was, however, one story that nobody could deny in regards to the Abyssal Lands: The City of the Lost.

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[Is it normal for the manager’s grandfather to go on long rants like that?,] Screamira asked.

[Kind of?,] Spring Brawler answered, [when I talked to him, not too long ago, he told me that he felt bad for not talking to his children as much as he should’ve growing up. I think this is his way of trying to make up for it.]

[Being unable to convey one’s feeling without talking...how sad.]

[Right?]

[Oi! Focus,] Nepherage interjected, [we got a job to do.]

[Yes, ma’am.]

While the Zhen Clan elders were busy surveying the black hole from above, Zhen Liu’s kaijin were checking things out from below.

For the sake of stealth, the six of them shrunk down to their toy forms while Frosttusk made use of his abilities to maintain a small ice raft from them to float on. Unfortunately, it kept him much colder than he liked.

[Can.....we....please....hurry.....up.... it’s....too...cold...]

[The irony of a wooly mammoth man feeling cold will never not be funny to me,] Hurricroak added. [Is it contradictory that someone with an ice formula fights better in the heat than the cold? Manga always seem to depict ice types as suffering tremendously when fighting someone in hot areas.]

[Going...to.....ignore.....that.....Nepherage....would....you....mind....?]

[I got you buddy.]

[Thanks.]

Nepherage proceeded to reposition herself behind Frosttusk and place a hand on his back. As she did, she began to concentrate Iganti aether into her palm, causing her hand to glow with a heart strong enough to burn one’s face off. In Frosttusk’s case though, it was like applying a warm towellett to a face.

[Feeling better?]

[Much...thanks...]

[Anytime.]

[So what’s the show plan here, guys?,] Razorstella asked. [Call it a stage star’s intuition, but I don’t think us diving into that inky abyss will be healthy for any of us. Y’all probably can’t remember this, but I’d rather not deal with another [Shadow Kings] formation bullshit. Last time, y’all turned into living locations, I don’t want to imagine y’all turning into giant sea monsters while we’re in there.]

[I...can’t even really argue against that point,] Hurricroak admitted. [I’m fairly certain I’d turn into an even bigger frog demon if I tried to swim through this sludge.]

[So what do we do?,] Spring Brawler asked. [Do we just ignore this place for now and tell our lord that neither we nor his older relatives have any idea on how to get through this thing?]

[Maybe-wait...that double duty cultivator just mentioned something interesting. Something that could help us get through here.]

[Really? What?]

[Lemme get a playback going...,] Hurricroak trailed off while sending rather into her throat and focusing her mind on what she just overheard.

...

"...and that’s why the Abyssal Lands are a massive pain in the ass to try and enter. As to how we get through though, we need either someone with a Luxarii aether formula and art, and someone with a Aeroqii aether formula and art to get through. We have one, but not the other, and I’m not sure if Xiao Yue or Xiao Liu’s puppet fits that criteria. Besides, I’d rather we get home first before we attempt to gallivant in someplace like the Abyssal Lands."

∆∆An astute decision, patriarch,∆∆ Zhong Wei praised. ∆∆its better to delay and be ready, than it is to be hasty and unprepared.∆∆

∆∆Thanks.∆∆

∆∆That said...I think I have something that can help with this matter, and aether treasure that could help with this...but it’ll take time and it’d be better for us to establish that teleportation array first.∆∆

∆∆Understood. Zhen Clan, we out.∆∆

"Yes, father."