Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong watched as the small stones tumbled and fell into the abyss below, soon disappearing from sight, with the sound of crashing and clattering echoing from below, deep and seemingly endless. He lifted his head and looked at the chasm in front of him, the cliffs extending infinitely left and right into the darkness, almost without an edge — the path ended here.

He turned back around and asked Nini, ”Is it here?”

Kneeling with her hands supporting her, held in Tianlan’s palms, Nini nodded obediently, ”Yes, Papa, here!”

”But there is no path here anymore.” Tianlan stretched her neck, looked left and right, and after surveying for a while, withdrew her gaze. She lifted Nini up and asked in confusion, ”Nini, Nini, could you be mistaken?”

Nini couldn’t understand such complex words. She blinked her curious eyes at Tianlan, probably thinking the other was playing some game with her, wagged her little tail, and started playing with Tianlan’s palm.

Tianlan couldn’t resist this and immediately surrendered, ”Nini, it’s not time to play now!” But despite her words, she didn’t seem to have any intention of refusing.

Fang Hong wasn’t in the mood to fool around with the two; Nini seemed to have sensed something in the darkness — from the moment she had appeared on her own initiative. The little girl was lively but sometimes lazy, and a bit shy, rarely voluntarily leaving his spirit world unless absolutely necessary, especially when her Sister Tata wasn’t around.

He turned back to the Lion Paladin and said, ”Mr. Reed, what do you think?”

The Big Catfolk crouched down, scratching at the edge of the cliff with his paw, the rings in his mane jingling, ”Do you think that place is down there?”

Fang Hong nodded, that was indeed what he thought. Though the little girl was in a foggy daze and her mind wasn’t fully matured, as a Dragon Soul born from the Dragon’s Golden Eyes, her perceptions were extraordinarily keen. If she sensed something ahead, then something must be there. The only difference would be what it was exactly.

The Big Catfolk’s armor clinked as he reached back to draw out his sword, ”Then you should have those small things check it out, and I’ll keep an eye on the surroundings for you.”

”Thank you, Mr. Reed,” Fang Hong took a silver bee from under his coat, held it in his hand. This delicate little device flapped its wings and gently flew up, tracing a silver arc, and entered the darkness below.

He pulled down his wind goggles and looked down. After a moment, he let out a light ’huh’ sound. He commanded the silver bee to keep flying down, but all that came into view was the gray lifeless rock, and no end in sight below, flying nearly a minute without reaching the bottom.

Just as he was about to continue exploring, he suddenly felt a disconnect between himself and the Clockwork Fairy, and the scene in his vision became pitch black.

A nearby group brought over the Beast of Burden, stopping not far away. Fang Hong turned back, instructed Beiji to wait there for them, then led Titanium Pea and others over. Just in time to see this, they couldn’t help but ask, ”Captain Ade, what happened?”

Fang Hong shook his head and took out the second silver bee, but didn’t rush to release it. He first recalled what had happened before, then raised his hand. Everyone watched as the silver construct rose from his palm, but this time it didn’t fly down, it went forward.

In everyone’s field of vision, the silver light flew roughly twenty meters away, but at that spot, it suddenly vanished without a trace once more. Fang Hong was slightly taken aback; he received the same response — the Clockwork Fairy had lost contact with him.

”What’s the matter?” Reed furrowed his brow, asking Fang Hong.

”Wait, could it be an illusion?” Walnut Underground looked in that direction, suddenly pondering and inquiring.

This remark undoubtedly reminded Fang Hong. He suddenly realized something, used the control gloves to gently pull back, regardless of whether his construct could receive this command, he issued an order to fly back.

And in front of everyone, the next moment, a silver light emerged from the darkness, the previously vanished silver bee reappeared before their eyes. ”Puzzle Lock Barrier,” the Big Catfolk, versed in much knowledge, whispered seeing this scene, ”This is a large illusion technique array.”

Fang Hong nodded, he had perceived that as well. However, this wasn’t just a simple illusion, it was a multifunctional hidden barrier, capable of at least shielding perception. He had the silver bee return to his hand, then turned with a bit of surprise to look at Walnut Underground.

”How did you recognize that it was an illusion?”

Walnut Underground scratched his head, not expecting he could actually be helpful, and awkwardly replied, ”I didn’t really recognize it, but the situation earlier was somewhat similar to the Puzzle Lock Barrier at our guild’s garrison.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but be a bit surprised, thinking it was probably due to different environments and thus different experiences. The Puzzle Lock Barrier was a standard feature in large cities, guild garrisons, something Walnut Underground and his group were accustomed to, but the Seven Seas Travel Group hadn’t encountered much.

Luckily, having brought several of them from the Seven Seas Travel Group this time, they unintentionally tested the illusion. This hidden barrier, separated from them by a chasm, would not have been easy to discern with only the Clockwork Fairy.