Although a permanent + 1 to all attributes may seem like a formidable enhancement, but in this horribly difficult world, it wasn't of much use. Even a fully equipped Sheyan wouldn't necessarily be able to survive against an uruk-hai. What more now, his equipment had been completely nullified? At present, a permanent + 1 to all attributes to Sheyan was merely an appetizer to quench his thirst; a pie drawn out by a plum blossom. It wasn't of much use to Sheyan right now.
Observing the distant flames gradually extinguishing, Sheyan knew that their pursuers would be catching up soon. Hence, he urged Melody to advance swiftly. He didn't mind, at worst he could just return. But before that, he had to bring this elf maiden to a safe place.
The deep valley filled with rugged rocks in front of them was slowly becoming narrower. The path that the two of them were taking was also becoming more and more rugged. Finally, they reached the end of their path. The valley in front of them was showing signs of closing up in a fan shape. A huge and deep cave appeared at the end.
The cave's diameter was at least a hundred metres, and the rocks at its edges were already cracked open. One could see massive black lightning bolts etched into the surface of the rock, and the ground was littered with scattered rocks. The ground had obvious traces of torrential water scouring. Obviously, the ravine they passed through previously would have a flood, and the flood would flow through the pine forest before finally converging into the lake.
Facing this cave, Sheyan hesitated for a moment. A faint sulfuric smell assaulted his senses, causing his hair to stand on end. It was as though an unfathomable deterrence was being transmitted out from within. His thoughts were to immediately turn and flee, but the cave entrance seemed to emit an indescribably massive suction force that wanted to pull him in.
At present, even the twilight elf Melody couldn't help but turn pale. Her senses towards nature were ten times stronger than Sheyan's, and she should be able to sense the terrifying force hidden within the cave. It was as though even nature itself was subdued!
At this moment, a hoarse voice transmitted out from Sheyan's nightmare imprint.
"Oh shit, Seaman, can you hear me?"
Sheyan carefully observed, it was shockingly transmitted from the temporary party channel. If that wasn't Reef's voice, who else could it be? To communicate through the temporary party channel, both parties had to be within a certain range. Therefore, he could basically confirm that Reef wasn't far from him! But when he looked around, all he could see were scattered rocks, and he still couldn't find the whereabouts of Reef. Furthermore, from Reef's voice, he seemed to be gasping for breath. He should have suffered a serious injury.
"I can hear you. Reef, where are you? You seem to be injured? "
Sheyan swiftly replied.
Upon hearing Sheyan's voice, Reef instantly coughed violently. After a long while, he exhaled deeply and replied.
"Praise God, I've been sending a message to the party channel every twenty seconds. You've finally received it."
Sheyan smiled bitterly.
"You're really patient. By the way, you should have lost the bonus from your equipment, right?"
Reef sighed.
"Yeah, if you still don't appear, I can only hold on for another hour at most, cough cough, pui!! This damned slime! "
Sheyan once again surveyed the surrounding terrain and said, "That's right.
"I'm at the end of that valley, the entrance to a huge, eerie cave. Do you know how to get there?"
Reef replied with an "Oh".
"I know where it is! Don't ever enter that cave, it's extremely dangerous. Retreat back a hundred metres or so, you'll see three boulders in the valley. The boulder on the right is close to the mountain wall. Climb up to the boulder on the right, then search around the mountain wall. You'll find a concealed groove to climb up. Climb up roughly thirty metres, and you'll find a passageway to the belly of the mountain. "
Sheyan curiously asked.
"How did you find such a secluded place? Oh, right, there's another crucial question. Why did you only let out half a scream, and directly evaporate into thin air? "
Reef helplessly replied.
"Do you still remember what happened when we passed through that pine forest in front of the lake?"
Sheyan hurriedly walked towards the direction Reef had pointed out, as he asked.
"Of course I remember. Now that I think about it, there's probably some sort of hallucinogenic poisonous fog below, which evaporated after being evaporated by the sun. It would produce an intense hallucination. "
Reef laughed bitterly.
"When I jumped down from the boulder, there was a highly concentrated poisonous fog below. That poisonous fog was heavier than air, thus it accumulated on the ground. Then, he was directly controlled by a powerful force and walked forward involuntarily. Then, he climbed up the path you are walking on now. Then, he began to play the role of a coolie, constantly moving those abominable eggs. So, he is very familiar with the terrain here. "
"Then why didn't I feel the presence of the poisonous fog the next day?" Sheyan curiously asked.
Reef sighed and replied.
"I can roughly guess the reason, but I can't explain it to you now. Most importantly, if you continue to follow this dangerous valley and continue down the cave, then you'll definitely bump into that damned gigantic octopus! "
When Sheyan heard the words' damned gigantic octopus', his fingers that were climbing the boulder instantly clenched! Pieces of gravel instantly rolled down 90% of the boulder, and he couldn't help but blurt out.
"Don't tell me you're talking about that legendary creature that forced the Fellowship of the Ring into the Pit of Moria in the original storyline – Ocean-freak Moria?"
Reef gritted his teeth weakly and replied.
"Who else can it be apart from that? At least half of this mountain is empty, and there's an underground lake that's connected to several other large lakes. That octopus naturally can come and go as it pleases, but it should be laying its eggs right now. Hence, it specially came to this snowy peak to lay its eggs. According to my conjecture, it's probably because the environment it needs to lay its eggs is very unique. It needs a place with high temperature, and it also needs to keep the eggs moist … This damned octopus forced me to carry snow water back and forth over a hundred times to water its damned eggs!! "
*****
The place mentioned by Reef wasn't far from here, and the duo didn't expend much effort to reach there. While climbing, they listened to Reef's explanation. Soon, they saw a cave suspended above the mountain wall.
This cave was suspended high above the precipitous cliff 30 metres above the ground. Moreover, the cave entrance was blocked by a protruding boulder. Restricted by the narrow valley below, one couldn't even see it by looking up, not to mention from afar. He pressed a button on the entrance of the cave and jumped in easily. He took a deep breath and dragged the elf girl in as well.
"Alright, we're in the cave, where are you?" Sheyan transmitted to Reef.
"Wait!" Although Reef was transmitting through the party channel, and wouldn't reveal anything, his voice carried an indescribable nervousness.
"That sleeping octopus seems to be restless. You guys wait there for a while, I'll inform you before entering. Remember, you guys can only stay at the entrance of the cave. If not, even with the blessing of a twilight elf, you'll be easily discovered!"
"That damned octopus has also permanently enslaved several orcs. These guys seem to be the natives of the Mines of Moria, and have nothing to do with Saruman. Because the cave at the end of the valley is extremely dangerous, so the path you're walking through now is actually made by these orcs to make it easier for them to go in and out."
"That's fine too." Sheyan currently didn't have any equipment, he had to be stable. Especially since Reef still had the 'Return to the realm' as a life-saving trump card. Thus, he wasn't too worried about his safety, leaning against the cave wall as he sat down. Suddenly, his heart stirred.
"From the looks of it, that hallucinatory fog is most likely related to that octopus, Ocean-freak Moria?"
Reef seemed to have inhaled some liquid, as he violently coughed.
"Those damned eggs are as annoying as slugs! Heavens, they even sprayed that mucus all over my face. Your guess isn't wrong, that hallucinatory fog was secreted by that octopus that should've descended to hell. Furthermore, its blood and bodily fluids all contain an intense hallucinatory substance. Once it stays in a place for too long, it will contaminate the place. "
Sheyan curiously asked.
"Then why was it that when we were separated by a huge boulder, you were affected but I wasn't?"
Reef lowered his voice.
"I've considered this question before, the only explanation is that you have an additional BUFF – twilight elf's blessing! That blessing should've assimilated you with nature, that's why the octopus couldn't detect your presence. Furthermore, it probably has a hidden attribute that can restrain its ability to bewitch the mind. Don't forget, after we were poisoned by those orcs in the pine forest, you woke up much earlier than me! "
Sheyan carefully pondered, and felt that it made sense.
Both of them were conversing through the temporary party, Melody naturally couldn't hear them. However, she knew that this place was relatively dangerous, hence she prepared herself for battle at a corner of the cave wall. To Sheyan's surprise, after this elf maiden had evolved into a twilight elf, as long as she remained still, she would disappear without a trace. She was obviously staying at her original spot, yet her aura seemed to be absorbed by nature. Or perhaps, nature was actively shielding her!
*****
Oh, I don't have any recommendations for next week, so the recommendation list is even more important. I have an update at midnight today, please don't forget to vote for me. Haha. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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