The Paladin in the Abyss

"There are still quite a few supplies left in the half-plane. Before I rest, I will use all the remaining Divine Arts to perform the Water Conjuring Spell, just in case," Alamir said with a slightly shy smile, "Wait a moment, I'll be right back."

The Elf Priest flashed and disappeared into the entrance of the half-plane, while Lancelot suddenly felt someone gently pulling at his wings. He turned his head and saw that it was young Isha trying to get his attention, looking at him timidly.

"Brother Lancelot, um, Sister Tijana asked me to remind you..." the little Vampire said in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's, "if you're done using it, remember to take off the Transformation Ring."

"Ah yes, of course!" Lancelot inexplicably felt a pang of guilt and hurriedly took off the ring, reverting back to his Human Knight form, "I was completely unaware that I was still in my transformed state. If you hadn't reminded me, I would have completely forgotten..."

"Be careful," Kalalin said with a meaningful look, "A famous Arcanist once turned himself into a squirrel, and his Apprentice had to spend three years casting Dispel Magic on every squirrel in the forest to find his teacher so he could sign off on his thesis..."

"Why a squirrel?" Bruto scratched his head, "Is there something special about them?"

"Because squirrels are always so cheerful," the Scholar shrugged his shoulders, "The point is, if you spend too much time in another form, you might run into serious identity recognition issues."

"Don't worry, guys, I'm really fine... Ah, Alamir is back! I was just waiting for him..." Lancelot said weakly, just as the Elf Priest returned from the half-plane carrying a large bucket of water, allowing him to pivot the conversation.

"Oh, you remembered to take off the ring?" Alamir said as he set the bucket down in front of him, "Is this enough?"

"It's plenty." Lancelot carefully tilted the Jade Bottle over the bucket, "It's mainly to dilute the concentration of this stuff, otherwise it's hard to control the amount... This should do it."

Three drops of green liquid fell from the bottle into the bucket, turning all the water in it green instantaneously. Unlike the green that evokes thoughts of poison or plague, it was a refreshing, invigorating green, like the first sprout of spring or the dense grass of summer, filled with an indescribable Spiritual Energy.

"Wow, is this the secret to your rapid plant growth?" Bruto curiously leaned in, "It looks quite drinkable..."

"Definitely not," Lancelot glared sternly at the Dwarf, "Normally it wouldn't have any effect if drunk, but if there are any undigested plant seeds in your stomach, it would be disastrous. Just a small spoonful can make a plant grow as much as it would in a year. Just think about the consequences if you drank it."

"Well, I always knew watermelon was a dangerous fruit, but what if I rub this liquid on my chin..."

Ignoring the Dwarf who had completely lost track of the conversation, Lancelot gently tapped the edge of the barrel, and a stream of green water enveloped by his True Yuan flew towards the vine on the ground, seeping into the soil near its roots. The vine immediately began to wriggle like the tentacle of some aquatic animal, and Lancelot grabbed the vine, allowing it to elongate and burrow deep inside the mountain, then split into two branches, thickening and hardening at the forked parts as it slowly drilled through the hard mountain.

"I recall being very careful with the dosage of this liquid when setting up Hagrid Manor, otherwise the plant could easily die from exceeding its natural lifespan." Alamir watched Lancelot's actions curiously, "Aren't you worried about that issue with this vine?"

"Hmm, this vine is transformed from my own mana, as long as I keep supplying energy, it can continue to grow, but if I supply energy by myself, digging a tunnel to that fortress would completely drain me." Lancelot patted the edge of the barrel again with his other hand, stirring another stream of blue-green water, "Fortunately, this vine itself is a plant, capable of using this green liquid to mature."

"And every night during meditation, you automatically condense a drop of this liquid?" The Elf shook his head in disbelief, "Honestly, if I didn't know you well, I'd suspect you were some incarnation of a nature deity..."

"I can assure you, I have no relation with any deity, maybe except for Shuni, after all, their priests have helped me a lot." Lancelot gave the Elf a big smile, "Alright, why don't you all go back to the demiplane and rest? I'll watch over this vine tonight to ensure it grows the way I want."

That night, every time Lancelot completed a Heavenly Cycle, he would pour a stream of green liquid on the vine's roots, until a whole barrel was used up. Based on previous experiments, a drop of green liquid could add about a hundred years of growth, so with three drops in the barrel, the vine had aged three hundred years by the time the liquid was spent.

Under his deliberate control, the vine remained only as thick as an arm in the cave, but inside the mountain, it had turned into a terrifyingly large root with a radius exceeding ten feet, and its hardness was comparable to metal and stone. Some disturbed frost bugs, curious, had come to inspect it, but after chipping a few teeth, quickly lost interest and left.

"Morning, Lancelot, did you sit up all night again?" As usual, Bruto was the first to crawl out from the demiplane, "How's the vine, has it grown well?"

"Yes, it's now like a gigantic spring buried inside the mountain, one end twenty feet from the fortress above, and the other end twenty feet from the rock wall at the valley's bottom, just needing a bit more energy to punch through the last layer of mountain." Lancelot nodded, while the rest of the companions also emerged from the demiplane, "Good morning everyone, how was last night's rest?"

"Couldn't be better, I must admit that the Succubus Lord's demiplane really has improved our travel quality," Alamir said with a smile, but then sighed, "Ah, if only Koula were here, she would have loved this..."

"When we have time later, let's go to Mark City and find her. And that skull too, wonder how it's doing." Lancelot sighed reflectively, "Let's focus on the task at hand for now... Kalalin, are you ready to cast Arcane Eye again to find the source of those Giant Zombies?"

"Of course." The Scholar took out two scrolls from his backpack, "I also worked on something new last night, a brand-new spell based on the Second Circle shared memory technique, allowing you all to see what I see in real-time, so everyone can participate..."