Our group rested under the 'shade' of a low-hanging tree. Although there was barely any shade here since everything was abysmally dark. It still provided a darker cover for us.
This small shade is enough to help us cover our presence from the predators roaming about in the Dark Garden.
Kyuu suddenly came out from my cloak and peeked out, looking around.
The soldiers were stressed as they saw the Dark Beast emerging once again. In this region that is darker than anywhere, the Dark Beasts usually can grow powerful, and Kyuu seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere.
His body has very little need for Qi and seems like it is enjoying the atmosphere here.
It then jumped down, looked at me, and at the distance.
"You want to hunt?" I asked it.
Kyu nodded.
"Then go ahead, but make sure you stay close, if you feel that you're in danger, call out to us or come towards me," I said.
The Dark Beast then instantly dashed toward the thickets and brushes nearby. Disappearing.
"You just leave it? Aren't you afraid that it might be in danger?" asked Old Fu.
"Kyu is a feral beast, it needs to live and struggle in danger. This isn't the first time I allowed it to travel to dangerous regions. If I were to coddle it and care for it like a pet cat, then it would lose the sharpness of its fangs and claws. She needs to hunt and prey upon beasts weaker than her to grow stronger, struggle against beasts stronger than her, and survive to come out to her full potential. So far the most dangerous of beasts of this region had already gone to feast and will soon go into slumber. Allowing her a great opportunity to grow while an apex predator is asleep," I said.
"You think that that Obsidian beast will come back for us?" asked old Fu.
I shook my head, "I don't think, I know it will. And that's good, it will give us a good purpose and reason to keep growing stronger and moving forward, none of us can take that thing on, not even my current self, I'm too weak to fight against that," I said.
"Even with that sword?" asked the captain.
I looked at creeping demise and said, "This sword exhausts too much of my internal Qi, without me constantly supplementing myself with pills, I'll eventually fall to exhaustion, I don't want to go through my pill reserves too early, since we have no idea how long it will take for us to explore and leave this region," I said.
"Anyway, I'm still wondering, how come these ants can detect that… symptom," said old Fu.
"Simple," I said as I pointed forward, "Look over there," I said.
They followed my finger and were unable to see due to the darkness of the region. But with a snap of my finger, a small wisp of Qi illuminated the place like a beacon, showcasing my worry and fear.
At the end of where my finger was pointing was a ma.s.sively large pillar. One of the earth stalagmites that were carrying this entire dome-like garden and protecting it from the ceiling and its collapse.
Around this stalagmite were ants. Hundreds upon hundreds of ants. All stuck to the ma.s.sive pillar, with their mandibles biting hard on the rock and their whole bodies petrified and dead.
From the base of their heads, and right above the nap of their necks was a ma.s.sive root that sprouted out and this root had a busted-out globule. Or the skin of it.
"What in G.o.d's name is that?" asked the captain.
"That's the zombified ants, the ones that weren't discovered in time. Back in… where I come from, this is a natural occurrence. That parasitic fungi lands on an ant, and will slowly corrode its mind and control it, until one day, the ant will start following the fungi's orders. Moving its body like a zombie, away from the colony at first, and toward the perfect place for the fungi to breed.
If you notice, all of the ants are positioned on the same level, to absorb the same level of light and have access to the same level of humidity. This way, the fungi grow faster inside the ant's body, and once it consumes its inside completely, leaving nothing but a husk, it will grow that sac that you can see atop the extruding vein out of their head. That sac usually holds more of the fungi spores that will be driven by wind and water, to other creatures that will feast on it and will also join in the fungi population." I said
"That sounds like stories of nightmares… how did you guys back in your place deal with stuff like this then?" asked the captain.
"Well, the level of this zombification was on an abysmally smaller level, the ants that were affected were small ants, nothing like these monstrosities. And the fungi and spore itself didn't affect humans. But this one here is probably more than capable enough to do so, after all, you saw the level and number of walkers outside."
The soldiers began thinking of the repercussions of this.
"You guys remember the updraft?" I asked.
"Yes, it was powerful enough," said Old Fu.
"Now think of it this way, what if these spores, which are heavily Qi restricted here were to go out and land on top of a mortal or a cultivator? After all, there is atmosphere here, and that means there is wind. What if these spores were to move about, slowly and go all the way to the updraft, and start spreading out all over the Beyond?" I asked.
The thought alone was terrifying. That will mean that billions of walkers could be created in no time.
"I have no idea why this is happening…" Old Fu said, "It didn't use to be like this you know, the Sea of Demons I mean."
"I guess not. The giant skeletons of sea beasts were proof that the area above this place was a vast sea. But since the skeletons themselves hadn't fully disappeared or perished into dust, that means that not enough time had pa.s.sed before the Sea of Demons dried out," I said.
Old Fu seemed to understand what I was about to say but one of the soldiers still asked. "What does that mean? The Sea of Demons had dried more than ten thousand years ago."
"Do you think that ten thousand years is enough for life to emerge here?" I asked him.
He opened his mouth and closed it.
"That means that this place was here while the Sea of Demons was still filled with water… but how?" the soldier asked. "Also the walkers only appeared after the Sea of Demons dried out, doesn't that mean that there should have been walkers when the Sea of Demons didn't dry yet?" he asked.
"Where is the literal sea of demons?" I asked
"Myths say that it is the very clouds above the sea… it had vaporized and went up to make that everlasting cloud," he said.
"That is indeed a theory. Although I can't confirm or deny it, the density and amount of water in those clouds are abnormal. Yet the real question remains, when the sea of demons was still in its former position and was full of fish and sea monsters? How come the dark garden didn't get swamped or drowned in water?" I asked.
"Perhaps… the water never made it here, the sea of demons was probably above this cave, but never funneled into it," Old FU said.
"I came to the same conclusion," I said.
"But… is that even possible?" asked the captain.
"There is no reason for it not to be, after all, we went through one of the 'chimneys' of the dark garden. And remember there is a powerful out draft that is pumping air out of those chimneys. So even if it were to rain, the constant air will keep the pipes from funneling water inside.
This whole garden was along with the Sea of Demons, and perhaps these spores were also here. And even when these fungi were to fly through the pipes and chimneys of the Dark Garden outside, there was no 'cloud' to stop the sun rays from burning the spores.
And there was nothing but endless water for the spores to land on and then die. Only when the Sea of Demons dried out did the walkers start emerging. Because the drying of the sea of demons created the perfect environment for the fungi.
Which are, darkness, humidity from the atmosphere, and people instead of ants…"
"Then why were tens of thousands of walkers stockpiled inside this cave, you think the fungi made them do that? Controlled them like the ants?" asked Old Fu.
I shook my head, "No, that was man-made. Remember the cultists we met before? And the trees. Someone is using this 'natural' behavior to their purpose and agenda, we need to figure out who and why, but right now, we're still missing more information on the matter, mainly the reason… why would someone want to plunge the Beyond in despair… and who would gain from doing so?"