Above the mage!

Chapter 580 Crypt Elements
White underground steam drifts out from the ubiquitous cavities in the canyon walls and ground, weaving into various shapes among the jagged stalagmites.

Sometimes it was a twisted column of mist, flowing slowly along the crevices of the bamboo shoots; sometimes it scattered into fine mist particles, sticking to the two people's clothes and condensing into tiny water droplets.

Logically speaking, the toxins in this environment are no longer trace amounts.

However, both of them had their own abilities. Gao De had a rudimentary form of Azure Amber, and Elena also had some special methods, so they were both oblivious to the dense underground steam.

Despite the extremely low visibility, Elena seemed to have a navigation system, guiding Gaode nimbly through the uneven rock formations towards their destination with crystal clarity.

Gaode followed closely behind.

He did not lower his guard just because Elena was leading the way; the Mandora Eye remained activated at all times.

Within Mandora's Eye of Vision, God could see that the surrounding earth elemental energy, while fluctuating with their movement, was generally becoming increasingly concentrated.

This is undoubtedly a good sign.

Moreover, later on, not only did the energy change, but the surrounding environment also underwent some slight changes.

The most obvious feature is that the color of the bamboo shoot stone gradually changes from dark gray to dark brown, and the pores on the surface emit a faint yellowish-brown halo.

The halo shimmered slightly with the flow of steam, tinting the surrounding mist with warm hues.

All of this indicates that they are on the right track.

Gao De's expectations gradually rose.

But at that moment, within Mandora's vision, a blinding, earthy-yellow energy fluctuation suddenly erupted from a hollow in a bamboo-shaped rock formation on the left, a rock so thick that it would take two people to encircle it.

"Watch out!" Gao De quickly warned.

Before he finished speaking, the bamboo-shaped rock on the left suddenly trembled violently!

With a loud "boom", the surface of the entire bamboo shoot stone cracked open like a spider web, and pebbles fell like raindrops.

A gigantic figure, formed from the condensation of rock, slag, and earth elemental energy, emerged from the crack.

It was a cave elemental, five yards tall, with a body made of dark brown rock and covered with sharp iron ore spikes.

Its limbs were as thick as stone pillars, and each step it took caused the ground to sink slightly.
Its head was a swirling, earth-yellow energy vortex, with two points of scarlet light flashing within it, clearly indicating that it had locked onto the two as its targets.

The moment it appeared, the cave elemental raised its right fist and slammed it down at Elena.

The fist was imbued with the energy of shattered rocks and earth elements, accompanied by a whistling sound as if it were about to shatter the air itself.

However, Elena remained unusually calm in the face of such a fierce attack.

Without even blinking, she raised her left hand, and a rich emerald green light emanated from her palm.

As the fingertip swept across the air, the ground suddenly undulated violently.

Dozens of thick, thorny vines burst forth from the slag heap, like agile giant pythons, instantly wrapping around the cave elemental's right arm and legs.

Even as the cave elemental's rocky body struggled and rubbed against itself, the vines remained motionless, instead tightening their grip and firmly restricting the cave elemental's movements, preventing its raised fist from ever falling.

Then, Elena pressed her right hand down again, and a slender bone spear appeared. With a sharp whistling sound, it pierced out and precisely entered the energy vortex at the head of the cave elemental.

With a soft "poof," the energy vortex instantly dissipated.

All the cave elementals' movements came to an abrupt halt.

Its body began to crack, and yellowish-brown specks of light kept escaping from the cracks.

With a loud bang, it finally turned into a pile of rubble and slag, scattered on the ground.

At the center of the gravel is a brownish-yellow leyline crystal, containing a rich amount of earth element.

This is a superior material that can be used to make golems, and it can be sold for at least 500 Gold Sparrow Coins.

Alina raised her hand and made a grasping motion, casting the Mage's Hand spell to skillfully pick it up and put it into the bag at her waist.

Then, as if nothing had happened, they continued walking forward with Gaode.

"What terrifying combat power!" Gao De followed behind her, but his heart was filled with turmoil.

To deal with a terrifying cave elemental so effortlessly—no wonder he's a lieutenant mage of the Rockwind Guard.

According to his calculations, the mage guarding the academy must be a third-circle mage. If he also possesses Elena's combat strength, passing the test will not be an easy task for him.
No further unexpected situations arose during the rest of the journey.
After walking for about an hour, Elena suddenly stopped and pointed ahead, reminding everyone, "We're almost there."

Gao De looked in the direction she pointed.

They discovered that ahead lay a starkly concave area, with exceptionally thick underground steam, resembling white cotton wool, completely obscuring the view inside.

"Follow me." Seemingly understanding Gao De's confusion, Elena led him through the natural "arch" pillar formed by two giant bamboo shoots and into the sunken area.

A strong earth elemental energy emanates from the area, much stronger than in other regions.

But the scene before him made Gao De pause slightly: the ground in the depression was a flat layer of dark brown rock covered with fine cracks.

A faint yellowish-brown halo seeped from the cracks.

Looking around, not to mention the pillar-like trunk of the Rock Ridge Giant Oak, there wasn't even a single withered branch or fallen leaf in sight; only scattered fragments of iron ore were half-buried in the slag.

However, Gao De quickly scanned his surroundings and soon noticed something unusual.

Within the cracks, he saw trace amounts of remaining wood fibers.

It appears to be consistent with the trunk of the giant oak tree on the rocky ridge in his hand.

Gao De's heart stirred, and he used his mage's hand to dig up a piece of soil with wood fibers. He picked up a strand with his fingertips and carefully compared it, confirming that it was exactly the same in both color and texture.

More importantly, his Mandora's Eyes detected faint green energy fluctuations within the dense earth element beneath the rock layer.

There's definitely a chance!

“There’s a mineral vein hidden beneath the rock layers here, and I can also detect faint fluctuations in wood elemental energy. If what you say is true, the Rock Ridge Giant Oak is near the Stalagmite Forest, then this place is very likely where it grows,” Elena explained.

“However, because this is where the mineral vein is located, earth elemental energy is concentrated, so there are many underground elemental caves here. I have never explored them in depth before when I came here,” Elena explained.

"Its true form should be in this area. If we follow the trajectory of the wood element energy fluctuations, we will most likely find something."

"Okay." Gao De nodded in agreement.

Although Elena does not have Mandora's Eye, she has special means to detect subtle changes in wood element energy.

However, it is likely limited to the wood element, while the Mandora's Eye is more comprehensive and can observe all energy changes.

Since Elena was leading the way, and according to the feedback from Mandora's Eye, the path Elena was guiding was correct, Gao De did not take the initiative to step forward, but simply followed her.

The two began to carefully explore the sunken area.

But as Elena said, there are a lot of underground elements hidden beneath this area, so the two of them were still very careful in their actions.

Steam flowed slowly around the two of them, enveloping their figures in a hazy white light.

However, being careful is often useless.

Along the way, they still encountered attacks from four or five cave elementals.

But there was no need for Gaode Maps to intervene; Elena easily resolved the issues, giving Gaode Maps the impression that a pro was leading the way in clearing the map.

However, this carefree and relaxed state of mind did not last long.

Gao De's eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked at the ground in front of him.

With his Mandora's Eye, he could see that within the rock strata, there were dozens of earth elemental energy fluctuations slowly writhing.

What alarmed him even more was that the intensity of some of the energies far exceeded that of ordinary cave elements.

"Be careful, there's something ahead." Gao De looked at Elena beside him and reminded her to take a detour.

Although Elena had always dealt with the cave elementals with ease, dealing with such a large number of them would be much more troublesome.

More importantly, with such a large number, there is a high probability that elite individuals, namely third-tier cave elemental leaders, will emerge.

Despite Gao De's warning, Elena didn't leave immediately. It wasn't that she didn't trust Gao De, but rather...
"How come there are so many cave elementals suddenly appearing in this area?" Elena asked softly.

Gao De frowned slightly.

He certainly understood what Elena meant.

According to the rules of nature and the habits of creatures living along the ley lines, there is a high probability that some precious extraordinary items exist in the wild where a large number of creatures living along the ley lines gather.

Because ley line creatures, especially non-social ones, don't gather together for no reason; once they do, there must be some purpose behind it...

just
Gao De scanned the area ahead but found no trace of anything extraordinary.

As he was still pondering, the rock layer beneath his feet suddenly began to tremble violently.

There was a loud bang.

The giant mound of earth exploded with a deafening roar, sending rubble flying everywhere like cannonballs.

The steam was thrown back by the shockwave, revealing the dense clusters of elemental caverns below.

Dozens of cave elementals emerged from the cracks in the rock strata, their forms ferocious and somewhat different from those encountered before.

The cave elementals here are about five feet tall, their bodies made of dark brown rocks, with sharp iron ore spikes embedded in their surfaces. Their limbs are as thick as stone pillars, and each step they take causes the ground to sink.

Several larger cave elementals, covered in dark gray basalt, could sweep up the surrounding rubble with a wave of their arms, turning it into weapons.

Most terrifyingly, there was also a cave elemental that was eight feet tall, with a body made of black stone and three obsidian spikes three feet long standing on its back, like ferocious bone spikes.

The most terrifying thing about it is its arms. At the ends of its thick, rocky arms are two giant iron ore stones. Every swing of its arms is accompanied by a whooshing sound, as if it is going to smash the air itself.

“Elite Crypt Elemental.” Gao De’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Without a doubt, this is an elite cave elemental of rank three.

Woo!
The elite cave elemental let out a deep roar and launched the first attack.

It suddenly hurled the iron ore in its hand toward Elena. The ore, imbued with earth elemental energy, flew with a whooshing sound, like two cannonballs hurtling towards Elena and Gaode.

The surrounding ordinary cave elements followed suit, some bending down to pick up pebbles and throw them, while others charged straight at them.

The rocky mass scraped against the ground with a screeching sound as the area was instantly filled with chaotic attacks.

Despite the relentless onslaught, Elena remained calm.

She took a half step back with her left foot and quickly pulled a bone staff from her waist with her right hand.

That was Elena's staff, and it was the first time she had ever used any equipment.

The next instant, dark purple necromantic energy surged from the tip of the bone staff like a tide, gathering in front of her and turning that area black and muddy, exuding a heavy aura of negative energy.

The rubble that flew into this undead region and the two iron ore shells thrown by elite crypt elementals seemed to have undergone hundreds of years of weathering in an instant.

Its energy dimmed, its structure disintegrated, and it turned into harmless dust that fell during its flight.

However, while Elena was casting a spell to block the ranged attack, dozens of ordinary cave elementals roared and charged forward.

The elite cave elemental took heavy steps and charged forward like a battering ram, causing the earth to tremble beneath its feet.

Elena's eyes sharpened, and the tip of her bone staff suddenly burst forth with vibrant green. At the same time, she took out a handful of pre-prepared fern spores and thorn seeds from a cloth bag at her waist and scattered them out.

"Grow, entangle, strangle!"

In an instant, dark green vines covered with thorns and black, tentacle-like roots sprouted wildly from the ground where the seeds had been scattered.

They spread and entangled at an astonishing speed, like a giant living net covering the onrushing cluster of cave elements.

Snap! Crack!
The cave elemental at the forefront was instantly bound by tough vines, its stone legs and body bound together.

They struggled fiercely, and the rock's limbs tore off many vines.

But more thorns immediately wrapped around them, their sharp points even embedding themselves in the cracks of the rocks, firmly pinning them to the ground.

The momentum of the charge stalled, and the scene became extremely chaotic.

That elite cave elemental creature possessed astonishing power.

It roared, its basalt-covered arms flailing wildly, tearing apart large sections of the vines that had wrapped around it.

Although its speed has decreased significantly, it is still stubbornly moving forward.

The obsidian spikes on its back gleamed with an earthy yellow light, as if it were gathering even greater power.

But at that moment, Elena raised her bone staff again, aiming directly at the elite cave elemental.

Powerful magic gathered at the tip of the staff, and a chilling aura spread out.

Another necromancy spell.

Wherever her bone staff pointed, thick, inky negative energy suddenly surged forth.

These negative energies, like living black asphalt, flowed and converged rapidly, then clung to the bodies of elite crypt elements!

"Ugh——!"

The elite crypt elemental let out a painful roar.

The black, negative energy flow seemed to have extremely strong corrosive properties. Wherever it passed, the rocks became brittle and dull, and the earth elemental aura contained within them was rapidly extracted and annihilated.

It struggled desperately, but the flow of negative energy, like a persistent ailment, tightened its grip and began to seep into its core.

Gaode, who was standing nearby, was also busy.

Firstly, it wouldn't be good for him to just watch such an intense battle, and secondly, so many of the cave elementals were already under Elena's control with her magic, making them stationary targets, so he could just focus on dealing damage.

This is an easy job, and I can even earn a little extra money.

【Overgrown with icethorns】!
Gao De silently shouted in his mind, activating the spell model.

The ground rippled violently in the next instant, and sharp ice spikes burst forth from the cracks in the rocks. Each spike was as thick as an arm, with a sharp, knife-like tip that gleamed coldly.

The first to suffer were the three cave elementals that were entangled on the outermost side by vines.

They were struggling to break free of the dark green vines that were wrapped around their bodies when the rock beneath their feet suddenly cracked open, and three ice thorns, like unsheathed swords, instantly pierced through their stone feet!

The barbs on the ice spikes embedded themselves deeply into the cracks in the rocks, and a pale blue chill spread along the barbs, instantly freezing the earth elemental energy in their legs.

"Bang!" A cave elemental lost its balance and fell heavily to the ground. Before it could get up, two more ice thorns emerged from the side and pierced its chest cavity precisely.

That is where its energy core is located.

Pale blue chill surged into the core along the ice spikes, instantly dimming the originally shimmering earthy yellow energy, and fine ice cracks began to appear on the stone body.

With a crisp sound, the entire body collapsed, turning into a pile of rubble covered in ice crystals.

Gao De's gaze did not linger; he continued to control the [Ice Thorns] to spread.

He pinpointed the weaknesses of each of the cave elements trapped by the vines: some targeted the rock crevices at their joints, some went straight for the chest cavity where the energy core was located, and others emerged from the ground and wrapped around their necks.

Although the cave elementals do not breathe, the chill of the icethorns can freeze their head energy hubs.

Four more cave elementals were caught in the strangulation of the ice spikes.

One of them tried to smash the ice spikes with its rocky arm, but as soon as it touched the surface of the ice spikes, a pale blue chill spread along its arm and instantly froze its elbow joint.

The rock arm snapped with a "crack" and fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

The other one was pierced by three ice thorns from different directions, which converged inside its body to form a cold cage.

The chill completely extinguished its energy core, and its stone body crumbled like weathered rock.

In just a few seconds, seven cave elementals fell to the strangulation of [Ice Thorns]!
(End of this chapter)