Chapter 687: The Shrine of Fire Disaster and the Sealing Stake

At the edge zone, farther from the center of the Chaotic Strike Falls.

Under the guidance of Wu Li and Dan Yu, Luo Mu and the others arrived at this spot they had discovered to be anomalous.

This place, rather than being a waterfall, resembled a small mountain.

Water, its origin unknown, plunged violently from mid-mountain, eventually merging into waterways connecting other deep pools and lakes, then cycling back through unknown means to cascade down from above.

Though somewhat distinctive, it appeared ordinary beside the larger waterfalls around it.

Wu Li pointed toward a direction on the mid-slope and whispered timidly, “My sister and I were chasing a Zubat when we unexpectedly found a cave behind the waterfall’s pool.”

Dan Yu picked up where Wu Li left off, one hand on her hip, saying, “It was inside that cave that we found the strange lid we mentioned earlier.”

Originally, Wu Li had spotted traces of a wild Dragonite in the mountains, remembered that Luo Mu also trained a Dragonite, and excitedly dragged Dan Yu along to try and catch up to it.

But the wild Dragonite’s flight speed was far too fast—they never caught up before it vanished completely.

Then, just as they were about to give up, they spotted a Zubat and chased it until they arrived here.

Since they weren’t natives of the Paldea region, they had no idea what the lid was, whether it was man-made, or what significance it held.

So after a brief pause, for safety’s sake, they chose to return to camp and inform Luo Mu, waiting for his judgment.

“You did the right thing.”

Gazing up at the waterfall, Luo Mu already had his answer.

But to confirm whether it was correct, he needed to verify it with his own eyes.

“Kingdra, let’s go in first.”

Locking eyes with Kingdra, Luo Mu said firmly.

He then turned to the others—Papar and the rest.

“Stay close behind me. Don’t fall behind.”

As a teacher, his professional ethics couldn’t accept leaving several students in such a wild environment.

Even though Papar and the others had travel experience, and Dan Yu and Wu Li weren’t ordinary weaklings, it was still better to keep them close.

If what Wu Li and Dan Yu saw was truly what he suspected, then keeping them by his side was the safest option, given the possible dangers.

“With this slope, unless you ride a Flying-type or another Pokémon capable of climbing, you’ll have to scale it yourself.”

Luo Mu murmured, observing the mountain’s contours and condition.

Since almost no one ever climbed this mountain, there was no “path” leading up—only rugged rock to climb.

Luo Mu glanced again at Dan Yu and Wu Li, surprised.

Dan Yu was fine—tall and slender, she was the type like Pipa, with solid physical fitness, nothing like Nimo’s superficial appearance.

But Wu Li’s thin, pale arms didn’t look capable of supporting him up the mountain.

Due to his personality, Wu Li was highly sensitive to others’ gazes.

So when Luo Mu stared at him, he noticed immediately.

Since they were close, he’d heard Luo Mu’s mutter and could guess why he was being stared at.

He lowered his head and weakly raised his hand, saying, “I had Flareon carry me up.”

For a sturdy Flareon, carrying this skinny boy halfway up the mountain was like child’s play—easier than running.

Dan Yu also said she hadn’t exerted herself; she’d been carried up by Great Wolf.

Dan Yu also said she hadn’t exerted much effort—she’d been carried up by the Great Wolfhound.

Fine, using Pokémon’s strengths intelligently was a valid advantage.

His gaze shifted to Papar and the others.

Papar nudged Gholdengo, who was sticking out its tongue with a dopey grin, and chuckled.

Pipa said she could have Moonstone Bear, good at climbing, carry her and Mudsdale up.

The final question landed back on Luo Mu.

How was he going to get up?

Climb himself? Let Kingdra tie him up with vines and haul him?

Both options would damage his image.

Clearly, there was only one answer.

Luo Mu turned to Miltank, who stood nearby with a cold, aloof expression, and offered his bribe.

“I’ll make you sandwiches—unlimited, when we get back.”

Though Miltank seemed fully transformed into a mechanical Pokémon, it still consumed regular food besides electricity.

Just as Gholdengo adored sandwiches, so did Miltank.

Miltank, who had subtly interfered with Luo Mu’s voice transmission using its electromagnetic field, flickered a satisfied gleam in its eyes and proudly tilted its head.

Slyly interfering with Luo Mu’s voice transmission using his electromagnetic field, Millet’s eyes flickered with satisfaction as he proudly tilted his head.

Luo Mu grinned triumphantly, then, before Papar’s stunned gaze, picked up his Bear apprentice and sat him atop his beloved Purple Thunder Flying Motorcycle.

That’s right—this was the image he deserved!

Unlike Luo Mu, who secretly rejoiced, Papar, perched on Gholdengo’s back, felt the world collapsing.

Unlike Luo Mu, who secretly rejoiced, Pape, sitting atop Gourdon’s back, felt as if the sky were collapsing.

For a whole month, he hadn’t managed to build any rapport with Miltank, let alone ride it!

And yet what did he see now?

—Miltank had invited Luo Mu to ride it!

What the hell? My psyche is shattered!

That’s the same Miltank that treated even its own father like a master, terrified of slighting him and instantly shutting him out!

Even as Papar’s mind crumbled, after brief preparations, the group followed Wu Li and Flareon, who led the way, up to the mid-slope.

Around the front of the roaring waterfall, a hidden, cleverly concealed cave entrance came into view—nearly impossible to spot without guidance.

Without the wild Zubat leading them, Wu Li and Dan Yu would never have known a cave lay behind the waterfall.

Inside the cave, a new space opened before them.

The space was small—not sprawling like most caverns, merely a relatively open chamber.

The moment they entered, a large group of wild Zubat inside, startled, instantly flew out with a “whoosh.”

The evolved Soundwave Dragon was nowhere to be seen; no one knew why.

At that moment:

“Gha.”

As if sensing something, Kingdra’s proud eyes flicked toward a corner of the cavern.

There, a sizable rock stood, and behind it, a small, deep-purple Pokémon with glowing gem-like eyes, resembling a Hopkinsville Goblin, quietly observed them.

There lay a sizable rock, and behind it, a small, entirely deep-purple Pokémon with glowing, gem-like eyes—resembling the Hopkinsville Goblins—watched them silently.

[72] The Monferno didn’t notice the Gengar because the Gengar had first activated its glowing eyes; rather, the Monferno had sensed the Gengar’s aura first, and the Gengar, startled by the Monferno’s aura, instinctively activated its “spotlight” mode.

Pipa whispered.

As a Fighting-type specialist, she naturally understood Ghost-types—one of Fighting’s natural enemies—and recognized the hidden Pokémon at once.

“Yes. Haunter usually dwells in dark corners of caves, hard to detect unless it actively ‘opens’ its glowing eyes.”

Luo Mu nodded slightly, offering the group a brief lesson on Haunter.

Haunter uses its sharp claws to dig horizontal tunnels in caves, searching for raw gemstones, then crunching them with thick teeth.

That’s why its eyes and chest grow glowing gems.

Due to its love for gems, many Haunter actively seek out small diamonds to gnaw on.

More interestingly, some Sharpedo living in the same caves also crave the diamonds on small diamonds—but their desire is purely possessive; sometimes, Sharpedo even help small diamonds chase away attacking Haunter.

—Though the price small diamonds pay is being treated as “dragon’s treasure” by Sharpedo.

But Kingdra noticed Haunter not because Haunter activated its glowing eyes first, but because Kingdra sensed its presence through aura—and Haunter, startled by Kingdra’s aura, instinctively turned on its “spotlight.”

It wasn’t that the Soul-Snatcher Eye activated its glow first and caught the Monarch Snake’s attention; rather, the Monarch Snake sensed the Soul-Snatcher Eye’s presence through its aura first, and the Soul-Snatcher Eye, feeling tense from the Monarch Snake’s aura, instinctively switched on its “searchlight” mode.

Dan Yu asked, slightly worried.

Haunter was a Dark/Ghost-type Pokémon—clearly the type prone to mischief.

“Ignore it.” Luo Mu shook his head. “For reasons I can’t explain, most Haunter avoid humans. Even the bold ones or those with rare traits only play pranks on humans or Pokémon.”

They’ll taste human food once, but their true love is always gems and diamonds.

Besides, we have Kingdra, Gholdengo, Miltank, and Mudsdale—all powerful Pokémon here.

This Haunter will most likely just watch for a while, then sneak away quietly to find a new home.

From the faint, sparse claw marks around the cave, this den was clearly newly found—no deep attachment, easily abandoned.

Luo Mu’s gaze settled on a faint blue glow not far away.

It was this light that allowed them to see everything inside the cave.

The source was a circular object, shaped like a lid.

Its surface bore strange patterns—variant forms of the character “Fu” or “Shou,” which Luo Mu remembered from before his transmigration as symbols of warding off evil.

The lid, emitting a faint blue glow from its patterns, was bound tightly by four thick iron chains extending from the cave walls, as if something dangerous lay imprisoned within.

A lid emitting a faint blue glow from its patterns was tightly bound by four thick iron chains extending from the rock wall, as if something within must be sealed away.

Gholdengo’s sharp instincts made it shiver.

It sensed an ominous aura behind the lid.

Kingdra and the other Pokémon also felt it faintly.

Papar and the others, however, felt only occasional chills and warmth—nothing more.

On the contrary, Pape and the others felt nothing beyond a slight fluctuation between cold and heat.

To put it plainly, Luo Mu had now definitively confirmed it.

Behind that lid lay the former auspicious artifact, sealed away and corroded over time by the desires and curses accumulated from merchants’ travels, until it finally erupted out of control under the ambition of the ancient Gupadia Empire’s king.

——That is, the Shrine of Fire Calamity, where one of the Four Great Disasters’ relics, the legendary spirit Gyu-yu, was sealed.

Fortunately, Gouhunyan hadn’t stayed here long.

Otherwise, if it had truly dug a hole beside the Shrine of Fire Calamity, who knew what might have happened.

But in Luo Mu’s view, since Gyu-yu had been sealed here for so long, the sealing here was likely not something easily broken by mere physical means.

“Indeed, to break the seal, one must find the eight pillars of the Shrine of Fire Calamity.”

Murmuring to himself in a voice only he could hear, Luo Mu turned to face his students, who were watching him.

Pape hesitantly asked, “Teacher, do you know what’s going on?”

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but the place felt strangely unsettling.

The glowing lid and chains looked positively sinister.

In short, everything about it felt wrong.

“Yes, I understand most of it, but explaining here is difficult—I’ll need to take you back to the school library to fill in the prerequisite knowledge.”

Luo Mu nodded slightly, offering a reassuring smile.

His smile eased the tension in several of them.

As long as Teacher Luo Mu kept smiling like that, nothing serious would happen—anything unusual was already within his expectations and wouldn’t cause major trouble.

Though Wu Li and Dan Yu still lacked this understanding, Pape, Mudan, and Pipa had long since established this certainty.

After a moment, Luo Mu led them out of the cave.

But he didn’t descend immediately; instead, he gazed thoughtfully up at the waterfall above, as if wondering whether other hidden things lay within.

Although this place differed slightly from the game, the positions of the sealing pillars should not have changed much—perhaps only buried deeper, like the cave entrance just now.

In the game, directly above the mountain housing the Shrine of Fire Calamity, one sealing pillar stood openly in broad daylight.

After telling them to follow, Luo Mu mounted Milerton’s back again and began surveying the mountain.

Fortunately, his luck held—he soon spotted an unremarkable platform hidden within the higher waterfall, much like the curtain waterfall of Huaguo Mountain.

After brief thought, he had Milerton carry him into it.

As expected, at the center of the platform, he saw a black pillar radiating an ominous aura.

In the game, pulling out this pillar would weaken part of the seal.

There were thirty-two such pillars in total, scattered across the Gupadia region.

Every eight pillars represented the seal of one shrine; removing all eight pillars in a given region would break the seal of the Disaster Relic.

Moreover, only those with a pure heart could remove these pillars without adding further desire or curse.

(End of Chapter)