Digging and Opening Up the Mountain, An Unexpected Discovery

Chapter 44 Digging and Opening Up the Mountain, An Unexpected Discovery

Rumble!

The rumbling sound of trees falling echoed through the night.

In the sky, Zhou Chun chased after the purple flame sable while riding on a bamboo-leaf-shaped flying magic weapon, and used the two moon blades that split from the [Moon Blade Meteor Wheel] to attack the purple flame sable in turn.

This purple flame sable was incredibly agile, leaping and bounding through the forest. Even when locked onto by Zhou Chun's divine sense, it was still able to repeatedly evade the moon blade's attacks.

However, because it needed to dodge Zhou Chun's attacks, its speed inevitably slowed down.

So Zhou Zhengyong's red-tailed monkey gradually caught up and joined the battle.

In nature, everything has its counter.

Although the Red-tailed Monkey is not considered a particularly powerful monster among first-tier high-grade monsters, it is quite adept at dealing with agile monsters like the Purple Flame Sable in the mountains and forests.

When it joined the battle, the Purple Flame Sable was first forced to throw away the fire rat corpse it was carrying in its mouth. Then, because it was busy dodging the Moon Blade attack, it was slapped on the body by the Moon Blade, leaving a bloody claw mark.

The injured Purple Flame Sable dared not fight Zhou Chun and the others any longer and only wanted to escape.

It carried the man and the monkey as it darted through the pine forest, leaving Zhou Zhengyong, who was catching up on foot, far behind, until he was nowhere to be seen.

After traversing several mountains and sustaining a few more wounds, the Purple Flame Sable suddenly darted into a cave and vanished from Zhou Chun's perception range.

"It's hiding inside a cave? This must be its lair!"

Zhou Chun looked at the entrance to the cave located at the foot of the rocky mountain wall, a solemn expression on his face.

The entrance to the cave in front of him was not large, only big enough for a seven or eight-year-old child to squeeze through; it was impossible for an adult like him to get in.

Of course, he knew through his divine sense that the interior space was gradually getting bigger, and there were even cave halls deep inside that could accommodate a person standing.

The problem is that, with the thick rock walls blocking the way, expanding the cave's volume to reach deeper areas is not something that can be done in a short time.

A cunning rabbit has three burrows, and Zhou Chun didn't believe that the Purple Flame Sable's lair would only have one entrance.

Therefore, it is essential to prevent the Purple Flame Sable from escaping through other openings!

Immediately, Zhou Chun couldn't wait for Zhou Zhengyong to arrive, so he used the smoke-filling method to pour smoke into the cave, and then flew into the sky to see where the smoke was coming out.

Upon inspection, he quickly discovered three locations emitting smoke.

So he sent the red-tailed monkey to one location, while he and the rock tortoise blocked the other two locations to prevent the purple flame sable from escaping from these three places before Zhou Zhengyong arrived.

However, the purple flame sable was more patient than Zhou Chun had imagined. Even when Zhou Zheng arrived at the mountain panting, it never came out of one of the caves.

"Let's use poison smoke. I have some dried black-spotted stinking grass in my storage bag. Let's find some more poisonous fresh leaves, light them, and throw them in. I don't believe that beast can really resist coming out!"

After learning about the situation from Zhou Chun, Zhou Zhengyong quickly offered his solution.

The Zhou family's monkey park has been rebuilt. Zhou Zhengyong usually takes care of the monkey park and some other monsters, so he always has various things on hand to punish and tame the monsters.

Therefore, Zhou Chun was not surprised that there was a poisonous plant called Black Spotted Stinking Leaf Grass in his storage bag.

At this point, Zhou Zhengyong took matters into his own hands, quickly gathered the materials, lit them, and threw them into the cave.

But to their bewilderment, the purple flame sable did not show itself even after all the black-spotted stinking grass had been burned.

"Could they have already passed out from the fumes inside?"

Zhou Zhengyong, with a suspicious expression, voiced his guess.

Zhou Chun thought the same thing, but he said aloud, "Let's start cutting through the mountain. There are still almost two days left. If we only dig one path, there's still a chance."

"Alright, let's start the mountain clearing!"

Zhou Zhengyong gritted his teeth, knowing that this was the only feasible solution at the moment.

So the two immediately moved a lot of broken stones to block the other cave entrances, and then put large stones outside the cave to weigh down the entrances.

Then, the rock tortoise and the red-tailed monkey took turns digging one of the holes.

Rock tortoises are actually quite adept at digging burrows; their claws are extremely sharp and hard, capable of shattering even the hardest rocks with a single strike.

Unfortunately, it was too big to be of much help at the beginning; later on, the red-tailed monkey had to use its claws to dig.

For the sake of Zhou Zhengyong's betrothed, the poor red-tailed monkey was completely reduced to a construction site monkey, forced to constantly dig and break rocks with its two paws.

Fortunately, after it was promoted to a first-tier high-grade demon beast, it awakened and mastered a "Flame Claw" spell, which can enhance its destructive power by empowering its claws with flames.

Otherwise, even if its beastly physique is far superior to that of a human, it would probably lose its claws after digging for only a short time.

Only after the red-tailed monkey's magic and physical strength were completely exhausted and it could no longer dig did Zhou Zhengyong put it into his spirit beast bag. Then, he cast the "Great Strength" spell on himself and began digging with tools in hand.

After Zhou Zhengyong had exhausted most of his magical power and physical strength, Zhou Chun took over from him to continue digging.

After a day of taking turns digging, the red-tailed monkeys rested and recovered some of their strength and magic, and were then released to take over the digging work again.

With the two men and the monkey working together in this relay, they finally dug out a tunnel more than thirty feet deep in about a day and a half.

Once you reach the depths of the cave, which is over thirty feet deep, the cave becomes wide enough for a person to walk around while bending over.

After discussing it, the two decided that Zhou Chun would go down into the cave to find the Purple Flame Sable, while Zhou Zhengyong would stay outside to keep watch in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

Inside the cave, Zhou Chun held a "Sunlight Stone" for illumination in one hand and carried a black iron shield magic weapon in the other, bending over and slowly making his way deeper into the cave.

The "Sunlight Stone" in his hand is a rare stone unique to this world. It can absorb and store sunlight, and then release bright light in dark environments. Therefore, it is often used by cultivators as a lighting device in special environments.

As Zhou Chun slowly made his way deeper into the cave, his ever-vigilant divine sense immediately detected the Purple Flame Sable pouncing towards him.

He quickly summoned his black iron shield magic weapon and held it in front of him. Then, still worried, he made a hand seal and cast the "Five Elements Spirit Armor Technique" to put on a golden, blue, and three-colored spiritual light armor.

boom!

A ball of purplish-red flames spewed from the mouth of the Purple Flame Sable, sweeping straight towards Zhou Chun.

The black iron shield magic weapon only blocked most of the flames, while the rest of the flames slipped through the gaps and licked at Zhou Chun behind him.

In an instant, Zhou Chun was engulfed in flames, just like a firefighter going against the fire.

Fortunately, this scene only looked terrifying. In reality, the aura armor that protected his entire body easily kept the flames and high temperatures out.

Zhou Chun wasn't the type to take a beating without fighting back. Seeing that the Spirit Armor's defensive power was even stronger than he had expected, he immediately reached into his storage pouch and took out the [Moon Blade Meteor Wheel].

The cave was too small, making it difficult for Zhou Chun to move around, which also limited the Purple Flame Sable's agility.

Under Zhou Chun's control, the two Moon Blades attacked from both sides and quickly severed the Purple Flame Sable's right hind leg.

The severely wounded Purple Flame Sable seemed to know that it was doomed, so it became ferocious and suddenly pounced on Zhou Chun, spitting out a fireball the size of a human head.

Bang! !

A violent explosion rang out from the depths of the cave, startling Zhou Zhengyong outside, who immediately tensed up and looked anxiously toward the cave entrance where Zhou Chun had gone in, pacing around like an ant on a hot pan.

"He should be alright, right? Thirteenth Brother is so strong, even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator is no match for him..."

He muttered to himself, then gritted his teeth and said resolutely, "No, even if I can't get a wife, my thirteenth brother absolutely cannot be harmed!"

Then, without a second thought, he followed and crawled into the hole.

When Zhou Zhengyong went deeper into the cave and found Zhou Chun, he discovered that Zhou Chun was not only unharmed, but was actually using a magical artifact to dig a hole.

Upon seeing this, he first relaxed, then looked at Zhou Chun with curiosity and asked, "Thirteenth Brother, are you alright? What are you doing?"

"Brother Yong, why did you come down?"

Zhou Chun replied subconsciously, then quickly guessed the reason herself. Her heart warmed, and she waved her hand, saying, "Never mind, you came down just in time. Come and see what I unexpectedly discovered here."

After saying that, he squatted down and picked out a few dark red stones from a pile of rubble and soil that had been dug up from the ground, and handed them to Zhou Zhengyong.

"This is……"

Zhou Zhengyong looked at the ore in Zhou Chun's hand with surprise, then reached out and took it to examine it carefully.

After a moment, he said in a low voice, somewhat uncertainly, "This stone looks a bit like Crimson Iron Ore."

"Right, Yong-ge, you also think it looks like Crimson Iron Ore, right?"

A glint flashed in Zhou Chun's eyes, and then he said something that made Zhou Zhengyong's heart race.

"I suspect there's a vein here that could yield Crimson Iron Ore!"

Zhou Chun and Zhou Yang, with different starting points and circumstances, will naturally differ in their approaches to things. I'm writing about two different protagonists, and I'm very clear about this, and must be. They can be similar in many ways, but they must show differences in certain areas. For example, although Zhou Yang also transmigrated and was reborn, it was a rebirth, meaning he's essentially no different from a native. His parents, both cultivators, have subtly influenced him for over a decade, so his speech and actions are undoubtedly indistinguishable from those of a native. Zhou Chun, on the other hand, was a soul transmigrated into a body in the cultivation world. Having only been there a few years ago and without firsthand experience of this world's education, his initial actions and thoughts will certainly still bear traces of modernity.

Some readers may say that some of the modern words in the book feel out of place, but little do they know that this is precisely what makes Zhou Chun special. Otherwise, would I use these modern words in the desert?

(End of this chapter)