Divine Beast Creator
Chapter 1334 - 1335: Underground Hot Spring

Chapter 1334: Chapter 1335: Underground Hot Spring

"This gate is actually unlocked?"

Feng Yuan pushed open the disguised iron door and voiced his surprise. The door had intricately been crafted to resemble a rock wall so as not to disrupt the atmosphere for any visitors. However, wasn’t an access point to a water pump room supposed to be locked?

"Strange, why are there so many petals of the mysterious ice flowers here?"

Feng Yuan stopped in his tracks upon seeing the stairway strewn with crystalline petals that shimmered faintly. He recognized them instantly: these were petals of the mysterious ice flower. But why were there so many in such a place?

Agunas flicked his tail and commented,

"Don’t you feel that the temperature here is rising? What exactly is going on in this place?"

"I don’t know, but it does seem like small ice flower creatures might be living here."

Feng Yuan observed the pitch-black corridor with narrowed eyes. Agunas’s fireball illuminated their surroundings, casting shadows that lent the space an air of ancient mystery, like exploring a forgotten ruin. As Feng Yuan noticed a switch nearby, he reached out and pulled it. A loud buzzing sound reverberated, and the white lights along the hallway flickered on one after another.

"Wait... the electricity is still operational?"

Yang Hongzhi paused in surprise, finding it odd that a supposedly abandoned place like this still had functional lighting. Veronia planted her parasol into the ground and smiled faintly as she said,

"Could it be that there are some underground secrets here? Like fugitive hideouts or some criminal organization’s underground base?"

"That seems unlikely, doesn’t it?"

Feng Yuan scratched his head and murmured uncertainly. After all, this place was hiding in plain sight. And setting aside everything else, wouldn’t it be impossible to conceal something like this without independent power supply? But earlier atop the slope, they had clearly seen an electricity cable that extended from the town below, indicating that this place relied on the town’s external power grid.

In a sense, this wasn’t uncommon—pump stations often required significant power consumption. Generating electricity independently wouldn’t be feasible without employing a considerable number of Thunder-element Spirit Beasts, which would be impractical and overly troublesome.

After all, you couldn’t expect Thunder-element Spirit Beasts to generate electricity for you every single day. They’d eventually get fed up with it.

Yang Hongzhi glanced sideways at Veronia and said,

"That possibility is low. If this place were truly meant to act as a cover-up, the lodge wouldn’t be abandoned. A properly functioning lodge with frequent visitors would do a better job of masking unusual activity."

An abandoned mountain lodge, despite appearing deserted to tourists, would surely attract curious explorers like Feng Yuan. If there really were shady dealings hidden here, wouldn’t a secluded cave be a better option?

"We’ll find out as we continue forward, won’t we? I wonder what hidden secrets lie ahead~"

With Xiao Ji nestled in his arms, Feng Yuan spoke eagerly while Agunas floated forward to pick up some of the mystical ice flower petals.

"These petals are both fresh and old. It seems these creatures have been living here for quite some time. If there’s something dangerous about this place, I doubt they’d have stayed here for so long."

"Well then, let’s head down and see for ourselves~"

Unable to contain his impatience, Feng Yuan led the way, clutching Xiao Ji as he bolted down the staircase. Watching Feng Yuan’s reckless enthusiasm, Yang Hongzhi and the others sighed helplessly and followed him. Xiao Hui and Ah Mu remained stationed near the door—not only to prevent anyone from locking the gate behind them, but also because Qi Chen and the group did not wish to stash them in the Spirit Beast Space.

Amid the blizzard, Xiao Hui and Ah Mu stood vigil, their eyes alert to any unusual disturbances around them.

As they descended the steps, a low humming resonated in their ears. Feng Yuan placed a hand against a nearby water pipe and remarked,

"Strange. There’s definitely no water running through this. So, what’s making that mechanical noise?"

Agunas flicked his tail again, unable to provide an answer. Long Boduo conjectured,

"Could they have forgotten to shut off the water pump?"

"Or maybe the lower levels are already flooded by thermal spring water~"

Long Boduo’s eyes lit up with excitement. A natural hot spring was fun enough, but one that arose under strange circumstances sounded even more thrilling~

"I doubt that’s the case,"

Feng Yuan scratched his head uncertainly, though Long Boduo had already dashed ahead. As the group descended further, they quickly reached the water pump’s location. The pump was buzzing loudly, and the pipe leading to the upper hot spring lay disconnected, its open mouth facing the pump.

A relatively new pipe diverted the spring water into a separate pool. Several small ice flower creatures huddled fearfully in the corner, nervously eyeing Feng Yuan and his group.

Agunas immediately noticed them. He floated closer, attempting to converse with the little creatures, but they recoiled apprehensively. However, perhaps due to Agunas’s inherently amiable nature, the creatures began to relax slightly under his words.

Though they occasionally cast wary glances at Feng Yuan’s group, their fear eased. After speaking briefly with them, Agunas flicked his tail and turned to examine the pool filled with water.

"It seems these facilities are kept operational specifically for these small ice flower creatures. We’ve arrived just in time for the pump’s extraction cycle. Whenever the temperature drops below a certain threshold, the system redirects water back to the lower thermal spring to be reheated and then pumped back to replenish the pool."

Saying this, Agunas shot a glance toward the giant black abyss sealed off by an iron fence. Below the pitch-dark opening lay the thermal spring, the source where the water was extracted. From this height, even the small ice flower creatures would sustain injuries if they fell, and the consistent heat radiating upward was proof that the spring’s temperature wasn’t low.

"Speaking of which, this isn’t a volcanic area—how is there a thermal spring here?"

Feng Yuan gazed curiously at the pool of hot water. Of course, he was just making idle remarks; there were countless reasons thermal springs could appear. Some rare Fire-element Legendary Level Spiritual Medicine and Materials could also create a massive hot spring output, unrelated to volcanic activity.

"This pool serves as a place for the small ice flower creatures to warm themselves."

Examining the creatures’ bodies, which resembled tiny crystalline onions adorned with delicate ice crystal-like flowers atop their heads, Agunas’s gaze softened. Long Boduo crouched to take a closer look at the creatures, only to startle them with his inquisitive actions, causing them to retreat further.

Agunas smacked Long Boduo lightly on the head with a paw and muttered exasperatedly,

"Can you stop scaring them?"

After some calming down, the little ice flower creatures finally settled, though their unease lingered. Feng Yuan glanced at Qi Chen’s Flower Leaf Tree Three Spirit Beasts and remarked,

"They do bear a resemblance to those three little guys. Could they have experienced something traumatic?"

"No, they’re just shy by nature. Once they feel comfortable, they’re no different from ordinary Spirit Beasts. But don’t even think about coaxing them home; I believe this place suits them best as their habitat."

Agunas shot Feng Yuan a warning look, suspecting he might try to lure the creatures away like he often did.

Rolling his eyes, Feng Yuan retorted indignantly,

"As if I would! And besides, what do you mean ’coax’? Big Cat and the others followed me willingly, okay! Even Little Ice Cream did."

Little Ice Cream, who was scampering about, seemed to hear Feng Yuan mention its name. It turned to glance at him curiously, swaying cheerfully and letting out a soft chirp. To Little Ice Cream, this place felt intriguing—it even tried to slip into the ominous, blackened cavern below, but Kong Qing quickly blocked the way with a Spatial Barrier.

Though Little Ice Cream floated as it ran and couldn’t fall to the ground, the thermal spring’s intense heat below still posed a considerable risk. A single misstep could scald it. Naturally, this was also because of Little Ice Cream’s relatively low strength.

Agunas glanced at Feng Yuan and added dryly,

"Who can say, but who’s responsible for modifying these facilities?"

Examining the water pump closely, Agunas’s doubt deepened. If the modification was indeed carried out by the lodge’s owner, then the question became: what was their motive? Feng Yuan held Xiao Ji in his arms and chuckled casually,

"No idea. Still, the lodge’s owner seems like the most likely culprit, don’t you think? After all, it’s almost impossible to hide something like this from them."

"True enough. But why would they do such a thing?"

Nodding thoughtfully, Agunas gazed at the hot spring pool. Cotton extended a paw to test the water temperature and let out a meow toward Dou Yanlan, who chuckled and gently lifted Cotton before pulling out a towel to dry its paw.

"This isn’t a place for soaking in hot springs~"