Looking at the newt that was moving slowly again, Tianjihong carefully avoided its path to the elixir field and made a large circle across the stream to the other side. According to his analysis, this area should be the territory of the snake and turtle. On the side of the embankment about three or four feet away from the stream, various large and small holes facing the direction of the stream can be seen everywhere in the soft soil. The larger one can only allow a water snake as thick as an arm to enter and exit freely, while the larger one can even be bent down by Tianjihong himself. Most of these caves are undoubtedly the habitats of snakes and turtles, and there are probably complicated passages hidden in invisible places underground that connect them. At this time, Tian Jihong, who was a little confused, couldn't help but start to envy the monk's soul sense. If he could use his soul sense to conduct large-scale exploration, he would definitely save a lot of time.
Unfortunately, he was only a mortal, so he had no choice but to resort to the clumsiest method - digging up the land one by one to search for suspicious locations. At the same time, he also had to keep an eye out for the movement of the newts on the other side that were devouring spiritual grass. At this time, it had been nearly an hour and a half since he left home. In order to deal with unexpected situations that he might encounter on his return trip, he did not have much time left on this trip. He did not want to be here when darkness came. Wandering in the dangerous Dongyun Mountains, my hands and feet couldn't help but become more agile.
A quarter of an hour passed, and the territory occupied by the snake and turtle was really beyond Tianjihong's expectation. After searching nearly a dozen cave entrances, large and small, I still found no sign of its lair. There were only dark tunnels with no end in sight and no one knew where to go underground. At this time, he couldn't help but begin to wonder, would the snake turtle place its nest so deep in the ground that he couldn't reach it to ensure his own safety? If that were the case, it would be difficult.
Just when he was about to consider giving up, a narrow hole not far away caught his attention. Due to the cover of the dark soil on the ground, he almost missed a dark green tortoise shell lying flat at the entrance of the cave. Although the caves he had just explored all had traces of creatures stepping back and forth, this was the first time that such obvious debris from a snake and turtle had been found. According to this situation, this was probably the main entrance to its lair. The only thing that puzzled him was that the hole looked too narrow. Even a snake turtle with a body of only one or two feet wide couldn't get through a hole the size of a bowl, right? If there was no such piece of tortoise shell here, Tianjihong would probably skip this narrow hole inadvertently and continue searching aside.
However, just when Tianjihong stretched out his hands to gently open the hole, the soft soil in front of him actually collapsed as soon as he touched it. This discovery immediately made him excited. At this time, he naturally understood that the entrance to the cave was not as inconspicuous as it seemed from the outside. Under the appearance of being covered by mud, it must be a very spacious entrance to the passage. I think this snake turtle came here because it is cautious by nature and is worried that its nest will be intruded by other creatures. Therefore, every time it goes in and out, it will actively cover the surface of the hole with soil, leaving only a narrow area less than a foot in diameter for easy identification. . Obviously this method is very effective. Not to mention deceiving other creatures with such a meticulous method, even Tianjihong was almost deceived.
Once the entrance was found, everything was much easier. In less than two minutes, Tianjihong had cleaned up the soil filling around the entrance. What came into view at this time was a pitch-black cave entrance that sloped straight down and the depth could not be seen at all. From the appearance, the passage in front of him was about half a person tall. Tianjihong had to squat down to squeeze into the cave. I guess it was that A secret spot that snake turtles specifically seek out based on their size. At this time, Tianjihong felt a little hesitant. The latter is extremely afraid of this cave where he can't see clearly; the underground is not his home ground as a human being, and even moving in such a small space is a problem. Once he encounters danger, he will It is simply difficult to use all his abilities. And although it is impossible for the snake turtle to come back in time, as a spiritual beast, there is no guarantee that it will leave any other means in its lair, and it is not even certain that the same kind of guy will appear.
Tian Jihong, who did not dare to act rashly in the unknown situation, felt a little helpless at this time. Fortunately, after changing his mind, he finally decided to use a stupid method: first detect the direction of the hole, then dig on the surface, widen the underground road or find a closer location to enter the nest. This method sounds like it will naturally take extra effort and time, but it is a safe and effective method under the current circumstances. Fortunately, at first glance, the underground cave is not too winding. Although there are several bifurcated paths on both sides leading to other different exits, the downward slope between the main passages is at a 45-degree angle toward the ground. It extends straight into the depths.
Tianjihong, who was outside the cave, selected a location about more than ten feet away from the entrance of the cave, away from the stream, and started digging straight down. According to his estimation, the depth of his digging should be similar to this distance. According to the direction of the passage, he will definitely be able to intersect with it at this vertical angle, and this depth is roughly the maximum amount of work he can bear. There is not much time left now. If he finds that the passage extends deeper when he reaches the cave, he will have no choice but to give up.
Although Tianjihong has a physique that is different from ordinary people, it is not easy to dig a hole several meters deep in the earth. After half an hour of unremitting efforts, Tianjihong still failed to find the cave passage he had just surveyed. On the contrary, the newt on the other side of the stream slowly disappeared into the mire after recovering its strength. This also made Tianjihong more and more worried. Seeing that it was already getting late, the unknown dangers brought by the newts on the other side were constantly disturbing his thoughts, making it difficult for him to focus on the work at hand. Just when he was about to give up, the ground under his feet suddenly became loose. Tianjihong, who had quick eyes and quick hands, jumped over the pothole without being affected by the collapsing soft soil.
Fortunately, as expected, the hole he dug with so much effort did not miss the passage. Now it is obviously much safer if he enters from here and explores the passage again. If you really encounter an accident, you only need to jump directly from the bottom of the tunnel to the ground. A height of about two or three meters may not be possible for ordinary people, but this distance is easy for Tianjihong. At this time, he jumped lightly into the intersection of the passages. An earthy smell mixed with decaying plants filled the air. There were one or two narrower tunnels around him that extended to other entrances around him, above his head. The still collapsing damp soil slowly dusted onto the feet that were slowly sinking into the mud.
However, none of this affected Tianjihong's excitement at this time, because with the light above his head, he could clearly see just a few feet below the tunnel. The main passage no longer snaked deeper, and the terrain began to It became flat, and its surrounding environment began to gradually turn into hard rock instead of soil. And in the darkness further away, you can vaguely see that the end of the passage is blocked by a stone slab of unknown thickness, and the gaps between its surrounding surface and the stone wall are also tightly filled with soil. Needless to say, this must be the stone door that the snake and turtle arranged for its lair. It is used to isolate the sand or cold wind from above, and it can also play a certain protective role against other beasts.
Although the entrance in front of him was very close, and Tianjihong could even stretch out his legs to touch the stone slab blocking the road, but in order to ensure nothing went wrong, Tianjihong still chose to use brute force to continue to expand the remaining section of the tunnel. wide to facilitate your subsequent actions. Of course, the underground work is obviously more troublesome than before. Since soil has to be transported to the top of the cave from time to time to prevent collapse, the time spent on widening this short two-foot passage is no less than before. In the end, under Tianjihong's satisfied gaze, the passage that had been widened to a height that could easily accommodate his bending height was enough for him to flex his muscles. At least he could escape from it without any hindrance in any emergency. At this time, he groped towards the stone door in front of him again, ready to find out what was inside.
The solidity of the stone gate was indeed somewhat beyond his expectation. After some inspection by Tianjihong when he was just digging, he discovered that such an inconspicuous stone slab had also been tampered with by snakes and turtles. Starting from the stone door, you are surrounded by exposed rocks. If you want to dig a new passage from the side to bypass this door, it is a fantasy. What really makes me feel a little troublesome is that the thin stone slab that seems to be densely cracked is surprisingly strong. It is difficult to shake it even with Tianjihong's strength. The most important thing is that there is an extremely thin layer of spiritual energy between the stone slabs. Blessed by a force barrier, the connection between its periphery and the stone wall seemed to be sealed by the snake and turtle's spiritual power. I guess the latter must have a way to easily move the stone door by stimulating spiritual power; but for Tianjihong, , it is really difficult for me to pry open the stone door from the gap with my physical body.
Fortunately, Tianjihong had already calculated that this kind of thing would happen. He knew that although the spirit beast could not learn to use spiritual power to engrave formations for defense like monks, the snake turtle would never allow his lair to be destroyed. Breaking in so easily and placing a spiritual barrier at the entrance was already a relatively simple situation as expected. Fortunately, today Tian Jihong found a way to break through these seals by luck. He took out the unknown fragment from his arms without any hesitation. At this moment, he still knew nothing about the purpose of this thing, but After observing the battle just now, the first thing Tianjihong was sure of was that the material of the fragment must be indestructible and difficult to shake, and it must also have an elusive restraint effect on spiritual power. Otherwise, the snake and turtle embedded in his belly would have been killed by the fragment. I figured out a way to get this thing out of my body. Although the stone door in front of him has been reinforced with a little spiritual power, Tianjihong does not believe that the strange fragments in his hand that even Snake and Turtle himself can't do anything about can't be resolved by even a little trick on the stone door.
