Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 78 The Precious Medicine's Deadly Cave
Fang Shu walked into the abandoned mine and found it dark inside, so dark that he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face.

Every now and then, strange low growls would come from the mine, whether from the wind blowing into the mine or from some ferocious beast inside, it was hard to tell.

After thinking it over for a while, he took out the fox fur again, put it on, and transformed into a gray fox upon landing.

He then put a breath-holding insect in his mouth, affixed several stillness talismans to his body, and cautiously made his way deeper into the mine.

Along the way, the mine tunnels were winding and twisting. Because the mines had been abandoned for a long time, many of the entrances had collapsed, making it difficult for even a fox to squeeze through, let alone a human.

Faced with this situation, Fang Shu had no choice but to try detours and digging in turn.

After being repeatedly thwarted, he ventured deeper into the mine, where he saw many skeletons lying scattered or clustered in the mine shafts. He wondered if this was due to internal strife or a mining accident.

At this point, even with Cheng Guanzi's mine map in hand, Fang Shu had already lost his way.

He tried repeatedly to find the original route recorded on the mine map, but after wandering around under the mine for two whole days, he still failed.

Fortunately, Cheng Guanzi seemed to have anticipated that simply memorizing the route wasn't enough, so in addition to recording the route on the mine map, he also marked several distinctive locations on the map to serve as road signs.

Following these "road signs," Fang Shu continued his arduous journey deeper into the earth.

Finally, he arrived at the last "landmark" marked on the mine map. There was no way forward, and there were four skeletons, some sitting, some lying down, and some reclining, all in the same positions as those recorded on the mine map.

Their clothes were rotten, and their bones were ashen, but some clues could still be made.

Fang Shu carefully observed them and found that the people dressed differently from the miners in the lead mine. They were dressed more like people from the market, and they happened to be the kind of clothes that the lower-class people living in the paper mill usually wore when they went out.

He recalled, thinking to himself, "Are these the same people from Zhifang who came out of town with Cheng Guanzi to search for treasure in the mine?"

After glancing at it briefly, he looked away and frowned at the dead end ahead.

According to the markings on the ore vein map and what he had just discovered from his exploration of the surrounding area, this direction was already a dead end before the ore vein was abandoned, and it was the end of the ore vein in this area.

Therefore, apart from the collapsed dead end ahead, there is no other route to detour.

According to the markings on the mineral vein map, this collapsed dead end was at least three hundred paces long. Given its length, even for a single person digging here, even if Fang Shu was already a Second Tribulation Immortal, it was unknown how long it would take to dig through it again.

In addition, Fang Shu squinted and examined the collapse marks in front of him, and found that the collapse was not an accident, but seemed to be caused by man.

Furthermore, among the corpses near the dead end, he also found iron rods commonly used by the miners to fire cannons, as well as gunpowder powder refined by alchemists.

"No wonder this place is so deserted. Cheng Guanzi hasn't been here for more than ten years."

Fang Shu pondered, his brows furrowing even more: "Then why did those guys insist on blowing up this place back then? Was it just to steal the treasure? Or was there some other danger at the end?"

However, after thinking it over, his brows relaxed again.

Back then, Cheng Guanzi and a group of ordinary people were able to snatch the precious medicine from the fire and at least five of them escaped unscathed.

Now that he has come as a Second Tribulation Immortal, he is undoubtedly less dangerous than Cheng Guanzi and his group back then.

After thinking it over several times, I finally made up my mind and gritted my teeth: "I'll dig then!"

He didn't immediately transform back into human form. Instead, he stood upright in his fox body, spat out the long tongue sword in his mouth, and used the sword as a shovel to probe and dig at the landslide opening, bit by bit.

Perhaps the Long Tongue Sword never imagined that after being refined into a second-level magic weapon, its first official use would be to dig a hole.

After some tentative digging, Fang Shu chose a direction. The speed at which the excavation progressed then exceeded his expectations.

Because of his fox-like body, he only needed to dig a hole about one foot wide, which was enough for him to crawl inside.

Furthermore, due to the landslide, the rocks inside the road are not as tightly packed as intact rock walls, and there are many gaps.

Because of the sedimentation over the past decade or so, even if a hole were dug at the site of the landslide, the mere foot-high opening would not be enough to cause another landslide. Thus, Fang Shu, covered in dust and his fox fur coat smeared with dirt, looked exactly like a large, dusty rat.

His behavior was furtive and furtive, as if he were digging a tunnel to raid a tomb.

Finally, it took quite a few days.

Fang Shu was so tired that his tongue was sticking out, and his tongue seemed to be dulled. He smelled a strange odor from the gap in front of him, and heard the sound of wind blowing from the front.

These signs indicate that he is very likely trying to dig a path through this dead end!

This immediately invigorated Fang Shu, but he also collapsed to the ground, his four paws outstretched.

To be honest, this kind of digging was no less arduous than the usual hard work and refinement.

This place is, after all, a mineral vein, and many rocks contain metallic and iron properties. Breaking them open would require a significant expenditure of energy and vitality.

With each strike, Fang Shu's vital energy was greatly depleted. In addition, he had to remain constantly vigilant, watching his surroundings to prevent any danger from approaching.

This was a considerable test for his entire being, both physically and mentally.

So over the past few days, although his cultivation level has not improved and he has not had much time to cultivate, the quality of his blood and qi has actually become more refined, and he has not fallen behind in his cultivation at all.

Having regained some strength, Fang Shu bit out a few essence-nourishing pills from inside the fox fur and swallowed them to refine them.

After the medicine had fully dissipated, he exhaled a long breath and felt refreshed.

After all the preparations were completed, Fang Shu boldly and carefully continued digging towards the rock wall ahead.

A short while later, there was a snap.

He thrust his long tongue sword forward, but the tip missed the target, and the blade did not probe the rock behind the cliff.

Moreover, the excavated rocks tilted forward and did not fall in front of Fang Shu. A cold wind whistled from the front, making the fox fur on his body swirl.

The road has indeed been dug through, and light is even shining through the hole!

This made Fang Shu's eyes light up. He cautiously probed the entrance of the cave five or six times before finally standing up, crouching down at the entrance, and peering inside.

A huge cave appeared ahead, filled with faint blue fluorescence, covering the entire cave, which was about five or six zhang in diameter.

Upon closer inspection, Fang Shu discovered that the fluorescence emanated from the stalactite columns, resembling lampposts. The fluorescence rippled gently like water, much like the underwater scenery Fang Shu had seen in his previous life in his dream, which was quite beautiful.

In addition, there was a slight flow of water coming from ahead, and this place seemed to be connected to an underground river. No wonder he could feel the wind blowing from the cracks when he was digging the hole.

After looking around, Fang Shu's eyes flickered and immediately focused on the puddles of mottled liquid emitting a purple hue on the cave floor.

His breathing became heavy for a moment.

That's right, this is one of the production areas of Ziqianyun breast milk!
What surprised Fang Shu even more was that, at a glance, the amount of Ziqian Yunmeng breast milk piled up here must have exceeded the amount in Cheng Guanzi's full gourd.

This delighted Fang Shu, who exclaimed in his heart, "What an opportunity! What a stroke of luck!"

He looked around the cave several times, and after confirming that there were no living creatures, he boldly stepped inside.

But as soon as he entered, a chilling sensation suddenly penetrated his body, sending shivers down his spine.

As Fang Shu's heart pounded, a strong metallic, metallic smell filled his mouth and nose, which caused a look of surprise to appear on his fox-like face.

(End of this chapter)