The Flame Chasing Furry Dog dashed down rapidly, a careless fall might cause injury, but Xiao Ji and the others didn’t have such worries. Initially, Xiao Ji also dove straight to the bottom of the pit, but halfway through, Feng Yuan asked Xiao Ji to change its method and adopt a spiral descent to avoid the possibility of hitting the ground too fast upon reaching the pit bottom.
The Big Cat, on the other hand, didn’t need mentioning, as its flying ability itself doesn’t support rapid flight. Additionally, the Big Cat was lazy and just slowly drifted downward, occasionally being lifted by updrafts it encountered along the way.
Kong Qing wasn’t as outrageous, it swam to the bottom at an extremely fast speed, but unlike the Flame Chasing Furry Dog, it maintained a constant speed as if moving over flat ground, not accelerating like the Flame Chasing Furry Dog.
Pomiti was carried by the Big Cat, and Little Ice Cream could float on its own, so it was fine even without following the Big Cat.
However, Agunas and Veronia’s attention was on the Flame Chasing Furry Dog and Feng Yuan respectively, so they didn’t notice Little Ice Cream’s unusual behavior. Tamur lightly swayed its body at the sight of Little Ice Cream’s unwilling appearance.
The Mythical Era had nothing to do with Meteorite Spirit Beast. Little Ice Cream’s resistant behavior suggested that this place might indeed have no relation to the Mythical Era.
Soon, the group gathered at the bottom of the pit, and upon meeting, Feng Yuan gave the Flame Chasing Furry Dog a forceful pat, laughingly chiding it
"You rascal, why are you acting so recklessly? I almost thought you were going to roll like a gourd! This isn’t a risk-free speed race, you know."
The Flame Chasing Furry Dog wagged its tail, woofing carefree. Tamur circled around Feng Yuan, commenting
"It’s in fear."
"Fear? Hmm? Little Ice Cream, what’s wrong? Is there something here that’s bad for you?"
Being reminded by Tamur, Feng Yuan finally noticed Little Ice Cream’s unusual behavior. It lacked its usual liveliness, curling up and shivering on the Big Cat as if something here terrified it.
"Hmm, it’s a bit like a response to a natural enemy."
Veronia curiously asked Little Ice Cream what was going on, but Little Ice Cream simply didn’t know. It only felt that the closer it got to the bottom of the Molan Giant Pit, the greater the fear, as if something terrifying resided there.
"An unexplained fear phenomenon, strongest at the pit bottom. Is there something terrifying specifically targeting Meteorite Spirit Beasts, or should I say, a natural enemy?"
Failing to get a precise answer from Little Ice Cream, Veronia was somewhat disappointed, not though overly concerned, expecting the Little Crocodile to handle it.
Unexpectedly but unsurprisingly to Veronia, Agunas queried Little Ice Cream for more details without waiting for instructions, and Feng Yuan, surprised, remarked to Little Ice Cream
"This is truly rare, the concept of a natural enemy."
Spirit Beasts having natural enemy relationships is infrequent, but encountering one spells trouble for the side being restrained by their natural enemy.
Natural enemy relationships differ from mere attribute suppression. Although, currently, only Ghost Series is restrained by Death Series, that’s merely a matter of enhanced ultimate move power.
Natural enemy relationships, such as Little Ice Cream’s reaction, signify entering an unusual state specific to a natural enemy’s domain. Despite specializing in cultivating the mind, the endless fear severely hampers their actions.
Unless one’s power surpasses the opponent’s by at least one order, defeating a natural enemy is virtually impossible for a Spirit Beast.
Feng Yuan found it odd to encounter a natural enemy, especially one of Little Ice Cream’s kind, in this place.
The natural enemy relationship typically aligns closely with predator-prey dynamics among beasts, so it stood to reason that Little Ice Cream had encountered a predator specifically hunting its kin.
But that was puzzling, as predator-prey dynamics usually revolve around an ecosystem, primarily involving carnivores. Spirit Beasts are generally omnivorous, enjoying a bit of everything, though cooked meals are preferred. However, it’s hard to fathom many Spirit Beasts fancying Meteorite Spirit Beasts like Little Ice Cream.
Little Ice Cream, essentially a stone, isn’t appealing to Spirit Beasts craving stones.
Moreover, a natural enemy relationship typically targets a specific species. How is it that a newly emergent class like Meteorite Spirit Beasts would be targeted? A perplexing matter indeed.
"Tsk, what a bother. Little Ice Cream standing as evidence that this place lacks links to the Mythical Era."
Scratching his head, Feng Yuan half-heartedly remarked, too predictable even to bother deeply considering, affirming it’s not something from the Mythical Era; otherwise, where would Little Ice Cream’s natural enemy come from?
Joking aside, the Meteorite Spirit Beasts are newly categorized, non-existent before, let alone in the ancient Mythical Era.
"Natural enemies are no laughing matter. Would sending it back to the city temporarily be advisable?"
Agunas, concerned, suggested to Feng Yuan, realizing Little Ice Cream’s weakness and the futility of a natural enemy encounter where escape is unlikely.
"Forget it, just don’t stray too far from me. Though the natural enemy severely restrains Little Ice Cream, we’re no pushovers either."
After some thought, Feng Yuan declined the proposal, uneasy about letting Little Ice Cream return to Xiqing City alone. Besides, with three Divine Beasts here, coupled with Feng Yuan’s own decent strength, they need no courtesy if the natural enemy decides to show up.
Jokes aside, not to take it down in one go and wait for it to snatch Little Ice Cream? Feng Yuan wouldn’t commit such folly, expecting no intelligent direct confrontation against three Divine Beasts.
"Hmm, guard against ambushes."
Veronia lightly hummed, a wave of the hand summoned a Crystal Luminance Stone Torrent, swiftly dispersing into pretty floating crystal flakes surrounding the group. Feng Yuan, witnessing that, beamed at Veronia, saying
"Thanks, this fits the bill."
Veronia’s move wasn’t about setting barriers but created an interference zone, obstructing any ambushes trying to break through, granting Feng Yuan ample time to respond and protect Little Ice Cream.
"To inspire fear in Little Ice Cream, it mustn’t be among the known deities and creations of the Mythical Era. But... in the subsequent human civilization, are there comparable entities?"
A wag of the tail, Agunas, tried a claw swipe to glean truths from the tomes, while Veronia seriously recollected, saying
"Humans do have magical techniques involving Magic Crystal Stones, but they aren’t here."
Magic craftsmanship isn’t part of Divine Land Region’s culture, thus unlikely to surface here. However, Veronia wouldn’t rule out possibilities given instances of Omeilia Region’s civilization establishing footholds here previously, leaving the possibility open.
Only upon witnessing those things firsthand could a preliminary judgment be made on the actual possibilities.
"Indeed, Divine Land Region’s ancient civilizations didn’t center around crystal cultures."
Nodding, Feng Yuan glanced at Agunas, who pondered briefly before speaking
"No corresponding records, perhaps due to mismatched key details or... simply unrecorded."
Since the end of the Mythical Era and progressing into the New Era, the wealth of tomes is vast beyond Agunas’ capacity to fully review. Agunas’s access to tomes functions much like an online search, except with greater freedom, encompassing keywords, descriptions, or inferred queries yielding desired results.
Admittedly, overly vague information results in some erroneous findings, yet it wasn’t crucial. Agunas’s real puzzle was that searching around crystal creations and the Molan Giant Pit yielded no similar existences.
Did no one study it?
Of course, this excluded research materials Agunas had already reviewed, else suitable tomes might exist.
"No records? That’s unusual, surely someone’s studied it unless... a naming issue? No, that should be irrelevant. Can you bring up all Molan Mine related materials?"
"Certainly, though the quantity is substantial."
Agunas was puzzled by Feng Yuan’s intent, even with constraints to Molan Mine records, the volume amounted to a small library, not something they could peruse momentarily.
"In other words, no special obfuscation? Hmm... forget guessing blindly; rather, directly seek out those things to know precisely. Perhaps it isn’t crystal creations?"
Pondering, Feng Yuan spoke, Agunas flicked its tail, replying
"That’s our best option now."

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