Martial arts ascend to the gods

Chapter 392 The Deeper Level
Zhou Leng jumped into the passage and looked around.

This passage is extremely wide, about twenty or thirty meters high, and its size is very similar to the passages in the elven dungeon.

The difference is that the walls are covered with densely packed wooden materials.

Some are fibrous roots, and some are the outer bark of tree roots.

Zhou Leng sniffed. Despite being deep underground, the air was filled with the fragrance of plants and trees, except for a faint smell of soil.

The air is brimming with vitality.

A branch sprouted from Zhou Leng's collar, growing green leaves and swaying gently, absorbing the life force of the place.

Zhou Leng looked at it carefully and vaguely thought of a possibility.

"Xiaoyong, do you think this might be a passage left by the roots of the dead mother tree?"

Xiao Yong nodded repeatedly.

"really……"

"Chiji..."

Xiao Yong suddenly sped up, and Zhou Leng followed suit, running quickly. A dozen minutes later, they arrived at a cave hall.

Its size and shape are very similar to those of the Blood Hunt.

The previous elven dungeons also seem to have been transformed from the underground space left behind by the mother tree.

In the hall, many people were either sitting or standing; most of them were elves.

"Zhou Leng!" Several friends were there, but Cang Feizhiyan's face was deathly pale, as if he had just come back to life.

"Your Highness!" Silver Lake Moon and Silver Lake Wind, along with other elves, were also present.

Apart from his tattered clothes, there was not a single injury visible on Yin Hufeng's body.

Zhou Leng said in a low voice, "When there are outsiders, call me Zhou Leng. Don't call me anything else. Pass this on."

"Yes, sir!" Yin Huyue hurriedly relayed the message.

"Chirp chirp..." Xiao Yong chirped at Zhou Leng and the others before quickly leaving.

Looking at Xiao Yong's retreating figure, Mao Shengzhi said, "He's going to save people. He's the one who saved most of us."

Zhou Leng looked over and saw Xiao Yong's figure disappear into the passage.

"What exactly is the situation?" Zhou Leng scanned the crowd.

The elves looked embarrassed.

The Flourishing Roots sneered, "Based on our guess, it's very likely that some Elf King is behind this. Once the elves here are about to be wiped out, he will activate a forbidden spell, causing an earthquake that will spread for hundreds of miles, so that everyone will be buried with the elves."

Yinhu Feng whispered, "It's just a guess, there's no evidence."

Cang Fei Zhi Yan's face turned pale as she said, "Then how do you explain that most of your elves survived with very few injuries, while the non-elf race suffered severe injuries?"

Silver Lake Wind said, "After all, I am a legendary mage, and I can naturally protect myself in this situation. Most of us elves can use some spells, and with the power of the Mother Tree here, wood-type spells are particularly powerful."

As Yin Hufeng spoke, he hooked his right hand upwards without even chanting a spell, and a vine as thick as a person's waist, covered with sharp thorns, sprouted from the ground and rose dozens of meters before stopping.

“I can’t do that in other places,” Silver Lake said.

“I am also a Demon Spirit Master,” said Azure Flame.

Are you proficient in wood-based magic?

Azure Flame did not answer.

Zhou Leng said, "I also have an elf identity, but it seems I don't receive any good treatment and am stuck in the rocks."

Cang Fei Zhi Yan said, "Let me put it this way, Grandmasters definitely won't die in this earthquake. But at most one-fifth of those below the Grandmaster level will survive. Each of us who survives will either have some skills, be lucky, or receive extra care from the disaster's creator."

The Flourishing Roots said, "Many of us Tree People should have survived, after all, it's underground, and this place is full of the power of the Mother Tree."

Azure Flame raised his left arm, pulled down his sleeve, and slowly said, "This is the final evidence."

On his left arm, a sprite-like number appeared.

zero.

Zhou Leng also looked at his left arm.

7238.

Before the Bloodbath Hunt, it was only a little over five thousand, but now it's over seven thousand.

Zhou Leng said, "Mr. Feng, let's assume that this is the work of an Elf King. Then, what kind of place might this be?"

Silver Lake Wind slowly said, "If we're being hypothetical, this is a deep hunting ground that was originally abandoned and unused. If we enter here, we might be forced to engage in a blood hunt, just like when you accidentally entered a lower-level blood hunting ground."

"Is there some powerful monster here?" Zhou Leng's words sent a chill down the spines of those around him.

Silver Lake Wind said, "It's not that serious. This place is abandoned, so there won't be any problems. The biggest problem is the monsters that fell with us. There are too many of them. Even if only one-tenth of them are left, there are still tens of thousands. They will be our target. Or rather, we are their target."

"What do you think about this?" Zhou Leng asked.

"I had always wanted to rest here forever, thanks to the Elf King's grace."

People nearby rolled their eyes.

Or did I let it slip?

Yinhu Feng's eyes darted around, and he hurriedly said, "The deep hunting grounds have one major advantage: there are a great many ancient tree fossils here. In fact, it could be said that most of the ancient tree fossils on the ground originated from here. You are very fortunate."

Mao Shengzhi disliked elves at all and said irritably, "Ancient tree fossils are all in the soil and rocks, how many can we find?"

"There are so many passageways here, visible on the walls. Didn't many people see them before?"

Lush Roots didn't refute; he had found several pieces himself. Zhou Leng's mind started racing. He had given the mother tree's bark a whole queen ant's sap earlier, and now he was a little short on cash.

What do you all think?

Azure Flame pointed to the sky and said, "Xiao Yong said that this place is like the Blood Hunting Grounds, you can enter but you can't leave. I suspect that the ancient Elf King is behind this. If we don't kill enough monsters, we might all die in here."

Lush Root said, "Given the Elf King's ruthlessness, if there are too many demons and too few elves in the end, the result will definitely be a loud bang, and they will all be blown to death."

Yinhuyue whispered, "I suspect that somewhere there is a Blood Mark Jade Disc that can show our mark ranking."

Zhou Leng asked, "Approximately how big is this place? What are the chances of encountering a Grandmaster here?"

Everyone looked at the old man from Silver Lake.

The old man was silent for a moment, then said, "Some Grandmasters should be dead. The Grandmasters who are still alive are mostly very strong and generally won't kill indiscriminately. Of course, Demon Grandmasters and Giant Insect Grandmasters will still kill indiscriminately. However... all the Giant Insect Grandmasters should be dead."

Everyone rolled their eyes at Silver Lake Wind. If it weren't for the Elf King's deliberate targeting, it's impossible for all the Giant Insect Masters to have died.

Zhou Leng said, "In that case, we'll be much safer. Why don't we scout around? If we find fossils, we can collect them; if not, we can exorcise demons or contact our allies."

“Indeed, reconnaissance is necessary. However, this place is a maze of interconnected passages, so you must be extra careful. Your Excellency Zhou Leng, let’s have a talk.”

Zhou Leng followed Yin Hufeng to a corner. Yin Hufeng held his staff and gently tapped the ground, creating a green light shield that enveloped the two of them.

"Your Highness, I need to explain something to you."

"Please," Zhou Leng said.

"I don't know much about this place either; I'm just guessing based on ancient books and legends."

"In fact, the Elf World has participated in the Ten Realms War many times."

"This war of the ten realms is probably the tenth one."

"The last time the Elven Empire was destroyed was the eighth time."

"Before the Elven Empire, there existed even more ancient tree people or other races. This underground passage is a remnant of the even more ancient mother tree."

Zhou Leng said, "This conjecture is reasonable. Many worlds have records of multiple wars between the ten realms."

Silver Lake Wind said, "This place is different from the previous hunting grounds. If I'm not mistaken, there's a hidden exit. Finding the exit is the most important thing. Based on my guess, only those with elven or treant bloodlines have the ability to open the exit."

"As for the exact location of the exit, it is impossible to determine. It could be just a passage, an altar, or a palace."

"It's also possible that the site has been in disrepair for years and the exit is damaged, allowing some powerful masters to break through the weak points and dig all the way to the surface."

Zhou Leng asked, "Where exactly is this place?"

"The final graveyard of the Elven race," Silver Lake Wind said.

“I understand, but there are quite a few graves here. I’ve been inside twice,” Zhou Leng said.

“I am prepared to rest here forever, and even if I find an exit, I do not want to leave. Therefore, Your Highness, please lead the last elves away and give them a home.”

Zhou Lengdao: "Is this the main reason why the King of Light chose me as the prophet?"

"Probably."

"I try my best."

"The elven race will undoubtedly provide you with immense assistance. Even if they all become magic craftsmen, your gains will far exceed your expectations," Silver Lake Wind said, staring at Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng said, "We have a foundation for cooperation from the very beginning. You can rest assured about that."

"I hope you can become a qualified elven grand duke."

"I was first Zhou Leng, the warrior; then the Frost Giant Duke; the Iron Dwarf Duke; the Treant Friend; and finally, the Elf Duke."

"Hmm?" Yin Hufeng's cloudy eyes became even more cloudy.

Zhou Leng said, "As long as they are my subordinates, I will naturally take good care of them. In addition, I do not recommend that you die here. The future elves will need a wise and enlightened leader to accompany them through the most difficult journey."

"What do you want to say?"

Zhou Leng said, "Right now, only Blue Star and the Demon Spirit World can accept elves. However, once they enter the Demon Spirit World, elves are likely to become experimental subjects of the Demon Spirits. But coming to Dragon Kingdom will offer more protection. Of course, they can be dispersed, euphemistically called racial backup."

"Let me think about it," Yin Hufeng said.

After exchanging their opinions, the two returned to the group.

Zhou Leng, Cang Fei Zhi Yan, Mao Sheng Zhi Gen, and the other three treants discussed briefly, then took Yin Hu Yue and formed a team to prepare for exploration.

The other forest tribes also formed teams and explored different passages.

Zhou Leng activated the map-drawing function on the magical wristwatch and recorded the route.

The cave hall has six passageways, and the group chose the auspicious passageway number 6 to set off.

As soon as he stepped out of passage number 6, Zhou Leng sensed ancient tree fossils 30 meters deep in the right wall and immediately made a record of it.

The group continued forward. This was the location where the roots of the mother tree were formed. The tree people were particularly sensitive, and with the added detection of the Azure Flame spell, Zhou Leng was no longer on guard.

He walked along while flipping through his spiritual practice materials.

Having just entered the Blood Vibration Stage, I still need to learn and practice more.

Cang Fei Zhi Yan said, "You should cultivate diligently, and when the Demon Spirit Trial comes, we'll try to get into the top ten."

Lush Roots asked, "Zhou Leng is going to the Demon Spirit Trial with you?"

"Yes."

Lush Roots said, "Zhou Leng, you'd better be careful. Magicians are very cunning, and their spells are unpredictable. Those of us who mainly rely on physical combat are at a disadvantage. Some spells are very underhanded, and even if you are strong, it will be difficult to break through them."

(End of this chapter)