Divine Beast Creator

Chapter 2392 - 2393: Hot Springs Town Pilgrimage

On the second day, which was also the last day of the blizzard weather, perhaps in preparation for the upcoming activity, the blizzard continued but was much lighter than the previous day, offering a clearer view.

The dark clouds in the sky also lightened considerably, giving the impression that dawn was about to break, as Feng Yuan and his companions headed to the starting point of today’s activity in their bathrobes after enjoying a delicious breakfast on snack street.

Although, in theory, wearing everyday clothes would be more convenient, the event announcement specified that participants could wear bathrobes throughout the entire event, which involved content related to bathing pools.

"Hmm, it really is a special activity. If you don’t cheat, it might be quite interesting."

Feng Yuan looked at the activity rules on the hint card in his hand and commented that although it’s called a parade, it actually asks tourists to visit various locations based on clues to get stamps.

To facilitate team activities, Hot Springs Town allows multiple people to form a team for the challenge. As for difficulty, it’s certainly there; at least the hint card Feng Yuan received would require quite an effort from those unfamiliar with Hot Springs Town.

What Feng Yuan meant by cheating naturally referred to finding answers online, not based on the promotional page but in dedicated discussion forums, where many familiar with Hot Springs Town provide answers to different clues.

However, Feng Yuan wasn’t particularly interested in that. If he really wanted to play, he wouldn’t cheat unless the questions were too tricky.

"Cheating would ruin the fun. You wouldn’t do that, right?"

Qi Chen looked at Feng Yuan, uncertain about his intentions. In Qi Chen’s view, the prize wasn’t particularly tempting; at least it seemed less appealing compared to solving the clues.

"Of course not, at least given that this puzzle isn’t very difficult. Unless it’s deliberately designed to be a hassle, cheating really isn’t that great."

Glancing at Qi Chen, Feng Yuan said while raising the hint card in his hand, which was a silhouette that seemed to depict a stone lantern.

These things... could appear in many places, like the courtyard where Feng Yuan and the others were staying had stone lanterns.

"This hint seems a bit too broad."

Qi Chen hesitated as he looked at the hint card, noting that these common stone lanterns were all over Hot Springs Town. Based on this clue alone, he couldn’t guess where the first checkpoint was.

Dou Yanlan stroked her chin and said,

"Not necessarily. The parade’s checkpoints all feature Hot Springs Town’s unique scenic spots. Stone lanterns rarely appear at store entrances, and they wouldn’t be placed openly at inns either."

"Although they are set up in the hot spring pools, considering the difficulty, the answer is actually quite obvious."

"Hmm, I also guessed the Mystery Night Pool. Let’s go there and take a look."

Nodding, Feng Yuan spoke while glancing at Qi Chen, who was initially puzzled as to why Feng Yuan suggested the Mystery Night Pool. Upon thinking about it, Qi Chen clapped his hands and said,

"Yeah! In terms of representation, it really is there!"

The Mystery Night Pool is also a characteristic hot spring pool in Hot Springs Town, but this pool only attracts crowds at night, after all, its main feature is the nighttime ambiance.

The entire Mystery Night Pool resembles a large courtyard, where a pool is surrounded by smooth, round rocks and has a bed of cobblestones, with numerous special stone lanterns standing in the pool.

Outside the pool, there are pebble and white sandy paths along with pine and cypress decorations, and many stone lanterns are placed along the paths.

At night, the Spirit Beast’s Ultimate Move creates a faint mist in the Mystery Night Pool, which obscures distant scenery.

Special fireflies also fly above the Mystery Night Pool at night, with the stone lanterns serving as mist-repelling lights.

It can be said that the stone lanterns of the Mystery Night Pool are certainly representative of those in Hot Springs Town; when mentioning stone lanterns, one might first think of that place.

If Hot Springs Town hasn’t deliberately increased the difficulty, the Mystery Night Pool is very likely the answer.

As expected, the group wasn’t surprised to find a dedicated checkpoint at the Mystery Night Pool, though it was guarded by staff.

They are responsible for determining whether a tourist’s hint card corresponds to their checkpoint and issuing the next hint card.

After all, the initial hint cards distributed aren’t all of the same type.

Receiving the hint card from Feng Yuan, the staff glanced at it and stamped Feng Yuan’s collection booklet before handing over another hint card.

"Hmm, let me see this thing... Mountain Stream’s Paradise? It seems like it’s Flowing Water Pool, right?"

Receiving the hint card, Feng Yuan found this time it was words rather than a shadow, so he passed the card to Qi Chen and the others, then stroked his chin, as he felt it might not specifically refer to the Flowing Water Pool, or perhaps it’s in the vicinity but not within the pool itself.

"It should be the Flowing Water Pool, as only there simulates a mountain stream, it’s just..."

Like Feng Yuan, Dou Yanlan was also puzzled by the term ’paradise’; if it referred to the Flowing Water Pool, a different word should be used?

"Let’s head over and check it out."

Glancing at the staff behind them, Feng Yuan figured it wouldn’t be worthwhile to ask them; after all, the general area was likely correct, so it wasn’t a big deal.

Perhaps due to the parade activity, many people had left the hot spring pools in Hot Springs Town, opting instead to rush between various locations like Feng Yuan and his group.

The Flowing Water Pool is at the town’s edge, and Feng Yuan and his team took quite a while to reach the area.

Aside from tourists like Feng Yuan participating in the parade, there were hardly any visitors soaking in the hot springs here.

Feng Yuan immediately spotted a checkpoint by the hot spring pool, but upon approaching it, the staff shook their head and said:

"Sorry, your hint card doesn’t refer to the Flowing Water Pool."

"Hmm, it should be in this area, right?"

Frowning slightly, Feng Yuan asked, and after pondering a moment, the staff said,

"Yes, you could say that, the general direction is right."

She could directly tell Feng Yuan the answer, but that required him to ask explicitly, as some tourists enjoy the slow puzzle-solving fun, so unless they specifically ask, the staff won’t proactively reveal the answer.

"Indeed, my guess was sort of right."

Holding the hint card, Feng Yuan didn’t pursue further inquiries on its exact location; since they had plenty of time today, gradually searching didn’t seem problematic.

Dou Yanlan searched on her phone upon finding the hint didn’t point to Flowing Water Pool, seeking special locations nearby.

Given the difficulty of the first hint card, Dou Yanlan was certain this place wouldn’t be too obscure.

"Got it!"

Finding some information, Dou Yanlan showed her phone to the others and said,

"It should be this - the Perching Tree Demon’s Secret Garden!"

"Wow, there’s actually such a place."

Seeing the promotional content Dou Yanlan presented, Feng Yuan remarked with surprise. The Perching Tree Demon’s Secret Garden is right next to Flowing Water Pool, a small garden created naturally by a wild Perching Tree Demon.

After joining Hot Springs Town officially, the Demon’s small garden became a scenic spot, with the town occasionally sending people to help maintain it in addition to the Demon.

The reason Feng Yuan and his group didn’t initially think of this place was simply because they hadn’t paid it much attention before.

After all, Hot Springs Town centers on immersive environment experiences with hot springs, and the Perching Tree Demon’s Secret Garden didn’t perfectly align with the rest of the town.

Thus, Feng Yuan and his team hadn’t felt inclined to check it out from the beginning and naturally overlooked it.

"In that case, let’s head over quickly."

The Perching Tree Demon’s Secret Garden was not far from Flowing Water Pool, so Feng Yuan and his companions reached it soon, where many ornamental trees thrived.

Perching Tree Demons are Spirit Beasts that live in symbiosis with trees; their growth and existence are deeply reliant on various types of trees, and for them, the more beautiful and unique the trees, the greater the support for their growth.

As a result, the entire Secret Garden had numerous oddly shaped trees, though not many flowers.

"Indeed, the Perching Tree Demon truly is an innate master of tree art~"

Admiring these varied and distinctive trees, Feng Yuan couldn’t help but express admiration, while Qi Chen, spotting the checkpoint, took Feng Yuan’s hint card and collection booklet and went over.

This time, without any unexpected incident, they successfully found the checkpoint, and as Qi Chen looked at the hint card, he seemed puzzled.

"This thing is somewhat strange."

Approaching Feng Yuan, Qi Chen handed him the hint card, which was once again a shadow image, though this one...

"Stone Bamboo Forest? Impossible, right?"

Upon seeing the shadow, Feng Yuan immediately thought of the Stone Bamboo Forest in Deepwater Cave, but how could that be?