Proofreader & Editor: Lotas
Sarina confirmed part of what had been said about the wilderness.
Indeed, on the second level, there was a powerful deity known as the "Star Sea God"—to be precise, a demigod.
However, Sarina had no dealings with this entity; she had merely passed through the second level while being pursued by Curse Insects. The Star Sea God neither hindered nor aided her; they simply crossed paths, which was the typical attitude among the gods of the Abyss.
As for the environment of the second level, Sarina knew little. She only remembered that most of it was water, with very little land.
The Apostles had finished recuperating and were back to their optimal states.
Only then did Lu Yao click to enter the vortex.
The screen slowly displayed the prompt "Black Abyss Second Layer."
The vortex on the second layer was atop a cliff, and below was indeed a vast ocean, with stars twinkling in the water.
At the base of the cliff were several Curse Insect monsters, gnawing on the corpses of two clay figurines.
Under Lu Yao's command, Sarina swiftly dispatched the Curse Insects.
An exclamation mark appeared above Neville's head as he made his way to the corpses of his kin. After the clay people died, their bodies turned into heaps of brown clay.
"They're all dead… All the friends who fled with me this time are dead…"
Lu Yao thought to himself that since this layer was a water world, it was necessary to bring in a professional water operator.
He ordered the Apostles to stand by and controlled the Deep Sea Lord from the pixel world to rush over.
Klau entered the water, and his body quickly swelled, reverting to the form of an island-bearing colossus.
Lu Yao had everyone board the island and used the Deep Sea Lord, this maritime fortress, to navigate the waters.
While Lu Yao was summoning reinforcements, Isabella learned a lot from Neville.
"My lord, the clay people live in something called a water nest," she explained.
"It's a wisdom bestowed upon them by the Star Sea God, allowing them to live in water. The clay people's food comes from algae, shellfish, and various fish in the water. Eating makes them feel satisfied, but in fact, they can endure for a long time without food…"
Soon, Lu Yao spotted a water nest not far away in the sea.
It was a large, floating mud ball with a sticky green substance smeared on its surface, looking like grease or paint.
The water nest bobbed with the waves, slowly sinking and floating.
Suddenly, a hole opened at the top of the water nest, and several long vines were thrown out, with a little mud person climbing out along the vines.
He lay on the surface of the mud ball, pulling up the vines below, which were adorned with a string of shellfish of various sizes, looking like some strange decoration.
The little person took down the shells and then crawled back to the water trough, and the hole was closed again.
This was essentially the daily life of an adult clay person.
Drifting at sea, foraging, cultivating shellfish, waiting to encounter other water nests, and then possibly becoming friends or forming a family as a couple.
They mostly hid in their water nests, consuming little and living long lives.
In the past, the clay people only came ashore to live at two moments: when a baby was born and when they were about to die.
To reproduce, the clay people would control their water nests all the way back to their sacred birthplace, also the site of divine revelation from the great Star Sea.
In the sacred place, newborn babies would receive the blessing of the deity, free from disease. There were also two most important things there: the companion vine and the deity's divine artifact, the "Wishing Star."
The companion vine would accompany each clay person for life.
It was a peculiar organism; each newborn would pluck a sprout from the vine entwined around the "Wishing Star," and this companion vine would stick with the old citizen for life.
The companion vine would not only be a companion, but it could also reinforce the water nest, secure the shells, and catch fish and shrimp. In times of danger, it would even save its companion.
This was a gift from the deity.
Without the companion vine, it was hard for the clay people to survive here.
And once they lost their initial companion vine for various reasons, it was very difficult to get another piece of the vine. Because the companion vines also needed time to grow gradually, forming trust and dependence with their companion, and they were distinctly xenophobic.
During the escape, Neville's companion vine was torn apart by the Curse Insects, plunging him into despair.
The "Wishing Star" of the sacred land was an artifact left by the Star Sea deity. Although the deity might have fallen, this artifact remained undying, impervious to the Curse Insects.
The "Wishing Star" was the hope of all the old citizens.
Every believer could make a wish to it, praying wholeheartedly and with utmost devotion. The deity could then hear the deepest prayers and desires of the believers' hearts.
Many believers received the attention of the Star Sea deity, and their wishes came true.
Unfortunately, since the invasion of the Curse Insects led to the deity's fall, the Apostle in charge of the Wishing Star also perished. The "Wishing Star" fell into complete silence, no longer responding to wishes.
On the island transformed by the Deep Sea Lord, Neville showed a frightened expression with his hands clutching his head.
He said, "Honorable Apostles, the sacred land has been occupied by the Curse Insects, they are laying eggs there… we can't approach the shore."
"The sacred land is at the center of the sea, surrounded by Curse Insects. They are hunting water nests everywhere, making life very difficult for the clay people… Most of the time, we have to hide our water nests underwater."
Whether this was a deliberate act by the Curse Insects or an unintended consequence was yet unknown.
The current situation on the second layer was that the Curse Insects were gradually replacing the clay people.
The second layer was much larger than the first, and even with Isabella searching from the air and the Deep Sea Lord advancing on the water, it took Lu Yao half an hour to find the direction of the central land.
Calling it land was a bit of a misnomer; it was more like a large solitary island.
The island was covered with white, web-like fluff, resembling a gigantic spider's nest.
At the very center was a huge spherical object, occupying a third of the island.
It was wrapped from top to bottom in white threads, with something like a black pod at the top, from which all the strands on the island originated.
Lu Yao activated the "Eye of True Sight" to inspect.
【Parasite Egg Case LV70】: Curse Insect·Parasite's egg case.
Health: 8592/24180
Damage: 42
Defense: 94
Speed: 0
【Hatching】
Consumes health to hatch Curse Insects.
【Curse Mark】
Places a curse mark to draw the fire of faith.
【Ruminate】
Curse Insects send captured mature curse marks into the egg case, concentrating the power of faith.
…
【Godhood】: None.
【Divinity】: Lowly as ants (13478).
【Divine Body】: None.
Lu Yao understood.
This 【Parasite】 used curse marks to extract the fire of faith from each clay person's body, then sent it back to the egg case.
Hunting the clay people was just a means to an end.
The egg case in the center of the land could be considered an idol made by the Parasite.
At such times, it was the Snowman's turn to take action.
"Jimmy will definitely complete the mission!"
The Snowman was deployed.
As the Deep Sea Lord collided with the edge of the solitary island, Curse Insects emerged from the white webs of the sacred land, reflexively rushing towards the intruders.
Facing these low-tier monsters, the Tyrant and the Blood Knight began a one-sided purge.
Jimmy moved like a shadow, quickly rolling up to the death ball, and his red glove grabbed at the egg case.
Faith +9321 appeared in the upper right corner of Lu Yao's vision.
The egg case, panicked by this action, immediately spat out strands of thread to entangle the Snowman.
But the Snowman was too fast, constantly maneuvering agilely, and even circled back to snatch another handful.
Faith +1227.
At this, the insects that were originally resisting the Tyrant and Blood Knight turned around, rushing towards the Snowman like mad.
Seeing this, Jimmy sprinted back, receiving support from the Blood Knight in the rear.
"Lord deity, that egg case has no items, very poor, only some fire of faith," Jimmy reported.
Lu Yao thought it was not bad.
A small profit of ten thousand.
The Black Abyss was indeed a treasure trove of rich resources! He would have to visit more often when he had the time.
Next up, it was time for Sarina and Neville to clear the field.