Leaving Shengdi

"In a sense, the hadal zone is on the way to Talonia, but at the same time it isn't," Aurelia says.

"What's the hadal zone?" Boshi asks.

"It's supposedly the deepest part of the ocean. From what we know, almost no life lives down there and light can't reach that deep making it almost impossible to see. Most of this is speculation since most people cant actually go to and survive the hadal zone. On top of not being able to see and the obvious lack of breathable air, there's also high bone-crushing pressure," Lia explains.

"Although, for a while, Cordelia used to live down there, but do you even know where the Gravity Root is? The hadal zone isn't small after all," Aurelia asks.

"No, but I'd know if it was nearby," I say.

"If you're... looking for... an Elemental Root... then I might... be able... to assist..." Hakase says.

"How so?" I ask.

"Tomorrow... I'll explain... I'm tired... goodnight..." Hakase says before retreating to her tent.

"Way to get my hopes up, but it is getting late, isn't it," I say looking up towards the sky.

But I notice something strange as I'm looking up. There seems to be a green tint in the sky that I hadn't noticed before. The bar that showed up on the System is at 40% so it might not be a good idea to take too much of a detour, but depending on what Hakase has too offer, It might be possible to pick up the Root on the way back.

"Think I'll just sleep as well, it's the best way to pass the time," I say, moving to my tent Lia.

---

As we are putting away our camping gear, I take another look at the sky and still see that green tint.

"It's not just me, right? You can see the green tint in the sky as well, right?" I ask.

"Indeed, it's not just you. I've tried to figure out what it is or what it means, but not even my eyes can tell, absolutely no information at all," Aurelia says.

"If you can't see anything, wouldn't that imply the green tint is the work of a higher being like Akkre or Serabane," Lia says.

"That's what I was thinking. If I had to take a guess, it would likely be related to that bar on the System," Aurelia says.

"Top of the morning folks, what're you lot talking about?" Boshi asks.

"The green looking sky," Wanjing answers.

"Oh... that..."

"Hakase, since your up now, can we pick off where we left off last night?"

"What do... you mean..." Hakase asks.

"The thing you said about Elemental Roots and that you might be able to help," I say.

"Oh... a long time... ago... my teacher helped... the Mountain Destroyer... Serabane... collect Elemental Roots... he made a... device that... can locate them... I still... have it... in one of... our storage rings..."

"And how does it work?" Lia asks.

"A map... that if you... inject Divine Energy... will point you... towards the... closest Elemental Root..."

"How does that even work?" Wanjing asks.

"I don't know... I never... bothered with it... nor tried... to learn more... about it... wasn't too... interested..."

"Can we see it? This sounds interesting," Aurelia asks.

"I need... to find it..." Hakase says as she begins to go through her storage rings.

"We should head up the mountain while she's doing that, otherwise we'll be here for an extra day," Gyosu says.

"Yeah, I think so too, but, can someone else carry her, I did it last time and I don't want to do it again. Hakase is a lot heavier than she looks," Boshi says.

"You're just... weak..." Hakase says returning to her search.

"Like you're one to talk," Gyosu comments.

"Why does she need to be carried to begin with?" Wanjing asks.

"Think about it for a moment, do you really think she can climb a mountain?" Gyosu asks, "Oh, and I'm not carrying her," he then adds on.

After a bit of back and forth, we come to the conclusion that Wanjing should carry Hakase up the mountain. Why? Because the student should be the one to do all the work, teachers should be giving it out. Although she complains a bit, Wanjing does end up carrying her the entire way up until we reach the outskirts of where the Mountain Lord, Li Yu, and his disciple, Yang Cheng, live.

As we walk up the steps of the temple grounds on the mountain both the Mountain Lord and his disciple are waiting for us at the entrance.

"It would seem your stay was rather short, but your gains are quite large," Li Yu says.

"How did you know we were coming, Mountain Lord? Was it some kind of special Mountain Lord technique?" Wanjing asks.

"I literally saw you all walking up my mountain. As for how I know about your gains, it's simple, just a little probing with my Divine Energy and I can see that Dragon has become a Demigod and the other is the Azure Successor."

"Ignore my Master, we can't even see the mountain trail that leads up to here since the trees block our view, and not just anyone can just find out information like that just by sending out a little bit of Divine Energy," Yang Cheng says before letting out a sigh as he continues, "but he is right, you didn't stay long, only little under a year."

"I have every intention to return someday, but we have things to do outside of Shengdi," Aurelia says.

"Since you've three have already passed the trials and the rest of you are from Shengdi, whenever it is you wish to return you can just walk up the mountain unimpeded. I won't keep you here any longer, be on your way now," Li Yu says as both he and Yang Cheng return to the temple behind them.