63: Chapter 63 Underground Space

It was the third morning since returning to Qinghe Village.

Lin Xuan sat cross-legged on a cushion in the Quiet Room, closing his eyes to inspect his interior.

Inside his Dantian, the Qi vortex rotated slowly, and the Thunder Spiritual Energy was as heavy and viscous as mercury.

The spiritual energy consumed during the battle with the Shadow Wolf pack had long since recovered; in fact, due to the tempering of real combat, its circulation felt even more smooth and effortless.

He opened his eyes, a wisp of thunder light dancing on his fingertips before fading away.

"The real combat test achieved its purpose. The Thunder Net Technique had excellent crowd control effects, and the Thunder Spear Technique killed enemies in one strike. The coordination between the startling thunder whip and the Thunder Flash Step has also become increasingly proficient," he summarized in his heart, "Next..."

His gaze turned outside the window. The old tree in the courtyard cast sparse shadows in the winter morning light, and beneath those shadows, ninety zhang deep underground, lay the mysterious location the Pangolin had long since marked.

It was time.

The Shadow Wolf mission was complete, the contribution points were credited, the Pangolin's Realm had stabilized after its Breakthrough, and its new abilities had been mastered.

Talisman making had just entered the stage of "Minor Achievement, barely breaking even," and it was difficult to achieve a qualitative change in the short term.

The Thunder Net Technique and Thunder Spear Technique had just been formed and required tempering through real combat, but that was not a task for a single day.

At this moment, it was the best time to explore that underground space.

"Come out." Lin Xuan's thoughts stirred slightly.

The ground beside his feet arched, and the Pangolin drilled out. Its dark gray scales were heavy and solid, and the golden thunder patterns deeply embedded in the scales faintly flowed with luster; compared to when it had just achieved its Breakthrough three days ago, its aura was more steady and restrained.

"Explore below again, be more careful." Lin Xuan issued the command through the contract.

The Pangolin let out a low growl in response, crouched down, and the dark golden thunder patterns lit up on its scales; an invisible ripple centered on it quietly sank into the earth.

Lin Xuan closed his eyes, sharing the perception transmitted by the Pangolin.

It was no longer the vague "desire" and "homologous aura" from before; this time, the feedback was much clearer.

Ninety zhang deep, the outline of that "thing" gradually appeared in his perception: about three zhang long, two zhang wide, and the height... about nine chi.

The whole was a regular rectangular parallelepiped, the edges straight, definitely not formed naturally.

The material was also clear—it was "Qinggang Stone," mixed with a small amount of softer "soft gold" to increase the toughness of the structure. The overall structure was intact, with no signs of damage.

The interior was hollow, without any aura of life, a scene of dead silence.

However, the Pangolin keenly captured a trace of extremely weak, almost dissipating residual fluctuation—it was fire-attribute spiritual energy, very faint, yet very pure, like the lingering charm left after some high-quality flame had burned.

Deeper down, it also "sniffed" a trace of an extremely tiny, long-dried crack that had been completely filled with soil, extending downward from the bottom of this structure, not knowing how deep into the ground it led.

"A Earth Fire pipeline?" Lin Xuan's heart stirred.

All signs pointed to one conclusion: this was a well-sealed, ancient artificial structure that had once been connected to Earth Fire and was highly likely related to Alchemy or Artifact Refining, and it was currently in a safe, ownerless state.

"Safe, and valuable." Lin Xuan made his judgment.

He took a deep breath and began the final preparations.

He had practiced the Earth Escape Technique for several months, repeatedly tempering it under the extreme pressure of double gravity in Gravity Valley, and it was no longer as awkward as when he first learned it. Now, when he activated the Cultivation Technique, a steady earth-yellow spiritual light appeared around him, and he seemed to merge with the earth, his aura restrained to the extreme.

"Entering the earth is like a fish entering water." This was the sign that the Earth Escape Technique had been cultivated to Perfection. His continuous diving depth had broken through the sixty-zhang mark, and his consumption of spiritual energy was greatly reduced.

Combined with the Pangolin's innate ability, going ninety zhang deep was feasible.

That night, at the hour of Zi (midnight).

The moon was hidden and the stars were sparse; all was silent.

Lin Xuan placed four Formation Flags at the four corners of the small courtyard—this was a First Grade High Grade "Breath Concealing Formation" he had specially rented from the market the day before, costing fifty contribution points per day, with long-term rentals being cheaper; it could shield spiritual energy fluctuations and sounds within a small range for six hours.

The Formation Flags were activated, and a faint gray light curtain rose, enveloping the small courtyard and isolating the inside from the outside.

"Start." Lin Xuan nodded to the Pangolin.

The Pangolin let out a low growl, its body shrank, and it drilled into the ground in the northwest corner of the courtyard.

It did not dig with brute force, but instead, the dark golden thunder patterns shone brilliantly as its innate ability activated.

The hard soil in front, under the light strokes of its sharp claws, was smoothed, softened, and pushed aside as if by an invisible hand, forming a temporary passage sloping downward that could only accommodate one person; the inner walls of the passage were smooth and would almost never collapse.

Lin Xuan followed closely behind, his whole body wrapped in earth-yellow spiritual light, sliding into the passage like a swimming fish.

Descending. Ten zhang, twenty zhang, fifty zhang...

The pressure brought by the earth gradually increased, but for Lin Xuan, who had reached Perfection in the Earth Escape Technique and had success in Body Refining, it was still within the range of endurance.

The Pangolin opened the path in front with extremely high efficiency.

Seventy zhang, eighty-five zhang...

Ahead, the Pangolin stopped and transmitted the message "We have arrived."

Lin Xuan used the Earth Escape Technique to reach its side, a faint light of thunder condensing on his fingertips for illumination.

In front of him was a cold and hard cyan-gray stone wall, smooth as a mirror; it was exactly the "Qinggang Stone" in his perception.

The Pangolin's sharp claws gently scraped at the corner of the stone wall, peeling off the thin layer of soil and stone grime attached to the surface, revealing the denser material beneath.

Lin Xuan reached out and pressed his hand on the stone wall. The touch was cold and hard, and his Divine Sense carefully probed, confirming that this place was not a Formation node or a weak point, but just an ordinary stone wall.

He took a step back, raised his right hand, and a fist-sized crimson fireball condensed in his palm—it was the most basic Fireball Technique.

But he did not bombard it directly; instead, he compressed the fireball to the size of an egg, but the temperature rose sharply, turning it into a condensed stream of crimson flames.

The flame stream was like a needle, slowly pressing against the corner of the stone wall. "Sizzle..."

The Qinggang Stone slowly melted under the high temperature, making a faint sound.

Lin Xuan was fully focused, controlling the temperature and range of the flame stream; he had to melt through the stone wall without causing too much commotion or damaging the internal structure.

This process lasted for nearly the time it takes to burn an incense stick. Finally, with a soft "poof," a hole a foot square was melted through the stone wall.

A dry air that had been silent for who knows how many years, mixed with a faint, imperceptible scent similar to old herbal dust, drifted out from the hole.

Lin Xuan held his breath and focused, sending the Illumination Pearl through the hole, and looked inside by its light.

The next moment, his breathing stalled slightly.

The scene inside the Stone Chamber came into view through the hole.

The soft white light of the Illumination Pearl dispelled the darkness of a thousand years.

The Stone Chamber was not large, about three zhang square and nine chi high; the four walls and the floor were all built of the same Qinggang Stone, polished to be flat and smooth.

The room was spotless—not truly dust-free, but rather the residual power of a weak Dust-Avoiding Formation was at work, preventing dust from accumulating.

In the center, a half-person-tall Pill Furnace stood quietly.

The Pill Furnace was dark red, with three legs and two handles; the furnace body was plump and round, and the surface was carved with intricate cloud and thunder patterns.

Even covered in dust, even though the furnace fire had long been extinguished for who knows how many years, the dark red furnace body still faintly circulated a layer of restrained precious light, heavy, steady, and carrying a charm that had endured through the years without decaying.

A First Grade High Grade Magical Artifact!

Lin Xuan made the judgment almost instantly. The quality of this furnace far exceeded any First Grade Magical Artifact he had ever seen, and it even faintly touched the threshold of the Second Grade.

Beneath the Pill Furnace was a circular fire vent embedded in the ground, which was now covered by thick dust, but one could vaguely see a crack connected beneath it that extended deep into the Stone Chamber, leading to deeper depths—that should be the long-dried Earth Fire vein that the Pangolin had sensed.

In one corner of the Stone Chamber, leaning against the wall, was a simple stone shelf and a stone platform.

On the stone shelf, several empty jade bottles were neatly arranged; the bottles were covered in dust, but the material was warm and moist.

Beside it was a set of jade medicine pestle and mortar, but unfortunately, due to the long passage of time, the jade quality had already decayed, covered with fine cracks, looking as if they would shatter at a touch.

On the stone platform, a thick volume tanned from some unknown animal skin lay quietly; the cover was dark yellow, without words.

In the entire Stone Chamber, all items were placed neatly, there was no debris on the floor, and the air was dry and clean.

It was as if the owner had only left temporarily to fetch some medicinal herbs, or to take a short rest, and would push the door open to return at any moment to continue his unfinished Dao of Alchemy.

However, the dead silence in the air, the Earth Fire vent that had cooled for a thousand years, and the dusty empty bottles and decayed utensils silently told a fact: after the owner left, they never returned.