The next day, in order to get further information on the matter, I stayed in the village tavern until noon. From here, the caravans would turn west towards Serra, while the miners would go all the way north, along the uphill road to the quarries. The team will be departing tomorrow, and if I want to use their powers, I'd better get to the cave first.

I had been heading north all afternoon. The road was slightly narrower than the wide avenue, and the land suitable for cultivation was gradually replaced by barren sand filled with stones, and the farmhouses along the road disappeared. By evening, I had entered the mines, and the impassable mountains stood on the right side, and were desolate and desolate in the twilight. Realizing that night was coming—and that it would never be wise to sleep in the wilderness and leave a spell—I picked up my speed and finally sneaked into a camp built by a group of quarrymen before darkness fell completely, hid the charm, and returned to the real world.

On December 3, my figure appeared in the corner of the camp. As I tried to get out of here quietly, I ran into a worker who had come out to relieve myself—I should have let my mind go," I thought to myself with regret, and my eyes met those silver-gray eyes.

"Who are you, boy, why are you here?"

"I ......"

My brain was racing, but I couldn't think of a credible lie—my too-young East Asian face couldn't fool me anyway. So I decided to "tell the truth" – at least roughly. Knowing who I am as a Dream Traveler, the miner, with the extraordinary appearance inherited from the ancestors of the gods, asks me where I want to go, and warns me not to go too far north—a terrifying abandoned quarry once mined by some ancients older than humans sits in the gloomy lands of the north. I showed off a little bit of wind control and other tricks, and assured him that I would put my own safety first.

Once again, you will see onyx cliffs and huge boulders, black earth littered with rock fragments, no refreshing green vegetation, and impassable gray pinnacles always towering desolate and menacingly on the right. Around two o'clock in the afternoon, I arrived at a mine where rumored disappearances had taken place, and saw the entrance to the dark world at the end of a treacherous trail beneath a solid cliff.

Looking at the sky overhead, covered with gloomy gray clouds, I was somehow depressed, but then I put aside those chaotic thoughts - I had to face the inevitable difficulties and resolve them and practice my "Tao". There's nothing to be afraid of, I'm wearing a talisman from Akiyama Sora in my waking world, which is the last line of defense.

I took a deep breath, then leaped to my feet and landed in front of the entrance to the mine. In fact, it is not really that dark there, just an ordinary rock cave, and you can see a lot of traces of excavation on the cave wall. Perhaps the fear it had given me was nothing more than an illusion triggered by a ridiculous psychological suggestion of self, I laughed to myself and strode in.

The section of the mine near the surface is a relatively wide main passageway, well ventilated, but the interior is not very well lit, many of the hanging lights are off, and a few minecarts are parked haphazardly in the corners. It is not difficult to speculate that the disappearances in the past few months have significantly reduced mining activity in the area, but there are still miners mining onyx.

The investigation team is expected to arrive tomorrow, and I may be able to claim that I am a Taoist priest who has come to study this phenomenon - although it is unusual, since the Chinese ancestors passed down the spell of "Illusory Realm Bu Ling Ascension", this reason is also logical. But even so, I'd better figure out the structure of these caves first.

The old-fashioned mines are generally bifurcated like tree branches, but the small tunnels that extend from the "treetops" are messy and should have been dug by the miners themselves, and there are a few "fruits" hanging from the "branches" - natural or artificially excavated underground cavities. The air in some narrow branches is wetter than in others, suggesting that most of the miners' claims about groundwater are true.

As for the more far-reaching, that's not my goal today. Anyway, when I carefully avoided the workers in the cave and finished exploring, the time was already seven o'clock - it was time for me to go back to the waking world, but my charm ...... I don't want to risk planeswalking to a human settlement, and I can only hope that no one will notice some remote dusty corner of this semi-abandoned mine.

On December 4th, I investigated the structure of the cave further and identified several slips leading to another natural cave system. In the evening, the team arrived with a team of yaks in a small clearing outside the cave.

"You're here to investigate this cave, right?" I left the cave and walked straight to them, immediately receiving several wary glances, "I'm Yun Chengyu, from the waking world, a dream traveler and Taoist priest in Huaxia. ”

"The ...... of Huaxia"

Several men dressed as warriors were noncommittal to my words, but one of the monks looked at me with interest and a smile on his face: "It's been a long time since I've seen an Oriental walking in a dream. Looks like you're here to investigate the 'accident' too?"

I couldn't help but take a closer look at the other man—this was a sturdy male warrior monk, revealing a weather-beaten and strong body under his tattered robes. In my perception, the power of this body is far beyond flesh and blood, but lurks a thick, non-rotating magical energy.

There are also warrior monks in the Shaolin Temple in the sober world, but the cultivation of boxing to the highest level, at most, is the level of Master Fu Hong, although the striking method of "innate gangqi" is extremely strong, but it is impossible to have this supernatural mysterious power.

"Yes. Rumors have referred to 'calm pools' and 'fine white sands', and I've seen something similar in the south, where the ruins of a lost city just disappear under the water. ”

As I spoke, I suddenly noticed one of the priests, whose face was covered with a mask and a turban, and somehow my heart suddenly tightened, and I paused slightly.

"And every time something like this happens, my dreams seem unusual. That's why I'm here. I hope to explore with you. ”

Before the monk could answer, the elite soldier next to him laughed "sneering": "It is indeed quite remarkable to be able to skillfully dream travel at this age, but no one below knows what the danger is, so you better go back." ”

"I believe I can protect myself. ”

As soon as the words fell, the spirit sword leaped into my hand, and the flying sword burst out from the sword box on my back, encircling me endlessly. In an instant, the three warriors drew their blades from the ground, and although the warrior monk's face was as pale as an ancient well, his essence was suddenly restrained, and a fine light flashed in his eyes.

"Good, good, I read that right. The monk clenched his fist at me, "My name is Tuttle, and I'm a warrior monk, and these are Collins, Mallory, and Acheson. ”

"My name is Yun Chengyu, and it's a pleasure to meet you. ”

I greeted them one by one while looking at the priest without a trace. As I unleashed the flying sword, I sensed an unpleasantly sharp gaze, as well as some kind of obscure dark power, most of which was created by that guy.

"My name is Dreiser, Dreiser Martino. ”

Hoarse and magnetic, it's hard to tell if it's male or female—but what does that matter to me? I just want to figure out the reason behind this strange series of dreams and associated phenomena, or to get news from a monk named Tuttle about the isolated monasteries.