Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 172 Secret Passage
Needless to say, Awoo had already grabbed Black Charcoal and flown to the location it had just pointed out.

Li Xia's figure flashed by, flying to the side as well, leaving the observer alone on the ground, happily collecting environmental objects.

This place looks no different from the rest of the place.

The black rock resembles volcanic rock and is covered with holes of various sizes.

The scholars on the research team were very interested in the unique landform of the Coral Plateau.

In particular, the third research team was trapped in the Coral Highlands for more than ten years due to the attack of the Wind Dragon, and their investigation of this area is already very in-depth.

They believe that the Coral Plateau was originally seabed, but later changed due to peculiar crustal changes.

This high ridge on the seabed rises above sea level, and is subsequently developed due to the remarkable adaptability of the plants and animals in the Monster Hunter ecosystem.

This eventually led to the spectacular formation of a continental coral plateau.

Correspondingly, crustal changes were accompanied by the eruption of submarine volcanoes, so the Valley of Miasma, located at the deepest part of the Coral Plateau, was covered by lava.

This has led to the volcanic rock landforms we see today.

"Is the smell coming from here?"

Li Xia placed his hand on the cold rock, closed his eyes to sense it for a while, and then shook his head.

I don't have the specialized surveying skills of the exploration system, so apart from being able to sense the wind coming from inside, I can't detect anything else.

But wind—it's all too common in this place full of holes.

"Meow!"

The charcoal stick out a sharp claw pointing at one of the holes.

Li Xia nodded, Night Silence appeared in his hand, and with a focused mind, the spear blade silently pierced into the rock wall.

Then came a barrage of stabs, like a sudden storm, with stone chips flying everywhere and a series of thuds, and soon a large hole was torn open in the rock wall.

"Ding--"

The tip of the gun seemed to have struck something extremely solid, producing a crisp sound.

Huh? Li Xia stopped what she was doing, looking slightly surprised.

Even a regular steel plate would have been pierced by my shot.

Looking through the newly dug hole, one could see a square opening about a meter inside the thick rock wall, its edges gleaming with a metallic sheen.

I refuse to believe it! What steel plate can block out the silence of the night?

Sink your Qi to your Dantian, channel your strength throughout your body, and unify your waist and stance!

"Clang—!!"

Li Xia put his hands in his pockets; his arms went numb.

"Meow!"

Black Charcoal had Awoo take it to the cave entrance, tilted its head and looked at it for a while, then suddenly put all its equipment into its personal space.

It gestured with its two paws: "Meow!"

"You need to climb in and then look for other entrances?"

Li Xia pondered for a while, looking at the dark cave entrance with some hesitation, the situation inside unknown.

Black Charcoal and Awoo are not combat-oriented, so it would be difficult to provide timely rescue if they encountered danger.

Perhaps many apostles treat Palicoes as mere tools that can be discarded at will.

But Li Xia is not.

However, it wouldn't work to completely demolish this section of the wall, as it is mainly supported by the skeleton of the Serpent King Dragon, mixed with lava.

It's likely that when the lava was raging, the Serpent King Dragon's body was still intact, and it gradually decomposed over time, forming the passage we see today.

Demolishing the wall could lead to a chain reaction of collapse.

"Your Highness, let me go with Heitan. That way, we can help each other if we encounter any danger."

Awoo volunteered for the mission, but its combat ability was actually quite average.

Li Xia shook her head: "No rush—"

After drifting forward four or five meters in the direction of the cave entrance, Ye Ji suddenly pierced through.

"Ding!"

Continue forward a little further, and it remains the same.

"Ding!"

Li Xia's expression gradually turned serious. There was actually a huge metal object buried inside the volcanic rock.
"Ding!"

"Ding!"

"Ding!"

Finally, about a hundred meters away from the starting point.

The silence of the night did not produce a crisp 'ding' sound.

They quickly enlarged the small hole they had pierced, and shone a powerful flashlight inside. Sure enough, behind more than a meter thick volcanic rock, there was a dark, gaping space.

Although the observer didn't know what his partner was doing, he also pulled out the small shovel issued by the guild, ready to help widen the hole.

Black Charcoal blew on his beard, straightened his back, and picked up his specially made large shovel.

【Skill 2: Burrowing Technique (Active): Dig burrows at extremely high speed to lay traps】

Why isn't drilling a hole in the wall considered digging a hole?

Li Xia, Aowu, and the observer silently pushed aside, and the shovel flew up and down. The volcanic rock was no problem at all in front of the large shovel made of horned dragon material.

In just a short while, the outside was piled with the debris that had been dug up.

"Meow!"

A small, all-black cat came out carrying a shovel and rubbed its nose with its paw.

Get it!

Amazing! A natural-born civil engineering physique!

Li Xia stood at the entrance of the cave. He was a little short and had to bend over to go in.

The air carried the stench of miasma, but it wasn't murky, indicating that the interior was at least interconnected.

Passing through the opening, there is another passage inside, which looks no different from the outside.

Covered in cold, black lava, if not for being pierced by a spear, probably no one would have imagined that such lava, which was everywhere, actually held a hidden secret.

What exactly are these metals?
Unfortunately, no one gave him an answer.

"Black Charcoal, tell me the way."

Inside the narrow tunnel, Li Xia held the spear tightly to his waist. In this place where he couldn't even swing his arms, the only weapon he could use was to thrust.

There are many forks in the road here, and sometimes the entrance to the cave is even covered with vines. If it weren't for the black charcoal pointing the way, you would never have guessed that there was a path behind the vines.

The further Li Xia went in, the more doubts arose in his mind.

The fact that it can leave its scent in the passage it came from indicates that it frequently travels through it.

What the hell is it?
However, there are no more clues at the moment, and we can only investigate based on the existing intelligence.

The observer nervously took out his notebook and drew down the route he had taken, adding descriptions with as accurate images and simple words as possible.

Once she can't go back, this document will become the most important help for the next hunter who comes here.

It can save a lot of time.

"Meow!"

Almost simultaneously with Heitan, Li Xia spotted a dark figure flash by in the distance, and the atmosphere in the team suddenly became tense.

Blackie pointed to his nose and then to the shadowy figure:
"Meow!"

The smell is strong; the peculiar scent I smelled earlier was left behind by the shadowy figure!
"That's it?"

Li Xia crouched down and pointed to a low hole in the wall. The entrance was wide but narrow. Judging by his eyes, he could only crawl in by lying on the ground.

Black Charcoal nodded, giving an affirmative answer.

"I'll go in first, you wait for my message outside." In just a few seconds, Li Xia made the decision. This wide and unusually low passage was more than 10 meters long, making it difficult to damage.

The clear air and dim light over there suggested that there was a fairly large space behind it.

Sure enough, after Li Xia struggled through the cave, a huge space appeared before him.

The lingering miasma smell in the air also disappeared.

Li Xia took off her mask directly, and sure enough, there was no warning of miasma harm.

Moreover, the environment here is completely different from the outside world. Mushroom-like plants sway their tops like enoki mushrooms, bathed in a hazy light.

There was even a river nearby that emitted a bluish glow. The river was crystal clear, but strangely, there were no living creatures in it.

Only some dragonfly-like creatures flapped their wings and flew around on it.

It was unusually 'clean' here; there were no mountains of corpses and bones outside, nor were there any fungi that absorbed miasma.

It's like a real cave.

Li Xia briefly surveyed the surrounding environment and said in the team channel:
"It's safe for now, come over here."

Soon, Black Charcoal arrived with Awoo and the observer, who were equally shocked by the surrounding environment.

How could the Valley of Miasma be such a 'clean' place?

Black Charcoal twitched its nose twice, then suddenly raised its head, its fur standing on end, and emitted a threatening 'whimper'.

'whoosh'
Li Xia's figure had disappeared and reappeared not far away, while Ye Ji's spear tip stopped in mid-air.

In front of the gun tip was a thin cat.

To be precise, they are a cat clan similar to charcoal, with ears somewhat like a leopard cat. Although they are thin, they exude an extremely fierce aura.

"Meow!"

The skinny cat cried out pitifully, and rustling sounds came from all around. Li Xia's gaze swept around.

They really are cats; several of them arrived silently.

Black Charcoal rushed over, and Skinny Cat was clearly startled, even its ears snapped back.

"Meow?"

"Meow meow!"

"Meow----!"

I don't know how Black Charcoal communicates, but suddenly he took out a grilled fish from his personal space.

The skinny cat's eyes immediately brightened, transforming from fierce to round and somewhat silly-looking.

As the charcoal-smoked fish were being grilled one by one, the cats dropped their makeshift weapons and lined up, swallowing their saliva incessantly.

Finally, he even started dancing a strange dance while holding up the grilled fish.

Li Xia sheathed his spear and gave Hei Tan a questioning look:
"?"

"Meow--"

Hei Tan gestured for a moment, and Li Xia nodded.

According to Heitan, these are the Deter tribe who live here, and these lynxes thought Li Xia was a monster who came to steal their food.

So even though I was afraid, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and go out to fight for the sake of the kittens in the group.

Food is extremely scarce here, and the miasma outside is also difficult for these cats to endure, and according to Black Charcoal...

There are terrifying monsters outside, so we can only steal some fresh corpses from their lair when they are not around.

"Hmm—buddy, they look like lynxes!"

The observer also came over, looking with considerable surprise at the cat holding the grilled fish, so excited it couldn't contain itself.

"There are also records of wild lynx tribes in the Old World, but they are extremely rare. Generally speaking, lynx tribes choose to exchange goods with hunters."

How exactly did they manage to survive here?

"Meow!"

Li Xia was taken aback:
"They're inviting us to visit? Sure."

These Dettel lynxes immediately raised the grilled fish as if it were a sacred object, and walked ahead with utmost reverence.

It seemed that just around the corner, Dettel's camp came into view.

No wonder they were so anxious and insisted on coming out to fight; they were already so close to their dwelling that there was no way to avoid them.

"Meow meow meow"

The skinny, bony kittens staggered out of the thatched hut, their eyes fixed on the grilled fish with longing.

Li Xia and the others then saw the large cats holding grilled fish swallowing hard as they handed the fish to the kittens.

"Cats are actually very good hunters."

The observer murmured, "They would definitely thrive in a different environment."

"Isn't this the guild's mission? Dettel doesn't fit into this niche at all."

Li Xia patted Heitan's head. He knew what Heitan was thinking. The meat wasn't worth much; it was all from herbivorous dragons that he had killed casually during the hunt.

"Do what you want to do."

Black Charcoal's ears twitched, its round eyes blinked, and it leaped onto the platform, raising its paw high like a savior cat, the roasted meat in its hand exceptionally conspicuous.
"Meow!"

Things quickly took a strange turn when Li Xia found himself sitting around a campfire, where the Deter were holding the tribe’s grandest feast to thank him.

Of course, the main ingredients were provided by Li Xia, and these kittens had never been so full as they were today.

Black Charcoal was even worried that they would burst their stomachs, but unexpectedly, the group of cats only ate a third of the food in their hands, and carefully saved the rest.

"Because our food has always been scarce, everyone has the habit of storing food."

A somewhat old and strange voice rang in my ears.

A Dettel Lynx, who looked quite old, slowly walked over, leaning on a cane.

"Huh? You can talk?"

"I once met someone similar to you. She was very kind, said I was special, and taught me this language a very long time ago."

The lynx nodded: "Thank you for the food. It will at least allow us to live comfortably for a while."

The observer had already pulled out his notebook, as excited as if he were conducting an interview:
"There is an extremely low probability that a special Detel will be produced. This mysterious phenomenon is called an alien species. This special Detel group is extremely rare. For example, they can learn to speak."

Do you remember the name of the hunter who taught you to speak?

"A name?" The old lynx thought carefully for a moment, then said hesitantly, "It seems to be Tissna?"

"Tesna???!"

The observer nearly jumped up. Seeing Li Xia's strange look, she whispered:
"Tesna! A legendary investigator! And a dragon-human, whose lifespan is several times that of an ordinary person. She has been to many strange places in her life. It is said that she was a special advance team that came to the New World before the research team."

There has been no further news of her. The guild insists she is still alive, but... but that was over fifty years ago!

After quickly explaining to Li Xia, the observer immediately followed up with more questions:

Where is she? Where did she go?

Old Lynx was lost in memories, seemingly like an old man in his twilight years, reminiscing about the past.

"She went to see the murals, then left in a hurry, saying that if she came back, she would take us away from this place that should never be ours."

A layer of water seemed to have covered the old lynx's cloudy eyes:
"My father was the chieftain at the time, and also the strongest Deter, who set off with Tisna."

But she broke her promise.

A notification suddenly popped up in front of Li Xia:

[Executioner, you have obtained preliminary clues to the secrets of this world.]

Please proceed to the mural for further clues!

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

I'm scratching my head. As I write, the content gets longer and longer, but I can't cut anything out. If I cut anything out, it seems abrupt and lacks the flow.
(End of this chapter)