Chu Tian looked at the wooden bridge before him.
It was already dilapidated and impassable.
"Let's wade across!"
After a moment's thought, Chu Tian proposed.
The riverbed beneath their feet was quite deep.
However, the water itself was not deep, only about knee-high.
On both sides of the riverbed, traces on the riverbed indicated that the water level of this underground river had previously been almost level with the banks.
Now, it seemed that the water level was also decreasing year by year.
Old Yang volunteered to lead the way.
Nie Yun followed behind, and finally, Chu Tian carried Diandian.
They crossed the river, which was about thirty meters wide, without incident.
Walking behind, Chu Tian kept his spiritual sense probing outwards.
He got ashore, his heart filled with trepidation.
He had expected something to happen.
After reaching the shore, he muttered to himself, "t."
The moment Chu Tian stepped through the gate, a black shadow flashed before his eyes.
There was actually a living creature here, and the shadow moved with extreme speed.
Chu Tian's flashlight and gaze followed its movement.
Finally, the thing darted into the darkness.
"What was that?" Old Yang had also seen it.
"I don't know..." Chu Tian shook his head and continued, "In any case, we need to be careful."
"Yeah..." Old Yang took down his spear from his back and held it in his hand.
Nie Yun, holding Diandian, followed behind Chu Tian.
"It's too dark here!"
Nie Yun was still a little scared when it came to exploring.
Facing pitch-black places, her heart beat even faster.
Chu Tian heard her words and glanced back at her.
He wondered if he should let her wait outside first.
However, upon further thought, if they found a way out here, he would have to go back and call her, which would be troublesome.
Moreover, it wasn't necessarily safe outside. If he sent her out to wait, Old Yang would have to go with them to protect the mother and daughter.
So he could only give up and try his best to protect them.
Nie Yun blushed when she saw Chu Tian look back at her.
Chu Tian was puzzled. Ever since she woke up underground, she had been like this. What was going on?
Thinking of this, he remembered why Nie Yun had appeared in his hallucination.
And in the end, she had even transformed into the small red snake he greatly feared.
What was the connection between all this?
As for Old Yang's hallucination, it seemed to be a past event he didn't want to mention.
He shook his head, dismissing the chaotic thoughts.
He led the group forward for about a hundred paces.
Buzz...
Suddenly, the entire city seemed to vibrate.
Chu Tian quickly stopped.
The next second, he felt a surge of elemental fluctuation.
It was the kind of fluctuation that occurred in the Heavenly Dao World when a mage chanted a spell.
Looking in the direction of the fluctuation, a strange scene unfolded.
The entire city, from afar to near, suddenly began to emit a faint glow.
It was as if a city had suddenly received power at night.
The light lit up and continued all the way to the large gate behind Chu Tian and the others.
Creak, creak, creak...
At this moment, the large gate made a grinding sound and slowly closed.
This series of changes left everyone amazed.
What was once pitch black had become brilliantly illuminated.
The light dispelled the darkness, and even Chu Tian's sense of vigilance diminished significantly.
At this moment, everyone could also see the surrounding terrain clearly.
The entire city, except for the city walls which were made of stone, was covered by withered giant trees.
And around Chu Tian and the others, along the sides of the road, were exposed tree roots, crisscrossing and extending from the ground.
Directly in front of them, leading towards the city center, stood a towering ancient tree.
Its branches supported the dome above, illuminating the city.
It was its branches that were brightening the city, and its light illuminated the entire world.
"Let's go see!" Chu Tian was shocked and curious about all of this.
Beneath the Sea of Death, such a vast city had once existed.
And it was entirely composed of flowers, plants, and trees.
Even Old Yang looked astonished.
No one could imagine what this city looked like millions of years ago.
Chu Tian led them directly towards the giant central trunk.
Upon arriving here, apart from the appearance of the black shadow once, there had been no other anomalies.
This luminous ancient tree was so strange, so it was natural to start from here.
The entire city was extremely vast, and the ancient tree seemed to be close at hand.
However, they walked for two full hours and still hadn't reached it.
Seeing that there was no danger here, Chu Tian called for everyone to stop.
He took out some food to rest.
By estimation, they had only covered a third of the distance so far.
It was as if, upon entering this place, they had been infinitely shrunk, while the large trees had been infinitely magnified.
"Mmm..." Diandian suddenly grunted and slowly opened her eyes.
Chu Tian and Old Yang quickly gathered around. The little girl had been unconscious for so long, and she had finally woken up.
Diandian opened her eyes and stared blankly at them.
"Diandian... what's wrong? Don't scare Mommy!"
Nie Yun also noticed Diandian's abnormal state.
Chu Tian took out a bottle of peach juice and a banana.
He dangled them in front of Diandian, but she showed no reaction.
Seeing this, his heart sank.
He thought to himself, "Could Diandian have a problem from inhaling too much laughing gas?"
He knew that on Blue Star, many people became addicted to laughing gas.
Countless young men and women had died from it.
In fact, when laughing gas was first discovered, it was mostly used for medical anesthesia.
At that time, technology was not advanced.
There were no other substitutes, and the understanding of laughing gas was incomplete.
Later, after substitutes appeared, laughing gas was directly abandoned.
However, it became a means for some illegal profit-making.
At one point, due to imperfect regulation, there was even a rampant trading situation on certain social and e-commerce platforms.
Law enforcement agencies found themselves in a dilemma, unable to punish or sentence those involved in the chaos of producing, selling, and inhaling "laughing gas."
The difficulty in defining whether it was poison or not lay in the fact that the extent of damage to human functions caused by long-term, heavy inhalation of "laughing gas" had not yet been determined.
Finally, the Dragon Country took decisive action, and "laughing gas" was officially classified as a third-generation narcotic and placed under strict control!
The most obvious signs of laughing gas overdose were a vacant stare, brain nerve damage, paralysis of the limbs, incontinence, and so on.
Diandian's vacant state made Chu Tian's heart race.
What if...
Giggle... ooh ooh...
While everyone's attention was focused on Diandian, a black shadow appeared not far from them, emitting strange cries.
Chu Tian abruptly turned around, his gaze fixed warily on the creature.
However, his gaze changed the next second, and he looked at it with surprise.
It was a creature that looked like a monkey.
Its fur was golden yellow.
Its body, however, was very small.
It was only about thirty centimeters tall.
Seeing Chu Tian's angry stance, and Old Yang brandishing his spear and stepping forward, it let out a cry, "Gah... Oh..."
It shouted and then leaped back a considerable distance.
Its speed was extreme.
Chu Tian estimated that only in his leopard form, with the Swiftness skill activated, could he achieve such burst speed.
He reached out and stopped Old Yang.
"Hold on... it means no harm!"
The monkey seemed to understand Chu Tian's words.
Seeing Old Yang lower his spear, it bared its teeth.
It then hopped back to where it was standing.
"Gah... oh oh..."
The creature pointed at Chu Tian and chattered incessantly.
Then, it lay down on the ground, convulsed all over, and foamed at the mouth.
Chu Tian was still trying to figure out what it meant when he suddenly saw it convulse and foam at the mouth.
His eyes widened. What was going on?
Had it just died?