Lily's exclamation made everyone rush forward. Hao Ren immediately thought of the underground tentacles that Husky and Battie encountered last night. His heart skipped a beat. His guess was right. The karst cave under the Blood Lake was connected to the roots of the Gnarled Grove!
With that in mind, Hao Ren put up his Steel Membrane Shield and ran to the front, ready to deal with a fierce battle and cover the retreat of the others. According to Vivian and Lily, the tentacles would actively attack the enemies!
But when he reached Lily, he found no enemies in front of him.
"This is..." Big Beardy followed closely behind Hao Ren. Even though he was an ascetic, he was still shocked by the spectacular scene in front of him. "Is this the legendary underground part of the Gnarled Grove? This cave is actually connected to them? "
At the end of the cave was a huge cavern. It was slightly smaller than the place with the pool, but it was still astonishingly vast. The most shocking thing in the cavern was the countless giant roots that poked down from the rock stratum above!
The smallest of those giant roots was at least a meter in diameter. They stretched out from the rock stratum above the cavern and grew wantonly in the air, crisscrossing and twisting to form a structure that looked like a big thorny net. This "big net" covered almost three-quarters of the area of the top of the cavern, so that the original rock stratum could only be vaguely seen through the gaps of the roots. The growth of the large number of roots was irregular. A small part of them hung down to the ground, and some even penetrated deep into the ground of the cavern. A large number of roots were attached to the walls of the cavern, gradually spreading and merging into the seemingly solid rock stratum.
The entire upper half of the cavern was made up of these giant roots. Hao Ren looked up and felt an indescribable majesty and grandeur from the huge black roots. Of course, there was also a psychological pressure that was almost frightening.
"... This is the true body of the Gnarled Grove..." Hao Ren muttered to himself. Although he had made various guesses, he did not expect to see the underground part of the ancient plant with his own eyes. "This should only be a small part... Perhaps the entire underground cavern system is used to accommodate these roots!"
Big Beardy's face trembled a few times. Finally, he could only put his hands on his chest and whispered, "Goddess, have mercy..."
The young ascetic next to him was more optimistic. "It's okay. This is all created by the goddess. According to the sacred scriptures, all the goddess' creations are our brothers and sisters. The Gnarled Grove is the most ancient sacred creature. We are devout, so we will be safe here."
Becky was about to burst into tears. "Goddess … You've made Big Brother too ugly …"
So, the four ascetics immediately glared at the mercenary girl who had a big mouth.
"It looks like they can't move." Lily calmed down. The experience of being chased by the tentacles last night had scared her. Now that she had calmed down, she immediately stood up and pretended to be an expert. "Well, it looks like there are many kinds of tentacles. Maybe the ones buried deep in the ground won't move."
Vivian glanced at her and said, "Stop pretending. Your fur is still standing on end. Calm down first."
Lily flicked her tail. This time, she did not bring up her "big tail is good" theory. Instead, she ran into the cavern to observe the roots up close.
"Why don't the roots move here?" Hao Ren was seriously thinking about this question. He looked at Vivian and asked, "Are you sure this is the thing you encountered last night? Could it be that what you encountered last night wasn't a root at all? "
"Yes, this is it," Vivian was very sure. She took out the sample fragments from her pocket and said, "We can compare them."
After the comparison, the results were conclusive. The huge roots in front of them were the tentacles that Battie and Husky fought for 300 rounds last night. However, the function of the tentacles in the cavern was obviously different. They could not move.
"The life form of the Gnarled Grove has transcended the common sense of plants." The group carefully walked in the cavern occupied by the roots. Vivian analyzed thoughtfully as she walked. "Probably there are many kinds of roots. Some are used for exploration, some for nutrient absorption, and some even for combat. The one that Doggie and I encountered last night should be the kind that is used for exploration."
"You've encountered these roots before?" Big Beardy finally understood what Vivian meant.
Hao Ren then briefly told them about all the information they had obtained last night. So far, they had only told these things to Ophra. However, compared to Ophra, Big Beardy and the other ascetics were more like "one of their own", so it was natural for them to tell these things.
"Heresy!?" The four ascetics reacted even more when they heard about heresy. The older nun even gritted her teeth. "And they slandered the teachings of the Goddess and even created their own false god!?"
"And even a fool can see that it is an evil god." Hao Ren spread out his hands. "Even if we put aside the issue of faith, we can't let these dangerous guys jump around. The giant brain they summoned is extremely dangerous, and the whole religious ceremony is also insane. I will take care of it."
Elson glanced at Hao Ren and felt that his words were a little arrogant. How could an ordinary mercenary leader say in front of the four ascetics that he would take care of the heresy. But Big Beardy and the other ascetics did not think so. They knew who Hao Ren was, so they just nodded indifferently. "That's good. I'm glad to see that you have the intention. But it's better to let 'us' solve this matter. This is' our 'problem."
He deliberately emphasized the words "our" and "our". Obviously, even though he had been forced to leave the Plane of Dreams like Becky, he still regarded this place as his home.
"Of course, we have reported this matter to Marshal Ophra. Soon, the bishop will also know. Next, there should be a large-scale search for the heresy. The rituals of the cultists are very cruel. They need a lot of flesh and blood, and they will also summon monsters. As long as we are careful during the search, it will not be difficult to find them. "
Big Beardy nodded, and suddenly looked worried. "I just did not expect the Royal Knights and the Church to have festered... The depravity is shocking. I really don't know how long they have been secretly developing for. I'm afraid Bishop Gelton will have to bear a lot of responsibility for this."
Big Beardy sighed, but Hao Ren was not familiar with Gelton, so he did not reply and continued to walk across the cavern.
At the same time, he asked the MDT in his mind, "Roughly where are we now?"
The MDT immediately sent an image to Hao Ren's mind. "We have just left the Blood Lake and have not entered the Gnarled Grove. Also, the roots we encountered are only a small part of the Gnarled Grove. I just increased the power of the scan and found that more roots have spread directly to the bottom of the lake."
Sure enough, the real big part of the Gnarled Grove was underground. Its body had gone deep into the Blood Lake. So, Hao Ren was completely sure that there must be such a "root cavern" under Dragonspine Ridge!
If there was a chance in the future, perhaps he could explore Dragonspine Ridge through this channel...
As Hao Ren thought so, he asked the MDT to record the spatial coordinates of the cavern.
Old werewolf Elson had been on high alert since entering this giant cavern. Whether as a former mercenary or a current soldier, he always had the most malicious speculation about any strange place. "Be vigilant. It is said that a group of dwarven miners dug too deep into the mountain and accidentally dug up a root of the Gnarled Grove. As a result, they all went crazy. According to the speculation of the Blood Clan lady, these roots have many functions. Be careful of the roots that can release neurotoxins or produce mental attacks."
The female members of the team should beware of the tentacle monster, Hao Ren added silently in his heart. But he was very doubtful about who would be afraid of the tentacle monster... Even the little mermaid, who was now sleeping in the Dimensional Pocket, might not necessarily be afraid of these roots, at least not mentally. Lil Pea would 100% regard this place as a fairytale fortress filled with the aroma of food, like a candy house...
Hao Ren walked forward with his thoughts running wild. When he was about to leave the cavern occupied by the giant roots, a strange feeling suddenly hit him, making him subconsciously shiver.
That feeling was like a formless spying on him from all directions. Countless pairs of eyes were staring at him. It was fleeting, but abnormally clear.
Hao Ren looked around in horror. He vaguely remembered that he had this feeling when he walked in the Gnarled Grove for the first time.
Could it be these tree roots?! Were they thinking?!
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