I, a cultivator, have ended up in the wizarding world.

Chapter 182 Dispersion and Exposure

Furthermore, the combination of plant cultivation and livestock raising, along with intensive agricultural activities involving artificial environmental alteration, undoubtedly serves as evidence of a high level of civilization.

It's important to know that even in Jemin's previous life, on the eve of the Industrial Revolution, only a certain large Eastern country could be considered to have intensive farming practices.

“However… the problem is quite serious.” Jemin’s expression turned serious as he looked at the scene before him.

In the soul of the lava giant that was searched earlier, there was no memory of this gathering place ever having a "plantation" or "livestock".

Moreover, judging from the soil markings, the growth of the plants, and the newness of the artificial light sources, it seems that it was indeed recently established!

This indicates that their intelligence sources are outdated, and the lava giants at this gathering place have undergone unknown changes.

The other three wizards besides Jemin were also stunned.

They had assumed this place would be a military barracks, a mine, or some kind of weapons research facility; no one expected it to be a "farm"!
These individuals are clearly combat-oriented wizards.

Analysis reports about lava giants are most likely only focused on combat-related aspects. What logistics wizards take for granted is quite a shocking fact to them.

"We...we've come to the wrong place?" a level one wizard asked instinctively.

The other first-level wizard, skilled in reconnaissance, shook his head and denied it, saying, "No, my navigation is correct; this is indeed the stronghold."

"What are these things? Do lava giants need to eat?"

"Yes, don't these elemental creatures all survive by directly absorbing elemental power?"

Jemin couldn't help but give them a lesson. After learning that the lava giant actually had such a special body structure, the remaining three wizards couldn't help but show expressions of amazement.

After a brief moment of astonishment, the wizards instinctively dispersed and began collecting plant and soil samples from the surrounding area for research.

They carefully used pliers or their mental powers to pick up plant samples and place them in specially made sample bags, or used portable analyzers to analyze their elemental composition, energy fluctuations, and toxicity.

Jemin also walked to a plant with fiery red leaves, but he didn't go through the trouble that other wizards did.

After carefully examining the plant roots with his "all-seeing eye," Jemin reached out and decisively grabbed a few plant roots and put them in his mouth to chew!

The wizards gasped in shock at what they saw!
Even plants that can survive in high temperatures are not necessarily non-toxic, and eating exotic plants is a major taboo for wizards!
If they weren't still inside the enemy camp, the wizards present would probably have let out a sharp, explosive sound.

However, the reason why Jemin dared to do this was not because he was blindly careless.

He has absolute confidence in himself.

His long-standing practice of body tempering not only made his physical attributes far superior to those of wizards of the same level, but also gave him considerable resistance to various types of damage.

Even if a common otherworldly plant toxin is fatal to a wizard of the same level, it can only cause him slight discomfort and cannot damage his essence.

Moreover, he possesses the ultimate analytical ability of the "All-Seeing Eye," which allows him to instantly discern the basic composition of plants. Combined with the high resistance unique to body cultivation, he is virtually fearless of any known plant toxins.

"Hmm... the taste is quite peculiar, less moist than expected, a bit like roasted sweet potato." Jemin mumbled his evaluation as he chewed, a hint of enjoyment even on his face.

While uttering nonsensical remarks, Jeming was rapidly drawing conclusions about the plant in his mind:
"Judging from its appearance, I thought it was more like a succulent, but in terms of its tissue structure, it is more like a fungus. No wonder it can grow into such a large patch so quickly."

"It looks like it's rich in juice, but it's actually surprisingly dry... However, it contains some irritating ingredients, and long-term consumption might increase an organism's resistance to fire element. But the upper limit is not high..."

The other wizards exchanged glances, then shamelessly approached Jemin, wanting to exchange information.

We exchanged some preliminary analyses of these plants.

Although Jemin did not reveal all of his conclusions, it is clear that Jemin's direct experiments were far more efficient than theirs.

The four then gathered again to discuss their next move.

“The situation has changed.” The level two wizard said gravely. “This change means that the information we previously obtained about this place is no longer reliable. The combat strength and number of lava giants stranded here have also likely increased.”

He looked at the other two first-level wizards and Jemin: "Therefore, I suggest we conduct a risk assessment first. This is not just a simple military outpost as we initially thought. The existence of this 'plantation' means that the lava giants here intend to operate here long-term."

Ultimately, after weighing the pros and cons, three people decided to stay and continue their investigation, while one person chose to leave.

However, the man also promised that after leaving, he would establish stable long-distance communication with the camp, transmit the latest intelligence back to command, and request support.

The others agreed with his approach; no one was willing to venture into a changed and dangerous territory.

Jemin was the one who decided to stay.

Jemin had good reason to do so.

First, he carried a bunch of level-four defensive magical artifacts with him. With prior preparation, he was able to withstand high-intensity attacks and avoid being easily trapped in a desperate situation.

Secondly, he also has the hidden "Five Elements Rainbow Mirror" as his trump card. As long as he uses its "Transformation into Light" ability, he can truly transform into light and escape. Almost no living being can intercept him, which gives him a perfect escape route.

Moreover, Jemin's original purpose was not to kill.

His core objective is to collect as much mortal energy as possible, and these living lava giants who are "managing society" are the mortal producers he desires most.

Therefore, he doesn't need to actually venture into dangerous territory. His greatest success is simply staying here for a certain period of time to check the effectiveness of collecting mortal energy.

The other two wizards who chose to stay included the second-level wizard.

He was bold yet meticulous, hoping to leverage his own strength to seize this unexpected opportunity and gather more in-depth and crucial intelligence in advance, laying the groundwork for a subsequent invasion by a large army.

After all, the rarer and more in-depth the intelligence, the greater the merit that can be exchanged for.

The other first-level wizard was a relatively cautious young man who agreed to stay, mainly to follow the instructions of the second-level wizard.

It was also intended to serve as an outpost, so that if the communication wizard who had left outside could not contact the camp, he could at least continue to send support signals to the camp from the outermost perimeter.

The three of them reached a consensus, exchanged a glance, and then suppressed all unnecessary auras.

The three of them tacitly separated, like three shadowy figures, and stealthily moved into the depths of this hemispherical space.

Unlike the other two wizards, Jemin did not cautiously use concealment runes and illusion magic to conduct a slow investigation.

After all, his purpose in coming here wasn't reconnaissance, but to conduct experiments. So, from the beginning, Jemin had no intention of going any deeper.

With a swift movement, he arrived at the base of a giant red tree, stretched out his palm towards the ground, and spread his spiritual energy like mercury.

The ground was silently shaped by the power of alchemy, and in just a few breaths, a small hole large enough to accommodate his body was dug out.

Like a leech slipping into a swamp, he nimbly burrowed into the hole he had dug, then manipulated the soft soil to completely bury himself inside.

From the outside, the ground is still flat, with no signs of excavation, perfectly hidden.

Inside the cave, the thick layers of rock and alchemically reinforced soil isolated most of the sound and energy fluctuations.

He retained only the faint perception of the "Eye of Glimmer," like a ghost lurking in the depths of the shadows.

He did not rush into action, but instead focused all his attention on his dantian.

He stared intently at the talisman deep within his dantian that collected the energy of the mortal world.

The talisman was ancient and simple, emitting a faint blood-red halo. Each time it collected the energy of the mortal world, it would tremble slightly.

Jemin's feelings were complicated at this moment, a mixture of anticipation and a vague unease.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Five minutes... ten minutes... half an hour...

As time went on, the expression on Jemin's face grew increasingly grim.

There were thousands upon thousands of lava giants all around, with noisy work sounds, deep roars, the clatter of rocks colliding, and even some lava giants communicating with each other.

All of this indicates that this gathering point is full of "active signs of life".

However, his talisman never sensed even the slightest trace of the mortal energy emanating from the lava giant!
There were occasional sporadic fluctuations, but those were only faint remnants produced by the wizards on the battlefield, not by these native creatures.

“This is definitely a problem!” Jemin couldn’t help but clench his fists.

He was absolutely certain that his talisman was intact and that he remained acutely aware of the mortal world's energy in other situations.

The problem lies with the lava giant itself.

Based on the plantations encountered earlier, this stronghold is by no means a simple mine or military camp, as it has shown a clear social nature.

The lava giants here engage in organized animal husbandry, with a clear division of labor, and even have an "artificial sun" to maintain ecological balance.

All of this indicates that they have reached a conceptual level sufficient to generate social interaction and, consequently, the worldly atmosphere.

No matter what you do, there's no reason why it shouldn't belong to the concept of "society"!

"Why is that?" Jemin frowned, completely baffled.

He repeatedly examined in his mind the theory of the generation of mortal energy, as well as the unique physiological structure and elemental composition of the lava giant.

Could it be because of their life forms?
Are they semi-elemental beings, or rather, do they express "emotions" in a way that is completely different from the life forms he knows?
He tried to analyze it from various angles, but he could not find any conclusive evidence to explain the anomaly.

In theory, he could go even further to find larger, more complex, and possibly more advanced lava giant strongholds to conduct further experiments.

Perhaps the "cities" or "royal courts" at the heart of those lava giant empires could generate the mortal energy he needed.

However, Jemin's assessment of danger was extremely rational.

If we go any deeper, it will mean facing a higher-level lava giant lord, possibly even a level five or six being.

The level of danger posed by a stronghold of that caliber far exceeds what his current strength can withstand.

Moreover, his primary goal now is simply to collect the mortal energy, not to engage in a head-on confrontation with the entire Lava Giant Plane Empire.

It is clearly unwise to risk one's life to go to an area where the outcome is unknown.

After much deliberation, Jemin had no choice but to abandon his idea of ​​continuing to study the Lava Giant's Red Dust Aura.

A wave of regret and resentment washed over him—his core objective had suffered such a bizarre failure in the very place where it was most likely to be achieved.

"It seems we have no choice but to turn to the Frost Dark Realm," Jemin thought to himself.

Since the Lava Giant route was blocked, he decided to try the Yeti.

Although he has not yet studied the Yeti in detail, he is unsure whether their life forms also have this problem.

But for now, this is his only option.

He quickly sketched out his next action plan in his mind: just like when he came to the Fiery Sun Realm, he would find the settlement of the Yeti in the Frosty Dark Realm, collect samples, conduct in-depth research, observe their "sociality," and try to collect the mortal energy.

"However, my research on Yetis isn't that in-depth. It seems I need to go back to camp and find some relevant information first..."

Just as Jemin was devising a concrete plan for his journey to the Frost Dark Realm...

Boom - boom!

A violent explosion shook the entire underground cavern, almost causing the burrow where Jemin was hiding to tremble!
Immediately afterwards, the furious roars of the lava giants swept in like a tsunami. It was the ferocious roar of countless lava giants at the same time, accompanied by dense energy flashes and the sound of magma gushing out.

Jemin's face suddenly tightened! He knew that the wizard outside had been discovered!
He didn't need the precise detection of the "Eye of Detection"; the intensity of the energy fluctuations and the roars of the lava giants were enough to tell him that it was not a simple skirmish, but rather the wizard's infiltration had been completely exposed, triggering a strong counterattack from the entire stronghold!
He quickly activated the runes that had been placed around the cave beforehand, making the view under the soil covering the cave entrance slightly clearer, enough for him to see what was happening outside, but not enough to expose himself.

His gaze pierced through the narrow gap, locking onto the direction from which the sound was coming.

But before he could observe it closely, the same energy fluctuations erupted on the other side.

"Damn it!" Jemin cursed inwardly.

He hadn't expected the two wizards to be discovered so quickly.

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(End of this chapter)