Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 338 Secret Passage, Key Clues, and the Secret Garden
"Snapped."

As dust particles floated and drifted in the air, the lab log was closed with both hands.

As Xia Nan ran his fingertips along its rough yet supple surface, recalling the entries in the logbook, he pondered deeply.

Although it is filled with a lot of tedious and difficult-to-understand complex experimental terminology, and mixed with a lot of subjective ramblings and incomprehensible thoughts.

However, if you read through the pages from the beginning, omitting the less informative parts and summarizing them, you can deduce the identity of the log's owner and the background of their arrival at this place.

An adventurer who had reached level 5 and belonged to the "Druid" class encountered a powerful monster called "Gauss's Eye Demon" on the outskirts of the Underdark. His team suffered heavy losses, with two teammates dying one after another, and he himself was cursed due to the Eye Demon's special gaze.

They came to this canyon in search of a safe and secluded place to heal their wounds.

However, the curse on this druid seemed particularly severe, and ordinary treatments were ineffective in alleviating it.

It happened to be the month of the summer solstice, the season when the fog lamp grass blooms.

The other party unexpectedly found a chance to heal their injuries and even advance to level 6 from the blooming fog lamp grass, but at the same time, pure life force was needed as the medium and catalyst.

Therefore, the village of Foglight, which is located next to the canyon, naturally became his target. They were forced to perform sacrificial rituals and regularly offer him "offerings".

This is the origin of the ancient rituals passed down through generations in Wudeng Village.

The diary does not contain information that allows us to determine the exact time the druid arrived in the canyon.

However, based on the few words Xia Nan gleaned from the village, it can be roughly determined that this ritual has been going on for many years, and even the village chief has changed many times.

This has led to the rituals, which were originally forced upon the Druids to satisfy their own desires, gradually becoming a tradition of Foglight Village through generations of inheritance.

Even after the druids' experiments made significant progress and their injuries healed, no longer requiring fresh and pure life force as a supplement, Foglight Village still sent a sacrifice into the canyon every few years.

Thinking about this, Xia Nan felt it was absurd.

According to the druid's description in the log, he may have actually provided assistance to Foglight Village in the early years after he arrived in the canyon.

After all, it is the main source of sacrificial offerings. Maintaining the safety of the village and allowing the number of villagers to grow to a full extent is also beneficial to his own experiments.

As a level 5 druid, in a location that isn't even on the outskirts of the Misty Forest, helping to drive away some weak monsters or using his class skills to ensure the villagers have a bountiful harvest every year is a piece of cake.

However, as his slumber continued for longer and the experiment progressed further, the druid, who no longer needed pure life force, naturally reduced his assistance to the village.

Having developed to this point, the sacrificial ritual in Wudeng Village has long been imbued with meanings beyond its original purpose.

It became a tool for rulers to maintain their power and status.

Despite knowing in their hearts that the so-called protection of the canyon spirit no longer exists, they still hold regular ceremonies and offer sacrifices.

When faced with a challenger to authority, even if it means using underhanded tactics that "kill a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own," such as deliberately summoning external monsters or creating panic about poor harvests, you must suppress the other party and maintain your own position.

Therefore, Aspen's resistance and eventual submission to his daughter's selection as a sacrifice were not, as some claimed, punishment from the spirit of the canyon, but rather the result of the village chief's deliberate manipulation behind the scenes.

Using Aspen's sense of responsibility and affection for the villagers, he coerced him into choosing between the village and his daughter.

The monster that lurked around the village and didn't leave until two months after the ritual ended probably didn't forgive everyone because the ritual was successful. It was more likely that it was full or had some other reason that led it to leave.

"He's not a good person..."

Subconsciously, he recalled the longbow with inscription on it behind Aspen, and the old village chief with a face full of wrinkles.

A murderous intent arose in Xia Nan's heart.

He planned to tell the villagers the truth about this place when he left the village.

The anger of the simple, hardworking masses will likely bring that old village chief's career to a "perfect" close.

In addition, Xia Nan also discovered an unexpected find from this druid's logbook.

The other party mentioned that one of his teammates went to Barracuda Bay in the Southern Islands to recuperate after the team disbanded.

That's not the point.

What truly caught Xia Nan's attention, and what he paid particular attention to, was the way the other person addressed the druid:

—"That Morton boy."

This surname will not be unfamiliar to anyone who is even slightly familiar with the history of the Kingdom of Serbia.

If we also add the "sticky tree territory" and "inherited title" mentioned in the logbook...

The identity of this Druid teammate can then be confirmed.

It was Xia Nan who had recently passed through this place with the mage Violet, the ruler of the Sticky Tree Territory in the Yuansha Province, the source of the [Molten Ash Silver Ingot] loot, the object of loyalty of the professional "Lawson" whom he had slain, and the original source of the [Dream Corridor]—

Descendants of the House of Morton!

After going around in circles, I never expected to run into him here again.

What intrigued Xia Nan the most was the druid's description of the young master of the Morton family.

It is said that when he left home, he secretly took away a family heirloom, which was a silver-white metal object whose specific use was not obvious.

The first thing that popped into Xia Nan's mind when he saw those words was the [Dream Corridor] on his body.

Although this technological artifact, which could enhance combat skill proficiency, had transformed into a silver ring after activation, it was worn on the ring finger of his right hand.

But when I first encountered it, wasn't it just the "silver-white metal object that seemed to have no apparent use" described in the logbook?

"Morton with a sticky tree collar," "family heirloom," "a useless metal object"...

These words, taken individually, might not be worth much attention.

However, when combined, it made Xia Nan, who knew the inside story, jump in surprise.

Could it be that there is more than one "Dream Corridor"?
Or perhaps, what the runaway young master Morton possessed wasn't the actual [Dream Corridor], but rather something related to it, such as...

Key!?
A sudden, intense premonition caused Xia Nan's emotions to fluctuate uncontrollably.

The powerful functions of the [Dream Corridor] need no further explanation. It was its assistance that helped Xia Nan advance in the [Fang Hunt] level. Once activated, the virtual simulation will greatly increase Xia Nan's combat skill proficiency, saving him a lot of hard work.

Now, its energy has a clear way to be replenished. As long as you find otherworldly secret realms, you can recharge it with special items inside.

The only remaining problem is finding the "key" needed to unlock the device.

Finding the key was also one of his mid-term goals.

We finally have a lead.

Even if it's ultimately proven that the relic taken from the Morton family isn't the key to the [Dream Corridor] he's been searching for, for that one percent chance...

He realized he probably had to make a trip to "Shuyu Bay." He slowly stood up and stuffed the logbook into his backpack.

Xia Nan took long, slow breaths, calming her turbulent emotions.

Without a doubt, this will be a long journey.

Having never traveled such a long distance since then, he must have needed to make some meticulous preparations before setting off.

As for these matters, he will have to wait until he returns to River Valley Town to make plans.

The most important thing now is, of course, to complete the current data collection task.

Moreover... although he had killed the fog lamp grass monster created by the druid, the danger here was not completely eliminated.

The owner of the log, the evil druid who uses humans and fog lamp grass as experimental subjects, has yet to reveal himself.

where is he?

Has it already died completely and become part of the world's history? Or did it leave this canyon after the experiment was completed? Or is it hiding in some unknown dark corner right now, secretly watching me?

Xia Nan had no idea about this.

Clearly, this is not the time to let our guard down.

Regarding the druid's whereabouts, all he could know was that at the end of the log, the druid seemed to be trying to combine his body with the fog lamp grass in order to achieve a sublimation of his life level.

Xia Nan didn't know the exact location of the ritual, but considering that the canyon was the only place in the vicinity where the fog lamp grass grew, this druid shouldn't have gone too far, or even...

Heart can not help but move.

Xia Nan's attention was highly focused, and his dark eyes turned gray for a moment.

【Guiding Vision】Effects instantly.

The dimly lit room, which was originally illuminated by the blue and white fluorescent light of the fog lamps outside the door, was suddenly transformed into pure lines of black and white, with ripple-like gravitational waves colliding and intertwining within it.

Suppressing the intense dizziness in his brain, Xia Nan manipulated gravity, releasing a weak repulsive force evenly and indiscriminately around his body, much like the echo of a bat, while carefully observing the changes in gravity of the surrounding walls and floor.

Mental energy reserves are too low.

In just a few seconds, his brain, which was in excruciating pain from overdrawing his mental energy, forced him to shut down [Mind-Guiding Vision].

He was panting heavily, one hand propped on the table.

This world, composed purely of gravity, is too much of a burden for him now, and it would be difficult for him to maintain it for a long time.

Fortunately, it was precisely because of the unique perspective of these black and white gravity lines that he was able to find the discordant elements in the room, even in just a few seconds.

"It's there!"

His gaze fell to the far end of the room, to a mottled wall decorated with several old bookshelves.

He rubbed his aching temples and slowly stepped forward, carefully searching every inch of the walls and bookshelves with his hands, based on the experience he had learned from various novels and movies in his previous life.

Having made up his mind, if he couldn't find the mechanism, he would simply and brutally break through the wall with brute force.

Fortunately, he didn't waste too much time on this part.

Before he had even explored half of the bookshelf, a thick book by Oberk Swampus, titled "The Heart of Thorns: Sensitive Plants and Their Communication," caught his attention.

Its dark brown cover makes it inconspicuous among the surrounding books, but its upright posture firmly standing in the corner of the bookshelf contrasts sharply with the other books that are drooping and crooked on both sides.

Xia Nan only stepped forward and tried it a couple of times. With a soft "click" sound coming from inside the wall, the leather book was pressed down by him.

The dust was shaken off.

The wall, which had been perfectly fitted, rotated slightly like a revolving door, revealing gaps on both sides.

With a slight pressure applied to the wall, a hidden passage appeared before Xia Nan's eyes as the wall rotated inward.

Concentrate your mind and expand your perception to its limit.

Unaware of any traps, Xia Nan took a deep breath, picked up his straight sword, and carefully moved forward.

The light was dim, and the stone steps were damp.

The secret passage was much shorter than Xia Nan had imagined. After walking down only a dozen steps, a bright blue-white light, which seemed particularly dazzling in the dim environment, shone into his line of sight.

Suddenly, everything becomes clear!
Beyond the secret passage, a huge natural cave came into view.

The cave itself is sealed, with no gaps allowing enough light from the outside to enter.

It should have been as dark and gloomy as a cave.

But at this moment, it was much brighter than the wooden houses outside, or even the fog-lit village in the canyon and depression, and one could even see a mottled crack on the distant rock wall.

As bright as day!

As for why...

It was a garden made of fog lamp grass that could be described as “spectacular”.

They are not scattered like in the canyon, but densely packed, like a carpet that stretches to the horizon;
Like a tranquil lake reflecting the stars in the sky, the lanterns sway, and the blue and white lights reflect each other. The soft light is blended together by the vast number of fog lantern grass, turning into an incomparably intense and pure radiance, illuminating the entire cave as if it were bathed in the brightest moonlight.

Suddenly arriving at this place from the dim, dilapidated wooden house, I was struck by this dreamlike, secluded paradise.

This unconsciously created a sense of awe and immersion in Xia Nan's heart.

Before he could even begin to revel in it, the words in the diary felt like cold steel needles, piercing his heart.

"Sacrificial ritual", "offering", "human girl", "necessary sacrifice"...

The nourishment for this magnificent scene, the source of this ultimate beauty, comes from the blood and lives of innocent girls who were ensnared by ignorance and greed.

Upon realizing this, the feeling in my heart instantly changed.

The blue and white radiance was no longer sacred, but instead carried a sense of desolation and sorrow, and the vigorous life energy seemed to exude an unpleasant, putrid stench.

Xia Nan frowned slightly, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes.

His gaze searched and landed on the very center of the garden.

There, surrounded by countless sedges, a dazzling light shone, and a huge, blurry outline could be vaguely glimpsed.

(End of this chapter)