Chapter 23. Ghost Cave ⑥: Hidden in...
Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi cleared away monsters along the way in the dark depths of the underground, heading in the chosen direction.
As they ventured deeper, even the ghosts and monsters disappeared, leaving only darkness and a chilling, fishy wind that made it impossible to open their eyes.
Lin Xiaoxiao lowered her head and tugged at her thick clothes, shivering uncontrollably, her teeth clenching involuntarily. This godforsaken place was too cold.
Just as she was about to suggest turning back, a familiar child's voice rang in her ears:
Keep going, keep going.
Walk to the front of a large black rock and take the path to the left.
'Come quickly, come...'
Upon hearing this sound, Lin Xiaoxiao stopped in her tracks, lowered her eyes, and strained her ears to listen intently, because the sound was so faint that it required great concentration to hear it clearly.
And they pondered in their hearts whether to go or not.
I wonder if the 'child' who said those words was good or bad?
If things are good, she and Xiao Weizhi might be able to leave this awful place with their help; if things are bad…
But a strange premonition was telling her, "Go, follow that voice, and keep searching until you reach your destination."
When Xiao Weizhi realized that Lin Xiaoxiao hadn't followed, there was already more than a meter between them. He asked softly, "Are you tired? Do you want to rest for a bit?"
Lin Xiaoxiao snapped out of her daze and shook her head: "It's alright, I don't need to rest for now."
Actually, it would be best to tell Xiao Weizhi about being able to hear the voices of these intelligent beings.
But her first subconscious reaction was that she couldn't say it, she absolutely couldn't tell anyone.
Although she didn't know why she had this reflexive habit, she would subconsciously avoid it whenever the thought came to mind.
Or, a loud buzzing sound will suddenly appear in her mind, forcibly interrupting her next action.
Xiao Weizhi turned back to take her hand.
The two of them walked for more than ten kilometers, their steps uneven, until they finally saw the large black rock that the child had described.
'Come, come quickly, we're all waiting for you here...'
As the distance shortened, the sound that was initially unclear gradually became clearer and clearer.
More than an hour later, they successfully arrived at the large black rock, which was more than ten meters high and vaguely resembled a human figure. Under the light of the lamp, the color was blurred but could be seen to be the deepest black.
Lin Xiaoxiao noticed that there was a narrow path behind the stone to the left, only wide enough for one person to pass through, the kind that you would not notice if you did not look carefully.
Xiao Weizhi prepared to continue walking forward, but Lin Xiaoxiao stood still, pointing to the path, her voice tinged with guilt: "There's a path over there, go that way?"
Xiao Weizhi turned around and looked at her through the dim light. Her face was almost full of words: I have a secret, I feel guilty. I am trying my best to show a normal expression. He raised his eyebrows and nodded: "Well, let's go."
Xiao Weizhi led the way, with Lin Xiaoxiao following behind. The two of them struggled to traverse the narrow path that could only accommodate one person at a time. Small stones would occasionally fall on their heads, but they could only endure it and silently quicken their pace.
'Come on, let's go further...'
As the two slowly walked deeper into the area, the narrow path, which was only wide enough for one person to pass through, widened to a road more than two meters wide.
Upon reaching the end, one first sees a semi-transparent barrier shimmering with purplish-black light. Through the barrier, one can clearly see the entrance to a three- or four-meter-high grotto ten meters away.
On both sides of the grotto are several roughly carved stone sculptures of human bodies and animal heads, each over five meters tall.
Beside the entrance to the grotto, there was a monster, more than a meter tall, that looked like a dog or a jackal, squatting to one side.
Its eyes were glowing green as it stared in the direction of Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi. Saliva dripped from its tongue, which was sticking out of its mouth. When it fell to the ground, bursts of corrosive green smoke rose up.
Xiao Wei instinctively stepped in front of Lin Xiaoxiao, his right hand gripping his staff tightly, his muscles tense. He didn't turn around, and his voice was very soft: "The monsters in this location are usually in a group. The two of us might not be able to handle them."
What he meant was that they might not be able to win, and they would be better off returning the way they came.
'Come in, come in quickly...'
The child's voice kept urging Lin Xiaoxiao to enter the barrier.
Her expression was somewhat troubled. The demonic beast guarding the entrance to the cave looked ferocious and didn't seem to welcome them in at all.
Suddenly, a golden-haired figure appeared behind the monster and kicked it away.
The owner of the golden fur was a four-legged creature, about 1.5 meters tall, with round, bright blue eyes. Its appearance was very much like a lion, but it had some light and dark white stripes on its body.
It opened its mouth, licked its nose with its big tongue, and its tail swished impatiently behind it. Its eyes were fixed on Lin Xiaoxiao, as if to say, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and come in."
Lin Xiaoxiao grabbed Xiao Weizhi who was about to leave and said firmly, "I want to go in."
Xiao Weizhi froze for a few seconds, then stared directly at her with his beautiful eyes that weren't covered by his glasses. He gritted his teeth and asked in a low voice, "Are you sure?"
Lin Xiaoxiao nodded emphatically, her eyes filled with determination: "I'm sure."
She had a strong premonition that if she didn't go in, she might miss a great opportunity.
Xiao Weizhi took several deep breaths. He knew Lin Xiaoxiao had a secret and didn't want to ask any more questions. Since she insisted on going, then he would go.
After a moment, the mute voice said helplessly: "Okay, go in. If anything goes wrong, I'll take you away."
Xiao Weizhi was confident in his abilities. Even if he couldn't win, he should be able to escape with her.
The next second, Xiao Weizhi, holding Lin Xiaoxiao's hand, took the initiative to raise his staff and reach into the barrier.
As they approached the barrier, they discovered that the surrounding temperature instantly rose from a few degrees below zero to over twenty degrees Celsius. Within just a dozen seconds, fine beads of sweat appeared on Lin Xiaoxiao's face.
Perhaps Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi were dawdling, which made the golden-furred beast impatient. It emitted bursts of light and appeared in front of Lin Xiaoxiao with a light step.
It snorted twice, hissed at Lin Xiaoxiao, then turned and led the way, its two-meter-long tail half-raised and swaying irritably behind it.
As he passed by the ferocious-looking monster, he slapped it on the head and roared fiercely. Seeing the dog-like monster tuck its tail in fright and hide to the side, he nodded in satisfaction.
He then turned to Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi, who were standing still, and roared, "Howl—"
To Lin Xiaoxiao, it sounded like a very deep baritone voice saying to them, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and follow us."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoxiao pulled Xiao Weizhi along and followed the monster forward.
Following the golden-furred monster, we entered the cave from the entrance and passed through a stone tunnel full of stalactites. A few minutes later, we arrived at a blessed land.
It is called a blessed land because the place in front of it is shaded by green trees, with green grass and flowers, and there are round black stone houses of all sizes. In front of the houses, many monsters of all sizes lie on the lawn and play.
The moment those monsters saw Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi, their beast ears all stood up or turned into airplane ears pressed tightly against the back of their heads, baring their teeth to block their way and staring at them warily.
Seeing this, Xiao Weizhi instinctively stood in front of Lin Xiaoxiao. If these monsters dared to pounce, his skill would land in the center of them the next second.
The golden-haired monster roared twice, and the monsters blocking the way strangely made way for them.
After passing through the road lined with monsters of all sizes, and arriving at the entrance of a grotto about 2.5 meters high, the golden-haired monster blocked Xiao Weizhi's path and stopped in its tracks.
It barked at Lin Xiaoxiao, roughly meaning: 'Go inside, the person you want to see is inside.'
Xiao Weizhi noticed that the monster only allowed Lin Xiaoxiao to go in alone, and frowned, pulling her along, "It's not safe for you to go in alone, I'll go with you."
Before she could finish speaking, a small fox with fiery red fur and six large tails floating in mid-air behind it, its eyes purple, squatted on the third bidder two meters away. It opened its mouth and spoke in human language, interrupting Xiao Weizhi: "You can't come in, but she can."
Xiao Weizhi's expression was solemn. He raised his right staff and pointed it directly at the little fox. A demon beast that could speak human language must be at least a high-level BOSS of the Gold rank or above.
The little fox's voice was that of a child. It tilted its head and looked at Lin Xiaoxiao behind Xiao Weizhi: "Grandma Lich is waiting for you. I'll take you there."
Lin Xiaoxiao stepped out from behind Xiao Weizhi, already wearing the gold-level [Escape Cloak], and whispered to him, "Wait here for me for a while, I have to go."
Xiao Weizhi's gaze fell on the red cloak that Lin Xiaoxiao was wearing, which was shimmering with light. His heart, which had been pounding, relaxed a little. With his sharp eyesight, he could tell at a glance that it was gold-level equipment.
He said in a deep voice, "Be careful! I'll wait for you here."
Lin Xiaoxiao nodded, then limped after the little fox who kept looking back and waiting, and walked step by step up the steps that led to an unknown destination.
Going up the steps, Lin Xiaoxiao could see many rough colored drawings on the uneven stone walls on both sides of the steps.
The content is: the history of the development of a race, from the earliest wild beasts, to intelligent monsters that could use tools, to those that could transform into human bodies with beast heads, and finally, when they encountered foreign invasion, they retreated to a place to hide.
After walking more than a hundred meters, the destination was a huge stone chamber with a skylight.
The interior was very gloomy, with lighting provided by a few torches hanging on the wall. The entire room was covered with strange characters painted crookedly in purplish-black paint. There was only a large, dilapidated table, two cushions, and behind the table a black stone sculpture that was mostly broken, with only half of its body remaining.
“You’ve finally arrived, *****” A hoarse female voice, like the sound of rusty scissors, came from the darkness.
When Lin Xiaoxiao heard the last few words spoken by the woman's voice, a sudden, intense buzzing sound filled her head. She frowned in pain, covering her ears with her hands, hoping this useless method would get rid of the headache caused by the sudden sound.
A hunched figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
It is about 1.4 meters tall, wearing a loose black robe and covered with gray fur. It looks like a big rat and stands on two feet like a human, but its back is severely bent.
Its small eyes crinkled with laughter as it stood two meters away from Lin Xiaoxiao and introduced itself in a hoarse voice: "My name is Anse, and I am a lich priest from the Raeldonser tribe."
Lin Xiaoxiao cautiously took two steps back and nodded in response: "Hello, I am a human professional."
Even though the lich Anse's face was covered in fur, a clear smile could be seen. It took the initiative to make a gesture of invitation, inviting Lin Xiaoxiao to sit down on the cushion.
After Lin Xiaoxiao sat cross-legged on the mat.
The lich Anse also squatted down opposite her, its hands loosely resting on its knees. Its gaze fell on Lin Xiaoxiao's prosthetic limbs, revealing an "I see" look.
It waved its hand, and suddenly a small, round table, only 40 centimeters high and covered in burrs, appeared in front of it. On the table was a teapot, two teacups, and a few rough-looking pastries.
Ignoring Anse's offer of tea, Lin Xiaoxiao stared at it expressionlessly and asked in a low voice, "So, what do you want from me?"
The lich Anse held a cup of tea, took a sip, and said in a gentle tone, "I want to make a deal with you."
A trade? It can't be that this monster knows she's a treasure chest merchant and wants to trade chests with her, right?
Lin Xiaoxiao looked at the lich priest with a puzzled expression: "What do you want to trade?"
The lich Anse helplessly reached out to shoo away the six-tailed red fox, who was lying on the edge of the small table like a puppy, staring longingly at the snacks on the table: "Redtail, this is not something you can eat."
After the six-tailed fox obediently squatted down to the side, it turned to look at Lin Xiaoxiao and said, "I hope you can help me take all the younger generation out of the cave."
As soon as it finished speaking, a task pop-up appeared in front of Lin Xiaoxiao:
[A quest request from the lich Anse of the Raeldonsser tribe. Accept?]
[Mission Objective: To evacuate all the young demonic beasts who have never seen sunlight from this desolate and bleak place on the verge of destruction.]
Lin Xiaoxiao didn't click "agree" immediately, but frowned and asked, "Why me?"
If it's just about taking someone out of this secret realm, any professional could do that, since anyone who signs a partner contract can leave as a pet.
Even though the lich Anse's gaze was fixed on her, his eyes seemed to be looking through her as if he were looking at someone in the distance, and the respect in his eyes was almost overflowing.
Instead of answering Lin Xiaoxiao's question directly, it pulled out a fist-sized box from its thick fur, opened it, and faced her with a clear smile in its voice: "This is the reward for the mission."
On the red satin surface of the box lies a crystal, only 1 centimeter in size and shaped like a teardrop.
It looked ordinary, but Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but widen her eyes in shock.
Because the moment she saw the crystal, a special annotation screen automatically popped up in front of her.
[Divine Seed (God-level): One of the essential elements for becoming a god. After being implanted and nurtured within the body, it has the potential to transform into a divine essence, making it something coveted by countless people.]
[Note: It is said that the gods scattered countless divine seeds throughout the world. These seeds vary in appearance; they may be stones, leaves, or even a living being.]
But what shocked Lin Xiaoxiao was another clue:
[Divine seed detected. Absorb and unlock the blocked identity?]
A sealed identity? What does that mean? Does she have some hidden identity?
Lin Xiaoxiao felt her throat was dry, swallowed, and involuntarily let her saliva slide up and down.
A note from the author:
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