Astral Gods

Chapter 146 Special Force Fluctuations

The valley floor is sparsely lit and low-lying, with a vertical drop of nearly 800 meters from the top of the cliff to the bottom. Logically, the bottom of the valley should be cold and damp, and the temperature should be lower than that of the surface.

But the scene before us completely defied common sense. The temperature at the bottom of the valley was five or six degrees higher than that outside the canyon. This abnormal temperature difference must have other reasons.

The yew tree pondered to itself whether the older lords of the tribe knew about this anomaly. At least in its own opinion, this strange canyon was still worth exploring.

It remained steadily in the center of the canyon, quietly sensing the surrounding temperature. At this time of year, the temperature on the island's surface was only around ten degrees Celsius, slightly cool and cold.

At the bottom of the valley, however, the air carried a gentle warmth, and the temperature remained steadily at around 15 or 16 degrees Celsius.

Zerg warriors are extremely sensitive to temperature changes. The fine hairs on their bodies act like natural precision sensors, able to clearly detect even the slightest difference in air temperature or airflow.

The exoskeleton of the Diplodocus Rhinoceros Beetle is smooth, hard, and hairless, but the antennae on either side of their mouthparts are exceptionally sensitive, able to clearly detect changes in air temperature.

The yew tree lay on a large, cold, rough bluestone, concentrating on sensing its surroundings. It quickly realized that, with its current location as the boundary, the air to the north seemed warmer, while extending southwards, the temperature was slowly dropping.

Having confirmed its direction, it calmly flapped its wings and flew north. After flying a distance, it gently landed on a boulder covered with thick moss to recalibrate its senses.

The Twin-Forked Rhinoceros Tortoise Warrior has a smooth, hard exoskeleton with outstanding defensive capabilities, while its antennae on its head are exceptionally sensitive, capable of detecting changes in air humidity and being extremely perceptive to even the slightest fluctuations in temperature.

It slowly swayed its antennae, carefully discerning the surrounding atmosphere. Sure enough, the temperature here was about half a degree higher than where it had been before.

Having confirmed that her judgment was correct, the yew tree no longer hesitated, flapped its wings, and continued its rapid journey northward.

As it flew, it clearly noticed that the surrounding vegetation was becoming more and more lush and verdant. The originally bare rock walls were gradually covered with greenery, and even thick and strong vines were sprouting from the huge crevices of the rocks.

Some of the vines and branches are old and look like they have been growing for decades or even centuries. They are intertwined with the rocks, like a lurking dragon, baring its teeth and claws, with a variety of postures.

The higher the yew flew, the higher the temperature became. After flying for five or six kilometers, the air became quite humid and hot, with the temperature approaching 20 degrees Celsius, which felt like early summer.

It looked around and saw ancient trees reaching for the sky, their branches intertwined, and weeds growing luxuriantly under the trees. Occasionally, a kingfisher would fly through the forest and chirp a clear song, and wild rabbits would dart swiftly through the grass, creating a vibrant natural scene.

Deep in the canyon, a winding stream flows quietly, with a constant stream of water vapor rising from the surface.

The surrounding vegetation and fallen leaves are blown into the valley by strong winds every year, accumulating over the years to form a half-meter-thick layer of humus and fallen leaves, making this land increasingly moist and fertile.

The yew flew low to the top of the stream, gently extending its forepaws to lightly touch the water's surface. The stream water was slightly cool but not icy, with a temperature of about fourteen or fifteen degrees Celsius, but a strange, pungent odor wafted from it, hardly pleasant.

Seeing this, it had a vague idea in its mind, but it did not stop there. Instead, it flapped its wings and flew upstream along the stream, trying to find the end of the water source.

After flying forward another three or four kilometers, the stream finally converged to its end, and a small lake with a diameter of three or four hundred meters appeared before us.

Upon arriving here, even while hovering in the air, the yew tree could clearly feel the scorching heat of the air, with the surrounding temperature already climbing to around thirty degrees Celsius.

White mist rises from the lake, and the air is filled with humid heat. A distinct sulfurous odor is also present in the mist.

This smell was the most unbearable for the Zerg warriors. When Yew flew closer, she felt nauseous and her antennae subconsciously twitched slightly.

Sulfur is the nemesis of rats, ants, snakes, and insects, and has a strong irritant and lethal effect on insects.

It was precisely because of the sulfurous smell in the air that Yew released her mental energy to scan the surroundings, but she found no trace of any ordinary insects or small wild animals. This warm place had become a forbidden zone for living beings.

It raised its front paw and gently dipped it into the lake water. It was immediately surprised by the temperature of the water, which was as high as fifty or sixty degrees Celsius. This temperature was enough to cook bird eggs directly, which was obviously not the temperature of ordinary lake water.

Looking at the large, steaming hot spring lake in front of him, Zishan's doubts instantly cleared up, and he finally understood the ins and outs of this canyon.

Logically speaking, such a warm and humid canyon, with little sunlight but a climate suitable for insects, should be a desirable habitat for many insect warriors who prefer a warm and shady environment.

However, precisely because of the existence of this hot spring, the sulfur and special substances emitted from the water and steam are extremely disliked and repelled by both ordinary insects and evolved Zerg warriors.

Unable to raise their ordinary insectoid swarms here, and unable to adapt to the pungent sulfurous smell for long, the insectoid tribes eventually completely ignored this canyon, and no insectoid warriors were willing to set foot here.

It is precisely because the hot springs continuously emit heat, causing water vapor to rise constantly, that the entire canyon is shrouded in mist and has a high humidity all year round.

The continuous heat radiation from the hot springs raises the average temperature of the entire canyon, keeping the valley floor in a warm, spring-like environment year-round.

So even though the canyon has insufficient sunlight and short hours of sunshine, the vegetation can still grow wildly and lushly, showing no signs of the desolation and bleakness of cliffs.

But after figuring all this out, Zishan felt a pang of regret.

This exceptionally beautiful place clearly has little practical use. The sizable hot spring is right here, and the Rhinoceros Beetle tribe, having thrived on this island for centuries, couldn't possibly have been unaware of it.

Even the predecessors who lived here couldn't make use of it, so naturally, it couldn't come up with any feasible solutions with its current abilities.

As Zishan gazed at the rising white steam and heat from the hot spring lake, and then at the towering ancient trees around her that had grown exceptionally thick and lush thanks to the geothermal heat, she couldn't help but feel a little envious.

This is no ordinary canyon; it is clearly a giant, naturally formed greenhouse, with the total area affected by geothermal activity covering hundreds of square kilometers.

If this area can be properly developed and utilized, its value may be greater than that of developing 1,000 square kilometers of land.

Zishan sighed slightly, for this place was a death trap for the Zerg!

It only stayed in this area filled with the pungent smell of sulfur for a short while before feeling an indescribable sense of discomfort.

The Zerg's bodies are inherently strong and tough, and ordinary poisons cannot harm them in the slightest. Sulfur is even less likely to directly take the life of a Zerg warrior. However, this deep-seated physiological rejection is more unbearable for the Zerg than physical pain.

My nasal cavity was filled with the pungent smell of insects, and every breath felt like a burning sensation in my trachea. Even the segments under the shell felt numb, and my normally sharp senses became dull and sluggish.

The surrounding air was hot and murky, carrying a pungent, rotten smell that disrupted even its normally steady breathing rhythm.

Chaos, all I wanted was to escape this suffocating area immediately.

Other Zerg warriors were unwilling to linger here, and it was no exception.

To be honest, at this moment it began to understand why, over the years, only one Zerg warrior on the entire island had found the Seed of God.

This area is already a harsh environment. Once the Zerg warriors take a step in, they are filled with thoughts of escape. Even staying for a moment feels like torture. How could they possibly calm down and search carefully?

When one is impatient and perfunctory, even if a divinely bestowed seed is right before one's eyes, it is very likely to be easily overlooked.

Those seeds that were overlooked and fell on this deserted island may have already been eaten by passing birds and beasts, or slowly withered away in the harsh environment; such things are unpredictable.

In any case, under normal circumstances, it would be absolutely unwilling to waste its energy searching this place for a long time if it could not be sure whether the divinely bestowed seed really existed here.

The island is vast and has many comfortable and peaceful insect-free areas. Why search anywhere else but here?

It can explore in peace without having to endure such torment. It's not asking for trouble, so why make things difficult for itself and waste time in such an extremely harsh environment?

However, having already set foot here, we can't just leave empty-handed or leave things unfinished.

If, due to impatience and a perfunctory search, one truly misses the divinely bestowed seed hidden here, it will be too late when one comes to one's senses later.

Come on, it will probably regret it to the core.

The hot spring lakes in this area are not in the very center of the canyon, but rather in the northern part of the canyon, near the right side of the valley.

There aren't many plants growing around the hot spring lake, but a little further away from the lake area, thanks to the abundant moisture, various trees grow densely.

Moreover, due to the consistently high temperatures here, these trees not only grow very lushly, but also flower and bear fruit at different times than trees in the outside world.

Even though it's only March now, many trees are already bearing fruit, and many more flowers, grasses, and trees take turns blooming and bearing fruit throughout the year.

Every step you take here reveals flowers and fruit.

The energy fluctuations of the divinely bestowed seeds during their fruiting period are very weak. It requires careful searching of each seed individually; otherwise, it is very difficult to find them by simply scanning with one's mental focus.

Using the previous example, mental intention is like a large broom. If mental intention sweeps across, it can roughly clean the surrounding area, but some dust and debris will always be missed.

The primal force fluctuations of the God-given Seed are like dust and debris on the ground when scanned by mental intent. If you're lucky, you can sweep them up with one go; if you're unlucky, you may not find them even if you scan them back and forth.

Centered on the hot spring lake, the yew tree circled the lake, scanning outwards in circles to check the flowers on the many trees.

Flowers and fruits.

Although the sulfurous smell emanating from the hot spring lake was quite nauseating to the insects, after the initial discomfort, the nausea they felt gradually lessened as they moved away from the core area of ​​the hot spring lake and into the outer area.

I spent half a day searching within a one-kilometer radius of the hot spring lake, but to no avail.

The yew continued its search northward, and once it left the area, its pressure was greatly reduced.

It searches each area very carefully, which is nothing special. They do this every year when searching for the divinely bestowed seeds. During the flowering season, they find a pest-free area, choose a spot as a starting point, and begin their search little by little.

Searching slowly in a small area is much better than carelessly scanning back and forth with your mental focus.

In the past, it wasn't uncommon for Zerg warriors to casually scan an area with their mental powers and leave, but the result was that they not only failed to find the Seed of God, but were also picked up by subsequent Zerg warriors who went to search the area.

After a few such incidents, no more Zerg warriors did such foolish things.

For Zerg warriors, the more practical and effective method will naturally be the one that works best.

The canyon is not flat; in fact, apart from areas built by insects, there is almost no flat land on the island.

The valley is filled with jagged boulders and various cliffs, but most of the trees have covered these places, making them look thriving. However, the ruggedness of the canyon cannot be ignored.

Various kinds of trees also grow on the cliffs. The yew tree couldn't help but search the ground under its feet, and from time to time it would use its mental power to scan the valley on both sides to see if there would be any harvest from the trees growing high up.

Just as Zishan was inspecting the numerous flowers, plants, and trees at her feet, she scanned the cliff face with her mental energy a few times, and then withdrew it after finding no fluctuations in primal force.

"Um?"

Just as the yew tree withdrew its mental focus, it suddenly sensed a barely perceptible fluctuation of lightning-based primal force during the withdrawal of its mental focus.

Sensing this slight fluctuation of the Force, its heart skipped a beat. In the Astral Plane, it's not only the Seed of Gods that possesses the Force; some special items also possess it.

For example, Originium is the most widely used and common item that possesses the Force.

In addition, there are various types of Force Gems and special items, such as Force Liquid and Force Fertilizer, which all possess Force fluctuations.

Even in places where the concentration of the Force is slightly higher, different Force fluctuations will occur.

Such things often happen when Zerg warriors are searching for the Seed of God.

It's not that detecting Force fluctuations means they're emitted by the Seed of God; if only it were that easy.

However, once the fluctuations of the Force are detected, one must go and examine them carefully before one is satisfied. Even if what is found is not a divinely bestowed seed, finding a Force item is still a gain.

Without hesitation, the yew spread its wings and flew toward the cliff not far away.