Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 1610: Chapter 1605: Lost Souls’ Dwelling

"Revisiting an old place, do you have any special feelings?"

Maintaining the demeanor of a special guest, Fu Qian walked behind Lisa, smilingly inquiring.

"Are you going to write another reflection?"

This prompt, which had only stirred a slight touch of sentiment, instantly dissipated, leaving Professor Lisa to turn towards Fu Qian, her smile not reaching her eyes, and retort.

Clearly, this sentence alone was enough to evoke some strong emotions.

The scene where this person, along with Cass, tested her scientific insights on site, remains fresh in memory.

Including the agony of that impromptu essay writing.

"Not bad."

Even facing her suggestion now, Fu Qian was not stingy with his praise, expressing surprise.

"I didn’t expect you to realize so quickly the benefits of timely summarization for self-improvement; since you insist, then as you——"

"No need!"

Fu Qian’s praise was immediately interrupted, and looking at Lisa’s appearance, he began to feel a headache.

"Which direction are we going?"

Not wanting to entangle with this issue any further, Professor Lisa took three steps as two, speaking while already walking straight out of the entrance hole, frowning as she contemplated the next action route.

Sigh—

Faced with this display of lacking awareness, Fu Qian sighed lightly but did not insist, similarly stepping outside the cave, assessing both sides.

...

Just like when they came last time, it was still the same grandeur, magnificence, and the standard circular formation, surrounding the dense fog in the giant pit.

Various creations formed by bones and ghostly lights drifted and wandered within, appearing and disappearing.

The skull that Professor Lisa had been researching during this time was collected from within.

"Did we go clockwise last time?"

While observing this magnificent scene again, Fu Qian nodded slightly, affirming the details of the previous scientific expedition.

"Yes, this time, should we switch direction? But actually, we don’t need to circle around again, just find a suitable target."

Not understanding why Fu Qian asked this, Lisa confirmed that his memory was correct while trying to offer a suggestion.

"Switching directions, good idea."

Having no objections, Fu Qian had already moved to the edge of the giant pit, observing the surroundings.

"Psychologically, is there a way down?"

...

Why did it suddenly turn into going down again?

When I said switch directions, I didn’t mean this...

Just realizing what Fu Qian was looking around for, Professor Lisa was deeply impressed by the disparity in communication.

"What’s wrong? Don’t tell me that those Linghui people have been just circling around this pit pathway for so many years."

In response to her reaction, Fu Qian instead expressed surprise first.

"Not really... It’s said that they’ve already explored to a considerable depth, which is indeed one of the reasons why they are confident in demanding that we do not hunt recklessly."

Confirming that Fu Qian wasn’t joking, Lisa quickly composed herself and explained the situation she knew.

"The exposed structures at the edge are said to be ancient ruins of incalculable age, besides what we see, there’s more buried underneath."

"They even speculate that even below the pit bottom, more might exist."

Pointing into the depths of the mist, Lisa’s expression turned solemn.

Ancient ruins, indeed, they appear quite like it.

Looking over, Fu Qian did not express an opinion for a moment.

Just like the scenery described during the last scientific expedition, the extremely standard circular shape in front of them was essentially the edge of an equally standard giant pit.

It’s like a perfectly orderly explosion had sliced a chunk from the earth, revealing the structures below.

They are layers upon layers of buildings vaguely following an orderly arrangement.

Given the exaggerated depth of the hemisphere itself, if there is still content further down, the scale of the ruins can be imagined.

"So, according to what you say, didn’t Heaven’s Commencement Institute conduct deeper explorations like them?"

After some observation, Fu Qian asked again.

"No..."

In Lisa’s response, there was unexpectedly a hint of embarrassment in her tone.

"On one hand, Linghui previously guarded it closely like a treasure, making it troublesome to apply for entry even once, and we’ve only recently taken over."

"On the other hand, as each layer goes deeper, increasingly intense cognitive influences emerge, which are indeed easier for them to handle."

Fu Qian’s face showed thoughtful consideration upon hearing this.

"What kind of cognitive influence?"

"Sluggish thinking, life ebbing away, but not manifested physically."

Lisa pointed to her own head.

"Emotions gradually vanish, the will falls into a kind of death-invoked tranquility."

"Like them?"

Although Professor Lisa’s description was derived from others’ exploration insights, making it somewhat abstract, Fu Qian listened attentively, finally pointing to the depths of the giant pit.

"Indeed, it sounds very much like them, which is also why the Linghui people strongly oppose hunting."

"In their view, this is a pure being achieving spiritual sublimation, like the Lost Souls of myth in the Netherworld."

Fu Qian naturally referred to those graceful and tranquil spirits and bone creations weaving in and out of the fog, and Lisa hesitated slightly but agreed with his association.

"In any case, this influence is extremely difficult to withstand, and even Linghui’s several operations were led by Demigods."

"Understood, now take me to the path you mentioned earlier."

Having understood the dangers involved, Fu Qian, full of admiration, unceremoniously gestured for Lisa to lead the way.

"I only know the approximate location, if necessary, we can actually jump straight down."

This time Lisa reacted quickly, sighed, and took the lead.

The danger seemed unlikely to deter Heaven’s Commencement Institute’s newly recruited Demigod.

...

"So are you still going to jump down?"

Moments later, looking at the direction Professor Lisa was pointing, Fu Qian frowned and voiced skepticism.

This was no slander, because after her search, she brought him back to the edge of the giant pit.

Even looking down from here, the place was just a tilted rectangular boulder with a chunk missing, not resembling a proper path at all.

"Here is a relatively clear path discovered by the Linghui people; going inside along it, there will be a rather long descent trail."

"When returning, they also take this route last, because reportedly the structure below is maze-like, extremely easy to lose one’s way, not a place for humans to stay."

It was clear that during this period, Lisa indeed spent considerable energy on the subject.

"Is it a place for them to stay?"

Fu Qian indicated the unique creations.

"Hard to imagine they would need pathways, although it’s said they do wander in there."

Lisa shook her head, continuing to answer smoothly.

"Then it seems there’s only one answer, it’s a place for the dead."

With utmost seriousness, Fu Qian concluded.