Chapter 43: Moonwell

Having heard that Medusa’s snake hair could also serve as vision, she had no blind spots and could never be caught off guard, not even while sleeping.
Neo wasn’t sure how much credibility there was to this, but he knew for sure that Medusa was extremely powerful—evidenced by the sculptures surrounding her fortress and throne. Countless creatures killed by her petrifying gaze had become the stones forming barriers, while those strong enough or of significant importance became decorations for her to show off. Unlike the thorny hunting bows used by those stone-blind barbarian rangers, Medusa wielded a very ancient Yggdrasil bow. Though it was adorned with gold and silver threads in a flashy and vulgar manner, Neo immediately recognized its true nature—it was a power granted to him by the World Tree.
With such a powerful weapon and fairly advanced armor, Neo, with his expert eye, noticed that beneath Medusa’s seemingly simple stone plate armor lay a scale armor made of crystal shards, glowing with magical light. Occasionally, a faint glimmer would seep through the gaps in the stone armor, which, if not observed closely, might be mistaken for tiny crystals on the stones reflecting some light. Clearly, Medusa was not only powerful but also cunning.
“Thorn, it seems we need your help as an envoy this time. Talk to that Plant Spirit trapped in the high-platform cage. It might be willing to become our ally.”
“Are you sure? I can sense it’s already very weak, and it needs this environment to survive. Talking to it is likely futile and could alert Medusa, revealing your presence here.”
“Thank you very much for the reminder. Tell it that I might be able to help meet its survival needs. Also, I’m willing to help it gain freedom, even if it leaves us afterward.”
Thorn could sense the sincerity in Neo’s words. While telepathy could also be deceptive, Neo clearly hadn’t yet mastered such advanced techniques.
“Alright, I’ll give it a try. Honestly, seeing it in this state makes me feel… in human terms: angry!”
“Hmm, I’ll go analyze why the water here is so special.”
“You mean those stone pillars in the Thorn Pond. But with so many thorny creatures’ young running around, you’ll be detected. Plant Spirits are sensitive to any energy source that could benefit them—just like a person knows they can enjoy roasted chicken at the sight of it, even if it’s their first time seeing it.”
“I’ve noticed those stone pillars too, but they’re clearly replicas. I’m looking for the original. I think I know where to find it.”
Neo was so confident, not only because of his own reasoning and estimates but also because of Nancy’s hint. Nancy had told Neo that through his vision, she faintly sensed an object here related to the Miracles. Though the connection was weak, anything related to the Miracles, even faintly, could lead to incredible phenomena.

Holding an inflated leather bag, Neo entered the water. It was a lake covering nearly 10,000 square meters, located at one end of the dome. Three sides were enclosed, with only one side spanning over 200 meters. If the dome was a long box, then the existence of this lake meant a complete cutout at one end of that box.

Neo quickly understood why no one guarded this place—not only because the water temperature was just over 10 degrees Celsius, but also because there were many turbulent water vortices near his target. Once caught in them, one might be tossed around endlessly.

“Neo, get closer. We can’t see clearly from here.”

Encouraged by Nancy, Neo ventured forward, eventually getting almost to the edge of the vortices. But the water was too turbulent, allowing him to see only the center surrounded by the vortices—a small stone pond. The water in this pond was purer than the surrounding water, as if it were a gathering of water elements, glowing with a aquamarine light and constantly evaporating. What made this pond most special was a sculpture in its center, resembling the main beam framework of a gatehouse, though to Neo, it looked more like arms holding up a crescent moon.

“It’s the Moon Goddess Well, the oldest type,” Nancy said confidently.

“I’ve heard of the Moon Well. Female wood elves worship the Moon Goddess. The Moon Well is her blessing. On nights illuminated by the moon, dew gathers in it to form sacred water with miraculous effects—purifying, detoxifying, healing, restoring stamina… I’ve never heard of a Moon Goddess Well.”

“When the Divine Lord first descended, he created a very powerful ‘spirit-concentrating array.’ The Five Elements Stones, combined with the Holiday Moon, formed a complete energy circulation system. The Five Elements Stones themselves represented the powers of the five elements. After the Divine Lord left, the yet-undeified Moon Goddess wandered the earth. She found and rescued the wood elves who hadn’t been corrupted by magic and fought alongside them. That’s when the Moon Goddess Well appeared. Compared to it, the Well is closer to the essence of the water element’s power within the Five Elements Stones. My own power stems from the use of formless healing energy. If we can decipher the Moon Goddess Well, I’ll have a chance to fully restore the water element’s power within the Five Elements Stones.”

Hearing this, Neo understood that the Moon Goddess Well was an early creation of the Moon Goddess. Limited by her strength at the time, she had to rely on advanced techniques to compensate for her deficiencies. The Moon Well, on the other hand, was a later creation. By then, the Moon Goddess had mastered the art of making knowledge and techniques invisible, making it difficult for mortals to trace the origins of its power. Thus, although the Moon Goddess Well was less effective than the Moon Well, it was still far more valuable.

The Moon Goddess Well was indeed invaluable, especially for Neo. Having mastered the power of wood, if he could also grasp the workings of the water element within the formless stones—even incompletely—it would greatly benefit his shamanic role. Yet, breaking through the vortices to reach the Moon Goddess Well seemed like an impossible task.

“Get out of the water! Get out!” Unlike air, heat is lost 10 times faster in water. Neo swam ashore, curling up to warm himself while pondering how to deal with the Moon Goddess Well.

At that moment, Ji brought back news from the plant spirit named “Thorn”: “He said that if you can help him escape and solve his survival problems, he’s willing to be our partner for a while, but he demands the right to leave at any time.” Hearing this good news, Neo replied happily, “Of course. Every one of our partners is independent and free. I don’t practice slavery.” “That’s exactly why I’m willing to partner with you.” “Hmm, helping each other and coexisting equally.” Ji’s return inspired Neo, who then used his spirit summoning technique to call over the water spirit here. “May I ask, are you Miss Waterflower?” The water spirit giggled, “Miss Waterflower? That must be the name given to me by that Rock next door. Little does he know that I’m hundreds of years older than him.” “But I think Miss Waterflower is a nice name that suits your youthful and beautiful appearance.” “Giggle, giggle, giggle…” The water spirit laughed again. “You’re sweet-talking, but we’re not as superficial as creatures with short lifespans. So, what brings you to summon me?” “That Rock next door wants to get his flower dress back. Also, he hasn’t seen you in a long time and really wants to chat.” “Hmm… I’ve indeed been busy playing lately. I like the toys in this underground lake.” Saying this, she pointed with her ribbon-like upper limbs at Water Hudi’s Moon Goddess Well. “I can move this toy to next door. Wouldn’t that solve two problems at once?” “Can you really do that? I know this toy is very ancient. That Snake Woman told me it came from Laqular, and it’s probably the only intact one in the entire Aemera world.” Miss Waterflower clearly didn’t believe Neo’s words. For her, chatting with that silly Rock next door was unimportant until her interest in the toy faded. After all, she and her sisters ruled over vast underground waters, had many fun places to go, and plenty of friends, so she didn’t feel lonely. “How about this: lift the ban on the Water Spin so I can take a closer look. I’m a pretty good craftsman. I can make another one just as interesting, or even more so, next door. What do you think?” Miss Waterflower was clearly impressed, but she was still hesitant. “You won’t ruin my toy, will you?” “Of course not. You can watch over it and use the Water Spin to throw me out at any time.” After thinking for a while, she finally agreed. “Alright, but don’t try to trick me. The consequences of angering me are serious. That Snake Woman is full of lies; she tried to imprison me. Hmph! Only that silly Thorn would fall for it.” “Speaking of which, I’m confused. Is that Snake Woman also a nature believer? Otherwise, how could she summon you and talk to you?” “She has a magical wooden flute. It’s through that treasure that she can communicate with spirits. I only found out later that she’s a liar. I suspect both that magical flute and this toy were stolen from Laqular by her…”

This Water Sprite not only loathed Medusa but was also quite gossipy. From her narration, Neo learned quite a few interesting things—for example, Lachlar was the ruins of an elven city buried underground after a land collapse. Dangerous and mysterious…

Seeing Neo carry a leather bag for underwater breathing, the Water Sprite giggled again and then enveloped him in a large bubble. Only then did Neo realize that as the saying goes, one relies on what they have—when there’s water spirits around, underwater activities can become simple and easy. By the same logic, as a shaman, he was still quite inexperienced; he tried to solve all difficulties on his own without considering that, since he interacted with all spirits based on the principle of mutual help and friendship, he could ask them for assistance. For him, it was a matter of life and death, but for the Water Sprite, it was just a trivial task. Each has their own expertise; unity brings strength— isn’t that the essence?

Neo thanked the water spirits. The Water Sprite could sense his sincerity and grew even more fond of him, babbling nonstop, “…I surrounded this toy with water spirals, preventing even that snake woman from getting close…” She said this with obvious pride.

Neo merely smiled. The Stone Spirit had mentioned dams earlier, so Neo paid special attention. Indeed, in the direction of the passage he came through, there was a dam with distinct Medusan characteristics underwater—built with giant stones, filled with petrified creatures and sediment, with thorny seaweed sealing the gaps before petrifying to form a solid wall. It was quite sturdy, and destroying it wouldn’t be easy.

Since Medusa could build dams, she could surely dismantle them too. If she wished, she could drain the water from this lake. Without water, could the water spirits still spin their spirals? Therefore, Medusa was merely using the water spirals to protect the Moon Goddess Well. He couldn’t even figure out such a simple thing. Relatively speaking, spirits were still naive and easy to deceive, even if they had lived for thousands or tens of thousands of years.

Of course, this was actually a complex issue. Spirits could grow through experience and knowledge, but their origins were too random and fragmented, and they weren’t good at passing on knowledge and experience. This was one of the main reasons why they could only play supporting roles on the world stage.

At first, Neo thought the secret of the Moon Goddess Well lay in the magical runes on the pillar stones that resembled the moon. Nancy corrected his naivety. If it were that simple, the Moon Goddess Well would likely be everywhere. In fact, every single stone in this small pond was part of the Well’s structure, and the real secret lay in its internal network.

Nancy possessed a very special ability—scanning. It was the first time Neo had heard of this term or seen her use it. For this purpose, she even relied on Neo’s eyes, so he couldn’t see what the ability looked like when in use.

Although Water Girl’s “view” was abstract, it still conveyed the experience of scanning for a moment—two miraculous beams of energy shot from Neo’s eyes, carefully illuminating the entire Moon Goddess Well from top to bottom. Even as an observer, she felt as though, under the light of these beams, there were no secrets left within the Moon Goddess Well, inside or out.
“What a wonderful little guy!” exclaimed Water Girl. She thought, “If he really can create such interesting toys, perhaps I could ask him to make a few for my sisters too…”
Water Girl treated the Moon Goddess Well as a toy, not only due to her limited understanding but also because it lacked an essential environmental factor—moonlight. Even so, the fake pillars of the Moon Goddess Well created by Medusa using captured slaves and crude carving techniques still played a crucial role in nurturing creatures like the Blades in the Thorny Pond—creatures that were already fierce but clearly had great potential yet to be unleashed. This showed just how miraculous the knowledge contained within it was.
In less than 5 minutes, Neo left the location of the Moon Goddess Well. “Water Girl, I need a quiet environment to mentally disassemble and reconstruct this miraculous object. Could you provide a larger bubble in the waterways?”
“No problem at all,” replied Water Spirit cheerfully.
Neo entered a deep state of meditation inside the huge bubble. His promise to Water Spirit hinged mainly on Nancy’s performance. After going to the Summit of Elements in the world of consciousness, Nancy told him that fully analyzing the Moon Goddess Well wasn’t something that could be done overnight, but creating a glowing pool that didn’t rely on water elements yet produced similar effects wasn’t difficult. Nancy also told him that even this Moon Goddess Well at the bottom of the lake had at least four errors in the arrangement of the stones forming the pond. Clearly, in such a short time, Nancy had already achieved a considerable depth of understanding regarding the knowledge contained within the Moon Goddess Well.
“Alright, I basically understand it now. I can start building it right away. But Water Girl, are there any other routes leading to the Pillar Forest next door?”
“Yes! More than one!” Water Spirit showed Neo the so-called paths—four in total, all of which led to dead ends. This couldn’t be entirely blamed on Water Spirit, as these were only some of the waterways; there were also land routes that water couldn’t reach, and she had no way of knowing about them. She only knew there were passages there, and since it wasn’t very far from the Pillar Forest, she assumed they must exist.
After much consideration, one of the routes caught Neo’s interest. When he used his stone pickaxe to strike the rock walls and ground of this passage, he heard a hollow sound.
Soon, Neo broke through an opening 2 meters in diameter. What lay beyond was truly a different world. He jumped down into the opening and entered another passage, only to be surprised to find that one end of this passage led directly to the other side of the Earth Lake Dam. From this end, the dam appeared as a wall over ten meters thick, blocking a path straight to the Pillar Forest. As for this passage leading to the Pillar Forest, it was a large opening in a side wall, about ten meters above the bottom.

Nio returned to the original path. After some calculations, he easily concluded that by digging a stone channel 1–2 meters deep and over 30 meters long in the dry path connected to this waterway, he could create a tributary that bypassed the dam and led to the Forest of Stone Pillars. This tributary would hardly affect the water level of the underground lake, unless he dug extremely deep and continuously for thousands of meters, in which case he could successfully divert all the water from the lake without using any barriers.

“Let’s do it!” Having made the calculations, Nio hesitated no longer. He picked up the pickaxe imbued with combat energy and the effects of petrifying weapons to start digging the channel. After over an hour, he finally succeeded. At that moment, the water flow wasn’t very strong—the channel was only 50 centimeters high and wide. It would likely take several hours to fill the ravines and pits behind the dam.

Yet Nio was quite satisfied. As the saying goes, “A slow stream keeps the river full.” The water didn’t rush violently but flowed gently and steadily. Even if there was some loss, the underground river could easily handle it. If it kept flowing day and night, over a decade or even several decades, the Forest of Stone Pillars might not become a pond, but it would surely become lush and green.

“Hmm, it won’t be long before I can go play next door. That’s great! But my toys…”

“Don’t worry!” Nio smiled. “I’ll definitely keep my promise.”

“Okay, okay!” Shui Ling cheered happily, showing a childlike innocence.

Nio thought to himself, “What others strive hard to obtain as treasures are seen by him as items for enjoyment. Perhaps this is the so-called carefree attitude of immortals!” The term “immortal” is a foreign concept—those who are indifferent and free from desire are regarded as immortals. To be carefree means to view wealth and treasures as unimportant, living a leisurely and detached life. Nio longed for such an aloof demeanor, but when it came to truly being indifferent, he simply couldn’t let go. Before he even caught his breath from digging the channel, he was already thinking about the Moon Goddess Well and that plant spirit named Ci, asking Shui Ling for another bubble so he could return to the dome.

Shui Ling, being generous and powerful, immediately rewarded Nio. Thus, the monument of water elements in Nio’s consciousness was unexpectedly created. Nio also learned the art of creating bubbles. Although for now he could only create a bubble 50 centimeters in diameter to use as a helmet, it was still much better than relying on an inflated leather bag. Nio thanked her repeatedly. Shui Ling replied generously that since he could chat with the Rock Spirit in the future and play in the Forest of Stone Pillars, he deserved this reward.

When Nio returned to the dome, he quickly found that Medusa, along with a group of Stone-Blind barbarians, had indeed already started fighting against the Dark Claws.

The Dark Hands were already unruly by nature, and now, rushing to chase Neo, they nearly got buried alive in the dust of the Pillar Forest. Exhausted and hungry, covered in mud, their mood was naturally terrible. On the other side, the Stone-Blind Barbarians had recently lost all 10 members of their group; they searched the entire cavern but didn’t find a single ghostly figure, leaving them in a similarly foul mood. Seeing the Dark Hands barging in carelessly, they naturally didn’t hold back and immediately launched axes and arrows at them.

The Dark Hands became terrified at once. Even Eirith rolled his eyes and cursed loudly, “A bunch of blind fools! Truly blind—don’t they know what death means?” Eirith ordered that the heads of these Stone-Blind Barbarians be cut off and displayed high up on their spears as a warning. His intention was simple: slaughter them mercilessly to intimidate the rest and force them to become slave soldiers. Additionally, Eirith noticed that the Stone-Blind Barbarians occupied a living cave that might provide some food. He thought that, anyway, his group needed to rest as well.

With the Magic Servants and Magic Transformers using Dark Evil Combat abilities as defense, the Dark Hands surged forward and broke through the stone fortifications. At that moment, Eirith cast spells—Stink Clouds and Siren Howls. These spells were highly targeted; the Stone-Blind Barbarians near the fortifications lost their sense of smell and hearing, their formidable blindness shattered, leaving them completely blind. Under such circumstances, how could they withstand the attacks of the Dark Hands, whose even the most ordinary soldiers were level 4 warriors? Within five minutes, some died and others fled, with even three Thornbacks being chopped to pieces by Dark Evil Blade Light.

“Not bad. This trashy settlement still has mutated War Thorns. It seems there’s a chance for torture—maybe I can get some extra rewards.” Although Eirith wasn’t a genius, he had studied hard and was quite insightful. He quickly realized that these mutated War Thorns could become a new force under his control.

But Eirith’s sweet dreams had only just begun. Medusa, who had received reports, led the Stone-Blind Barbarians in a full-scale attack on the battlefield. She instantly petrified three Magic Transformers. Then, from her commander’s group, over a dozen Thornbacks, each over 2 meters tall and weighing tons, rushed forward wildly. Meanwhile, a group of Stone-Blind Barbarian Forest Wardens shot arrows at the Dark Hands, catching them off guard.

Eirith, being capable, ordered a few Magic Servants to engage the Thornbacks while the Corpse Guards took the arrows on themselves, using their bodies as living shields to withstand the continuous arrow attacks from level 5 Forest Wardens. The other Magic Transformers and Magic Monsters, led by William, charged into the ranks of ordinary Stone-Blind Barbarians and slaughtered them mercilessly. As for Medusa, Eirith took care of her by using ice to reflect and refract her petrifying gaze. This ice also complemented his Arrow Defense spell, helping to withstand her powerful arrow attacks.

Seeing the chaos on the battlefield, Neo knew his chance had come. He headed straight for the high-platform prison—he wanted to free Thrall and hide the Moon Goddess Well. Under no circumstances could the Dark Hands get their hands on these two things.