Dig, dig, dig...
The soil on the ground was extremely soft, making it effortless for Wutie to excavate with his witch iron. After digging two feet deep, the amount of sand and rocks in the soil rapidly increased, and the ground became increasingly harder. Wutie's fingers were quickly worn down, his ten fingernails were all rubbing raw, and droplets of blood continuously dripped onto the ground.
With trembling arms and spasming fingers, Wutie looked at the bloodstains on the ground with an unpleasant expression. He had only dug two feet deep in a circle with a diameter of two meters, and the excruciating pain in his fingers made it impossible for him to continue digging.
"Fool..." With a cold snort, a beam of light as thin as a soybean ruthlessly struck Wutie. Wutie let out a miserable cry as his body convulsed and fell to the ground. His long hair stood up on end, and sparks of electricity flickered intensely between the strands.
"The difference between intelligent beings and animals lies in the use of tools," said Lao Tie as he unleashed the electrical current, causing Wutie to convulse in agony. Slowly, word by word, he said, "Don't you think that tooth hanging on your chest is stronger than your fingers?"
Wutie's face stiffened, and he struggled to endure the pain as he looked up at Lao Tie. "Why didn't you remind me earlier?"
"Grandpa wanted to see how stupid you could be," Lao Tie sneered. "As expected, you're the kind of idiot I thought you were."
Chuckling sinisterly, Lao Tie continued, "Sorry, Grandpa is just an honest and frank man... I just enjoy speaking the truth."
Wutie gritted his teeth and remained silent. He stood up, took off the necklace with the Chiyou tooth, wrapped the beast tendon chain around his wrist, and firmly gripped the Chiyou tooth as he fiercely struck the ground.
When he exerted force on the Chiyou tooth, a faint electric current seemed to surge from within it. Wutie's palm felt ticklish, as if he were being shocked by Lao Tie. The tingling sensation spread throughout his body, and his exhausted body started to regain strength.
With a loud crack, the Chiyou tooth crashed onto the ground. A large amount of soil and rocks were ground to dust, and when Wutie casually flicked the Chiyou tooth, a basin-sized pit appeared on the ground.
Wutie was stunned, staring in astonishment at the Chiyou tooth in his hand. He chuckled and tightly gripped the Chiyou tooth, putting in even more effort.
Lao Tie had been watching Wutie intently. Seeing him smile, Lao Tie's eyeballs swiftly turned around, muttering in a barely audible voice, "To be able to laugh like this, it seems you haven't completely lost your mind and become a bloodthirsty demon king blinded by hatred..."
"But even if you become a bloodthirsty demon king, so what?" Lao Tie laughed meaningfully a few times.
A red light flashed, and dozens of venomous spiders, the size of thumbs, that were crawling towards Wutie from a mushroom cluster a hundred meters away immediately turned into wisps of black smoke.
"Xiao Tie, be faster," Lao Tie's voice became somewhat weak. "Grandpa has exhausted himself on this journey. If you're not quick, I won't have the energy to accompany you."
Wutie's body stiffened, and he clenched his teeth. The Chiyou tooth continued to strike the ground faster and faster, causing the soil and sand to fly around. Wutie's thin muscles quickly wriggled, and soon his entire body was covered in sweat, with sand and soil forming a thick layer of mud on his body.
The sharpness of the Chiyou tooth was terrifying; any stone it lightly struck would explode into powder. This provided Wutie with great convenience.
Wutie diligently continued digging, gradually deepening a large pit with a diameter of two meters.
When he became too tired to move, he stopped and took a short rest. He would doze off for a while, then eat something, practice the Foundation Building Formula to activate his body, and quickly regain his energy before continuing to dig.
One day... two days... three days... after ten days, Wutie had dug a pit over five meters deep in the same spot.
Fortunately, the soil here was stable, and there were no collapses in the surrounding walls.
On this day, as Wutie swung the Chiyou tooth, just as he shattered a stone the size of a head, the Chiyou tooth slammed into a hard object. With a crisp sound and sparks flying, the Chiyou tooth, which had been effortlessly breaking soil and crushing stones these past few days, couldn't break the hard object, and Wutie's palm was painfully struck.
"Have you reached it?" Lao Tie's voice came from above the large pit.
Wutie scraped off the soil on the ground with the Chiyou tooth, and beneath the soil was a pale white metal surface.
The metal had a tinge of wretchedness, somewhat resembling Lao Tie's material.
"Have you reached it?" Wutie touched the cold metal plate. Similarly to Lao Tie, this metal plate had been covered in soil for an unknown length of time. As Wutie's palm brushed over it, none of the sand and dust could stick to it; the metal plate remained exceptionally clean.
"Carry me down, because you won't be able to open this door," Lao Tie eagerly said.
"A door?" Wutie carefully examined the metal plate beneath his feet; it didn't look like it had a door.
Climbing up the small pits drilled into the wall, Wutie carried Lao Tie and stood at the edge of the pit. After some thought, Wutie directly dropped Lao Tie into the deep pit.
"Xiao Tie, you rascal!" Lao Tie thudded against the metal plate, lying on it face down. Angrily, he let out a loud roar.
"I'm not stupid this time... It's impossible for me to climb down with you in my arms," Wutie said gravely to Lao Tie. "So, I threw you down; at least you won't break from the fall."
Lao Tie remained silent for a long while.
After a while, Lao Tie dryly said, "This grandpa has a natural talent for teaching... This stupid kid became so clever after just a few days of tutoring... you rascal..."
Suddenly, two beams of red light sprayed out from Lao Tie's eye sockets, falling upon the white metal plate.
Extremely sturdy, the metal plate that could not be worn down by the Chiyou tooth undulated like ripples on water. Wutie's feet lost support, he yelled in surprise, and he and Lao Tie suddenly passed through the metal plate.
Oddly enough, Wutie and Lao Tie fell through, but not a grain of sand and soil could pass through the metal plate.
"Ahhhh!" endlessly falling downwards, Wutie's body suddenly came to a stop.
Although he didn't feel solid ground beneath his feet, it still felt like he had come to a halt.
"Light." In the darkness, Lao Tie's voice sounded.
A gentle voice emanated from all directions, and a cold white light illuminated the surroundings.
Wutie widened his eyes.
This was an enormous square space, at least as big as ten Wujia stone castles. The ground was as smooth as a mirror, made of the same white metal material.
Wutie floated about three inches above the ground, and as he struggled slightly, the force supporting his body disappeared, allowing him to easily land on the ground.
With a thud, Lao Tie also landed.
Wutie lifted his head, and the ceiling was nearly a hundred meters above the ground. Similar to the ground, the ceiling appeared seamless, without any visible gaps. Wutie couldn't fathom from where he and Lao Tie had fallen.
The ground, ceiling, and walls were all made of the same white metal.
The white light emanated from the ground, ceiling, and walls. Despite being metal plates of unknown thickness, they were actually translucent?
"Pick me up and let's move forward," Lao Tie ordered urgently.
Wutie gladly obeyed Lao Tie's command.
He picked up Lao Tie and walked towards the wall as instructed: "Lao Tie, you lied to me..."
"So, remember this lesson; don't easily trust others in the future," Lao Tie dryly said. "If that thing no longer exists, won't you have wasted these past few days? Right?"
Wutie seethed, clenching his fist and gesturing towards Lao Tie.
"Becoming smarter, learning to use tools... Congratulations, you've made a minuscule advancement on the path of evolution, transforming from a primitive savage into an intelligent being," Lao Tie said dryly. "But first, lift me up and walk forward, don't waste time."
"I..." Wutie felt annoyed.
There was nothing he could do about Lao Tie. After securing the Chiyou tooth, Wutie carried Lao Tie and walked towards the wall.
"You...," Wutie was suffocated with anger, abandoning Lao Tie and directly throwing him to the ground. Then he gave him a swift kick.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom..." Lao Tie bounced and rolled down the thirty-degree decline of the corridor. Wutie closely followed behind, running at full speed.
Having practiced the Foundation Building Formula for nearly a month, Wutie's physical fitness had greatly improved, and with Lao Tie's deliberate training and constant electrocution, he ran like a nimble rock mouse, closely following behind Lao Tie.
Whenever Lao Tie was about to stop, Wutie would give him a hard kick.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom," "ding, ding, dang, dang," Wutie and Lao Tie sprinted rapidly through the corridor and finally reached the end, a room several times larger than the entrance room.
They had been sprinting for an hour straight, and Wutie was drenched in sweat, both legs wobbling.
Lao Tie couldn't hold back his excitement, loudly shouting. Wutie lifted him and arrived in front of the wall on the left.
Just like before, a blue electric light flashed, and a massive gateway silently materialized on the wall. Behind the gate was an immense palace.
A square shape, with walls made of white metal.
Dozens of transparent crystal balls, each with a diameter of over ten meters, floated in the air, containing white fluid.
Only one crystal ball contained a vibrant red color, and only this specific crystal ball had a towering figure within it.
"Indeed, you're the second..." Lao Tie's eyes suddenly brightened as he stared fixedly at the figure in the crystal ball.
Attracted by an indescribable atmosphere, Wutie carried Lao Tie step by step towards the lower corner of the crystal ball.
The originally white fluid in the crystal ball should have remained clear, but excessive blood had dyed it red. Within the translucent red fluid, the towering figure was clearly visible.
Nearly three meters tall, a formidable physique, a perfect and majestic appearance, resembling a divine being.
He wore a set of incredibly gorgeous white armor. Whether it was the armor's design or the intricate patterns on it, they had reached the pinnacle of artistry. Wutie had never seen such a beautiful creation.
However, this enchanting armor had a basin-sized hole in its chest, which also pierced through the chest of this majestic man.
Wutie stared at the man in awe.
He was most likely dead, but he still exuded a terrifying aura that Wutie could barely look at.
"Who is he? Why does he have three eyes?" Wutie asked reverently.
On the man's forehead was a third eye larger than his normal eyes. When the round pupil opened, faint golden light emanated from it, exuding authority and divinity, full of an overwhelming domination.
"He's the Xiaoxiansheng Zhenjun... Yang Jian," Lao Tie's tone was slow. "That shameless guy... not only did he cheat me out of my wages... he even changed his name to Yang Jian."
"He really thought that by gaining a third eye, he would become the legendary Erlang Zhenjun? Bah!"
"Haha, he's dead... I... am not sad at all!" Lao Tie burst into laughter. "Hahaha, I'm so happy!"
The sound of cold, stiff laughter echoed throughout the hall, and echoes resounded all around.
(End of Chapter 10)