Chapter 239: The Gloom Domain
The underground world beneath the Underground Dark River Camp had the shape of a gigantic gourd. If the waterfall was the vine at the mouth of the gourd, continuously bringing vitality to the underground world before them—
Then the place where Zhou Ming stood at this moment was the very bottom of the gourd. Behind him, the small Dimensional Rift that emitted a silver glow quietly shimmered.
What he was looking at ahead should originally have been an incomparably solid rock layer.
Yet now, a pitch-black passage that seemed bottomless had appeared!
The passage was abnormally wide—nearly a hundred meters across—and dozens of meters high, like a bottomless abyss whose destination was unknown.
“This passage appeared today?”
After silently observing for a long while, Zhou Ming spoke in a slightly grave tone, asking Su Mei, who followed behind him.
According to his previous plan, he had intended to turn the independent small underground world before him into his own base of operations.
But this sudden change made Zhou Ming hesitate for a moment, considering whether to continue carrying out his original plan.
“Reporting to my lord, it did indeed appear today.”
Upon hearing her lord’s question, Su Mei immediately gave an affirmative reply.
“Was anyone sent to investigate?”
“Not yet. After learning of this matter, this subordinate reported it to you at once and did not arrange for anyone to explore the passage.”
Hearing of Su Mei’s cautious arrangement, Zhou Ming did not blame her. Instead, he quietly pondered the reason for the passage’s appearance and where exactly it led.
After a moment, Zhou Ming faintly formed a conjecture, though he still needed to confirm it personally.
“Su Mei, come with me to investigate. The others will return to the camp for now.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The group obeyed without the slightest hesitation.
As the others returned to the camp, Zhou Ming and Su Mei directly entered the suddenly appeared passage.
Not long after stepping inside, their vision was completely swallowed by darkness. Even a Professional Beast Tamer’s dim vision required at least a trace of light to function.
However, relying on their Spiritual Power perception, they were still able to discern their surroundings. There was nothing but rock.
Neither plants nor even the most insignificant insects were detected.
It was as though a complete giant rock had been hollowed out from the middle, creating this passage out of thin air.
After the two advanced slowly for a short time, a faint glimmer of light appeared in the distance, yet in Zhou Ming’s eyes it was dazzling.
“It seems my guess was correct.”
In the pitch-black passage, Zhou Ming’s sigh resounded, as though he had already anticipated the outcome.
“My lord, has something bad happened?”
Upon hearing this, Su Mei immediately summoned her Sword-tailed Lizard in preparation for any unknown danger.
“You’ll know soon enough.”
Without further explanation, Zhou Ming exerted force beneath his feet, his figure shooting forward like a leopard toward the other end of the passage.
Su Mei could only ride her Sword-tailed Lizard closely behind him.
With both of them moving at full speed, they crossed the dark passage in mere seconds. The scene before them immediately entered their field of vision.
“My lord, this is another underground world.”
Su Mei had not expected that at the other end of the passage there would be an even larger underground world.
Looking up with the aid of faintly glowing vegetation, the rock ceiling above was at least several hundred meters from the ground. In the distance were undulating hills of varying heights, and all kinds of strangely shaped vegetation grew throughout the area.
“To be precise, this should be the Gloom Domain.”
“The Gloom Domain? Isn’t that the underground world opened up by that Undead Overlord?”
As the camp’s General Manager personally cultivated by Zhou Ming, Su Mei had obtained quite a few books from him to broaden her horizons.
She had some understanding of Beast Spirit Sorcerers and the Gloom Domain.
Hearing this, she was immediately shocked.
“The Gloom Domain wasn’t exactly opened up by that one. More accurately, it was the result of going with the natural course.”
“Because of the appearance of Dimensional Rifts, underground caverns gradually became semi-independent spaces, which is what we commonly call underground worlds.”
“According to what I know, these various caverns, large and small, began to gradually merge under the influence of Dimensional Rifts, ultimately forming larger underground worlds.”
“That one, who advanced through the Undead Overlord class advancement to become a Legendary Saint, merely accelerated the speed of that fusion.”
“As for why the underground world beneath our camp has connected with the Gloom Domain, I suspect it was a chain reaction caused by the destruction of the large Dimensional Rift in the Panlong Mountain Range, which triggered spatial changes.”
At this moment, Zhou Ming truly understood what it meant to sit quietly at home only for disaster to descend from the sky.
First, the Dark Card Organization had discovered that the Snake Guards were different from ordinary gene modifications and came knocking at his door.
Then, the nuclear explosion in the Panlong Mountain Range had drawn the intervention of the Alliance’s Legendary Saint, ultimately causing changes in the underground world he had discovered.
“My lord, what should we do now?”
After understanding the cause and effect, Su Mei immediately understood why Zhou Ming had sighed.
The Gloom Domain was vast and concealed countless resources—but it also contained all kinds of dangers.
From what Su Mei knew, besides the forces established by that Undead Overlord, the headquarters of underground organizations such as the Dark Card Organization, Shadow Assassination, and the Abyss Church were also located in the Gloom Domain, receiving the protection of that Undead Overlord.
In addition, the Gloom Domain also harbored foreign races, powerful Ferocious Beasts, and strange, troublesome spirit-type creatures…
In this dangerous underground world, the Law of the Jungle reigned supreme.
Once other forces discovered their existence, unless they abandoned the camp they had already built, if they encountered an irresistible existence, they would most likely be completely swallowed up.
Moreover, the cavern behind them connected to the outside world. If news of this leaked out, neither the Alliance nor the other forces of the Gloom Domain would allow them to occupy this place.
“Let’s investigate this area thoroughly first before making a decision. If there truly is an irresistible danger, then we’ll have no choice but to abandon it.”
After pondering for a moment, Zhou Ming did not immediately make a decision. He was unwilling to give up the camp he had painstakingly built.
Besides, the Gloom Domain was so vast that their position might not be exposed anytime soon. As long as he advanced to Transcendent Rank, none of this would be a problem.
Just as Zhou Ming and Su Mei were preparing to act, a faint tremor suddenly came from the ground.
“My lord, be careful.”
Although she knew her lord was powerful, Su Mei still could not help but warn him.
From the very spot where they had just been standing, a high-tier Ferocious Beast burrowed out of the ground.
It was nearly ten meters long, resembling an earthworm enlarged a hundredfold. Its body was earth-yellow, and sticky fluid covered its entire surface.
“Blood Descendant Secret Technique · Phantom Snake Hands.”
More than a dozen blood-colored serpent phantoms, almost tangible in form, emerged and shot toward the Ferocious Beast before them with lightning speed.
Facing an unfamiliar high-tier Ferocious Beast, Zhou Ming chose to strike first.