The Record of Unusual Creatures

Before he saw the actual data, Hao Ren had a feeling that Inferno was just a piece of debris, which fell off the Plane of Dreams and became part of the universe. The unique nature of this space debris was its ever-changing position in the universe; it drifted on the edge of the real world, and occasionally made contact with Earth. It triggered the so-called Infernal Gate that appeared many times in Earth's history. However, the data sent back by the probe seemed to suggest that the dimension was more complicated than previously thought. This space fragment from the Plane of Dreams did not fully enter the Surface World but got stuck between the Surface World and the Plane of Dreams!     

The data, which the MDT revealed, was still fluctuating. It explained the ever-changing relative position of the Inferno dimension. Without the necessary tools, it was impossible to interpret the data. So far, Hao Ren could analyze things because he used the data link; his mind was connected to the MDT, which was in turn attached to the Xi Ling Empire's Data Network. The linkage allowed inspectors to see things beyond human perspectives. It did not enhance other human qualities and did not increase one's IQ. Its most significant function was to let Hao Ren think outside the box to understand abstract knowledge.     

So he understood what the infernal dimension was about; it was essentially gangrene in the Wall of Reality.     

The tremor caused by the space debris in the Wall of Reality was probably the reason for the situation's deterioration—at least, it was one of the reasons.     

With that said, Hessiana and her sidekicks had no clue what the Wall of Reality was. They wanted to catch the wizard as quickly as possible. Hessiana pointed at the portal. "Can we use it now? Will the drift that you mentioned affect it?"     

Hao Ren switched on the portal. "Don't worry. This thing is much more advanced than what Baptiste has ever made," he sounded very confident.     

He now knew why the magic masters on Earth had been unable to find a stable Infernal Gate; they failed to jump out of their cosmic worldview and they fixed portals that did not work on a drifting dimension because of the incompatible coordinate system.     

But his portal could do that.     

He fired up the portal and it gave out a slight humming sound; a warped, translucent sphere emerged over the silver platform. Hao Ren and the others stepped back slightly. When the ball expanded large enough to allow a person to walk through, Hao Ren went in first and said, "Let's go and catch the wizard!"     

After they passed through turbulence and a warped light film, the harsh environment of the infernal dimension greeted them on the other side.     

It was a hot and stinking space like a dirty, hot-spring swamp; decomposing substances covered the earth in lumpy dark dirt. It was lifeless, dark, and without moon or stars; thick clouds covered the world. Only the weird glow in the clouds illuminated the otherwise dark region. It was Inferno. The place was different from what the religious story described, but it was still an inferno.     

Lily could not help but cough. She had a sensitive nose. "This is truly a hellish place. Let me put on the collar."     

She felt better with the life-support collar. She knitted her brows together as she looked around. "Does this hellish place support life at all?"     

"Well, you should be able to find something like the Infernal Fleshripper at least." Vivian nodded. "I've only been here once, and it was thousands of years ago. I've almost forgotten about the situation here. So everyone, please keep your eyes open."     

Nangong Wuyue was making a hissing sound in her throat. She sensed the presence of water vapor; it was not a very difficult place to survive, nevertheless, the water vapor was mixed with some unpleasant odors. The sense of hostility and corrosiveness irritated her. Hao Ren noticed it and asked, "Hey, are you okay? Why don't you put the collar on?"     

"It has nothing to do with the conventional senses," Nangong Wuyue replied. She then summoned a mist and transformed herself into a siren. The tiny water sphere made up of mist began to purify the surrounding air. "I sense a force in the water here; it's harmful to living things. Sirens are very sensitive to water as we are water elemental creatures. Oh, it's uncomfortable here."     

Hao Ren looked up into the distance. There were bubbling, muddy hot springs in disgusting colors. Whenever the big bubbles on the surface of the hot springs popped, they spurted green, dirty air.     

The muddy hot springs were the cradle of life on most planets, but the ones on Inferno were something else.     

The hot springs were the most abundant form of water in the world, but they were disgusting. No wonder Nangong Wuyue felt uncomfortable.     

"Sorry, I have to transform a second time. I can't stand it."     

Then she collapsed into water droplets.     

The water droplets hovered and condensed themselves in the air, finally turning into a soft, gel-like substance—slime.     

Maybe it was not slime per se. It was just a form of Nangong Wuyue's existence, but the appearance did not help; it was a translucent, gel-like substance.     

The slime shook and made a groaning sound. "Okay, I've completed my shapeshifting."     

"Are you sure you're finished?" Lily looked at her, stunned. "People usually turn into something more badass. You don't even have a face now."     

The slime shook its body, and this time, it had an upper body of a female. However, it was still translucent. Nangong Wuyue asked, "How does it look this time?"     

Lily was speechless.     

"This body form can produce the greatest amount of elemental affinity. I have to compete with the natural water of this world for control. Otherwise, I'll evaporate." Nangong Wuyue splashed some water to explain her point. "I can also spare some energy to maintain a clean air space for you. Too many things in this space make me feel uneasy. I need to block them out."     

"This place is too big... Where are we going to find Baptiste?" Nangong Sanba looked at the endless mass of land. "I suspect this is a planet. How difficult is it to find someone here?"     

"Let's see how lucky we are, but I hope we haven't deviated too far," Vivian said. She raised her hands, and immediately, a large swarm of bats appeared. They spread out in the air behind her. "I've created these hunting bats and remembered Baptiste's smell. These little bats can sense him even if he's several dozen kilometers away."     

The bat swarm was so large that it almost covered the entire sky. It was unlike anything that Vivian had done before. Hao Ren was shocked. Hessiana stared at the bats, slowly sinking into thought as she began mumbling, "I was yanked out the same way last time."     

Hessiana used to be one of Vivian's tiny bats. But she had transcended. Now, she was a little emotional when she looked at her "siblings" by the thousands.     

Soon after, the bats dispersed into the distance. Hao Ren also released all the probes from his Dimensional Pocket. The agile probes were known for their speed, though unlike Vivian's hunting bats, the probes could scan a vast area in a short time and dramatically increase their chances of finding Baptiste.