Rex, who had been waiting here for a long time, stretched out two fingers and pointed to the top of his head and then to the depths of the cave.
Simbady gestured that he understood.
Rex nodded, turned around, and walked into the cave.
Simbady raised his head and stared at the air duct suspended above Rex's head. During the three days of walking underwater, he had not only familiarized himself with the basic operation of the diving suit, but also learned sign language and the details of diving. The most important thing was to keep an eye on the condition of the two air ducts, which was one of the reasons why two people were needed for the salvage operation.
The other end of the tube was connected to an air pump driven by a steam engine, which pumped air in and out at the same time to maintain a smooth flow of air in the helmet. No matter which tube was damaged or blocked, the consequences would be unimaginable. Therefore, they had to pay special attention when crossing complex terrain and changing directions.
Seeing that there was no obstacle at the top of the cave that could threaten the air duct, Simbady also jumped into the cave.
The sound of the waves subsided, and he could clearly hear the hissing sound of the air duct and his own heartbeat.
After about 10 meters, the light became dimmer and dimmer. Looking at Rex's blurry back, Simbady felt that he was walking into an abyss.
Just then, the ground under his feet suddenly rose and turned from a flat road to a gentle slope.
In less than seven minutes, Simbady saw the surface of the sea again. It was no longer shining with golden light, but as quiet as the night.
As Rex slowly emerged from the water, Simbady held his breath. A huge cave appeared in front of them. Half of the cave's outline was hidden in the darkness, and only a small area of the dome was illuminated by the light from the sea, revealing a shimmering blue surface.
"This cave is actually a passage connecting the inside and outside?"
Simbady struggled to climb ashore and was about to take off his helmet, when Rex stopped him.
The Fjords man took out a waterproof oil lamp from his waist bag, lit the wick, and observed for a while before taking off his helmet. "Phew... it seems that this is not a dead place."
"Is there... wind?" Simbady felt a slight chill on his cheeks as he took off his helmet.
"Yes, there's probably another exit in the cave," Rex said excitedly. Rex said excitedly. "In this case, it's more likely that we'll find treasures here. We're really lucky."
Simbady was not interested in finding anything valuable. He was more concerned about the safety of the cave. Who would have thought that there would be a hollow terrain under the desert? This was beyond common sense. They could not have dived more than 20 meters deep. Even if there was a rock layer, it would not be too thick. How could the loose sand support such a large cave? Would the dome collapse? These questions made him feel slightly uneasy.
"I'd better report this discovery to Graycastle when I get out of here," Simbady thought. Although he felt sorry for the Society of Wondrous Crafts, they were not far from the Festive Harbor and he did not want any accidents to happen.
"The wind seems to be coming from that direction." Rex placed his helmet by the pool, picked up the oil lamp, and said, "Let's go take a look."
Simbady unsheathed his saber and followed them.
However, as he explored deeper, he felt that the cave was getting stranger and stranger.
It did not take long for the rocks under their feet to turn into soft soil, and then clusters of green grass replaced the slippery moss. It was as if they were not underground, but in the Silver Stream Oasis.
"I can't believe there are green plants here," Rex exclaimed. "I thought there were only mushrooms and moss in the dark underground."
"How about... we go back first," Simbady said hesitantly. "I feel that this place..."
Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly froze.
"What's wrong with this place?" Rex looked back after a long silence. "Huh? What are you looking at... a flower? "
Simbady felt his breath quicken. There was a beautiful little flower by his feet. Its petals were light purple and its leaves were as thin as a cicada's wings, as if they would break at the slightest touch. "This is... the Flower of Gods..."
"Is it very rare?"
"No... it used to be everywhere," Simbady said in a low voice. "I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but according to the legends about the Three Gods Emissaries, this flower can be found everywhere along the coast, like a purple ribbon. It's also the most gorgeous flower sea in the Southernmost Region."
"There's... a flower sea in the desert?" Rex asked in surprise.
"It's said that a long time ago, this place was not a desert. Instead, it was covered with trees, grasslands, and rivers, just like the north." He shook his head. "But after the Three Gods Emissaries left, the earth gradually turned into sand and became what it is today. But that's not what I want to talk about. According to the legends, the Flower of Gods can't be moved once it takes root. That's why there's no flower sea in the oasis. It should have gone extinct a long time ago... "
"I see," the Fjords man said, smacking his lips. The Fjords man smacked his lips. "Perhaps it's because the desertification didn't affect the underground cavern that the Flower of God Angels happened to be rooted here and survived."
"Is that true..." Simbady's strange feeling grew stronger. For some reason, walking in this dim world, he felt like he was walking in an oasis.
The purple flowers around him grew denser and denser, as if they did not grow in the ground by chance.
Just when he was hesitating whether to move forward, he suddenly heard a light crack under his feet.
Then, a soft light bloomed from the soil, illuminating the area within a radius of several meters.
"What's going on?" Rex asked in surprise.
"I... I seem to have stepped on something," Simbady said, swallowing hard. "It looks like a plank."
"Is it a trap?" He hurriedly bent down and brushed away the flowers and grass by his feet. "This is — ha, haha... hahaha..."
Hearing the laughter echoing in the cave, Simbady felt goosebumps all over his body. "What's so funny? Hey, tell me what it is first!"
"Hahaha, it's a treasure! We've found a treasure! "Rex said excitedly." Look! "
When he brushed away all the soil, Simbady was surprised to see that the light came from the thing under his feet. It was a "stone tablet" half-buried in the ground. There were countless lines on it, which were as dense as fingerprints. With his feet as the center, the light shot out in all directions, causing the tablet to look like white jade in contrast. Although it looked hard, it felt like rotten wood, which would sink a little with the slightest force. It was completely beyond the scope of common sense.
What was more incredible was that once he moved his feet away, the surface of the tablet would gradually return to its original state, and the light would dissipate, as if everything he had just seen was an illusion.
"Is there a treasure more amazing than this?" Rex said excitedly, stepping on the "stone tablet". "If I can offer this to the King of Graycastle, I'll definitely be awarded the title of Honorary Explorer!"
"But... it's too big," Simbady said awkwardly. Judging from the small part that was exposed, the "stone tablet" was probably larger than both of them combined. It would not be easy to move it out of the water cave.
"As long as we use our brains, we'll definitely find a way. Or we can find another exit of the cave — Wait? "Rex suddenly stopped and said," There seems to be another stone tablet over there. "
Simbady followed Rex's gaze and took a few steps forward. Sure enough, he stepped on the same "stone tablet". With the help of its light, more grayish-white outlines appeared in the sea of flowers.
"There's one here, and one there..." Simbady and Rex walked along the stone tablets for dozens of meters. At first, they counted the number of stone tablets, but they soon gave up the idea.
Over a short distance, the Flower of Gods was covered by more and more stone tablets. No matter where they stepped, there would be light.
Until a huge wall appeared in front of them.
"Oh my God..." Rex gasped.
Simbady also felt a chill. He slowly raised his head. In the soft light, he could see the outline of the stone wall. They found that it was not a "wall", but a hill made up of countless stone tablets.
Some of them were incomplete, some were broken, but most of them were shaped like a square cuboid. It was not an exaggeration to say that they were stone tablets. However, when they were piled up in a disorderly manner, Simbady had a different feeling.
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