Chapter 78: Precious Medicine And Perilous Lair
Fang Shu walked into the abandoned mine vein, finding it dark and pitch black.
From time to time, strange low growls could be heard from within the mine vein, and he didn’t know if it was the wind whistling into the mine tunnel or if there were fierce beasts inside.
After pondering for a while, he took out the fox fur again, put it on, and transformed into a gray fox.
Then, he held a Breath-Holding Insect in his mouth, affixed a few Silent Step Talismans to himself, and cautiously crept towards the depths of the mine tunnel.
Along the way, the mine tunnel was winding and twisting. Because the mine tunnel had been abandoned for a long time, many entrances had collapsed, making it difficult to pass through, let alone for a person, even in fox form.
Faced with such a situation, Fang Shu had no choice but to try to detour and dig one by one.
After being blocked multiple times, he ventured deeper into the mine vein. Along the way, he saw many skeletons, lying scattered or gathered in the mine tunnel, and he didn’t know if there had been infighting or a mining accident here.
By this time, even with Cheng Guanzi’s mine map in hand, Fang Shu had already lost his way.
He repeatedly tried to find the original route recorded on the mine map, but he wandered in the mine vein for two whole days without success.
Fortunately, Cheng Guanzi seemed to have anticipated that just marking the route wouldn’t be enough, so the mine map not only recorded the route but also marked several distinctive locations as landmarks.
Following these “landmarks,” Fang Shu stumbled his way deeper underground.
Finally, he reached the last “landmark” marked on the mine map. The path ahead was completely blocked, and there were four skeletons, some sitting, some lying, their postures exactly as recorded on the mine map.
Their clothes were tattered, and their bones were dusty, but one could still discern some details.
Fang Shu examined them closely and found that these people were not dressed like the mine slaves from the Qian Shan Mine. They looked more like people from the marketplace, specifically the common folk who lived in the Paper Workshop and often wore such attire when going out.
He recalled and thought, “Are these the people who colluded with Cheng Guanzi to leave town and come to the mine vein to search for treasure, along with their neighbors from the Paper Workshop?”
After a brief glance, he withdrew his gaze and frowned at the dead end ahead.
According to the mine map and his own investigations, this direction had been a dead end even before the mine vein was abandoned; it was the end of the mine vein.
Therefore, besides the collapsed dead end ahead, there was no other route to bypass it.
And this collapsed dead end, according to the mine map, was at least three hundred steps long. With such a length, it was unknown how long it would take to dig through, even for Fang Shu, a Second Tribulation Immortal, to dig through alone.
Furthermore, Fang Shu squinted and examined the traces of the collapse ahead, finding that it was not an accident but seemed to be man-made.
He also found iron bars commonly used by mine slaves for blasting, as well as some gunpowder residue refined by Pill Masters, among the corpses in front of the dead end.
“No wonder this place is so desolate; Cheng Guanzi hasn’t been here in over ten years.”
Fang Shu pondered, his brows furrowing further. “Then why did this group of people blast this place apart back then? Was it to embezzle the treasure, or was there danger at the end?”
However, after some thought, his brow unfurrowed.
Back then, Cheng Guanzi and a group of mortals were able to take risks and successfully pluck Precious Medicine, with at least five people returning safely.
Now that he, a Second Calamity Immortal, had come, the danger was undoubtedly less than that faced by Cheng Guanzi and his group back then.
After thinking it through several times, Fang Shu made up his mind and gritted his teeth, “I’ll dig!”
Immediately, he did not revert to human form but stood upright on his fox body, spat out the Long Tongue Sword he held in his mouth, and used the sword as a shovel, excavating the collapsed section bit by bit.
Perhaps the Long Tongue Sword never expected that its first formal use after being sacrificed and refined into a Second Tribulation Magic Tool would be for digging holes.
After some exploratory digging, Fang Shu chose a direction. The speed of excavation then exceeded his expectations.
Due to his fox form, he only needed to dig a one-foot-wide opening to be able to crawl through.
And because of the collapse, the road ahead had many gaps between the rocks, unlike a solid rock wall.
Moreover, after over ten years of settling, even when digging in the collapsed area, a mere one-foot-high opening would not cause another collapse.
In this manner, Fang Shu became covered in dirt, his fox fur full of dust, transforming into a large mole-rat.
His behavior was also furtive, resembling someone digging a grave robber’s tunnel and excavating tombs.
Finally, after several days of considerable effort.
Fang Shu was so tired he was sticking his tongue out, his Tongue Sword almost getting blunted. He smelled a strange odor from the gap ahead, and he heard wind blowing from the front.
These signs indicated that he was likely about to break through this dead end!
This greatly excited Fang Shu, but he also collapsed on the spot, his four paws spread out.
It must be said, this excavation was no less arduous than his usual Arduous Cultivation.
This was, after all, a mine vein, and many rocks had metallic properties, requiring a significant amount of Qi and Blood to break through.
With each strike and chisel, Fang Shu’s Qi and Blood were greatly consumed, and he had to remain constantly vigilant, watching his front and back to prevent any danger.
This was quite a tempering of his body and mind.
Therefore, over these few days, although his cultivation had not improved and he had little time for practice, the quality of his Qi and Blood had actually become more refined, and he had not fallen behind in his cultivation at all.
After slightly recovering his strength, Fang Shu bit out a few Essence Nourishing Pills from within his fox fur and swallowed them to refine.
After fully dissolving the medicinal power, he exhaled a long breath, his spirits revitalized.
With all preparations made, Fang Shu then boldly and carefully continued to excavate the rock wall ahead.
Not long after, with a “pa ka” sound.
He pushed his Long Tongue Sword forward, and the tip was empty; the body of the sword did not encounter rock behind the rock wall.
The excavated rock pieces then tilted forward and did not fall in front of Fang Shu. A gust of cold wind blew from the front, causing the fur on his fox body to swirl.
This path was indeed cleared, and there was even light filtering in from the cave!
Fang Shu’s eyes lit up. He cautiously tested the cave entrance five or six times before standing up and peering inside.
He saw a vast Cave ahead, filled with waves of faint blue luminescence, approximately five to six Zhang in area.
Upon closer inspection, Fang Shu noticed that the luminescence emanated from Stalactite Pillars, which resembled lamp posts, and the luminescence gently rippled like water waves, much like the undersea scenery Fang Shu had seen in his dreams in a past life, very beautiful.
Additionally, there was a faint sound of flowing water from ahead. It seemed this place was connected to an underground river. No wonder he had sensed wind blowing through the gaps when he was digging earlier.
Glancing around, Fang Shu’s gaze flickered and immediately focused on the ground of the Cave, on those patches of mottled liquid emitting a purple hue.
His breathing became heavy.
That’s right, this was a place where Purple Lead Mica Milk was produced!
What made Fang Shu even more delighted was that, at a rough estimate, the amount of Purple Lead Mica Milk accumulated here definitely exceeded Cheng Guanzi’s full Gourd.
This made Fang Shu ecstatic, exclaiming in his heart, “Opportunity! It’s an Opportunity!”
He repeatedly surveyed the Cave, and after confirming there were no living creatures present, he boldly stepped inside.
But as his body entered, an bone-chilling coldness suddenly pierced his body, making him shiver uncontrollably.
Fang Shu’s heart pounded, and a strong metallic, rusty smell appeared in his nose and mouth, causing his fox face to show a look of shock.
