The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 3095 The Shadow Appears
As night fell, the entire suspension bridge mechanism began to operate, clattering and rattling.

As the mechanism was activated, the iron chain bridge slowly returned to its original state. However, by this time, the lake level had dropped significantly, now several hundred meters below the shore.

Therefore, after the suspension bridge was retracted and restored, the part of the suspension bridge that should have been submerged in the water was now suspended in the air. After all, the lake level had dropped by several hundred meters, so it was impossible for it to be submerged in the lake water.

If you could see the entire lake area from the air, you would see a rift valley over 500 meters wide spanning the valley. Currently, the water is only a few hundred meters below this rift valley.

As the suspension bridge was removed, the bridgehead structures were restored to their original state, and the single horn that had been inserted into the back of the bridgehead structures was pushed out and quietly remained in the recess.

At the same time, a unicorn-like beast appeared in the lake. Unfortunately, because the lake was hundreds of meters from the shore, the beast couldn't get ashore and therefore couldn't retrieve its unicorn.

The unicorn roared anxiously and paced back and forth in the lake. Finally, after a long delay, the unicorn realized that there was no movement on the shore, and if it wanted its horn, it would have to go up there itself.

Then, the unicorn revealed its sharp claws and used them to pierce the rock wall, quickly climbing upwards.

If anyone were still here and saw this scene, they would definitely exclaim in surprise.

Because the unicorn was very fast, it didn't take long for it to climb ashore and then retrieve its horn.

Just as the unicorn retracted its horn and roared with joy, the lake level suddenly accelerated its descent, dropping at a visible rate.

Furthermore, as the lake level receded, a chilling aura gradually emerged, instantly silencing the unicorn beast that was happily frolicking by the lake. Peeking out to look at the lake, it discovered that the water level had already dropped several hundred meters further.

After a day and a night, the lake level has dropped, with the overall drop approaching 1,000 meters.

However, as the lake descends by nearly a kilometer, the bottom of the lake seems to gradually emerge.

The first thing to appear was dozens of caves on the cliff face near the lake bottom. Each cave had a large entrance and was located on one side of the cliff. At this moment, from each of the exposed cave walls, several heads of unicorn beasts peeked out, observing the scene.

Of course, these strange beasts should all be hornless. No one expected that there would be so many horned beasts beneath the lake, almost like a whole clan. The number of these beasts that have poked their heads out alone is over a hundred.

The bottom of the lake is finally revealed, but if someone stands on the shore and looks down into the lake, they will see that there are many protruding rocks on the bottom. Each rock is about ten meters high and is wider at the bottom than at the top, with a diameter of about ten meters at the bottom, like a cone distributed across the bottom of the lake.

These rocks are covered with etched patterns, and a faint light still shines through each of them.

If Chen Mo were to see this now, he would understand that the patterns etched on these rocks are array patterns. Each rock cone is a separate array base, and the numerous rock cones distributed on the lake bottom form a complex array.

The reason why the entire lake was previously churned with towering waves lies here. It was only after the array composed of rocky cones was activated that such massive waves were generated.

At the very center of the lakebed lies a massive black hole, approximately a hundred meters deep. The lake water disappears through this hole. All the rocky cones are evenly distributed across the lakebed, surrounding this giant black hole.

The depth of the entire black hole is impossible to fathom, as the entire hole is pitch black and bottomless, and it is unknown where this black hole leads.

When all the lake water disappeared through the black hole, revealing the entire black hole, all the strange beasts retreated into the cave. The unicorn beast on the shore also quietly retreated, lying flat on the Gobi Desert with its head pressed against it, and its whole body began to tremble.

They didn't know why they were so terrified.

But just as the many strange beasts hid and dared not make a sound, a dark shadow darted out from the dark hole at the bottom of the lake and instantly hovered at the same height as the buildings on the shore.

The entire valley was protected by a barrier, but for some reason, this dark figure was able to break through the barrier and float directly in the air.

From a distance, the shadowy figure appeared to be humanoid, but the darkness obscured its details. All that could be seen was that the figure hovered in the center of the lake, its gaze seemingly fixed on the group of martial artists.

"Ah!" Suddenly, the dark figure threw its head back and roared into the air, as if venting something. The shout lasted for quite a while before dissipating.

Then the dark figure began to move in the direction Chen Mo and the others had left, and finally its feet landed on the rocks on the shore.

...At the same time, behind the black figure's venting shout, other shouts echoed throughout the valley, and all the martial artists who were resting in the distance also heard this sound.

Immediately, all the martial artists' expressions changed.

"Manager Qian, tell everyone to get ready. Take turns on night watch at a 1:1 ratio, keep your weapons on at all times, and be prepared to fight the enemy at any time. There may be an enemy attack tonight." Upon hearing this, Qian Ying immediately called Qian Wantong over and asked him to relay the order.

Qian Wantong was also surprised and uncertain. The shouts he had just heard had made his blood and energy stagnate. After receiving Qian Ying's order, he quickly went to notify everyone.

At this moment, footsteps sounded. It was Zhou Zixing walking over from the Zhou family. After seeing Qian Ying, he transmitted his voice and said, "Elder Qian, did you feel any discomfort in your blood circulation from that sound just now?"

"Yes!" Qian Ying said seriously. After all, a voice that disrupts the flow of qi and blood means that the owner of that voice must be incredibly powerful.

But for Qian Ying, this valley was the place he least wanted to face powerful enemies. He came to this valley to explore, hoping to obtain some good things and treasures, but he didn't want to lose his life here.

Originally, after crossing the lake, he and Zhou Zixing hurried on without resting, trying to get as far away from the lake as possible. It was because he sensed a hidden danger lurking within the lake.

Although the nature of the crisis was unknown, as the lake level dropped, the underlying danger became increasingly clear, making it clear that a great terror might be lurking beneath the lake.

If it were those strange beasts, Qian Ying wouldn't be worried. After all, although they were enormous, they were relatively easy to deal with, and the unicorn beast hadn't given him much of a sense of danger. Therefore, he judged that this subtle danger wasn't caused by the unicorn beast, but rather by something else, and something powerful, that was emanating this unsettling aura.

But to his surprise, even though he was so far away from the lake, he could still hear shouts coming from the other side. Moreover, these shouts caused his blood and qi to stagnate, which gave him a headache. Damn it, what on earth could have such power?

But to find out what it is, he must return to the lake. But will he go back? Absolutely not.

"It seems there will be danger tonight," Qian Ying said again.

Zhou Zixing chimed in, "Hearing that voice, I knew its owner must be incredibly powerful. I really don't want to face such an enemy."

“However, Elder Qian, do you think the owner of this voice could be a person?” Zhou Zixing asked.

“I don’t know. But I’d rather the owner of the voice be a beast than a human,” Qian Ying said.

Zhou Zixing shared the same thought as Qian Ying. If it was a strange beast, and if it attacked, they would see if they could handle it; if they could, they would fight it; if not, they would retreat immediately. Although continuing in the darkness might be dangerous, survival was the top priority.

No matter how powerful the beasts are, there are ways to deal with them.

But if it's humans, that would be troublesome. After all, humans not only possess strength but also great intelligence. These people, facing powerful humans, might face total annihilation.

At this moment, Qian Wantong, holding a flashlight, quickly walked over and respectfully reported, "Elder, we have notified all the families, and they have all indicated that they will obey the order and rest and stand guard according to the principle of half and half."

“Okay.” Qian Ying nodded, indicating that she understood. However, as Qian Wantong turned to leave, she called him back again and said, “Arrange for a few people to set up those alarm bells further away, so that we will have enough time to deal with any attack.”

When we camp now, we set up warning lines at a distance of 100 meters, but now that I think about it, 100 meters feels a bit too close. It would be better to put them further away.

"Elder, what distance should we place it at?"

"Place them at a distance of 300 meters, and some at 200 meters as well. This way, with layers of them, in case of an attack, we can not only detect the attack but also calculate the enemy's speed." If they're any farther away, the sound might be too faint to hear. So, placing them at a distance of 300 meters is more suitable.

After all, the warnings were all set up using the sounds made by bottles and jars. Electronic devices were not allowed to be used throughout the valley; only flashlights could be used. So, there was nothing to set up a longer-range warning.

Upon hearing this, Qian Wantong immediately led his own martial artists to set up a perimeter.

"I hope tonight will pass peacefully," Qian Wantong murmured as he watched Qian Wantong's departing figure disappear into the darkness.

Although Zhou Zixing did not speak, he also hoped so.