Chapter 714: “I Don’t Like Drinking Bathwater”

The gloomy stone door swallowed the light and noise from the outside world.

Zhou Huai stood in front of the threshold and took a deep breath.

Alongside the ethereal and immortal-looking Great Sage Li Er, he stepped into the ruins.

Passing through that spatial barrier rippling like water waves, the scene before his eyes underwent a heaven-shaking transformation.

The light here was bright, and the air was fresh.

Coming into view was an underground world vast beyond imagination!

This was Zhou Huai's first time truly stepping into the interior of the Simon City Ruins.

Even though he was mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but gasp.

It was too vast!

The dome overhead was extremely high, and countless thick, giant vines and roots intertwined into a sky-blocking green giant net, supporting this vast space.

Everywhere were bizarre vegetation that were astonishingly tall.

Some leaves were wide with fluorescent light flowing through their veins; some flowers were as large as millstones, emitting colors as their petals opened and closed.

Some ancient trees were even exaggerated enough to pierce directly through the dome, extending who knows where.

The air was permeated with a rich wood-attribute life energy.

What surprised Zhou Huai the most was the silence here.

Extremely quiet.

Logically speaking, the interior of such ancient ruins must be infested with countless ferocious exotic beasts, full of dangers.

The reason Zhou Huai dared to enter with his main body was because he brought Great Sage Li Er, who was at Rank 51 and possessed the divine skill Word of Law, which was enough to handle the vast majority of emergencies.

If even Li Er couldn't handle it, then even calling Arthur and Xiaohei from outside would just be throwing their lives away in vain.

But now, there were only plants in this ruin, and not even the shadow of the lowest-tier mutated mouse could be seen!

Clearly, this was long no longer the original appearance of the ruins.

It was clearly after that ancient phantom revived that it forcibly altered the ecology of the entire ruins with its own strength!

Just as Zhou Huai stopped in his tracks, thinking about which direction to explore in—

"Rustle, rustle…"

A slight sound of leaves rubbing against each other rang out.

A dense forest of thorns that originally blocked the front actually wriggled and retreated to both sides in unison!

In just a few seconds, that vegetation actively yielded a wide, tranquil path.

The path meandered downwards, leading straight to the deepest part of the ruins, with the fluorescent plants on both sides emitting a soft green glow.

"A scheme to lure me into the trap…" Zhou Huai sneered.

He did not retreat, and the two of them followed the path cleared by the vegetation, walking all the way towards the depths of the ruins.

The further down they walked, the more surprised Zhou Huai felt.

He found that the air in these ruins was exceptionally fresh.

Unlike the turbidity of the outside world mixed with industrial exhaust and the fishy stench of exotic beasts, every breath here made his lungs feel clean.

The rich breath of life poured through his nasal cavity into all his limbs and bones, dispelling the dizziness Zhou Huai experienced due to the forced cross-spatial teleportation.

Walking all the way down, Zhou Huai felt his mind become clear and empty, and his tense nerves from days past also relaxed.

"This is quite a paradise away from the world." Zhou Huai exclaimed subconsciously.

If there weren't those world-destroying melee battles outside, and if there weren't the Great Purge crisis hanging over everyone's heads.

Being able to live in such a vibrant place would truly be a cozy thing.

Following the stairs formed by the intertwined roots of unknown vegetation all the way down, after walking for about a dozen minutes, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

At the end of the stairs appeared a huge underground karst cave.

In the center of the karst cave quietly lay an emerald-green lake.

The lake water was crystal clear with no Impurities, and a layer of white mist hovered over the water surface, emitting a sacred light.

Even without checking with the System, Zhou Huai could conclude based solely on the comfortable sensation coming from his pores—these waters were extremely rare top-tier resources that people outside would fight tooth and nail for!

In every single drop of water, a vast amount of life essence was concentrated!

And now, this life essence, enough to drive Professionals worldwide crazy, had formed a fairly large lake deep within these ruins.

Zhou Huai stopped ten meters away from the lakeside.

Li Er stepped forward by half a step slightly, the whisk in his hand moving without wind, ready to use Word of Law.

"I am here." Zhou Huai spoke facing the calm lake surface.

"Show yourself. Hiding your head and showing your tail is not an attitude for discussing cooperation."

As soon as his voice fell.

"Splash—!"

In the center of the originally calm lake, violent water waves suddenly surged!

Following that, an exquisitely graceful figure revealed half her body from the lake!

Amidst splashing water, she flicked her charming dark-green long hair.

Water droplets traced crystal-clear arcs in mid-air along her hair strands, accompanied by the rising mist around, carrying an extreme visual impact!

However, when Zhou Huai saw the other person's face clearly, he froze for a moment.

What was most astonishing was the other party's beauty.

The previous phantom's facial features could not be seen clearly, but after materialization, this was the most beautiful woman Zhou Huai had ever seen in his two lifetimes!

Her facial features were exquisitely flawless, and her skin was fair and translucent, glowing with an alluring luster against the backdrop of the emerald-green lake water.

Of course, what caught the eye most was the other party's proud assets.

That magnificent arc breaking through the water—even Polina from Great Bear Country, known for her enchanting allure, would be overshadowed in front of her and feel inferior.

But this was not the most fatal part.

What was most fatal was that this woman clearly possessed a devilish figure capable of making any man's blood surge, yet the temperament she exuded carried a sacred, inviolable solemnity!

She was the Goddess of Nature nurtured between this heaven and earth.

Even generating thoughts of crossing the line would be an unforgivable sacrilege!

Half-immersed in the lake water, the woman raised her crystal-clear green eyes and looked at Zhou Huai on the shore.

A brilliant smile bloomed on her stunningly beautiful face.

Exceptionally charming.

She extended her tender, white fingers, gently flicked the water surface before her, and scooped up a handful of emerald-green lake water emitting a sacred light.

"How is it?"

The woman looked at Zhou Huai, tilted her head with a full smile, and asked in a seductive tone, "Do you want to taste this water?"

"It is very delicious."

This seductive invitation, paired with her breathtaking beauty, would have caused any man with slightly poor self-control to lose his sanity and dash towards the lakeside regardless of everything.

However, Zhou Huai stood in place without moving even half a step.

He looked expressionlessly at the handful of lake water flowing down from between the woman's fingers, and then, decisively shook his head.

"No need."

Zhou Huai's tone was flat without any fluctuation, and even full of disgust: "I don't like drinking other people's bathwater."