Rex, who had been waiting at the entrance, stuck out two fingers and pointed at his own head then at the mouth of the cave .
Simbady signaled him that everything was fine on his end .
Rex thus nodded in approval, turned around and walked into the cave .
Simbady looked up and saw the scuba hoses suspending above him . In the past three days, he had not only learned the basic operation of the diving suit but also diving gestures and techniques . It was extremely important to monitor these two hoses, and that was why the salvage required two people .
As a device to supply oxygen, the hose was connected to an air pump powered by a steam engine, which constantly circulated the air in the helmet . If one of the hoses was broken or clogged, the consequence would be fatal . Therefore, he had to be extremely careful when changing his direction or passing through narrow, treacherous areas .
Seeing there was no nothing protruding from the ceiling of the cave, Simbady threw himself into the darkness .
The sound of foaming waves was instantly muffled . He could hear the hissing sound of the air valves and the thud of his own heart .
After he marched around ten meters, the darkness around him grew thicker . Simbady could only make out an obscured outline of a slowly moving Rex in front of him as he plunged into this abyss .
Just then, the ground underneath suddenly rose, and the path started to ascend .
In less than seven minutes, Simbady saw the sea again . This time, however, the water was not glistening with golden specks but heaving quietly .
He followed Rex out of the water while holding his breath . A huge cave appeared in front both of them, most of which sihouletted against the darkness, with only a small part at the dome lit by a ghostly blue light reflecting off the glimmers on the surface of the seawater .
Was this cave connected to the world outside?
Simbady hoisted himself up onto the bank . He was about to take off his helmet when Rex stopped him .
The Fjords merchant took out a water-proof oil lamp from his sack . After observing the lit lamp for quite a while, he took off the helmet and said, "Agh . . . Looks like this place isn't completely cut off from the outside world . "
"There's . . . wind?" Simbady said in surprise, feeling a chill playing upon his cheeks as he pulled off his helmet .
"Yes . There may be other exits," Rex replied hopefully . "In this case, there's a bigger chance we find treasures here . We're really lucky!"
Simbady cared more about safety than treasures . He did not expect to find a cave underneath the desert because the rock here was just too thin to form such a humongous cave . After all, this was only 20 meters beneath the water, and he was also concerned about whether the dome would cave in .
Simbady decided to report to Graycastle what he had found after he got out of here . Although it was a little unfair to the Society of Wondrous Crafts, he had to make sure that the cave would not pose any potential safety hazards to the Festive Harbor above it .
"The wind seems to come from that direction," Rex said as he placed his helmet next to the pond and raised the oil lamp . "Let's go take a look . "
Simbady drew out his knife and followed him slowly .
As they delved further into the exploration, Simbady found the cave became even more bizarre .
Soil appeared as they moved on, and grass gradually replaced moss as they marshaled further, giving Simbady an illusion that he was strolling at Silver Stream Oasis .
"Unbelievable . There are green plants here," Rex remarked in amazement . "I thought only mushroom and moss would grow here . "
"Maybe . . . we should head back," Simbady said hesitantly . "I feel this place . . . "
He stopped dead .
"Feel this place what?" Having not heard anything back from Simbady, Rex turned around and asked, "Hey, what are you looking at? Wow, a flower!"
Simbady felt his chest constrict . Next to him was a beautiful little flower with pastel purple petals and fragile, delicate leaves . "This is . . . the Flower of Providence . . . "
"Is it very rare?"
"No . . . they used to be everywhere," Simbady said in a low tone . "I never saw it before, but I've heard about the legend of Three Gods Emissary . It's rumored that this kind of flower is coastal . Like a splendid purple ribbon, they used to be the most beautiful flower in the Southernmost Region . "
"There were flowers . . . in the desert?" Rex asked in astonishment .
"It wasn't a desert here in the past . This land used to be covered with trees, meadows and rivers," Simbady explained while shaking his head . "However, after the departure of Three Gods Emissary, this place gradually turned into a desert . That's not my point . My point is, there's a detailed description of the Flower of Providence in our documentation . Once these flowers settle at one area, they will never grow anywhere else . That's why you don't see them in the oasis . They should have been extinctive now . . . "
"I see," Rex mumbled while clicking his tongue, "Perhaps the desertification didn't spread to this underwater cave, so the Flower of Providence lives . "
"Is that really so?" Simbady wondered, getting even more confused . For some reason, he had a strong feeling that this cave used to be an oasis .
Meanwhile, the purple flowers around him became denser . Simbady did not think the presence of these flowers was a pure coincidence .
While Simbady was debating whether he should proceed with the exploration, he suddenly heard a gentle "crack" underneath .
Then a jet of flash erupted from the ground, creating a haze of light around him .
"What happened?" asked Rex in surprise .
"I . . . I think I stepped on something," Simbady said, swallowing hard . "It seems to be a plank . "
"Is it a trap?" Rex said as he bent over and brushed away the grass and flowers around him . "Well, this is . . . haha . . . hahaha . . . "
The laugh reverberated across the cave, making all the hair on Simbady's neck stand on end . "What are you laughing about? Oi, tell me what it is!"
"Haha, treasures! We've found treasures!" Rex said vehemently . "Look!"
To Simbady's dismay, underneath the earth lay a densely-patterned stone tablet that emanated a soft glow . The light escaped from underneath his feet, making the entire tablet as transparent and luminous as a jade . The tablet was not as hard as it appeared . When Simbady stepped on it, much to his consternation, the surface of the tablet sank a few inches .
What was more incredible was that the dent magically disappeared on its own after Simbady removed his feet . Meanwhile, the light also faded away, as though everything he had just seen was an illusion .
"Is there any more amazing treasure than this?" Rex exclaimed in exhilaration while stomping on the "stone tablet" . "If I could send this tablet to the King of Graycastle, I'll be the honorary explorer for sure!"
"But . . . it's too big," Simbady said apprehensively . Judging from the part above the ground, the "stone tablet" might be even larger than him and Rex put together . It was definitely not an easy task to transport it out of the cave .
"We'll manage . I'm sure we can find a way to get this work . Perhaps we can look for some other exits? " Rex suddenly broke off and then said, "Hey, looks like there's another tablet here . "
Rex took a few steps in the directon Rex was pointing at and soon hit another similar "stone tablet" . In the soft light, more and more grayish white tablets floated out of the sea of flowers .
"There's one here, and there as well . . . " The two men tried to count how many tablets there were as they marched forward but soon abandoned this idea .
It was not long before they noticed that the Flowers of Providence were gradually replaced with those jade-like stone tablets . Light erupted everywhere as they proceeded .
Then a giant wall blocked their way .
"Oh God . . . " Rex gasped .
Feeling a little cold, Simbady slowly raised his head and saw a stone wall loom over him in the soft light . Then they found out that it was not a "wall" but a pile of numerous stone tablets .
Some of them were broken and some slashed in half . However, most of the tablets were rectangular . The random way in which these tablets laid on top of each other gave Simbady an ominous feeling .
They resembled thousands of buried coffins .
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