NOVEL NEXT Chapter 135: Underground Excavation
"Second brother, if we help you dig, wouldn't it be faster?"
Old Niu asked at this moment.
But Little Wild Boar shook his head like a bell.
"Big brother, this is not on the surface, you don't understand. Do you know, where we are now, if we go directly up, it's about two thousand zhang, and the distance from the valley where we fell in is at least one thousand zhang."
"A thousand zhang deep, not to mention the entire West Mountain area is so vast, about a hundred miles in circumference. Without knowing how large the area Ice Slave has sealed, we'll need to run at least 150 miles outside."
"And in such a deep underground, without seeing the sky, without sunlight, unable to breathe, surrounded by dirt, you can't even determine direction, with just your brute force, it really isn't enough."
"Why can I do it? Because I've cultivated an Earth Spirit Root, I have a bloodline talent, and I can use my iron mouth to resonate with the soil to retrieve and confirm information. I'm not just relying on brute force to keep digging; that would be a dead end."
"At the very least, how can you ensure the tunnel you're digging is a straight line and not digging deeper and deeper?"
"Of course, if we encounter rocks we can't bypass, you and third brother can really show off your skills."
"So the current issue is, who can assure that I can break through to the surface in three days? What if it's not far enough and we end up getting caught by Ice Slave all at once?"
Hearing this, Old Niu fell silent as well because the amount of digging is enormous and there's no treasure like a storage belt, so the earth dug up is plentiful. Little Wild Boar is using its iron mouth's resonance technique to compact and pressurize the dug-up soil on both sides.
But once it and Wang Wu enter the tunnel, they must fill up the path behind them constantly, cutting off the back route.
So unless its sizable body changes to that of a small mouse, the whole plan is unworkable.
"Alas, if only I had the divine technique of size manipulation like 'As You Wish.'
Old Niu sighed with worry.
Wang Wu, hearing this, thought for a moment and said, "Little Pig, let Old Niu delay entering the tunnel for three days. During these three days, I'll help you dig and try to make more progress. Besides, since Wolf Destruction had Ice Slave seal the mountain that day, it shows that it's temporarily occupied, maybe we're just too anxious."
Little Wild Boar glanced up at Wang Wu's skinny, ribcage-like frame, forcing a smile, "Third brother, I didn't expect you to anticipate this, slimming down beforehand. Alright, you come and dig with me, we'll dig as much as we can. Even if we can't escape in the end, the three of us brother pledging brotherhood was all worth it."
"Spit, spit, spit, jinx, gray bull's leg, alright..."
"Big brother, will you just shut up!"
Little Wild Boar jumped three feet high as if greatly stimulated.
But Wang Wu was utterly confused, why?
Because he'd never heard Old Niu say such things before.
Little Wild Boar helplessly slammed his own head a few times with his hoof, "Third Brother, you don't know, Big Brother is that gray bull's leg, and do you know how many times he's nagged about it these past few months? I really can't stand it anymore!"
"Enough, enough, I won't say it from now on, okay?"
Old Niu turned dejectedly and continued to go back to work on the Tree Heart.
Wang Wu didn't take it seriously, whereas Little Wild Boar made a pleading gesture to Old Niu, then grabbed the supply of Spirit Fruits and led Wang Wu into the cave.
The tunnel is currently dug to a diameter of one meter, and Little Wild Boar's magical ability already shrunk its frame again to easily fit through at one meter twenty.
Though Wang Wu's height was already nearing two meters thirty, being too thin allowed him, with some effort, to pass through normally.
But Old Niu? No way. This guy had become even more bulked up these past few months, standing five meters tall upright, and each of his massive horns was about a meter and a half long.
Adding both width and height, alas, it was like a monster entering the cave.
No wonder Little Wild Boar was anxious; luckily, it had honed its burrowing skills and developed an Earth Spirit Root over these months, advancing to the Eighth Grade, otherwise it'd be too much to bear.
Before entering the hole, Little Wild Boar took a long, deep breath.
Wang Wu, for his part, didn't mind and followed Little Wild Boar left and right, up and down through this narrow tunnel, more like a maze than a maze.
Didn't he assure them he could keep it a horizontal straight line?
But he didn't ask. Now he trusts Little Wild Boar very much.
Because despite not being good at digging, his Level 15 high perception is robust, even if surrounded by soil, it's easy for him to detect some conditions clearly.
For example, he can decipher where rocks are, and where roots crisscross. Truly, the underground environment is quite complex.
Little Wild Boar was able to find the correct path and excavate a tunnel under these conditions, really impressive.
After traversing about fifty or sixty miles, Wang Wu realized he could no longer determine direction. Without the tunnel as a reference, he'd even lose his sense of up and down.
How can one tell what's up and what's down?
This is incredibly dangerous unless you have specific instruments or cultivation realm magical artifacts.
Sadly, they don't have any.
Everything relies on Little Wild Boar's bloodline talent.
After traveling about another twenty or thirty miles, Little Wild Boar suddenly stopped.
"Third brother, I've only dug this far for now. Take a rest; I'll start digging. There's quite a large rock layer up ahead, and we'll need to dig around it. It's troublesome and time-consuming."
"Why dig around? By the way, little pig, how do you know there's a vast rock layer ahead?"
Wang Wu asked with some curiosity.
"Simple, but you wouldn't understand even if I explained it. Basically, by using my iron mouth to create vibrations, I can vaguely know the situation within a ten-mile radius, especially underground like this. If I'm lucky, I can even detect things tens of miles away. I rely on this method to determine my position; otherwise, digging randomly would really be digging my own grave."
The Little Wild Boar spoke seriously, but Wang Wu really understood.
It's clearly a shockwave radar!
Amazing!
"Hold on, let me dig first, and you guide me on the digging direction."
"Alright."
The Little Wild Boar was indifferent, not holding any hope for Wang Wu's help. Daring to challenge my bloodline talent specialty?
"Dig according to this direction. If you dig wrong, I'll say something. Don't worry about the excavated soil; I'll reinforce and compress it from behind with my iron mouth vibration."
"Okay!"
Wang Wu went to the front, sensed the Little Wild Boar's digging direction, and simply extended his Bear Claw. Without charging force or deliberately increasing strength, he lightly scratched, and in an instant, the soil, which was almost as hard as rock, fell like splashing water.
To be honest, Wang Wu didn't feel anything, just like cutting tofu. What feeling could cutting tofu bring?
Plus, with his 61 power points as a base, it was really too easy.
However, the tunneling environment was a bit cramped, so he simply turned sideways, resembling a small tunnel boring machine, with his Bear Claw acting like five blades.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, swish, swish, swish!
A cut from left to right, another from right to left, and one from top to bottom, basically cutting away a layer of soil 20-30 centimeters thick.
Not difficult at all.
Even if occasionally encountering a stone or other objects, it was just a matter of applying a little more force.
He wasn't even too worried about losing direction, as he could continuously correct it through the tunnel behind, not to mention having the professional Little Demon, the Little Wild Boar.
Anyway, he felt that digging was so easy and fun.
In fact, a few minutes later, when he got more skilled, the advancing speed was even faster, with the sound of "shua shua shua" constantly in his ears.
Of course, he didn't get arrogant. What's there to be arrogant about? The Little Wild Boar behind him didn't make a sound; its iron mouth vibration effect is the real deal. What's he count for, right?
In this way, they progressed forward for at least an hour, and the Little Wild Boar behind didn't make a sound, because Wang Wu's dug tunnel was really straight.
Finally, the Little Wild Boar spoke, seemingly a bit tired. Hey, what are you tired for? You're just responsible for compacting the soil behind.
"Third Brother, are you tired?"
"Huh?"
Wang Wu strangely looked back. In the darkness, no one could see anyone, but his Level 15 Danger Perception could clearly detect the Little Wild Boar's expression, which seemed a bit resentful.
What's there to be resentful about?
"Not tired at all, what's this? I think I can keep digging until dark. By the way, Little Pig, you mentioned earlier that there's a large rock layer, why didn't I encounter it? Do we need to detour?"
Wang Wu was quite concerned; he wasn't afraid of the rock layer, but worried about affecting the Little Wild Boar's overall route planning.
But the Little Wild Boar mumbled incomprehensibly.
"Third Brother, do your claws hurt?"
"Hurt? Why would they hurt! Not at all! Look, look!"
Wang Wu casually clawed, leaving a claw mark over a meter long above, causing dirt to fall.
The Little Wild Boar seemed choked, coughed violently, then said faintly, "We're right in that rock layer now; you're about to break through it. No, Third Brother, you're so unfair. Since you've already cultivated Ninth-Grade Lifebound Demon Soldiers, why hide it from us?"
"Does this count as Ninth-Grade Lifebound Demon Soldiers?"
Wang Wu was stunned. According to the attribute bar, he still needed to accumulate 988 points of Essence of Gold Qi.
"Oh, if this doesn't count, then what does! You see, this rock layer isn't Profound Iron but is about the same as Obsidian, much harder than ordinary rock. My four fangs can only make a few holes in it, unlike you, slicing it like tofu. If I'd known you had this ability, if I brought you to dig, we'd have already passed through by now."
"Yeah, by the way, I think now your claws might not even be inferior to Big Brother's Black Bull Horn, definitely authentic Ninth-Grade Lifebound Demon Soldiers."
The Little Wild Boar spoke with utter conviction.
This left Wang Wu a bit confused.
But now wasn't the time to study this matter; he thought he could keep digging for another day.
"Shall we continue digging forward?"
"No more digging. Just expand this rock layer so Big Brother can pass through. I'll take care of clearing it. This time, no need to detour, saving us three days at least."
Just as the Little Wild Boar's words fell, Wang Wu suddenly felt an extremely bad sensation. Without a word, he rushed forward and pressed the Little Wild Boar beneath him. Almost simultaneously, the ground shook violently, akin to the end of the world, causing even the earlier dug tunnel to collapse, and the current rock layer to crack with several massive fissures.