Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 292 Arrival

Baha followed silently and landed on his shoulder.

Without alerting anyone, Rowling followed the route he remembered, passing through the relatively laxly guarded areas on the edge of the sunken town, and slipped out through a small, hidden drainage hole leading to the outer swamp, half-covered by abandoned debris.

Stepping back into the swamp, into its damp, cold, and suffocatingly sweet, rotten atmosphere.

This time, however, his self-assurance was clear, and his steps were more steady and powerful than before.

After determining the direction, Roland headed southwest, towards the location of the Sinking Grounds, and proceeded quickly but cautiously.

The environment deep in the swamp was indeed much harsher.

Although the fog was thin, the free energy in the air was more chaotic and volatile, carrying a sense of heat and corrosiveness.

The mud on the ground was a darker color, and bubbles with a sulfurous smell were rising from it from time to time.

The plants also became more twisted and bizarre, some even growing sharp serrations or secreting sticky poison.

Luo Lin maintained the power of [Silent Dust Star] around himself, like the finest sieve, filtering out the corrosive energy particles and poisonous spores in the air.

Step firmly on relatively solid rocks or fallen dead trees, and try to avoid getting stuck in the mud.

Baha flew low to conduct reconnaissance, its sharp eyes scanning ahead and to the sides.

After walking for about two hours, the scenery ahead began to change significantly.

More and more of the land was charred black, as if it had been burned by fire, and the exposed rocks had a glassy texture that looked like they had been melted and then solidified.

The smell of sulfur and ozone in the air grew stronger, mixed with a faint scent of burning metal.

The vegetation on the ground has almost completely disappeared, leaving only some mosses that cling to the ground, are dark red in color, and have a hard texture like iron.

In the distance, some huge, twisted, black shadows resembling the skeletons of giant beasts could be seen, appearing and disappearing in the thin mist.

We're almost at the land of the slain.

According to the map and the herb gatherer's description, the Sinking Grounds are the remains of an ancient battlefield. It is said that a large-scale battle took place here long ago, affecting the swamp and nearby mountains, leaving behind large areas of scorched earth and a chaotic energy field that is difficult to dissipate.

Due to the harsh environment and scarce resources, the area is rarely visited except by the occasional reckless herb gatherer or treasure hunter.

Luo Lin became even more cautious. He concealed his aura, maximizing the calming properties of [Quiet Dust Star], making himself seem to blend into the environment, with only extremely faint footsteps and breathing sounds.

After passing several "hot spring areas" that emitted intense heat, had cracked ground, and spewed out tiny steam from time to time, a relatively gentle slope appeared ahead, covered with black rocks of various sizes.

The "rocky slope" mentioned by the herb gatherer should be this place.

Rolin concealed himself behind a high rock, carefully observing what lay ahead.

The stones scattered on the slope are all kinds of strange shapes. Some look like they were melted and solidified by high temperature, while others are covered with honeycomb-like holes.

The residual energy fluctuations in the air were indeed more active and chaotic than elsewhere, but no obvious signs of "eruptions of blue-white light" were found.

He waited patiently, his senses like the most sensitive radar, scanning every inch of the slope.

Time passed second by second.

The constant dim light of the swamp makes it difficult to accurately judge the passage of time.

Just as Rowling was considering whether to take the initiative to explore.

About thirty meters to the left front, beneath a black boulder half-buried in the ground with a smooth, mirror-like surface, the ground suddenly sank down without warning!

Immediately afterwards, a beam of blue-white energy, only as thick as a wrist but exceptionally condensed and dazzling, shot out from the collapsed pit like lightning tearing through the darkness!

"Zzzzzzz!!!"

A piercing high-frequency energy hiss exploded instantly!

The blue-white light illuminated a radius of several meters around it, turning it a ghastly white!

The energy beam lasted for about three seconds before suddenly contracting and disappearing.

All that remained was a crater about half a meter in diameter, with its edges still emitting wisps of smoke, and the lingering smell of strong ozone and the intense aftershocks of heat in the air.

Sure enough, the surface of several small stones around the eruption point showed obvious signs of melting and crystallization.

Rowling's pupils contracted slightly.

It matches the description given by the herb gatherer!

This kind of energy eruption is definitely not a natural phenomenon!

It's more like some kind of high-energy device or energy node buried deep underground, which is intermittently leaking due to instability!

He suppressed the urge to immediately go forward and investigate, and continued to lie in wait and observe.

About half an hour later, at the same location, another blue-white energy beam erupted, with similar intensity and duration as before.

The eruptions were regular and intermittent. This further confirmed his suspicions.

After waiting for nearly an hour, confirming that the eruption interval was approximately thirty to forty minutes and that the location was fixed, Rolin began his operation.

Taking advantage of the lull in the eruption, he moved swiftly, like a ghost, towards the crater.

The soil and rocks at the edge of the pit had completely vitrified and were still warm to the touch.

The cave entrance was pitch black and bottomless, with only a faint, erratic blue-white light flickering in the depths.

Rolin took out a telescopic probe with a lighting crystal attached to one end from his dimensional bag and carefully inserted it into the hole.

The crystal's light illuminated the space about two meters below the opening.

The cave walls also resembled molten glass, and below appeared to be a corner of a small, clearly man-made metal chamber, where complex, severely damaged, and molten pipes and rune structures could be seen.

It really is a man-made object!

And look at the style—

Just as he was observing carefully, the mark on his wrist, without warning, once again sent a slight burning sensation through him!

Although it wasn't nearly as intense as when I faced the metal arm before, I was definitely moved!

At the same time, the blue and white light flashing deep inside the cave seemed to change its rhythm in an extremely subtle way in response to the movement of the marker!

The energy source here is the same as the marker!

It's even possible that there's some underlying resonance or connection with the marker!

Rowling's heart skipped a beat.

opportunity!

Dangerous, but also an opportunity!

If we could find the core of this underground energy source, even just a more stable and purer fragment, it might satisfy Bruno's requirements, or even—to directly use it to try to interfere with or block the mark on his wrist!

But first, we must get down there, and quickly. We must scout out the area below and decide on our next course of action before the next energy eruption.

He quickly put away the probe, checked his equipment and potions, held the milky white pebble in his left palm, and drew his adamantite dagger with his right hand.

Then, he took a deep breath and, without hesitation, jumped into the dark pit that still exuded warmth and a dangerous aura.