Darkness—pitch-black, without the slightest glimmer of light.
A rustling broke the silence that had lain dormant for countless millennia, followed by the crackle of what seemed to be falling stones. Then, a beam of light flared up in the darkness, fluorescent radiance driving back the gloom of tens of thousands of years.
The Light Orb illuminated the underground cavern. A pair of red eyes hung upside down from the ceiling, sweeping the area.
"I've dug nearly a mile and was about to give up. This smell is definitely over ten thousand years old."
Bai Yujun stood within an ancient underground cavern. Its ceiling was semicircular and only six or seven zhang high. The floor was strewn with dark rubble and the shadows of mysterious structures, covering roughly the area of a wealthy household's courtyard.
Her dragon eyes swept over the place, confirming there was no threat.
She tossed out more Light Orbs, illuminating every corner of the underground cavern.
Aboveground.
The monkey squatted beside the cave entrance, gnawing on a peach. It disliked caves and disliked burrowing even more. Climbing trees was far better.
Bai Yujun also needed a trustworthy companion to keep watch outside, lest someone catch a turtle in a jar... catch a dragon. She was not afraid of them blocking the entrance; she feared they might fiddle with formations and the like outside. If that happened, she would have to dig another tunnel to escape, which would be far too exhausting.
Monkey brains found archaeological digging hard to understand.
It was best at beating enemies to death, not digging up dead people only to beat them to death again.
The sun outside was scorching, making one sleepy. The crickets chirped listlessly. Having finished its peach, the bored monkey began seriously combing through its fur, checking its armpits