Divine Tang Era

Once the furnace had cooled down, Xu Dan took out the stalactite that had been blocking the furnace opening, only to find a pitch-black thing hanging inside.

What the hell?

Xu Dan took out the smoked baby salamander, cut off a piece, and found that the core inside was intact, but the outside was a bit over-smoked. Overall, it was alright, not a failure; at least the smoking process for the meat jerky was done correctly, just a matter of controlling the heat.

Take a sniff; the aroma is strong.

This thing probably wouldn't even dare to eat insects, so it should be able to be preserved for a long time.

Since he could do it, Xu Dan went to the Dragon Salamander Cave to catch baby dragon salamanders and smoke them, and also picked a lot of mushrooms to dry and store. You can't just eat meat; it can easily lead to malnutrition.

Based on his observations over this period of time, he can say with certainty that there is definitely a passage leading to the outside world in the underground river; otherwise, the dragon salamander would not be able to come and go as it pleases.

I just don't know how long it will take to swim out of the tunnel.

You must understand, the underground river is frigid and cold; ordinary people simply cannot go down there, let alone stay there for an extended period. Even if he is in good health now, staying in the underground river for too long will inevitably lead to his death sooner or later.

Since the underground river route was impassable, Xu Dan came up with another solution: to carve a survival passage from the top of the stalactite cave to the outside world.

Since there are stalactite caves and underground rivers here, it shouldn't be too far from the surface, maybe two or three hundred meters at most. Even if it's a thousand meters, it's still safer than going out through the underground river.

If you want to dig an exit passage upwards, you can't do it here at the stone house, nor can you go near the location of the golden-red liquid.

He wandered around the cave and finally found a suitable spot in the stalactite forest on the left.

There happened to be a stalagmite growing up to the top of the cave in the stone forest. Xu Dan carved steps next to the stalagmite, followed the stalagmite to the top of the cave, and began to dig a survival passage.

At first, he was very careful, fearing that the terrain here might connect with the golden-red liquid there.

He was overthinking it; the stone here was completely different from the one there. Since they weren't connected, they wouldn't spoil what he wanted to drink, so Xu Dan started digging with peace of mind.

The digging wasn't random; the location was calculated carefully.

Survival tunnels are straight holes like wells, but unlike wells which go down, survival tunnels go up.

The excavated soil doesn't need to be processed; it simply slides directly into the underground cave.

With the help of a short sword that could cut through iron like mud, digging the well was easy. He even carved out steps along the edge of the well for walking. The soil in the cave's dome was very peculiar, with each layer being different. First came stalactites, then ordinary stones, and finally, the soil was a strange mixture of red, white, and yellow colors.

With nothing to do inside the cave, Xu Dan spent his days either smoking dried meat or digging wells.

The more we went to the Dragon Salamander Cave, the fewer small dragon salamanders there became, which finally alerted the large dragon salamanders. Now, there are large dragon salamanders there all the time.

Xu Dan figured his small arms and legs couldn't withstand such a large group of dragon salamanders, so he stopped trying to catch the little dragon salamanders and buried himself in digging a well.

Day by day, the well was dug higher and higher. The soil piling up in the stalactite cave below was almost blocking the entrance to the well. Left with no other choice, Xu Dan had to stop, move the soil to another location, and continue digging the well.

I don't know how long they dug or how far they dug. Judging from the situation, it must be two or three hundred meters high.

He did no productive work, spending his days digging wells, but the golden-red liquid was not inexhaustible. With his constant demands, the liquid finally gave way and was about to run out. Fortunately, he had stored a considerable amount of smoked dragon salamander meat and dried mushrooms, so he wasn't afraid of starving.

He wondered when this digging would end. Xu Dan glanced down and felt dizzy.

He dared not look any longer, picked up his short sword and continued digging upwards.

Now that the well is the only way out of the underground cave, he refuses to believe that with the Dragon Salamander Cave as a large granary, he won't be able to dig his way out.

With this in mind, Xu Dan dug diligently. After digging for two more days, the soil texture and color were noticeably different from what lay below. Delighted, he dug even harder. After digging a few more meters, the short sword seemed to hit something hard and couldn't go any further.

Xu Dan didn't know what he had dug up, so he changed direction and raised his sword to dig to the side.

A moment later, a piece of stick appeared. This stick was definitely not an ordinary object, otherwise how could it not even be pried by a short sword that could cut through iron like mud?

As they continued digging to the side, the stick gradually came into full view, and Xu Dan grabbed it.

The stick was too long to wield in the narrow well, so he took it back to the stalactite cave. Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn't a stick at all, but a mallet. A stick is flat, while a mallet has thicker, rounded ends. The mallet's body is like a rod, ebony in color, and its thick, rounded ends resemble unopened lotus buds.

Xu Dan swung the double-headed mallet around in the cave, sometimes imitating Sun Wukong spinning around, sometimes imitating a Shaolin monk stepping on the mallet, feeling incredibly powerful.

The double-headed mallet was thick and long, and his small, tender hands couldn't even hold it.

Fortunately, he was strong enough that even if he only grabbed a large portion, he could still use it. After playing for a while, Xu Dan suddenly swung the mallet at the stalactites and stalagmites beside him.

"Bang!"

With a loud bang, the stalagmite shattered upon impact.

This is great stuff! Xu Dan likes it more and more the more he looks at it; this hammer is really good.

"Um"

Suddenly, he noticed words on the hammer. In the center, five seal characters read "Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer." He didn't quite understand seal characters, but after some guesswork, he could make out the general meaning.

There are lines around the font, I don't know if it's for anti-slip or what.

He didn't care about any of that; based on the hardness of the hammer, it would become his weapon.

What a pleasant surprise! I even found treasure while digging an escape tunnel, hahaha...

Xu Dan laughed happily, which also proved that his idea of ​​digging a tunnel upwards was very wise, decisive, and correct. Because finding something meant that the tunnel was very close to the ground, he was overjoyed and immediately dug even harder.

Digging now is nothing like when we first dug wells, when the soil inside didn't need to be treated.

If left untreated, the debris will pile up in front of the well and block the entrance.

Xu Dan thought the passage was very close to the ground, but it turned out not to be.

He didn't know how long he had been digging, but the golden-red liquid inside the transparent stone wall had run out. He could only eat the remaining food, which consisted of dried smoked dragon salamanders. Sometimes he would stew dried dragon salamanders with dried mushrooms, but most of the time, in order to dig the well, he would gnaw on dried smoked dragon salamander meat.

After the golden-red liquid was exhausted, the stone wall containing the liquid suddenly turned into ordinary stone.

A mournful roar from a giant beast followed, and my head spun for a moment, but I quickly recovered.

After several days of analysis, Xu Dan felt that the giant beast's voice resembled that of a dragon from ancient legends. Although he had never seen one, that was the feeling in his mind. With this in mind, he realized that the golden-red liquid inside the transparent stone wall was dragon blood, and what he had drunk was dragon blood!

Wow, that's amazing! Others get to eat meat by slaying dragons, but he got to drink blood without even slaying one.

Xu Dan was so impressed with his own wildly imaginative ideas that he thought, "Who could be smarter than me?"

The purplish-gold color beneath his black pupils didn't fade; instead, it deepened with each sip of the golden-red liquid he drank, gradually becoming more intense until it appeared indistinguishable from his black pupils. However, the purplish-gold hue within his black pupils was quite bizarre.

From the outside, the inner pupil is hidden by the outer black pupil, and it is not visible at all unless you look closely.

After digging for a while longer, the short sword pierced through, and Xu Dan felt a lightness in his hand, as if he had missed. Could it be that they had reached the exit?

Thinking to himself, Xu Dan quickened his pace and dug. Soon, he had dug a small hole big enough for one person to pass through. Not knowing what was up there or if there was any danger, he didn't dare go out immediately. Instead, he cautiously peeked out, like a groundhog, looking at the world with bewildered curiosity.

A high-altitude meadow came into view.

Tender green shoots quietly peeked out, lazily stretching to welcome the sun's rays.

A gentle breeze blows, and a refreshing fragrance wafts into the air.

Xu Dan took a deep, deep breath, and after a long while, exhaled the stale air from his body. Looking at the boundless grassland, his heart felt expansive. This is my paradise!