Ding
Ding
Ding
The sound of the hammer striking the wall echoed within the mountain, but the pouring rain and the roar of the waterfall drowned it out, preventing it from being heard outside.
Fang Yuan wiped the sweat off his forehead while exercising his shoulders and stretching his legs. Due to long hours of squatting, a sense of numbness was felt from his legs.
'Knock, knock, knock'.
Fang Yuan bent his fingers and knocked on the rock wall.
Hearing the sound, he was slightly happy in his heart, as he could tell the wall was getting thinner.
"Continue working hard!" Fang Yuan grit his teeth and started to smash the rock wall with a hammer.
After about fifteen minutes, Fang Yuan found out that the rock wall had a small hole in it already.
He immediately stood up and kicked.
With a thunderous noise, the hole expanded and became as big as a bamboo basket.
The secret cave's ventilation was not good, but Fang Yuan continued to expand the size of the hole, sometimes using the hammer, and at other times using his hands to dig, or his legs to kick. After a while, he finally expanded the hole into a size that he could fit into.
Looking from the hole, there was a diagonal path downwards.
The path was initially narrow, but the deeper it was, the wider it got. A person must lower their head when entering at first, but towards the latter half of the path, they are able to take large strides with straightened backs.
The cave's walls were a weird red soil colour, emitting a faint red glow. This caused the passage's interior to be visible.
But the path was very long and extended beyond what the eye could see.
He already knew what's inside, so he finally stepped into the passageway.
The tunnel was straight, diagonally slanting towards the bottom. The deeper it was, the wider and taller the passage became.
Fang Yuan had to lower his head when entering at first, but after more than fifty steps, he was able to take large strides with a straightened back, and after a hundred steps, he could walk while lifting his upper arms and brandishing them left and right.
The tunnel was not that long, it was only around 300 meters. But Fang Yuan spent around two hours venturing before he finally reached the end of the path.
At the end of the tunnel, there was a huge rock. The rock's surface was smooth and protruded towards Fang Yuan's direction, resembling a fat belly.
The ground of the path was smooth and the top was curved; the walls on both sides were red soil, emitting a red light.
The ground near the giant rock was slightly darker in colour. This colour difference was not very obvious and not easily found under such a dimly lit environment.
Fang Yuan knelt down, touching the ground, feeling a sense of wetness.
He grinded the soil with his fingers, finding out that the soil on this patch of earth had issues. It was very soft and loose, not lumpy like the dry red soil.
Fang Yuan began to dig the soil. It was loose so he did not spend much effort.
After digging for around an inch deeper, there was a peculiar fragrance rushing into Fang Yuan's nostrils.
While digging, the area under the soil suddenly emitted a faint dark gold light.
Fang Yuan's eyes shone, his hand movement becoming more delicate, carefully digging the surrounding soil away, expanding this hole.
After a while, a dark gold-coloured flower bud that was buried under the ground appeared in front of him.
It was two inches deep in the ground, around the size of a stone mill, the bud's surface delicate and with the dark gold colour, it appeared to be mysterious and elegant.
"Earth Treasury Flower Gu!"
Fang Yuan breathed out deeply.
He was not eager in peeling away the flower petals, but took a rest on the ground instead, wiping the soil off his hands. Then he slowly stretched his hand and pried open the dark gold-coloured petals.
The Earth Treasury Flower Gu was like the combination of a lotus and kale. Its petals were tightly knitted together with numerous thick pieces, slippery when felt. As Fang Yuan opened the petals one by one, it was like revealing thick layers of silk.
Once it left the main body, the huge dark gold-coloured petals would disperse quickly. It was like snowflakes that melted into the air.
After uncovering around fifty to sixty pieces of petals, the bud had shrunk in half, revealing the flower core.
The core's petals were smaller and thinner, its texture becoming more smooth and fine. It was no longer like silk, but more like thin pieces of paper. .
Fang Yuan's movements became gentler and slower, only opening a piece of petal in a few breaths.
The petals became increasingly transparent, and after a while, when Fang Yuan had opened the pieces of thin paper-like petals, he stopped his movements.
The Earth Treasury Flower Gu at this moment only had a last layer of petals left.
These petals overlapped each other, forming a fist-sized ball.
The petals were translucent, thin as paper. Inside these petals contained a golden liquid and in the middle of this liquid, a Gu worm was sleeping inside.
Fang Yuan was close to it, and his breath was blown on the flower core. The spherical flower core began to shake, the golden liquid also moving gently inside the petals.
Gu worms would die without food, and only a few Gu worms could seal themselves. To protect and conserve Gu worms, Gu Masters have had thought of many methods.
The Earth Treasury Flower Gu was one of them.
It was a one-time use type Gu, and once implanted on the ground, it could not be moved.
Its food was simple, which was earth energy. As long as it was planted on the ground, it would be able to survive with sufficient earth energy.
It only had one use, and that is to contain a Gu within the flower heart and immerse the Gu in the golden liquid.
This golden nectar could to an extent, imitate the sealing state and let Gu worms fall into hibernation.
Fang Yuan stretched out a finger and peeled the remaining petals carefully, revealing an opening.
The golden liquid flowed out along his finger, feeling like soybean oil.
The flower core began to soften with the loss of the golden liquid. Fang Yuan moved his finger and the petals were split, allowing him to retrieve the slumbering Gu worm.
It was a cute ladybug. Only the size of the thumb's fingernail.
Its body was a milky white colour, and if overlooked from the back, it was like a circle.
Its head only occupied a small area, while the rest of the body was its large fat stomach and bright shiny exoskeleton.
Its six tiny limbs were also cream coloured, hidden under its stomach.
"White Boar Gu!" Fang Yuan showed an expression of joy on his face.
He kept the White Boar Gu in his pocket, deciding to leave the rock crack.
Then, he took out some rock powder and spread it around the entrance of the secret cave. At the same time, he spread a layer on the rock crack entrance.
Next, he squeezed out of the narrow rock crack and left the place.
He has been inside the crevice for two days already and now, It was already midnight.
Around a few hundred meters from the river in a hidden bush, he found the wine that he had brought along this time. Opening the seal, he drank a huge mouthful and purposely spilled some of the liquor, getting it on his clothes and making him smell of alcohol.
Carrying the wine, he went back to the village.