The next day.
The weather around Dragon Court Lake was poor—overcast and rainy.
Rain pattered down heavily.
On the boundless lake, layer upon layer of waves surged. A massive kun leaped from beneath the surface, soared low through the air for a moment, then crashed back into the water with a thunderous splash.
The enormous shadow gradually faded away.
At that moment,
if anyone nearby looked up, they would see an invisible force in the midair, blocking the rain.
Only the traces left by flowing raindrops outlined a shape, like a giant water sphere floating in the sky.
Inside the water sphere were two figures.
Su Hao.
And the neatly combed-haired Wu Tianwang.
"Senior Brother Wu, does the ancient civilization ruin really exist?"
Wu Tianwang pondered for a long moment. "Our understanding of this world is extremely, extremely limited, but that ruin is undoubtedly a trace of civilization."
"It's possible that thousands or tens of thousands of years ago, explorers like us from Blue Star ventured here and built a palace at the lake's bottom. But it could also be the work of spirits."
"In short, this world runs deep. There are many secrets I can't discuss now, but you'll learn them gradually. No matter what, always keep a reverent heart."
When Senior Brother Wu spoke, his expression was unusually serious.
He paused. "That ruin possesses a very mysterious power. Once you step into its range, everyone gets separated. Only spirit envoys and their spirits can stay together. Even monarch-level spirits can't resist that force."
"So once you're there, you'll have to explore alone."
"The assessment task depends on how thoroughly you explore the place. You can draw a map and try to bring out as many items as possible... Of course, that won't be easy."
Wu Tianwang shifted his tone. "Aside from the task requirements, that ruin is connected to illusion abilities, which might benefit your spirit... My puppet once improved its mental strength there."
He looked at the Dream Butterfly.
Arranging this location was precisely because of Su Hao's spirit.
The Dream Butterfly's evolution conditions were unclear, but ultimately, it was tied to illusion arts and mental strength.
Any improvement, no matter how small, increased the chance of evolution.
What if it succeeded?
Though Wu Tianwang himself wasn't that optimistic, it didn't stop him from securing an opportunity for Su Hao to try.
"The ruin isn't very dangerous, but you still need to be careful. After all, the school's exploration of that place is limited too... Do you have everything ready?"
Su Hao patted the backpack on himself and the one on Erha Lin's back.
He had brought enough food for half a month.
Of course...
According to Senior Brother Wu, some people got "kicked" out in less than a day.
The longest anyone had stayed was six and a half days.
Their gains varied too.
Some found nothing, but he had heard that one mentor once brought out an illusion crystal the size of a basketball.
Its value was no less than the giant light-element crystal he had obtained.
Illusion crystals were incredibly rare!
Illusion and thought—they weren't natural elements, fundamentally different from the five elements, wind, ice, lightning, and the like.
They belonged to living elements!
For a time, there had been fierce international debate over whether illusion and thought could be considered a single attribute.
That debate lasted until the first pure illusion-type spirit was discovered.
"I've got everything."
Su Hao said.
He looked around—only two spirits were with him.
Die Xiaodie and Erha Lin.
He mounted Erha Lin, and Die Xiaodie flew down to land on his head.
Three in one.
"Ready to go anytime."
...
Splash~!
Su Hao was wrapped in a mental shield. With a single sound, he had already sunk beneath the water's surface.
The massive water sphere kept descending.
The surrounding light grew dimmer and dimmer.
Gurgle~
Gurgle~
Occasionally, bubbles rose. Inside the giant water sphere, the air remained at a stable level.
Su Hao breathed easily.
The lake was vast, like a sea, and just as deep.
Su Hao didn't know how long the puppet had been sinking. He could only catch glimpses of fish schools or terrified spirits fleeing outside the mental sphere to sense the passage of time.
Suddenly,
the water sphere stopped. Su Hao saw a faint glow ahead.
Illuminating the lakebed.
"We're here," Senior Brother Wu said. "What does it look like to you?"
Su Hao paused for a few seconds before replying, "...Like an underwater viewing room?"
Wu Tianwang: "..."
Well, it did look like one.
In Su Hao's eyes was a stretch of ruined halls.
Clearly not naturally formed—there were traces of "carving."
The buildings were already dilapidated, with coral reefs and seaweed growing around some of them... Yet under the faint glow, they still appeared breathtakingly beautiful.
The puppet moved closer, then stopped.
"I can only take you this far," Wu Tianwang said. "I'll leave the puppet here. After you come out, it will escort you away."
Su Hao saw what seemed to be a line ahead, separating the lake water.
Outside the line, seaweed tangled around the building ruins, looking somewhat messy.
Inside the line, it was like a true underwater palace. Even though the buildings were broken, they remained clean and tidy.
Su Hao took a deep breath, held it, then patted Erha Lin and moved forward.
Tap tap~
Tap tap~
It felt like passing through some barrier. The lake water was cool, but his eyes could open without any trouble.
Su Hao thought for a moment, then braced himself and opened his mouth.
"Gurgle gurgle~"
A stream of bubbles emerged, but he felt no discomfort.
It was like being on the surface.
He turned his head and saw Senior Brother Wu waving at him.
Su Hao waved back in farewell, then continued forward.
...
The ruin was deathly still. Su Hao looked around at the strange, broken buildings but couldn't figure out their purpose.
Suddenly,
Die Xiaodie let out a cry, "Gu nuo~!"
Su Hao looked around. At some point, the surrounding buildings were no longer ruined.
Pavilions, towers, carved railings, and jade steps.
It was like a true underwater Dragon Palace.
But no Dragon Palace existed.
"According to Senior Brother Wu, what I'm seeing now are all illusions, like a mirage."
Su Hao thought for a moment, didn't dismount, but had Erha Lin move closer to one of the buildings.
He reached out and touched the building's wall, but his hand passed through nothing, as if piercing a layer of mist.
"Hmm, not a complete phantom. That feeling—it's like when my hand entered Hui Ye Ling's body—slight resistance."
He studied it for a while.
Unsurprisingly... he found nothing.
He pulled out a spare phone and tested it—it worked—but the images it captured showed only emptiness, nothing at all.
Su Hao had no leads, so he could only explore aimlessly.
One hour.
Two hours.
Erha Lin's running speed had gone from first gear to second, then third, fourth...
It ran swiftly.
Su Hao felt that the surrounding buildings weren't all the same...
But he still found nothing.
"Drawing a map—no way to start. The panel map shows nothing. The point is to bring things out..."
He finally understood why bringing out items was one of the assessment criteria.
Because so far...
he couldn't find any tangible objects at all!
Aside from the solid, indestructible ground, everything else—the buildings were fake, the coral reefs were fake, everything was fake! Fake! All fake!
"Gu nuo nuo~!"
Suddenly,
three orbs flew out from Die Xiaodie's head, whooshing as they pierced through a pavilion ahead.
The wall the orbs hit turned into mist, clinging to the three orbs in a gray haze... The pavilion didn't repair itself—the hole remained.
The orbs flew back.
Straight to Die Xiaodie's mouth. It opened its mouth slightly and took a breath.
The gray mist entered its mouth.
Su Hao was stunned for a moment, then immediately opened the panel.
He saw that Die Xiaodie's mental strength had actually...
increased by a tiny bit!