Chapter 372: The Gopher

　　At the same time.

　　Deep underground.

　　Right now, in the Willow King’s absence, a Rank-8 venerable was hosting the opening of the Fountain of Life, with a few Rank-7 chieftains standing behind him.

　　Apart from those who fell in yesterday’s battle, both of the Rank-8 powerhouses were doing well and were rapidly recovering from their injuries.

　　However, several Rank-7 powerhouses had suffered heavy injuries from the aftermath of the blasts.

　　The Rebirth Passageway was currently still stable, so if any more people from the Land of Rebirth were to show up, the injured chieftains would not be able to fight at full strength.

　　On an ordinary day, neither the Willow King nor the tutelary would grant them access to the Fountain of Life for mere light injuries.

　　At this time, however, it had become necessary that the Fountain of Life be opened.

　　This Fountain of Life which everyone had been talking about was in the center of an underground hall at present.

　　Right in the middle of this hall was a crystal-clear waterfall that seemed to be floating in mid-air.

　　The waterfall appeared to be cascading from the sky, but only until halfway—the water did not reach the ground.

　　Behind the Rank-8 powerhouse, a Rank-7 chieftain could not stop an envious expression from showing on his face. “If we could cultivate continuously in that fountain, perhaps we’d attain an indestructible body in no time at all…” he whispered.

　　Upon hearing his comment, looks of yearning appeared on the other chieftains’ faces.

　　The waterfall in front of them was the result of all the energy the tutelary had purified over the years from the Mines of Life.

　　If they absorbed all of that with no scruples and without restraint, it might not take long for each of them to forge a golden body and reach Rank-8.

　　If the tutelary had not sealed off such energy, it would quickly materialize into countless life stones once it came into contact with the outside world.

　　To the chieftains, however, the stones would still be immensely valuable.

　　Trying to absorb so much energy by themselves in an environment like the Catacombs could take up to thousands of years!

　　The chieftains’ conversation did not go unnoticed by the Rank-8 powerhouse standing in front of them, but he was not bothered by it.

　　‘How can we allow you to cultivate unrestrained!’ he thought to himself.

　　These Life Essences had been painstakingly purified by the tutelary again and again over countless years in preparation for advancement to become supreme king.

　　Both the tutelary and Willow King wanted to advance and had been continuously making preparations for this event.

　　Sadly, they came up slightly short when it came to achieving the paragon.

　　If that were not the case, all that energy would have been used long ago to achieve a breakthrough.

　　Because the fountain was being used to heal the wounds of several people, nobody knew how much Life Essence would be used up. If it were not for the constant threat of the Land of Rebirth’s powerhouses coming through the passageway, neither the Willow King nor the tutelary would ever have agreed to this.

　　As the chieftains were conversing, ripples of energy started to emanate from the energy waterfall that was suspended in mid-air.

　　An invisible wave began spreading out.

　　“It’s about to start!”

　　The Rank-8 said under his breath. In order not to let any fragments of Life Essence go to waste, however small, the waterfall was constantly encased in a passage constructed from solid-state Mentality.

　　The opening of the Fountain of Life basically meant creating a doorway so energy could flow out from the passage.

　　“After the fountain opens, absorb its energy and heal yourselves as quickly as possible!” the Rank-8 powerhouse announced.

　　“Our lord tutelary will keep the barrier stable so it doesn’t break. Once the energy is released, make haste or he will close the passage at any time!” he shouted.

　　Creating an opening in the solid-state Mentality wall could cause it to shatter in other areas.

　　If that happened, some of the Energy Essence would disperse, and the rest of it would rapidly materialize into high-quality energy stones.

　　However, even the purest stones could not be compared to the Energy Essence in the fountain now.

　　The barrier was fragile and its stability was difficult to maintain, so keeping the external barrier stable while allowing Energy Essence to only flow out from the doorway was extremely exhausting, even for the Willow Tree Monster.

　　An unexpected situation could cause even more problems, especially right now when the Willow King was not in the city,

　　“Thank you for the reminder, Venerable Maple!” several of the chieftains acknowledged as soon as the Rank-8 powerhouse finished his announcement.

　　The venerable looked around. “Let’s all get ready. Spread out accordingly, pray to Lady Luck, and absorb what you can when the Fountain of Life opens!”

　　No matter how rich the energy was, it all depended on how much one could absorb.

　　Too little, and the effects would be hardly noticeable.

　　Too much, and one might suffer indigestion or even gorge oneself to death.

　　During the three instances that the fountain had been opened over the last few years, a great many people had died attempting to absorb more than they could handle. As soon as they heard what the Rank-8 said, the people below voiced their agreement and spread out to all four corners of the hall.

　　For the moment, only those that were at least Rank-5 could enter the hall. Most of them were generally Peak Rank-5 martial artists.

　　The remaining ones were Rank-6 powerhouses.

　　As for the Rank-4 and 5 martial artists, all of them had been assigned to guard the passageways outside. This was because each time the fountain was opened, some underground monsters would attack—they were willing to overcome their fear of the tutelary’s aura in order to absorb energy.

　　However, the truly powerful ones would not risk it. Those that came were generally low-rank and low-intelligence.

　　…

　　Just as everyone in the hall was preparing for the Fountain of Life’s opening.

　　Fang Ping had now entered the core area.

　　In front were several passageways, each of them guarded by martial artists.

　　Even though they were not very powerful, there were a large number of Rank-4s and a few rank Rank-5s; they still posed a headache for Fang Ping.

　　He was certainly able to kill these guards.

　　Doing so, however, would cause a ruckus and alert the powerhouses in the hall. That would be a huge issue.

　　‘How do I get in?’

　　Fang Ping frowned. Even if he managed to enter the main hall and obtain some of the Energy Essence from the fountain, there was still the dilemma of how to escape afterward.

　　Currently, he had no information about the specific situation within the hall.

　　There would undoubtedly be high-rank martial artists present in there. If Fang Ping was not careful, a moment of inattention and he would be discovered. He could restrain his Qi to avoid detection, but that would not save his life if he were spotted.

　　‘This isn’t even theft anymore, it’s outright robbery!’

　　The more Fang Ping thought about it, the more of a headache it became. There was no going back now, however.

　　If this attempt failed, nothing else could save Old Man Li.

　　Even if he were able to be saved, the old man might not be able to last in his present state for long or even continue living for much longer.

　　From his hiding place at the entrance of a fork in the passageway, Fang Ping stared at the martial artists guarding the path.

　　A moment later, Fang Ping heard someone shouting. “The Fountain of Life is opening now. Be on guard for monster attacks!”

　　“My Lord Leaf Wood, the underground monsters have already been annihilated, so there shouldn’t be any more attacks, should there? The fountain is rarely opened; do you think we could go in and cultivate too?” a guard asked.

　　“Shut up! Anyone who causes any problems in our Lords’ plans will face the death sentence! There will still be traces of Life Essence at end of the proceedings, so you’ll still be able to cultivate your skills!” Lord Leaf Wood snapped.

　　“…”

　　Lord Leaf Wood left quickly and Fang Ping could hear the guards complaining.

　　Being unable to cultivate during the initial opening of the fountain would mean that there would barely be a spoonful left for them to cultivate with by the end.

　　Several of them whispered about taking shifts so that they could go in and cultivate. As for guard duty, just a show of it would do.

　　Throughout the many years of the Royal City’s establishment, most of the middle and lower-ranked monsters in the vicinity had been almost completely wiped out. The high-ranked ones would not dare risk their lives attacking this place. Losing their lives just for a bit of Life Essence was out of the question.

　　…

　　‘Is it starting?’ Fang Ping wondered.

　　He scratched his head. Despite his lack of inside information, judging from what the guards were saying, it would be no small task to reopen the fountain again after it was closed off.

　　It would be hard to retrieve anything from the Fountain of Life if it were no longer open.

　　Fang Ping knew a thing or two about this.

　　Storing Energy Essence required special measures; the Energy Essence could very well be sealed away somewhere inaccessible to him.

　　His only chance was during the opening.

　　‘Oh yes, since these folks are so busy thinking about the fountain’s opening, would security be less vigilant at the high-purity level cultivation-aiding energy stone area?’ he wondered.

　　‘It wouldn’t hurt if I grabbed a few energy stones anyway.

　　‘Opening the fountain so quickly makes things much harder. Nanjiang’s people might not necessarily arrive now. This is troublesome.’

　　Fang Ping breathed lightly and looked around. After some thinking, he suddenly pulled out the Chaos-vanquishing Saber, looked around for a quiet spot, and started digging.

　　This was a mining area. Even if the Willow Tree Monster felt something, why would it care?

　　It was highly unlikely that the Willow Tree Monster would be able to pay attention to movements in each area every time there was mining activity. Even with insanely strong Mentality, it would not be able to monitor all places at all times of the day.

　　In fact, due to the Fountain of Life’s opening, all of the Willow Tree Monster’s attention was focused solely on the fountain and not anywhere else.

　　If Fang Ping actually cut off a few roots now, the Willow Tree Monster might not even pay any attention to him at all.

　　The Chaos-vanquishing Saber was indeed a gem among A-class weapons. Even though the ground below his feet was nothing but energy stones and hard rock, Fang Ping still managed to dig a deep pit in short order.

　　He quickly jumped in and continued piling the excavated rocks and earth on top of the pit.

　　Gritting his teeth, Fang Ping lay prone on the ground and started digging a hole!

　　To a Peak Rank-4 martial artist, it did not matter how many rocks were below; he still managed to quickly dig out a passageway.

　　Fang Ping avoided heading in the direction of the guards, choosing instead to dig a path through the energy-rich areas within the ground and holding a mental diatribe the entire time. This trip was turning him into a gopher.

　　Digging pits, making tunnels, digging pits, making tunnels…

　　Was it worth doing for just a few energy stones?

　　He was still digging when abruptly, a powerful wave of energy swept through!

　　At that very moment, Fang Ping suddenly felt himself immersed in an ocean of energy!

　　Countless energy particles were everywhere!

　　It was overwhelming!

　　The Catacombs’ passageways were actually composed of pure energy particles; however, the particle fluctuations were too strong. Once they were solidified, however, they could not be felt at all.

　　These energy particles though were not yet solidified and were constantly disseminating instead, causing the rocks in the earth to take on some manner of energy as well.

　　“It has started!”

　　Fang Ping’s expression changed—so fast?

　　Would he still be able to make it?

　　How long would this particular opening of the fountain last?

　　As he was lost in thought, squeaking noises started coming from the ground.

　　Fang Ping looked around as soon as he heard the sounds, and suddenly saw a lot of rat-like creatures scuttling around.

　　‘Mine rats!’ he realized.

　　These were the Catacombs’ delicacies that Qin Fengqing mentioned. Fang Ping’s eyes suddenly lit up; perhaps he had been overly cautious.

　　Down here, any big movements might be noticed.

　　On the other hand, these creatures lived near energy mines and were active in the passageways. The Catacombs martial artists paid little attention to them as they were too small to be considered monsters and only consumed fairly small amounts of energy.

　　Only a Catacombs martial artist who craved a gourmet snack would go hunting for a mine rat, otherwise, they would leave them alone.

　　“I’m a mine rat!”

　　Fang Ping grunted to himself. ‘So I’m now one of them. No, actually, even more insignificant…just physically larger,’ he thought.

　　Thick waves of energy kept coming one after another, in a very mellow manner.

　　If he had been on Earth, Fang Ping would have already started his cultivation. However, now was not the time to care about that. He dug more rapidly towards the energy source. After all, nobody would notice if a mine rat was digging, right?

　　…

　　A few minutes later.

　　Fang Ping stopped.

　　In his hand was an energy stone the size of a cobblestone. Fang Ping’s eyes sparkled. This place was a high-purity level energy mine!

　　He had reached the core area!

　　Without any hesitation, Fang Ping stashed the energy stone in his storage space.

　　He continued digging forward after that.

　　The surrounding crystal roots were now beginning to appear more frequently.

　　Fang Ping was not too bothered by this. These roots were just a facade. Some mine rats were actually inhaling and exhaling their energy, and the roots showed no reaction whatsoever.

　　If he had known that these roots were just meant to scare intruders away, he would not have been so cautious.

　　Ignoring the roots and the rats, Fang Ping continued his progress.

　　However, the roots seemed to have a delayed reaction. Shortly after he passed them, they vibrated slightly, immediately turning the crouching mine rats into a bloody pulp.

　　The hitherto-still roots vibrated. Several large ones started wriggling like water snakes, sweeping a few times around the pit where Fang Ping just passed through.

　　However, they quickly stopped moving and became still again, presumably because there was no aura.

　　…

　　‘8 pieces. I guess that should be around 500 grams?’

　　Fang Ping had collected 8 moderately-sized high-purity level energy stones so far. Despite their size, he estimated their purity level to be 90 percent and above, with the total haul close to 500 grams.

　　These high-purity level cultivation-aiding energy stones were extremely valuable. They were worth 30 credits per gram at MCMAU, which was costly in the extreme!

　　Fang Ping looked up. There might be a mining area for high-quality energy stones right above him, but he did not dare to risk it now.

　　Besides, there was still the sound of footsteps.

　　It was obvious that the guards were not relaxing their vigilance despite the opening of the Fountain of Life. They were way more diligent than those at the outer ring!

　　Fang Ping could even detect a few weak traces of mentality scanning the ground beneath him.

　　This was not the mentality of high-ranked powerhouses; it was more similar to that of the saplings at the city door.

　　If Fang Ping had not concealed his aura, he might have been discovered long ago.

　　No wonder security was so lax under the mine passageways. It would be tricky even for a Grandmaster to conceal himself from these mentality scans. Perhaps a powerful one could manage it, but even if he could bypass the saplings’ scans, his power would still draw the Willow Tree Monster’s attention.

　　The weak ones would not be able to sneak through.

　　The Qi activity of powerhouses would hardly go unnoticed by other powerhouses.

　　‘Forget it. I’d better leave these energy stones behind since the Fountain of Life is just ahead!’ he decided.

　　The powerful waves of energy continued to flow outward, causing some low-purity level energy stones in front of Fang Ping to sparkle (which meant they were transforming into higher-purity variants). This signified just how potent the energy waves were.

　　Fang Ping continued moving forward. But the further ahead he went, the harder it was to move.

　　The dense energy was restricting his movements somewhat.

　　After plowing through for a bit, the density lifted and it suddenly became much easier to move.

　　‘I might actually be directly underneath the energy source!’

　　Fang Ping felt something. At the same moment he reached that spot, the Rank-8 powerhouse above, who was absorbing energy while keeping an eye on his surroundings, frowned slightly.

　　Around him, several Rank-7 powerhouses had closed their eyes as they absorbed energy to heal their injuries. Further away, the Rank-5 and 6 powerhouses were also trying to do the same thing.

　　After a short survey and finding nothing amiss, Venerable Maple closed his eyes. He thought that he had perhaps been worrying too much.

　　Even if powerhouses or monsters managed to reach this place and sneak past him, they would not make it past the tutelary.

　　Anyone weak would not be able to reach here.

　　As soon as he closed his eyes, part of the floor at the corner of the hall bulged slightly. The faint noise, camouflaged by pounding waves of energy, dissipated in an instant.

　　A dark head popped out.

　　Immediately, it froze!

　　‘Wow, there’s a lot of people in here!’

　　Fang Ping’s heart nearly leaped into his mouth!

　　After listening intently below for a while and hearing nothing, he had decided to poke his head up for a look.

　　He had no idea that there would be such a crowd above!

　　All these people—were their hearts even beating?

　　Fortunately, the sound from the energy waves masked the sounds of any heartbeats, and all Fang Ping could hear was the pounding of the turbulent energy waves.

　　‘What on earth is this?

　　‘Tempting me to steal from under the noses of so many powerhouses?

　　‘Isn’t that just painting a target on my back?

　　Fang Ping’s heart almost leaped into his mouth. He suspected that if that particular organ had not been honed beforehand, he would really have had a heart attack.

　　The person furthest from him radiated golden light. That powerhouse undoubtedly possessed a golden body!

　　Less than 2 meters away from Fang Ping’s head, another person sat cross-legged on the ground, his derriere right in front of the human-gopher—so close that if he farted, Fang Ping would smell it clearly.

　　Fang Ping did not even dare to swallow his saliva.

　　If someone heard him, it would be instant death—absolutely terrifying.

　　He thought of going home. Facing a Rank-8 martial artist—no, there was also the Rank-9 Willow Tree Monster above—was not the task of a Rank-4.

　　That arrogant Qin Fengqing had almost pissed in his pants when he encountered a Jiao.

　　Even though that beast was extremely dangerous, how could it even compare to the danger in this place?

　　Of course, Fang Ping did not piss in his pants; he reckoned that what he was doing was definitely sufficient for people to worship him as a hero.