During this ti, Li Ang had been trying to explore the Nine Nether Dark River, attempting to figure out if the mories he had awakened from the Otherworld were in any way related to the Nine Nether.
However, the Dark River was too deep and had a function similar to Li Yuan that disrupted Spiritual Energy. Once Li Ang descended beyond 7,000 ters underground, the connection between him and the Ink Silk Clone beca intermittent and eventually cut off completely.
This consistently hampered the exploration process.
Would it be better if I used autonomous living creatures instead of machines for exploration?
Li Ang couldn’t help but think. Creatures could continue to move even after the connection to Spiritual Power was severed. If they encountered obstacles, they could swim against the current upwards and reestablish the Spiritual Power connection to send back information.
The deep-sea fish from the Endless Sea had exceptionally strong Life Force and should be able to withstand the modifications by Mo Si.
After making up his mind, Li Ang imdiately summoned the Ink Silk Clone near the South Sea area, transforming it into a mini-submarine shape and heading southeast.
He searched around the junction between the regular seas and the Endless Sea, looking for his targets.
Thanks to his knowledge from Hundred Beasts Studies at the Academic Palace, it didn’t take much effort for Li Ang to find a dozen species of marine creatures, including sea eels, that t the requirents: they could adapt to both freshwater environnts and extre water pressure.
Li Ang used Mo Si to parasitize these creatures. A filantous barrier ford on their surfaces, controlling them as they swam into the submarine, which then transported them back to the Central Plains Water System.
The submarine traveled upstream along the rivers, back to Yizhou, then transford into a shield machine shape, drilling into the rock layer and arriving at the water well of Li Ang’s old ho.
Through the entrance of the well, he entered the underground Dark River.
On the way, Li Ang had used the Mo Si on the riverbed to catch so fish, allowing the Endless Sea creatures to feast enough to sustain activity for several days.
Therefore, after sensing that the signal from the Ink Silk Clone was gradually weakening, Li Ang decisively ordered the clone to open the hatch, releasing the marine creatures into the Nine Nether Dark River and issuing them several commands:
First, they were to explore everywhere, searching for suspicious areas until death.
Second, they were to leave behind small amounts of Mo Si at intervals, serving as markers.
Third, at the end of their lives, they were to surface as much as possible and bring the Ink Silk Clone back to an area with a signal.
Having arranged these, the next step was simply to wait.
「」
BOOM!
In the pitch-black depths below the ground, the Dark River flowed rapidly. The massive force of the river water struck the rock walls heavily, creating a loud noise.
This was a place forbidden to life, not only due to the fierce currents but also because of the scorching steam spouting out from fissures in the rock walls and the toxic, dense smoke rising from the riverbed.
At so bends of the Dark River, one could even see slowly dripping, blazing magma.
A two-ter-long sea eel stretched its body, swimming forward along the river.
Its skin was parasitized by a layer of a black, silk-woven ’sheath.’ It was this sheath, capable of insulating heat and filtering toxic smoke, that helped the sea eel survive in such extre conditions.
SWISH.
The sea eel flicked its long tail and skillfully dodged a giant stalactite that hung from above, plunging into the Dark River, continuing to swim forward.
This was already the fifth day the sea eel had been exploring the Dark River. Although its small brain didn’t understand the concept of "days," it could feel hunger coiling around it. The movent of its swishing tail had unconsciously slowed.
Ahead, there was another dense cluster of stalactites. This ti, however, the sea eel turned, swimming against the current to slow down.
When its speed dropped to a certain level, the sea eel turned sideways and wrapped itself around a stalactite column.
CLICK.
The pitch-black silky material on the sea eel’s surface imdiately extended dense, tiny barbs that helped it climb the stalactite column to rest above the water and regain its strength.
Apparently sensing the eel’s hunger, the silky layer wriggled for a while and, from its central part, delivered a slightly stinky little fish—this was the last of its food.
Having finished eating, the sea eel remained wrapped around the stalactite column, resting for a long ti. Then, it turned its head and tore off a piece of the black silky material with its sharp teeth, sticking it to the column. It then leaped back into the Dark River to continue its exploration.
Along the way, the sea eel encountered more dangers. At tis, it was caught in rapid tributaries, smashing into rock walls at speeds exceeding that of an arrow. Other tis, it suddenly encountered bursting rocks and was nearly burned alive by spewing lava. On other occasions, it was swept by the current and plunged down a waterfall with a vertical drop of 2,000 ters. It survived solely because the black silky material autonomously inflated, transforming into a flat, disc-like shape, and fluttered down from the air.
Bruised and famished, the weary sea eel swam along the river and finally slowed down at a strangely shaped riverbed where the water flowed more gently.
If a living person had been next to this sea eel, they would have recognized this so-called riverbed as an artificial dock built of bricks and stones.
And far behind the dock, one could faintly see lights as dense as stars.
「」
"Risheng, this is the exam paper prepared for this year’s entrance exam to the Imperial dical Bureau. Take a look and see if there’s anything that needs to be improved."
Inside a small office within the Imperial dical Bureau, Qiu Feng was holding the draft exam paper for Li Ang to review.
Just as Li Ang was about to take the exam paper, he suddenly sensed sothing, and his left hand, resting under the table, clenched unconsciously.
The marine creature previously released to explore the Nine Nether had sent back a signal of an abnormal discovery.
"Let see... Hmm, no problem. We’ll use this set of papers," Li Ang said, keeping his composure and smiling as he responded to Qiu Feng. After Qiu Feng left the office, Li Ang’s smile gradually faded as he focused on sensing the signal from the Ink Silk Clone.
It was actually the sea eel that discovered it...
Previously, Li Ang had released eighteen marine creatures. These creatures had either encountered accidents in the Nine Nether—suffering severe injuries and being forced to surface without transmitting useful information—or they had died outright, making it impossible to even retrieve their allotnt of Mo Si.
Now, Li Ang was preparing to deploy a second batch of marine creatures and personally draw up a map of the Nine Nether Dark River. Unexpectedly, the sea eel, which he had long presud dead, had sent back a signal. And such a peculiar one.
Deep in the Dark River, the sea eel had found a deserted temple.
It was built of stone, with a quadrangular pyramid structure similar to the pyramids from his Otherworld mories. However, it was hollow inside and covered an area equivalent to the entire Golden City Square.
Despite being made of ordinary stone materials, the architectural style of the temple differed vastly from any civilization in Li Ang’s mory.
The lampstands in its interior space were embedded with many Luminous Pearls. Details such as the height of the lampstands and door fras, and the size of the steps, suggested that the temple’s builders were either children or Dwarves barely a ter tall.
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