Chapter 235: Essence Perception
Chapter 235: Essence Perception
"ROAR!"
In Crystal Valley, the Lizard Dragon Chief roared in anger, standing atop a withered and scorched corpse of a carnivorous flower. The Revivers around it had also turned to ashes under the intense heat.
However, after the battle, it found nothing of value.
Within the Crystal Wall, aside from the fighting carnivorous flowers and Revivers, there were no anticipated treasures, only a cold, quiet expanse of land lying before it.
For a moment, the air currents it controlled even went haywire.
The ordinary lizard dragons it had brought along were scorched to death by the raging heat!
"Damn it!"
"Where... Where is my treasure?"
On the other side, Lindsey and Hong were still in the process of evacuating.
The Lizard Dragon Chief was seething with rage, but it never expected these two tiny humans to have survived.
The underground world's structure was intricate and winding.
After passing through this straight tunnel, the next cave immediately connected to three intertwining passages.
At this moment, Lindsey's Essence had finally recovered to a level where he could handle combat.
He activated the newly unlocked module.
【Puzzle Game - Clue Collection】
"..."
After activating the skill, Lindsey's vision showed no changes.
However, when he focused his attention on these three tunnels, faint traces became apparent, resembling the naked-eye 3D effect of a laser card!
"The left passage has air currents flowing through it."
"The middle passage has clear footprints on the ground."
"The right passage slopes deeper underground, and the stones above are distinct from those in the tunnel walls."
Clues appeared one by one before Lindsey's eyes.
The Puzzle Game was currently at Level 1, and the unlocked skill was also the most basic.
However, looking at the visions before him, he could even guess what the next Puzzle Game skill would be.
"After collecting, the next step is naturally analyzing the clues."
"But even without skill assistance, these clues are more than enough for analysis."
He didn't even need to expand the map.
Lindsey could determine the direction they should take.
"Hong, let's head to the side..."
Lindsey turned to look at Hong, preparing to lead his companion away.
But as he gazed at her, he noticed something he had never seen before—a faint grayish-black air current enveloping her body, emanating an aura of slaughter and ill omen.
"Is this... Essence?"
Lindsey immediately realized what he was seeing.
It wasn't the emotional fluctuations he had glimpsed through the Sapphire Glasses earlier, but the Essence within Hong's body!
This was a perception ability that one should only gain after truly becoming an Ascender.
Yet, in his case, this unique perception ability had been acquired prematurely through the Puzzle Game skill.
Instinctively, Lindsey turned his head, looking back at the tunnel they had come from.
The dark passage was quiet, with no signs of Essence remaining.
The Tier Six Lizard Dragon Chief was powerful, but it wasn't absurd enough to be observable from this distance.
Lindsey's unusual action immediately caught Hong's attention:
"Lindsey, what's wrong?"
Lindsey pointed at the girl's body:
"I just gained a new ability, and now I can see the traces of Essence with my naked eyes."
Hong's tone was filled with surprise:
"You can see the traces of Essence... What? Couldn't you before?"
Hong's thoughts were written all over her face.
She had always believed that Lindsey, who had once completely suppressed her and was now on equal footing, definitely possessed such an ability!
Lindsey replied, "Generally, this is a power that only awakens upon reaching the Fifth Stage of Ascension."
Hong, not fully understanding, argued, "Your strength isn't as simple as that."
Lindsey patiently explained, "That's because my situation is special. Anyway, I can see it now."
As they spoke, the two arrived at the entrance to the three tunnels.
They should have unhesitatingly taken the left tunnel leading to the surface.
But when they were close enough, the once quiet underground tunnel echoed with faint sounds of battle, floating in the wind like cottonwood seeds.
Hong immediately turned to Lindsey, "Lindsey, are those guys again?"
"The Lizardmen didn't come from this direction," Lindsey shook his head, then crouched down and touched the footprints he had just seen. "Look at these footprints; they were left by the Blind Ones we encountered earlier."
The size and shape of the footprints perfectly matched the physique of the Blind Ones.
Lindsey immediately made a judgment:
"It seems that besides the Lizardmen's attack, they encountered other trouble ahead."
Hong nodded in agreement with Lindsey's assessment, and the Poisoned Spear was already in her hand.
"Should we take a detour or go straight?"
Lindsey answered without hesitation, "Keep going forward."
"This is the shortest path back to the surface; there's no reason to stop here."
"But we're still not far enough from Crystal Valley. Some oversized things might still attract the Lizardmen's attention, so let's avoid combat as much as possible."
Listening to the sounds of battle in the wind, Hong asked, "What if the fighting ahead is intense?"
"If the path ahead is completely blocked by combat," Lindsey said as he took out the Meteor Hammer, "then we'll dig our own tunnel to get out!"
Lindsey and Hong continued forward.
The Lizardmen and the Blind Ones, as inhabitants of the underground world, were not under the control of the Dragon Beasts.
Therefore, for these underground residents, the surface became an unwelcoming area.
After all, as creatures that obeyed their instincts to manipulate Essence, they were far more susceptible to the erosion of the Dragon Beasts' rules, something they would definitely try to avoid.
And for a Sixth Stage powerhouse like the Lizard Dragon Chief, even if the former Dragon Beasts hadn't killed him, once these 'escaped fish' frequently ventured into territories they shouldn't have, the outcome might not be as fortunate as in the past.
...
On the other end, Lindsey and Hong continued forward.
After passing through two caves and another tunnel, the source of the sounds of battle in the wind appeared before them.
Indeed, it was a battlefield.
Some of the Blind Ones who had chosen to flee had arrived here and collided head-on with a group of bat-like beasts.
The battle erupted immediately.
Compared to the fight between the Blind Ones and the Lizardmen, the scale of the battle here was much smaller.
Additionally, no powerful warriors were involved in the fight between the Blind Ones and the bats, resulting in a stalemate where numbers and individual strength were pitted against each other.
It was at this location that Lindsey clearly heard the roars of the bat beasts amidst the sounds of battle carried by the wind:
"Take them out!"
"The Lizardmen can't occupy such a vast territory. If we can secure a spot on the edge, we can also find a place to settle down!"
"If we can survive here, we can break free from their control!"
(End of Chapter)
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