Digging Earth Like Mud

Fang Mushan's gaze passed over Xu Yunfan and settled on Li Haomiao on his back.

"What happened to this guy?"

"Someone severed three of his limbs. I felt sorry for him, so I lent a hand."

Li Haomiao opened his mouth, desperately wanting to curse, but he knew this was no time to speak. He simply turned his head aside.

At Fang Mushan's words, the sharpness in his eyes softened considerably. After all, anyone who could still help others in such harsh conditions beneath the Ningguta mines could not be a bad person, no matter what.

He sized Xu Yunfan up. "Your movement technique is impressive. You should have reached the minor mastery stage already, right?"

"I've only practiced blindly for a few days. It doesn't count as minor mastery yet."

The physical improvements brought by the Crimson Flame Copper Body Art made him appear no weaker than someone at minor mastery when using Fleet Foot. But Xu Yunfan knew his own limits. Fleet Foot at minor mastery should have been faster and less exhausting.

Fang Mushan merely took him for being modest and did not dwell on it. He was exceptionally gifted, with an astonishing physique and especially great endurance, so naturally he was not worried about exhausting himself over a long journey.

The four or five people from before had long since been completely spent and unable to continue, left far behind. At present, only Xu Yunfan and Fang Mushan remained.

Well, with Li Haomiao in tow.

Fang Mushan pondered for a moment before saying, "Ningguta has the Great General Lian Killing Array. Zhang Shuyang is only evenly matched with it, so he can do nothing about it. Unless something unexpected happens, he shouldn't be able to find us immediately."

After doing some calculations, he continued, "We rushed for an entire night and covered at least sixty li. We still aren't far enough from Ningguta to be safe. After resting, we'll need to keep going. Are you still planning to follow me?"

A martial artist at the great mastery stage of the First Practice Realm possessed extraordinarily great endurance and could run more than a hundred li in a night. For safety's sake, they naturally could not remain here for long.

Xu Yunfan nodded without hesitation. "If Brother Fang doesn't mind, another person means another pair of hands."

Fang Mushan nodded. "I won't stop and wait for you. Keep up if you can. If you can't, then look after yourself."

"Thank you!"

Xu Yunfan casually found a sheltered spot where the Cold Wind could not reach and began resting in silence. Keeping himself out of Fang Mushan's direct line of sight, he took out a Grain Avoidance Pill and swallowed it.

Li Haomiao did not say anything when he saw this. He had eaten another pill two days ago. Since his body was not undergoing strenuous activity, he could minimize his energy expenditure as much as possible. One Grain Avoidance Pill could last him at least ten days.

Because of his high-intensity training, Xu Yunfan went through roughly one every two or three days.

Half an hour later, Fang Mushan rose to his feet. Wind gathered beneath his feet as he sped away.

Xu Yunfan did not hesitate either and followed close behind.

The two traveled from dawn until the last rays of sunset were about to fade, only stopping after covering sixty li. The road was rugged, with mountain ridges full of steep cliffs as well as icy crevasses and ravines. Maintaining such speed was already remarkably fast.

Fang Mushan, his entire body steaming with heat and his chest heaving violently, turned to look at Xu Yunfan, whose expression had not changed in the slightest. Surprised, he said, "I didn't expect your endurance to be this good."

He was breathing heavily. Having gone a full day and night without food, he had reached his limit and urgently needed to eat.

Xu Yunfan replied casually, "I mainly cultivate movement techniques and am particularly skilled at long-distance pursuit, so I can keep up."

Fang Mushan understood. He casually asked about Xu Yunfan's background and learned that he had once been a servant of the Jiang Family. There was not the slightest disdain in his eyes; he merely nodded faintly.

"In that case, let's find somewhere to get through the night first. It's getting colder and colder. Without sufficient shelter from the wind, I'm afraid it'll be difficult to make it through the darkness."

Xu Yunfan said, "I have some experience building shelters. Leave that to me."

Fang Mushan nodded in agreement. With the two of them working together at a time like this, they could naturally save a great deal of time.

The two and a half of them found a sheltered spot. Fang Mushan said, "Stay here. Find a way to make a windbreak and gather some firewood. I'll go hunting."

Xu Yunfan: "..."

Watching Fang Mushan leave without even looking back, Xu Yunfan set Li Haomiao down, took the Iron Pickaxe from his waist, found a depression in the ground, compared both sides, and started digging.

Then, under Li Haomiao's utterly shocked gaze, Xu Yunfan dug out a burrow large enough for four people to rest in from the mixed earth and stone in less than half an hour. He even had time to level the ground and dig out a simple fireplace.

The efficiency was simply monstrous. Every swing of Xu Yunfan's pickaxe gouged out a large mass of earth and stone. There was not the slightest pause as he wielded it; each strike came faster than the last, until the Iron Pickaxe was nearly a blur in his hands.

Li Haomiao had only blinked a few times when Xu Yunfan's whole body had already disappeared into the burrow.

When Xu Yunfan hauled Li Haomiao into the burrow, Li Haomiao said in shock, "Are you a rat or something? In the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, you dug such a huge hole."

Xu Yunfan frowned. "What do you mean, rat? Can't you say something nicer? They said you were learned enough to fill five carts and talented enough to measure eight dou, but it turns out you talk like a block of dry wood."

Such efficiency naturally came from the Digging Earth Like Mud trait brought by reaching minor mastery in mining.

With every swing of his pickaxe, Xu Yunfan instinctively knew where to dig to save more effort and achieve greater efficiency. Otherwise, he would not have smashed the Source Ancient Jade Disc apart with a single strike.

He wondered what astonishing effects mining at great mastery would bring.

As Xu Yunfan thought about it, it seemed the skills section on his Attribute Panel was not limited to martial arts alone. Many life skills could also be practiced, and perhaps they might bring unexpected effects.

Like now.

After leaving the burrow to gather enough firewood to keep them warm through the night, he quickly returned and began digging at a downward angle.

This did not merely train his mining skill. Every rise and fall of his waist and stance, every exertion of Power Through Both Arms, engaged the core muscle groups throughout his body through the unique digging motions. Each movement was another tempering of the Crimson Flame Copper Body Art.

'A flash of insight comes to you. You raise the Iron Pickaxe in your hand and swing it down like a heavy hammer, smashing away great swathes of earth and stone. You feel that your power is being used more efficiently. Your Mining proficiency has increased.'

'You focus your mind and calm your breath as the Crimson Flame Copper Body Art circulates through your body, making your blood and qi surge. The Iron Pickaxe in your hand seems to transform into an iron hammer, whistling through the air as you swing it. The transitions between your moves grow increasingly fluid, strength surges within you, and your Crimson Flame Copper Body Art proficiency has increased.'

'...'

Seeing this, Xu Yunfan was immediately filled with motivation. The Iron Pickaxe in his hand kept swinging, and within a few breaths, he had already entered deep into the hole.

Seeing Xu Yunfan start digging again, Li Haomiao could not help cursing, "You're addicted to mining, aren't you? Oh, now I see it. You really were born to be a servant. You've got a masochistic streak.

Look at this hole you dug. So nice. In the blink of an eye, you've buried yourself underground and just shoved right in."

Xu Yunfan poked his head out of the hole and said irritably, "What the hell do you know? The Crimson Flame Copper Body Art tempers the body through swinging and smashing. It can bring your moves to life and correct your stance."

Looking at the system notifications appearing in his field of vision, Xu Yunfan felt delighted. Too lazy to pay attention to Li Haomiao's mockery, he kept digging. At this rate, he might really be able to bring the Crimson Flame Copper Body Art to great mastery within a month or two.