The dome was different indeed. Instead of being vast and profound like the magnificence of the first level, or the pungency of the third level, this level was pretty... basic. Bland even, in comparison.
It was a simple cave. A rugged interior that looks like what Tian Longmeng saw at the entrance, only slightly darker. There was barely anything in the cave; however, what was inside was very peculiar, to say the least.
There were some bookcases with scrolls, books, and scriptures stacked and lying about the place. There was also a dark blue, almost indigo, carpet lying on the floor.
This was opposite to a vast pond that was surrounded by a lush but calming circle of grassland. The cave and its contents looked very normal. Well except for two things.
Along the walls, there were carvings and strange markings all over. It littered the cave and left a profound aura in the place.
Although Tian Longmeng could not understand any of the markings, he could tell that they were anything but ordinary and could even be speaking of things far beyond his imagination. This left a profound feeling in his heart.
The second oddity in the cave was a random ship placed on a table beside the bookcases. By where it was positioned, it would have been mistaken for something ordinary. Tian Longmeng probably would not even take notice of it.
However, once one looks at it, they would be so immersed in the strangeness of the ship.
Firstly, the colour of the ship at first was predominantly a copper-ish appearance. It looked old and rustic. However, upon closer inspection, it seems to have gained a caramel, bronze-like appearance. Sometimes it would even have stripes of gold showing on its plating.
The strange part is that you would never tell the change or difference until a long time of constant staring.
This little rustic ship had Tian Longmeng tranced as if he was under a love spell, drawing towards the plain, yet not so plain ship artefact. As is fingers stretched towards the ship, it was like there was nothing around him.
Everything became a blur, an indistinct mosaic of lofty vanities. The only thing recognizable in Tian Longmeng's eyes was the metallic sails affixed to the sides of the ship as they pointed upwards and outwards like the wings of a bird. Only one word was needed to define the regency of this artefact: Majestic.
When his hand finally connected with the artefact, a rich essence far purer and greater than all the levels in this Profound Cave combined rushed right into Tian Longmeng's body and instantly filled him with a sense of euphoria.
Afterwards, there was a sudden wave of nausea and fatigue unlike anything he has ever experienced before.
"Ergh!" Tian Longmeng grimaced as he tried to move and stay active; however, his body would not allow it. After about two minutes of futile struggling, Tian Longmeng unwittingly resigned to the cold cave floor with the ship artefact in his hand.
.....
After an unknown period of time, Tian Longmeng finally arose from his slumber. He tried to make sense of the environment for a quick moment before recollecting that he was in the depths of the Profound Cave.
He quickly sprung up from the floor in shock and checked himself upon realizing that he was still intact. After confirming that he is not really dead, he turned to see the ship artefact lying on the ground, still looking as plain but elusive as before. This appearance did not calm Tian Longmeng one bit.
Tian Longmeng dashed across the room in a frantic rush, as if the ship was a monster waiting to murder him. It is only after an incense stick of time has passed when Tian Longmeng decided to creep his way back to the ship artefact. He stopped by the ship artefact and observed it, waiting at alert just in case anything unusual happened.
"Alright, here goes nothing." Tian Longmeng resigned to fate after not seeing any anomalies from the artefact. He held it in his hands, and to his relief, nothing happened this time. Seeing as nothing happened, Tian Longmeng's caution kicked out and his curiosity kicked in.
He immediately wanted to know why such a plain artefact could cause him to feel so much apprehension when he looked at it.
So, just like any 7-year-old child, he stared as hard as he could at the artefact while holding it up at face level. After a while, he saw some strange lines along the crevices of the plating.
These lines were formed in obscure ways, arching in and out of symmetry and generally looking increasingly complex. The weirdest thing, however, was that the more Tian Longmeng looked at it was the more his breathing patterns and heartbeat would change its rhythm.
It was slight changes, but after five minutes, it would a completely changed image without Tian Longmeng's knowing that it changed.
To Tian Longmeng, staring at these strange lines soon proved fruitless so he put down the ship artefact and began to continue his usual routine of 100 kicks and punches each. He stretched his body and then punched into the empty air.
"Pah!" The air popped due to the sheer force of the punch. This sound dazed Tian Longmeng for a while since he was not expecting any sound to be made, especially not one as loud as that. He was shocked that his punch could even make such an impact.
"That's so awesome. I did not know that my punches could even have that sort of effect." Tian Longmeng proceeded to kick horizontally into the air.
"Pah!" A similar effect happened.
"Hmm, I guess the fruits of my labour are paying off now." Tian Longmeng concluded as he decided to kick and punch away inside the Profound Cave.
What he did not realize was that his new breathing and heartbeat patterns forced his body to inhale some of the surrounding essence lingering in the air. Thus, allowing Tian Longmeng to be filled with additional energy and strength that was not available to him beforehand.