Building a sect from scratch.

Chapter 183 Underground River

The cave slopes downwards.

This is what Bai Chenxue and the other two sensed as they followed Jin Cai deeper into the area.

As they ventured deeper, the surroundings grew increasingly dark. Fortunately, players usually carried a stone, which proved invaluable for illumination.

After walking for a short while, they came to another fork in the road. This time there were only two paths, but the three of them couldn't decide which to do, so they marked the path on the map and then followed Jin Cai down the road.

Soon, the passageway became increasingly narrow, forcing Shen Yun, the tallest of the three, to hunch over.

After walking another ten meters or so, Bai Chenxue and Lin Muning were also forced to bend over.

However, after passing through a small stone cave that was just big enough to squeeze through, the surroundings suddenly opened up.

It was a huge underground cavern, with dense stalactites overhead and rows of stone pillars and stalagmites on the ground. A few steps further ahead, there was an underground river that meandered into the darker depths.

Reflected in the light of the stalactites, the underground cave was filled with rainbow colors, and the smooth surface of the stalactites shimmered with colorful hues. Only the underground river was pitch black, making it look rather eerie.

Seeing Jin Cai stuck in the underground river, Bai Chenxue turned around and asked the two, "What do we do? We can't get across! It looks like we haven't arrived yet!"

Lin Muning said, "Actually, we could fly there, but we don't know how far we would have to fly. It's too dark here, and we can't see inside."

Shen Yun said, "You all wait here, I'll fly over and scout ahead... Give me a piece of stone!"

Bai Chenxue casually took out a piece of stone and handed it to Shen Yun, who then carefully flew from the surface of the underground river into the depths.

While Shen Yun was scouting ahead, Bai Chenxue looked around aimlessly, when suddenly she spotted a splash of red.

She tugged at Lin Muning's sleeve and said, "Hey! Xiaoning! Look what's that?"

"what happened?"

Lin Muning looked in the direction Bai Chenxue was pointing and also saw the red thing.

The two cautiously approached, and were then surprised to find that it was a red snakeskin.

Logically, snake skin should turn gray or near gray after a long time, but the snake skin in front of us is extremely bright red, almost without any other colors, and it is obviously not an ordinary thing.

Bai Chenxue excitedly pulled up the huge snakeskin, pretending to shove it into Lin Muning's hands, saying, "Keep it! We'll have a group auction or roll some later! This thing is definitely useful for refining weapons! It looks very valuable!"

Lin Muning was so frightened that she took several steps back and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "You should keep it, I'm a little scared!"

"Fine!"

Bai Chenxue didn't refuse and casually put it into her game backpack.

Meanwhile, Shen Yun flew for quite a while before finally spotting some "land".

It was a stone island, right in the middle of the underground river. On the stone island were a stone table and two stone stools, and vaguely, there seemed to be a figure sitting on the stone stools.

Shen Yun was startled by the eerie scene and hesitated from a distance, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

Instead, the blurry figure seemed to have noticed him, beckoning him over as if to let him come over.

Shen Yun hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and continued flying towards the stone island. But after flying only a few meters, he suddenly felt as if he had passed through a very viscous membrane of air—it was a barrier!

Upon entering the barrier, the figure on the stone island immediately became clear—a man dressed in simple, ancient clothing, somewhat resembling the robes of the Warring States period in Earth's history, yet with some differences.

But what attracted Shen Yun's attention even more was the sudden sound of rushing water in his ears!

He looked in the direction of the sound and discovered that there was a waterfall not far away!

A waterfall in an underground river!

The waterfall is over ten meters wide and consists of three levels, each several meters high!
Although the waterfall was still some distance from Shen Yun, the splashing water was already hitting his face, icy cold and carrying a chilling aura.

Just as Shen Yun was awestruck by the extraordinary and magnificent scenery, a voice rang in his ears: "I can't believe someone has finally come here!"

Not Middle-earth language!
That's right. Although the game has a built-in "translation function", you can still hear the tone of voice when talking to NPCs in the game. It's just that the players automatically translate it into flower language in their minds.

But the NPC's speech was completely different from the Central Continent language, and even somewhat familiar, like... like Cantonese!?

Of course, upon closer reflection, there are still some differences—if it weren't for certain singers and actors who gave Shen Yun some knowledge of Cantonese, he probably would have really thought that the NPC was speaking Cantonese!

"Huh? Can't you understand what I'm saying?"

The man hesitated for a moment, then switched to the Central Continent language and asked, "Which sect are you from? It seems you're the ones who killed the fox demon and the python demon?"

"I...I'm from the Taiyin Sect,"

Shen Yun answered subconsciously, assuming it was some kind of quest NPC, and quickly mentioned the key words: "The fox demon and the python demon were probably killed by the people of the Crimson Plains Sect. By the way, senior, we came here because of the groundwater pollution. Do you know the reason?"

"Taiyin Sect..."

The man suddenly fell silent. Then, his figure became somewhat ethereal. After a few seconds, he suddenly muttered to himself, "So that's how it is... The Taiyin Sect... a very bold attempt indeed..."

Shen Yun assumed this was another NPC who hadn't heard of the Taiyin Sect, so he explained, "Senior? Our Taiyin Sect has only been established for a short time, so you might not know that I..."

“I know,” the man interrupted Shen Yun’s introduction, “I know about the Taiyin Sect, and I also know about you, people from another world.”

After saying this, his figure became even fainter, almost translucent.

"The groundwater pollution you just asked about is quite simple. It's this underground river. The fox demon hid a magical artifact he was searching for at the bottom of the river, and then washed away the demonic and malevolent energy he had acquired from eating people in the river. In the past, because this underground river was interconnected, the energy could gradually dissipate. However, a few years ago, the waterway leading to the sea was blocked, so the rate of dissipation naturally couldn't keep up with the rate at which those monsters accumulated their malevolent energy... I suppose that's the reason."

Shen Yun suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. Then, if we find that section of the river and dredge it, will that solve the problem?"

The man nodded and said, "Yes, but it doesn't matter if we don't clear the blockage. Anyway, those monsters are already dead, and they will naturally dissipate in a few years."

"The sooner we clear the blockages, the sooner the people who rely on wells can return to their normal lives!"

Shen Yun glanced at the unresponsive taskbar and casually inquired about the NPC's background: "By the way, my name is Yun Canghai, and I am a disciple of the Taiyin Sect. May I ask your name, senior?"

The man tilted his head, seemingly having forgotten his own name.

“Jun Chou,” he thought for a moment before answering, “My name is Jun Chou.”

(End of this chapter)