The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 3032 Nothing was found
As Qian Zhenghao got to work, the other three women, not wanting to fall behind, also grabbed their shovels and started digging.

Although it was a desert-like place, digging was not difficult at all.

Chen Mo watched the four people start digging, then turned around to look around and set up some warnings, using empty cans to create physical defenses so that anything approaching could be detected in advance.

Seeing the beehive a bit far away, Chen Mo thought about going back to get some honey. But then he decided against it; everyone was still working hard on digging, so he should go back and help.

After checking the surroundings and pulling the can to listen to the sound, he turned around and returned to the defensive structure.

Inside the defensive structure, the four people had already dug a rough outline of the tunnel, and a large pile of earth and rocks had been piled up behind the structure.

After Chen Mo entered the defensive structure, he immediately began to remove the soil and rocks behind it, and then they started digging a tunnel together.

About ten minutes later, a cave large enough for several people to rest in was dug out, and the wooden planks from the defensive structure were used to reinforce it. This way, even if they were attacked by the Red Bees after daybreak and couldn't evacuate, it wouldn't be a problem; they could use the cave to avoid the Red Bees' attacks.

Of course, if they really can't withstand the Red Bees and their defenses are destroyed, then going back will be a problem.

"Bang, bang..." Ouyang Nan patted the wooden supports in the hole a few times and said, "Not bad, quite sturdy. It should be fine to use it to defend against the Red Bees' attacks."

Others tried it and all agreed. However, the support only reinforced the area around the cave; the area above was still empty, relying on the defensive structure for shelter.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Mo said to Ouyang Nan again, "Captain, how about we dig a little deeper and cover the entire burrow with wooden planks? Also, dig another burrow and put the defensive structure inside. That way, if the Red Bees really attack us during the day, we can hide from them thanks to the thick layer of soil above the burrow. Furthermore, the defensive structure will remain intact, and we can use it to withstand the attacks from the First Line of Red when we return tomorrow night."

If we don't protect our defenses, an attack by the Red Bees might damage them, leaving us with no cover when we retreat, and no way to defend against the First Line of Red's attack.

After hearing this, Ouyang Nan also thought it made sense, so she asked the others, "What do you think?"

What can you do but dig?

Digging now would only waste some energy, but if the defensive structure is damaged, how will we get back? Just thinking about the numerous Red-Lined Crescents attacking is enough to give me a headache. With the defensive structure, the Red-Lined Crescents' attacks can be ignored, but without it, we'll just have to rely on our bodies to withstand them.

"Dig!" Everyone nodded in agreement at the same time.

Then, dig down the standing area again, cover the top with planks, and then bury the planks with soil.

Of course, Chen Mo also made a square wooden board that could serve as an entrance and exit, so that the hole could be completely covered.

Fortunately, they had brought a large bundle of wood and planks with them when they set off, which would be more than enough for their needs. So, Chen Mo also used the wood and mortise and tenon joints to make a small ladder, which would also be useful when they came out of the tunnel.

After digging the hiding place, they started digging the defensive tunnels. This was simple; they just dug a hole, placed the defensive structure inside, and then covered it with soil and rocks to bury it. When needed, they could simply dig it out.

Although the defensive structure weighed two tons, it was nothing to Chen Mo and the others. The two of them simply lifted it up and easily placed it into the dug hole.

After the burial was completed, everyone entered the cave through the square entrance. Chen Mo entered last and placed the wooden plank next to the entrance in place, which concealed the entire cave.

Inside the cave, the group took out mats from their backpacks, drank some water, then took out honey water and began meditating. Now was the time to improve their strength; every little bit helped.

Chen Mo naturally took on the role of guard, sitting below the entrance to the cave and beginning to meditate. Of course, Ouyang Ruoxi was sitting next to him; she now enjoyed being near Chen Mo and felt very safe.

Cultivation knows no time. Just as everyone felt their strength increasing, several hours passed in the blink of an eye, and the sky gradually brightened. The entire night passed without a sound, not even a whisper of wind; the entire lakeside area was utterly silent.

As daylight broke, Chen Mo could faintly hear the buzzing of the Red Bees in flight. The buzzing was constant, but he didn't hear any approaching; the sounds came from far away. It seemed the Red Bees also disliked lifeless areas and wouldn't fly there.

"Amo, did you hear the Red Bees?" Ouyang Nan's hearing was naturally not as good as Chen Mo's, so she could only ask Chen Mo since it was completely silent outside.

Chen Mo said with a smile, "The red bees outside don't come here. They just fly over from a great distance. If we don't hear any noise in another hour or two, we can go out and check it out ourselves."

Ouyang Nan nodded in agreement, saying that they could wait another hour or two before going out.

The others naturally had no objections and closed their eyes to meditate again.

After waiting for about two hours, Chen Mo stepped onto the ladder, pushed open the entrance above his head, crawled out, and looked around. He found that, as expected, not a single red bee had flown over the area.

After rolling out, they saw the busy sounds and buzzing of red bees in the black soil in the distance, but it was several kilometers away, so any noise here wouldn't attract the red bees. "Captain, everyone come out, it's safe here now," Chen Mo said to the people in the cave.

After hearing Chen Mo's shouts, they crawled out one after another.

"Ha, it really didn't fly over." After coming out, Ouyang Nana looked up and saw the scene in the distance, and said with surprise.

"It seems the tunnel we dug last night wasn't put to use," Ouyang Ruoxi said with a smile.

"It's alright. Although it wasted some energy, it's also a form of protection. Yesterday, no one could guarantee that we wouldn't be attacked by the Red Bees today," Ouyang Nan said.

Looking at the distant scenery and the tranquil lake, Chen Mo said to Ouyang Nan, "Captain, shall we conduct an experiment, make some noise or something, and see if it attracts Red Bees, or One-Line Red Bees, or causes any disturbance in the lake?"

“I think it’s a good idea,” Ouyang Nan agreed after thinking about it.

If making a noise here doesn't attract the Red Bees or the One-Line Red Bees, and there's no movement in the lake, then this area should be safe. When the main force arrives, they can then set up camp here.

After discussing it for a while, the group decided to use the sounds made by striking stones and weapons to see if anything would appear in the lake.

However, after knocking for a long time and even throwing the stone into the lake, there was no reaction at all, indicating that there was no life in the lake.

Qian Zhenghao even lifted a boulder weighing at least a thousand pounds and threw it forcefully into the lake, making a loud noise, but there was still no response. He ran to the lakeside, reached out to test the water, and then slightly licked it, only to find that the water was salty.

"Captain, this water is salty," Qian Zhenghao said to Ouyang Nan.

Several people walked to the lakeside and observed the water. Looking at the dark, seemingly bottomless lake, they had no idea how deep it was. During the day, the others could see much more clearly, getting a better look at the surrounding area; everything was lifeless, truly a deathly stillness.

"Perhaps it's because the water is salty that there are no plants or animals in the lake or along its shores," Ouyang Nan said.

"Maybe, but it's best not to touch this water. Who knows if it's poisonous?" Chen Mo reminded Ouyang Nan when he saw that she also wanted to try the lake water.

Immediately, Qian Zhenghao, who was still squatting by the lake, glanced at Chen Mo and felt extremely annoyed. He really didn't want to say anything. Didn't this guy know that he had just licked a mouthful of lake water? What did he mean by saying that? Did he wish for him to die?

Upon hearing Chen Mo's words, Ouyang Ruoxi and Ouyang Nana both stopped and stopped moving forward.

After all, listening to advice leads to a full stomach.

"Alright, let's try the other side first. Let's make some noise and see if the Red Bees will be attracted," Ouyang Nan said.

The group nodded, picked up stones or weapons, and returned to the cave. They walked a short distance toward the beehive, then knocked on the stones to make noise, hoping to attract the red bees.

Finally, after numerous attempts, they walked nearly four kilometers towards the hive before the sound they made attracted a few red bees, which Chen Mo then killed with a wave of his hand. Afterward, the group drove a wooden stake into the ground as a marker.

When the main force arrives, it will be easy to mark the route, and the Red Bees will be encountered once we cross this area.

"Alright, let's go back and take another look at the lake. We'll stick to the same groups we did last night, starting with the buildings and searching along the lake towards the cliff face. Let's see if we can find anything during the day," Ouyang Nan assigned the tasks.

Everyone nodded to indicate that they understood, then returned to the lakeside and drove along the road from the previous night, exploring both sides.

As a result, when they finally reunited in front of the strange building, they found nothing.

"Captain, we haven't found anything here. So how are we supposed to cross this lake?" Qian Zhenghao frowned, looking at the still lake, and said somewhat impatiently.

The morning's experiments yielded nothing except for determining the limits of the red bees. Perhaps when Qian Ying arrives, they'll need to find a way to cross this lake area.

However, this lake area is different from the canyon. The canyon is less than a hundred meters wide, and you can cross it with a rope. But this lake area is several hundred meters wide, making it really difficult to cross.

Ouyang Nan said, "Perhaps we can make some rafts to cross this lake area."

“But what if we encounter danger while crossing the lake?” Ouyang Ruoxi asked.

Immediately, everyone fell silent. After all, danger could really happen, and no one could have predicted it, including Chen Mo.