Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Lin Gui and Elvia's group returned to Annabelle first.

He did not lead the two directly across the red wall and fly straight to the red desert.

Instead, they were taken under the protection of the veiled woman in the dark.

We arrived at a collapsed ruin.

It was a house that had long since collapsed.

The earthen wall was mostly broken, and the crossbeams were stuck diagonally in the pile of rubble.

The charred wood and grayish-white stone bricks were mixed together.

Its edges have been worn away by the wind and sand, making it seem like the most inconspicuous corner of this ruin.

Lin Gui raised his hand.

The light of a basic earth magic spell shone in his palm.

He effortlessly removed the broken tiles and beams from the upper layer, clearing a flat area of ​​ground.

He reached the surface, positioned himself in a relatively soft pit, and began digging downwards.

The soil and gravel parted like water before him, surging and piling up to both sides.

He was incredibly fast, and his earth magic, which required no chanting, was used with the same ease as breathing.

Within just a dozen seconds, the opening descended several meters into the ground.

Lillian stood at the edge of the cave entrance, her hands slightly raised.

The dark curtain of her gauze dress spread out from her body.

It encompasses the entire ruins, as well as the entrance to the excavation site.

The flowing light and shadow distorted on the surface of the curtain.

Make the ruins look no different from before.

Elvia looked around warily.

His gaze lingered particularly on a corner.

There were people active there.

It was the ruins of an abandoned tower.

A faint glow of firelight flickered in the window on the second floor.

There are people there.

Without much thought, Elvia could guess the other person's identity.

It is the hidden mole that the Overturning Flame will leave in Annabelle.

Elvia hadn't expected this.

Even though the spark has been extinguished for many years, there are still spies monitoring this destroyed city-state.

To prevent it from reigniting.

Those who had been watching everything from there were unaware of Lin Gui and his two companions entering.

And their actions.

The dark veil concealed everything perfectly.

Inside the cave entrance.

Lin Gui's figure had disappeared.

Only the sound of digging came from the depths, growing farther and farther away, deeper and deeper.

Elvia and Lillian waited quietly upstairs.

I waited for about ten minutes.

Lin Gui's figure reappeared at the dark cave entrance.

He sat sideways on the oak staff and slowly floated up.

His body was covered in mud, gravel, and dust.

He looked at Elvia and said.

"The passage has been opened."

"Get in..."

Elvia glanced at the dark hole.

"There's no need. I'm extraordinary."

Before Lin Gui could finish speaking, Elvia leaped inside.

"Wait, this cave is..."

Lin Gui's words of dissuasion were just on the tip of his tongue.

Then, a series of collision sounds, gradually receding into the distance, came from nearby.

Thud, thud, thud, thud—

Accompanied by a short, painful scream.

Immediately following was a dull thud as a heavy object fell.

Everything returned to silence.

Lin Gui was silent for two seconds, then helplessly rubbed his forehead.

"..."

He turned his head and looked at Lillian.

"The cave is very deep, so go down slowly."

Lillian nodded nervously, mounted her staff, and slowly floated downwards.

After Lillian left, Lin Gui caught up with her and cast the spell "Night Veil".

My gaze fell on the tower where figures were moving about in the corner.

Under the cover of night and magic, they did not notice anything amiss.

Earth magic ignited once more.

The ruins have covered the entrance again.

The collapsed rubble and soil rushed back into the cave.

The downward-extending entrance was completely covered up.

No one will realize that this place has just been dug up.

After doing all this, Lin Gui turned around and floated down, riding on his oak staff.

The dark passageway stretched downwards, as if leading to the depths of the earth.

As you go further down, traces of human construction gradually become visible.

The opening that Lin Gui had made gradually connected with the original passage.

That passage that Lin Gui knew all too well.

Five minutes later, the staff floated out of the cave entrance, revealing a huge underground space.

He hovered in mid-air, the light of the shimmering spell rising from above his head and spreading outwards.

It was a huge underground cavern.

The dome is so high that you can hardly see the top.

Stalactites hang down from above, like inverted stalagmites.

The stone wall is covered with dark water erosion marks.

A thin layer of moisture covered the uneven rock surface.

Beneath our feet lies a vast expanse of flat stone, spanning several hundred square meters.

The air was filled with the scent of damp earth and a faint mineral smell.

Elvia was lying on her back on the stone surface.

My whole body aches, and my head is covered in bumps.

Her nails were covered in dust, her hair was mostly disheveled, and her expression was one of pain and embarrassment.

Lillian floated beside her, riding on her staff.

He hunched his shoulders and cautiously looked around.

Her gaze darted between the upside-down stalactites and massive stone pillars, a mixture of tension and curiosity in her eyes.

Elvia struggled to sit up.

He rubbed his forehead, which was sore from the impact, and looked at Lin Gui, who was slowly drifting down, and complained.

"Why didn't you tell me it would be this deep? It's almost a hundred meters deep..."

"It made me roll all the way down, and I'm almost disfigured."

Lin Gui landed on the ground, put away his staff, and glanced at her.

"You've been waiting outside for ten minutes."

"Didn't you expect me to be able to drill so fast?"

Elvia opened her mouth, as if to refute something.

But in the end, he shut his mouth and awkwardly looked away.

Of course she knew how fast Lin Gui could dig the tunnel.

After all, he had dug so many times along the way.

Her subconscious reaction was faster than her conscious thought.

Lin Gui did not pursue the matter further.

He raised his hand.

The light from the shimmering spell rose from above his head.

It spread out in all directions, illuminating the entire outline of the cave.

The enormous cavern unfolded before their eyes.

The stalactites hanging upside down on the dome gleamed with a moist, pale gray luster in the light.

Stalagmites and rock columns of varying sizes are scattered across the ground.

Several narrow cracks in the corner lead deeper into the darkness, their destination unknown.

The air was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Only occasionally did water droplets fall onto the stone surface from above, making a crisp sound.

Lin Gui stood in the center of the cave, his gaze sweeping from the dome to the ground, and from the entrance into the depths.

Elvia dusted off her clothes and walked over to him.

"Was this also prepared by Xinghuo?"

Lin Gui was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"No."

"This was not prepared by Spark; it has existed since long ago."

"It is an ancient ruin, a remaining passageway."

"From the city of Annabelle, it stretches all the way into the heart of the red desert."

"We can use it to reach the outer areas of the red desert."

"Then I returned to the New Testament City, following the method I had used before."

Lin Gui took out a raft from his spatial storage.

He said this to Elvia and Lillian.

"Come on up, everyone. The passageways here are narrow, the terrain is complicated, and the journey is long."

"Flying boats and staffs are not applicable."

"We might have to spend the next two weeks sleeping on this raft."