Chapter 129: Night Exploration of He Rui Peak (Part 3)

The black hole in the middle of the platform resembles the winding mountain road outside the mountain; a walkway paved with hard stone snakes around the entrance on the cavern wall and extends downward. Every so often along the stone wall there is a manually carved cavity, and the whole interior is like a stone cave hewn inside a gigantic chimney.

The situation inside was unclear, so Li Bucai leaned forward to observe; the upper half was a solid black mass, while the lower half was filled with countless firefly‑like lights fluttering in the air. The illumination was very dim, and being over five hundred meters above the floor made it impossible to discern what lay below.

"Wow, that's a Light Element Elf," Young Marshal said, standing beside him, leaning forward to look down; the colorful tiny flying creatures inside filled them with wonder.

Light Element Elves appear only in the realm of elves; they are formed from sun essence, composed of light atoms and taking on an angelic appearance as luminous bodies. Unlike the light elements seen in the Void Illusion Realm, which are mere phantasms, these Light Element Elves truly exist—they can be seen but not touched.

"It seems the Tree Elves intend to make this their nest," Li Bucai said.

These Light Element Elves are created by the Tree Elf pharaoh using the Tree Elf's unique ability to transmute sun essence. Tree Elves are asexual, or rather have no gender; after they give birth, they first convert sun essence into Light Element Elves, then plant an Ancient Elf Tree. When the Ancient Elf Tree sprouts branches and blossoms, the Light Element Elves attach themselves to it, merging with the tree's petals to bear Elf Fruit, from which new lives—new Tree Elves—are born.

"There must be many Tree Elves inside as well; this place has a Life Spring, and they must be trying to use the Life Spring to accelerate the rapid growth of the Ancient Elf Tree. If so, it won't be long before their strength swells, and the Dark Night Elves came for that purpose. Why haven't we seen any of them?"

"Perhaps they are waiting for the right moment."

"Since there are no sentries inside now, let's go in first."

"I'll stay here and you go scout ahead," Li Bucai called, then slipped into Wangyueku. After walking more than twenty meters, the walkway was already over five meters above the entrance, and the first cavity appeared on the stone wall.

Just as Li Bucai stepped into the cave, a "thump" sounded behind them; they instinctively raised their Scepter and turned to look.

"It's me," it turned out to be Young Marshal, who had jumped down from above.

Li Bucai quickly made a "shh" gesture; it seemed there was a sound in the cave, but after listening quietly for a moment, the sound vanished.

Young Marshal, having heard no sound, said, "No need to be so tense; the Goblins are outside, and the Tree Elves live beneath our feet. This is most likely an empty cavity. If you're scared, stand back. I've heard the undead's sleeping chambers are very elaborate; let's first see what it's like inside." Speaking thus, they entered the cave. By the dim starlight, they—an assassin—had eyesight superior to ordinary people, allowing them to discern the cave wall's outline even in vague light.

"Wow, this sleeping chamber is huge, far larger than my own palace," Young Marshal said, stepping inside. The interior was exceedingly spacious, over two hundred square meters, and the cave featured smaller openings. Those small openings were all at the entrance of the main sleeping chamber, about a person's height above the ground, looking like a bedroom that could fit two people lying down. Each opening was covered with a huge leaf, ten li meters thick, spreading across the entire sleeping chamber; it felt very soft, like a sponge, with no hint of moisture.

At that moment, the others also entered the cave.

"What kind of leaf is this?" Young Marshal asked curiously.

Yin Ji said, "It's blue‑cloud cotton leaf, one we left behind; it seems untouched by anyone. There used to be many of these leaves in the nearby valley, but a few years ago a mountain fire burned them all away."

"What a pity."

Li Bucai glanced outside, saw nothing unusual, and asked Yin Ji, "Dawn is near; do you know where it's easier to hide?"

"Each sleeping chamber contains a hidden tunnel; I don't know if they've discovered it," they said, walking to a sleeping chamber, slipping inside. After a short while, they stuck their head out: "Lord, there's a hidden tunnel here, and it's connected."

Hearing the voice, Li Bucai leapt into the tunnel and saw Yin Ji lift a corner of the blue‑cloud cotton leaf covering the cave, feeling around the stone floor. With a sudden pull, a basin‑sized stone slab was lifted, revealing a deep tunnel inside.

"All the sleeping chambers here are interconnected; through this hidden tunnel one can reach any location,"

Li Bucai nodded, "Excellent, you'll lead the way and find a place for everyone to hide and rest." He waved outward, and the girls slipped into the cave one by one. After everyone had entered, Li Bucai was the last to go in, covering the stone slab; the blue‑cloud cotton leaf, thanks to its elasticity, returned to its original state.

The hidden tunnel was narrow at the entrance, but after walking a distance it opened into a main hidden passage that was much wider, allowing a person to walk upright. Unlike the sleeping chambers, which spiral down along the walkway, this tunnel was carved horizontally around He Rui Peak in layers. Besides a passage to a sleeping chamber every so often, there were passages at the 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock positions of each circle leading to lower levels, each entrance sealed with a stone door. When the stone door was closed, it blended with the stone wall, leaving no trace.

Li Bucai couldn't help but hear everyone praise the ingenious design; this is not a mountain peak at all, but clearly an incredibly sturdy fortress.

"How long did it take you to build these tunnels?"

"Since our ancestors first obtained this Holy Life Spring, every subsequent generation has taken part. It is said that at first there was only this Wangyueku; even the winding mountain road outside was originally less than a foot wide, and was gradually carved out later. Fortunately, these hidden passages were never discovered by them."

"With such meticulous construction, how did the Goblins manage to seize it from you?"

"At first the undead were powerful and many races submitted to us. Later, in a basin west of Lotus Flower Valley, a beast‑folk race emerged and clashed with us in a large‑scale battle there. In that basin we fought a decisive war, only to find they had allied with many of the races that had previously submitted to us, and they also had a great number of Buried Corpses, putting us on both fronts. In the end our ancestors were defeated and never recovered; the beast race then became the ruling clan of this region. They prefer living on the plains and show little interest in this place, but that gave other races, especially the Tree Elves, opportunities to launch repeated attacks that failed. A few years ago they stopped attacking, but when we were searching for the Four Seasons Fruit, the Goblins, leveraging their numerical superiority, surrounded this area. The former clan leader led only a few thousand people and could not break the siege; the inhabitants, long without food, starved to death, and the place fell without a fight. The former clan leader then led us to relocate to the Yin Valley. After the Goblins seized He Rui Peak, they fought numerous wars with other races over food disputes, and now they have allied with the Tree Elves."

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First chapter; two more will follow later. Great literature