After a while, Фэн Юань, who had finished reading the documents, closed the book, closed his eyes, rubbed his nose, and said,
"I see... It seems that even the Meteor Pavilion isn’t all that dangerous. And what exactly is that thing? Never mind, it shouldn’t be anything dangerous. It really is strange how it casually leaves weird things lying around."
"So, is that the Meteor Pavilion below?"
Swishing its tail, Агунас looked at Фэн Юань in surprise. Although everyone had this speculation, it had never really investigated the data there, so naturally, it didn’t know what was beneath Mingjing Lake. Nodding, Фэн Юань flashed a mysterious smile and said,
"Of course, but please forgive me for keeping the details confidential. Knowing everything won’t benefit your expedition~"
"The Meteor Pavilion... I didn’t expect it really was that."
Surprised, Meng Binglan glanced at Фэн Юань. She didn’t doubt if Фэн Юань was spouting nonsense since it was Агунас who had provided him the information. Meanwhile, the leader of the archaeological team, who had come over, looked at Фэн Юань, full of excitement. They hadn’t expected Фэн Юань to come, let alone bring Агунас along.
Of course, the leaders of the archaeological team were aware of this, as it was initially just Фэн Юань bringing his friends to join, but later Meng Binglan’s involvement made everyone aware.
On the way, after sharing some important information with them, Фэн Юань refrained from saying more. In truth, even if they knew Фэн Юань had the answers, they wouldn’t want him to disclose everything, as this would render their investigation meaningless, not even allowing them practice.
Upon arriving at the camp of the archaeological team, after exchanging a few praises, everyone quickly reached a consensus to re-enter Mingjing Lake to investigate. At this point, after Фэн Юань helped correct some preliminary maps, these were distributed to everyone,
"Are these red circled areas related to the Meteor Pavilion?"
Seeing the areas specifically marked by Фэн Юань, Dou Yanlan turned to Фэн Юань for confirmation. Nodding, Фэн Юань looked towards Mingjing Lake and said,
"Indeed, those areas are entrances and exits. It’s best not to approach those regions, or you might run into some minor troubles, as the Meteor Pavilion and outer buildings are quite different."
"Speaking of which, we discovered the ruins at the lakebed not only include architectural styles from the Tianqiong Dynasty but also feature characteristics from the Cangyun Dynasty. Could the outer buildings have been modified by them?"
At this point, Professor Li from the archaeological team couldn’t help but ask Фэн Юань, who nodded, glanced at the map, and said,
"More or less, but strictly speaking, it’s not just the outer palaces. Even the Meteor Pavilion was modified by them, but thankfully, they didn’t alter it much, probably because its special nature prevented them from discovering the real secret."
Shaking his head with a smile, Фэн Юань, although he hadn’t seen records from the Cangyun Dynasty, had some references to the Cangyun and Huatian dynasties in the classics given by Агунас.
Yes, besides the Cangyun Dynasty, the Huatian Dynasty had also visited the Meteor Pavilion beneath Mingjing Lake in the past. However, unlike the Cangyun Dynasty, they only examined it briefly without altering the structures below, leaving no traces for the archaeological team to find.
Except for Фэн Юань, who checked the lost classics directly, no one else had expected that, after the Cangyun Dynasty, another dynasty had visited this place. Of course, Фэн Юань suspected that if he mentioned it, they might also connect the dots, as the things hidden inside the Meteor Pavilion were indeed special.
Though there are records, Фэн Юань was unclear who exactly created that thing. It? Not likely, as it didn’t need to do so, and it wouldn’t just deploy it in one place. As for outside? Also unlikely, as the thing was too intertwined with spirit beasts.
Feeling a headache thinking about it, Фэн Юань didn’t bother to overthink it, as this would be something for the archaeological team to study anyway, having little to do with him.
After some preparations and cautions, everyone finally arrived at the lakeside. Feeling Xiao Ji’s unease, Фэн Юань gently groomed Xiao Ji’s feathers and said,
"How about you stay here?"
Looking at Фэн Юань, Xiao Ji shook its head, spread its wings, and made a sound. Compared to before, it now only disliked water rather than being too afraid to touch it. Especially since Фэн Юань would certainly use a barrier to isolate the lake water this time, he had no interest in underwater adventures.
Seeing Xiao Ji still a bit uneasy, Фэн Юань picked it up, gently patted its wings, glanced at Агунас, and followed Ци Чэнь and the others into Mingjing Lake.
Although they hadn’t drained the lake water, as the documents Фэн Юань previously read included parts of the mechanism’s records, which clearly stated that some mechanisms within Mingjing Lake were connected to it, and removing the lake water could have unforeseen consequences.
With eyes closed, occasionally sneaking a peek at the surroundings, Xiao Ji leaned closer to Фэн Юань. Фэн Юань was curiously observing around. At the lakebed, swarms of special little fish swam around them, resembling guards. Фэн Юань wasn’t surprised by this.
These Ice Crystal Fish, while not spirit beasts, were special animals cultivated by the Cangyun Dynasty. They carried a hint of coldness, offering certain benefits to aquatic spirit beasts. Yet, due to the difficulty in cultivating them, no one dared easily feed them to their spirit beasts.
Furthermore, in modern times, these special life forms are naturally prime protection objects, but as for the origin of the Ice Crystal Fish, a conclusion that it came from the Cangyun Dynasty is all that’s derived, with the details about who cultivated them, how they were created, and for what purpose being unknown.
"Though interesting, they’re not very pretty."
Gently stroking Xiao Ji’s head, Фэн Юань muttered to himself. Veronia, sharing the barrier with him, returned to her original form and sat on Rainbow Bubbles, observing the fish, and said,
"That’s different. Apart from intelligence, pseudo-spirit beasts aren’t much different from spirit beasts, but these Ice Crystal Fish aren’t like that."
Shaking his head with a chuckle, Фэн Юань explained. Despite being called Ice Crystal Fish, these fish resembled ordinary lake fish, their bodies not crystal-like. They earned the name Ice Crystal Fish mainly because their unique cold energy occasionally gathered small crystals around them as they swam.
As for their appearance, they were no different from ordinary small fish, thus failing to captivate Veronia’s interest, as she only collects ’elegant’ things unless in special circumstances.
Mingjing Lake was very deep, and after diving for a while, they finally reached the ruins at the bottom. Looking at the sunken buildings at the lakebed, Фэн Юань’s classmates were too astonished to speak, as for the archaeological team members?
They were already familiar with the situation here, and to them, a lakebed Crystal Palace wasn’t extremely rare. Occasionally, they’d even unearthed similar structures. Hugging Xiao Ji, Фэн Юань, thinking of something, said,
"I remember there being a barrier outside the palace group, used for mirage and concealment, isolating the water. Why is it like this now?"
"The one you’re referring to, indeed, we found remnants of it. However, based on our research, those ruins harnessed naturally existing energy. But a while back, an environmental energy depletion caused the device to fail. Fortunately, the remaining structures weren’t destroyed."
Through the headset, Professor Li’s voice came through. Фэн Юань had accidentally opened his microphone, making his words audible to everyone. After a brief silence, Фэн Юань said,
"I see, I remember the inner palace having another cyclical system. How stable is this ruin now?"
"It shouldn’t collapse in the short term, but we can’t ensure there won’t be any surprises. So you all need to be careful."
Another member of the archaeological team said. With someone taking the lead, everyone slowly became more open, analyzing and discussing the approaching ruins. Observing the lakebed palace, Фэн Юань wasn’t overly concerned. The half-deteriorated ruins would likely pose a challenge in the follow-up repairs and maintenance needed by the archaeological team. He even suspected they might have to re-isolate it from the lake water after completing their analysis.
But recalling the previous device, Фэн Юань showed a peculiar smile, thinking that simply isolating it from the water might spoil things~

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