Chapter 44 Fast Crab

It's evening on the same day when Lucis save the fox. He's been traveling following the cliff inside the ridge while keep scanning the voice talisman pearl.

Lucis didn't dare to go to the bottom of the ridge and just flying in the air while searching for a clue about Muzin. The search getting harder the deeper he goes as the mist getting thicker.

"The pearl have no reaction so far but the glow still there meaning that he's still alive." Lucis land on the small platform to survey the area with his naked eyes. The place is thick with white mist and navigating is difficult here if he didn't follow the cliff so far he already lost his way. His devine sense can't go far, it'll collapse as soon as he reach 50 meters range. 50 meters sounds a lot but it is completely useless in this giant ridge like river mist.

"ill search a couple of day more and leave if I found no clue." Lucis convince himself despite his cowardice slowly overwhelmed him. He threw his sword and float further down the ridge.

Meanwhile, somewhere deep within the same ridge as Lucis.

There's a cave that going up from the bottom of the ridge filled with glittering moon stone sticking on the cave wall. Two men in a ragged clothes sitting by a bonfire looking sad as the keep glancing down the cave entrance from time to time.

"brother, go take a look if the water spider monster still there. We might have a chance to make a run for it." Muzin look at Shuzan.

"Brother, I go last time. This time it's your turn. Look at my wound. Those water spider is so ferocious." Shuzan shove his hand close to Muzin face showing the deep cut on his hand. He make it sounds as pitiful as he can.

"erm.. I just heard those beasts walking around. Let's wait a bit more." Muzin force a smile and shift his gaze at the fire trying to warm his heart that slowly turning cold.

"look at you, making excuse whenever it's sounds dangerous. We gonna spend the rest of our lifespan here in this cave at this point." Shuzan look at the skeleton at the end of the cave, It sitting in meditation form.

"brother, how can you talk about me like that. This is your whole idea coming to this place seeking opportunity. Look at what we found. Dead person and crawling water spider." Muzin sneered. He's mentally tired constantly getting harassed by monster.

"you... I never force you to come here. It's you insisting that you will come with me treasure hunting." Shuzan face is red. He live more than a hundred year but this is the first time he ever stuck in a cave by a monster. Usually, he either retreat first or someone else got the treasure before him. This time, he got Muzin backing him so he's taking risk.

Muzin look down in embarrassment. Shuzan always have a luck with treasure but he's more of a coward than him when it comes to treasure hunting. Shuzan luck of getting magic stone from Lucis further strengthen his speculation so he insisted that he must participate this time. Unfortunately, they both overestimated themselves.

...

When Lucis arrive at the bottom of the ridge, he's surprised by the environment down here. It's a swamp and look like the dangerous type too. Down here, the mist is not as thick anymore but the ground have a lot of unknown beasts footprint. There's even a track of huge snake just pass by recently. From the track, it's body should be about 10 meter wide. That is bigger than his mud house.

"damnit, what place have I come to? Is this hell or what?" Lucis shout in his mind. The sight frightened him turning his face pale.

"this is no longer within the range of dangerous, this is deadly." Lucis wipe his cold sweat and jump back to his cave back in the DragonFort Village.

He worried that he will lost his way in this repetitive look environment so he use the eyes and always stick close to the wall instead. The swamp is just so big that a whole new world appearing here. The snow doesn't even reach here, it's like this place stuck in it's own time.

"mother of god, what is that?" Lucis look at the creature that hanging on the tree. It have four arms and scale on it's body. The beast eating some kind of bone like a bread.

Lucis shake his head and continue on his way.

"holy hades! Is that a lizard?" after moving for a few more minutes, he once again saw weird creature. A lizard looking beast that have six leg and a head of carp but it's teeth is full of sharp teeth munching an unknown beast.

Lucis give it a few more artistic comments and move on his journey.

"a monkey!" He saw monkey looking creature that doesn't have fur instead covered with small fish like scales. There's a whole group of it hanging out in a mud lake like it's an open bath in japan. Lucis secretly giving them a thumb up before he move on.

"em, that is a wolf. Definitely." Lucis nod looking at the wolf that almost look like zombie. It doesn't have any fur either but have a spike at it's back. one look and you can easily mistaken it as a wolf corpse if not for it's spike moving around like some sort of an antenna.

"oh man, I'm in a zoo here." Lucis said as he take out his lovely couch and lay down on it. He almost went to fetch a fish or two for snack but lose appetite immediately after looking at all the bizarre aquatic creature that supposed to be living on land.

He spend the whole day looking at various weird creature as he move the eyes close to the wall. When it's in the middle of the night, he went and sleep for the day feeling tired. That night, he have a nightmare about being chased by the weird creature from the swamp...

...

Early next morning, Lucis continue his journey like usually but the further he goes the less creature he found and finally he travel for an hour without meeting any creature. Lucis didn't think much about it and continue his way but suddenly, he's surprised by what he found.

"crab? Is that a crab?" he saw a lot of black crab as big as a dog with nimble movement. Beside it's nimble movement, it look exactly like earth giant mud crab. The weirdest thing is, they're jumping around like frog instead of crawling to the side.

"i need this. I want to eat this." his appetite return when he saw the crab. He's been missing earth and it's seafood after regaining his memory but apparently the sea is just too far and dangerous place for human being, even cultivator don't usually approach sea without a soul cultivator in their group. He began racking his brain trying to catch one of the crab for his lunch. All he think about was the meat taste that he have been missing for decades.

"what if.. what if I absorb them into my storage dimensions?" Lucis is as focused as when he ran away from Elder wicked for 4 months. His eyes red glaring at the happy jumping mud crab, it's like they're calling him "come and eat me."

He slowly approach the crab that has been staying still since earlier like it was sleeping. It's quite eye catching from the rest of it's group with the grey mark all over it shell look like a map.

"ill name you Diner." Lucis smile evilly. "stay still Diner." Lucis in his excitement as he guide the eye arrays behind the crab.

Just when Lucis extend his hand trying to touch the crab, the crab react faster than his eyes can follow. It's swing it's claw at Lucis hand and jump away.

"what the....@#$&+($@/!" Lucis Curse out loud from his cave. He always thought that he's almost invisible with the cheat like array but unfortunately, he need speed too. That split second reaction time is almost unbelievable for Lucis if not for experience it first hand.

He approach the crab again and this time he didn't even bother hiding. He slap the crab from it's blind spot and activate his storage dimensions.

Suddenly he feel like he's pulling something extremely heavy. Instantly, the dimension he activate close it's connection on it's own.

Just when he was pulling his hand back in in panicked, the crab open it's claw and try to cut Lucis arm. The crab move is extremely fast; Lucis didn't even catch it's movement.

Fortunately, Lucis manage to pull back his hand in time but he still left with a big cut from the crab claw.

"this is cheating!" he look at the long and deep cut on his arm feeling incredulous. It never cross his mind that something can counter him in that split second when only part of his hand appeared on the other side.

Getting angry, he shove only his hand and envelope the crab with his wood energy. Surprisingly, the crab didn't notice at all it's being surrounded by Lucis energy. Apparently, Lucis energy is similar to what the crab encounter everyday and thought it's a nature energy.

When Lucis energy completely surrounded the crab, Lucis clench his fist and the friendly energy earlier turn hostile restraining the crab like a net.

Lucis quickly activate his dimensions storage and pull in the crab using his maximum strength like his life depends on it.

Just as Lucis smile widening, he suddenly feel like his energy getting suck rapidly almost emptying him.

Lucis panicked. He hastily pull back his hand and cut off any technique he currently have active. To his shock, his energy still getting pull out in front of him and disappeared magically without trace.

Lucis is bewildered looking at his energy flew in from of him and disappeared into nothing.