As they continued to go deeper into the cave, they found a clean stream.

The stream flowed through the mountain valley they had been walking on. Song Feiyao told them this was the exact stream they were looking for that crossed the ancient village before reaching the Yellow River.

The clear stream water suggested that the stream did not flow on the surface. Otherwise, the surrounding mud and dirt could easily turn it muddy.

The stream water spilled out from the rock strata, then passed by a fault valley blocked by the rocks. The mysterious and ancient village where the Underground Holy Spring was located at the fault valley.

The rock mass on top of the mountain within the fault valley resembled a gigantic umbrella that blocked the sun from view. It covered the entire fault valley. Even if one looked down from the sky, they could not possibly notice the cave down there.

The crystal-clear stream water flowed out of the fault valley through the cracks that were either formed naturally or man-made. The water flowed along the steep rocks and formed a transparent pool at the back of the village. It was truly a rare scenery to behold.

The village was surrounded by rocks and wood. Most of the houses were made of wood.

When they got closer to it, the village did not look much different from any other quiet mountain village. There were roads, a village entrance, a fortress wall, and rusted farming tools strewn about.

The village was so quiet that the visitors dared not venture inside to ask questions even when they stood right at the entrance.

“It’s deserted.” Song Feiyao sighed.

Unlike Licheng Afterglow Island, all the guardians of the Underground Holy Springs did not remain as a complete society. Not all of them knew the significance of what had been passed down by their ancestors. After all, it had been a long time since the guardian tribes were formed.

In the past, dozens of guardian tribe branches stood guard over the Underground Holy Spring. However, hardly any of them had survived till today.

“There are some farming tools with some words on them. They look like they are from the modern era.” Mo Fan used his dragon sense to search for clues from his surroundings.

“In other words, it hasn’t been long since the village was deserted. It’s possible that the villagers guarded the Underground Holy Spring until recently,” said Mu Bai.

Mo Fan nodded. He hoped the Underground Holy Spring was not nearly dried-up like the one he had seen in Bo City.

Judging from the current amount of sustenance Little Loach needed per day, it would be a waste of a trip if Mo Fan did not get an Underground Holy Spring that was on par with the one at Licheng Afterglow Island.

“Let’s split up and look around. I’ll explore the pool under the waterfall,” said Mo Fan.

“I’ll look around the village.”

“I’ll explore outside the village.”

…

Mo Fan walked toward the waterfall. Not all waterfalls flowed down with force and a rumble.

The waterfall here was small. It flowed quietly along the fault valley’s cracks formed over the years into a pool of water.

The pool was not very deep. After all, there was no impact from the downward flow of water. It looked like a huge spring which might have served as drinking water for the villagers. Mo Fan had the strong urge of rolling up his pant legs and soaking his legs inside the clean and refreshing spring water. He often did that when he was young.

He took off the pendant hanging on his chest, then soaked and washed it inside the water. Mo Fan had been keeping his pendant well-hidden to prevent himself from exposing Little Loach to the public. He sweated quite a bit and it was due for a wash.

As soon as he put his pendant inside the cold spring of the fault valley, Little Loach shone, making the pendant look as if it was alive. It broke itself free from Mo Fan’s grasp and burrowed into the shallow cold spring.

Mo Fan was puzzled. But he was not in a hurry to pick it back up. He seldom saw Little Loach so impatient.

It slid to the bottom of the spring. When it glowed, Mo Fan realized there was another layer of liquid with different density at the bottom of the spring. Ordinary stream water had very low density and floated on the upper layer.

Meanwhile, liquid with high density rested at the bottom. It looked like it had been sealed by a layer of something that resembled thin ice. When the spring water flowed down and struck it, it would sway, just like any other liquid. However, the liquid moved with a sense of sluggishness, making it seem like it would not break free of the ice even if a gargantuan force struck it.

Mo Fan smiled. So, the Underground Holy Spring was sealed at the bottom of the spring!

The Underground Holy Spring was completely different from ordinary water. The Underground Holy Spring was like sunken oil. There was a clear layer of boundary that separated the stream water from the Underground Holy Spring. Even a Water Element mage could not expose it with ease, let alone the villagers who collected water from it.

The Underground Holy Spring was hidden within the normal spring. It was a brilliant way of concealing it. Even if people with ulterior motives found the pool, they would have a hard time finding the Underground Holy Spring.

Fortunately, Mo Fan had Little Loach with him. Otherwise, they would have spent a lot of effort in finding the Underground Holy Spring. Mo Fan, Song Feiyao, and Mu Bai would have subconsciously looked for it at the hidden caves, mysterious realm, and underground places, inside the village with no result.

The village itself was secretly hidden between the fault valley of Helan Mountain. It was difficult to discover the petroglyphs unless they were the guardian tribe of the Underground Holy Spring. Only the leader of the guardian tribe had the knowledge of combining all the petroglyphs.

Those who used this method to hide the location of the Underground Holy Spring had done so to prevent the insiders rather than the outsiders from stealing it.

Little Loach was not restrained by the layer of Forbidden System. It was literally a movable Underground Holy Spring storage. Hence, the Forbidden System recognized it as part of the spring.

The moment it reached the bottom of the spring, Little Loach quickly absorbed the holy spring essence. Meanwhile, Mo Fan kept a close eye on their surroundings on the shore.

Something was strange.

There was no one in the village, and the Underground Holy Spring was skillfully hidden. If no one was here to manage it, how did the spring thrive? How had it not dried up?

If there was no water inside the pool, could the Forbidden System transform into sand and continue to keep the Underground Holy Spring hidden?

No one had discovered the secret of the petroglyphs. No one had barged into this place and discovered the guardians of the Underground Holy Spring secrets yet.

…

Little Loach absorbed the holy spring essence rapidly. Mo Fan let down his guard.

Obtaining the Underground Holy Spring was more crucial than anything else! Before Mo Fan could celebrate, Mu Bai rushed over to him after surveying the surrounding of the village.

“It doesn’t seem as simple as it appears to be, right?” asked Mo Fan.

“Simple? Have you found the Underground Holy Spring?” Mu Bai was stunned.

“Yes, and I’ve kept it.” Mo Fan nodded.

“Do you still remember the engraved frescoes when we entered through the cave…?” Mu Bai asked.