The obsidian chasm, long and narrow, resembled a fissure torn open by some colossal force.
Undaunted, Ethan and his party moved forward.
According to Ethan's sense, traversing this chasm would lead them close to the whereabouts of Treant Eluna and the black dragon, Komait.
"Stay alert and stick together," Ethan, holding a torch, instructed the others.
With their seasoned adventuring experience, they nodded in understanding.
The group moved closely together, meticulously scanning their surroundings, on guard for any lurking dangers.
"We've got something!" Pale Wolf, leading the way, suddenly spoke.
He pointed towards the side of the chasm, his expression grave.
Following Pale Wolf's gesture, the party approached to find a corpse.
It hadn't decomposed fully.
In fact, there wasn't a sign of decomposition at all.
It was as if all the moisture from the body had been drained in an instant, leaving behind a mummified husk.
The mummy's eyes were wide open, staring in terror deep into the chasm.
"Can you make out what happened?" Ethan inquired.
Sherry and Pale Wolf both shook their heads; this wasn't something within their expertise.
"There's another one over there," Sherry pointed towards a protruding rock not too far ahead.
The group approached to find another body, eerily identical in condition to the first.
It too had its eyes fixed on the deeper parts of the chasm.
"It doesn't look like the result of infighting. Something formidable lurks deeper in the chasm," Ethan surmised, peering into the abyss.
However, due to the chasm's narrowness and the towering cliffs on either side, sunlight couldn't penetrate, leaving its depths shrouded in pitch blackness.
Looking down, one could only see an impenetrable void.
With heightened caution, they pressed onward.
As they ventured deeper, they discovered more bodies, and not just of humans.
There were elves, dwarves, and other species, all seemingly desiccated in an instant, their horrified eyes fixed on the same point in the chasm's depth.
"Hold on a moment! Do you hear that?" Ethan abruptly halted the group.
Sherry, Mia, and Pale Wolf turned to Ethan, expressions filled with puzzlement; they hadn't detected any unusual sounds.
At Ethan's urging, they all held their breaths.
A deep, rumbling sound echoed through the chasm, resembling the breathing of some immense beast.
Ethan and his companions exchanged glances and, lowering their voices, made their way toward the source of the noise, deeper into the chasm.
ραndαsnοvεl.cοm "What is that thing?" Sherry whispered in awe upon seeing the massive creature.
It resembled a pool of mud but was entirely crimson in color, lacking any discernible features or limbs, and lay limply on the ground, emitting a deep snoring sound.
"An Elemental Lord?" Ethan ventured a guess instinctively.
Elemental Lords are beings formed of a single element.
These elemental creatures wield vast elemental power and typically possess limited intelligence.
Ethan had encountered a few Elemental Lords in his past.
While the one before them seemed highly unusual, it did display characteristics typical of an Elemental Lord.
"It does look like one, but its appearance and color greatly deviate from the typical Elemental Lords we know," Sherry commented with a hint of hesitation.
"Indeed," Ethan agreed.
But recalling the bizarre corpses they had seen since entering the chasm, he quickly theorized, "There are mutated beings among the Elemental Lords. This creature might be one such mutant. "
"Given its blood-red hue, I'd wager it resembles the color of blood. We might be looking at a 'blood elemental lord'."
"We should tread carefully and try to circle around it," he advised.
The others nodded in agreement.
They then slowed their pace, extinguishing even the torches they held to avoid making any noise that might rouse the slumbering blood elemental lord.
However, as always, events took an unexpected turn.
Pale Wolf, leading the group, abruptly halted.
"What's wrong?" Ethan urgently inquired.
Turning around, Pale Wolf's face was ashen, his expression grave. "Ethan, we're in big trouble!"
Following Pale Wolf's gaze, Ethan's face contorted in dread. Before he could even muster a curse, he bellowed, "Run! Get out of here, now!"
Ahead of them sprawled hundreds of blood elemental lords, claiming every nook and cranny of the canyon.
As the group passed the slumbering lord, the other creatures swiveled their attention toward them.
"Is this some kind of nest for the blood elemental lords?" Ethan thought aloud, running for his life.
A realization hit him.
If these creatures were still in the canyon, it meant the original group that ventured deep into the Red Jade Valley hadn't passed through this chasm.
Even with Ethan's current prowess, he doubted they could survive an encounter with so many blood elemental lords.
"They're catching up!" Mia warned, glancing behind during their escape.
Ethan also shot a look back, witnessing the blood elemental lords effortlessly gliding towards them.
Lacking limbs didn't hinder their swift approach.
"Out of the canyon first!" Ethan ordered, trying to maintain his composure.
Half an hour later, after a frenzied escape, Ethan and his group finally emerged from the chasm, greeted once more by the sun in the sky and the low shrubs on the ground.
The blood elementals reached the entrance of the canyon, letting out roaring howls.
"It seems these blood elemental lords are averse to sunlight," observed Pale Wolf.
"That's right, but it also means we can't go back in," Sherry noted, taking deep breaths, her heart still racing.
Ethan, in noticeably better shape, scanned the towering mountains flanking the canyon. The vast mountain ranges seemed never-ending, like a colossal wall obstructing their path, with only the narrow canyon in the middle granting passage.
"I have an idea we could try," Ethan proposed to the group.
It didn't take long for everyone to catch on to Ethan's plan.
To the astonishment of Sherry and Pale Wolf, Ethan revealed his true form.
The massive Golden Divine Dragon, resembling a small mountain, glistened under the sun, its golden scales reflecting the sunlight.
The dragon exuded an aura both sacred and regal.
"Climb on. I'll fly us across," Ethan declared, offering the only viable solution they now had.
Upon hearing Ethan, Mia didn't hesitate and hopped on immediately.
Sherry took a deep breath and then leapt onto the vast back of the Golden Divine Dragon that Ethan had become.
Pale Wolf followed suit.
With everyone aboard, Ethan flapped his wings and soared skyward.
As they ascended, the ground below shrank, offering a clearer perspective of the elongated canyon, which now resembled a massive vein snaking through the mountains, lending a touch of eeriness to the landscape.
The blood elemental lords at the entrance roared in defiance.
After flying for over two hours, Ethan finally glimpsed the end of the canyon.
Looming there was an enormous skeleton, even larger than the dragon bones they had initially seen.
A single rib of this behemoth stood tall like a bone mountain, hundreds of meters high.
And atop that skeletal peak, the sound of battle echoed.
Simultaneously, Ethan sensed a familiar presence.
The wind howled vehemently.
Ethan dove straight toward the bone peak, and the two combatants atop it seemed to sense something amiss.
One was a seductive-looking woman in provocative attire, none other than the Treant Elder, Eluna.
The other, a brawny man whose muscles bulged like a massive bear.
"Eluna!" the dragon form of Ethan called out.
Slowing his descent, he landed gently and released a burst of scorching dragon flame, reducing the man combating Eluna to ashes in an instant.
"Lord Ethan, you've finally arrived!" Eluna exclaimed joyfully, rushing toward him.
Mia, Sherry, and Pale Wolf dismounted from the dragon's back, standing beside Ethan.
"Elder Eluna!" Mia called out.
Eluna nodded, pulling Mia into a warm embrace and said with a chuckle, "Mia, you've truly been a lifesaver. If you hadn't gone to notify Lord Ethan, I might've met my end here. And I'm not quite ready for that."
"Enough of this for now, Eluna," Ethan interrupted their tender exchange.
"Where's Komait? That old dragon better not have been slaughtered."
Being one of the few dragons under his command, even though the black dragon Komait had a dubious reputation, he was rather useful to Ethan.
Hearing Ethan's inquiry, Eluna hastily replied, "Komait should be fine for now, but given more time, I can't be certain."
"What exactly is going on?" Ethan, slightly perplexed, pressed Eluna for details.
Eluna responded quickly, "Lord Ethan, please come with me. The matter at hand is rather complex and requires a detailed explanation."
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