Chapter 150: An Epitome of Energy Depletion, Dragon Bone Tower
Secret Forest Hut!
Traveler was slightly taken aback, then quickly began to recall.
Scepter? Undead? Or Red Heart?
None of those seemed to fit!
Nor did it appear to be Black Forest or Night Owl.
Suddenly, inspiration struck Traveler, and he blurted out, "You're Player!"
Not long ago, Night Owl had contacted him, inquiring about his long absence from gatherings. He remembered Night Owl mentioning that Secret Forest Hut's new member was called Player and that he was a powerful Level Three Wizard Apprentice. Could this be the person before him?
"Looks like you've heard about me from Night Owl; that makes things a lot easier," Su Nan said, pulling out the Key of the Secret Forest Hut.
Upon seeing the unique Key shaped like a Trading House, Traveler finally confirmed the identity of the person in front of him, and a sigh of relief washed over him. The wariness in his eyes dissipated significantly.
"You saw the battle just now?" Traveler asked.
"I happened to be passing by," Su Nan replied as he walked over to sit across from Traveler.
"Then you must have heard that those two guys are from the Eternal Life Society."
Traveler gave Su Nan a probing look. "You know how the Eternal Life Society operates. Approaching me at a time like this is not a good sign. You came to find me not because we belong to the same organization and you want to offer help, right?"
Su Nan chuckled and said, "I came to you just to ask for some information—information about this Ecological Garden."
"You’ve been here for quite some time now, haven't you?"
Given how Traveler managed to silently attract the Multi-necked Dragon and navigate to this canyon without stopping, it was clear he was very familiar with the area. He must have been here for at least several months.
Traveler nodded, confirming Su Nan's observation.
"Time is short, so I won’t beat around the bush," Su Nan continued. "I can share information about the Ecological Garden, but in exchange, you have to help me repel Magic Hand and Bloodmaw, ensuring that I can leave the Ecological Garden safely."
"Deal!" Su Nan agreed without hesitation.
Seeing Su Nan agree so quickly, Traveler glanced at him in surprise, thinking that Night Owl was right: Player's strength was indeed impressive. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed so confidently after witnessing the capabilities of Magic Hand and Bloodmaw.
The two then signed a Vow Contract.
After completing the contract, Traveler felt a wave of relief wash over him; he could finally breathe easier. With a powerful ally by his side, even if Magic Hand and Bloodmaw pursued them again, they would at least have a fighting chance. And even if victory was out of reach, escaping should be no problem.
With the assurance provided by the Vow Contract, Traveler felt all his reservations about Su Nan fade away, and he resumed his meditation in front of him.
About two hours later, Traveler opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and bright, clearly indicating that his Spiritual Power had fully recovered.
"Now can you tell me about the Ecological Garden?" Su Nan asked.
Traveler laughed heartily and stood up. "It’s hard to convey its nature with mere words. Let me show you some things, and we can discuss them as we go."
The two walked out of the cave and came to the top of the canyon. After briefly assessing their surroundings, Traveler took the lead and flew forward.
"According to my investigations, the Ecological Garden is divided into three distinct areas. The outermost area is District 1, where mostly Sub-Dragon Species appear, like the Multi-necked Dragon, which stands as the apex predator of District 1’s food chain."
"Next, we will head to Zone 2, where the creatures are significantly stronger than those in District 1."
Creatures more powerful than high-level Sub-Dragon Species? Su Nan's heart skipped a beat. Could it be a Pureblood Dragon Species?
If that were the case, then entering Zone 2 would be akin to courting death. An adult Pureblood Dragon was something only a Formal Wizard could contend with!
But Traveler's relaxed demeanor suggested that it might not be as dire as Su Nan feared.
Noticing Su Nan's apprehensive expression, Traveler merely smiled and said mysteriously, "You'll understand when we get there."
Before long, Traveler pointed ahead and declared, "Beyond that lies Zone 2."
Su Nan followed his gesture and, after careful observation, noticed a very faint light membrane shimmering in the void just a few hundred meters away.
In the sunlight, the light membrane appeared almost transparent, practically invisible unless one looked very closely.
From a distance, the scenery beyond it seemed nothing special, just the same lush forest.
However, the moment they passed through the light membrane, the view before them changed abruptly.
The vibrant forest instantly transformed into a desolate wasteland.
The ground was cracked like a spiderweb, dotted with sparse, bare, withered trees and scattered pale bones.
Everything in sight exuded a profound sense of desolation and death.
It was a stark contrast to the thriving vitality of District 1.
Separated by only a thin layer of light membrane, the two environments felt worlds apart. The sudden change left Su Nan stunned for quite some time before he regained his senses.
He turned to Traveler, who spread his hands in a gesture of explanation.
"When I arrived here, Zone 2 was already like this."
"I haven't pinpointed the exact reason yet, but it's likely due to a lack of energy."
Su Nan appeared thoughtful as he landed near a pale skeleton and examined it carefully.
A single glance caused his eyes to widen in shock.
"Dragon Skeleton!"
Now it was Traveler's turn to be surprised.
"You've seen a Dragon Clan skeleton before?"
He knew these skeletons belonged to the Dragon Clan in life, having learned some information before entering the Ecological Garden. But how did Su Nan know?
The pure-blood dragon race's and sub-dragon species' skeletons were often difficult to distinguish from one another.
"I read about it in a book," Su Nan replied casually.
For someone as 'experienced' as him, differentiating between sub-dragon species and dragon species was still relatively easy; there were many subtle differences between the two.
Traveler obviously didn't believe such a superficial excuse, but seeing that Su Nan had no intention of elaborating, he chose not to press the matter further.
"So, the creatures living in Zone 2, which you said were more powerful than sub-dragon species, are these Dragon Clan skeletons?" Su Nan asked, pointing at the remains.
"That's right." Traveler nodded, a hint of melancholy crossing his expression as he looked around. "This zone of the Ecological Garden was originally intended to be a sanctuary for the Dragon Clan. Perhaps due to the lack of energy, it has gradually fallen into desolation, leading to the extinction of the Dragon Clan."
Su Nan raised an eyebrow. "You mean that barrier we passed through earlier?"
Traveler understood his implication and replied, "I tested it. It seems that only humans can pass through the barrier. The Sub-Dragon species couldn't, and I'm guessing the dead Dragon Clan couldn't either."
He then pointed at the surrounding skeletons. "As you can see, the essence of these skeletons has been completely extracted."
Su Nan checked, and sure enough, Traveler was right. The essence of the Dragon bones had been drained, and they would shatter with the slightest touch.
A hint of regret washed over him.
The bones of pureblood dragons were extremely rare materials, but after such treatment, they had become worthless.
But then he reconsidered. If that weren’t the case, these Dragon skeletons would have been collected by Traveler long ago; they wouldn’t still be here.
"Based on my deduction, this Ecological Garden was probably built by a wizard a thousand years ago, and the builder has likely died, leaving this garden behind."
"There should be some kind of magic array here that extracts energy from living things. When the Sub-Dragon species and the Dragon Clan die, their souls and physical energy are drawn out by the Ecological Garden to power its operations."
"This is how the Ecological Garden has created a nearly perfect energy circulation system, allowing it to function for thousands of years."
"However, no matter how precise the energy circulation system is, there will still be losses. Over time, the garden’s energy began to dwindle. It had to reduce its energy supply according to a preset program, causing the density of energy particles to decrease. This led to the large-scale deaths of various high-energy-consuming Zone 2 creatures. Their deaths, in turn, replenished the Ecological Garden with energy, allowing the lower-energy-consuming District 1 to survive until today!"
Traveler spoke eloquently, his deductions based on the information he had gathered from outside and the clues he had found in the Ecological Garden over the past few days.
He was confident that his theory was very close to the truth.
He had expected Su Nan to be shocked after hearing this.
But when he turned to look, he found that Su Nan was completely calm, as if he already knew this information.
"You don’t seem surprised at all?"
Su Nan glanced at him and said calmly, "When I saw those Dragon Skeletons, I already guessed what you were saying. Is there any other information?"
Traveler remained silent, his heart filled with immense astonishment.
If seeing the Dragon Skeletons and figuring it out at a glance was a coincidence, then deducing the truth behind the Ecological Garden from just a small clue was no mere fluke!
The Player must be highly familiar with this large cultivation facility known as the Ecological Garden!
Could the Player have obtained the same information by chance?
In fact, after observing the peculiar condition of the corpses of the Bloodlight and the Compsognathus, Su Nan had already surmised why the Ecological Garden could operate for thousands of years.
The revelation of the Dragon Skeleton only solidified his certainty.
"We'll head to Zone 3 next. That's the center of the Ecological Garden and the location of the Power System."
Snapping out of his thoughts, Traveler looked at Su Nan with a complicated expression, uttered a few words, and then flew toward the depths of the Wilderness.
Along the way, they encountered numerous Skeletons; it seemed that every few dozen meters, one could be seen. The sight made one imagine how lively and prosperous Zone 2 must have been when the Ecological Garden was still intact.
Could there have been tens of thousands of Dragon Clan residing here?
This thought led Su Nan to reassess the rank of the builder. Only a True Spirit Wizard could have raised so many Dragon Clan!
"The entire Ecological Garden is actually a microcosm of the energy depletion in the Starlight Continent."
"If those Wizards hadn’t possessed the ability to embark on expeditions into the Multiverse and had instead been trapped on the Starlight Continent, perhaps they would have ended up like these Dragon Clan."
About half an hour later, they passed through another barrier.
The environment shifted once more, changing from a desolate wilderness to a lush green grassland.
In the distance stood a silhouette resembling a tall tower.
It was too far away for Su Nan to discern its specific shape clearly.
"That’s the core of the Ecological Garden," Traveler said, pointing towards the distant tower silhouette.
The two flew toward it, and as they drew near, Su Nan gradually made out the true appearance of the silhouette. He was shocked to discover that this so-called tall tower was actually a massive Skeleton with gleaming white bones!
A gigantic dragon skeleton towered over a thousand meters high! The entire skeleton coiled and twisted, standing upright like a colossal tower. The enormous dragon skull and its fierce horns pointed directly at the sky, exuding a powerful and vigorous aura of grandeur that was indescribable.
The hollow eyes of the dragon seemed to gaze at him, containing a divine essence as if they were watching him across the fabric of time and space.
"This Dragon Bone Tower must be the control center of the Ecological Garden, but there are formations within. Without the Key, I can’t enter," Traveler remarked, a hint of regret in his voice.
Su Nan approached the Dragon Bone Tower directly. Below the dragon's head, spine-like pillars rose, and at the very bottom stood a tightly shut White Bone Gate. Su Nan summoned a Stone Golem and commanded it to move forward and push the door.
However, the moment the Stone Golem's hand made contact with the bone door, flames erupted from nowhere, engulfing it immediately. The flames, reeking of sulfur, turned the Stone Golem to ashes in an instant. Su Nan's gaze sharpened slightly as he observed this. The power behind these flames was several levels stronger than the Dragon Breath of the Sword Crystal Dragon! Even an Elite Stone Golem would likely be obliterated in mere moments.
"It's futile. The Defensive Magic Array of the Dragon Bone Tower is incredibly strong. I've tried many times and failed to break through it," Traveler said, his eyes narrowing with surprise as they fell on Su Nan's hands. "Where did that Stone Golem come from? Even a Glimmer Grade Space-class Magic Item shouldn't be able to contain a Stone Golem, right?"
Su Nan was unfazed. After all, the creator of the Ecological Garden was likely a True Spirit Wizard, and the Defensive Magic Array set up by such a powerhouse couldn’t be easily breached, even by a Level Three Wizard Apprentice, let alone a formal wizard. This was probably just the outermost layer of defense.
Of course, if he truly wanted to break in, Su Nan had a straightforward method at his disposal. He could deploy a massive number of Puppets to continuously drain the energy of the Ecological Garden until it was exhausted. At that point, the Defensive Magic Array would naturally lose its effectiveness.
However, despite the Ecological Garden currently being in an energy-deficient state, the remaining energy was still substantial. Consuming it through the Puppet tactic would require an astronomical number of Puppets.
Su Nan estimated that even adding the current Base to the entire treasury of the Starry Sky Empire wouldn't be enough to fill the gap.
Perhaps they could wait another hundred years or so, until the energy depletion of the Ecological Garden became even more severe, before making a move. However, not only would this cause immense devastation to the Garden's food chain and ecological environment, but the critical issue was that the Eternal Life Society had already discovered this place.
Anyone with any sense would know that they wouldn't let the Ecological Garden go! It was best to take control of the Garden before the Eternal Life Society got involved.
"Looks like I need to find the Key to enter," Su Nan thought to himself.
But the problem was, where was the Key? He turned to Traveler, who shrugged helplessly.
"Don't look at me," Traveler said. "I told you, I don't know where the Key is either."
"How did you learn all this information?" Su Nan asked. Traveler didn’t have cheats like him, so he shouldn’t have been able to gather so much knowledge about the Ecological Garden just from scouting.
Due to the restrictions of the Vow Contract, Traveler didn’t hide anything and replied frankly, "I accidentally obtained a Wizard Codex that contained knowledge about the Ecological Garden. From it, I got clues about this place and searched for a long time in the Underworld before finally finding it."
"But that book didn’t mention the whereabouts of the Key, or I would have already taken control of the Ecological Garden," Su Nan believed. If Traveler had the Key, he would have had many ways to drive out Magic Hand and Bloodmaw, and he wouldn’t have been chased so pitifully by them.
Just then, both of them suddenly changed their expressions, simultaneously looking towards the direction from which they had come.
Two figures were flying rapidly towards them in the distant sky. It was Magic Hand and Bloodmaw, who had just been shaken off by Traveler not long ago!
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