Chapter 323 - Natural Mana Lake
Several minutes later, the group found themselves standing on top of another large dune.
’’Here,’’ Feng suddenly said inside Theo’s mind.
Theo immediately came to a halt.
His gaze swept across the surroundings.
At first, all he saw was sand.
But after walking closer, a faint blue glow became visible between several half-buried stone pillars.
’What’s that?’
Theo’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The source of light became clearer and clearer as he made his way down the dune.
That’s when he finally spotted it.
Between several small ancient pillars was the entrance to a cave.
The faint blue glow came from deep inside there.
’Feng? Is this it?’ he asked internally.
’’Yes,’’ the little unicorn replied instantly.
Hearing that, Theo glanced back at the others.
’’There’s a cave here,’’ he said, signaling down. ’’I say we go in so we can rest out of sight from other creatures or people.’’
Nobody objected to his suggestion.
As the others made their way down the dune, Theo stepped inside with Feng quietly floating by his side.
The cave entrance was relatively small, but it opened up to an enormous space inside.
After only a few dozen steps, the cave curved slightly to the right.
Theo followed it and immediately raised an eyebrow.
’’What the...’’
Dozens of huge eggs were scattered throughout the cave.
Most were nearly as tall as him, while several were nearly three times larger.
Their shells were dark brown with strange black patterns covering them.
It didn’t take much guessing to figure out what they belonged to.
’Scorpion eggs,’ he thought. ’And they aren’t from weak creatures either.’
He wouldn’t have been surprised if several of the largest ones belonged to the scorpion they’d just fought outside.
That’s when his gaze locked onto the source of the blue glow.
It was a crystal-clear lake at the center of the cave, surrounded by all kinds of plants and mana stones.
’’That lake is the source of the fortune I was sensing,’’ Feng said beside him. ’’And I can see why.’’
Theo snapped out of his thoughts, quickly glancing over at the little unicorn.
Feng’s eyes remained fixed on the lake though.
’’It’s a natural mana lake,’’ it continued. ’’And by the looks of it, it’s been here for a thousand years.’’
Theo’s brows furrowed slightly.
’’A natural mana lake?’’ he repeated. ’’What’s that?’’
Feng couldn’t help but look at him with a hint of confusion.
Then, it let out a quiet sigh.
’’Truly a primitive plane,’’ it muttered, shaking its head. ’’How could you not know such extraordinary treasures...’’
Before Theo could say anything, Feng continued once more.
’’It’s a lake containing an incredibly dense concentration of mana,’’ it said. ’’Entering it and cultivating inside will be extremely beneficial for progressing your core.’’
Theo opened his mouth but quickly closed it.
’Progressing my core?’ he thought. ’Natural resources can do that?’
That was something out of fairy tales!
Most cultivation resources he knew about were used during breakthroughs, increasing the chance of success and improving the quality of the core.
’’It should be pretty effective for everyone,’’ Feng added casually. ’’I wouldn’t be surprised if some manage to break through.’’
Theo’s eyes lit up right away.
That was exactly the news he wanted to hear.
His gaze quickly moved to the others as they finally came around the corner.
Almost immediately, their attention was drawn toward the enormous eggs.
’’What the fuck,’’ Owen muttered loudly. ’’What are these things doing here?’’
Jim’s face changed into one of disgust.
’’Are all those scorpion eggs?’’ he asked.
Theo nodded slowly, having contained his excitement.
But before he could even break the news to them, a small Argent Griffin shot past him.
It landed in front of the lake, staring into the water with a surprised gaze.
Then it turned back towards Feng and Iris.
Watching her eyes widen, Theo nodded once before turning to the others.
’’Forget about the eggs right now,’’ he said. ’’This lake is far more important.’’
Theo quickly continued, explaining most of what he’d just heard.
By the time he was done, everyone stared at him in shock.
Jim swallowed hard, nearly choking on his own spit.
’’You’re serious?’’ he finally asked.
Theo nodded once more.
Much to his surprise, Owen didn’t say a word for once.
Instead, he nearly started salivating as he stared at the lake.
His reaction alone was enough to make Theo smile.
Just then, Iris snapped out of her daze.
Her gaze slowly moved across the enormous eggs surrounding them.
’’Then this explains the breeding ground,’’ she said slowly. ’’The scorpions must’ve sensed it as well.’’
Theo had already reached the same conclusion.
’’Most likely,’’ he replied.
After another few seconds of silence, he suddenly clapped his hands together.
Everyone snapped out of their dazes at the same time.
’’I say we make sure this place is safe,’’ he said. ’’After that, we can all start cultivating.’’
There wasn’t a single person who didn’t nod.
With that said, everyone began scouring the cave.
Theo walked along the edge of the lake, quietly observing the different herbs while Feng flew deeper inside.
Thankfully, there wasn’t much to search.
The cave had no other entrances, and aside from the eggs, there didn’t seem to be any creatures hiding inside.
’Perfect.’
Theo turned towards the others.
’’It all looks good,’’ he said.
’’What about these?’’ Lyra asked, pointing towards one of the eggs.
Theo looked at the dozens scattered around them.
Leaving them alive while everyone cultivated obviously wasn’t happening.
’’Destroy them.’’
Almost immediately, everyone got to work.
CRACK! CRACK!
One egg after another shattered.
Theo destroyed several of the largest ones himself, quickly confirming that there really were undeveloped scorpions inside.
Within minutes, none remained.
Even their corpses were burned down by Owen to avoid the stench.
’’Alright,’’ Theo said, looking around. ’’That should do it.’’
His gaze finally returned to the glowing lake.
Even knowing what it could do, he still found the whole thing difficult to believe.
’’Now it’s time to see how much this place actually helps.’’