SFS Chapter 447 Ruins No One Has Ever Been To
Chapter 447 Ruins No One Has Ever Been To
"Alright, let's stop arguing about this. Can we change the subject? This is my first time drinking alcohol. Is this the 'sweet liquor' that's so popular in our port?"
Zhiqiong probably sensed that the atmosphere among them was a bit awkward, and not wanting to continue the previous topic with Xu Ning, she forcibly changed the subject.
Xu Ning could tell from her expression that all her saliva earlier had been wasted.
He sighed and said, "It seems you really haven't tasted my wine. Ganli has long been renamed Qianfeng. Since I can't persuade you, you might as well drink another bowl to cleanse yourself of the filth. For the rest of the journey, you can travel with us. I also want to use your exploration skills to find something."
Since the topic of continuing further in came up, Zhiqiong's expression immediately brightened.
"Actually, I've been to this upside-down ancient city before. Although there are some strange guys here, I've always been very careful to avoid them."
Xu Ning asked in surprise, "When did you explore this place? There should have been many Hilichurls and Dark Knights around here back then, right?"
Zhiqiong shook her head and said, "The Hilichurls only started gathering here slowly after that ancient city began to glow. Although there were Hilichurls here before, their numbers were still very small. As for those black knights in armor, although they have always been here, they only guard a few spots. As long as you don't get too close, they won't attack you."
"However, when I first came here, I felt that this ancient city had a kind of power that kept me away from entering. It was as if I would suffer misfortune if I got too close, so I always went around it."
Xu Ning scoffed, "So why are you so bold now, suddenly thinking you're invincible and daring to venture in so deeply?"
Zhiqiong waved her hand, "I heard from Yuehui that you cleared out all the monsters here, but that's not what I wanted to talk about."
Zhiqiong took out a map and pointed to a location marked "Rugged Stone Hall".
"This is where we are now. If we follow the road from here, we will reach the area with those purplish-black crystals and black mud..."
Xu Ning nodded. "I saw it. You were talking in your sleep in there."
Zhiqiong said angrily, "Can we not talk about what happened earlier? What I wanted to tell you is that when I explored this place last time, there were some abyss monsters wandering around the path. I didn't dare to go that way at all. So I was thinking about whether I could find a small path to go around it, like in the underground swamp. So I went here..."
Zhiqiong pointed to the area below the stone hall, "Going through this large hole, you can also see an ancient city in the same style as this one. However, at the entrance of that ancient city, there is a huge mechanical doll guarding it, a much larger mechanical doll than the ruins' guardians..."
Xu Ning and Shen He exchanged a glance, neither of them expecting to obtain the information they wanted from this guy.
The only thing bigger than the Ruin Guardian can be the Ruin Heavy Machine. Coincidentally, this guy has the core of all these Ruin machines, and it even has two more cores than the Ruin Guardian.
“Alright,” Xu Ning stood up, “let’s start from this position!”
Seeing that Xu Ning was also willing to go there to investigate, Zhiqiong happily rolled up the map and then apologized to Xu Ning.
"My camera broke accidentally when I came down. If I get to those places, could I borrow your camera to take a few more photos? I think the General Affairs Department and the Adventurers' Guild would be happy to have photos to keep."
This was a small matter, and Xu Ning naturally nodded in agreement.
After confirming that Zhiqiong was in good health, the group headed towards the place Zhiqiong had indicated.
Including the memories from the past in the illusion, plus the previous time when he followed Jiuqi Ren and the others to search for Yanfei, Xu Ning has already been to this rocky abyss twice.
However, he had absolutely no recollection of the cave that Zhiqiong had found.
"This is a normal thing."
When asked how she discovered such a hidden passage, Zhiqiong replied as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
"This abyss of rock seems to have its own consciousness. Its geological structure is constantly changing slowly. What looks like a passageway today may suddenly turn into a stone wall tomorrow."
"So my job as a cartographer is still very important!"
Upon hearing Zhiqiong's words, Xu Ning recalled the strange illusion that reflected their inner worlds when they were underground.
At that time, Ye Lan and I had even deduced that the invisible space seemed to be a living thing, as if it was always watching everyone who entered it.
I never expected to hear the assertion of "living space" again in Zhiqiong's description.
"Has that happened again recently?" Xu Ning asked.
Zhiqiong tapped her chin and thought carefully, "It seems there isn't any left, but I can't remember when this situation started to gradually return to normal?"
It seems that after what happened underground, the underground space has gradually begun to stabilize.
"The road ends here. If you keep going, you'll see a broken bridge over there, and that big guy is standing at the entrance to the bridge!"
Xu Ning looked in the direction Zhiqiong pointed, and sure enough, there stood a huge mechanical figure.
"As expected, it's a relic heavy machine. Overall, it's stronger than the relic guardians in both size and ability. Let me handle it!"
Xu Ning touched his brow, and a clone of his lightning elemental body suddenly appeared beside him.
Since being underground, when the remnant will of Fushe bestowed the mask upon this clone, Xu Ning has not yet used it in battle.
This is a good opportunity to test out this relic heavy machine.
When the lightning elemental body appeared, it was still carrying the "Snow Burial Star Silver" that Xu Ning had taken from the secret chamber in Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain.
Xu Ning suddenly remembered that before he returned from Daoqi, he had commissioned Tianmu Fifteen to forge two weapons. He wondered if the old man had taken it to heart.
He had promised Teppei a "Kitain Jumonji" sword, as well as a long sword that he had custom-made for the Thunder Elemental Body, imitating the "Thin Edge Full Light Tenmoku".
After all, compared to a one-handed sword used by a lightning elementalist, this two-handed greatsword seems a bit too cumbersome, and cannot fully unleash the power of lightning-based quick kills.
Even so, Xu Ning was very satisfied with the combat power of the lightning elemental body.
I remember when the lightning elemental body first appeared, its explosive power in a "fleeting moment" was very strong, but after the extremely short battle, it was necessary to return to the Dust Concealment Cave Heaven to recharge with the Heart of the Thunder God.
Now, such obvious flaws are gone.
After the power of the Floating Elemental merged with the Lightning Elemental Body, the ring of lightning that appeared on the back of the Lightning Elemental Body was able to sustain the Lightning Elemental Body in battle for a long time.
Although its combat time limit is still unknown, for this relic heavy machine, it would only take about five or six moves before it was easily dismembered by the lightning elemental body's greatsword.
Xu Ning immediately deployed his Wind Wings and jumped over, retrieving a core from the shattered chest cavity of the relic's heavy machine and from each of its feet.
Since Zhiqiong didn't have the Wings of Wind, she could only slowly walk along the wall with Yinglangmaru.
Xu Ning placed a core in front of Shadow Wolf Maru's nose. "This is it. They use the same energy. Although I don't know what it smells like, if you can remember this scent..."
Xu Ning was actually quite uncertain, after all, he didn't know what it would be like to combine Kanria's technology with the Abyss's abilities.
However, after sniffing it, Shadow Wolf raised its head and barked at Xu Ning, and Xu Ning knew that it had remembered this thing.
"That's good. We've taken some photos here, let's explore other places next!"
Xu Ning had Zhiqiong stand in front of the historical site and took a photo of her as requested.
Zhiqiong happily raised one hand and struck a pose, but Xu Ning, through the lens with the commemorative mirror, silently read Zhiqiong's unspoken thoughts.
"I will keep going like this, proving to myself that I can also take on such a difficult feat in the Abyss of Layered Rocks. One day I will become a great adventurer worthy of being remembered by others, just like Stanley, Roald, and even Alice."
Xu Ning put away the phonograph, feeling conflicted about Zhiqiong's ambitions. He intuitively felt that Zhiqiong's obsession with adventure even surpassed Yelan's dedication to it.
Moreover, without the support of the Divine Eye and powerful martial arts, Zhiqiong's behavior becomes even more dangerous. Now, I only hope that after I accompany her through the entire layer of the Giant Rock Abyss and help her complete the drawing, she might be able to restrain herself a little.
"How do we get out? Should we go back the same way we came?"
Zhiqiong was drawing on a map with a pen in hand. After hearing Xu Ning's question, she pointed the pen tip to the exposed passage on the left and said, "That direction should lead us out."
Xu Ning glanced at it and asked, "When you came last time, that big guy was guarding this place. You probably wouldn't have dared to come all the way here, right? How did you know that's a way out?"
Zhiqiong took a pen and drew a winding line on the map in her hand. "Do you still remember the legend of the giant serpent we talked about?"
Xu Ning was taken aback. Wasn't that the target he had come to find? What did it have to do with this passage?
Zhiqiong explained, "Although I still can't prove that such a giant snake once existed underground in this rocky abyss, if, and I mean if, there really was such a giant snake slithering around underground, then it must have had a fixed path."
"If I connect all the circular caves in this area, I can roughly see that there really was something that meandered through here."
At this point, Zhiqiong smiled and said, "Of course, it's also possible that during the time when that ancient kingdom existed a long time ago, the architects back then had a strange hobby and deliberately created these winding roads."
Xu Ning gave Zhiqiong a thumbs-up in appreciation of her judgment.
It's no wonder that she can always find winding paths in places where it seems impossible to proceed, given that she can use this method to determine the way.
"Alright, I'll listen to you one more time. Let's see what surprises this road holds for us!"
As soon as Xu Ning and the others stepped into the path, they were greeted with a pleasant surprise.
There sat a woman wearing a purple hood, drinking from a silver jug.
"Heh, to see a stranger here is quite a pleasant surprise! It seems my judgment was correct. Those disgusting guys were really driven away by that golden light? Otherwise, how could even a weakling like you find a place like this?"
Zhiqiong was startled by the sudden appearance of the woman in purple. "It's the Fools! What are you doing hiding in a place like this?"
After saying that, Zhiqiong realized what the woman was referring to and angrily said, "And, are you referring to me as a weakling?"
The woman in purple stood up and pointed behind Zhiqiong with her right hand, which was holding the wine pot.
"Among the three behind you, even that burly dog looks dozens of times stronger than you. Guess if the weakling I'm talking about is you?"
Xu Ning had been walking ahead of Zhi Qiong the whole time. While Zhi Qiong and the Thunderfire Sorcerer of Winter were bickering, he clearly saw that this member of the Fools was actually almost drunk.
Moreover, judging from the bloodstained badge she was holding, Xu Ning guessed that she was drinking heavily because she was grieving for a deceased colleague.
"There are basically no monsters left in the upper level of the Laminar Abyss now, so you don't need to stay here anymore. You can go out and rejoin your teammates."
The lightning mage clearly heard Xu Ning's words, but his face showed no joy at being able to leave safely. Instead, it was filled with an overwhelming sorrow and a mixture of contempt and anger.
"It's truly a cause for celebration to be able to go out and reunite with them, isn't it? Does this mean that my comrades have abandoned the glory of Winter Solstice, given up their mission, and become cowardly deserters?"
Xu Ning shook his head. "The Ninth Company has lost more than half of its members, so the mission is destined to fail. Moreover, Liyue and Zhidong's cooperation on the Laminar Abyss has ended, so there is no need for you to continue."
The Lightning Mage sneered, "The Fatui have no weaklings who give up halfway. Even if it means death, we'll still prioritize the mission... You're saying the cooperation between Liyue and Winter has ended? We haven't received any mission instructions..."
At this point, she seemed to suddenly understand, "...So, Zhi Dong and Li Yue had a falling out again up there? No wonder our supply lines were cut off and all our sources of information disappeared."