Chapter 930: Underground
Chapter 930: Underground (Combined)
Lulu turned her head, and without a word, the gem on her forehead glowed with a Blue Light, illuminating Treasure Seeker.
Soon, the Blue Light faded, and Treasure Seeker was restored to his unscathed state.
"Use Energy Regeneration to recover your energy as quickly as possible", Qiao Sang instructed Lulu.
She could sense that Lulu's internal energy was running low.
Although there wasn't any particularly intense combat, the large-scale use of Frost Haven had indeed drained a significant amount of energy.
If another group of opponents were to appear, Lulu might not even be able to cast Frost Haven once.
"Ice Emperor."
Lulu nodded, and her entire body was enveloped in a Blue Light.
Steel Treasure flew over to Fangy's side, carrying Guo Ruiqi and Migala.
"Xunxun..."
Treasure Seeker felt ashamed to face his little brother and silently moved away from Steel Treasure's position, shifting from the left side to the right side of his Beastmaster.
Qingbao turned his head to follow its movement.
"Xunxun..."
Feeling the gaze of his future little brother, Treasure Seeker's body stiffened again, and he drifted backward.
"This area is too terrifying, with so many General-Class Beast Companions", Guo Ruiqi said, regaining his voice as the situation calmed down.
At that moment, Migala looked at Qiao Sang and spoke:
"Don't you think these Flamenights are a bit weak?"
Weak? Guo Ruiqi stared at Xu Qian with a look of astonishment, wanting to argue but lacking the courage to speak up.
In his opinion, if it weren't for Senior Qiao's strength, especially her familiar named "Lulu", they might have been wiped out by the Flamenights' attacks long ago.
"Somewhat", Qiao Sang recalled the scene and said, "But wild beast companions' group attacks are like this. Once the leading familiar falls, the remaining familiars are like a disorganized mob and can't perform to their full potential."
This was a lesson she had learned from her several visits to the Hidden Realm.
Wild beast companions generally charge recklessly in battle, and their combat instincts are strong. However, in group combat, once the strongest one falls, most of them lose the will to fight.
Perhaps the first batch of Flamenights that fell included their spiritual leader.
Moreover, with the combination of Frost Haven, Gigantic Ice Spire, and Mars Rain, how many General-Class Beast Companions could withstand such an assault? Flamenights' defensive strength is inherently low, so it's reasonable that they fell in large numbers.
That's the theory, but... Migala subtly glanced down at the scorched ground and guided the conversation:
"I've heard that some materials can force a familiar to evolve upon contact, as long as the familiar's internal energy meets the minimum threshold."
She paused and added:
"But such evolved familiars are often the weakest of their kind."
"Do you think these Flamenights were all forcibly evolved by some material?"
Qiao Sang responded with little interest, "Maybe."
She then turned to prepare for Treasure Seeker to perform another location check, as the most important goal was to find the Happy Seed as quickly as possible.
But when she turned, Treasure Seeker was gone.
Qiao Sang sensed something and looked back, her lips twitching. "Why are you standing so far away?"
"Xunxun..."
From a distance of several dozen meters, Treasure Seeker silently floated back to his Beastmaster's side.
"Let's keep looking", Qiao Sang said.
"Xunxun."
Treasure Seeker nodded, his eyes glowing with blue light.
Qiao Sang closed her eyes.
Migala, standing to the side, hesitated, feeling a bit frustrated.
This child, why can't she understand what I'm trying to say?
The resources that allowed so many Flamenights to forcibly evolve were clearly extraordinary. The few Flametail Fanfoxes they encountered earlier must have evolved successfully because of these resources.
Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense to have so many familiars with the same attributes and relatively high levels in one area.
Wild beast companions are highly territorial, and at the General-Class level, they are unlikely to share their territory with another General-Class beast companion of a different species.
Especially when they have the same attributes and need to compete for the same resources.
The resources related to fire-type must be even more abundant here than imagined. One species alone can't consume it all, so even if they are reluctant to share the area with other species, they are unwilling to leave.
Flame Kiru's main attribute is fire-type, and its future evolution path is unknown. Encountering resources that could allow so many Fire Pet Beasts to evolve is something worth investigating.
Migala thought Qiao Sang would be interested and suggest exploring the area, but she showed no interest at all.
If they leave this place now, they might miss out on resources that could help Flame Kiru's evolution... Migala's thoughts raced.
Although she wanted to complete the mission and leave the Hidden Realm quickly, the potential benefits for Flame Kiru's evolution outweighed her desire to leave.
They can't just leave... Migala glanced at the red ground and then looked at the air around them.
Suddenly, the shoe on Guo Ruiqi's left foot inexplicably fell off.
Feeling his foot become lighter, Guo Ruiqi looked down and saw his shoe falling. He instinctively reached out, shouting, "My shoe!"
Migala turned to Sleepy Bird. "Help him pick it up."
"Sleepy."
Sleepy Bird, being diligent, flapped its wings and transformed into a streak of green light, flying downward.
Its speed was so fast that it caught the shoe just two meters above the ground.
However, whether it was the powerful air currents created by Sleepy Bird's descent or the severe damage to the ground, the moment Sleepy Bird caught the shoe, the ground, which was already in ruins, collapsed.
A stifling heat rose up.
Sleepy Bird, wings flapping, holding the shoe, was stunned mid-air at the sight of the collapsed ground.
"This, this..."
Guo Ruiqi stammered, completely forgetting about his shoe. His pupils dilated, and his eyes were filled with shock and confusion.
Sure enough... Migala called out loudly, "Qiao Sang, look quickly!"
Actually, Qiao Sang had already opened her eyes the moment the ground collapsed and made a sound.
She looked down.
Deep underground, everything was a fiery red. Molten lava flowed slowly, like a thick, burning river, advancing forward without a clear destination, turning the entire underground into a fiery, intimidating landscape.
Alongside the lava, charred rocks lay scattered, and various Fire Pet Beasts of different levels, species, and forms were resting.
Some of these Fire Pet Beasts looked up at them but quickly lost interest and returned to their resting positions.
There is indeed something unusual down there... Qiao Sang's heart rate quickened, and her emotions were unusually complex, a mix of excitement and tension.
Even when they first arrived, she had sensed that something was off in this area, especially below the ground. Otherwise, the ground wouldn't be this red and this hot.
I never expected it to be lava.
After all, Fangy's initial Evolution took place in the lava of a volcano.
At this moment, Qiao Sang was even more certain that Fangy's next Evolution Site might really be nearby.
But the problem was that Fangy was only at the Mid-Commander Rank...
Qiao Sang really wanted to go down and explore, but her rationality told her that a Mid-Commander Rank familiar would need a lot of time to evolve to the Royal Tier, even if Fangy used all the accumulated Points. It would only bring Fangy to the late-stage, not to late-stage perfection.
Most importantly, the mission wasn't even completed yet. Who knew how much time it would take to explore down there?
The Regional Tournament was starting soon...
"Fangy."
Fangy looked down, feeling as if something was drawing it.
"It turns out it's lava down there, no wonder it's so hot", Migala said, guiding the conversation. "Do you think the resources for so many Flame Nights to evolve could be down there?"
Qiao Sang recalled what the other had said and responded, "You mean forced Evolution?"
Migala nodded. "Exactly."
Qiao Sang looked down again, another thought crossing her mind: Could Fangy have been forced to evolve as well?
The thought made her uneasy.
She did want Fangy to evolve, but definitely not through forced Evolution.
After all, if the Energy Level in the body wasn't sufficient and forced Evolution took place, even reaching the Royal Tier, the strength would still be among the weakest of Royal Beasts.
Seeing that Qiao Sang hadn't made a decision, Migala casually added, "This Hidden Realm is truly amazing. There's actually such a place down there, and we wouldn't have known if the ground hadn't suddenly collapsed."
Qiao Sang's heart stirred, and she looked at the Treasure Seeker, saying, "Take out a piece of Azure-Black Stable Stone."
She had stocked up on Everstones while at Supernest.
Everstones of different qualities have different colors, and the higher the quality, the higher the Evolution Level they can block.
The Azure-Black Stable Stone can block the Evolution power of a Royal Beast, which would be more than enough for Fangy.
"Xunxun~"
The Treasure Seeker didn't ask why and immediately started searching through the Ring.
It seemed they were going to go in... Migala felt relieved.
She didn't want Flame Kiru to be forced to evolve either, but Flame Kiru's Evolution Path was unknown. If there were resources that could help so many Fire Pet Beasts evolve, it was worth exploring, just in case it might be useful in the future.
The Treasure Seeker took out the Everstone and handed it over.
Qiao Sang took it and put it in her pocket.
This Everstone wasn't strung, so it wasn't easy to put it on Fangy, but as long as it was in contact with Fangy, it would work. If anything happened, she could place it on Fangy in time, so there was no need to wear it specifically.
Guo Ruiqi, seeing this, asked uncertainly, "We're not going down, are we?"
Qiao Sang nodded. "That's right. The Happy Seed might be down there. We'll go down and take a look. If it's not there, we'll come back up."
How could there be a Great Joy down there... For the first time, Guo Ruiqi felt that Senior Qiao was wrong.
This place clearly belonged to Fire Pet Beasts.
As this thought flashed through her mind, a Grass-Type Companion Beast, about twenty centimeters in size, with a fruit on its head and a wilted appearance, slowly passed by below.
As they passed a fire-type Turtle Beast, the creature reached out a claw and plucked the fruit from the head of the Grass-Type Companion Beast, popping it into its mouth.
The Grass-Type Companion Beast remained expressionless, offering no resistance as it continued on its way.
Guo Ruiqi's heart suddenly skipped a beat. He remembered that the leaves of the Happy Seed could secrete drops of water that made both humans and familiars feel joyful and at ease.
Would his Great Joy be captured by these Fire Pet Beasts and used as a "Source of Joy"?
At this thought, Guo Ruiqi gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, let's go down!"
Qiao Sang patted Fangy's back.
"Fangy!"
Fangy's expression was slightly excited as he charged straight down into the Underground.
Steel Treasure and Sleepy Bird followed closely behind.
An unbearable heat immediately enveloped them.
"Qingqing..."
Qingbao, who had been using Wind Transformation, reappeared, unable to withstand the heat.
The Fire Pet Beasts lying still turned their attention back, not surprised by Fangy, but their expressions changed when they saw Steel Treasure and Sleepy Bird.
It's so hot... Qiao Sang scooped up Lulu, who was still using Energy Regeneration.
Sweat dripped down Guo Ruiqi's forehead in large beads. Suddenly, he remembered something and turned to Sleepy Bird, saying, "My shoes."
Sleepy Bird carried the shoes over to him.
Guo Ruiqi took them and put them on.
The Fire Pet Beasts here were of low level and showed no fear at the sight of such a high-level familiar... Migala observed the surroundings and said in a solemn voice, "Be careful."
"Understood", Qiao Sang replied, her expression serious as she looked ahead.
Below the Underground, the view was a sea of red. The lava resembled a slumbering dragon, casting a fiery glow that stretched endlessly.
Surely, this place isn't entirely covered in lava... Qiao Sang did not immediately move forward. Instead, she turned to "Xu Gehong" with a serious expression and said, "If I sense any danger, I'll rely on you."
For some reason, she felt that if she didn't say this, the other party might not take action.
Migala nodded. "I understand."
Qiao Sang glanced at Treasure Seeker and nodded.
"Xunxun..."
Treasure Seeker wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead, floated over to Lulu, and his eyes glowed blue.
Qiao Sang closed her eyes.
Instantly, the terrain around them appeared in her mind like a 3D map.
Lava, lava, and more lava...
Various Fire Pet Beasts lay on both sides of the lava, just like where they were now.
Only a dozen kilometers away, there was a stretch with no familiars, eerily quiet.
No Happy Seed... but Treasure Seeker's range was only 15 kilometers, so just because it wasn't here didn't mean it wasn't somewhere else underground. The area below was much more extensive than she had imagined... Various thoughts flashed through Qiao Sang's mind, and she quickly focused, wanting Treasure Seeker to move to the area with no familiars.
While she intended to find the Happy Seed, she also wanted to determine what was attracting so many Fire Pet Beasts to this place.
Just as Qiao Sang was about to have Treasure Seeker move, a massive, steel-hard head with scales shimmering with a mysterious luster emerged from the lava, its cold eyes fixed on them. (End of Chapter)
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