Above The Sky
Chapter 233 - 233 221 Redwood Base 23

233: Chapter 221: Redwood Base (2/3) 233: Chapter 221: Redwood Base (2/3) “How fascinating,”

Ian, now possessed of no small measure of strength, had already overcome unimaginably powerful adversaries, and before him stood an ancient, mysterious relic from a pre-era.

And this relic, moreover, was the very one his teacher had entrusted him to explore, to attempt to halt its strange mutations.

——Right.

——This is…

the life I want.

——This is the kind of days I yearn to experience.

With such emotions in his heart, his footsteps, solitary yet not lonely, echoed through the limestone cavern deep underground, the growing radiance of Spirit Energy in his eyes illuminating the winding, complex yet smooth and polished walls.

He continued forward with an excited spring in his step, filled with anticipation, joy, and even gratitude.

Until at last.

The small cave was nearing its end.

A light, far brighter than the interior of the cave, appeared at the end of the tunnel, making the exit seem like a gate made of light.

Taking a deep breath, Ian gazed toward the end of the long corridor and strode forward.

Then he stepped through the gate of light.

And so, a whole new world unfolded before his eyes.

——A colossal, semi-circular cavern stretched nearly a kilometer high and unimaginably wide, revealing itself in the depths of the earth.

Countless cave mouths peppered the semicircular walls of the giant cavern, pouring out an endless stream of seawater like cascading waterfalls, their roar echoing like the tide.

Ian emerged from the cave mouth, the fluorescent light in his eyes not refracting on the smooth calcified walls but spreading out as though breaking free from shackles, dispersing in all directions.

Eventually, mingling with the light of the cave, the young man was able to clearly see the new world beyond the gate.

Before him lay an immensely open space, almost as if he had returned to the surface, a vast subterranean cavity with rows of columns reaching into the deep darkness.

The young man’s fluorescent gaze could only illuminate a small area around him; what truly brightened the entire cavity was a layer of luminous mist at the apex of the dome.

It was a mass of water vapor violently discharging electricity, with the seawater from the cave striking the ground and stirring up massive clouds of mist, which then rose and swirled within the Spirit Energy Field, creating a continuous spectacle of small lightning strikes within the light cloud.

The floor of the cavity was remarkably flat, and even the towering columns seemed man-made, their surfaces covered with calcified material like stalactites, giving them a crystalline, primeval appearance.

But this was an illusion.

Sensing something, the young man lifted his head.

And held his breath.

For he saw what exactly supported the colossal subterranean structure.

It was metal.

A black metallic mesh dome and those towering columns held the vast subterranean cavity from collapsing.

This was not a natural subterranean cave…

it was a magnificent man-made dome, a grand hall that sang praises of a civilization’s wonder!

“My God…”

With a sigh, Ian lowered his gaze and followed the direction in which the columns spread, looking towards the center of the cavity.

There stood a square stele, covered with cracks and traces of wear, black as onyx.

On it were inscribed several large characters in the simplified universal script.

[Redwood Base]

In the vast subterranean cavity and cave, a tall stele stood erect, a perfect embodiment of the golden ratio rectangle, black and filled with fissures.

Beyond its simplicity, it exuded a sense of solemnity and awe.

[——With this monument, we commemorate all the watchers of the past 3,400 years.]

[——From this day forward, we shall watch no more]

[——3472.5.27]

These were the words on the stele, carved in the universal language identical to that used in today’s Terra.

Anyone who knew how to read could decipher the meaning laid upon this stone.

Yet, the glowing mist that lingered around it filled this ancient and majestic monument with an ethereal and mystifying haze, as one who gazed upon it felt as though looking through an immense distance, peering into another era from a thousand years ago.

After staring for a long while, Ian slowly lowered his gaze to look behind the stele…

The bubbling stream followed the path behind the stele, leading to a vast stone arch bridge, at the end of which stood a metallic gate, decrepit and long since opened, its spotty rust telling tales of the inexorable flow of time.

Traces of time, seasons like a river.

Millennia of fleeting light, suddenly past.

“Even the creations of the Pre-Era civilization cannot remain intact after a thousand six hundred years,” Ian couldn’t help but feel sentimental, “And 3,400 years?

The recorded history of the Pre-Era civilization stretches quite long indeed.”

He knew that he had most likely chosen a path through the stalactite cave that led directly to the gates of the Pre-Era Civilization Ruins Cluster, relying on his innate Spirit Energy — of course, it could also be the backyard since that cave somewhat resembled man-made scenic areas of a backyard.

In any case, given the complex underground structures of this area, those peculiarly shaped cavern corridors could very likely lead to every corner of the ruins cluster.

However, that didn’t signify much, for to a Prophet, starting from anywhere was never a waste of time.

On the contrary, Ian felt that this was the best way to thoroughly understand the entirety of the subterranean Redwood Ruins Cluster.

Turning away from the far-off gaze, Ian scrutinized beneath the entire dome.

Let’s not talk about the electrically charged glowing clouds above for the moment.

They might look mysterious but are merely the physical manifestation of Natural Spirit Energy, not something to be amazed at.

What is truly amazing is the unusual azure river beneath the arch bridge.

Sea water merged into the river, creating wisps of translucent mist that enshrouded the entire stone bridge, ethereal and mysterious, yet with a hint of eeriness.

Marble guardrails lined both sides of the river, and many had collapsed.

Ian could tell that this was probably a scenic man-made river; such things exist on Earth or within any civilization…

Intelligent beings can’t always remain absolutely rational; sometimes they make such things simply for the sake of beauty.

But what was truly strange were the traces of fighting around these fallen guardrails.

Narrowing his eyes, the young man approached and studied the marks on the ground, finding that most were claw marks and tooth marks from animal fights – some quite old, others very recent, even occurring not long ago.

“It’s not that surprising, after all, this area is almost entirely sea water.

If the river in this moat were fresh water, then it wouldn’t be strange for wild animals to fight over the right to safely drink,” said Ian.

It wasn’t that Ian had seen much of the world, but at least he had watched animal documentaries.

He knew that the struggle for a drink between wild animals, similar to the rural conflicts over water sources in recent times, could lead to deadly fights and brawls at any moment.

This wasn’t a significant matter, and Ian intended to move on, but suddenly he heard a noise from behind, from inside the cave.

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter… The sound was not that of human footsteps but that of some kind of beast.

After pondering for a moment, Ian concealed his presence and hid in the shadow of a stone pillar, waiting silently.

Soon enough, several Cyan Armored Lizards emerged from the cave, cautious in demeanor, moving very carefully.