The pair, Laine and Calla, had been walking for several minutes in silence, aside from the sound of water dripping from the unseen stalactites above. Puddles formed in many places as the water droplets carved out of their homes.
As they traveled deeper into this hidden world, the number of giant mushrooms reached the point of resembling a forest. Navigation posed little challenge thanks to the lighting, allowing Laine to spot the many uneven rock formations scattered chaotically, sprouting from the earth.
Laine halted. "Do you hear that?"
Calla likewise came to a stop and listened.
A soft, almost imperceptible sound reached their ears. It seemed to come from somewhere deeper in the cavern—a quiet, running pulse that contrasted the stillness surrounding them.
"Flowing water! Our luck is looking good."
Laine's excitement rose as he hastened toward the sound.
Calla kept quiet and followed.
Laine followed the faint sound of water and soon spotted the stream, a narrow flow of clear water winding through the cavern floor. Along its edges grew patches of glowing white grass, and the blades illuminated the water with a pale, ghostly light. The surrounding rocks were rough and jagged, slick with moisture, while patches of luminous moss clung to their surfaces.
"To think we'd stumble upon the second ingredient just like that."
He was referring to the stream itself. The second ingredient in the Aura Resurgence Pellet was three drops of Subterranean Water. And now, as far as they could see, this stream stretched across the cavernous world.
"Saturnine Grass!"
"Why do you always have to yell right behind me?" Laine grumbled. Every time it happened, he would startle.
Laine was about to say more, but as she passed by, he noticed her faint smile. Her expression had remained ice cold since she had awoken. If a little scare could thaw her, he wouldn't let it upset him.
He approached the edge of the stream where Calla stopped, but before he could get too close, she spun around and stuck out her arm. "Stay away."
"Calla…"
"If even your robe grazes a blade of this Saturnine Grass, you'll die. Don't blame this on your low cultivation level. Anyone under the Tyrant Realm would meet a similar fate."
"How can it be so dangerous? It must be extremely valuable," he asked as he took a step back.
"The current you isn't ready for this information. We should keep following the stream until we find an area clear of Saturnine Grass."
Laine watched as she floated along the stream's edge, not waiting for him to follow. It was clear she wouldn't tell him anymore about this deadly grass. He also wanted to keep his life, so he quickly got up with her.
An hour later…
"How can there be so much of this grass? You don't seem surprised. Is it really so priceless?"
Laine felt as though they were walking in circles. The only thing that changed as they followed the stream was the density of purple and green fungi. Some areas were all purple, some areas were all green, and occasionally some areas would be an even mix.
He doubted whether there was even an exit. How could a place so large go undiscovered for so long? Especially if an entrance existed.
At least one of his current dilemmas ended. Up ahead, the Saturnine Grass came to an abrupt death. The luminous grass turned brown and withered, lying face down in the stream, gently swaying because of the weak current.
Calla floated above the dead grass, studying it. "How odd. There is no way it reached this state naturally. I'll tell you one more thing about Saturnine Grass: it has no lifespan, as long as the world continues to exist, so will the Saturnine Grass."
Laine drew in a breath.
Immortality was a concept he had only ever heard of in legends. How could he not dream of becoming a powerful, immortal cultivator? Though he couldn't be 100 percent sure they existed, he had to believe they did. He had to strive to reach such a realm. Not even Monarch Realm cultivators were immortal. There had to be something more.
"My first glimpse at immortality, and it died."
Calla scoffed. "Don't make such an assumption. It will rise again. Thankfully, it poses no danger at the moment."
Laine brushed off her comment and neared the stream's edge to get a better view.
The stream was wide, about 8 to 10 feet across, and quite deep, with a smooth, gently sloping depth that allowed the water to flow gently. Its crystal-clear surface had a subtle blue tint, allowing him to see to the bottom clearly.
"Good thing I brought this along."
He reached into his robe and pulled out his canteen. Crafted from bamboo, it had a sleek, cylindrical form and a wooden stopper sealing it.
After detaching the stopper, he brought the opening to his mouth and drank the remaining water.
Laine knelt at the stream's muddy bank and glanced to his left. "What is it?" Calla's gaze fixed on the water, her eyes sharp and unblinking, sending a ripple of unease through him.
He brought the canteen toward the water's surface, but right as it was about to make contact, a white shadow dashed by underwater.
"Ah!" he flung himself backward, his heart hammering against his chest.
Standing up, he once again looked toward the water. "What was that?"
His breath caught when tens of white shadows moved in from further upstream.
Calla floated forward until she was above the water's surface, and the white shadows gathered beneath her.
"I should've known," said Calla, finally speaking.
"You know what these are? Can you tell me, or am I not ready for this knowledge as well?"
The comment earned him a side-eyed glare before she looked back down. "Glimmerfin, their primary food source, is Saturnine Grass. I had noticed no movement in the water this entire time, but they were actually all upstream. It's likely they'll all be heading downstream now to continue their feeding."
"They can eat this deadly grass? Does that mea—"
"Does that mean they are just as deadly? Yes, even more so if you come into contact with the water. The Glimmerfin is highly aggressive and has excellent eyesight."
Laine felt irritated. "Then how am I supposed to gather the Subterranean Water we need?"
"Obviously, we head further upstream, away from their food supply."
Calla floated toward him as the white shadows followed beneath.
Laine could finally get a clear look at a Glimmerfin when she neared the surface. It was a small, slender fish with a translucent white body. Stranger still were the two luminescent eyes on either side of it.
As Calla moved past him, the school of Glimmerfin seemed to grow bored and swam back to the center of the stream before traveling downstream in the direction Laine and Calla had come from.
The two fell side by side as they moved forward. Ten minutes later, Calla broke the odd silence.
"You must not forget this place. Once you reach the Tyrant Realm, you can come back here by yourself and gather a massive amount of wealth easily."
Laine didn't miss the meaning. "What? Why would I be back here without you?"
Calla bit her lip and refused to look anywhere but in front of her.
"Calla?"
When her lips parted, they froze, and then she flew ahead. "A body!"
Sure enough, when Laine caught up to her, there was a skeleton donned in a jet-black cloak, leaning face first against the trunk of a giant mushroom. The mushroom itself was larger than any they had come across so far, easily climbing past 30 feet in height. The veins that ran throughout the entire mushroom were thicker and glowed a bright green.
"Did they attempt to eat the mushroom?"