Chapter 3450: Another Disappearance

————It will be later~~

————

The time span and geographical span of those two passages appearing are both too large; it is unlikely they are the same passage, though they certainly correspond to the same Underdark.

If Wuta's theory is correct, perhaps the Underdark passage from the Drow War over a thousand years ago will be reborn, and unlike the one in the Dragonspine Mountains a few years ago, this one is on the border of Cormanthor.

If the Underdark passage from over a thousand years ago were to be reborn nearby, that would be firmly in the Core Area of Cormanthor!

Thinking this, Xia Duo felt that after the war, he might be able to remind the Cormanthor side to go and inspect the vicinity of the ruins of the Underdark passage destroyed back then, to avoid further trouble.

Then, he continued to ask Wuta:

"As you said, can it be considered that the influence of the Underdark is actually constantly spreading? In countless years, will countless Underdark passages appear on the Surface? Or will the Surface also develop the unique radiation of the Underdark?"

"I dare not assert that. Whether Underdark radiation is continuously spreading toward the Surface requires observation and recording over a long period of time before results can be obtained. As far as the present is concerned, I have not seen such a trend."

With Wuta saying this, Xia Duo could be considered temporarily relieved. If the influence of the Underdark were truly spreading continuously, as long as the change took long enough, Surface creatures would always be able to find new ways out.

After all, isn't finding a way out what life is best at!

……

Under Wuta's guidance, Xia Duo went deeper and deeper underground. The underground Liexi that previously had Illuminati disguises had disappeared, but the influence of the Underdark it represented had not ceased.

In the special vision provided by Wuta, it still looked like a line, extending from above toward the endless depths below, and now he and Wuta were tracking this line.

If entering from the previous Liexi, one would have to use a Teleportation Spell to reach its corresponding Underdark, but if one kept tracking like this without taking that Liexi, one could directly arrive at the Underdark through continuous underground spaces, or reach the Underdark's underground passage directly.

"Wuta, how much further is it below?"

Even though he had "seen" the line of influence representing the Underdark through the special perspective shared by Wuta, this line extended downward far beyond Xia Duo's individual Perception limit, looking as if it had no end at all.

Regarding this, Wuta's explanation was: "Soon. There should be a real passage below, or if we just keep going down, we will always encounter the Underdark, though it is uncertain if it is the one where the Illuminati are."

The underground of the Ailan region, if only considering the horizontal range, is consistent with the Surface; no matter how large, it cannot extend beyond Ailan itself. But in the vertical direction, there may be multiple different layers.

That is to say, it is possible that every certain depth there is a smaller Underdark space. If one were to pick a random location and drill straight down, one might encounter many Underdark spaces, either independent or connected.

Of course, it is also possible to not encounter a single one, with the hole in the vertical direction perfectly avoiding every Underdark space.

And now, Xia Duo needs to find the space where the Illuminati are located. He can check the spaces one by one, eliminating the options that are not it one by one; what remains is where the Illuminati are.

But now, since the clue has been found, and it is the only clue disguised by the Illuminati discovered so far, then it won't be that troublesome; just follow the clue and track it.

Xia Duo clearly understood this point, but the pressure from facing the Illuminati for a long time was about to be released, so he was inevitably a bit restless.

……

Soon, at a vertical depth of about 5 New Li below the underground Liexi that the Illuminati had disguised (the actual trajectory was far exceeding 5 New Li), Xia Duo finally discovered underground radiation more intense and wild than any suspected Underdark passage he had seen before.

"Please, Lord Wuta, conduct a simple sweep of the passage first!"

"Mm, my main body is already checking."

Wuta was still maintaining an intangible state at this moment, but his control over the underground soil and stone Domain shifted toward the vicinity of the Underdark passage along with the movement of his main body.

In this situation, having him perform the check would be more covert than Xia Duo checking, and of course, potentially more effective.

Before long, Wuta gave the inspection results through Talafu in the Command Network: "The enemy is too arrogant; there are no disguises or traps in the passage. Next, Mage Xia Duo, will you enter the Underdark through the passage, or tunnel through the underground like we just did?"

"Let's do the same as just now!"

Xia Duo made a decision immediately. Walking through the Underdark passage was undoubtedly more convenient and faster, but it might also trigger the Illuminati's Warning Magic. Wuta's inspection was mostly at the earth element level; if it did not involve earth elements, Wuta might not be able to discover the Illuminati's Magic.

So he simply would not take the passage. In any case, the Underdark was just an underground space; as long as he could travel through the soil and stone, entering from anywhere was fine. Taking the passage would instead limit the location where he entered the Underdark space.

Next, although Xia Duo did not enter the Underdark within the passage, he still advanced according to the direction the passage pointed. This passage was not straight up and down, but intricate and complex, and might even go in reverse upward.

But outside the passage, with the help of Wuta's special perspective, Xia Duo could easily discover the general direction the passage pointed. He didn't need to twist and turn like traveling inside the passage; he could head straight toward the destination.

Soon he arrived at a position far below the Liexi that had deviated from the initial clue in the vertical direction, almost at the border of Ailan near Siluwende.

"Mage Xia Duo, there are no traps or surveillance from here entering inside." Wuta pointed out a direction for Xia Duo.

Xia Duo replied: "Mm. I was just preparing to enter from there! Wait a moment, I will do some disguising!"

Of course, he couldn't just enter directly. Even if there were no traps or surveillance inside, being cautious was good. Not to mention anything else, the change in the Magic Net environment's effect on the spells on a Spellcaster would be as obvious as setting off fireworks at night to those who were paying attention.

Xia Duo certainly wouldn't make such a low-level mistake; after all, he was no novice. After finishing his disguise, he moved toward the predetermined location.

Then he squeezed out from a nameless wall inside the Underdark space. He had only checked simply outside and found nothing unusual, but now, being inside the Underdark space, he immediately discovered the abnormality.

This abnormality could even be seen directly with the naked eye: a glimmer of light was actually leaking out from the corner passage not far ahead!

Xia Duo hurried toward that corner. In an instant, it opened up; ahead, visible to the naked eye, was a huge spherical space. The ground was slightly flat, but countless spikes hung down from above.

Of course, those were not spikes, but stalagmites and folds that had been squeezed out. Originally, the ground should have had them too, but they might have been cleared away.