Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Dilemma! (3/5)_1 Chen Mo immediately tossed the item into his backpack and hugged the earth spirit, saying, "Take care!" As he did, he took the opportunity to wipe his hands thoroughly on the earth spirit’s clothes. Yan Yingyue also learned from him and did the same. She also bid the earth spirit farewell. "I’m glad you’re fine. Please take care of yourself in the future. We’ll be leaving now." "What kind kids you are. It’s just that my meals haven’t been good lately, and these two items are what I just painstakingly produced. Otherwise, I would have given you more," the earth spirit said with a regretful look on its face. Hearing this, the corners of Chen Mo’s and Yan Yingyue’s mouths twitched involuntarily. "You don’t have to be so fresh. Just dry them off and give them to us later," Chen Mo responded dryly. Saying goodbye to the frustrating earth spirit, Chen Mo still felt uncomfortable. He and Yan Yingyue found a pond and washed their hands thoroughly, which made Chen Mo feel slightly better. "This mission is so deceptive!" Yan Yingyue lamented with a bitter smile. Then, as if playing a prank, she stretched her now clean hand towards Chen Mo, who quickly retreated several steps in fear. "What’s the matter, are you repulsed by me? I’ve washed my hands already," Yan Yingyue stamped her foot in annoyance. Chen Mo replied with a helpless smile, "I just saw that your hands weren’t dry yet." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖 Just as Yan Yingyue was about to continue teasing Chen Mo, she noticed a peculiar formation pattern on the ground where Chen Mo had brushed away some dust when he quickly retreated. "Chen Mo, look! Is this another Special Boss Array?" Chen Mo immediately grabbed a random, useless item from his backpack and wiped the ground. Soon, the entire formation pattern was completely exposed before him. "Strange, why are there no little figures on this formation pattern?" "Indeed, it’s a bit odd." "This is the fifth tier area, and it’s only the third day. Could it be that we’ve jumped two days ahead in terms of area, so this formation pattern hasn’t had time to refresh yet?" Yan Yingyue suddenly thought of a possibility. "That’s possible. But if we can do the hidden missions in this area, why wouldn’t the formation pattern refresh?" "The heavenly path’s rule is mysterious and unfathomable. Not every aspect of it can be traced. Hidden missions and Special BOSS battles probably don’t use the same set of rules at all, so naturally, they wouldn’t be the same," Yan Yingyue didn’t overthink it. Although Chen Mo found what Yan Yingyue said reasonable, he still carefully studied the formation pattern on the ground. "Hey, look at this formation pattern. The image in the middle resembles the shape of this lake." The small lake in front of Chen Mo was almond-shaped, like an eye, with a lush green island in the center resembling a pupil. Yan Yingyue looked at the formation pattern and then at the lake. "It does seem so. If only we could see it from the sky." She had merely mused aloud, never imagining that the person beside her would suddenly shoot up into the air. Chen Mo flew high above the small lake. As he ascended, he confirmed that the lake’s shape was indeed an exact match to the central area of the formation pattern, especially the island in the middle of the lake, which looked just like a pupil. "Yingyue, wait here. I’m going to check out the island," Chen Mo called down to Yan Yingyue on the shore, who was still looking up at him in astonishment. He then began to descend towards the island. In the center of this small island was a hill. While circling in the air, Chen Mo spotted a cave entrance on its northern side. Strangely, he couldn’t perceive what was inside the cave with his perception ability. There’s something strange about this, he thought. Sensing something off, Chen Mo landed on the island and headed for the cave entrance. The inside of this cave, however, was different from the earth den where Chen Mo had encountered the Light Spirit. This cave radiated a faint yet bright light. What kind of place is this? Why have I never heard anyone who’s entered the dungeon mention it before? Intrigued, Chen Mo carefully and cautiously stepped into the cave. The cave was a spiral pathway leading downwards. As Chen Mo proceeded, he kept moving further down. Before he knew it, he had been walking for a good ten minutes or so, but he still couldn’t see the end or reach the bottom. By the lake, Yan Yingyue had been waiting for a long time without seeing Chen Mo reappear. Worried, she sent him multiple messages to check on him. Only after receiving confirmation that Chen Mo was safe did she feel a little relieved. Now curious, she wondered why Chen Mo was taking so long walking inside the cave. She returned to the formation pattern they had seen earlier to inspect it more closely. To her surprise, the formation pattern had changed. It was now a spiral array pattern. "Chen Mo, the formation pattern has changed." "Oh? What does it look like now?" "It’s turned into a spiral array pattern." "Is there anything noteworthy?" "Yes, in the middle of the spiral array pattern, there’s a small luminescent spot, and it’s flickering." Seeing Yan Yingyue’s response, Chen Mo suddenly stopped in his tracks. "What about now? How’s the small luminescent spot?" "It has stopped moving." Chen Mo immediately took a step forward. "It’s moving again," Yan Yingyue instantly replied. "I see. The tunnel I’m in corresponds to the spiral array pattern you’re seeing. That small luminescent spot is me." "I thought so too." "Then can you tell me how far I am from the bottom of the spiral array pattern?" "Not much further. Just a little bit more and you’ll be at the bottom." "Alright." Hearing that he was close to the end, Chen Mo quickened his pace. However, Yan Yingyue soon sent another message. "Something’s wrong. When you get close to the bottom, the luminescent spot representing you immediately flashes back to the very top of the spiral array pattern." "So that’s how it is! I was wondering. My pace is quite fast, yet I couldn’t reach the bottom even after walking for over ten minutes. I knew something was strange." "What now? Are you trapped inside?" "Luckily, I just got an Instant Teleportation Talisman, so it’s not a problem. Otherwise, I’d indeed have to abandon the dungeon to get out. You were right before; it’s better to let the Skeleton Monster go first into strange places." Chen Mo had taken the risk because he believed he possessed numerous life-saving skills. He thought that even if there were formidable monsters underground, he wouldn’t be in any danger. But he hadn’t anticipated such a bizarre predicament! Their teachers had never mentioned anything like this in class. Encountering it now was, in a way, fortunate. As the saying goes, ’a fall into a pit, a gain in your wit’—a lesson learned through adversity! In the future, when facing various situations, he would need to be more vigilant. This experience also highlighted a current weakness of his, one he could now work to rectify. If he had been trapped like this outside a dungeon, he wouldn’t even have had the chance to learn or adapt; he might have truly been trapped until death!