Because they had prior knowledge of the location of the original small pond, and considering that the possibility of the Fuxi Qin fragment being outside this range was not high, Ye Tiancheng and his companions chose to prioritize searching within the area where the small pond might be.
The four of them prepared their diving gear and began to descend in the direction they knew. To prevent scattering or getting lost, they were tethered together with ropes. This way, no matter what accident occurred, they would remain together and not be easily separated.
After an unknown duration of diving, they finally reached the lakebed. Based on the previous range of the small pond and their senses of the Fuxi Qin fragment, they meticulously searched the lake bottom. However, the initial results were not particularly encouraging.
The oxygen tanks of their diving gear had limited capacity, not supporting prolonged underwater exploration. Even though they were cultivators and could endure longer periods underwater with insufficient oxygen, this duration was still limited. Therefore, before finding any results, they had to surface.
Upon returning to the shore of the artificial lake, they rested properly, replaced their oxygen tanks, and dove back into the water. After repeating this process several times, Ye Tiancheng finally sensed a faint, unusual aura at the lakebed. Upon detecting this aura, Ye Tiancheng immediately made a gesture to the three people behind him, which was a pre-arranged signal. Communication was difficult underwater, so they could only convey their intentions through gestures.
The other three saw that Ye Tiancheng seemed to have discovered something, so they stopped and quietly awaited his actions. Ye Tiancheng had a very strong sense at a particular spot on the lakebed, and it was only by being very close that he could sense it. After making his discovery, Ye Tiancheng conveyed the fact to his companions and immediately shifted his attention to the area he was sensing. Unsure of what to do, he first attempted to probe the area with his spiritual power to investigate if there was anything unusual.
However, even with some psychological preparation, an unexpected situation occurred. As Ye Tiancheng's spiritual power collided with it, he was caught off guard and felt a dizzying sensation, his vision filled with a kaleidoscope of colors. He felt disoriented and then lost consciousness.
When Ye Tiancheng finally woke up and opened his eyes, he found himself lying in an ancient-looking garden with a small pond beside him. In an instant, Ye Tiancheng recalled that the school leaders had told them that the artificial lake, a popular dating spot, was expanded from a small pond. That small pond was originally a pond in the backyard of an old mansion. Now, being here, Ye Tiancheng felt a sense of temporal displacement, as if he had traveled back to ancient times, to the backyard garden of some grand residence. The place showed no signs of decay, as if it were as it was before the mansion turned into ruins.
However, Ye Tiancheng did not naively believe that he had traveled through time or anything of the sort. He was more inclined to believe that this was another space, and everything here was merely a past imprint, or perhaps an illusion conjured based on the original site. Ye Tiancheng did not spend too much time observing these things. Before that, he needed to confirm whether his companions were alright and if they had been separated from him.
Ye Tiancheng's thoughts raced, taking less than half a minute. After thinking, he quickly sat up, looked around, and then breathed a slight sigh of relief. Xiao Huli, Nie Chongyang, and Liang Ping were all still there. They were still wearing the diving suits they had used for diving, and they were still connected by ropes. Perhaps it was because they were tied together that they were not separated, but it was also possible that everyone arriving in this space from the lakebed would appear by this pond. After all, this small pond was the former site of the artificial lake at the university.
Ye Tiancheng immediately went to wake his companions. Nie Chongyang was the first to be woken, followed by Xiao Huli. Liang Ping woke up slightly slower than them. When they first woke up, everyone was a bit groggy, but after clearly seeing their location, they could generally guess where they might be. They began to remove their diving gear, as wearing such things would be inconvenient for walking. Anyway, they could put these items into their storage spaces, and they also had spare clothes in their storage spaces. Fortunately, the four of them were men, so there was no need for any reservations.
After changing clothes, Nie Chongyang asked Ye Tiancheng, "Are we in some kind of environment? This place looks like the old site of the artificial lake, and it's preserved so well, it doesn't look like no one has been here." "So, this must be how it looked in the past."
Ye Tiancheng replied to Nie Chongyang, "Most likely. Either it's an illusion constructed based on its past appearance, or it's a projection of the past. However, we'll know what kind of existence this place is once we test it."
Nie Chongyang asked, "How do we test it?" The method of testing was quite simple. Ye Tiancheng tried touching the surrounding objects and then used his spiritual power and cultivation to perceive the nearby area, which would allow him to make a basic determination.
Ye Tiancheng said, "It seems to be a relatively realistic illusion." Nie Chongyang stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "I wonder if this illusion is related to the Fuxi Qin fragment, or if someone simply used the fragment's power to construct it." This possibility was very high, as most previous situations were essentially like this, considered a common occurrence.
Ye Tiancheng sensed it, and his expression was indeed somewhat subtle. He said, "This... is not necessarily the case. If this space is formed by the power of the Fuxi Qin fragment, or if it borrowed the Fuxi Qin fragment to create it, then when we sense the whereabouts of the Fuxi Qin fragment, we should feel the aura of the Fuxi Qin fragment coming from all directions, without being able to distinguish the specific direction. However, just now, when I tried to sense it, I sensed several specific directions, and I didn't feel that the Fuxi Qin fragment was everywhere."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, Xiao Huli said with interest, "Could this time be something new?" "We haven't encountered similar situations before," Xiao Huli said, confirming with Ye Tiancheng again, "Those times I don't remember, and the ones I've forgotten, we probably haven't encountered similar situations, right?"
Ye Tiancheng thought for a moment and said, "Yes and no." Xiao Huli immediately showed surprise and asked Ye Tiancheng, "Yes and no? What kind of situation is that?" Ye Tiancheng then told Xiao Huli, "Actually, it's similar, it happened not long before you lost your memory, when we first arrived at the Odd Market." "The entire Odd Market was constructed by the ghost fox A Zi using the power of the Fuxi Qin fragment, but the Fuxi Qin fragment was carried by the ghost fox A Zi. Although it wasn't voluntary, because at that time the Fuxi Qin fragment was inside his body, he carried it even if he didn't want to." "So at that time, when I sensed the Fuxi Qin fragment, I could feel that the fragment was constantly moving, because the ghost fox A Zi himself was a mobile entity, not an inanimate object that couldn't move, nor was he like Long Miaomiao, who previously constructed a space with the fragment and placed the fragment in a fixed location."
Xiao Huli blinked his eyes, thought for a moment, and said, "Could it be that this time it's also possible to be like that?" "However, as Big Brother said, you sensed several directions. Does that mean there might be several fragments in this space?"
Ye Tiancheng pondered and analyzed with Xiao Huli and the others, "This is also not certain, I cannot confirm." Nie Chongyang and the others had been listening for a long time. Hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, they seemed to grasp some of the underlying meaning and asked, "How so? Is there a difference in these situations that makes it impossible to judge?"
Ye Tiancheng explained to them, "Firstly, the several directions I sensed this time, the fragment auras are all stable and not fluctuating. They should be fixed in a certain place, not carried by someone." "It is precisely because the fragment's aura is very stable, has specific directions, and the aura distribution is not uniform, that it can be basically confirmed that this space is not constructed by the power of the Fuxi Qin fragment. The reason has already been explained." "Secondly, although I sensed several directions with strong auras of the Fuxi Qin fragment, we cannot rule out the possibility of interference. Some directions might be traps, meant to confuse us." The other three understood and nodded thoughtfully.
Xiao Huli looked around and said, "I wonder if there are any other life forms in this place. I don't dare to hope for humans. Those who can stay in such a place and live here are likely to be non-humans." Ye Tiancheng also said, "Don't even think about ordinary humans. If there's anyone possible, it would most likely be cultivators. There's hardly a second possibility. If there really is, it would either be corpses, or unlucky victims about to be harmed."
During this pause in their discussion, Nie Chongyang thought for a moment and suddenly had an idea. Nie Chongyang suddenly asked Ye Tiancheng, "I have a question." Ye Tiancheng looked at Nie Chongyang, "Go ahead." Nie Chongyang said, "We also knew before that the female college student, that is, the turtle spirit, said that she liked to soak in water very much and often came to the artificial lake to soak, even staying at the bottom of the lake for a long time." "In this situation, what is the probability that the turtle spirit did not know about the existence of this space?" Nie Chongyang actually wanted to ask if it was possible that the turtle spirit had deceived them about something, had not told the truth, or at least had concealed some information.
Ye Tiancheng fell into thought after hearing this. At least, what Nie Chongyang said made sense, and they could not rule out such a possibility.