Chapter 374: I’ll Take My Chances

　　Bang!

　　A deafening sound was heard. A portion of the underground passageway collapsed.

　　Fang Ping was hiding in a small pit, not moving a hair. It was as if he was a lifeless stone.

　　Hum!

　　A few stones underground blew up into pieces suddenly.

　　This was done by high-ranked powerhouses, employing Mentality to search inch by inch, crushing every suspicious target.

　　Fang Ping had underestimated a high-ranked powerhouse’s ability. These powerhouses had already mastered their Mentalities to the point of perfection. With focus, under purposeful control, they only attack underground, leaving the entire city alone while affecting only Fang Ping.

　　The reason why he could escape the Rank-8’s Mentality pressure earlier was that Fang Ping disappeared all of a sudden at that time. With no focus in direction, the other party was afraid of harming others, hence Fang Ping was given a chance.

　　Now, a few Rank-7 powerhouses were not worried about harming anyone. Currently, Fang Ping was the only one roaming underground.

　　The rest, including the middle and low-ranked guards, had already evacuated.

　　Under the situation whereby they were unable to detect Fang Ping’s specific whereabouts, these powerhouses had adopted a full-coverage examination. They did not hesitate to do so even if this meant that their energy would deplete greatly.

　　The Royal City had an intruder, and it is someone who stole the Fountain of Life too. If they could not kill the thief in the end, the king and Divine Willow would never forgive them.

　　Fang Ping stayed very still. A Rank-7 powerhouse’s coverage area was limited. The Royal City was extremely big, the after-wave emitted by these Mentalities could not harm him. Unless he was coincidentally at the center of the coverage area.

　　At this moment, these Rank-7 powerhouses were the least of Fang Ping’s worries.

　　Instead… it was the countless crystal clear roots next to him that worried him!

　　These roots looked lifeless, merely a decoration.

　　However, Fang Ping could already sense that these roots were coming back to life.

　　Perhaps the solidified Mentality barrier was nearly done mending back in the concourse.

　　Fang Ping did not know how strong a Rank-9 was exactly, no idea what power these roots possessed. But, he knew that a Rank-9 would most certainly be much stronger than what he expected.

　　Especially when it was a tree monster like this which he had zero knowledge of.

　　Who knew whether these roots could locate his whereabouts after the Willow Tree Monster had regained consciousness?

　　Even if they could not, he had no hopes of escaping anymore. Even if Willow Tree Monster, with its roots densely covered the underground, could not detect his aura, there would still be vibrations when he dug holes.

　　These roots were just like Willow Tree Monster’s hair. Vibrations would most certainly be detected when one moved around the hairs.

　　In this case, even if there was no aura, Fang Ping would also be discovered in no time.

　　“There’s not much time now. I must make sure that I escape underground before the tree monster awakes!”

　　Fang Ping was clearly aware of this. Otherwise, once the tree monster awoke, he would have nowhere to run.

　　“I’ll continue making my way deep underground!”

　　“I’m still too near to the surface!”

　　The main thing was, the deeper the tunnels he dug, the more compression there was. Even if Fang Ping really went deep into the ground, the chances of him getting squashed to death were higher.

　　Moreover, moving around in the depths was extremely tough. If someone blocked his way, it would be difficult for him to escape.

　　But now, Fang Ping could not care less about these things anymore.

　　If he continued moving around the surface layer, it would be the end of him once the tree monster awoke.

　　When the Mentality searches around him had disappeared, Fang Ping did not hesitate, he wielded his Chaos-Vanquishing Saber and dug deep into the ground.

　　He had just started digging when a few rocks shattered into pieces on top of him. One after another, Mentality pressures emerged out of nowhere!

　　Fang Ping cared for nothing. He exerted his entire strength, digging into the depths without stopping!

　　He dug through the mineral veins to the rocks, digging out of the water source…

　　After digging tens of meters deep, Fang Ping was suddenly surprised. There was actually another passageway underground—ready-made passageway!

　　“This is… an underground drainage pipeline?”

　　Fang Ping was beyond surprised!

　　There was actually an advanced city drainage system deep underground in the Royal City!

　　It was not on the surface but deep underground.

　　Perhaps they were worried that the surface area was too shallow, hence it was easy for others to break in and steal their energy stones. Or perhaps, because the Willow Tree Monster’s roots were at the surface, the Royal City’s drainage system was installed deep underground.

　　For the Catacombs powerhouses, opening up passageways deep underground was not too difficult anyway.

　　Earlier, Fang Ping was constantly moving about on the surface. He thought that the Catacombs forts did not have a drainage system at all.

　　But now, Fang Ping was indeed surprised.

　　“That’s true. The fort has millions of people. Their living condition is not quite bad either. How could they not have these things!”

　　Despite his surprise, Fang Ping was instantly overjoyed. There is always a way out!

　　The depths of the underground were actually drainage passageways that led in all directions. How would those fellows locate him now!

　　“Even god doesn’t want me to die!”

　　Fang Ping was wild with joy. He did not even care about the unbearable stench in the passageway. He found an intersection and charged over at once. It was better to run first.

　　Not long after he had left, a few chieftain powerhouses rushed down from the passageway on top that was dug through just earlier.

　　As soon as they entered the passageway, all of their eyebrows slowly knitted together.

　　A high-ranked powerhouse’s sense of smell was extremely sharp. They found it difficult to adapt to the pungent smell.

　　However, they had no time to care about these things. One of them hissed, “He has entered the underground passageway!”

　　This was really quite an issue now.

　　These passageways connected to different parts of the Royal City. Some of them were even connected to places outside the city. When they built the city in those days, Divine Willow’s roots covered the entire ground surface under the fort, hence, almost none of them actually considered the possibility of having someone attacking the fort from underground.

　　The day that happened, it would also be the day when Divine Willow died.

　　If Divine Willow died, then the fort might not last any longer either.

　　Right now, however, Divine Willow was still alive.

　　Moreover, the enemy did not infiltrate the fort from the underground pipelines. Instead, he dug through the ground from inside of the city, entered the passageway, and escaped.

　　Right now, things would be much harder to manage!

　　All of them exchanged glances, feeling slightly helpless. If they fought him at close quarters, they could kill that cunning thief in just one smack!

　　But, the other party did not even show himself now. He was much more cunning than a mine rat.

　　No matter how strong their abilities were, it would still be useless if they could not locate him.

　　One of the chieftains had a very bad temper. With a smack, he smashed and collapsed one side of the passageway, roaring, “Destroy all the passageways then. Collapse the passageway starting from the periphery! Bury the thief underneath the ground!”

　　After burying Fang Ping, they could make a detailed search. If you were so capable, continue to dig downward then. Dig further down and the compression underground would squeeze the other party to the point of blowing up.

　　It was not so easy to dig all the way down even for high-ranked powerhouses. An intense compression would increase the further one went. In the end, even high-ranked ones like them would be compressed to death.

　　As soon as he said those words, the rest of them made no response.

　　It was easy for him to say. If they really did collapse these passageways, a large part of the Royal City might be destroyed together as well after it crumbled.

　　Royal City did not belong to them. It belonged to Willow King and Divine Willow.

　　Destroying Royal City for the sake of catching a thief, their costs outweighed their benefits.

　　“Continue searching!”

　　None of them responded. Amidst the rest of them, when one of them said to continue with the search, that meant that the person had denied the first person’s point of view.

　　The person with a bad temper was also only talking. If they really destroyed Royal City, even if the king did not kill him after he returned, he would not let him off so easily either.

　　The chieftains did not utter a word. They moved along the different passageway directions respectively and began searching once more.

　　All of them were beyond dejected. This was even harder to take than fighting head-on with the Land of Rebirth powerhouses yesterday.

　　Indeed, it was vicious and dangerous yesterday, and the result was also cruel. But, fighting face-to-face was still something powerhouses could accept whether they killed others or were killed by others.

　　Now, a mine rat-like martial artist who was much weaker than them had them running in circles. This was a humiliation for them.

　　If he had the guts, then show himself and fight!

　　The powerhouses were itching so bad to scream their lungs out. Even if they were killed if he came out, they thought that situation would be so much more thrilling than how it was right now. They were too aggrieved!

　　…

　　In the passageway.

　　Fang Ping shook his head again and again. At this moment, he was heavily injured. Or perhaps, critically injured.

　　The most critical part was still the time when he was in the concourse earlier. Although the Rank-8 was unable to strike him with full force, his vital organs were critically injured after that Mentality struck him that one time. The smacking of the ground later had also shaken Fang Ping so hard that his Mentality was scattered. His vital organs were critically injured, nearly blowing him up.

　　After that, a few Rank-7s who came after him had caused his injuries to worsen considerably.

　　“I nearly tormented myself to death.”

　　Fang Ping swallowed a Resurrection Pill. After saving Old Man Li, out of the ten Resurrection Pills he had, there were only 3 left. These were even the ones he had reserved on purpose to save his life.

　　After swallowing one pill, there was no considerable improvement in his injuries.

　　Fang Ping was slightly helpless. His injuries were too heavy. They were more critical than when he fought Wang Jinyang last time. Under this helplessness, he consumed the two remaining pills. It was only then did he feel that his internal organs were no longer exploding.

　　“If I’d known this would happen, I would have taken the pills from Chen Yunxi.”

　　Fang Ping was slightly regretful now. It was only a few pills. He could have just taken them.

　　Look what happened now. He was injured so badly. Even his healing pills ran out. If he was injured again, then he would really get killed.

　　“But… I still have Energy Essence!”

　　Fang Ping was rejoicing in his heart. Although he was unable to fill the storage space to the brim earlier, it was more than half full now.

　　This was an Energy Essence. Its effects were much stronger than the highest purity energy stones. Healing wounds with it could be done very easily.

　　“But, I can’t use it now. The energy is too intense and can be sensed very easily.”

　　Fang Ping was not brave enough to use Energy Essence to heal his wounds now. After recovering for a bit, Fang Ping’s head hurt again. What about Old Man Li?

　　Actually, he really wanted to leave now. If he followed along the passageway and raced forward, he would leave Royal City’s boundary sooner or later.

　　However, once he was gone, Old Man Li would most probably be dead meat.

　　Royal City was currently sealed off. Now, they were still after him. They would most probably have no time to care about others. But, if they could not locate him, they would locate Old Man Li sooner or later.

　　“If I’d known, I should’ve left him outside the city. Getting eaten by monsters is so much better than staying in the city.”

　　“I have to make a trip back!”

　　Fang Ping took a look on top of his head. Where was the inn?

　　If he could dig his way straight to the inn then things would be easy. He could make his way in time to the underground drainage pipelines and might be able to escape.

　　But, he was already confused from all the running. Who would even remember where the inn was.

　　“The inn is in the south. The energy richness is slightly lower in the south… Forget it. It’s hard to tell from underground. Also, the disparity isn’t big either.”

　　“The inn belongs to the outer city… There are more ordinary people outside the city. Even the wastewater they produce is much more. I may be able to make judgments based on this.”

　　Fang Ping walked along the drainage pipeline and began observing with extreme caution.

　　Luckily, Royal City’s inner and outer cities were not like those of the central cities. The inner city was not located in the middle of the city. Otherwise, it would be difficult to locate.

　　Royal City’s inner city was considered a northern city. It was only every other direction that was considered outer cities.

　　There was no reason for the underground drainage pipelines to flow toward the inner city. They would most certainly flow outward. If he walked along the direction where the water moved, he might be able to differentiate between inner and outer cities.

　　…

　　More than ten minutes later.

　　Fang Ping poked his head out from the ground surface gingerly. If there was an underground drainage pipe, then it was natural for there to be sinkholes. This could actually save his energy from digging holes himself.

　　Now, the inner city no longer forbade its residents from going out.

　　If millions of people in a fort were constantly forbidden from going out, it would disrupt the entire Royal City’s operation.

　　After Fang Ping had entered the underground passageway, the chieftains thought that the possibility of seizing him was not high anymore. Although there were still high ranks patrolling in the sky now, they were no longer as strict as they were earlier.

　　In the fort, countless martial artists were inspecting and making searches. The probability of them putting on an act was higher.

　　Now, everyone in Royal City had not expected Fang Ping to bring someone along. Under normal circumstances, if one had a partner doing something major like this, the partner would have created confusion when they were chasing after Fang Ping earlier.

　　When they were hunting him down earlier, there was no major chaos, hence the chances of having a partner were slim.

　　Fang Ping moved his head around gingerly. There were many people in the city now and a jumble of footsteps. No one would notice a tiny stir as such.

　　After taking a look around, it seemed like he had been here before when he entered the city, though he was not too familiar with it.

　　But, in no time, Fang Ping was able to recognize it!

　　A shop that exchanged energy stones!

　　It was before he entered the city. Fang Ping had a deep impression on these few shops!

　　“It’s this place… The inn is about 1500 meters northeast…”

　　Fang Ping had a rough idea in his heart immediately. With landmark buildings around, searching for places was a whole lot easier.

　　After having an idea, Fang Ping swooped downward again. Very quickly, he had returned to the underground passageway, moving along the northeast pipeline.

　　Not long after Fang Ping had left, countless crystal clear roots started wandering along the passageway which he went up earlier.

　　In the city, the gigantic willow tree’s crowned moved ever so slightly, again and again.

　　Now, the Fountain of Life had already been sealed off.

　　The tree crown stirred slightly. In the blink of an eye, the chieftains seemed to have received the news, the Rank-8 powerhouse included. They appeared at the place where Fang Ping poked his head out earlier.

　　“He came up from here!”

　　Venerable Maple made a quick investigation. There was a trace of someone passing through the drainage opening underground. Venerable Maple looked cold and stern. Very quickly, he said, “Why didn’t he escape?”

　　Deep underground, the chieftains had already given up on catching him. Why did the other party not escape?

　　Moving along the drainage pipelines, running all the way outside the city, in this boundless world, this auraless fellow was almost impossible to find.

　　When he was speaking, Venerable Maple cared nothing for the dirt and mess in the passageway, passing through the passageway at blinding speed. The rest of them followed suit.

　　After moving underground, Venerable Maple took a look around, frowning. “He didn’t leave. This means that there’s still something else in the city that he wants… order Gigantic Willow Divine Guards to move out and perform stringent checks! Lord Tutelary has already woken up. But, Lord Tutelary’s energy can’t stretch as far as the outer city. It may not be able to kill him.

　　“Be aware of any movements. Once his movements have been detected, kill on sight!”

　　Although the Willow Tree Monster was powerful, its trunk was at least 10 li away from here.

　　Even though its roots had extended all the way here, they were too far away from the trunk. The roots might still have some energy, killing weaklings was possible, but it might be quite difficult to kill powerhouses.

　　Although the thief did not have chieftain-level abilities, his digging speed was not too slow either. Venerable Maple figured that the chances of him getting killed were slim.

　　The chieftains received their orders and spread out one after another, listening to movements very carefully.

　　…

　　“Here. It should be around here.”

　　Fang Ping lifted his head to take a look. The position of the inn should be on top.

　　As for whether it was the position of the tiny courtyard he was staying in, that would be too precise. He could not estimate it.

　　“Let’s go up first.”

　　There was also a sinkhole here. Entering the inn directly was not quite possible. Perhaps he would turn up outside the inn.

　　But, Fang Ping did not care anymore. This was better than digging holes himself. Besides, Fang Ping was no fool either. It had been so long, Willow Tree Monster might not be occupied anymore and had the free time to attend to other matters now.

　　Digging tunnels would create cause a commotion. What was he supposed to do if he was discovered?

　　Along the drainage pipelines, Fang Ping climbed upward very quickly. He had just climbed for a moment when Fang Ping seemed to have sensed something. His expression changed instantaneously.

　　Around the drainage pipelines, something seemed to be creeping.

　　In an instant, Fang Ping was no longer crawling. Instead, he consumed his Vitality and levitated in the air.

　　“Is that the roots? They have such acute senses?”

　　The sound of him crawling was not even remotely loud. The reason why he did not levitate was because the drainage passage was too compact. The difficulty of levitating was higher. It was not as easy as climbing.

　　Perspiration seeped through Fang Ping’s forehead. He did not care any longer. Get to the top first!

　　Thinking of this, Fang Ping levitated upward with great difficulty. He was only a Rank-4. Under the circumstances whereby he had no other support, there was still a slight difficulty in levitating.

　　Very quickly, Fang Ping had levitated to the sinkhole on top.

　　Now, the aura of plenty of martial artists emerged on top. There were also more sounds of uniformed footsteps.

　　“I’ve been discovered?”

　　“They’ve imposed a lockdown again!”

　　Fang Ping was slightly helpless. What should he do now? If he entered the inn, he would definitely expose himself.

　　Although Old Man Li was critically injured, he still had a weak Vitality Force. It might not be obvious in the city, but once they entered the underground, it would be amplified greatly!

　　Escaping with Old Man Li meant that the danger level would magnify.

　　The energy shield could not cover Old Man Li.

　　“I wonder if I can stuff him into the storage space? I guess I can’t…”

　　Fang Ping had tried it before. He stuffed a living thing inside. As a result, it was not doable at all. It would not be a problem if it was dead, though.

　　If he wanted to stuff Old Man Li inside, he would have to kill him first.

　　But, if he did not bring him away now, based on the current circumstances, he might be discovered in no time.

　　“There are a few Rank-7s and 8s standing directly in front of me. Perhaps a Rank-9 as well… I’ve been too full of myself this time.”

　　A malicious look flashed across Fang Ping’s eyes. ‘I don’t care anymore!”

　　In the next second, Fang Ping opened up the sinkhole cover, appearing on the street immediately. The inn was at the opposite. His abrupt appearance was slightly obvious.

　　However, Fang Ping dared not open up any passageways anymore. He would give himself away too easily.

　　A mud man appeared on the streets all of a sudden. This was still extremely eye-catching.

　　Fang Ping had just appeared when someone yelled loudly. Very soon, a few armored soldiers at the side dashed over at breakneck speed. In the sky, an intense aura also flew over quickly as well.

　　Fang Ping wasted no time. He leaped up, employed the Midair Step, and entered the inn. At a glance, he found the tiny courtyard where he stayed.

　　He charged into the courtyard. In the corner, the meat lump was still there.

　　Fang Ping grabbed hold of the meat lump at one fell swoop. Outside, the Rank-7’s aura was already approaching.

　　Fang Ping was unable to return where he came from anymore. He secured the meat lump straightaway and dug out from the passageway he had opened underneath the bed earlier.

　　The roots that were unmoving earlier shot toward him speedily this time as soon as he dug underneath.

　　Fang Ping had anticipated this. With a punch, he hammered outward. Without taking a look, he continued diving deep down.

　　The roots were smashed away. A split second later, countless roots continued shooting toward him. Fang Ping blocked a few roots, but other roots were like Divine Weapons, piercing at Fang Ping, puncturing countless bloodied holes on his back. Even his bones were punctured!

　　Now, his honed bones were just like beancurd.

　　The roots’ attack was not too powerful, yet its sharpness was beyond imagination!

　　Huge amounts of blood spurted out.

　　Fang Ping’s face lost its color very quickly. “Old Man Li, we’re screwed this time. I can only take my chances now. Can you do it or not!”

　　Having said that, huge amounts of Energy Essence emerged out of nowhere, wrapping the meat lump directly.

　　“It’s better to fill you up to the point of bursting than having the both of us pierced into skewers. Recover some of your abilities. Kill a few of them, at least!”

　　Fang Ping hissed, ignoring the number of puncture wounds on his body. At least right now he would not die yet. Wait until they entered the underground drainage passageway first.

　　While using Energy Essence to heal Old Man Li, Fang Ping was also drinking the Energy Essence wildly. He would rather die from drinking too much than to get killed.