Lin Mu could see the sky changing and the area changing as well. The sky turned blue but without a sun in it. There were a few clouds dispersed around the sky, but they were relatively small.
Below him, he could see different kinds of areas. There were swamps, marshes, forests, lakes, rivers, dry lands, mountains, hills and even a volcano. Over all, the area was quite varied and was far larger than the fragment of the minor plane that Lin Mu had been to before.
The ground was expanding at a rapid pace as Lin Mu got closer and closer to it. Lin Mu could already match several of the areas with the map that the former Adviser Chu had given him, but there were also some differences that could be seen in it.
~shua~
At one point, the force that Lin Mu and Little Shrubby were feeling faded away, and they could fly on their own again.
~phew~
"Finally… even though I wouldn't necessarily get hurt by falling, I still don't want to feel that…" Lin Mu muttered.
~Growl~
Little Shrubby growled in response and reduced their speed of falling. They slowly landed on the ground and Lin Mu spread his spirit sense around the area as far as possible. Everything that was within it came under his observation, and he noted some interesting parts.
The area that Lin Mu had landed in was between a few hills and a forest. There were several small ponds nearby as well, and some flowers grew within them. These flowers exuded a peculiar fragrance that was quite nice but at the same time made one feel a bit dizzy.
"What is that?" Lin Mu wondered as he got closer.
Little Shrubby followed behind him, and the two of them soon reached the ponds. Looking at the ponds, one would realize that they looked like they were made from craters. There were several of them, and the boundaries definitely looked like they were created due to something falling.
"Hmm… this is rather strange…" Lin Mu said and looked around.
There were no spirit beasts here other than a few insect beasts, but they weren't really strong. Lin Mu approached one of the flowers that were a bit closer to him and took a closer look at it.
The flower was white but had yellow streaks at the base of its twenty petals. At the base of its petals, leaves spread around like flat spoons and long stems could be seen going into the water.
The water itself was clear, but its color was a deep blue. Lin Mu could not recognize the flower and wondered what it was. He checked the records he had and found them after a while.
"Adviser Chu mentioned that he saw some flowers like these but never approached them because there were strong beasts nearby. But now that I'm seeing this, the area is completely empty?" Lin Mu said.
The flower had no name and was only mentioned in the records that Adviser Chu himself had made.
"Do you know what this is, senior Xukong?" Lin Mu asked.
"I don't know either. It could be something that has specifically been born in this minor plane itself and is unique to it." Xukong replied.
"Is that something that often happens in minor planes?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Yes. Minor planes are complete and stable habitats that can give birth to a myriad of forms of life. That is also why they are considered to be so valuable to cultivators regardless of their professions.
Each minor plane could have resources that are unique to it and couldn't be found anywhere itself. Many alchemists spend decades and centuries of their lives researching and learning about the spirit herbs and plants that are found in the minor planes.
That's why whenever a minor plane is discovered, the value of exploring it is considered to be very high." Xukong explained.
"I see… I guess I'll take a few flowers just in case." Lin Mu said before plucking the said flowers.
There were easily hundreds of flowers in the multiple ponds and they gently swayed with the wind in water. But just as Lin Mu was done plucking the flowers, his gaze went to the depths of the water.
He narrowed his eyes and extended his spirit sense into it. It kept on going deeper and deeper, until it reached a depth of over a hundred meters.
"This pond is far deeper than it looks." Lin Mu said.
He peered into it and felt like he saw something glow beneath it all.
"What was that?" Lin Mu questioned.
He looked toward Little Shrubby and spoke, "did you see that too?"
Little Shrubby was hovering over the water, ensuring that his feet did not touch the water.
"Yup, looked like a spark." Little Shrubby replied.
Lin Mu thought for a bit before saying, "should I take a look?"
"You're going into the water?" Little Shrubby asked with reluctance.
"If I want to get it then yes, I have to go into the water." Lin Mu replied.
"I'm not touching water." He stated right away.
"Ahah~ okay, I'll go alone." Lin Mu said, not minding it.
He had already checked the area with his spirit sense, and there wasn't really anything dangerous within the pond or around it. Lin Mu stimulated the Mortal Strengthening scripture and let the armor appear on his body.
He then descended into the water with the armor protecting his body. Not only did it keep him dry, but it would also protect him from anything that may have been mixed into the water.
Even if he had checked it all, he didn't know if there was something unknown that his spirit sense could not detect in the water. It was better for him to be cautious and this was a fact that he had internalized a long time ago.
Lin Mu continued his descent and found that the water only got colder and colder the deeper he went.
"This is strange… I shouldn't feel cold due to the armor."
