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Chapter 262 - Entering The Tunnel
🕑 Added 2025-03-11 07:00:07 +0000 UTCAfter a few seconds, he snapped out of his stunned state and wiped the dirt on his face. "Dammit Leyvi! You scared this prince! How did you survive? This prince saw an enormous explosion from afar. Is that your single-use spirit artifact in action?" It didn't cross his mind at all that Leyvi was the one producing an attack of that scale.
"Well, yeah. Something like that. They are all dead." Leyvi didn't feel the need to clarify the details.
"You are truly one lucky country bumpkin. This prince thought you had died already!"
"So you came back to steal my stuff from my dead body? Tch tch. A clown prince tried to steal from a dead country bumpkin. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? Your grandfather, the king, is so unlucky to have a descendant like you." Leyvi raised one of his eyebrows and said.
Crown Prince Dastan stood up in protest. "Oi Leyvi, don't slander this prince! This prince was just trying to repay you for saving this prince's life by giving your stuff to that panda wife you always mention! Hmph, since you're alive, this prince won't bother anymore."
"Hoho~ It looks like our clown prince here has learned to be an almost decent human," Leyvi said jokingly.
Crown Prince Dastan's mouth and eyebrow twitched. "Dammit Leyvi! This prince won't ever show any shred of kindness anymore! Everyone who disrespects this prince will suffer!"
"Hah! I knew it! You are still the same piece of shit clown prince. But since a clown like you managed to show a shred of compassion, that's progress. Let's go, we are going treasure hunting."
"Leyvi, you dare insult this prince... eh, what? Treasure hunting where?" Crown Prince Dastan became interested. This was the reason he had come to the Mystic Realm in the first place.
"Underground."
"Underground?"
Leyvi nodded. "I've checked where those earthworms came from just now. They have a massive underground network below. If we find their lair, we might find some treasures. A Commander-Level Demonic Beast should have some treasures, right?"
"Daa hahaha! Good job Leyvi! This prince will reward you handsomely once we find the treasures. Lead the way!"
"Keep dreaming. I'm not giving you any because you didn't contribute at all. I'm only allowing you to follow me so you can at least experience the adventure of exploration."
"You! You are being dishonest! This prince was the driver for many days. Did you forget? We are here because of this prince, so this prince deserves some portion!"
"Fine, fine. I'll give you 10% of whatever we get. I can't believe I got extorted by a shameless clown prince even though I beat all the earthworms alone. Sigh... The world is so unfair." Leyvi acted dramatically and turned around.
Clown Prince Dastan pretended not to hear anything as he followed Leyvi back toward the scorched battlefield.
When they returned to the area, Crown Prince Dastan felt shocked seeing the aftermath. The scale looked like the aftermath of battles between powerful Nascent Soul experts. He wondered what kind of single-use spirit artifact Leyvi had used. Not only was it terrifyingly strong, but it also seemed to allow Leyvi to be unscathed from its power. Usually, single-use spirit artifacts like this would also harm the user, so it was considered a final desperation move. That was why he had thought Leyvi had perished.
"Oi, Clown Prince, what are you doing over there with your mouth open? You look stupid. Come here and help me do some digging. The hole caved in and got buried by the explosion."
"Dammit Leyvi, this prince is not your servant! How dare you order me around!" He complained while going.
"Hahaha! If you want more share, you better get to work, Servant Dastan."
"Arrghh! This prince is sick and tired of you!"
Some time later, the cave-in was cleared, revealing a huge, slanted hole into the darkness.
"Hahaha! Good job, Servant Dastan. But what kind of vehicle spirit artifact is this? It looks powerful. That huge, long claw seems like it was specifically made for digging." Leyvi asked.
The vehicle spirit artifact was a towering metal beast with an iron arm, its massive clawed hand digging into the earth with effortless strength. It moved with a strange rhythm, neither human nor beast, yet its power was undeniable.
Leyvi was impressed, but he knew this was nothing compared to Scarlet's digging ability.
"Who's your servant!" Dastan yelled as he jumped down from the metal beast.
"This prince is a vehicle spirit artifact collector. Whenever there's a unique vehicle spirit artifact on sale, this prince will make sure to get it. This Crown Excavator is just one of the many collections that this prince has." Crown Prince Dastan explained arrogantly.
Leyvi's mouth twitched. I know that you're the crown prince, but do you have to name everything you have to include 'Crown' in the name?
"Sure, sure. Keep contributing, and your treasure share will grow larger. Let's go, Servant Dastan, store that Clown Digger." Leyvi entered the hole.
Dastan yelled again at Leyvi before he put away the Crown Excavator and followed him into the hole.
Leyvi walked through the tunnel while observing the surroundings. He had seen how the Demonic Earthworms dug through the earth so fast. They moved in a spiral motion and devoured the earth with their mouths. As for what happened to the earth that was devoured, Leyvi had no clue. Maybe they poop it out later.
The tunnel was steep at first, but shortly later became less and less steep. It was easily noticeable that it was a freshly made tunnel the Demonic Earthworm had dug through to ambush them, as debris was still falling. It was due to this that he had noticed the tremors and dodged the ambush in time. If it had already had a pre-established tunnel here, he might not have noticed them and gotten swallowed.
However, that was an old story. Leyvi had learned from his inexperience, and now his spiritual sense even covered the deep ground. The underground was filled with darkness, and his spiritual sense couldn't detect much, but it was enough to sense creatures moving underground. Soon, he arrived at a T-intersection. It was obvious that the tunnel made to ambush them was connected to an established tunnel that the Demonic Earthworms frequently used.
The air here was thick with the scent of damp earth and decayed minerals. Although the surface was dry, the deeper earth became damper, indicating a water source somewhere.
The walls of the tunnel were smooth yet lined with deep, spiraling grooves—evidence of the countless times the giant earthworms had burrowed through, compacting the soil into hardened, near-impenetrable layers. Leyvi also saw strange substances that had hardened all over the walls. It looked like mucus that had hardened. It was probably something that was secreted by the earthworm's body and seemed to have a strengthening effect on the tunnel.
Despite the darkness, faintly glowing veins of minerals and strange bioluminescent moss clung to the walls, casting an eerie, ghostly light that barely illuminated the seemingly endless passage ahead. However, darkness was not a problem for cultivators, as their glowing Qi could illuminate the area around them.
Bang!
Leyvi punched the tunnel wall and nodded. The wall here was far more stable and compact, meaning they didn't have to worry about it collapsing.
"Oi Leyvi, what are you doing? Are you trying to bury us here? This prince didn't sign up to be buried!" Crown Prince Dastan scolded.
"Of course we have to check first how strong this tunnel is. Don't worry, the tunnel is strong. Stop crying. Your voice became more annoying with the echoes here." Leyvi said.
Crown Prince Dastan was about to yell again, but stopped. The echoes really did sound unpleasant. Ehem, not his voice, but the echoes. He believed he possessed a great voice.
"So, which way?" Crown Prince Dastan asked. His voice was toned down this time.
"Hmm..." Leyvi tried to determine with his spiritual sense, but both ways didn't give any hint because the tunnels were very dark and extended far beyond what he could see.
"Let's go this way." Leyvi moved to the right. Since he didn't know which way was the right way, there was no point in thinking so much. He just chose the path that led toward the direction of the towering tree.
Crown Prince Dastan didn't question and just followed along.
Along the way, Leyvi didn't detect any other big creatures around the tunnel network, which was expected since it was the earthworms' territory, except for small creatures that lived underground. He wasn't sure if there were more Demonic Earthworms in the tunnels, but as long as it wasn't another Commander-Level, he would be fine.
Leyvi also noticed many precious minerals and ores that would fetch a high price in the market, but unfortunately, he couldn't harvest them because they were deep within the earth, far from the tunnel. However, it might be possible to try to harvest deposits near the tunnel with some effort. Since these minerals and ores emit spiritual energy, it was easy for him to detect them even in places of total darkness.
"Sigh... if only Scarlet and Stripey were here. We could have gathered a ton of these resources." Leyvi muttered as he lamented their absence.
