Chapter 258: Chapter 246: World Inside the Mountain
"What do you mean, ’unstable’?" Flora Bloom asked nervously. "How could it be unstable? If the space of a world becomes unstable, what are the consequences?"
Lex Cross looked troubled. "I can’t be certain yet. If it’s just a spatial rift here, the consequences won’t be too severe."
"Boss, how are we going to get out?"
"We can’t get out from the outside. We’ll go in first, find Saul and the others, and then figure something out!"
The entire mountain of the Eye of Earthly Fire was black. Even the small pebbles that occasionally tumbled down its slopes were pure black, and every single one was filled with Fire Element Energy.
Flora Bloom picked up the smallest pebble. The dense Fire Element Energy actually flowed from her palm into her body, rushing entirely into the vortex in her sea of consciousness and merging with the red Crystal Stone.
Flora Bloom could clearly feel her Fire Element superpower, originally at the first level, showing faint signs of breaking through to the Second Level.
’Just this one small volcanic rock can make my Fire Element superpower break through? And I didn’t even try to absorb its energy on purpose.’
This was far beyond her expectations. So, as they walked, she collected all the stones that had broken off from the mountain and put them into her space.
To her great surprise, after only half an hour, within the space that had absorbed the Fire Element Energy, her little pets, who had been dormant, actually showed signs of waking up.
On this trip, she had only left the one who was awake, Snowy, back at the base. She had ordered it to guard the yard of her villa and to inform her immediately via their spiritual link if anything happened.
"Boss, ma’am, this is the place. We saw those black-furred apes go in here."
"Flora, hold my hand tight." Lex Cross pulled Flora Bloom closer, pushed aside the tall, dense grass, and took a step forward, immediately entering a spatial passage that distorted his vision.
Flora Bloom stepped in right after him. In an instant, they both appeared in an unfamiliar primeval forest. The Crown Prince and Leopard Cat appeared behind them a moment later.
"What is this place? How did we end up here with just one step?" Flora Bloom looked behind her. There was still a patch of tall grass and wildflowers, with no visible spatial barrier or anything of the sort.
"The Crown Prince, Leopard Cat, scout ahead." Lex Cross’s expression was calm, his tone flat as he spoke, leading Flora Bloom by the hand into a nearby thicket.
This primeval forest was filled with towering ancient trees, and vegetation covered everything. The layer of decaying leaves and dead branches on the ground was so thick that every step was a struggle.
"OOH OOH OOH OOH OOH!"
"OOH OOH OOH CHEE CHEE HA HA."
A familiar sound came from not far away. They looked up and saw the black-furred apes, swinging from tree to tree, chattering happily as they played.
The dead leaves behind them were disturbed as The Crown Prince and Leopard Cat appeared. "Boss, ma’am, that group of black-furred apes are social creatures. Their nest is in that cluster of tropical trees over there. We estimate over a hundred of them."
"Did you see Saul Sterling and the others?"
The Crown Prince shook his head. "But we heard a woman crying."
"Could it be Cynthia?" Flora Bloom asked nervously, looking toward where several black-furred apes were hanging from the trees and playing.
"It’s very likely." Lex Cross squeezed Flora Bloom’s hand. "But right now, we don’t know what other lifeforms are active in this primeval forest, so it’s not wise to linger. The Crown Prince, Leopard Cat, go scout again. First, confirm the location of Five, Saul Sterling, and Cynthia Grant. We’ll look for a way out first. We’ll execute the rescue plan after we find an exit. We don’t know the strength of these black-furred apes, so it’s best not to alert them prematurely."
The figures of The Crown Prince and Leopard Cat vanished again, while Lex Cross led Flora Bloom in the opposite direction of where the black-furred apes were gathered.
"CAW CAW CAW!"
They had not gone a hundred meters when, from a banyan-like tree beside them, a massive black bird suddenly shot into the sky, leaving behind a foul, unbearably stinking pool of runny droppings that splattered on the decaying leaves at Flora Bloom’s feet.
"BLECH!"
Flora Bloom quickly covered her mouth, trying not to vomit, and took several large gulps of the spiritual water in her hand before she felt better.
"Are you okay?" Lex Cross patted Flora Bloom’s back, then suddenly crouched down in front of her. "Get on. I’ll carry you."
"No, it’s fine, I’m okay!"
"Get on. The footsteps of one person are less likely to attract unwanted attention."
Flora Bloom hesitated, but then Lex Cross abruptly hoisted her up by her rear and onto his back.
"You rogue!" Flora Bloom chided playfully, then obediently settled onto Lex Cross’s back. "Where are we headed?"
"The area where the black-furred apes are should be the outer perimeter. The spot where we came in is very close to them. If there’s another exit, it definitely won’t be on the outskirts or anywhere nearby.
We’ll check the center of the forest."
They walked for a long time, but the surrounding scenery barely changed. The only difference was that the layer of decaying leaves on the ground grew thicker, and Lex Cross’s feet sank deeper with every step.
Suddenly, Lex Cross stopped walking.
"What’s wrong? Is there danger?"
"Hold on tight!" Lex Cross wrapped Flora Bloom’s arms around his neck, pushed off with his legs, and instantly leaped up into a towering ancient tree to the side.
"Shh!" Lex Cross made a hushing gesture to Flora Bloom, then motioned for her to look ahead.
About a hundred meters away, a natural lake glittered under the light.
This forest was strange. There was no sun, yet the temperature was very high. Flora Bloom had thought it might be because of the volcano. But the volcano blocked the rising sun, obscuring the sky, and this forest was full of towering ancient trees, so even if there was sunlight, it couldn’t possibly penetrate the canopy.
And yet, it was bright as day here.
At that moment, many wild animals were gathered around the lake, drinking. But to Flora Bloom’s astonishment, these were no normal wild animals. There was a herd of unicorns with single white horns on their heads, a giant tortoise with a neck as long as a snake’s, a pack of wolves twice their size, and a huge grizzly bear with two heads.
Besides them, the other animals didn’t seem too strange, but then a massive python head suddenly shot out of the water. It bit down on the body of a giant wolf, its enormous coils churning out of the water and instantly wrapping around the wolf.
From a distance, they could even hear the sound of the giant wolf’s bones being crushed, which made Flora Bloom’s hair stand on end and sent a chill down her spine.
The giant python dragged the giant wolf into the lake in less than three seconds. It was clear that this python’s power was extraordinary. The gap in strength between predator and prey was immense; the outcome had been decided from the start.
The other animals that had been drinking at the water’s edge scattered in terror. If not for the blood staining the lake’s surface, it would be as if nothing had happened.
"What do we do? This lake almost cuts across our path. To go deeper into the forest, we have to cross it. That python..." Flora Bloom’s spiritual power swept over the giant python’s body. "’I don’t think we can take it!’"
"No, this is a perfect opportunity! After a python feeds, it will find a place to lie low and digest its meal. We can use this chance to get past. The ends of this lake probably aren’t deep. We can wade across from the side."
Flora Bloom nodded. "I’ll wrap your legs in a water shield to mask your presence. Snakes don’t have vision; they rely on sensing their prey. As long as the python doesn’t surface, it shouldn’t be able to sense us. Should we try?"
"Yes, let’s try."
