Chapter 28: Continuing the Tunnel Plan

Li Xuan watched Lin Mo leave his Courtyard, his body went limp, and he sat down on the ground; the pressure from the Chrysanthemum Douluo on Li Xuan was simply too great!

"Damn it, why did the Chrysanthemum Douluo show up early! Damn bastard, luckily the basement wasn't exposed, otherwise I'd be dead!" Li Xuan muttered. At that moment a chilling sensation swept his back, and he realized his shirt had been soaked with cold sweat at some unknown time.

After a pause, Li Xuan regained some strength and took out the Seed of the Strange Fungus Sky‑Piercing Chrysanthemum.

He began to examine it carefully.

This is the real reason the Chrysanthemum Douluo recruited Li Xuan.

As an Immortal Grade, the Strange Fungus Sky‑Piercing Chrysanthemum, without the blessing of a Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan—a celestial spirit—barely has any chance to sprout.

But Li Xuan's little green bottle is an even more domineering presence than a Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan; with just a single Strange Fungus Sky‑Piercing Chrysanthemum, it can be cultivated easily! Moreover, this Seed has apparently passed through many hands without ever being successfully planted or damaged, which is why the Chrysanthemum Douluo felt comfortable entrusting the Seed to Li Xuan's Courtyard.

If it were bad, the Chrysanthemum Douluo would never have placed such a precious item in Li Xuan's hands. Now cultivating the Strange Fungus Sky‑Piercing Chrysanthemum is no longer an issue, and Li Xuan began to ponder: if he truly manages to grow it, will the Chrysanthemum Douluo actually give him those things?

That would mean boundless wealth and overwhelming power! But what if the Chrysanthemum Douluo is just deceiving him?

After cultivating the Strange Fungus Sky‑Piercing Chrysanthemum, they might kill him to silence him.

They might even strip his abilities clean before silencing him.

Li Xuan stared blankly at the sky, his gaze full of caution.

"Fine, no matter what, the path to survival must stay in my own hands; the tunnel… must not stop, and the Strange Fungus Sky‑Piercing Chrysanthemum must not stop either!" Li Xuan furrowed his brows and said seriously to himself.

However, Li Xuan now has no time to dig the tunnel himself, so he must find someone else to help him dig.

And only one figure floated in Li Xuan's mind.

Bai Wen!

After spending this time together, Li Xuan found Bai Wen still to be a steady person, composed in action and trustworthy, so Li Xuan thought carefully and finally decided to entrust the local work to Bai Wen.

Originally Li Xuan wanted Bai Wen as a familiar to help manage the West District, but now digging the tunnel is more important than managing the West District, so Li Xuan could only keep Bai Wen.

Moreover, now that Li Xuan has taken on the task of cultivating the Strange Fungus Sky‑Piercing Chrysanthemum, his time is even more abundant, so the upcoming tunnel needs to be dug deeper, trying to keep it hidden from those above ground.

As for leaving the Flower Sea after becoming a supervisor, that applies to other supervisors; Li Xuan could also leave, but Lin Mo is the Chrysanthemum Douluo's personal monitor placed beside him.

Furthermore, with the Strange Fungus Sky‑Piercing Chrysanthemum on his own body, if he runs away, the Chrysanthemum Douluo will certainly give its all to hunt him down.

A hunt by a Title Douluo still makes Li Xuan tremble.

Therefore, he can only leave the Flower Sea via the tunnel after successfully cultivating the Strange Fungus Sky‑Piercing Chrysanthemum.

In that case, there's a high chance the Chrysanthemum Douluo won't hunt him, and might even let him go! Li Xuan thought about it, then got up from the ground and headed straight to Bai Wen's Courtyard.

Soon after, Li Xuan arrived at Bai Wen's Courtyard; Bai Wen was tending his Flower Seedling, looked up and saw Li Xuan coming to find him.

"Xuan Ge'er, any work again?" Bai Wen brightened at the sight of Li Xuan, then stood up, brushed the mud off his hands casually, and asked Li Xuan with a smile.

"Indeed there is work; come with me to the basement, we'll discuss in detail!" Li Xuan finished, waved to Bai Wen, and then led Bai Wen back to his Courtyard.

After entering the basement, Li Xuan opened the tunnel entrance and gave Bai Wen a glance.

"Xuan Ge'er! What is this!" Bai Wen exclaimed upon seeing the tunnel, speaking incredulously to Li Xuan. "Brother Bai Wen, today the Chrysanthemum Douluo came to my Courtyard, gave me a very important task and promised many things, but I don't really trust him, so this tunnel is my fallback. If one day the Chrysanthemum Douluo turns on me, I can still escape through this tunnel." Li Xuan sat on a chair, his expression neutral, his tone calm as he spoke to Bai Wen.

"Xuan Ge'er, don't be foolish; outside is a Stone Wall! It's impossible to dig through!" Bai Wen frowned, his face tense as he spoke to Li Xuan.

"Don't worry, the Stone Wall has already been breached; next we'll dig a tunnel from the Stone Wall outward, and I plan to dig deeper to avoid detection by those above." Li Xuan said to Bai Wen while opening the wall, revealing the tunnel inside.

Li Xuan waved to Bai Wen, and the two entered the tunnel together.

Li Xuan extended his hand, and a ball of golden‑red Burning Heart Divine Flame appeared in his palm, instantly lighting the entire tunnel.

Bai Wen was startled by Li Xuan's move, but still obediently followed behind Li Xuan, walking toward the tunnel's depths.

Soon, the two arrived in front of the Stone Wall Tunnel.

Staring at the Stone Wall Tunnel ahead, Bai Wen's eyes widened; he hadn't expected Li Xuan to actually succeed in digging.

"Brother Bai Wen, beyond this is the soil layer, but outside the North District lies a vast grassland; we'll need to dig far enough to reach a spot they can't see." Li Xuan turned back, his face serious, and said to Bai Wen.

Bai Wen fell silent after hearing Li Xuan's words.

But Li Xuan could sense that Bai Wen also wanted to escape from here.

"Alright, Xuan Ge'er, I'll start digging the tunnel today. We'll extend it down another three meters, then outward for three kilometers; that should keep us out of their sight, but I also want to leave!" Bai Wen's gaze became earnest as he stared at Li Xuan and said seriously.

"Then it's up to you, Brother Bai Wen. I'll arrange the timber for the tunnel as soon as possible. Tomorrow I return to the West District to assume the post of West District supervisor; before that, I'll leave you a batch of Iron Anvil Wood to use as the tunnel's framework. Once the Iron Anvil Wood is used up, you can go to the West District to find me," Li Xuan said earnestly to Bai Wen.

"No problem, Xuan Ge'er, you can rest assured," Bai Wen patted his chest and said seriously to Li Xuan.

"By the way, Brother Bai Wen, I'll provide you with sufficient living supplies, and you can live in my Courtyard while Liu Li and the others rebuild it. I can also procure a batch of timber; now that I've become the West District steward, I'll naturally make good use of my authority," Li Xuan said with a smile to Bai Wen.

Bai Wen thought it over; it was no problem, so he nodded and agreed to Li Xuan's proposal.

"Alright then, Xuan Ge'er, I'll go find Brother Liu Li and the others now," Bai Wen said after a moment's thought.

"Thanks for your effort, Brother Bai Wen," Li Xuan nodded at Bai Wen.

Bai Wen nodded and left the tunnel, exiting Li Xuan's Courtyard.

After watching Bai Wen leave, Li Xuan broke off over a hundred Iron Anvil Wood roots from the tunnel, pulled them out, and brought them to the surface for cultivation.

He took out a ceramic jar, diluted today's green liquid, and evenly sprinkled it onto the Iron Anvil Wood roots.

A few minutes later, the Iron Anvil Wood had already matured.

Li Xuan uprooted these Iron Anvil Wood pieces, then shaved them with a knife for future use.

After completing this, Bai Wen had already brought Liu Li back.

Dear readers, happy weekend! I'm working overtime today, still at the office, but it's not busy so I'll try to get extra pay, hehe.

(End of Chapter)