However, a permanent +1 to all attributes was quite a powerful enhancement for Ao Lai. But in this nightmarishly difficult A-grade world, it was virtually useless. Even Fang Senyan, fully armed, might not survive a face-to-face battle with a strong Orc. What more with his equipment bonuses completely nullified? This permanent bonus to all attributes was merely a mirage for Fang Senyan; a painted cake that he could not eat, having no immediate use or effect.

Seeing the fire and smoke in the distance gradually dying down, Fang Senyan knew that the pursuers would likely arrive soon. He urged Wuge to move forward quickly. He didn't mind dying, as he could just return to the realm. But before that, he had to bring this elven girl to safety.

The path ahead became increasingly rugged as the rocky valley gradually narrowed. Eventually, they reached a dead end. The valley converged in a fan shape, culminating in a massive, deep cave.

The cave was at least a hundred meters in diameter. Cracks ran along the edges of its rocks, like solidified giant black lightning bolts etched onto the surface. The ground was littered with loose stones and showed clear signs of torrents. It was obvious that the gorge they had traversed would flood at times, with the water flowing through the pine forest and into the lake.

Fang Senyan hesitated before the cave. A faint smell of sulfur wafted out, raising his hackles. An immense, invisible force radiated from within, urging him to flee. Yet, the cave seemed to exert an indescribable, irresistible pull.

Even Wuge, a Dawn Elf, couldn't help but pale. Her sensitivity to nature was ten times stronger than Fang Senyan's, allowing her to better sense the terrifying power within the cave—a power that seemed to make even nature submit!

Just then, a raspy voice came through Fang Senyan's Nightmare Imprint: "Oh, damn, Sailor, can you hear me?"

Fang Senyan looked closely. It was coming from the temporary team channel. It was Reef's voice! For the temporary team channel to work, they had to be within a certain range. So, Reef wasn't far away! He looked around, but only saw rocks and couldn't find Reef. Reef's voice sounded hoarse and breathless, indicating he was seriously injured.

"I can hear you, Reef. Where are you? Are you hurt?" Fang Senyan quickly replied.

Reef coughed violently upon hearing Fang Senyan's voice. After a while, he exhaled a long breath and said, "Praise God, I've been sending messages every twenty seconds on the team channel. Finally, you received one."

Fang Senyan said with a wry smile, "You're really patient. Oh, by the way, you should have lost your equipment bonuses, right?"

Reef sighed and said, "Yeah. If you hadn't shown up, I could only last for another hour at most. Cough, cough, spit! This damn mucus!"

Fang Senyan looked around at the terrain again and said, "I'm at the end of the valley, at the entrance of a huge, eerie cave. Do you know how to get to you?"

Reef "Oh" and said, "I know where that is! Don't go into that cave. It's extremely dangerous. First, retreat about a hundred meters. You'll see three big stones in the valley. The stone on the right is close to the mountain wall. Climb onto that stone, then look for hidden grooves on the mountain wall. Climb up about thirty meters, and you'll find a passage leading into the mountains."

Fang Senyan asked curiously, "How did you find such a hidden place? Oh, right, and the most important question: why did you only let out half a scream before vanishing?"

Reef helplessly said, "Do you remember what happened when we passed through the pine forest in front of the lake?"

Fang Senyan walked quickly towards the place Reef mentioned and said, "Of course I remember. Now that I think about it, there must be some kind of hallucinogenic mist down there. It evaporates when heated by the sun and causes extremely strong hallucinations."

Reef said bitterly, "When I jumped off the stone, there was a higher concentration of that gas below. The gas is heavier than air, so it accumulated on the ground. Then, I was mind-controlled by a powerful force and involuntarily walked forward, climbed up the path you're taking now, and started playing the role of a coolie, constantly carrying those nasty eggs. So, I'm very familiar with the terrain inside."

"Then why didn't I feel the gas the next day?" Fang Senyan asked curiously.

Reef sighed and said, "I think I know the reason, but I can't explain it to you now. The most important thing is that if you continue down this dangerous valley and into the cave, you'll inevitably run into that damn giant octopus!"

When Fang Senyan heard the words "damn giant octopus," the fingers of his hand that were climbing the rocks tightened! Several pieces of gravel tumbled down the almost vertical rock face. He blurted out, "Are you talking about the legendary creature that forced the Fellowship of the Ring into the Mines of Moria in the original story: Hithaeglir?"

Reef gnashed his teeth weakly and said, "Who else could it be? Half of this mountain is hollow. There are underground lakes connected to several large lakes by water veins. The octopus can come and go freely. It must be its spawning season, so it came to the bottom of the snow peaks to lay eggs. I guess it's because the eggs require a very unique environment, needing both a warm place and constant moisture... That damn octopus forced me to carry snow water back and forth hundreds of times to water its damn eggs!!"

………………

The place Reef mentioned wasn't far. Fang Senyan and Wuge reached it with ease. As they climbed, listening to Reef, they saw a cave hanging in the air on the mountainside ahead.

The cave was suspended thirty meters above the ground on a steep cliff. A protruding rock on the side of the cave blocked the view from below, making it impossible to see from afar, let alone from a distance. He pressed a hand against the cave entrance and jumped in easily, panting. He inhaled deeply and then dragged the elven girl in as well.

"Okay, we're in the cave. Where are you?" Fang Senyan sent a message to Reef.

"Wait!" Reef used the team channel to send a message, so it wouldn't reveal their location, but his voice was filled with indescribable tension. "That octopus, which was originally sleeping, seems a bit restless. Wait there for a moment. I'll let you know when to come in. Remember, you can only stay at the cave entrance, otherwise, even with the blessing of the Dawn Elf, you'll easily be discovered!"

"That damn octopus also permanently mind-controls several Orcs. These guys seem to be natives of the Moria mines and have nothing to do with Saruman. Because the cave at the end of the valley is very dangerous, this passage you're taking now was actually dug out by these Orcs for their convenience."

"That's good." Fang Senyan didn't have any equipment bonuses at the moment and needed to be cautious. Especially since Reef had the "return to the realm immediately" trump card to protect himself. He wasn't too worried about Reef's safety and sat down against the cave wall. A thought suddenly crossed his mind: "Now it seems that the hallucinogenic mist is probably related to that giant octopus, Hithaeglir?"

Reef seemed to have inhaled some liquid and coughed violently: "These damn eggs are as annoying as slugs! Oh God, they sprayed this mucus all over my face again! You guessed right. That hallucinogenic gas is secreted by this eight-legged monster that should go to hell. And its blood and body fluids also contain strong hallucinogenic substances. It pollutes any place it stays in for long."

Fang Senyan asked curiously, "Then why was I not affected, even though I was only separated from you by a boulder?"

Reef said in a deep voice, "I've also considered this question. The only explanation is that you have something I don't... the blessing of the Dawn Elf! This blessing should have assimilated you with nature, so the octopus couldn't detect your presence. And it might even have hidden attributes that specifically counter this kind of mind-charming ability. Don't forget, when we were captured and poisoned by those Orcs in the pine forest, you woke up much earlier than I did!"

Fang Senyan thought about it carefully and felt that it made a lot of sense.

Wuge naturally couldn't hear the two people communicating through the temporary team channel, but she knew that this place was quite dangerous, so she prepared to fight at any moment in a corner of the cave wall. Fang Senyan was surprised to find that after this elven girl advanced to become a Dawn Elf, as long as she stood still, she would have a disappearing feeling. She was clearly just lingering in place, but the aura on her body seemed to have been absorbed by nature, or more precisely, nature was actively sheltering her!

………………