Chen HaoYu went out of the tunnel the same way he got in, he did not dive into the lake as he didn't know what might be hiding there.
He picked up some firewood, fruits, and some leaves to be the plates then returned back.
It was already night after he ate his dinner. Even though it might be dangerous, he still slept so that he'll have energy tomorrow.
~~~ The next day ~~~
After waking up and doing some exercise, he packed up and ventured deep into the tunnel.
Chen HaoYu thought that it might be a deep cave or something else but in the end, it was just an empty room with a clear pond in the middle of the room.
The place looked clean, it was bright brought about my the illuminating crystals that stuck out from the stones.
Looking around, Chen HaoYu didn't see anything else.
Setting aside his bag, he went near the pond.
The pond was clear enough for you to see the bottom of it.
As Chen HaoYu approached the pond, he found it peculiar that although it was right before him, it seemed as if it wasn't there at all.
Though he could see the water, he even crouched to blew at it and the water rippled.
He didn't know what's wrong with it so he tested out by dipping his hand in.
The moment he touched the water, he even felt that his hand went missing for a second. But after dipping his hand, he did not feel anything. He just felt that it was an ordinary pond and that he might've hallucinated earlier.
Thinking that it might just be him always deep in thought and couldn't help think differently ever since he came to this world, he didn't bother about the pond anymore and thought it might be better if he just took a bath.
And that's what he did, he took off his clothes and dived into the pond.
Sitting in the pond, he was just about to lay his back at the edge when he suddenly felt that the cave was fake.
He panicked and look around but he still had that feeling. Feeling as if everything except for the water and him was just an illusion, a fake.
Standing up and getting out of the pond, the feeling that the cave was an illusion disappeared but when he looked at the pond. Now he felt that the pond was an illusion.
'It seems that the pond has the effects of making one hallucinate?'
That's what Chen HaoYu thought.
"I wonder if something will happen if I stay inside of it?" Muttering, he went back to the pond and the feeling that the cave was an illusion came back.
He sat cross legged in the middle of the pond, imitating those cultivators he had read in the novels. When he thought of those, he chuckled, "Maybe I can strike it big just like those in the novels encountering cheats!"
He cleared his mind and started a long breathing session. Just like those yoga practitioners.
Unknowingly, as Chen HaoYu stayed in the pond. He started to hear whispers echoing, some could be heard while some could not be heard. He tried to clear his mind from those whispers but the whispers just kept coming.
As the whispers kept coming, he started to feel like he was going crazy from all those whispers.
"Fuck! Get lost!"
Whenever the whispers echoed, he would shout at them looking like a lunatic shouting at air.
He couldn't sit properly and he submerged his head underwater thinking that it might help him.
But when he did that, he suddenly felt that as if he's not in the cave but in some kind of space. Floating around in the dark space, illuminated by auroras but the whispers became many as well, now you couldn't even understand anything let alone comprehend a single word from it.
He opened his eyes but in reality his eyes weren't open. Chen HaoYu thought that he was teleported to another space when he saw the dark space and the auroras.
Everything thing that Chen HaoYu was doing in this place was actually just an illusion without him knowing at all, that's why even though he rubbed his eyes and opened them again, the place remained the same.
Floating in this place, his hair was disheveled and he kept shouting at the whispers.
He wanted to escape this place but he didn't know how so he could only try to swim and look around while shouting.
'Damn it! If I hadn't stayed in that pond, I wouldn't be here!'
He started regretting his actions due to thinking that he may encounter a blessing.
After a while, Chen HaoYu started losing track of time, or rather, he felt that time did not exist anymore because whenever he felt that it had been a long time since he arrived, a sudden feeling that it had only been a short time would emerge, and vice versa.
...
Unknowingly, three months have passed since Chen HaoYu was in the pond and he is still in there.
This early morning. Zhao Congming went to the library and found the old man sitting behind the reception table, reading a book.
When Zhao Congming was near, the old man said, "Is there any news on that kid?"
Zhao Congming shook his head gloomily, "I've tried searching in the city but I couldn't find him, I have already sent a mercenary mission to search for him but there was also no news in the mercenary hall."
Sighing, the old man closed his book the looked at Zhao Congming, "Before he left, did he tell you where he is going?"
"No, I didn't asked him and he said that he'll just be gone for a week..."
"Li MengYao also didn't know anything but she told me that she saw Chen HaoYu having a knapsack and a sword. And that he was also in a rush, maybe something happened?"
"I don't know! But I've already checked his background and he's just an ordinary person without a magic core! His family are also ordinary! Master! Can you do anything? Please!" Zhao Congming begged the old man.
Even though Zhao Congming has only been friends with Chen HaoYu for the past month and even didn't know that Chen HaoYu was just an ordinary person without a magic core. He had treated Chen HaoYu as his best friend already so even without knowing about Chen HaoYu's broken magic core, he would've still try to find him.
The old man stood up and held Zhao Congming shoulders, "Don't worry, I'm sure that he's alive somewhere and nothing bad had happened. Maybe he had just forgotten the time and was enjoying outside!"
Even though Zhao Congming knew that the old man was comforting him, he still couldn't help but be sad about it.
"You've been staying up late and roaming around to look for him, you need to rest and take care of yourself too! Go home and take a rest, I'll handle this. Okay?"
Zhao Congming indeed had been staying up late and searching for Chen HaoYu. Now he has panda eyes and he looked thinner than he used to be, even his usual lively appearance was not there.
"Okay..." Zhao Congming reluctantly agreed and went home to rest.
Zhao Congming and the others hadn't contacted Chen HaoYu's family because they didn't want them to worry and it was only normal for people who are working to not go home or contact his family for a few months but if this situation continued to prolong then they would naturally have to explain to his family.
Not in the mood to read anymore, the old man sighed and left the library.
"I hope your still alive young man..."