Although the plan was finalized and the location was chosen, Li Xingkong was still a little uneasy before taking action.
Digging a hole is obviously a technical job. It's not impossible to do it by hand, but it feels a bit embarrassing to admit it. What kind of cultivator would dig a hole by himself?
He made himself look like a hole digger.
But what's done is done, and we're already here, so there's no other choice.
Li Xingkong raised his hands, mimicking how others do before making a move, blew a breath into his palms, and then rubbed them together.
He shook his shoulders, his shoulder bones cracking, did a few chest-expanding exercises, and walked back and forth a couple of times Li Xingkong preparing to begin.
He first determined the left and right distances of the cave dwelling. He estimated that the cave dwelling he was going to dig would be about 4 meters wide and about 4 meters high. After marking the vertices on both sides, Li Xingkong began his first step.
He cupped his hands together and thrust them into the earthen wall. His first strike was clearly a bit too forceful, and his entire right arm sank into the soil. The soil was looser than he'd expected; he'd used too much force.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. With his current strength, even stones would be like clay in his hands, so dealing with some loess would be a piece of cake.
The soil is so loose, it seems like we don't even need to dig it up.
Li Xingkong suddenly had a new idea. When he was digging earlier, he was wondering where to throw the excavated soil. He couldn't very well eat it, could he?
But now it seems there's no need to worry too much; I can just press it down firmly and push it in.
He used his own strength to carve a hole in the loess wall.
Compacted earth walls can also provide support, even eliminating the need for you to build additional supports later.
Moreover, compacting is much easier than digging it out.
Because there are spells.
Although its own Explosive Reactive Armor has been retired for a long time, it can adjust its structure to form a shield-like structure.
All I have to do is charge into the loess layer with this thing, use my strength to push myself in, and the hole will be dug, right?
Haha, I'm such a little genius!
Li Xingkong couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. Who could say he wasn't a genius for developing so many uses for a single spell?
Although these uses are quite unorthodox, serious cultivators are focused solely on their cultivation; who would use magic for these things?
Only Li Xingkong would put his mind to these kinds of things.
He took a dozen steps back, then pulled out the long-unseen Explosive Reactive Armor, transforming it into a large square shield, roughly the same size and height as Li Xingkong, and held it up in front of him.
Facing the point he had marked, Li Xingkong deep breath, bent down slightly, and assumed a charging stance.
With a sudden stomp of his foot, he created a deep crater in the ground, and Li Xingkong's body shot out like an arrow.
It was so fast that it even left afterimages.
In an instant, he crashed into the loess layer, and a large plume of yellow smoke erupted from the spot where he was hit.
Like inserting a chopstick into a cream cake, wherever Li Xingkong's figure went, the loess layer was like a soft, sticky cake, with a hole being pierced directly through it.
"Cough cough cough! Cough cough cough!"
Along with the billowing yellow dust, Li Xingkong emerged, covering his mouth and nose as he ran out in a disheveled state.
The hole could indeed be punched out, and the effect was far better than he had imagined. However, he overlooked one thing: the blast would create a lot of dust.
After all, the bigger the commotion, the more intense the dust will be.
The impact turned Li Xingkong, who had previously looked like a human being, into a completely yellowish-brown color.
His face, his hair, his whole body were covered in dirt.
"Pah, oh dear, how could I forget about that?"
After emerging, Li Xingkong's body trembled, like a stray dog shaking off its fur, as he shook off all the dust that had settled on him.
The dust and smoke did cause him some trouble. He had originally planned to estimate how deep he had gone and stop at a roughly suitable spot, but the dust and smoke interfered with his progress, causing him to lose his footing and end up plunging deep into the hole.
It was much deeper than I had anticipated.
"Pah, thank goodness no one saw it. If someone had, it would have been terrible."
Li Xingkong could already imagine how much he would be laughed at if people saw this.
Who knows, my first cultivation title might be something like the Yellow Dragon Immortal.
That won't do.
Luckily, he had chosen a secluded spot where no one could see him; otherwise, he might have turned into a villain and killed everyone he saw.
After waiting a while, the smoke and dust at the cave entrance finally dissipated, and Li Xingkong stepped forward to check on his work.
The inner wall that was blasted out wasn't smooth; it looked like it had been torn apart. But it was also much more solid, at least thicker than the original soil layer. Further in, the entire hole that was blasted out was straight and narrow, just the width and height of a person, like a tunnel.
It has to be said that Li Xingkong's skill is even more impressive than that of a tunnel digger; there are probably very few people who can dig tunnels faster than him.
After walking about 30 steps, we reached the end of the cave. The soil at the end was much thicker, and it felt like a brick wall to the touch.
A violent impact not only compacts the material but also generates a great deal of heat, which is caused by friction.
The effect of Li Xingkong was that the walls at the end of the cave now had a slightly ceramic-like feel to them.
Terrifying! Terrifying indeed!
Li Xingkong clicked his tongue and retreated from the cave.
The cave dwelling was clearly much larger than it appeared; I would need to come back several more times.
However, it's best to prepare beforehand.
As for what to prepare, Li Xingkong found a relatively intact plastic bag in the abandoned village and slowly covered his head with it.
There was no other way; the smoke and dust were too thick, and he didn't want to choke on it a second time.
At the same time, he also adjusted the structure of the Explosive Reactive Armor. Originally, it was a flat, large shield, but now it has been adjusted to have a slight curve, which makes it easier to push the compacted soil to both sides, ensuring the strength of the inner wall while also slightly improving the strength of the side walls.
Back at his original position before the charge, Li Xingkong first touched his head to make sure the plastic bag was securely tied so no smoke or dust would get in.
Then he aimed at another layer of loess and plunged in.
Thump!
Another muffled thud, and a plume of yellow smoke shot out.
Thankfully, there was no one around. If there were, they might have thought someone was test-firing a mortar.