Chapter 216: An Extremely Long Tunnel

Protected outside by the Small Five Elements Illusion Array, it could not locate Lin Zhangqing and could only contact him through their Contract.

Lin Zhangqing formed a Spell Incantation, opened a gap in the formation, and let Mao Qiu in; unexpectedly, as soon as it entered, it jumped up and down, extremely excited.

Through the Contract, it told Lin Zhangqing that it had discovered a large pile of Spiritual Objects, but several very powerful Demon Beasts were there; it was terrified, dared not approach, and asked Lin Zhangqing to go take a look.

Lin Zhangqing felt a headache; it was deep night, when Demon Beast activity outside was even more frequent, and the pitch darkness made it entirely unsuitable for venturing out.

He could only tell it to go after dawn, since the items weren't going anywhere anyway, and meanwhile asked it to describe what kind of Demon Beasts they were.

Mao Qiu conveyed to Lin Zhangqing an image of a long body covered with many pieces of Scale Armor; Lin Zhangqing's first reaction was that they were snake-type Demon Beasts.

This guess was well-founded: Mao Qiu was a rat-type creature, whose natural predators included not only birds of prey but also snakes, which was precisely why Mao Qiu dared not get too close.

Since he suspected they were snake demons, Lin Zhangqing was even less inclined to go at night; it would be safer to wait until daybreak to investigate.

Having made up his mind, he tossed Mao Qiu into the Spirit Beast Bracelet to avoid being disturbed by its noise and unable to rest.

Early the next morning, after completing his Cultivation, Lin Zhangqing—

—summoned back the Purple Crystal Scorpion Swarm that had kept watch for him overnight and stored them in the Spirit Beast Bracelet.

He also provided them with a large pile of shredded Demon Beast Meat and a portion of Ice Crystal for them to gnaw on at their leisure.

Of course, Chu Er's meal was likewise Demon Beast Meat, plus one Spirit Nurturing Pill; Chu Yi, who was with Zhao Liyu and the others, would have to figure out its own meals.

Only after feeding his Spirit Pets did he withdraw the Mysterious Trace Array; sweeping the area with his Divine Sense to confirm nothing had been overlooked, he then released Mao Qiu.

He tossed a Spirit Nurturing Pill to it, then had it lead the way to the place where it had discovered the Spiritual Objects the previous day.

Mao Qiu gulped down the Spirit Nurturing Pill whole, finishing it in a few quick bites, then chirped "Zhi! Zhi!" twice at Lin Zhangqing.

It then began leading the way from the front; at a glance at the direction, Lin Zhangqing couldn't help but frown slightly.

Lin Zhangqing had been preparing to leave the Outer Perimeter of the Qingyun Mountain Range and return to Tongshan Village in Nanhe County, which required heading west, yet Mao Qiu was now leading him toward the Southeast.

This meant that leaving the Qingyun Mountain Range and reuniting with Zhao Liyu and the other would be delayed once again.

Still, after a moment's thought, he decided to follow; he wanted to see exactly what Spiritual Object Mao Qiu had found for him.

If Mao Qiu dared to fool him with some random, worthless thing, it would be in for a unpleasant surprise later.

Unexpectedly, this trek lasted more than an hour, finally stopping at the bottom of a Small Valley.

Before him was a small cave entrance, at most only as high as Lin Zhangqing's thigh; if he wanted to enter, he would have to crawl in.

Lin Zhangqing had already probed with his Divine Sense: sloping downward for a Hundred Zhang, the tunnel remained much the same throughout.

Now he hesitated, unsure whether to descend and investigate, since the limit of his Divine Sense could only probe a Hundred Zhang.

He had no way to estimate how much farther the tunnel extended downward; encountering danger in such terrain would leave him extremely disadvantaged.

Most critically, the entire area was rock; the Earth Travel Technique would be useless here.

With no other choice, he recalled Mao Qiu and asked it how long the tunnel was; from the information it transmitted, Lin Zhangqing inferred it must be at least three or four li in length.

This truly made his scalp tingle; finally, with no other option, he first sent in thirty-six Purple Crystal Scorpions to spearhead the advance, then followed behind himself, keeping his Divine Sense fully extended, fearing a surprise attack, and nervously traversed those several li of winding, twisting tunnel.

Descending to about the midpoint, forked passages began to appear; Lin Zhangqing quickly marked the direction they had come from to avoid getting lost later.

Following Mao Qiu all the way to the very bottom, they encountered an entirely different scene.

The Space below was clearly much wider; at the very least, Lin Zhangqing could now stand upright, which was a relief after having to lie prone for so long, which had been extremely awkward.

This place greatly resembled the mine tunnels he had seen before in the Red Smelted Fire Copper Mine.

However, the tunnel walls were covered with claw marks nearly a foot long, leading Lin Zhangqing to a different guess than the one he had made the previous night.

Continuing to follow Mao Qiu, they advanced another two or three li before it finally stopped; looking at Lin Zhangqing, it pointed with its small claws toward the mine tunnel ahead, wisely making no sound.

Lin Zhangqing nodded to it, then stored it inside the Spirit Beast Bracelet; judging from its behavior, there were definitely Demon Beasts within the mine tunnel, so it was safer to keep it stored first to avoid it being caught up in any ensuing battle.

Probing inward bit by bit with his Divine Sense, he finally saw them: five bright-yellow pangolins—no, they should be called Earth Armor Beasts; two adults and three juveniles, clearly a family.

The two adults were about twelve or thirteen feet long; judging by the Spiritual Pressure they emitted, they were at the peak of the First Stage Late Period, while the juveniles were already one-third the length of their parents, possessing First Stage Early Period Cultivation Base.

All five were covered head to toe in bright-yellow hard Scale Armor; only their mouths and bellies were covered with a layer of fine, pale-yellow scales, which appeared far less defensive than the hard scales on the rest of their bodies.

Overall, they looked quite magnificent and imposing, with strong and powerful limbs and claws; the two adult Earth Armor Beasts were currently scraping Yellow Earth Crystals from the tunnel walls—yes, Yellow Earth Crystals.

Lin Zhangqing had purchased these before at Red Leaf Fortress; they were classified as First-Rank Mid-Grade Spirit Crystals, with one portion valued at fifty Spirit Stones.

The Yellow Earth Crystals scraped down by the two adult Earth Armor Beasts had already piled up into a large heap and were being gnawed on by the three juvenile Earth Armor Beasts.

Lin Zhangqing found them more and more appealing the longer he looked; these were Earth Armor Beasts, Metal- and Earth-element Spirit Beasts, born Miners, whose claws could cut through rock as easily as slicing mud.

They were the true masters of the Earth Escape Technique; the Spirit-Seeking Rat's earth-dodging abilities paled in comparison. Moreover, their combat prowess was likewise formidable: they knew Earth Spike Technique, Earth Wall Technique, Thick Earth Shield, and more, and combined with their thick armor, they were extremely troublesome opponents.

However, all five Earth Armor Beasts were currently inside this mine tunnel, surrounded by rock; they could not escape—at the very least, the three juveniles definitely could not get away.

Still, Lin Zhangqing's primary targets were the two adults; the three juvenile Earth Armor Beasts were merely a bonus.

To capture them alive, he would still need the Purple Crystal Scorpions to act; he assigned one Purple Crystal Scorpion to each Earth Armor Beast.

Sending more would be useless: when their bodies were injured, they would immediately curl into balls, wrapping themselves in their thick Scale Armor, leaving only one chance to strike.

Once all five Purple Crystal Scorpions had reached suitable positions, Lin Zhangqing gave a mental command, and the five Purple Crystal Scorpions attacked simultaneously.

Immediately afterward, five piercing shrieks, like the wailing of infants, rang out at almost the same time; the sound was extremely peculiar, sending chills down one's spine.

The five Earth Armor Beasts curled into five balls, all their scales bristling upright, yet one could still see them trembling.

Before long, the three juvenile Earth Armor Beasts could no longer maintain their curled state and involuntarily relaxed.

Lin Zhangqing quickly went over to check; all three juveniles were still alive, which put his mind at ease. After a moment's consideration, he stored all three little ones into the Spirit Beast Bracelet.

As for the two adults, Lin Zhangqing dared not approach; with bodies twelve or thirteen feet long, and being strength-type Demon Beasts, a single Charge from an Earth Armor Beast would be more than he could withstand.

(End of Chapter)