149: Chapter 149 Underground Altar?

Looking at the large crater blasted into the ground, Nie Ning's mouth twitched slightly.

Had he known it would end like this, why on earth would he have fought the Ethereal Claw-Rending Eagle? It would have been better to come back and deal with it once he was stronger.

After all, he had never heard of a Rank 3 Ethereal Claw-Rending Eagle before; the various materials from its body were quite valuable.

But on second thought, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

This Ethereal Claw-Rending Eagle had clearly been forced to grow prematurely; though its strength was formidable, it lacked combat experience.

Judging by the missing azure blue disc flower, its potential was likely far beyond just Rank 3.

Once it reached Rank 4, things would have truly been disastrous.

One had to remember that even the Vice President of The Federation was only at Rank 3.

That was precisely why he didn't need to give that damn Vice President any face; he'd teach his grandson a lesson first and worry about the rest later.

The difference between Rank 4 and Rank 3 was on an entirely different scale; if it had been allowed to grow, it would have been catastrophic.

...

Nie Ning checked his own injuries.

Aside from the gash on his back, the wounds on his body would heal within a day or two.

He looked toward the deep pit, where a small ball of flesh was crawling out from the bottom.

Since Norma had gone to sleep with Lilith tonight, he had summoned the Human-Faced Balloon back.

The explosion just now had been too violent, and the Human-Faced Balloon had been directly blasted into a mangled state.

If it weren't for its extraordinary self-healing, any other Corruptor would likely have been vaporized.

That was the nature of Rank 3; the energy contained within was too terrifying. Even a soul of corruption would have a hard time at the center of such an explosion.

“Since I'm already here, I might as well dig up some crystals to take back.”

Nie Ning climbed up from the ground, grimacing as the wounds on his skin stung sharply.

...

Nie Ning followed the hole left by the Ethereal Claw-Rending Eagle back underground.

Due to the previous explosion, the grotto had also been affected, with shattered crystals scattered everywhere.

hebron crystals weren't of much use, but combined with Alchemy, they could be used to craft some small gadgets.

Nie Ning picked up a few crystals from the ground and then turned his gaze toward the small pool.

Although the azure blue disc flowers had all been picked, the rhizomes were still there; new ones could grow in the future.

After a moment's thought, Nie Ning decided not to touch the root system.

After all, places capable of producing such natural treasures were rare. Blindly transplanting them would make it hard for them to survive, and besides, he wasn't the type of person to strip a place bare.

After checking to ensure the rhizomes were undamaged, Nie Ning turned to leave.

But just then, out of the corner of his eye, Nie Ning caught sight of a two-meter-high crystal embedded in the opposite wall.

“A hebron crystal this large is hard to find. I wonder if it would be comfortable to sleep on if I took it back and made a bed out of it.”

Nie Ning went around the pool and stood before the crystal.

As he activated his Earth Control ability, the surrounding soil slowly fell away from the crystal.

*Crack~*

A cracking sound echoed from within the crystal.

Nie Ning frowned and looked into the crystal, but he didn't see any fractures.

Just as Nie Ning was feeling puzzled, the 'crack' sounded again. This time, he listened more closely and realized the sound was coming from beneath the crystal.

Suddenly, the crystal sank, and then the entire mass plummeted and disappeared, leaving behind only a pitch-black hole.

“Is my luck really this bad today?!”

Seeing the faint blue light flickering at the bottom of the hole, Nie Ning felt utterly miserable.

Judging by the eye, the pit was four meters deep. There was no need to think about it; falling from such a height, that large crystal was definitely lost.

Nie Ning sighed and then leaped down into the cavern, intending to see if there were any other large, intact crystals further down in the grotto.

But as soon as he landed, Nie Ning sensed something was wrong.

The path beneath his feet was clearly layered, looking like a flight of man-made stairs.

With the help of the crystal's light, he could see that the upper part was blocked by rubble, while the lower part curved away, leading to an unknown destination.

“Why would there be a path here? Could it be a secret base of the Blood Flame Knights Association?”

At this thought, Nie Ning suddenly became alert and energized.

The Blood Flame Knights Association was the only power within a radius of several kilometers.

In a place with so many exotic beasts, it was unlikely that anyone would be bored enough to dig a tunnel for no reason. It was very possible that this was a place where the Blood Flame Knights Association stored supplies.

Filled with curiosity, Nie Ning picked up a shard of crystal and headed deeper down the stairs.

After walking for about several hundred meters, Nie Ning's eyes suddenly lit up as a cavern spanning several hundred square meters appeared before him.

The cavern had been carved out to resemble a massive reception hall.

It was supported by eight stone pillars, and hebron crystals were embedded in the walls for illumination.

At the very center stood a square stone platform about one meter high, with an unknown circular array pattern engraved in the middle.

“An altar?”

Nie Ning's brows twitched slightly, and his heart sank halfway.

There were no other passages around, nor any place to hide things.

Seeing this, Nie Ning sighed and walked up to the stone platform to examine it closely, wanting to see exactly what this thing was.

Looking at the runic characters carved on the stone platform, he could barely make out that they seemed related to space; it didn't appear to be some evil summoning altar as he had initially thought.

On the edge of the stone platform, there were dozens of circular holes, some of which still contained grayish-white stones.

“Magic Crystals.”

Nie Ning recognized the white stones.

Magic Crystals were energy ores rich in Elemental Power, often used as an energy source for arrays and certain items, and they could also accelerate cultivation.

As the guardian of Ska City, Magic Crystals were part of his salary.

However, The Federation was extremely stingy, providing only 5 low-grade magic crystals a month.

If it weren't for the various pills and materials, it's likely no Official Wizard would ever take on such a thankless task.

Of course, the Wizard Tower was also part of the benefits.

Because the Wizard Tower itself came with an Elemental Pool, the resident Wizard's need for Magic Crystals wasn't actually that high.

Furthermore, Nie Ning didn't know any other Wizards, so even if he wanted to use magic stones to buy things, he couldn't find anyone to trade with.

Nie Ning continued to examine the stone platform. Judging by the appearance of the Magic Crystals, although they no longer held any Elemental Power, their quality suggested they had been high-grade magic crystals.

From this perspective, the array on the stone platform likely wasn't some kind of sacrificial array.

In something like a demonic summoning, most of the energy was provided by the demon itself, while flesh and blood offerings were actually just one of the conditions to trigger the sacrifice.

However, not every sacrifice was for summoning a demon; one could also use certain offerings to strike a deal with a demon. In such cases, the demon wouldn't need to expend too much energy.

For those being sacrificed to, sometimes even a tiny bit of meat was still meat; once the quantity became large, it could be a significant income.

Moreover, altars weren't just for summoning demons; deities and extra-dimensional beings also fell within the scope of summoning, or it could even be a random summoning.

“I'll record it first and study it more when I get back.”

Because the level of the array was too high, Nie Ning could only barely discern a few bits of information.

Its specific function was currently unknown; perhaps he could find relevant information after looking it up back home.

...