Volume 3: Deep Blue Sea
Shu Xun was contemplating the possible scenarios between outsiders and natives when he suddenly felt his body tilt backward. It turned out that the surrounding green grass had elongated its leaves, wrapping around Shu Xun and forcefully pulling him backward. The instantaneous force was incredibly strong, catching Shu Xun off guard, and causing him to topple backward.
Seeing this, Ye Qian immediately stepped forward, ready to catch Shu Xun.
The green grass between the two also instantly rooted itself in the ground, and its leaves extended rapidly, entwining around Ye Qian’s hands and feet. Ye Qian frowned and exerted force, attempting to break free from the entanglement. However, to Ye Qian’s surprise, even with all his strength, he couldn’t escape from this particular green grass. The grass exhibited remarkable resilience, firmly binding him without budging.
Now, it wasn’t just Ye Qian who was astonished. Meng Muyu and the others, who had been closely observing the underwater situation, also showed expressions of surprise. The awakening of Ye Qian’s Bloodline, making him peak among awakened beings in terms of physique, meant that not only among humans but also among all races, there were very few who could contend with Ye Qian in terms of physical strength. Who would have thought that this seemingly fragile green grass would completely immobilize Ye Qian?
On the other side, Shu Xun did not fall to the ground. One reason was the buoyancy of the water, and the other was the lush green grass, which had formed a large green bed with its leaves, securely burying Shu Xun. Surprisingly, at the moment Shu Xun fell, the grass bed, formed by the convergence of grass leaves, quickly moved away from Ye Qian’s location. Thus, an unusual scene unfolded underwater – lush green grass, with two leaves each, moving in an orderly manner, carried Shu Xun towards another direction. Their hurried appearance made it seem as if Ye Qian were some kind of raging flood or wild beast.
Ye Qian: “…” The muscles on his arms were already in an extreme state, but the grass leaves tightened even more. Relentless and unyielding, even when the leaves were on the verge of breaking, there was no sign of loosening. It seemed unwilling to give Ye Qian any chance of escape.
As Shu Xun was carried further away, Ye Qian’s eyes flashed, and he transformed into a giant wolf. The massive grey wolf finally broke free from the entanglement of the green grass, its sleek fur and colossal size caused the grass to lose its focus instantly. The giant wolf leaped towards Shu Xun, but just as its powerful hind legs left the ground, it had to stop again. This was because the same green grass had instantly wrapped around the wolf’s ears and tail, turning the three leaves into taut lines.
Ye Qian almost wanted to swipe at the grass leaves, but in the end, he restrained his actions. The giant wolf glanced in the direction of Shu Xun. Shu Xun had stopped about ten meters away and had regained his freedom, with no apparent danger.
The giant wolf impatiently tapped the ground beneath its front paws. The clear riverbed remained undisturbed, as the fine sand and gravel scattered by the tap did not raise any sediment, keeping the water as clear as before. Feeling the force on its ears and tail, if it forcibly broke free, given the strange strength of this grass, Ye Qian couldn’t guarantee that he would escape unscathed. In the end, the giant wolf decided to lie down where it was, waiting quietly for the situation to unfold.
Shu Xun, now free, looked at the bored giant wolf lying on the riverbed and smirked. He squatted down, observing the lush green grass in front of him. This three-leafed green grass looked ordinary, just like the knee-high grass seen on forest paths. Without experiencing a series of magical events just now, no one would believe that these grasses not only possessed self-awareness but could also trap Ye Qian’s Bloodline, an awakened being.
Shu Xun extended his hand, and one of the grasses curiously approached, gently tapping Shu Xun’s fingertip with its leaf. After the tap, it seemed to find the sensation quite magical. Another leaf of the grass touched the leaf that had just touched Shu Xun. Witnessing this, the other grasses synchronized their movements, extending their leaves toward Shu Xun in unison.
Shu Xun: “…” Looking at the obedient green grass waiting to be touched, Shu Xun couldn’t help but feel a sense of amusement and helplessness. Nonetheless, he reached out and gently brushed over the approaching grass leaves. The long, willow-like leaves felt peculiar to the touch—aside from the inherent slight coolness and smoothness of plants, there was also a unique, soft sensation. This unusual feeling shouldn’t be present in plants, but it was there. Shu Xun brushed over the grass, experiencing the peculiar gentleness on his fingertips. He pondered whether this unique sensation was due to being underwater. Just as he was about to explore it further, the grass that had been touched synchronously retracted its leaves, resembling the initial grass. Like the first one, it used its other leaves to touch the grass that Shu Xun had brushed, seemingly engrossed in sensing something.
Shu Xun’s refined expression almost broke into a wry smile. He couldn’t help but feel that the initially adorable grass had suddenly been possessed by something strange. Amid this thought, he suddenly heard a strange sound behind him. Turning around, he was greeted with a sight that left him dumbfounded. The giant wolf, which had been lazily lying there, had stood up and persistently walked towards him. The grass behind it was also exerting effort to pull the giant wolf. As a result, the grass was being dragged forward by the giant wolf, and the roots anchored in the ground could no longer hinder its steps, leaving a shallow groove in the underwater terrain.
Speechless, Shu Xun suddenly felt a tender green leaf fluttering in front of his eyes. Lowering his head along the trajectory of the leaf, he discovered a three-leafed green grass that looked much more tender. Not only did this grass have a slightly more tender color, but it was also relatively smaller in size. It seemed like it had just struggled to squeeze through the crowd of grass when the others were in motion. Now, it finally managed to reach Shu Xun. However, just as it approached Shu Xun, he turned his head to look at Ye Qian. The small green grass instantly used a leaf to successfully regain Shu Xun’s attention, then extended the leaf in front of Shu Xun.
A faint smile crossed Shu Xun’s eyes, and then he deliberately moved his hand away. The tender green grass leaves seemed to pause for a moment, hesitating in place for two seconds. Then, persistently, they approached. Shu Xun moved again, and the grass followed suit. After repeating this several times, the tender green grass finally seemed to understand Shu Xun’s intention. The originally spirited three-leafed grass suddenly drooped, appearing languid, as if it wanted to lie down on the ground. Shu Xun then extended his hand and gently lifted the tender three-leafed grass.
The three-leafed grass lay softly in Shu Xun’s palm for two seconds and suddenly reacted. The grass blades immediately stood upright, even deliberately using the other two leaves to tidy up the leaf that was about to be touched. Afterward, it cautiously offered its tender leaf to Shu Xun.
Shu Xun was momentarily surprised, a softness flashing in his eyes. He raised his hand, and his fingertips slowly traced along the veins of the tender green grass. After the gentle touch, the tender three-leafed grass, like the other three-leafed grass, used its other two leaves to touch its own leaf, as if feeling something precious. Shu Xun quietly held the three-leafed grass, neither making a move nor speaking.
In the live broadcast room:
“Why does it suddenly feel a bit sad? It was funny just a moment ago.”
“I feel the same way. The synchronized movements of the grass were so amusing, making my stomach hurt from laughter. But now, I suddenly can’t laugh.”
“What are these grass doing? I used to find these actions a bit obscene, but in this instant, it feels like they are experiencing something extremely precious.”
“That little three-leafed grass trying so hard to tidy up its grass leaves was initially cute, but when it carefully offered its leaf, my heart skipped a beat.”
“Shu Xun’s expression is so gentle! It’s really difficult for Ye Qian to approach! The grass is so cute!”
“Ye Qian must be secretly jealous. Shu Xun’s gentle expression hasn’t been shown to Ye Qian, but it’s left to a bunch of grass. Ye Qian must be bitter, especially with one trailing behind.”
Shu Xun didn’t disturb the grass in his hand. The surrounding three-leafed grass had already recovered from that peculiar state. They noticed that Ye Qian was approaching and quickly gathered around Shu Xun. They repeated their previous actions, bundling Shu Xun, forming a bed, lying him down, and swiftly carrying him away.
Shu Xun: “…”
While making efforts and just about to reach Shu Xun, Ye Qian: “…”
A burst of laughter filled the live broadcast room.
Ye Qian, again displaying impatience, gave his thick front paw a vigorous pat. His sharp teeth grinded secretly, restraining the urge to strike. He continued to exert himself towards Shu Xun. However, this time, the giant wolf lifted its body at an angle but still couldn’t move forward at all. Looking back, Ye Qian noticed that the grass had similarly lifted itself at an angle, and its root seemed to find a stable point of support, finally putting an end to its fate of being dragged.
At this moment, Ye Qian felt utterly frustrated. But Ye Qian, with a poker face, could only stand there with an expressionless wolf face, watching as Shu Xun was carried away again. The giant wolf had to stop its movements once more. Turning around, it glanced at the grass still stubbornly pulling at his ears and tail. The giant wolf took a sudden step back, nearly causing the grass to fly away. However, the agile grass quickly adjusted the length of its leaves, firmly trapping Ye Qian.
With no hope of progressing, the idle Ye Qian took the initiative to return to the side of the grass, intending to take a closer look at what made this grass so special in keeping him bound. Sensing Ye Qian’s approach, the grass at its root subtly moved, pressing down the lifted soil around it one by one, giving off an air of ‘there’s nothing suspicious here.’
Ye Qian’s observation skills were extremely keen. In an instant, he understood that the grass was afraid he would find the stable support point and disrupt it. The giant wolf crouched again, its emotionless eyes staring relentlessly at the grass. Despite the three leaves not being tightly stretched, they still tightly wrapped around Ye Qian’s body.
Finally, the interaction on Shu Xun’s side seemed to distract the grass slightly. At that moment, the giant wolf leaped up, its two claws quickly digging into the ground where the grass was rooted. The wolf’s claws were extremely sharp, instantly breaking through the surface, causing fine sand and stones to fly.
It was at this moment that all the grass at the bottom of the river paused for a brief moment, then crazily surged toward Ye Qian’s location. Shu Xun sensed the danger and exerted force on his legs, swiftly swimming towards Ye Qian. Ye Qian also realized that something was wrong. His seemingly innocuous action had unexpectedly triggered a disturbance among all the grass, and they transformed into sharp blades rushing towards him.
Quickly, a figure reached Ye Qian’s side, arriving ahead of the grass blades. Shu Xun landed quietly beside Ye Qian, gently holding his hand and activating the spiritual power within him to envelop Ye Qian.
The movements of the grass blades came to a halt, but it was apparent they still held animosity towards Ye Qian. The grass that had been coiled around Ye Qian even left a few slaps on Shu Xun’s forehead, expressing its deep resentment.
Due to Shu Xun’s actions, the three-leaved grass softened their leaves but remained around the two individuals, seemingly contemplating their next move and waiting for Shu Xun’s response.
After waiting for a moment and confirming that the grass wouldn’t launch another attack, Shu Xun looked towards the focal point that had angered the grass— the shallow pit Ye Qian had dug with his claws, the support point the grass had found while dragging Ye Qian. His eyes were suddenly filled with surprise because there, faintly shimmering, was a metallic luster, forming a sphere with a regular shape at the top.
Shu Xun squatted down, using his hands to clear away the fine sand. Soon, a metal sphere carved with smooth patterns emerged. The metal sphere was just smaller than an adult’s fist, with a perfectly regular shape, seemingly connected to some massive structure below, securely fixed in the fine sand.
The grass surrounding Shu Xun and Ye Qian approached, observing Shu Xun’s actions. The grass did not intervene, but their leaves gently swayed, as if communicating with each other. Finally, the grass that had coiled around Ye Qian released him. Then, two leaves swayed gently, as if making a decision.
Shu Xun halted his movements, looking at the surrounding grass with a hint of curiosity. The underwater ruins were undoubtedly a significant discovery, possibly the remains of the advanced intelligent lifeform known as the Earth Clan. For them, who had never discovered any traces of civilization, this find held immense significance.
A faint light flashed over Shu Xun, and the young man disappeared. A fluffy ball slowly descended to the riverbed, and its soft fur gently swayed with the water ripples. Ye Qian, watching the fluffy ball descend, understood Shu Xun’s intention. Shu Xun intended to excavate the underwater ruins on his own.
The fluffy ball quickly waved its small paws, and its figure vanished on the fine sand. However, the fluffy ball resurfaced again, its small paws pulling at its own whiskers in confusion. Clearly, it had encountered some obstacles.
The surrounding grass had finished communicating, watching as Shu Xun returned empty-handed. The grass that had previously coiled around Ye Qian patted Shu Xun’s fluffy head with its grass leaves. It then slowly floated up, and the other grass leaves did the same, floating about a palm’s width above the riverbed. At the same time, a gentle, faint green light emerged from the center of the three-leaf grass.
The soft green light separated from the grass heart and gathered towards the metal sphere. It fused into the sphere, gradually transforming the metallic gleam into a jade-green hue. After the last trace of light merged, the sphere had completely changed into a sparkling jade, diffusing soft ripples like water waves on the riverbed.
After the light patterns continuously swept across the riverbed, seemingly triggering a mechanism, the jade pearl, originally motionless, floated in mid-air. Starting from the previous position of the jade pearl, a circular void expanded under everyone’s gaze, gradually enlarging. Rainwater rushed along the edges of the circular void, indicating the existence of a vast space below.
Above the water’s surface, a vortex formed due to the underwater cavity, but Shu Xun noticed the anomaly and quickly used a spell, causing the bamboo raft to float in mid-air avoiding being drawn into the vortex.
Beneath the river, the void rapidly expanded, and Shu Xun summoned his spirit sword, flying with Ye Qian in tow.
Suddenly, within the vast rainforest, this open circular area echoed with a rumble, startling numerous birds into flight. From the central point of the circle, underwater, it seemed a circular barrier was slowly opening and expanding. A considerable amount of rainwater cascaded down along the edges, forming a unique circular waterfall under the influence of the expanding circumference, its color turning into a jade green hue. It descended into the unknown space below.
