Chapter 453: Chapter 453: The Icy Pool

The leader of the Mountain People in front of me is indeed very powerful, even among Level 2 Lives, he is an extraordinary existence.

But his opponent is not Duke.

The Level 2 enslaved creature, which had always stood like a statue, moved—a giant ape covered in bone armor, with a single horn on its head, leaped in front of Duke.

Also, a two-headed gray wolf, spewing sulfuric breath, suddenly moved, roaring and attacking from the left and right sides.

The remaining Level 2 enslaved creatures did not move, only guarded vigilantly.

This was Catherine’s arrangement; she clearly believed that deploying two Level 2 enslaved creatures was sufficient to deal with the leader of the Mountain People.

Catherine also moved to the front; she needed to keep her eye on this Mountain People leader to prevent him from having the opportunity to attack other Wizards.

The Mountain People’s leader’s giant axe collided fiercely with the bone claws and wolf teeth, unleashing a stunning energy shock that shattered the surrounding rocks.

Though the Mountain People’s leader was extremely brave, facing the attack from two fierce Level 2 enslaved creatures, he was instantly entangled and unable to escape, only able to let out furious and unwilling roars.

In addition, Catherine had him constantly locked in place, greatly limiting the Mountain People’s leader’s movements, making it difficult for him to divert his attention elsewhere.

The battlefield was forcibly divided.

Duke quickly bypassed this area and proceeded forward.

He glanced back at the earth-shaking battle zone, feeling slightly reassured.

The two Level 2 enslaved creatures fulfilled their duties, clearing the biggest obstacle for him.

Duke no longer hesitated; surrounded by yellow sand, he increased his speed again, transforming into a stream of gold-brown light, charging towards the other Mountain People ahead.

His task was to eliminate the remaining forces, dismantling the defense line of the Mountain People.

The other Wizards of the Seventh Squad were also fighting independently, either commanding the enslaved creatures to engage.

The battle became chaotic and intense.

Duke manipulated the yellow sand, engulfing a Mountain People warrior charging at him with a roar, crushing both him and his weapons in a whirlpool of sand.

The immense impact shattered a rock wall behind the warrior, with stones cascading down, accidentally revealing a hidden, narrow gap behind it.

Duke intended to continue forward, but an extremely faint yet exceptionally pure and refreshing energy fluctuation, mixed with a hint of cold air, happened to drift out from the crevice, brushing against his senses.

This fluctuation was completely different from the violent tide of energy on the battlefield; if not for his keen perception of the Water Element, it would have almost been overlooked.

Duke possessed a high Water Element Affinity talent, making his perception ability for the Water Element incredibly strong.

He keenly sensed that the Water Elemental Energy fluctuation seeping from the rear of the crevice was somewhat unusual, completely different from the Water Elemental Energy he had sensed before.

“Hmm?” Duke paused, intrigued. Although this Water Elemental Energy was weak, its essence seemed very high.

He waved his hand to manipulate the yellow sand, enlarging the crevice enough for a person to pass through.

What came into view was not some secret passage or storage room, but a naturally formed small cavern, in the center of which lay a cold pond about a few meters square.

The pond water was deep and icy cold, emanating wisps of white vapor, and the strange energy fluctuation and cold air originated from the depths of the pond.

This place appeared to be merely an ordinary low-temperature water source in the valley; a slight perception would reveal that this cold pond is the water source of Giant Rock Grip Valley.

All the surrounding streams essentially originate from here.

The Mountain People have lived here for generations and are likely accustomed to this cold pond, perhaps only viewing it as a common drinking place, unaware of the secrets possibly hidden in its depths.

Duke suddenly associated that everyone among the Mountain People has the Awakened qualification, apart from blood lineage, could it be related to the water source they drank daily?

He approached the cold pond and discovered that the water inside actually contained some Life Energy.

This meant that even just drinking the water inside could increase lifespan.

If ordinary people drank this water regularly, they would certainly have strong bodies and live a long life, no wonder these Mountain People possess strong physiques.

Duke wondered why the cold pond had such rich Life Energy. He explored with his Spiritual Power and found the pond was extremely deep; even with his Spiritual Power, it couldn’t reach the bottom.

He thought for a moment and took out the Shadow Insect Bag, releasing some Shadow Insects to swim down first, then himself entered the water to slowly swim downward.

Using the Shadow Insects, he could get a preview of the situation below and withdraw early if anything went wrong.

The pond water was extremely deep and grew colder and more bone-chilling the deeper he went, with the light quickly dimming.

But for Duke, this cold was nothing.

A slight surge of Magic Power around him dispelled the cold.

After diving approximately two hundred meters, in the mud and water plants at the pond bottom, he saw a faint light.

When he got closer, he discovered that it was an uneven, multi-faceted natural crystal roughly the size of a baby’s fist.

This crystal was transparent throughout, yet inside it seemed to encase a small pool of flowing liquid emitting a soft emerald green halo.

The indescribable, vast, and pure Life aura was precisely emanating from this small amount of emerald liquid.

This crystal sat atop a square base, the base made of bronze, seemingly welded firmly to the bottom of the pond.

The base housed this crystal, showing signs that it has been here for many years.

Unknown who placed it at the pond bottom, after ages passing, the entire pond water was altered to be rich in abundant Life Energy.

These pond waters spread via waterways to the surrounding areas, thus benefiting the Mountain People tribes who have lived here for generations.

The Mountain People have been drinking the cold pond’s water for generations, subtly nourished by this trace Spring of Life, improving their physique continually, naturally elevating their chances of awakening far above ordinary people.

But it seems they never discovered the secret at the pond bottom, just treated it as an important water source.

Staring at the pond bottom with the crystal on the bronze base, Duke waved his hand, the yellow sand moved, stripping away the entire bronze base along with a rock below, then placed it in the Light God Court.

After finishing these actions, he checked the vicinity, only finding some dim natural passages leading to other areas, with no other special items present.

Only then did Duke swim back up, clearing the traces here, then used yellow sand to fill the crevice.

All this happened very quickly; moreover, Duke was the fastest, so no one else had discovered the situation here yet.

Duke also pretended as if nothing had happened, rejoining the nearby battle.

He still didn’t know what the crystal and the emerald liquid inside were, only waiting after the battle ended to have the chance to research it further.

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