NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 569 - 569 Exploring Deeper into the Dark Territory
Chapter 569: Chapter 569 Exploring Deeper into the Dark Territory
Lin Xiao found a suitable place on a vast plain over 500 kilometers away from the original tribe and instructed Minotaur Jonila to lead the team forward while he went ahead to the destination.
Hovering in mid-air, he overlooked the endless Earth with a flicker in his eyes, hesitating.
At this moment, he was making a very crucial decision.
It was certain that even with his protection, the Ground Dwellers had no self-defense capability in the early stage.
Although they had escaped their original tribe, there was no safe place in the Dark Territory; no matter how far they fled within the Dark Territory, they would be discovered either by the Zoel from the third layer or other races from the first layer—there was simply no hiding spot where they could remain undetected.
In other words, the Zoel raiding parties would still be encountered.
Now, they had simply moved to a new place. If there were Zoel cities in the nearby third layer of the Dark Territory, it would be relatively safe under his protection for the first few years. Even if the Zoel cities united against them, that would be a matter for years later, giving him several years to prepare and develop.
But the world is full of unpredictable changes; this was just the best-case scenario he had in mind. Who knew what accidents might occur? For example, the Subterranean Tribe might be discovered in the first year and then attacked by the Thorium Alliance Army in the second year. Or perhaps the allied forces from a few hundred kilometers away might come chasing them; it was all uncertain.
Therefore, the Ground Dwellers must have a certain level of self-defense capability from the outset.
In an era without modern civilization like the Different Domain, the best means of self-preservation for mortals was to build a stronghold.
Considering the situation of the Ground Dwellers, it was clear they could not build their own stronghold. Lin Xiao would have to take on the task himself.
His current dilemma was that he was only an incarnation, carrying a limited amount of Divine Power. For the foreseeable future, including the next hundred years or so, he could not rely on the Ground Dwellers to provide Divine Power for this incarnation. Any power used would be power depleted. If he consumed a significant amount of Divine Power now, the risks would only increase in the future.
But not to act was not an option either. With the strength of the Ground Dwellers, they could not endure for a hundred years.
Moreover, as the Subterranean Tribe gathered in greater numbers, the Zoel Elves would certainly not sit idly by and watch a race they had slaughtered for thousands of years rise again; a concentrated purge by the Zoel would inevitably come.
Then…
“Fortune favors the bold; let’s take a chance!”
Lin Xiao made up his mind, his gaze sweeping across the vast subterranean plains. He took a deep breath; his pupils slowly lit up with the golden glow representing Divinity, which then spread quickly, transforming him into a colossal, golden figure in the shape of a Ground Dweller. The might of this divine being caused the distant refugees of the Ground Dwellers to kneel down frenziedly, reciting in their language that was unintelligible to the common folk.
Lin Xiao paid them no heed. The Divine Power surged within the Divine Fire, driving the Transcendent ability of Divinity—Change Reality. Golden light rained down as the Earth began to morph like flowing water under the influence of his will.
In theory, this Transcendent ability of Divinity was infinitely powerful. As long as the Deity was strong enough, and the Divine Power potent enough, they could create a new Primary Material Plane out of thin air, or even craft a new Crystal Wall System by hand.
As Divine Power within Lin Xiao’s incarnation burned away, the plains rose rapidly, and he sculpted a square plateau with a diameter of twenty kilometers and a height of one hundred meters according to his intentions.
This was just the beginning. He then extended four smaller square plateaus around the central plateau, each with a diameter of five kilometers and the same height of one hundred meters.
The reason for not simply building walls but rather raising the Earth itself was because the Ground Dwellers excelled at burrowing; no matter how thick the walls were, they could be easily destroyed, but such a large, solid structure would not be so easily breached.
Having completed this feat akin to a miracle, Lin Xiao’s incarnation was left with just over one hundred thousand Divine Power.
Under his guidance, Ground Dwellers began to relocate to this area, with the younger ones starting to carve a network of tunnels between the main “Tableland of Hope” and the surrounding four smaller plateaus.
He summoned numerous Earth Elementals to work alongside the Ground Dwellers, using the “Petrification to Mud” Spell to soften the difficult terrains for digging and then solidifying them again.
Another group of Ground Dwellers and Earth Elementals built a stone wall, merely three meters high and half a meter wide, between the four satellite fortresses, serving primarily to block sight and ward off ordinary subterranean monsters.
They then turned the central plot of land into farmable ground, harnessing geothermal springs from below to cultivate crops.
It seems that locating hidden underground water reserves might be an innate Talent of the Ground Dwellers, as they were adept at accurately detecting hidden water tables and drawing water to create underground ponds, with each Subterranean Tribe built around these ponds.
As Lin Xiao envisioned, with the central plateau as the core and the four satellite high grounds as support, crops were sown between the five high grounds. In the event of danger, they could retreat into the underground networks beneath the central and satellite plateaus.
After observing for half a month, Lin Xiao left a Minotaur to guard the central high ground, while he himself moved to a gargantuan supporting column not far from there—a “Tongtian” column over ten kilometers in diameter, where he carved out a hole and relocated his laboratory.
This time, he didn’t opt for slow research for two reasons: it took too much time, and he was running out of Divine Power.
He dumped all the various racial genes he had stored up, along with Ground Dweller genes, into the Creation Rubik’s Cube for his True Body to research, while he himself took time off to venture even deeper into the Dark Territory, to the fourth layer of the Dark Territory.
He had heard that there existed a Kingdom of Heart-devouring Demons there, and he planned to capture some to study.
Previous research had shown that even if the Ground Dwellers were biologically enhanced to be stronger than before, their Souls and minds did not change at all, nor did the Power of Faith they provided.
Without an increase in Wisdom, the overall civilization will not advance, and the potential of such a Race is limited.
He intended to study the Heart-devouring Demons to see if he could improve the intelligence of the third or fourth generation of Ground Dwellers. He did not expect to reach the high level of spiritual power akin to that of the Heart-devouring Demons, but only to enhance it somewhat, even if it was to the level of the ordinary Beastmen’s simplicity.
Concealing his Divine Power, Lin Xiao transformed himself into a pale-faced Zoel Elf.
The Transcendent Divinity ability Change Form could only transform into beings he had previously encountered; he could not change into unseen creatures.
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He had transformed into a very common Zoel Stealthman, maintaining his stealth as he entered the third level of the Dark Territory.
After carefully sensing his surroundings, he walked toward a direction where traces of a large gathering of Zorel Elves were evident. He planned to blend in and see if he could find out the whereabouts of a passage leading to the fourth level of the Dark Territory.
The deeper one went into the Dark Territory, the fewer the passages became. Furthermore, to reduce the threat of powerful monsters and Heart-devouring Demons from the fourth level, the Zorel Elves would intentionally destroy some passages. This meant that even he, as a True God, would need a long time to find a passage.
But the Zoels, as the natives, would definitely know of nearby underground passages that could be used.
This was a small Thorium City, established beside an active underground volcano that continuously spewed white smoke. A stream of crimson lava flowed down from the rim of the volcano’s crater, forming a Molten River. The Zorel Elves had built a large forge by the river, where enslaved Grey Dwarves and Trolls were scooping lava from the river to refine and smelt metals for weapon forging.
Lin Xiao appeared in the shadows not far from the city. Before he had the chance to look around, his hand flipped the dagger with a ‘ting’ sound, sparking as he deflected a small crossbow arrow. A puff of white smoke, and he vanished from sight, reappearing twenty meters away behind a pillar. He saw a Zoel girl in black tight-fitting clothes, crouched behind the pillar with a shocked and puzzled expression.
“What a nasty race!”
He reached out with a palm strike, knocking the Zoel girl unconscious and then carried her away from the place.
When the Zoel girl groggily awoke, her first reaction was to spring up, warily scanning her surroundings. She caught sight of another Zoel man, fully engrossed in roasting meat. Her figure blurred as she thrust a dagger toward the man’s back.
“Bang!”
A punch came out of nowhere, striking her in the face and sending the Zoel girl tumbling down.
It wasn’t long before the girl woke up again to find the Zoel man sleeping next to the dying fire. Picking up the dagger that had fallen beside her, she quietly approached once more, flinging a handful of lime from a distance.
“Bang!”
Two teeth, mixed with blood, flew out as the Zoel girl fell straight down.
When she woke up the third time, the Zoel man was still sleeping, but she dared not approach. Picking up the fallen dagger, she slowly retreated, intending to leave.
Just as she touched a stone pillar, she paused, slowly turned her head, and saw a large fist flying at her face.
“Bang!”
Seven or eight bloody teeth scattered as the Zoel girl fell straight down.
When the Zoel girl woke yet again, her first reaction was to raise her hands and plead in a weepy voice, “Wait, don’t hit me.”
A fist hovered in front of her face, then retracted to reveal the Zoel man who coldly stared at the Zoel girl and asked,
“Take me to the nearest passage leading to the fourth level of the Dark Territory.”
The Zoel girl, with her swollen face, nodded repeatedly with a sorrowful expression.
That’s more like it.
Lin Xiao waved his hand with satisfaction, signalling her to lead the way.
The Zoel were just like that, uncooperative until subjugated.
As it turned out, once they were subdued, the Zoels turned quite docile. After traversing the complex and rugged Dark Territory for two days, the Zoel girl led him to a valley blocked by a tall city wall. Pointing to the area behind the wall, guarded by Thorium Army troops, she said,
“The nearest passage to the fourth level of the Dark Territory is inside.”
Lin Xiao carefully sensed there was indeed an aura different from that of the third level of the Dark Territory within.
He waved his hand, and the Zoel girl who had been in pain all the way hurriedly ran off.
Lin Xiao disappeared in a flash, and before long, the Zoel girl emerged from the shadows staring hatefully into the distance,
“This passage connects to the lair of those evil, monstrous creatures; whoever enters is bound to die.”
“Bang!”
A punch landed with precise timing, knocking the girl to the ground. Lin Xiao’s figure slowly emerged as he muttered to himself,
“Sneaking around, she must be up to no good.”
The Zoel girl…
Despite this, he still hid his presence and went around the city wall into the valley. He immediately saw a massive hole with a diameter of over a hundred meters in the center of the great valley. An aura, different from that of the third level of the Dark Territory, gushed out from the hollow cave, pushing aside three layers of air to create a vacuum distortion unseen by the ordinary eye.
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