Jiang Fa slowly opened his eyes.
In those dark eyes, a glaze-colored luster flashed away, and then returned to their usual depth and calmness.
He stood up and stretched his muscles.
There was a burst of "crackling", and the sound from the joints of the whole body was as clear and crisp as beads falling on a jade plate.
He clenched his fists.
The strength of his body frightened him.
He could clearly feel that the power of his random punch might have exceeded the limit of Peak An Jin, enough to pose a threat to the warriors of Early Transforming Force.
Mind immersed.
The panel appears.
[Talent: Heaven Rewards Diligence, Learning Inevitably Bears Fruit]
[Realm: Peak An Jin]
[Exercise method: Mountain-Breaking Stance (Mid Yellow Grade)·Third level (977/1000)]
[Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art(Heaven Rank, Upper Grade)·Third level (107/5000)]
[Great Strength Vajra Art(Mystic Rank Lower Grade)·Third floor: Viscera Refinement·Perfection]
[Origin-Returning Breath-Concealing Art(Mid Black Grade)·Third floor: Origin-Returning(15/2000)]
[Martial Arts: Mountain-Breaking Fist(Mid Yellow Grade)·Transformation Realm]
[Cloak Saber(Mid Yellow Grade)·Perfection(488/1500)]
[Wind-Chasing Steps(Yellow Rank Upper Grade)·Major Accomplishment(621/1200)]
[Surging Billows and Layered Waves Slash(Mid Black Grade)·Entry(36/1000)]
[Stele-Shattering Finger(Mystic Rank Lower Grade)·Entry(51/800)]
Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art The third level!
Jiang Fa The corners of his mouth raised slightly.
Three Scarlet Flame Vermilion Fruit tempered his physical body to a point that even he himself found terrifying.
Now that his body is so strong, let alone a An Jin warrior, even a full blow from an ordinary Early Transforming Force probably wouldn't be able to hurt him at all.
"Did you break through?"
Lu Pingping's voice came from the stone platform.
Jiang Fa turned around to look, and saw that the girl had stood up, holding the long black sword in her hand, and was looking at him with her head tilted, her almond-shaped eyes filled with inquiry.
"Well, I got a breakthrough by luck."
Jiang Fa did not deny it and nodded.
Lu Pingping glanced at him up and down, and his eyes stayed on him for a few breaths.
She found that Jiang Fa's aura was more restrained than before, as if it had transformed from an unsheathed sharp blade to a simple and honest stone, with all its sharpness gone.
But it was this kind of restraint that gave her an inexplicable sense of oppression in her heart.
"You... what exactly are you practicing?"
She couldn't help but ask, but she regretted it as soon as she said it.
Jiang Fa deliberately looked away and pretended not to hear.
Lu Pingping Seeing his appearance, he wisely did not ask any more questions.
Although she has a cold temperament, she is not stupid.
The skill of Jiang Fa can withstand the calcining of Scarlet Flame Vermilion Fruit, and the grade is definitely not lower, at least it is above Earth Rank.
A technique of this level would be a treasure to any sect. If she pressed the question, it would appear that she had ulterior motives.
"Let's go, it's time to find a way out."
She changed the subject.
Jiang Fa nodded.
"How are you recovering?"
"That's almost it."
Lu Pingping moved his wrist, and the energy flowed freely in the meridians. The toxicity of Heart-Devouring Powder has been completely eliminated. Although it has not returned to its peak state, it is enough to deal with ordinary dangers.
"Okay, let's find a way to get out now."
The two continued to explore upstream along the underground river channel.
The cave becomes narrower as you go deeper, and the dome above your head gradually increases from tens of feet to about ten feet high. The sound of water seeping out of the gaps on both sides of the rock wall becomes more and more intensive, as if there are trickles of water gathering from all directions.
Jiang Fa walked in front, holding a torch in one hand and groping on the rock wall from time to time.
After being tempered by three Scarlet Flame Vermilion Fruits, his perception was much sharper than before. When his fingertips touched the rock wall, he could even faintly feel the subtle tremors of the water flowing in the mountain.
"Wait."
He suddenly stopped.
Lu Pingping stood half a step behind him. "What's wrong?"
"There's something wrong with the sound of the water here."
Jiang Fa listened for a moment and moved the torch closer to the rock wall on the left.
There was a very thin layer of water curtain seeping out from the cracks on the rock wall. The amount of water was not large, but deep in the stone cracks behind the water curtain, there was a faint rhythmic "Woo" sound, like the whistling of the wind squeezing through a narrow opening.
"There's wind behind here."
Lu Pingping also heard it. She took a step forward, put her hand against the rock wall, and felt it for a moment. "There is airflow in the cracks in the stone, which means that the back is empty."
Jiang Fa inserted the torch into the groove of the rock wall, pressed both sides of the stone gap with both hands, and pushed it hard on both sides.
The rock wall remained motionless.
He took a step back, took a deep breath, and punched out with his right fist.
The moment his fist hit the rock wall, there was an extremely dull "boom" sound.
Debris flew like rain, and a crack several feet wide opened in the entire rock wall, revealing a dark space behind it.
A strong stream of air surged out from the crack, blowing the flame of the torch and shaking it violently.
"It's windy, and it's cool." Lu Pingping's eyes flashed with joy. "It's open outside."
Jiang Fa was in no hurry to get in.
He first put the torch into the crack and shook it.
Under the light of the fire, behind the crack is a natural passage that slopes upward. There are rough rock walls on both sides of the passage. There is a faint ray of skylight at the end, which looks particularly dazzling in the darkness.
"Exit!"
Lu Pingping took a look, with irrepressible excitement in his voice.
Jiang Fa squeezed into the crack sideways and walked upwards on the slippery stones.
The passage is very steep, and in some places it is even necessary to use both hands and feet to climb up.
The two of them climbed up for about twenty feet, one after the other. The skylight above their heads became brighter and brighter, and the moist smell in the air was gradually replaced by the fragrance of vegetation.
"We're here!"
Jiang Fa As soon as I stepped onto the last stone step, I was greeted by a mountain breeze carrying the fragrance of vegetation.
He squinted his eyes for a moment to adapt. When his vision completely recovered, he could clearly see the scene in front of him.
This is a natural cave halfway up the mountain. The entrance of the cave is completely covered by dense vines and shrubs. If you don't drill out from inside, you won't be able to tell that there is a passage here from the outside.
Outside the entrance of the cave is a steep mountain wall, covered with low shrubs and wild grasses. Further down is a dense pine forest, with a winding mountain road vaguely visible at the end of the pine forest.
"Where is this?"
Lu Pingping followed him out, raised his hand to block the sun, and looked around.
Jiang Fa stood at the entrance of the cave and looked at it for a moment, and suddenly felt that the outline of the ridge in the distance looked familiar.
He looked toward the southeast, and through the dense forest, he vaguely saw a gray-white cliff standing on the ridgeline in the distance.
"That's the ridge on the north side of the mine."
He recognized the cliff. "We made a large circle underground, from the underground river under the mining area to halfway up the northern slope."
The two of them got out of the cave entrance and carefully climbed down the mountain wall.
The mountain path among the pine forests was easier to walk than expected. The two of them moved along the pine forest path on the hillside towards the mining area.
Lu Pingping walked behind Jiang Fa, scanning the surroundings with vigilant eyes.
Jiang Fa was walking in front, stopping from time to time to observe carefully and confirming that there was nothing unusual around him before continuing forward.
The further you go towards the mining area, the stronger the smell of blood becomes in the air.
At first it was just a faint wisp, but as the two climbed over a low hillside, the smell suddenly became strong, mixed with burnt and rotten odors, as if something had been exposed to the hot sun for a long time.
"What a strong smell of blood."
Lu Pingping frowned.
Jiang Fa naturally smelled it too.