Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1399 - 1398 - Magmatic Falls

The lava tube, like everything else, was a maze. Unlike the others, however, it at least had a current which meant it had a beginning and an end.

Lind let his body follow that flow until it finally began to speed up. The lava began to thunder in his ears but he was confused as it almost sound like–

He was suddenly spit out into midair before he fell like a stone into a massive pool of lava. Lind shot back up and saw lava falls! There were at least a dozen from various heights pooling into a massive sea of lava.

He was amazed as the glow of fiery orange liquid stone did not cool despite being exposed to open air. The massive cavern was full of beasts as well but they were all World Realm or below.

They were fish that were aligned with flames but he noticed a few demonic beasts as well. He also saw what looked a lot like manta rays but they were very shy.

He found a shore and left the lava pool behind. He looked around the cavern and found great beauty in it. The various falls were a glow with not only light but Qi to his Eyes.

It was quite beautiful. He felt something slide into place and his elemental nodes improved once more.

The shore he stood on was not obsidian nor any kind of special stone, it was fire crystal.

He examined it and found it was a peak grade 7 crystal with no sign of damage from the lava at all.

"Where am I?" He had a few landmarks but there was no mention of a giant fire crystal.

Barbatos and the remaining forest Sovereign Tiers had not had much but he felt the Hollow Lands had changed or perhaps had older areas none knew of.

They had no up to date information but he felt like such an area should have stood out. He did not sense any phoenixes so it was likely not the Throne either.

None of the beasts communicated with him either. They just did not have the intelligence to do so. He was fascinated by the structure as while they were the aquatic kind he recognized, they were made up of metals or stone that resisted heat quite well.

He noticed some tunnels into the crystal and proceeded to walk down those paths. He found the surface to be far more slick than stone so he had to walk carefully as he did not yet want to draw attention to himself.

The passage eventually dimmed until only the ambient light of the crystal lit it. The grade never deviated which made Lind frown. It was one thing to have a peak grade 7 crystal due to the laval pool and falls, but quite another for it to be so perfectly similar the deeper he went.

He also had no idea how gravity was being created. It was down in the sense of alignment with his feet but compared to how he started he could be upside down, walking on walls, or even twisting in air for all he knew.

The Hollow Lands were a warren of mazes and abandoned places that seemed to have been largely overlooked by all.

Only the mines near the entrance had been accurate. Everything afterward was just plain random.

In nature, even in the lower layers, lava tubes like that would be deep underground and have caves full of obsidian or at least hardened stone to keep it insulated and flowing. It would also not have falls like that without making a massive pile of cooled lava at the bottom.

Yet, everything stayed fresh and flowed almost like water.

The massive fire crystal might explain part of it but not all of it.

The cave was not cut either, but worn down by something. It was not quite artificial but the force that made it eluded him.

The tunnel, on the other hand, was most definitely cut as it was far too smooth to be natural. Crystals did not form like that unless carefully placed in a container to form around something.

Lind had used such a process in his Seeds many times to try and make crystals that had certain Laws incorporated into them.

The scale of the tunnel in front of him put all his Seeds to shame, yet he did not feel it was a similar attempt. It was more like someone drilled out the tunnel. It was not a beast as those might be smooth but would leave behind some trace of unevenness.

No matter how perfect the mechanism, a living being did not go in perfectly straight lines. They would deviate or move to where food or instinct pulled them.

There was also the fact there was only 1 tunnel in the cavern he came from.

Beasts would make many paths to ensure they could not be trapped or to ensnare prey.

The dim tunnel suddenly grew brighter and Lind moved a bit faster but a familiar sight greeted him.

It was a massive lava pool with many lava falls filling it. Fish and manta rays swam in it but shied away from him.

He frowned as he slowly looked around and felt like it was not a different cavern but the same one. It was impossible.

He quickly let his aura stretch out as he might be ensnared by an array or other trick.

Yet, even with his aura going full blast, he found nothing. No formations, weavings, or even another Immortal beast in range of his aura. He also found no other cavern.

He had not walked far enough to be out of his range yet he felt only fire crystal around him.

He looked back at the tunnel with his Law Eyes but it simply shimmered with peak grade 7 fire elements. There was nothing else and it was remarkably humble as well.

It was like he was in some giant natural habitat but he had definitely walked into that tunnel and not deviated one step before coming back to the cavern.

"Sigh, I hate when someone gets subtle." Overt threats or powerful illusions were easy to deal with but something so perfectly in the background it gave nothing back was a headache.

Annabelle was notorious for such illusions in areas full of natural settings. They were real places but she placed illusions so quietly into the background of them that no one knew they were there or ensnared until it was too late.

Only an event like he was currently experiencing revealed they existed but not where they were.

"Anything you 2 felt?" He asked his tool spirits but both were unaware of anything.

[Master, you never turned around. An illusion might make you turn without your natural senses knowing but my spiritual sense far exceeds the materials around us.] Haro's words only confused him more.

A test was needed.

Lind summoned a simple artifact. It was a tripod that would allow for a tea set to be preserved once made no matter the environment. He did not activate it, simply set it down and made some weavings to protect it.

Aside from him, very few would be able to even touch it let alone find it again.

He then went back into the tunnel and began walking. He paid as much attention to his surroundings but just as Haro had said, he felt no change or imposed disorientation at any point.

He also noted the time. He kept up a running count in his head and found no deviation until he once more stood in the lava pool cavern but now he was concerned.

It was identical in every way save one thing.

His artifact was missing.

He found the spot he placed it but it was not there at all as if it had never been. Lind tried using his aura but nothing new stood out. He took out a spear and had it float in midair with weavings to keep it safe there once more.

He sighed and repeated his experiment.

Failure.

He was back in the cavern with no deviation in steps or time but he found yet another pristine cavern with no artifact or weapon.

Lind was growing irritated but he now discarded all caution. He summoned an emerald harmonic crystal and put a trace of himself in it. No matter the distance, he would at least know where it was.

He then took the trip once more. He was about halfway when suddenly the sensation of the crystal vanished!

He stopped dead and was exactly halfway down the tunnel. He then chose to turn around and the instant he did so the feeling of the crystal returned! He ran back and found the crystal happily floating where he had left it!

What was going on?

Why had the sensation simply vanished at the halfway point? What was the damned secret?!

Lind sat down and began to try to figure out exactly what was going on.