Mad Mining!

A little while later.

Lu Changsheng arrived beneath a massive rock wall. Before him stood a stone face formed from a huge mass of Moon-Patterned Stone.

He immediately swung his sharp claws and began digging with all his strength.

"Source Energy Points +1."

"Source Energy Points +1."

As he dug, he absorbed the stones through the panel. The notification chimes rang madly in his mind, making him more and more driven.

"I dig, I dig..."

Like an old farmer toiling away in the fields, he showed no sign of fatigue.

Before long, he had directly carved a small cave into the wall ahead.

All the Low-Grade Moon-Patterned Stones on it had been dug clean, leaving the surrounding rock walls jagged and uneven.

He opened the panel.

Source Energy Points: 27.

Staring at the number on the blue Light Screen, he was overjoyed.

In less than a single hour, he had already gained so much. There would surely be even more Moon-Patterned Stone deeper inside.

Without further hesitation, he continued digging into the mountain.

This time, he had to dig up enough spiritual materials to let the bloodline of this Exotic Beast clone undergo a transformation.

He eagerly anticipated what miraculous changes would occur after the transformation.

"Gugu gugu..."

The inside of the cave was deathly quiet, with only the sound of his digging remaining.

Darkness surrounded him on all sides, enough to make one's scalp prickle.

Who knew how much time passed.

Another cool aura drifted over.

"Something's here?"

Lu Changsheng's expression shifted as he began digging forward faster.

He had experienced this sensation many times before. It was not unfamiliar—it was clearly the scent emitted by a spiritual material.

A moment later, when he dug into a dark rock wall, he saw a small stone ahead glowing with a soft, lustrous light. It looked utterly extraordinary.

He immediately placed his claw on it.

Discovered one Mid-Grade Moon-Patterned Stone.

Note: Ore containing greater energy, with few impurities.

"It's actually mid-grade ore."

Delight flashed across Lu Changsheng's face. He hurriedly swung both claws and dug out the ore.

"Absorb."

At his silent command, the ore before him vanished at once.

"Source Energy Points +5."

A crisp notification sounded, startling Lu Changsheng.

"This broken stone provides that much energy?"

It was nearly comparable to some century-old spiritual medicines.

After all, every time he collected a century-old spiritual medicine, it was no easy task. Such medicines were generally guarded by Exotic Beasts.

It was nowhere near as simple as mining.

At this moment, he only wanted to be a diligent miner.

If there were even higher-grade Moon-Patterned Stones inside, he would strike it rich. Such an opportunity was something one could only encounter by chance.

With that thought, Lu Changsheng's motivation surged. He began digging forward like a madman.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

He wanted nothing more than to quickly hollow out and collapse this mountain, absorbing every last Moon-Patterned Stone within it.

Just as he was digging with all his might, a sudden change occurred.

From the openings of several small tunnels in the distance, a huge swarm of creatures suddenly poured forth. They formed a pitch-black mass, packed so densely it made one's hair stand on end.

Lu Changsheng could not help stopping. Looking up, his expression changed in alarm.

He saw giant ant-like creatures surging toward him in a frenzy.

Each was as large as a rat, its entire body covered in fiery-red armor. A pair of huge fangs jutted from its head, making it look incomparably ferocious.

"What are these things?"

Lu Changsheng did not dare be careless. When they reached him, he lashed out with a claw.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

A large cluster of giant ants was instantly smashed to death beneath his claw, fiery-red fluid spilling across the ground.

The swarm behind them showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, it charged at him with even greater ferocity.

Blazing Fire Ants: Rank One colonial creatures. The Ant Queen is generally a Rank Two creature, though a small number mutate into Rank Three.

A notification rang out in his mind, and Lu Changsheng instantly understood.

This place was undoubtedly the nest of a Blazing Fire Ant colony. His frenzied mining had accidentally disturbed them.

According to the system's prompt, there was certainly an Ant Queen inside, at least a Rank Two creature.

If there was a Rank Three one, that would be troublesome.

His Exotic Beast clone was still only Rank Two, merely the King Pangolin. If he carelessly barged into the nest of a Rank Three Exotic Beast, the danger would be immense.

At that thought, his expression darkened.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

He slammed his twin claws forward with force, smashing vast numbers of ants to the ground. With his strength, dealing with low-rank Exotic Beasts was naturally quite easy.

But he feared that a Rank Three mutated Ant Queen might be lurking in the nest. That would be dangerous.

He continued fighting as he slowly retreated.

Every strike he made left countless corpses strewn across the ground.

Yet the Blazing Fire Ant swarm ahead still pursued him relentlessly, as if it would never rest until it had killed the invader.

Half an hour later.

By the time Lu Changsheng retreated to the cave entrance, the Blazing Fire Ant swarm finally withdrew like the ebbing tide.

Before long, they vanished completely, as though they had never appeared.

He let out a soft breath of relief.

Fortunately, the cave's interior was narrow. With his claws and scales, no mishaps had occurred.

He had truly been worried just now that a Rank Three Ant Queen might block his path. That would have been a real problem.

Seeing that his plan to dig through the mountain had been thwarted, he had no choice but to think of another solution.

He came beneath a large tree, quickly dug a hole, crawled inside, and lay quietly upon the soil as his mind raced.

Given the size of this small mountain, there had to be plenty of Moon-Patterned Stone left within. He was truly unwilling to give it up just like that.

He lacked Source Energy Points, and these spirit ores were exactly what he needed to rise. Unless he had no other choice, he would not abandon them so easily.

But his reckless digging had already alerted them. Furthermore, the Blazing Fire Ants had retreated in such an orderly fashion; an Ant Queen must have been directing them from behind.

If he went back to dig again, he would probably be discovered immediately.

Since secretly mining was no longer feasible, he could only find another way.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

Lu Changsheng could not think of any good solution for the moment, so he chose to come out and get some air.

He quickly climbed to the treetop. As he gazed at the mountain ahead, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

This area lay in a low depression. Within dozens of li around, it was the lowest point, like a small basin.

Most importantly, it was not far from that lake—only a little over ten li away.

These past few days, he had been exploring near the lake and had not ventured far.

With that thought, he instantly came up with a plan.

He would attack with water and flood the ant nest.

He would divert the lake water into the basin and turn this place into a small lake. With his Underwater Breathing skill, he would be completely unaffected.

But those Blazing Fire Ants would be in for a miserable time. They were clearly fire-attributed creatures; in the icy lake water, their combat strength would surely plummet.

Then he could easily seize the Moon-Patterned Stones in the mountain.

Most importantly, the water in that lake connected to an underground river, so there was no need to worry about it running dry.

As long as he handled things properly, he could completely turn this place into a small lake.

Even if they hid atop the mountain, it would be useless. He could directly hollow out the mountain and turn the entire ant colony into drowned ants.

At that thought, he was instantly tempted.

Once he emptied the spiritual ore from this mountain, it would be his chance to soar.

A moment later, Lu Changsheng put away his thoughts and immediately began to act.

He raced toward the lake.

In less than half an hour, he returned to the edge of that familiar lake.

Beneath the large tree ahead, the hole he had dug was still there.